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A Document for the Future

by Ian Chuprun with the aid of the CEC Board

Introduction

In 1998, the CEC embarked upon a project which was to hopefully receive funding from the then recently created Canada Council Millennium Fund. The project which the CEC was proposing to the Council was a 12 CD anthology of electroacoustic works which would celebrate Canadian electroacoustic at the turn of the millennium by bringing together a great many members of this very wide community into a single collection and provide a continuing and accessible resource for students and researchers well into the future. Even though the community rallied behind this project, offering very articulate and outspoken support, the project was not funded. Despite this set-back, the CEC Board wanted to keep the spirit of this project alive and has been slowly working towards a position where something like it would be attempted again. It remains to be seen what form a project like this will take in the future, but as long as a resources exists in an accessible form, the essence of the project can continue.

What follows is a letter to CEC membership, and then a brief explanation of the project, and then the whole project grant as submitted to the Canada Council for the Arts in 1998.

Ian Chuprun October 2000

Letter to CEC Membership

November 24, 1998 Montréal

To celebrate the turn of the millennium, reach out to new audiences and serve the electroacoustic community in Canada, the CEC has embarked upon a project which will release, re-release and distribute representative works of the most important Canadian electroacoustics of the past and present, and provide a glimpse into the future.

To this end, I am writing to members of the electroacoustics community such as yourself to request your support for this project, through the provision of a letter of support to aid in the search for appropriate funding.

What I would need for you to do is to write a letter explaining how you would see this project benefiting the Canadian ea/cm community, both in providing history and context, and by providing the local and international communities with an important resource. A description of the project and background information can be found below.

A project of this magnitude is due, but its success is dependent upon support from those in the community. I sincerely hope that you will take the time to compose such a letter, and send it to me at the CEC address

Thank you in advance.

Sincerely,

Ian Chuprun President - CEC Board

cec@sonus.ca https://cec.sonus.ca

The following people sent a letter of support:

The CEC Millennium Fund CD Collection - Briefly

The Canada Council for the Arts has created a special fund for millennial projects. The CEC board is currently preparing a grant proposal which will serve the ea/cm community in this country and reach out to new audiences and younger composers.

The proposed project will produce and distribute a 12 CD collection in three 4-CD volumes, aimed at looking back over the history of this art in Canada, summing up the present, and looking towards the future. The collection will also be prominently featured on the CEC website into the foreseeable future.

To do this, the CEC will re-release the Radio Canada International Electroacoustic Music Anthology of Canadian Music CDs, (4 CDs) as Volume I, create an Anthology containing works by pioneers who were not included in Volume I, and bring the series up to the year 2000 (4 CDs) - Volume II, and collect and commission new pieces from established and emerging artists in electroacoustics, (4 Cds) - Volume III.

Once produced, the CEC will distribute the collection to music libraries, universities, cultural institutions, radio stations, and significant nodes in electroacoustics in Canada and around the world. Remaining CDs would then be sold to advance the CEC's capital fund, recently created to support future CEC initiatives.

Production of this project will be overseen by the Productions electro Productions *PeP* group, who recently released PRESENCE and re-released DISContact! II on behalf of the CEC.

Once completed, the CDs will be promoted on the CEC’s website, including short clips from many, if not all, works, and links to composers’ home pages.

Some background information regarding the Radio Canada International Electroacoustic Music Anthology of Canadian Music CDs.

In 1990, Radio Canada International released a four CD survey of the history of Canadian electroacoustics, to complement the already existing collections in their catalogue. At the time of the release, individual profiles on pioneering composers were already available on RCI, many only on vinyl, and the survey CDs were meant to provide breadth to the RCI collection, and highlight many composers who did not appear on other CD collections.

The dynamic of the ea/cm CD situation has shifted significantly since 1990. RCI has since stopped producing its collection, composer profiles slated to be transferred from vinyl to CD were terminated, and a re-release of the RCI EA Anthology became unthinkable.

