Dr. Silvia Pengilly 1935 – 2025
It is with regret that I must announce the passing of our beloved friend and colleague, Dr. Sylvia Pengilly. Over the past several years, Sylvia experienced numerous strokes, each of which diminished her mentally and physically. Because they left her unable to compose, and function in general, she was anxious for the end. On December the 11th, at 9:10 am she peacefully received her desire. Sylvia is survived By her daughter, Laura Pengilly, her son-in-law Gordon Ashlee, granddaughter Christina, and great granddaughter Livia.
I met Sylvia at the SEAMUS 2003 conference held at Arizona State University in Tempe. I was sitting outside the conference hotel reading and she approached me asking about what I was reading… it was a book by Dr. Otto Laske. (Little did we know that a mutual friendship between the three of us would soon ensue.) We began chatting about it and in those few moments we, miraculously, became the best of friends. It was an unlikely friendship. We came from such diverse backgrounds. But it was one of those fortuitous deep connections that are rare and cherished gifts. This shared friendship was an honor.
Over the next 20 years we exchanged innumerable emails and long phone conversations conversing deeply about a broad range of topics from chaos theory, string theory, astrophysics, cosmology, creativity, music, visual art, academia, and many others, but most importantly, we discussed each other’s work. We critiqued each other’s creative output in an honest and constructive manner. I knew that if a new composition passed the Pengilly test, it was of value. I truly miss her council and unwavering friendship. We also collaborated on several of her visual music pieces… she composed the video and I the music.
Sylvia was an extremely intelligent and creative composer, visual artist, dancer, and pedagogue. She was an early pioneer in creating and performing interactive media. Although there are many notable examples, two projects in particular come to mind. One was the real time and on stage sonification of data derived from a head-mounted brain scanner, the Interactive Brain Wave Analyzer. Though this is a known approach today, she was one of the first to conceive of and enact it. Another project involved mounting finely ground mirrors on each of the cones of two loudspeakers that were facing each other and pointing a laser beam at each mirror. Then she sent various audio waveforms to the loudspeakers, which would bend the laser beams into lissajouc curves that appeared in the air between the loudspeakers… laser-based cymatics… if you will.
Farewell on your journeys throughout the multiverse my friend… you are missed.
Links
Music Academy Bio
Wikipedia Bio
Early Work
Collaborations
 
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