Artist website: https://otoplasma.com ACOUSTIC ATLAS: https://acousticatlas.de
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9309-5632
cobi.vantonder@unibo.it
Professional experience
01/10/2022-30/10/2025: Research Fellow at Department of Architecture - University of Bologna. The role is focused on Virtual Acoustics, Heritage Acoustics, and 3D Immersive Audio.
01/09/2020-30/08/2022: Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research Fellow at the Department of Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media, University of York.
01/01/2003-Present: Independent Artist/Composer/Producer.
01/11/2010-30/09/2011: Head of Digital Film Department, SAE Institute, Cape Town, South Africa.
01/10/2022-Present: Writer for Art-in-Italy about Music Events in Venice and Italy.
Commercial work
05/06/2010-10/10/2010: Industrial Sound Design for Osmotron Water Filtering Signature Sound, Palo Alto.
01/06/2009-13/07/2010: Management and maintenance of 32-channel surround performance venue, THE COMPOUND, with Recombinant Media Labs (RML), San Francisco.
01/12/2000-06/06/2005: Mobile ringtone design, Small Screen Media, London.
01/12/2000-Present: Sound design and production for dance, theatre and media projects.
Education
01/11/2011-23/06/2017: PhD Digital Arts and Humanities, in the Department of Film, Drama and Music, Trinity College, Ireland. The thesis work focused on Multi-channel Spatial Audio Composition, Microtonal Tuning Systems and Abstract Expressionist views on the Experience of Movement.
20/08/2007-14/06/2009: MFA Art Practice, Stanford University, USA. Work revolved around connecting the acoustics of real-world spaces via the internet to create hybrid acoustic reverberation, drone, and iterated audio feedback loops.
14/02/2003-21/06/2005: BHons in Music, (1st class honours) University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Work focused on Interactive Music Composition with Sensor Enabled Gumboots connected to a Max/MSP program.
Career gap
Family commitments necessitated interruption of professional activities, leading to extremely limited work availability from April 2014 - August 2020.
Prizes and Awards (selected)
01/05/2023-31/01/2024: AURALIZE: Collaborative EURASMUS + Small-scale partnerships in vocational education and training Innovative Course in Room Acoustics and Auralization for Sound Professionals.
01/05/2023-31/01/2024: Transforming Data Reuse in Archaeology, TETRARCHs: individual artist commission, University of York for Vertical Time -elevating the immenseness of time and space in Al Ain. Field recordings (recorded during bronze age excavations done in Al Ain, UAE) and microtonal drone music.
29/05/2023: Elektron Musik Studion (EMS) artist in residence award, Stockholm, Sweden. Used this time to create the sounds for the Roger Ballen Venice Aparitions show.
30/06/2022: University of York Internal Grant, to curate and create a sound art series album, Echoes and Reflections that draws upon the acoustics of 9 selected heritage sites, together with nine diverse international sound artists.
22/12/2021: University of York Internal Grant, to create the piece Echoes of our Ancestors.
30/03/2020: Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship, EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation grant, for ACOUSTIC ATLAS - Cultivating the capacity to listen.
16/08/2018: SEA(S)GRANTS 2018, Ionion Centre for the Arts and Culture, Kefalonia, Greece, to work at Melissani Cave and other heritage sites in Kefalonia.
15/09/2011-05/12/2015: Scholarship awardee for PhD Digital Arts and Humanities, Trinity
College, Ireland.
01/09/2007-30/06/2009: Scholarship awardee for MFA Arts Stanford, California.
01/07/2005-31/10/2005
& 01/06/2006-28/08/2006: ZERO ONE/IDEO artist-in-residence, Villa Montalvo.
Collaboration with IDEO, Palo Alto.
01/11/2005-31/05/2006
& 29/08/2006-30/03/2007: 1-year fellowship from Akademie Schloss Solitude, Germany, to work as composer in residence.
13/02-07/03/2004: Digital Pluralism – UNESCO Digital Arts Award. Ephemeral Gumboots. IAMAS Art Residency in Ogaki, Japan.
