Hybrid String Devices – Elide Sulsenti and Alessandro Perini

Part #1

During their residency at IAC, cellist Elide Sulsenti and composer Alessandro Perini will start a long-term collaboration on the development of three hybrid prototypes expanding the sonic and performative capabilities of string instruments. The residency will serve as a technical and artistic development phase, involving instrument building, 3D printing, sound and video editing, and testing.

The focus of this first phase will be initiated thanks to support from Helge Ax:son Johnsons Stiftelse, and involves the use of a specially-made or specially-adapted metallic tool equipped with contact microphones. This device splits the string into two vibrational sections, producing two tones per string and enabling novel playing techniques and spatial gestures across stereo fields, enabling a kind of spatialization rooted in physical instrumental interaction, instead of digital processing.

Further instalments of the project will focus on the refinement of a 3D-printed capo for cello, originally made to alter the pitch of the fourth string for Perini’s piece Geography.Borders. A more advanced version will explore mobility of the capo itself as well as its augmentation by means of digital and mechanical expansions.
Within the same frame the duo will also investigate dynamic tuning mechanisms using stepper motors, inspired by earlier research on motorized tuning systems such as Tronical Tune. This system will build upon a monocord prototype developed in May 2025 by Sulsenti and Perini, using DIY electronics, Arduino and hacked E-bows.

Elide Sulsenti is a cellist and performer passionate about experimentation and innovation. Her classical training, which includes studies at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Enrico Dindo’s class and the Hochschule of Lucerne, along with experiences at institutions such as the Ferenc Liszt Academy in Budapest, has led her to focus on contemporary music and the exploration of new sonic potentials. With an interdisciplinary approach, Elide integrates technology, augmented instruments, and performative practices in unconventional contexts.

Her performances, ranging from classical to contemporary music, have been recognized with distinctions such as the Fritz Gerber Award (2023) and the Valentino Bucchi Prize (2024). Combining artistic research and experimentation, she enhances the interaction between space, sound, and audience, a theme that is currently central to her doctoral project at the Conservatorio di Ferrara. 

Alongside her academic work, Elide actively participates in international festivals, both as a soloist and in ensembles, including the Lucerne Festival (CH), Connect Festival (SE), and EstOvest Festival (IT). She collaborates with composers of various nationalities and conducts annual workshops and masterclasses at academic institutions across Europe.

Alessandro Perini's artistic production ranges from instrumental and electronic music to audiovisual and light-based works, net-art, land-art and vibration-based works, recently focusing on custom-built machines. A recent CD issued by KAIROS, “The Expanded Body”, gathers some of his solo and chamber music works. Based in Malmö, he’s a founding member of Hertzbreakerz, a group curating – among other events – SOUND SPACES, dedicated to new and recent instrumental music. Since few years he's been collaborating with INTONAL and Inter Arts Center, curating the acousmatic program at IAC. He currently teaches Composition at the Conservatory of Mantua (Italy).

Visit Alessandro Perini’s artist page – alessandroperini.com