Description
Alongside the lecture he will be giving at CIRMMT this Friday, 23 October, composer Barry Truax, Professor Emeritus at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, will be honouring us with his participation in a workshop on soundscape ecology, which will take place this Wednesday, 21 October, at the Faculty of Music, Université de Montréal.
In the morning, the workshop will focus on the legacy of the World Soundscape Project (WSP), a research group founded by composer R. Murray Schafer, to which Barry Truax has contributed since 1973. This will be followed by a question-and-answer session and discussion on the evolution of listening within a technologically saturated soundscape – a topic our guest addressed during a plenary lecture he delivered as part of the event "The Global Composition 2026 – Conference on Sound, Media and the Environment" on 3 September (we invite workshop participants to watch the recording of this lecture). We will also discuss the pedagogical approach of the "Sound, Ecology and Environment" seminar with the teaching team comprising Professor Myriam Boucher, visiting professor Nicola Giannini and lecturer Simon Chioini. This part of the workshop will be held in English.
In the afternoon, we will welcome Réjean Beaucage, editor-in-chief of the journal Circuit, musiques contemporaines, and Claude Schryer, guest editor of the journal’s latest issue, which focuses on the theme of ‘Sound Ecologies’. Valérian Fraisse, co-author of the article entitled ‘Urban acoustic niches: research-creation around a sound installation in public space’, will give a presentation on it, following a general introduction to the ‘Ville sonore’ / ‘Sounds in the City’ project by Catherine Guastavino, founder of the project and professor at McGill University. This part of the workshop will be held in French.
Registration
This event is open to all, but booking is essential by completing this form (particularly if you wish to join us for the complimentary lunch).
Schedule
09:45 – Caroline Traube : Introduction to the workshop
10:00 – Barry Truax, Professeur émérite, Simon Fraser University: The World Soundscape Project (WSP): The Evolution of the Listener within a Technologically Saturated Soundscape: From Surrogate Environments to the Aural Sublime
11:00 – Myriam Boucher, Nicola Giannini et Simon Chioini, équipe enseignante du séminaire « Son, écologie et environnement » : Sound, ecology, environment: a pedagogical approach to contextual sound creation
Lunch & Launch of CIRCUIT Musiques Contemporaines: Écologies sonores, volumne 36, number 2 (2026)
13:15 – Réjean Beaucage, rédacteur en chef de la revue Circuit, musiques contemporaines: Présentation générale de la revue et lancement du dernier numéro
– Claude Schryer, directeur invité du numéro « Écologies sonores » et co-auteur, avec Magali Babin et Chantal Dumas, de l’entretien « Villeray acoustique : une écoute collective des espaces publics du
district de Villeray à Montréal » >Lien vers l’article
14:00 – Catherine Guastavino, professeure titulaire à l’Université McGill: Ville sonore: laboratoire vivant d’écologie sonore urbaine
– Valérian Fraisse, postdoctoral research fellow at McGill: Niches acoustiques urbaines : recherche-création autour d’une installation sonore dans l’espace public >Lien vers l’article
14:45 – General discussion and closing of workshop
15:00 – End
NB: The programme will also be launched at 6:00 PM as a prelude to the opening concert of the Akousma Festival at Usine C (1345 Avenue Lalonde). The programme includes a tribute to sound artist Chantal Dumas (1956–2026), featuring three of her works, spatially arranged live by Magali Babin and Christian Calon.