In my work for CBC Radio Music, I meet many talented artists. One cherished relationship that has grown quite organically is with R. Murray Schafer.
People describe Schafer as a composer, writer, educator, environmentalist, scholar and visual artist. Those descriptives are all well and good, yet don’t come close to reflecting his inspiring intellect. From countless Juno nominations, Schafer has won no fewer than five statues in the categories of best classical composition or classical composition of the year.
This blog post is the first of two, each containing a Q&A with five questions for Schafer. Here, he speaks of some elements that percolate behind his compositions.
Q: One of your most popular compositions is Gamelan. What prompted you to write it?
A:
Q: I sense in some of your compositions an attempt to incorporate musical characters of non-Western cultures. Is this so?
A:
Q: You urge people to consider their relationship with their acoustic environment. Does this concept factor into your compositions?
A:
Q: Some of your compositions place performers in non-traditional venues, say out in the bush. What are you trying to achieve by doing that?
A:
Q: And compositionally, what are you working on right now?
A:
On Thursday, April 19, meet Schafer in Toronto at a fundraising event in support of Soundstreams on its 30th anniversary. Schafer's own 80th birthday gift to Soundstreams is a newly composed theme, and Soundstream’s 30 favourite composers around the globe will write variations on it. Hear the theme premiered at the fundraiser, held at Integral House, 194 Roxborough Dr., from 7:30 to 10 p.m.
For information or to purchase a ticket, visit Soundstream’s website.
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