soundscape in NYC tunnel

Hey just read a great story by Randy Kennedy in the new york times about a sound installation in a tunnel in central park.

An inspirational or a contentious project? Are more sounds of the environment needed in such a popular place, or i it a great what to make one´s aware of them when they appear out of their natural context?

Get tuned! Upcoming fall soundwalks

yep, the summer is here but the collective is planning its fall soundwalks, check in or check out vancouver new music's website for updates onc ethe date and locations are confirmed.

Richard Minardi's soundmapping of Stanley park

Richard Minardi created a website showcasing binaural audio recordings from different locations in Stanley park, captured Thursday March 12 2009.

Pretty nice way to visit if your not in Vancouver!

WFAE Call for Nominations

The Board of Directors of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE) is accepting nominations from each of its affiliates for the position of Vice President, to work closely with the current President, Nigel Frayne, and take up the position of President in the second year of office.

In brief, the role and responsibility of the Vice President is to: open dialogue with president to prepare for taking the position the following year; assist the president by sharing the load; sit on journal editorial committee representing WFAE.

The role and responsibility of the WFAE President is to: represent the WFAE; provide the presence and voice of the organisation; maintain an overview of the various activities of committees; chair board meetings (online and offline); respond to questions and requests for information about WFAE; ensure that the WFAE name is protected and that administrative operations are legal and robust.

Individual members of the Canadian Association for Sound Ecology who are interested in entering the nomination process are invited to send a statement of intent and CV to CASE for consideration as a WFAE Vice-President nominee. *Applications should be sent via email to Nadene at CASE case@magma.ca and copied to Andrea at andrea@pandancer.net .

The deadline for sending applications to CASE is June 15th , 2009, after the annual retreat. CASE will review received applications and forward one nominee to WFAE by June 25, 2009. The office will be filled for a term beginning June 30 (or there about) for the Vice Presidency and June 1, 2010 for the term of Presidency announced at the WFAE Conference in Finland that year.

Any questions regarding this process can be addressed the CASE representative on the WFAE board of directors, Andrea Dancer via the above noted email.


About the WFAE

The World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE), founded in 1993, is an international Interdisciplinary Association of Organisations (in collaboration with active individuals) from around the world who correspond with and assist each other to actuate and maintain activities pertaining to Acoustic Ecology.

The philosophy of the WFAE is informed by the individual perspectives of geographers, designers, composers, educators, architects, social planners, philosophers, psychologists, and many others working in scientific, social and cultural contexts./

Within a framework of care for the sonic environment WFAE works in collaboration with it's Affiliated and Associated Members to promote: education and learning; research and study; the communication and dissemination of information; environmental activism in the field of acoustic ecology.

Excerpt from WFAE bylaws.

For more Information about the World Forum of Acoustic Ecology, visit http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/wfae/home/

CASE Retreat on Gabriola Island

On June 12-14, the Canadian Association for Sound Ecology is holding it's annual retreat-symposium this year on Gabriola Island. It's open to all interested and has a wonderful roster of speaker - performers. For more info (it's still not too late to register although it says it is -- I know they have space) go to http://www.yorku.ca/caseaces/ .

At Port’s End - a soundwalk on april 29th

Meris led this soundwalk on a beautiful and windy afternoon, and Kristen recorded it, so an excerpt might show up eventually.



The walk started at a large neighborhood park in a residential area, and from there it went along quiet streets and onto more industrial sounding area - trains tracks, large storage facilities. A few purring motorcycles came to park as we approached... staged by the soundwalk leader?





The stroll's first highlight was the performance of a choir inside a tunnel! Exploring the acoustic properties of the reverberant space with a wide range of utterances and melodic lines, the soundwalk leader also joined the group that she had obviously planned on being there for us!











The open space of New Brighton park awaited us on the other side of the tunnel, and as we approach the caretaker's house we were greeted by the lawnmower sustained tone, the smell of cut grass and the music from an "oldies" radio show he was listening to, but the choir's voices could still be heard, as they shouted and screeeeeamed.

After a moment of stillness in the open field, where the sparse sounds of machinery would puntuate the distant ambiance, the group started walking again, going through another tunnel under train tracks, when a train came to a stop as the group entered(great timing!).

Another tunnel under the highway led us to approach the horse racing track and pacific National Exhibit's Fair ground.
(to be cont.)

upcoming concert / Cd launch

Jennifer Butler who performed at the soundwalk on Sunday is performing at this upcoming event.


INVOCATIONS OF AEOLIUS
CD LAUNCH CONCERT
May 2nd, 2pm
Christ Church Cathedral

Redshift Music presents its final event of the 08/09 season, featuring
the Tempest Flute Ensemble in the acoustic splendour of Christ Church
Cathedral. The musicians, hidden throughout the cathedral's alcoves
and balconies, will envelope the audience with the delicate sound
tapestries of composers Jennifer Butler, Benton Roark, James Maxwell,
Rose Bolton, Christopher Kovarik, Marci Rabe and Jordan Nobles. This
concert officially announces the release of Redshift's second CD,
Different Stones: Canadian Music for Multiple Flutes, featuring
flutist Mark Takeshi McGregor.

Invocations of Aeolius
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
2pm
Christ Church Cathedral
690 Burrard Street, Downtown Vancouver
Tickets $10 (includes CD)

For more information: redshiftsociety@gmail.com
Or visit http://www.redshiftmusic.org/

meanwhile over at the end of the continent

Andrea led a beautiful soundwalk over at the UBC campus on Sunday April 19th.


We met at Green collage started with a bit of rain and came upon the walla-walla of a private function taking place inside the coach house. As we stopped under the glass awning a poet read some lines - and followed the group for a second reading a few moments later as we overlooked the north shore. The two locations strikingly different acoustic qualities were highlighted by the spoken words.

From there the group left the grassy and walked mostly on pavement until we climbed a grassy knoll - at one time a strategic location for the Canadian military, but never put to use. The silence was loaded with what a noisy place it might have been (I would be curious to hear the recollection a soldier who would have been stationed there might share). Especially since it is next to a construction site that wasn't active that day.

I realized it wasn't a very windy day, usually the wind blows in from the Burrard Inlet, but the trees were all quiet. We left the grassy surface to walk on small gravel/pebbles in a open area, as we were guided towards the back of the anthropology museum, a large glass facade with reflective qualities that we played with/ investigated by clanging rocks together.

Andrea led the group away by hitting a low sounding hand drum. We followed an intimate sounding gravel path along the large wooden structure of a long house, a jogger caught up with us and without losing tempo, just barreled through. Meanwhile to our left, amongst the trees, some mountain bikers were rolling down a make shift trail and encouraging each other.

We crossed a street and made our way to the Natobi garden, a landscaped garden that is immersed in the meditative sounds of cars regularly passing by at low speed and sump pumps gurgling and their engines. the group came to a halt and one of the soundwalkers had distanced herself from the group to play sparsly from a flute.
(to be cont.)

Mt-pleasant soundwalk excerpt(Vancouver, BC, CND)

a little blast from the past...
here's a excerpt from a soundwalk in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, I forget the date at this time(spring 2007?).

jean

From Dawn Till Dusk: soundwalk video

From Dawn Till Dusk was a soundwalk led by Pessi Parviainen in May 2008 for the Vancouver Vibrates Festival.
A video of the walk can now be found here.