Student 3D Audio Production Competition 2024

In 2024, the student 3D audio competition took place for the eighth time in a row. Franz Zotter and Matthias Frank launched the competition in 2017 to raise awareness of working with 3D audio and offer students an incentive to distinguish themselves internationally. The competition is a cooperation between the VDT, the Institute for Electronic Music and Acoustics at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Sounding Future and ORF musikprotokoll.

The competition is divided into three categories:

• Contemporary / Computer Music
• Radio play / Documentary film / Soundscapes
• Music Recording / Studio Production

In 2024, there were 32 submissions from 12 countries. An international jury, in which Sounding Future was also represented, selected 3 winners in each category.

On October 3, 2024, the tracks of category 1 - Shortlist - Composers* could already be heard in Graz Dom im Berg. This public listening took place as part of the ORF musikprotokoll im steirischen herbst festival.

The award ceremony then took place on November 8, 2024 in Graz at the IEM. Three live breakout sessions with 3D audio sound reinforcement for this live event were presented in Düsseldorf (Institute for Music and Media), Hamburg (AES Student Section Hamburg), and Leipzig (HTWK Leipzig). In the following, the winners briefly present their compositions.

Contemporary / Computer Music

Youngjae Cho

Gold Winner in Category 1: Contemporary Music / Computer Music. 
University of the Arts Bremen (DE)
Work: mirrored: ceilings, floors, walls.

Youngjae Cho is a composer based in Korea and Germany. The variety of his works includes solo and chamber music, electroacoustic music, live electronics and collaborations with video art, especially the realization of immersive spaces through multi-channel audio systems. His works have been performed at various festivals in Germany, France, China, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, the USA and Korea. Cho studied composition in South Korea and with Peter Gahn at the Nuremberg University of Music. Since 2021 he has been studying electroacoustic composition with Kilian Schwoon at the University of the Arts Bremen. 

Ágnes Klára Máthé

Silver Winner in Category 1: Contemporary Music / Computer Music. 
Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Budapest (HU)
Work: Interspace

Ágnes Klára Máthé studied electroacoustic music at the Department of Composition of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, where she obtained her master’s degree in June 2024. During her studies, she participated in several international projects and collaborations with the UDK in Berlin and the MDW in Vienna. She contributed to several concerts, including performances at the Sound Dome of the House of Music Hungary. Máthé has been composing music for documentary films, dance performances, and exhibitions. Recently, she started exploring different improvisational methods, which also manifest in her creative processes. A central element of her work is space as a compositional tool.

Avenar Kasszian Banföldi

Bronze Winner in Category 1: Contemporary Music / Computer Music. 
Hanns Eisler School of Music, Berlin (DE).
Work: D4

Avenar Banföldi completed his bachelor’s studies at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in the Department of Electronic Music Media Art under the guidance of Dr. Andrea Szigetvari. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in the class of Wolfgang Heiniger at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. His main fields of interest are spatial audio and live improvisation. Among his ongoing projects, perhaps the most important is a self-developed instrument that allows him to create spatial improvisations and compositions using light and shadow. He is also a proud member of the Berlin Loudspeaker Orchestra, where he has gained extensive experience in utilizing different spaces to perform his compositions and has had the opportunity to perform in many unique venues.

Winners in categories 2 and 3

Here is an overview of the winners of the other two categories:

2nd Radio Play / Documentary / Soundscapes

3rd Music Recording / Studio Production

Camera-Tracked 3D Audio Player (Cat3DA)

As part of the competition, the winning works can also be listened to online as 3D audio with head tracking.

This requires headphones, a PC and a webcam. The playback works with all current browsers. The pieces can be listened to on the website of the Association of German Sound Engineers (vdt):

>> Open audio player in new window