About the ICMA

The International Computer Music Association is an international affiliation of individuals and institutions involved in the technical, creative, and performance aspects of computer music. It serves composers, computer software and hardware developers, researchers, and musicians who are interested in the integration of music and technology.

ICMA functions include:

  • Presenting the annual International Computer Music Conference
  • Professional Networking
  • Publication of the newsletter: Array
  • Specialized Publications, Recordings and Projects
  • ICMA Awards
  • Membership directory (under construction)

The International Computer Music Conference — The ICMA cosponsors the annual ICMC, which, since its inception in 1974, has become the preeminent yearly gathering of computer music practitioners from around the world. The ICMC’s unique interleaving of professional paper presentations and concerts of new computer music compositions—refereed by ICMA-approved international panels— creates a vital synthesis of science, technology, and the art of music.

Each ICMC produces a "Concert Program" and Proceedings. The Proceedings is the collection of double-blind peer-reviewed papers and studio reports presented at each ICMC.

Networking — The ICMA and ICMC represent a unique opportunity to interact with others concerned with the cross-influence of the creative and technological in computer music and related fields (applications in composition, musicology, music theory, music representation, pedagogy, aesthetics, etc.) The ICMA Membership Directory lists names and addresses for all members. The icma-members e-mail group serves as a vital communications tool keeping the membership updated with the ICMA calendar, related relevant events and information, as well as serving as a basic link for research. This e-mail group is a moderated service to protect members from spam.

Publications, Recordings and Projects — Since its inception in 1979 as a nonprofit corporation, ICMA has provided a central base of information dissemination for the computer music community. Its newsletter, array, is published online. Other regular publications include back-issues of the ICMC Proceedings and the Proceeding index (1987-97). ICMA is expanding its affiliations and research sponsorship to include partnerships with nonprofit and corporate institutions.

ICMA Awards — Each year, the ICMA sponsors awards for the best papers, music and student music at the ICMC.