History:  SEMI, a 501 (c)(3) arts organization, was founded in 1983.  For over twenty years, the organization has presented concerts, lectures, and seminars and has collaborated with choreographers and other arts presenters.  Concerts have explored the diverse forms and uses of electronic media in concert music.  In seminars and lectures, topics have included composition, aesthetics, acoustics, technology, and the recording arts.

    During its history, SEMI and participating composers have received funding from several sources.  The organization has received grants from The New England Foundation for the Arts, the Connecticut Commission for the Arts, The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation, The Greater Hartford Arts Council, The Connecticut Foundation for the Arts, and private donations.  Funds have been used for the cost of presenting the events including honoraria to specific participants whose works were selected by SEMI, often from submissions received in response to an “Open Call.”  This outreach has helped bring the works of national and international composers together with those of locally based composers.

    SEMI has worked with many Connecticut presenters and venues.  Concerts and lectures have been held at Connecticut College, Eastern Connecticut State University, The University of Hartford, The Charles Ives Danbury Music Centre, Real Art Ways (RAW), The Charter Oak Cultural Center, The Hartford Conservatory, Christ Church Cathedral, Trinity College, The Wadsworth Atheneum, The Hartford Public Library, as well as local community centers in West Hartford and Simsbury.