Remote Decay

Silent decay of coral reefs as an installation

Together with the project MUSIC4D, Schader-Stiftung is inviting people from the arts, musicology, performative practice and cultural institutions to a hybrid lecture, where Italian musicians Riccardo Sarti, Roberto Musanti and Alfredo Puglia present “Remote Decay”, a sound art installation developed entirely by the School of Electronic Music at the Conservatory of Sassari. The project unfolds across two parallel locations: the Coral Museum in Alghero (Sardinia) and a remote site in the Fiji Islands/Micronesia. Bridged by the metaverse, these distant places become part of a shared, immersive experience, linked through the symbolic fragility of coral ecosystems which are under threat from rising sea temperatures and environmental stress. This installation gives voice to their silent decay.

At its core are underwater recordings from endangered coral reefs. Every sonic detail is sculpted based on user interaction. Prolonged focus causes the audiovisual material to collapse inward—yet unlike in the real world, this virtual ecosystem absorbs human presence without breaking. An adaptive algorithm, developed by the Electronic Music School, connects the two sites and the metaverse. The installation becomes a living system—mutable, reactive, and shaped by remote entanglements.

The lecture will provide insights to the work, which is both interactive and 'alive', shaped by those who engage with it. We invite people with a background in the arts, musicology, performative practice and from cultural institutions to attend the lecture.

About the lecturers

Riccardo Sarti holds a degree in Electronic Engineering and diplomas in Double Bass and Electronic Music. He has taught Acoustics and Digital Signal Processing at the Conservatories of Cagliari and Sassari, and since 2012 he has held the chair of Music Informatics at the Luigi Canepa Conservatory in Sassari. Since the early 1990s, he has performed rock, classical, and electroacoustic music in Italy and abroad, collaborating with various institutions and cultural organizations. He is actively engaged in contemporary music and audiovisual installations.

Roberto Musanti is a multimedia artist and musician active in the field of electronic art since the early 1980s. Although he holds a degree in Electronic Music, he is largely self-taught and has developed an independent artistic practice that combines sound, image, and interactive technologies. He teaches Sound and Multimedia Technologies at the Luigi Canepa Conservatory of Music in Sassari. His multimedia projects have been presented at numerous festivals, exhibitions, and galleries worldwide.

Alfredo Puglia completed his Piano studies at the Luigi Canepa Conservatory of Music in Sassari, where in 2008 he obtained his first-level diploma in Music and New Technologies with top marks. In 2024, he earned his Second-Level Academic Diploma with highest honors and a special mention. He has taught New Musical Technologies at the Civic School of Music in Nuoro and has an extensive concert activity, with numerous collaborations with internationally renowned artists and appearances on major national media outlets.

About the project

This project is a cooperation with Conservatorio Santa Cecilia, Rome, set within the framework of MUSIC4D, an innovative project led by Palermo Conservatory that explores the intersections between music, technology, and artificial intelligence, ushering academic training into new frontiers. In an era of profound digital transformation, MUSIC4D serves as an advanced laboratory where tradition and innovation converge to create new ways of learning, composing, and performing music.

The lecture will also be accessible digitally. Please register by clicking the button above for access details!