PUBLICATIONS
01/10/2023:| Lamberto Tronchin; Angelo Farina; Cobi van Tonder; Antonella Bevilacqua; Ruoran Yan, "On the acoustics of “Argentina” and “Costanzi” Opera Houses in Rome by means of 3‐D maps representation", Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. DOI: 10.1121/10.0023454.
28/06/2024: C. van Tonder, R. Yan, L. Tronchin, A. Bevilacqua, H. Saito, "Acoustic Comparison of Teatro dell'Opera in Rome and Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence", 6th Building Simulation Applications Conference (BSA) 2024.
12/07/2024: H. Saito, K. Caposotto, C. van Tonder, R. Yan, L. Tronchin, G.Testoni, A. Martinetti, "Acoustic Exploration of the Teatro Dell'Opera of Rome", ICSV30.
12/07/2024: R. Yan, L. Tronchin, C. van Tonder, H. Saito, "Acoustic Study of three spaces within the Theater India in Roma", ICSV30. 12/07/2024: C. van Tonder, H. Saito, R. Yan, L. Tronchin, "Behind the Auralization: the 3D Measurements Conducted in the Argentina Theater in Rome", ICSV30.
12/09/2023: R. Yan, C. van Tonder and L. Tronchin, "An Exploration of the unique acoustic characteristics of Mantua's Teatro Bibiena", Forum Acusticum 2023.
01/10/2023: G. Vismara, C. van Tonder and A. McArthur, "Immersive Venice - A Thousand Echoes”, 2023 Immersive and 3D Audio (I3DA), 2023.
01/10/2023: C. van Tonder, A. Bevilacqua, and L. Tronchin, "Acoustics of the Manoel Theatre of Malta”, 2023 Immersive and 3D Audio (I3DA), 2023.
01/10/2023: R. Yan, G. Tentoni, C. van Tonder, and A. Martinetti, "Acoustic analysis of the Teatro Minimo of Atri”, 2023 Immersive and 3D Audio (I3DA), 2023.
01/10/2023: C. van Tonder, R. Yan, and L. Tronchin, "An examination of the acoustic characterization of Teatro India "Sala Oceano”, 2023 Immersive and 3D Audio (I3DA), 2023.
01/10/2023: R. Yan, C. van Tonder and L. Tronchin, "Characteristics of the Teatro India "Sala A" of Rome: new acoustic perspectives”, 2023 Immersive and 3D Audio (I3DA), 2023.
01/10/2023: C. van Tonder, R. Yan, and L. Tronchin, "Teatro India "Sala B": acoustic analysis and descriptions”, 2023 Immersive and 3D Audio (I3DA), 2023.
01/10/2023: R. Yan, C. van Tonder and L. Tronchin, "Measurements of Room Acoustics with Two Different Methods - A Case Study”, 2023 Immersive and 3D Audio (I3DA), 2023.
01/10/2023: L. Tronchin, A. Bevilacqua, R. Yan, and C.van Tonder "Explore the acoustics of Teatro dell'Opera of Rome”, 2023 Immersive and 3D Audio (I3DA), 2023.
01/10/2023: C. van Tonder, and R. Yan, "A study on the spatial sound propagation characteristics of the Argentina Theater in Rome”, 2023 Immersive and 3D Audio (I3DA), 2023.
21/08/2022 A. Bevilacqua, C. van Tonder and I. Lombardi, “Witches Valley Acoustics”, 51st International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering INTERNOISE, 2022.
09/09/2021: C. van Tonder and M. Lopez, "Acoustic Atlas – Auralisation in the Browser”, 2021 Immersive and 3D Audio: from Architecture to Automotive (I3DA), 2021, pp. 1-5, doi: 10.1109/I3DA48870.2021.9610909.
09/09/2021: A. McArthur, C. van Tonder, L. Gaston-Bird and A. Knight-Hill, "A survey of 3D audio through the browser: practitioner perspectives", 2021 Immersive and 3D Audio: from Architecture to Automotive (I3DA), 2021, pp. 1-10, doi: 10.1109/I3DA48870.2021.9610839.
