Artspeak

Bill Dietz

Bill Dietz is a composer and writer, born in Arizona. His artistic and theoretical work centers on reception, specifically on listening – its histories, forms, and performance. The work is often presented in festivals, museums, and academic journals, but also in apartment buildings, magazines, and on public streets. In 2013 he co-founded Ear│Wave│Event with Woody Sullender. He has published two books of listening scores – one on his “Tutorial Diversions” series, meant to be performed at home; and the other, made up of “concert pieces,” based on historical and contemporary audience behavior and staging. With Amy Cimini, he co-edited, “Maryanne Amacher: Selected Writings and Interviews” (2020). A theoretical book, “Universal Receptivity,” co-authored with Kerstin Stakemeier, was released in 2021. Since 2012, he is co-chair of the Music/Sound Department in Bard College’s Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts.