Norbert Herber

Biography

Norbert Herber is a musician and sound artist. His work explores the relationship between people and sound within mediated environments—spaces created by software, sensors, speakers, and other mediating technologies. In his early career, Norbert worked as a jazz saxophonist and arranger, playing and writing for groups of all sizes in a variety of styles. Years later, with the introduction of so-called multimedia technology and individual interactive media experiences on CD-ROM, Norbert’s focus shifted to composition. He worked as a composer and sound designer, and contributed to a number of award-winning educational games. His background as an improvising musician made work as a games and interaction composer a natural and compelling musical challenge. But as his engagement with this work grew so did his curiosity about its theoretical implications. Once again his focus shifted; this time to research. Under the supervision of Roy Ascott and Brian Eno, Norbert developed Amergent Music, a systems-oriented approach to music and mediated interaction that combines the emergent dynamics of complex systems with generative and experimental music, sound design, scoring, sound art, and techniques of game audio. Currently Norbert composes musical systems that leverage the processing capabilities of contemporary technology and make music specific to a place and time. His works have been performed and exhibited in Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and the United States. He is also a Senior Lecturer and Unit Director of Media Arts & Production in the Media School at Indiana University.

His teaching interests are focused on sound for film, games, and other forms of playable and interactive media. Current syllabi and online tutorials are at mediasound.indiana.edu.

Joined IU 2002.
B.M., Indiana University Bloomington School of Music, 1996.
PhD, Art & Media, University of Plymouth (UK), 2011.