Book chapter, C. van Tonder, "An Orchestra of Echoes", The Routledge Companion to the Sound of Space. Edited by Emma-Kate Matthews and Jane Burry. Routledge, 2024. Forthcoming in November: C. van Tonder, L. Tronchin, "Nature Echo - Heritage Conservation through Listening", Music and Sustainability, Naples 2024. Chiavi Musicali, FedOA.Talks and presentations (selection)
16/06/2022: Research talk: Acoustic Atlas – Cultivating the Capacity to Listen, with additional listening booth, Festival of Ideas, York.
20/05/2022: Invited talk: Acoustic Atlas – Cultivating the Capacity to Listen, at Sound, Space and the Aesthetics of the Sublime conference, Stanford University, Palo Alto.
08/02/2022: Invited talk: Acoustic Atlas – Auralisation as Composition, CMRC seminar series, Department of Music, University of York.
12/05/2021: Selected talk and artwork: Acoustic Atlas as Virtual Installation, klingt gut! 5th International Symposium on Sonic Art and Spatial Audio, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences – Immersive Audio Lab.
26/03/2021: Invited Panelist for Soundstack: Spatial Sound in the Browser.
07/06/2018: Digital Alchemy, Visual Music collaboration with Maura McDonnell, presentation,klingt gut! symposium on sound, 2018, The Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, 7th - 9th June 2018.
23/03/2018: Digital Alchemy, Visual Music collaboration with Maura McDonnell, presentation at Seeing Sound, Practice-Led Visual Music Symposium, Bath Spa University, UK.
Compositions and Interventions (selected)
20/12/2025: Vertical Time, 6-channel diffusion, Wall of Sounds Festival, Teatro Garibaldi, Palermo.
16/08/2025: Premiere for Vertical Time, 6-channel diffusion, outdoors, private estate, Fantese, Puglia.
26/05/2025: Commission for immersive soundtrack to ROGER BALLEN : ANIMALISM, MATTATOIO, Roma. Runtime: 3 months.
20/09/2024: ROGER BALLEN. Venice Apparitions. SpazioEventi La Toletta, Venice, Italy. This is a two-month-long installation. The sounds consist of 5-tone microtonal clusters that pulse, vibrate, and move like ghosts through the space. Together with Buchla200 modular synth tones, they are immersed in virtual acoustic caves to morph and transform through various material qualities, ranging from air and close-up to feeling far away in the back of the mind. Runtime: 2 months.
20/05/2024: Schuman Resonance Lightning Reverb, an infrasound installation that explores the frequency series around the earth's resonance, using the Schuman Resonance as fundamental and building an overtone series from it. The artist constructed a sofa with an infrasound transducer connected under the seat that vibrates and shakes the sofa at precise frequencies—premiered at Venice Art Night 2024. It was part of a series of three pieces, the other being Delta Bioresonance Variations, and the other Half wave 1,5 hz.
16/12/2022: Echoes and Reflections is a series of 9 sound works curated and directed by Van Tonder. These works bring a unique experience to listeners by combining virtual acoustic heritage sites with composition, whilst reflecting on the myth and meaning of Echo. York, UK and Online.
30/11/2022: Ether Echo - a collaboration with theremin player Dorit Crysler as part of the Echoes and Reflections series - playing into the virtual Cumaean Sybil Cave, Italy.
30/10/2022: Earth Echo - a collaboration with singer Juliana Venter inside virtual Dowkerbottom Cave as part of the Echoes and Reflections series.
30/04/2022: Echoes of Our Ancestors – Trilogy. Auralising infrasound-expanded bass- drum, bell plates, gong and cymbals into Dowkerbottom Cave. Performed by Robyn Schulkowsky, Berlin.
05/06/2020: Cerberu, fiera crudele e diversa, Eight Tower Records, Italy. 20/02/2020: Mutation2, Alternate African Reality, Syrphe Records, Germany.
27/10/2019: Music for Trees, Through a Forest Wilderness–Actions in the Forest.
Performance, Conceptual Art, Events, 1960 - ∞, Kunsthalle, Wilhelmshaven.
16/05/2019: Cave Music, real-time auralisation for voice and the acoustics of Spro Caves in Nesodden. Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo and Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo.
06/10/2018
& 28/10/2018: Music for Trees, Through a Forest Wilderness–Actions in the Forest.
