Sam Auinger (*1956) is a sonic thinker, composer and sound-artist. He is collaborating with cityplaners and architects, giving lectures and is a frequent participant of international symposiums on the topic of urban planning, architecture, media, and the senses. He was a visiting professor at the University of the Arts in Berlin, running the Experimental Sound Design department at the Sound Studies Master Program from 2008 till 2012. Currently he is an associate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Since 1989 he works together with the composer Bruce Odland as O+A, exploring the central theme of hearing perspective. Their work is known for large scale, public space sound installations that transform city noise into harmony in real-time. He is also a founding member of stadtmusik, a collaboration between the Berlin-based composers Sam Auinger and Hannes Strobl with the media artist and urbanist Dietmar Offenhuber. Over the years Sam Auinger has received numerous prizes and awards for his work: In 1997 he was awarded the Berlin Artist-in-Residence DAAD fellowship, 2002 he received the Kultur Preis der Stadt Linz to honor his body of work and in 2007 the SKE Publicity Prize. In 2009 he was a scholarship holder of the atelier Berlin at Cité International des Arts in Paris, 2010 he was awarded city sound artist Bonn of the year and in 2011 he was featured artist at the Austrian Ars Electronica Festival.

Critical Reflection