R. Murray Schafer, composer and acoustic ecology visionary, dies at 88
Posted Aug 16, 2021 01:44:49 PM.
Last Updated Aug 16, 2021 01:55:08 PM.
TORONTO — Acclaimed composer R. Murray Schafer, whose ground-breaking research in acoustic ecology helped move the needle on the understanding of soundscapes, has died at 88.
Eleanor James, Schafer’s wife, told friends by email the prolific creator died on Saturday morning near Peterborough, Ont., after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Lauded in many circles of the arts and academia, the Glenn Gould Prize winner’s approach to music combined less conventional forms of theory and environmental studies into large and complex works.
His theatre pieces were sometimes performed in vast outdoor spaces and intended to transport audiences as well as challenge them.
Raised in Sarnia, Ont., Schafer’s taste for exploration in the arts started early in his career when he established the World Soundscape Project, a study of the connection between humans and sound in their environments.
His fascination with the topic defined years of his work as he explored the effects of noise on people, particularly in urban settings, earning himself the title of “father of acoustic ecology.”
“What Murray would love to say was that the wilderness and the environment offer a constant and infinite set of variations when you listen,” said longtime friend and CBC Music producer David Jaegar.
Schafer received the Glenn Gould Prize, a companion to the Order of Canada and a 2010 Dora Award for his opera “The Children’s Crusade,” to name only a few of the accolades.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2021.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