Performance, Conceptual Art, Events, 1960 - ∞, Berlin.
22/06/2018: Goodbye Anthill, machine learned voices, data-mined voices, synthesized voices & extended voice trio, Blind Signal, Hosted by the Jugend[widerstands]museum Galiläakirche, Berlin.
08/03/2018
& 09/03/2018: Esponja, composition and audio-physical surround sound design, Grüner Salon, Volksbühne, Berlin.
25/01/2013: Relativity for Voice and Tape, 8’, with vocalist Michelle O’Rourke,
Printing House, TCD, Dublin.
28/04/2013: String Quartet No 1, 18’ – Premiere Arts and Technology Research Lab theatre, Dublin.
30/05/2012: EXPLODE/IMPLODE, 20’ – 42 channel Spatial Audio, SARC, Queen’s University Belfast, for the Sonic Lab performance space, Belfast.
27/03/2010: Music for Redwood Trees, with Suzanne Huskey and six performers, Montgomery Woods State Reserve, Ukia, California.
16/11/2008: Improvisation with Pauline Oliveros, Soundwire Ensemble network enabled performance. Lead by Chris Chafe with participating ensembles at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Princeton, UCSD, UCSC, Stanford.
29/03/2007: SNOW, Audio CD release, Merz/Solitude, Germany, in the Reihe Projektiv series.
01/07/2007: Golden Summer Mistake for Soprano and Harpsichord. Soprano Angelika Luz and pianist/harpsichordist Florian Holscher. Music of the Centuries, Staatsoper Stuttgart and SWR Stuttgart.
23/07/2006: Coexistenz for 9-piece ensemble, performed by Ensemble Ascolta.
Stuttgart, ISCM World New Music Festival 2006 Grenzenlos during the Festival Sommer in Stuttgart.
Selected Intermedia and Installations
22/06/2024: Infrasound Sofa - Deep Healing infrasound experience, Venice Art Night, Giudecca.
16/06/2022: Acoustic Atlas Installation with live microphones and interactive real time auralization, at the Festival of Ideas, in the Department of Art and Technology foyer, University of York.
4-6/12/2019: Acoustic Atlas Premiere, WAC2019 Web Audio Conference, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway.
17/02/2019: 4 Waters – Deep Implicancy, film music in collaboration with Arjuna Neuman, for Denise Ferreira da Silva and Arjuna Neumann, 40min film loop, Silent Green, Betonhalle, Berlin.
06/08-20/09/2018: Ionion Mirror, video Installation, SEAS Art Festival, Ionion Centre for the Arts and Culture, Kefalonia, Greece.
17/05/2018: Surround sound installation of Liquid Violet – for Arjuna Neuman, Bold Tendencies, London.
26/07/2016: Film music and sound design for Serpent Rain – Arjuna Neuman, Denise Ferreira da Silva, Bergen, Norway.
26/03/2011: Lullaby for Infrasound Bed – Toffee Festival, Cape Town.
05/06/2010: Static Blackout, 16.8 channel sound sculpture. The Compound, San Francisco, USA.
29/05/2010: Streams, 16.8 channel sound sculpture. The Compound, San Francisco.
LECTURING
2025:
Recombinant acoustics – sound morphology through space
In June 2025, Pase in collaboration with SaMPL - Conservatorio C. Pollini Padova, hosted a masterclass led by Cobi van Tonder, focusing on virtual acoustics and the creative use of space in sound design and composition. The workshop explored how spatial transitions, such as those created through convolution reverb, panning, and hybrid acoustic architectures, can be used to evoke movement, scale, and sonic transformation. Combining theoretical insights with hands-on experimentation, the masterclass allowed participants to approach space as a sculptural and expressive material in audio practice.
Zagreb: Multi-disciplinary Uses of Virtual Acoustics - Dr. Cobi van Tonder explored multi-disciplinary uses of virtual acoustics, focusing on cultural heritage, sonic archaeology, simulations, sound design and more. This lecture was held in the Studio (Room 242) in the afternoon of 5 May 2025 as part of the AURALIZE project. University of York, Department of Theatre, Film, Television, and Interactive Media
2022: Lecturer, The Science of Sound & Cinematography – BSc Film and Television Production, Year 1.