This change has meant that there is no longer one place that a Canadian (or non-Canadian) can go to get a complete picture of the this art form from this country. The Anthology is no longer available, younger audiences cannot easily access works of historical importance and the greater electroacoustic community is not being served.

At the time of the survey, many younger (and female) composers were not included as they had not 'passed over the threshold' of Canadian and international recognition, and there were only 4 CDs. The projected Volume II will rectify a number of omissions (Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux,

Otto Joachim, Martin Bartlet, Istvan Anhalt, ...) and will recognize that the younger composers not included have matured in the following period, and now need the recognition of their accomplishments, shoulder to shoulder with the older generations.

Canada played a leading role in the development of the ea/cm 'documentary short', called an Electroclip -- works of 3 minutes duration or less! There are now some 6 CDs dedicated to this genre, and as part of the recognition of the future (perhaps with a nod and a wink), in Volume III, there will be a CD of some 25 (or more) Canadian Electroclips, commissioned to mark the millennium.

A group of themes will be selected, about Canada, history, culture, and where possible humor, and the commissioned works will be a leading item in promoting the popularity of the entire set. Three minute (or shorter) pieces are excellent candidates for the inclusion on radio programs, concerts, and especially in educational environments.

List of composers and pieces on the Radio Canada International Electroacoustic Music Anthology of Canadian Music, published in 1990.

Canadian electroacoustics from the beginnings to the new millennium The Grant Proposal sent to the Canada Council December 1998

Goals To celebrate the new millennium, the Communauté Électroacoustique canadienne (CEC) Canadian Electroacoustic Community (CEC) is preparing a millennial project that will:

  1. look at the ea/cm art form in this country, from its beginnings with Hugh LeCaine in 1945 up to the youngest practitioners only emerging by the year 2001, and present the best possible works to the world in a 12 CD anthology.
  2. collect together works from established composers into a single resource, and insert young composers into this context, greatly aiding their careers.
  3. create a central document that will become the standard educational tool for demonstrating the depth and breadth of this art form.
  4. commission new works and further support the growing community of composers working in this field.
  5. raise the profile of the community in the international community’s eyes by being amongst the few nations which has dared to create a collection of excellence in such a young art form.
  6. make the project last longer than the ‘shelf life’ of regular arts project and reach audiences in the thousands by:
    1. sending the anthology to over 500 keenly placed individuals in radio and cultural organizations around the globe;
    2. putting the entire collection onto an already well established website, making it accessible long after the final CD set is distributed.

The Project

The CEC will take the Radio Canada International Electroacoustic Music Anthology of Canadian Music. and use it as a structural tool to:

  1. release a re-working of the RCI collection - 4 CDs. (unfortunately there are no longer any copies available so the RCI collection has not been included in the support material.

  2. select and publish existing works which were not on the RCI collection and which bring the collection to the year 2001 - 4 CDs.

  3. make a call for and select composers to commission for new works - 4 CDs.

At least one of the final 4 CDs will be of electro-clips (short works of duration around or less than 3 minutes). Half of the composers commissioned for new works will be emerging artists.

Besides biographical and program notes, a new text will be commissioned, to accompany the CD collection. CD Packages will be distributed to radio stations, universities, music libraries, and other arts organizations that have been proven to be important nodes in the international ea/cm community. The remaining CD packages will be distributed at a later date at the CEC’s expense.

Parallel to the CD production, the CEC’s website will receive the entire project and make the music and texts available to the world instantaneously, and on a permanent basis, as the information on the web is continuously available.

The art form As the CEC has discovered by hosting ‘events’, the nature of ea/cm lies outside of this milieu and instead rests squarely on digital distribution systems like that found with CDs or with the web. Composers in ea/cm compose directly to digital media, and the CD or web is aesthetically the most sophisticated media of this type available. In this way, this project is not only about distributing the fruits of composers’ labors, but is an artistic statement regarding the new digital world the millennium is bringing us, and this project rises up to meet it, from the days of pioneers to the generations of the future.

