Sergi Jordà facts for kids

Sergi Jordà (born November 15, 1961) is a talented inventor, artist, and musician from Catalonia, Spain. He is also a professor at the Music Technology Group at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. Sergi Jordà is most famous for leading the team that created the Reactable, a unique electronic music instrument. He also studied to become a Physicist.

Sergi Jordà's Life and Work

Sergi Jordà was born in Madrid. His father, Joaquim Jordà, was a well-known film director and writer from Catalonia.

Early Life and Education

Sergi Jordà earned a degree in Physics from the Universitat de Barcelona in 1987. At the same time, he also studied music. He was one of the first people in Spain to use computer programming to create live computer music. In the 1990s, he continued his studies in Artificial Intelligence.

Creative Projects and Collaborations

During the 1990s, Sergi Jordà worked with famous Catalan artists like Marcel·lí Antúnez Roca and La Fura dels Baus. Together, they created amazing interactive art installations. These included projects like Epizoo (1996), where people could interact with the art. He also worked on multimedia shows such as Afasia (2002). Sergi Jordà also helped develop applications for people to create music together online, like FMOL (1999–2002).

Inventing the Reactable

In 1999, Sergi Jordà joined Xavier Serra at the Music Technology Group in Barcelona. Sergi Jordà's special research, called Digital Lutherie (2005), helped create new types of musical computers. These computers were designed for performing and improvising music, using visual feedback.

Between 2003 and 2006, Sergi Jordà and his team, including Günter Geiger, Martin Kaltenbrunner, and Marcos Alonso, invented the Reactable. This electronic music instrument combines a special tabletop interface with ideas from modular synthesizers. These synthesizers were first developed by Bob Moog in the early 1960s.

The Reactable's Impact

The Reactable became very popular when the famous singer Björk used it during her 2007 Volta Tour. Since then, the Reactable has been used in many performances. You can also find it in science and art museums around the world. Some of these places include the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and the Montréal Science Centre.

In October 2010, a mobile version called Reactable mobile was released for the iPhone and iPad. Within just two weeks, it became the most downloaded music app in 20 countries!

Awards and Recognition

Sergi Jordà and his work have received many awards. Here are some of them:

• Bourges, 1998
• Ciutat de Barcelona, 1999 and 2008
• SGAE, 2000
• Möbius International, Beijing 2001
• Arco Electrónico, 1999 and 2001
• Europrix, 2002
• Hot Instrument of the Year, Rolling Stone Magazine, 2007 (for Reactable)
• MIDEM Hottest Music Biz Start-Up Award, 2008 (for Reactable Systems)
• Yellow Pencil, Product Design/Public Space, D&AD Design Awards, London, 2008 (for Reactable)
• Yellow pencil, Digital Installations, D&AD Design Awards, London, 2008 (for Reactable)
• Golden Nica, Prix Ars Electronica, 2008 (for Reactable)
• Innova, Barcelona, 2008 (for Reactable Systems)

See also

In Spanish: Sergi Jordà para niños