Conversa com Tom Richards

In this lecture Dr Tom Richards will discuss his research into the life and work of British composer and technologist Daphne Oram (1925-2003). Oram was the first woman in the UK to design and operate her own commercial electronic sound studio, and she was the inventor of the Oramics Machine, a unique graphic score reading synthesiser which was completed around 1968. As part of his PhD research Richards has created a version of the Oramics Machine: Mini Oramics. This is currently the only instrument of its type in the world.

Tom Richards is a musician, sound designer, artist, researcher and instrument maker, working in London UK. He has been working between sonic art, sculpture, film and music since graduating with an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art in 2004. Richards has built his own idiosyncratic modular electronic music system, with which he creates slowly evolving and heavily textured polyrhythmic improvisations. He has performed and exhibited widely in the UK, as well as internationally in the US, Germany, Peru, Singapore, Hungary, Japan and Sweden.

Selected works and live performances have taken place at Tate Britain, The Queen Elizabeth Hall, The Science Museum, Spike Island, Cafe Oto, MK Gallery, Focal Point, and Camden Arts Centre. 

He has recently finished his PhD (Goldsmiths/Science Museum) on the work of Daphne Oram: electronic music pioneer, and founder member of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. This research included the construction of Oram’s Mini Oramics synthesizer design (Circa 1975), a project that has since gained worldwide attention.

He is represented by Nonclassical.