The impact on youth

There are three groups of ‘youth’ impacted:

  1. the emerging artists who participate will have their careers enhanced by the radio play (royalties and exposure) and by the association with being on an historic collection such as this one.
  2. the young composition students who will be using this anthology in their studies well into the next millennium.
  3. the youth who will hear the music via radio or website and possibly become interested in the art form.

The project has the potential of impacting upon thousands of youth around the globe, for many years to come.

The impact on the community

The 28 letters of support included in the support material attest to the benefits this project will do for the community. Prominent and very well respected composers have written by email, fax and post, and the impact on the community can be read in their words.

Profile of the CEC - 1998

The Mandate of the organization

The CEC is the national Canadian electroacoustic/computer music (ea/cm) organization (as recognized by the Confédération Internationale de Musique électroacoustique (CIME) and the International Computer Music Association (ICMA) — the two official UNESCO international electroacoustic/computer music associations).

Among the objectives, as written in the Bylaws of the corporation, are the [art. d] support, development, production, distribution of information, materials, works… [art. a] for the ea/cm community in Canada… with continuing special concern for the younger generation of individuals and women in this community; [art. k] The CEC recognizes and supports the principle of sexual equality, and also, the equal status of English and French. (Please see https://cec.sonus.ca/bylaws.html, Objects of the corporation.)

Support, promotion, and of late, production of Canadian composers and their works. (Please see https://cec.sonus.ca/bylaws.html, Objects of the corporation, [art. a, c, d].)

Structure

The CEC is a non-profit corporation with a minimum of six unpaid biannually elected directors on the administrative board:

The CEC’s board spans six time zones, meets via email on a daily basis, and is supported by two advisory groups: <cecpanel> and *PeP* (please see CEC Advisory Groups, below). The CEC’s legal office is in Montréal, where two half-time employees administer the CEC and supervise the projects currently being undertaken by *PeP*.

The CEC is supported by members who understand that the CEC functions for the betterment of the whole ea/cm community. Projects are never restricted to members only, and, as is evidenced by the participants on the many listservers and projects operating on behalf of the CEC, a policy of inclusiveness always used.

Brief History

Below is a brief timeline which highlights the principal events and major accomplishments of the CEC from just before incorporation in 1986 to the present. Please consult the Expanded Timeline below for greater detail.

1986 — The CEC newsletter Bulletin CEC Newsletter was first published CEC was incorporated. CEC conference 2001-14 (Montréal)

1988 — Contact!, the newsletter of the CEC took over from the Bulletin CEC Newsletter. Flash!, a bilingual news flyer, was published until 1997. CEC conference Diffusion! (Toronto)

1989 — CEC conference >convergence< (Banff)

1991 — CEC conference >>PERSPECTIVES>> (Montréal) The Canadian Contemporary Music Network (CCMN) was founded.

1992 — DISContact!, a double CD featuring short works by CEC members was published.

1993 — CEC radio festival Journées ELECTRO-RADIO Days (Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver).

1994 — Guide CEC Guide, a biographic phone book of the members was published. Contact!, became a bilingual journal, published until 1997.

1994/95/96 — CEC is invited to be a special guest and host a concert at the national conference of The Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS).

1995 — ICMC Banff - A CEC representative was present, and the CEC hosted a concert. <cecdiscuss>, an open and unmoderated international listserver created. CEC website created. https://cec.sonus.ca <cecpanel>, an advisory listserver panel for the CEC board was created with regional and organizational representatives. Official connection to SEAMUS via ex-officio position on the administrative board of SEAMUS for a board member of the CEC. DISContact! II, a second double CD featuring short works by CEC members, was published. CEC web-concert électroWEB, with the aid of CBC Vancouver.

1997 — Re-issue of DISContact! II. *PeP*, the arms-length production team working on behalf of the CEC was established. PRESENCE, a 2 CD collection of ea/cm works released. eFlash! was established.

1998 — eContact!, a web-zine with audio-clips, articles, reviews and interviews was established. WEBradio, a community radio and web based project, was created.

