Michael is an artist, composer, researcher, teacher and producer. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the State University of New York. He taught his first course in electronic media as a seasonal lecturer in 1985, and eventually designed and taught Canada's first undergraduate fine arts program in new media in 2000. Michael has written for both traditional instruments and electronic media, often combining the two to great effect. He won two national CAPAC gold prizes in 1987.
Since 1990, he has also worked as a producer for, among others, CBC Radio, Carleton Sound, the National Film Board of Canada, Naxos of Hong Kong, Polygram, and Summit Records. In 1995, he received a Canada Council grant for travel and research in the Middle East. Michael founded SDI Inc. (Sonic Design Interactive) to further his work in telematic performance on broadband networks. In the early 2000s SDI began work for the Canadian government and was awarded a substantial research grant from CANARIE, leading to what is believed to be the first musical work created for a multimedia broadband event: a concert combining Carleton University music students with students at Holy Heart High School in St. John's, NL. He has continued to design and produce such events, notably at the Banff Centre in 2004, and across Canada ever since. In 2006 he was accepted into and enrolled in the Ph. D program of the Faculty of Technology, University of Plymouth UK. He has spoken at conferences on telematic performance from the UK to Singapore to Sao Paulo and has been published in such prestigious journals as Leonardo (MIT Press). Michael is a key asset to Conceptual in the ever-evolving landscape of multimedia.
Michael Bussiere
Director of New Media