Co-examiner for the Creative/Technical Work and Oral Presentations for Spatial Audio and Surround Sound, MA/MSc in Film and Television Production with Sound.
2021: Lecturer, Digital Production and Postproduction Workflows – MA/MSc in Film and Television with Sound.
Guest Lecturer, Advanced Audio, BSc in Film and Television Production, Year 3.
Guest Lecturer, Spatial Audio and Surround Sound, MA/MSc in Film and Television Production with Sound.
Hasso Plattner Institut - IT Systems Engineering MA, Postdam
2022 -2024: Series of 3 guest lectures per year: Interactive Sound Art; Sonic Thinking; Computer-Human Interface Design and Sonic Archaeology (Online).
Tampere University of Applied Sciences
02/09/2013: Invited guest lecture: Expanded Listening: Spatial Audio, The Reactive Residence seminar "Media Artists at the Crossroads of New Performing Environments".
Trinity College Dublin, ATRL
2012 & 2013: Lecturer, Master classes in Sound Design.
SAE Institute Cape Town
01/11/2010-01/10/2011: Lecturer, Higher Certificate in Digital Film Production: Film Studies, Sound Production, Digital Film Production, Sound Post-Production, Digital Film Post- Production, Adaptations, Creative Projects.
01/11/2010-30/09/2011: Supervision of SAE Film Students on their individual creative work.
01/11/2010-01/10/2011: Co-designed and created the Bachelor of Arts in Digital Film Production degree curriculum. Duration 3 years; NQF Level 7.
Stanford University, Palo Alto, US
20/08/2007-20/03/2009:
ARTSTUDI 18 Video Art.
As Teaching Assistant (TA):
ARTSTUDI 131 Sound Art with Paul DeMarinis; ARTSTUDI 175A Light as a Sculptural Element with Elaine Buckholtz; ARTSTUDI 179A Digital Art II with Joe McKay; ARTSTUDI 178 Electronic Art I with Gail Wight; ARTSTUDI 138 Sound and Image with Paul De Marinis; ARTSTUDI 177 Video Art I with Amy Hicks
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
02/04-31/05/2007: Lecturer, Computer-aided Music Composition, BMus, Year 4.
Vega – The Brand Communications School, Johannesburg, SA
06/01-30/11/2005: Lecturer, Sound Design, Diploma Course.
ACADEMIC CITIZENSHIP
05/09/2023-07/09/2023: Chair of the Organising Committee, Immersive 3D Audio (I3DA) Conference, Bologna.
05/09/2023-07/09/2023: Member of the Publishing Committee, Immersive 3D Audio (I3DA) Conference, Bologna.
08/2023: Peer reviewer for 16 papers for the Immersive 3D Audio (I3DA) Conference, Bologna.
01/12/2021-30/09/2022: Member of TFTI Department Research Committee. Department of Film, Television and Interactive Media, University of York.
15/01/2021-30/04/2022: Internship leadership for Digital Archaeology Masters Student.
04/2021: Peer reviewer for Journal for Artistic Research, published by the Society for Artistic Research (SAR). Zurich.
Software and Equipment Knowledge Base
Expertise in field recording, with DPA4560 in ear binaural microphones, Artificial head, Neumann KU 100, Soundfield ST450, Senheiser Ambeo VR, Sound Devices Field recorders, Eigenmike64, condenser and ribbon microphones, contact microphones, hydrophones.
Studio practice, sampling, synthesis, and audio focused programming.
DAWs: Ableton Live, Reaper, the Buchla200, Serge, MIDI, CV tools.
Audacity, Adobe Audition, Cubase, Pro Tools, Isotope, hardware and software synthesizers.
Max/MSP, ~SPAT, a library of my own Max patches developed over the years for sophisticated gesture control, controller mapping, generative MIDI, microtonal tuning.
Reaktor, basic JavaScript/Web audio coding, Arduinos, sensors, Matlab, Jacktrip, Odeon.
Video editing in Premiere, Final Cut Pro, AI generative tools, Photoshop.
Languages:
English (expert), Afrikaans (mother-tongue), German (B1) and Italian (B1-Cittadinanza level completed).
