Giorgio Magnanensi
Sound Designer
How did your journey into a life of music begin?
My journey into music and sound started with inspiration from my maternal grandmother, a pianist who encouraged me from an early age. Her passion sparked my own curiosity about sound, music, and the creative world beyond. After intense musical training in Italy, I began to explore other ways of thinking about sound and in my twenties I immerse myself in projects that allowed me to nurture both my creativity and that of others. I took on roles in conducting, composing, and gathering like-minded friends for collective sound explorations, building a community where creative energy in sound could thrive. This is an ongoing journey, one I deeply love and treasure and continue to share.
Tell us about the inspiration for this latest project using Sitka Spruce Trees.
This project emerged from a collaboration with poets Elee Kraljii Gardiner and Chris Turnbull, sparked by Elee’s interest in the wood resonators I had been crafting for several years. After she saw an installation I presented at the Roundhouse Community Centre last summer, we explored ways to merge poetry with these unique resonators. In this project, I created soundscapes diffused through eight Sitka Spruce resonators, which accompanied the poets’ voices and added an extra layer of sound to their dialogue. These resonant soundscapes enriched both the poetic interaction and the audience's experience, hopefully fostering a deeper engagement and imaginative space for everyone involved.
What do you love most about your work? How do you reach a flow state?
What I cherish most about working with sound is the limitless creative space it opens. It’s a space that doesn’t solely belong to either sound or imagination but exists between the two, allowing things to naturally unfold. This process isn’t driven by any desire or specific goals; it’s free from sentimentality and open to infinite interactions. In this flow state, I experience a profound form of resonance — a fully embodied engagement with sound that feels both immediate and fragile. Here, I find myself in an expansive, boundless creative space that feels like a true and wonderful gift.
Tell us about your role as Artistic Director of Vancouver New Music.
At Vancouver New Music (VNM), my role is about fostering dialogue, sharing and exchanging ideas to make contemporary sound practices a vital part of our community. I’m committed to developing and supporting a culture that values democracy and progress, in contrast to a system that often demands art to serve an "industry." I work to challenge power-driven structures that rely on hierarchical labels — such as high art, low art, popular, intellectual — and instead embrace diversity and communication. With my colleagues at VNM, we promote active participation and the value of difference, seeing the creative process as a means to foster deeper democratic engagement, inclusion and shared knowledge within our community.
