Daphne Oram and the Oramics Machine Presentation by Tom Richards

n conjunction with the conclusion of the exhibition ‘Gödel, Escher, Bach’, we are delighted to announce that Tom Richards, the creator of the remarkable 'Mini-Oramics' installation featured in the exhibition, will deliver a presentation. We invite you to join us. This event is free and open to the general public.
Daphne Oram (1925 - 2003, UK) was a pioneering British composer, electronic musician, and the inventor of the Oramics Machine (1966). The Oramics Machine allowed Daphne Oram to synthesize and sequence sound by painting lines and other marks on glass slides and film strips. Oram invented it as a novel means of musical expression, one that enabled her to finely control and vary sounds in ways that surpassed the capabilities of audio tape manipulation, which was the primary method of electronic music production at the time.
The initial Oramics Machine was very large, comparable to that of a sizeable office photocopier, making it impractical to use for the majority of musicians. Tom Richards has constructed the Mini-Oramics machine (2016) as part of his doctoral studies focused on the works of Daphne Oram. The design of this machine is based on Oram's own ideas for a second version of her original invention, the Oramics Machine.
Several contemporary composers and sound artists, including Ain Bailey, James Bulley, John Lely, Jo Thomas, Ian Stonehouse, Rebecca Fiebrink, Shiva Feshareki, and Sarah Angliss, have had the opportunity to work with Tom’s Mini-Oramics machine to craft innovative compositions, providing insights into Daphne Oram's vision.
Tom Richards is an artist, instrument designer, musician, and DJ based in London UK.