Happy Hour & Questions
June 20, 2025 | 4:30–6 p.m.
Location: High Museum of Art
Registration Required
Not a member yet? Join today.
Looking for a smart night out?
Enjoy private access to the High’s exhibition Ryoji Ikeda: data-verse and enjoy cocktails with music scholar Jason Freeman, electronic composer Henrik von Coler, and the High’s Eleanor McDonald Storza Deputy Director of Learning and Civic Engagement, Andrew Westover. Together, the three will discuss the exhibition, electronic music, and how sound shapes our understanding of the world.
Your ticket includes exclusive, early access to the exhibition; a short, lively conversation with experts; access to a cash bar; and access to Friday Jazz.
Come get a side of knowledge at your next happy hour!
Ryoji Ikeda: data-verse
Ryoji Ikeda (born 1966, Gifu, Japan; active Paris and Kyoto) is one of the world’s leading composers and media artists. His art challenges how we understand the universe and our place in it through sound, light, materials, and scientific data composed into stimulating experiences of the unknown and the infinite. Ikeda’s immersive video projections feature visualizations of data extracted from mathematical theories and the study of quantum physics, among other categories of study and territories of knowledge.
Speakers
Jason Freeman is Professor of Music and Associate Vice Provost for the Arts at Georgia Tech. In this role, Dr. Freeman leads implementation of the Institute’s ambitious strategic plan. This includes the design of new academic programs in arts and technology; the programmatic vision and planning of Georgia Tech’s newest innovation district, the Creative Quarter; and the integration and coordination of the Institute’s arts assets in support of academics, research, co-curricular activities, and community and industry engagement. Dr. Freeman previously served as the chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Music. He is also the co-creator of EarSketch, an online learning platform that has engaged more than a million K-12 students in computer science education through music.
His music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, exhibited at ACM SIGGRAPH, published by Universal Edition, broadcast on public radio’s Performance Today, and commissioned through support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Freeman’s wide-ranging work has attracted funding from sources such as the National Science Foundation, Google, and Amazon. It has been disseminated through over 100 refereed book chapters, journal articles, and conference publications. Freeman received his B.A. in music from Yale University and his M.A. and D.M.A. in composition from Columbia University.
Henrik von Coler is an Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech as well as a composer, performer and researcher with a background in engineering, electronic music and empirical research. He lives and works in Atlanta and joined Georgia Tech in 2023. In his creative work, the design of technological systems is an integral part of the creative process. His research topics include spatial aspects of fixed media and live electronics, algorithms for sound synthesis, novel instruments, control devices and artistic practices for solo performers and ensembles.
From 2015 to 2023, von Coler was the director of the TU Studio for Electronic Music at Technische Universität Berlin, where he founded the Electronic Orchestra Charlottenburg (EOC) for exploring the possibilities of live electronic ensembles on multichannel setups. He has performed and directed spatial music on immersive audio systems around the world and curated various concerts with international artists.
In his recent projects he aims at a profound integration of sound, space and Human-Computer Interaction to increase the expressive means of composers and performers. von Coler has a diploma in Electrical Engineering from HAW Hamburg, a M.A. in audiocommunication and technology from TU Berlin, and a Dr. rer. Nat.
Andrew Westover is the Eleanor McDonald Storza Director of Education at the High Museum of Art. An educator and ethicist, Westover helms the learning team at the High, which recently rearticulated its focus: connecting people with art and ideas to inspire better civic life. Westover’s previous positions include posts at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, J. Paul Getty Museum, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and Phoenix Art Museum. Westover began their career as a classroom educator, and prior to museums, worked for schools, districts, and universities across the United States and abroad. Westover holds an MEd from Arizona State University, an MA in Religion from Claremont School of Theology, and an EdM and a PhD in education and ethics from Harvard University.
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Don’t miss an evening of live jazz at the High every third Friday.
Don’t miss an evening of live jazz at the High every third Friday.