Gianluca Aresu

Gianluca Aresu

Gianluca Aresu, BA cum laude (Vincenzo Bellini Conservatory of Catania), MA cum laude (Arrigo Boito Conservatory of Parma)

PhD Researcher · Sound Designer · Audio Programmer · Electroacoustic Composer · Developer and Designer in Immersive Acoustic Environments and VR/XR at Mantinea Institute

Gianluca Aresu (b. 1996, Catania) is a composer, sound designer, audio engineer, and developer. He completed secondary school with a scientific diploma at the Istituto di Istruzione Superiore G. B. Vaccarini (2015). He holds a BA in Electronic Music from the Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini di Catania (110/110 cum laude), where he studied with Renato Messina, and an MA in Electronic Music (Sound Engineering and Electroacoustic Composition) from the Conservatorio Arrigo Boito di Parma (110/110), where he studied with Andrea Saba and Javier Torres Maldonado.

As a Doctoral Researcher, he is currently an Italian National PhD scholarship holder at the Conservatorio Agostino Steffani di Castelfranco Veneto (operational headquarters in Parma), within the curriculum TIM (Immersive Technologies Applied to Music). His doctoral research focuses on advanced sound technologies, spatial audio, and immersive environments, integrating virtual and augmented reality within interdisciplinary artistic practice.

Gianluca has extensive expertise in designing and developing computational systems for audio processing and synthesis, as well as generative tools, using Max/MSP, Pure Data, Csound, and OpenMusic. His work includes the creation of generative systems, live electronics for artistic performance, and advanced sound direction and spatialisation. He has extensive experience in immersive and multichannel spatial audio, including Ambisonics and Wave Field Synthesis (WFS), also applied to 360° video and headphone listening (binaural rendering/decoding). He develops interactive systems and generative tools in Max/MSP, Unity, and Wwise, focusing on Ambisonics spatialization, real-time audio interaction and auralization, including interactive audio systems implemented via OSC. He has also worked on audio programming and device workflows for augmented reality performances, including MIDI device mapping via UDP.

He has worked in sound direction and live/post-production contexts, including audio recording, digital mixing and mastering, and concert streaming. He has also worked on audio editing and sound design for commercial production.

Gianluca’s most notable compositions include Stratwarming for accordion and electronics (performed in Parma at “Casa della Musica” and “Casa del Suono” and in Gdańsk); a version of John Cage’s Fontana Mix with a graphic vector score in IanniX (performed in Catania at “Zō Centro Culture Contemporanee”); Vortex for piano and electronics; Automod for electronics (performed in Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini in Catania); and Equal Dissimilarity (released in 2021 on the electronic compilation “DATAPANIC#2”). He has composed soundscapes and original music for installations in contemporary art galleries in Catania (e.g., White Garage) and participated in live electronics projects with the canecapovolto collective.

His recent work includes the development of an interactive virtual experience for Meta Quest and Windows centred on the Bazeos Tower in Greece, combining architectural and acoustic reconstruction with auralization and interactive, adaptive audio, with processed and reworked compositions and the addition of sound design elements, under the supervision of Alessandra Montali, for presentation at the Mantinea Institute’s Resonances of Stones Biennale in collaboration with the CAPHE project.

Technical skills and practice

Software, programming, and music computing

  • Max/MSP (systems design and real-time interaction), Pure Data, Csound, OpenMusic
  • Unity and Wwise (interactive audio implementation and integration)
  • Audio signal management and synchronisation with the graphical sequencer IanniX
  • Use of the Open Sound Control (OSC) protocol to integrate Max/MSP with Unity or Blender
  • MIDI device mapping and event control via UDP for performance and interactive workflows

Spatial audio, immersive audio, and auralization

  • Multichannel diffusion and spatial audio workflows (Ambisonics, WFS), including encoding and decoding
  • Binaural rendering/decoding for headphone listening and 360° video applications
  • Real-time audio interaction and auralization workflows for immersive environments

Electroacoustic composition and production

  • Creation of audio systems and live electronics for artistic performance
  • Electroacoustic composition grounded in contemporary technologies and compositional methodologies
  • Sound engineering: microphone techniques, recording, mixing, and mastering
  • Live and studio audio management, including post-production workflows

Hardware and acoustics

  • Design, fabrication, and hand-soldered assembly of oscillator circuits
  • Hardware–software interaction via Arduino interfaced with related platforms
  • Interior soundproofing and physical sound behaviour analysis
  • Knowledge of applicable regulations and standards for acoustic compliance in professional and domestic environments

Contact:
+39 349 781 4612
contact@mantinea.institute