The lecture will take place in the Multimedia Room MMR (level -2), followed by a catered reception in the lobby of the Elizabeth Wirth Music Building. This event is free and open to the general public.
Registration
No registration is required for this event.
**CIRMMT Students wishing to have their attendance tracked for awards eligibility, please make sure to scan the QR code available at the entrance of Tanna Schulich Hall.
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Abstract
The author presents an overview of the challenges and opportunities inherent in Soundscape Composition, with particular emphasis on the theory of microsound, based on his 50+ year involvement with computer music. Specific issues involve the inner complexity of environmental sounds and their perception, often best described in terms of volume and texture. Additionally, the author argues that acoustic space can be effectively re-created through multi-channel diffusion systems, particularly when equipped with micro-level time delays for spatialization. And finally, Soundscape Composition can engage with both place-based environmental representations, ranging from the phonographic towards virtual spaces, as well as other real-world contexts and issues that can be addressed through sound. The presentation concludes with the assertion that composers and designers best serve their communities by understanding the complexities of environmental sound and its perception, in order to engage audiences and encourage reflective listening.
Biography
Barry Truax
Barry Truax is a Professor Emeritus in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University, and formerly the School for the Contemporary Arts. He worked with R. Murray Schafer and the World Soundscape Project starting in 1973, editing its Handbook for Acoustic Ecology, and has published a book, Acoustic Communication, that deals with sound and technology, now in its 2nd edition. In his retirement, he teaches courses on sound and audio online to an international audience. As a teacher at SFU, he was given the University’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 1999, as well as an Honorary Doctorate in 2025. He was recently appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada.
As a composer, Truax is best known for his work with the PODX computer music system which he used to create tape solo works and those which combine pre-recorded soundtracks with live performers or computer graphics, and a number of other electroacoustic music theatre works. These compositions have received around 600 performances worldwide over his 50+ years of composing, and his multi-channel soundscape compositions are frequently featured in concerts and festivals. In 2015-16 he was the Edgard Varèse Guest Professor at the Technical University in Berlin.
Truax is a Founding Member of the International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music, Bourges, France, the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, and the Canadian Electroacoustic Community which has also appointed him an Honorary Member and Patron. He is a Corresponding Editor for Organised Sound, and in 1985 he was the conference organizer of the International Computer Music Conference held in Vancouver.