Hildegard Westerkamp
Encyclopedia
Hildegard Westerkamp is a German
and Canadian
composer
of electroacoustic music
.
Many of her compositions deal with the acoustic
environment. Particular themes include soundscape
s of urban or rural areas, including voices, noise, silence, music and media, and so on. In several of these compositions, she incorporates the poetry of her then-partner, Canadian writer Norbert Ruebsaat. She has composed for film soundtracks and her music has been featured in two Gus Van Sant
movies Elephant (2003) and Last Days
(2005).
She is a founding member of the World Forum on Acoustic Ecology (WFAE) and a co-founder of Vancouver Co-op radio
.
, Germany.
In 1965, during a family trip to Canada, she met her future partner in life and work, Norbert Ruebsaat.
From 1966 to 1968, she attended the Conservatory of Music in Freiburg, where she studied flute and piano.
In 1968, she emigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. From 1968 to 1972, she studied music at the University of British Columbia, receiving her Bachelor of Music degree in 1972.
In 1977, Westerkamp and Ruebsaat had a daughter, Sonja Ruebsaat.
During the 1980s she was a professor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University
in Vancouver
, Canada, and was a member of the World Soundscape Project
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
.
Many of her compositions deal with the acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
environment. Particular themes include soundscape
Soundscape
A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology...
s of urban or rural areas, including voices, noise, silence, music and media, and so on. In several of these compositions, she incorporates the poetry of her then-partner, Canadian writer Norbert Ruebsaat. She has composed for film soundtracks and her music has been featured in two Gus Van Sant
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an American director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author. He is a two time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk, both of which were also nominated for Best Picture, and won the...
movies Elephant (2003) and Last Days
Last Days (film)
Last Days is a 2005 American film directed, produced, and written by Gus Van Sant, and is a fictionalized account of the last days of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. It was released to theaters in the United States on July 22, 2005, and was produced by HBO. The film stars Michael Pitt as the...
(2005).
She is a founding member of the World Forum on Acoustic Ecology (WFAE) and a co-founder of Vancouver Co-op radio
CFRO-FM
CFRO-FM, licensed and owned by Vancouver Co-operative Radio, is a non-commercial community radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia, in Coast Salish territory. It is a legally registered co-operative and is branded as Co-op Radio. They broadcast on 102.7 megahertz FM...
.
Biography
Hildegard Westerkamp was born on April 8, 1946, in OsnabrückOsnabrück
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
, Germany.
In 1965, during a family trip to Canada, she met her future partner in life and work, Norbert Ruebsaat.
From 1966 to 1968, she attended the Conservatory of Music in Freiburg, where she studied flute and piano.
In 1968, she emigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. From 1968 to 1972, she studied music at the University of British Columbia, receiving her Bachelor of Music degree in 1972.
In 1977, Westerkamp and Ruebsaat had a daughter, Sonja Ruebsaat.
During the 1980s she was a professor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada, and was a member of the World Soundscape Project
World Soundscape Project
The World Soundscape Project or WSP is an international research project founded by Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer in the late 1960s at Simon Fraser University. The project initiated the modern study of Acoustic Ecology...
.
Discography
Recordings featuring Westerkamp's compositions, chronologically:- (1989) Kits Beach Soundwalk
- (1990) Anthology of Canadian Music:Electroacoustic music
- (1990) The Aerial 2
- (1990) Électro clips (empreintes DIGITALesEmpreintes DIGITALesempreintes DIGITALes is a record label founded in 1990 and based in Montreal which specialises in contemporary electroacoustic music, acousmatic and musique concrète.In 2005, empreintes DIGITALes shifted from CD to DVD-Audio.- Composers :* Mathew Adkins...
, IMED 9004, rereleased 1996 as IMED 9604) - (1994) Radio Rethink - art and sound transmission
- (1995) Der Verlust der Stille
- (1995) Klang Wege
- (1995) Transmissions From Broadcast Artists, Radius #4
- (1996) The Vancouver Soundscape
- (1996) Transformations (empreintes DIGITALesEmpreintes DIGITALesempreintes DIGITALes is a record label founded in 1990 and based in Montreal which specialises in contemporary electroacoustic music, acousmatic and musique concrète.In 2005, empreintes DIGITALes shifted from CD to DVD-Audio.- Composers :* Mathew Adkins...
, IMED 9631) - (1997) 1977-1997, 20 Jahre Osnabrücker Komponisten
- (1998) Harangue I (Earsay, ES 98001)
- (1998) Harangue II (Earsay, ES 98005)
- (1999) The Dreams of Gaia
- (2000) Radiant Dissonance
- (2002) Into India (Earsay, ES 02002)
- (2003) Musique inpirée et tirée du film Elephant
- (2003) S:on
List of works
Individual Westerkamp compositions, alphabetically:- "Attending to Sacred Matters" (2002)
- "A Walk Through the City" (1981)
- "Beneath the Forest Floor" (1992)
- "Breaking News" (2002)
- "Breathing Room" (1990)
- "Convergence Radio" (1989)
- "Cricket Voice" (1987)
- "École polytechnique" (1990) - churchbells, mixed choir, bass clarinet, trumpet, percussion, and tape
- "Fantasie for Horns II" (1979) - French horn and tape
- "Für Dich-For You" (2005)
- "Gently Penetrating" (1997)
- "Gently Penetrating beneath the sounding surfaces of another place"
- "Into the Labyrinth" (2000)
- "Kits Beach Soundwalk" (1989) - spoken voice and tape
- "Talking Rain" (1998)
- "Türen der Wahrnehmungen (Doors of Perception)" (1989)
- "Whisper Study" (1975–79)
Further reading
- Steenhuisen, Paul. "Interview with Hildgard Westerkamp". In Sonic Mosaics: Conversations with Composers. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0888644749
See also
- Music of CanadaMusic of CanadaThe music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
- List of Canadian composers