Studio LOOS is the hot spot for new music in The Hague (NL). It is a workspace, laboratory and public presentation space for research, experimentation, development, innovation and the production of interdisciplinary electro acoustic music, sound and audio art, improvisation and composition, monomedia, bimedia, polymedia and hypermedia. It is also an environment where the LOOS Foundation provides a
rtists and groups in the field of interdisciplinary new music with a place to execute research, somewhere they can apply for a residence rehearse, experiment and present their latest works to the public. At Studio LOOS artists curate concert series with performances, lectures and presentations with a choice of local and international artists and researchers. It functions as a meeting place where artists and specialists from different generations, countries, nationalities and disciplines exchange ideas, experiences, skills and knowledge and meet the general public. Studio LOOS as a physical space was founded in 2005 as part of the LOOS Foundation. LOOS was set up in 1982 under the leadership of composer/improviser/interpreter/multi-instrumentalist Peter J.A. van Bergen, who is still the director of the foundation. The activities of LOOS are very difficult to place in a specific category or genre. LOOS represents a musical idiom, a musical vision and a relationship between music and society. Additionally, one of the most important characteristics of LOOS is its function in generating music (and music-related material) both as experience and experiment in form and content. Since the late 1980's, LOOS has initiated, generated and developed an extensive and impressive repertoire of contemporary music. By incorporating modern technology (live electronics, computers and different media) into the specific musical aesthetics that LOOS stands for and through the close collaboration with composers, improvisers, actors, choreographers and visual artists, LOOS has developed into one of the most prominent international artistic avant-garde platforms of today. Essential for LOOS are originality, authenticity, progressiveness, a high standard in performance and ideas and an adventurous and experimenting mentality and attitude. In 1985 LOOS was awarded with the Ooyevaer Prize of the City of The Hague and in 2000, with the prestigious GeNeCoPrize 2000 (Dutch Composers Prize) for " exceptional merits in Contemporary Music of The Netherlands".