Role

The CEC’s role is to further the state of Canadian ea/cm by:

  1. raising the profile of ea/cm within Canada - the nature of ea/cm is that its audience is found through publications like CDs and real-time audio streaming on the web.
  2. bringing Canadian ea/cm to the international community
  3. participating in the creation of digital information dissemination systems (CDs and the web) by providing cutting edge infrastructural support.

CEC Advisory Groups

<cecpanel>

The CEC’s administrative board has established an advisory panel, linking the board to the community through regional and institutional representatives. Members from the Association of Canadian Woman Composers (ACWC), the Canadian Music Centre (CMC), and the Canadian League of Composers (CLC) are present, as well as CEC members living in diverse communities. Participation on the panel is open to those who have expressed a desire to act as a liaison between the CEC’s board and their local community. The panel is consulted via a listserver <cecpanel> on matters of concern to the communities for both ea/cm and Contemporary music.

Members of <cecpanel>:

Productions Électro Productions *PeP*

Productions Électro Productions *PeP* is the arms-length production team working on behalf of the CEC. The team acts as an information resource for the CEC volunteers undertaking production projects. *PeP* ‘meets’ on a daily basis via a listserver <pep> to discuss technical matters and production details.

Members of *PeP*:

Expanded Timeline of CEC Projects - 1998

The history of the CEC is intimately entwined with the technological research and artistic developments surrounding the use of electricity of the past century, and the advancements made by individuals and institutions in this country. Below is timeline of the events leading up to the creation of the CEC, [taken in part from François Guérin’s essay A brief overview of electroacoustic music in Canada which accompanied the RCI’s ea/cm music anthology (a photocopy of which can be found in appendix C)], and an expanded timeline with greater detail of the CEC’s accomplishments.

1890s — First use electricity in relation to sound (cylinder recording).

1900s — 78 rpm recording.

1920s — Radio and film sound developed.

1930s — First 'sound-based' experiments: first 'tape' recorders.

1940s — Hugh LeCaine, working at the National Research Centre (Ottawa), creates the first electronic music instruments in Canada.

1948 — The invention of musique concrete: use of recorded ‘sound’ as a creative form (France).

1950s — ‘Electronic music’ (Germany), first work in computer music.

1950s — Hugh LeCaine - invention of sound generation / processing equipment

1959 — University of Toronto Electronic Music Studio.

1964 — McGill University Electronic Music Studio (EMS) founded

1965 — University of British Colombia EMS founded.

1969 — Université de Laval studio de musique électronique founded

1970 — Concordia University (Montréal), University of Calgary studios founded

1971 — Dalhousie University studio founded. Canadian Electronic Ensemble (CEE) (Toronto) MetaMusic (Montréal)

1972 — Western University studio founded

1974 — Queen’s University, Carlton University studios founded

1975 — Music Gallery (Toronto) founded

1977 — First festival of live electronic music (Music Gallery)

1978 — University of Victoria, Conservatoire (Québec) studios founded. Association pour la création et recherches électroacoustiques du Québec (ACREQ) founded

1980 — Université de Montréal, Conservatoire (Montréal) studios founded

1982/83 — An informal request from Franz Kraemer, head of music at the Canada Council, to define what was electronic music

1984 — Printemps électroacoustique (ACREQ - Montréal)

1985 — International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) in Vancouver, hosted by Barry Truax at Simon Fraser University. An informal meeting of more than 20 practitioners of ea/cm in Canada, and the discussion of the need for a national association.

1985 — The Ninth annual live electronic music festival, hosted by the Music Gallery (Toronto). A meeting of some 20 composers from Montréal and Toronto, to discuss the need for a national association. Music Gallery offers to host a formal meeting the following year.

1986 — Wired Society (Toronto) festival, with 80 people in attendance. The focus of discussion was the creation of a national association. Two days of concerts and discussions.

The CEC newsletter Bulletin CEC Newsletter was first published in November 1986, and a further 5 editions were published from February 1987 to June 1988. Each edition was bilingual, and ran 42 pages in length. Summaries of each newsletter may be found on the web at: https://cec.sonus.ca/ArchBulletin.html. See support material for a copy of Bulletin CEC Newsletter 3.

