| WELCOME! | |
|
Formed in 1996 as the Canadian Affiliate Organization of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE), The Canadian Association for Sound Ecology/ Association canadienne pour L'écologie sonore is a coalition of Canadian individuals and institutions concerned with the state of the soundscape. As Acoustic Ecology is the study of the relationship between living organisms and their sonic environment (or soundscape), it is the CASE mission to draw attention to unhealthy imbalances in this relationship, to improve the acoustic quality of a place wherever possible, and to protect and maintain acoustically balanced soundscapes where they still exist.As a multidisciplinary organization CASE includes those who are committed to caring for the quality of the acoustic environment through their respective fields. If they are creators of sound, for example, they are sensitive to the relationship between their sound production and the acoustic environment.(CASE recognizes and supports the principle of sexual equality, and of English as its principal language of communication and of French as an official language) |
|
The 4TH INTERNATIONAL SOUNDSCAPE RETREAT & SYMPOSIUM |
|
|
Canadian Association for Sound Ecology, c/o NAISA
CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR SOUND ECOLOGY
Cost:
Deadline:
Guest Speakers:
For Immediate Release - Toronto, ON, April 15, 2009: The Canadian Association for Sound Ecology (CASE) invites you to participate in its 4th International Soundscape Retreat and Symposium. The weekend long retreat and symposium will take place at the Haven on the weekend of June 12-14, 2009 on Gabriola Island, BC and will include lectures/talks on the theme Negotiating space/place in the changing Soundscape as well as ear-cleaning exercises, soundscape concerts, show-and-tell sessions for participants and outdoor soundwalks. There is no previous experience necessary and all are welcome to attend. CASE is the Canadian affiliate of The World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE), an international association of organizations and individuals who share a common concern with the quality of the world soundscape. Members represent a multi-disciplinary spectrum of individuals engaged in the study of the social, cultural and ecological aspects of the sonic environment. The symposium will gather together people from all over the world active in the acoustic ecology field - a group that includes sound artists, biologists, geographers, architects, poets, visual artists, philosophers, writers, among others. Gabriola as a location is a first for CASE, and has been chosen for the opportunity that its rural island setting provides for deeper listening. The symposium will feature six speakers, all seminal figures in the field of acoustic ecology: Noora Vikman (Finland), vice-chair person of the Finnish Society for Acoustic Ecology, is an ethnomusicologist and has worked with soundscapes for the last 15 years. Vikman will speak about the results of the recent research project Acoustic Environments, an updating of the World Soundscape Project's Five Village Soundscapes; Hildegard Westerkamp & Barry Truax (Vancouver), pioneers in the sound ecology movement, and founding members of World Soundscape Project in the early 70s under the direction of Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer; Eric Leonardson (Chicago, USA), a founding member of the World Listening Project and the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology; Charlie Fox (Regina), media artist, composer and researcher on multi-channel recording techniques for documenting soundscapes in the biosphere; and Eric Powell (Vancouver), a composer and sound artist working with the interrelationship between space, place and sound. Speakers will present their own work, and share ideas and insights relevant to sound ecology today. The soundscape concerts on Friday and Saturday evening will include works by Hildegard Westerkamp, Barry Truax, Charlie Fox, Eric Powell and Andreas Kahre/Darren Copeland. Also included will be a series of short sound art pieces created by Gabriola youth through a series of workshops led by Kelly Price and organized by Lulu Performing Arts that are designed to engage youth in analyzing and studying the acoustic environment of Gabriola Island through recordings and sound journals. Registration fees for the retreat are $199 (CDN) for CASE members and $229 for non-CASE members. The Retreat pass covers meals and shared accommodation for the retreat. The non-member rate provides the participant with a membership to CASE and WFAE for one year which includes receiving Soundscape The Journal of Acoustic Ecology. Bios Eric Leonardson is an active member of Chicago’s diverse art, sound, radio, performance, theater, and music communities. He is a founder of the World Listening Project and the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology, an affiliate of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology. Leonardson teaches in the Sound Department at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Eric Leonardson: http://ericleonardson.org/whatsnew/ World Listening Project: http://www.worldlisteningproject.org Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology: http://mwsae.org The School of the Art Institute of Chicago: http://www.saic.org Eric Powell is a multidisciplinary artist working with the interrelationship between space, place and sound. This work has found him integrating immersive soundscapes, live musical composition, theatre and dance. In addition to multi-channel electroacoustic compositions, he has created sound and music for several theatrical productions and gallery installations. Eric recently completed his MFA in Electroacousitic Composition from Simon Fraser University and is currently the Artist in Residence at the New Media Studies Laboratory in the University of Regina. Barry Truax is a Professor in both the School of Communication and the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University