CEC was incorporated.

CEC conference 2001-14 (Montréal) Co-sponsored by McGill, Université de Montréal, Conservatoire, and Concordia University. One hundred people in attendance, the CEC is accepted as the national association. Partial funding by the Canada Council.

1988 — Contact!, the newsletter of the CEC took over from the Bulletin CEC Newsletter as being the primary link to Canadian ea/cm composers. The first edition was published in March 1988, and a following 39 editions appeared between May 1988 and March 1994. Each edition was bilingual, and ranged in length from 16 to 72 pages. See support material for copies of Contact! and Contact!4.5.

Flash!, a bilingual news flyer, was published from 1988 until the vast majority of recipients established email addresses, and ended the need for the CEC to publish on paper, in 1997. See support matererial for a copy of Flash! 7.8. Copies of the new flyer, eFlash! can be found at: https://cec.sonus.ca/eFlash.html

CEC conference Diffusion! (Toronto) Concerts and paper sessions - 110 people in attendance. Partial funding by the Canada Council.

1989 — CEC conference >convergence< (Banff) Concerts, paper sessions and radio programs - 100 people in attendance. Partial funding by the Canada Council.

1991 — CEC conference >>PERSPECTIVES>> (Montréal) Concerts, paper sessions and radio programs - 100 people in attendance. Partial funding by the Canada Council.

The Canadian Contemporary Music Network (CCMN) was founded by the four Contemporary music organizations: the Association of Canadian Woman Composers (ACWC), the CEC, the Canadian Music Centre (CMC), and the Canadian League of Composers (CLC). The projects INƒOMUS and √Scratch grew from this allegiance. See support material for √Scratch flyer and https://cec.sonus.ca/INFOMUS.html

1992 — DISContact!, a double CD featuring short works by CEC members.

1993 — CEC radio festival Journées ELECTRO-RADIO Days (Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver). A cross-Canada radio festival linking the three cities by broad band-width telephone lines. Live-to-air performances and interactive ea/cm.

1994 — Guide CEC Guide, a biographic phone book of the members was published. A copy is inclosed with the support material.

Contact!, became a bilingual journal, focusing on articles and reviews rather than news. The first edition of the journal was published in the autumn of 1994, and a further five editions were published until the popularity of the web and diminishing financial resources required the CEC to publish directly to the web. A copy of Contact! 8.2 is in the support material. Electronic versions of the journals may be found on the web at: https://cec.sonus.ca/contact.html and see appendix C.

1994/95/96 — CEC is invited to be a special guest and host a concert at the national conference of The Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) http://seamus.lsu.edu/

1995 — ICMC Banff - A CEC representative was present, and the CEC hosted a concert.

<cecdiscuss>, an open and unmoderated listserver created for the benefit of the international community, currently listing 347 individuals from over 18 countries. This list is widely recognized as the meeting place for discussing all matters electroacoustic. See appendix C for the list of subscribers.

CEC website created. See appendix C and https://cec.sonus.ca

<cecpanel>, an advisory listserver panel for the CEC board was created with regional and organizational representatives. (See appendix B).

Official connection to SEAMUS via ex-officio position on the administrative board of SEAMUS for a board member of the CEC.

DISContact! II, a second double CD featuring short works by CEC members. (See support material)

CEC web-concert électroWEB, with the aid of the CBC Vancouver (WWW) https://cec.sonus.ca/electroWEB.html

1997 — Re-issue of DISContact! II (See support material).

*PeP*, the arms-length production team working on behalf of the CEC was established. (See appendix B)

PRESENCE, a 2 CD collection of ea/cm works released. (See support material)

eFlash! was established. https://cec.sonus.ca/eFlash.html

1998 — eContact!, a web-zine with audio-clips, articles, reviews and interviews is established. (See appendix C and https://econtact.ca/econtact.html)

WEBradio, a community radio and web based project, was created. (See appendix C and https://cec.sonus.ca/Radio/index.html).

Projected projects:

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