where he teaches courses in acoustic communication and electroacoustic music. He has worked with the World Soundscape Project, editing its Handbook for Acoustic Ecology, and has published a book Acoustic Communication dealing with all aspects of sound and technology. As a composer, Truax is best known for his work with the PODX computer music system which he has used for tape solo works and those which combine tape with live performers or computer graphics. A selection of these pieces may be heard on the Compact Discs Digital Soundscapes, Pacific Rim, Song of Songs, Inside, Twin Souls, Islands, and Spirit Journies, all on the Cambridge Street Records label, plus the double CD of the opera Powers of Two. In 1991 his work, Riverrun, was awarded the Magisterium at the International Competition of Electroacoustic Music in Bourges, France, a category open only to electroacoustic composers of 20 or more years experience. Website: www.sfu.ca/~truax Dr. Noora Vikman is an ethnomusicologist and vice-chair of the Finnish Association for Acoustic Ecology. She has worked with soundscapes during the last 15 years. At the moment (2006-2012) she teaches (ethno)musicology at the University of Joensuu. She is specially interested in the phenomenon of silence and continues research in Soundscapes and Cultural Sustainability project. Hildegard Westerkamp lectures on topics of listening, environmental sound and acoustic ecology and she conducts soundscape workshops internationally. By focusing the ears’ attention to details in the acoustic environment, her compositional work draws attention to the act of listening itself and to the inner, hidden spaces of the environment we inhabit. For details check her website: http://www.sfu.ca/~westerka
For full details go to www.acousticecology.ca
|
|
|
Mississauga Sound Map |
|
|
The Canadian Association for Sound Ecology (CASE) in partnership with New Adventures in Sound Art and Mississauga Office of Arts and Culture have produced a Sound Map of Mississauga. Residents and visitors of Mississauga are invited to contribute sound recordings of places in Mississauga that are meaningful or intriguing to them. The first version of the Mississauga Sound Map will be launched online as part of the Art's Birthday celebrations on January 17, 2008. If you would like to contribute more sounds to this map go to http://www.naisa.ca/opportunities.html for information on how to contribute your sounds. Deadline for the final version of the sound map is June 15, 2008. This is a pilot project with more city Sound Maps to be added in the near future. |
|
|
MEMBERSHIP |
|
|
With
a CASE membership, you receive Soundscape: The Journal of
Acoustic Ecology which will keep you informed about the international acoustic ecology community. *Individual: C$40. *Student/étudiant: C$25 (with a copy of your current student ID). Please send a cheque or money order in Canadian Funds to: Canadian Association for Sound Ecology (CASE) Association Canadienne pour l'écologie sonore (ACÉS) c/o NAISA Artscape Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St #252 Toronto, ON Canada, M6G 4C7 |
|
|
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION |
|
|
As
a multidisciplinary organization, CASE encourages and supports
research into the aesthetic, ecological, philosophical, sociological and cultural aspects of the sonic environment. A special emphasis of research is placed upon sound ecology in Canada. Primary areas of research are to include: a) documenting the historical changes (morphology) in the regional and national soundscapes of Canada. b) studying different attitudes towards Œnoise1 and Œsilence1 in regions throughout Canada. c) monitoring and evaluating the impact of human and technological intervention on specific acoustic environments. Of particular interest is the ever increasing presence of electroacoustic media (radio, TV, background and foreground music), in both rural and urban soundscapes. d) developing innovative approaches to re-designing the sonic environment, based on models devised by sound designers in Canada and other parts of the world (France, Germany, Japan). CASE encourages the publication and distribution of research in the form of books, brochures, audio recordings, educational CD-Roms, radio and television documentaries, websites, public exhibits, and presentations at international conferences and festivals on the subject of sound and environment. |
|
|
EDUCATION AND AWARENESS |
|
|
In
the spirit of education and awareness, CASE aims to create a
large and imaginative variety of contexts that encourage: a) listening to the soundscape; b) the sharpening of aural awareness; c) a deepening of listeners' understanding of sounds and their meanings. These contexts shall include public events such as soundwalks, listening workshops, seminars, conferences, exhibitions, and concerts. CASE is especially concerned with educating people about all aspects of environmental sound and listening. Through its publishing and distribution efforts, CASE shall create a framework for soundscape ecology programs in both public & independent school systems across Canada. |
|
|
PRESERVATION & DESIGN |
|
|
It
is the CASE mission to foster the preservation and design of
healthy and acoustically balanced environments. This means initiating innovative projects in collaboration with urban planners, architects, local historians, interior designers, environmentalists, ecologists, social scientists and the general public. The main objectives of soundscape design include: a) the elimination or restriction of certain sounds (noise abatement), b) the evaluation of new sounds before they are introduced into the soundscape, c) the preservation of quiet places and culturally significant soundscapes, d) the imaginative combination and balancing of sounds to create attractive, stimulating, and healthy acoustic environments. |
|
|
Canadian
Association for Sound Ecology (CASE)
Questions? Contact us by email. More info, download membership form here. |
|
