Trevor Wishart
Encyclopedia
Trevor Wishart is an English composer, based in York
. Wishart has contributed to composing with digital audio media
, both fixed and interactive. He has also written extensively on the topic of what he terms “sonic art,” and contributed to the design and implementation of software tools used in the creation of digital music; notably, the Composers Desktop Project
.
He was educated at the University of Oxford
(BA 1968), the University of Nottingham
(MA 1969), and the University of York
(PhD 1973). Although mainly a freelance composer, he holds an honorary position at the University of York. He was appointed as composer-in-residence at the University of Durham in 2006, and then at the University of Oxford Faculty of Music in 2010–11, supported by the Leverhulme Trust
.
He is also a solo voice performer and an improviser of extended vocal techniques
, using the recordings of his own improvisations to compose his electroacoustic
pieces as well, like he did for Red Bird and Vox 5.
As Trevor Wishart & Friends:
Appears on:
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. Wishart has contributed to composing with digital audio media
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
, both fixed and interactive. He has also written extensively on the topic of what he terms “sonic art,” and contributed to the design and implementation of software tools used in the creation of digital music; notably, the Composers Desktop Project
Composers Desktop Project
The Composers' Desktop Project is an international cooperative network based in the United Kingdom that has been developing software for working with sound materials since 1986. Working on a cooperative basis and motivated by user-specific compositional needs, the project has focused on the...
.
He was educated at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
(BA 1968), the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
(MA 1969), and the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
(PhD 1973). Although mainly a freelance composer, he holds an honorary position at the University of York. He was appointed as composer-in-residence at the University of Durham in 2006, and then at the University of Oxford Faculty of Music in 2010–11, supported by the Leverhulme Trust
Leverhulme Trust
The Leverhulme Trust was established in 1925 under the will of the First Viscount Leverhulme, William Hesketh Lever, with the instruction that its resources should be used to support "scholarships for the purposes of research and education."...
.
Music
Wishart's compositional interests deal mainly with the human voice, in particular with the transformation of it and the interpolation by technological means between human voice and natural sounds. This is most evident in his albums Red Bird/Anticredos (composition period: 1973-77, publishing date: 1992) and VOX Cycle (1980-1988, 1990), and also in the compositions Tongues of Fire (1993-93, 2000), Globalalia (2003-2004, 2010), Two Women (1998, 2000), and American Triptych (1999, 2000).He is also a solo voice performer and an improviser of extended vocal techniques
Vocal extended technique
Vocalists are capable of producing a variety of extended technique sounds. These alternative singing techniques have been used extensively in the 20th century, especially in art song and opera...
, using the recordings of his own improvisations to compose his electroacoustic
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...
pieces as well, like he did for Red Bird and Vox 5.
Writings
Wishart has written two books On Sonic Art and Audible Design. On Sonic Art puts forth his theoretical and philosophical ideas while Audible Design deals mainly with the practice and technique of composing with digital audio.Discography
As Trevor Wishart:- Journey Into Space (1973, 2xLP, not on label, mail order only)
- Journey Into Space (??, cassette, ICRICR- Research :* Institute of Cancer Research, a college within the University of London* Institute of Cetacean Research, a Japanese institution* Institute for Consciousness Research, a non-sectarian group with the goal of raising public awareness of Kundalini...
) - Red Bird: A Political Prisoner's Dream (1978, LP, York Electronic Studios)
- Vox CycleVox CycleVox Cycle is a six compositions or indipendent moviment cycle for four amplified voices, and electroacoustic music by Trevor Wishart, composed between 1980 and 1988, associated with extended vocal techniques and the contemporay vocal composition...
(1990, CD, Virgin Classics) - Red Bird / Anticredos (1992, CD, October Music)
- Audible Design (1994, CD, Orpheus The Pantomime)
- Tongues Of Fire (1994, CD, Maxi-Single, Orpheus The Pantomime)
- Journey Into Space (2002, CD, Paradigm Discs)
- Encounters in the Republic of Heaven (2011, CD, Orpheus The Pantomime Ltd.)
As Trevor Wishart & Friends:
- Beach Singularity / Menagerie (1979, LP, York Electronic Studios)
- Mouth Music (1982, LP, HyperionHyperion RecordsHyperion Records is an independent British classical record label.-History:The company was named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology. It was founded by George Edward Perry, widely known as "Ted", in 1980. Early LP releases included rarely recorded 20th century British music by...
) - Menagerie / Beach Singularity / Vocalise (1997, CD, Paradigm Discs)
Appears on:
- Electronic Music From York (1973, 3xLP, York Electronic Studio)
- Miniatures (1980, LP, Pipe)
- Integration (1983, cassette, ICR)
- Computer Music Currents 4 (1989, CD, WERGOWERGOWERGO is a German record label focusing on contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1962 by the art historian Werner Goldschmidt and the musicologist Helmut Kirchmayer and is currently based in Mainz, Germany....
) - Electroacoustic Music And The Saxophones Of Stephen Cottrell (1989, CD, Overhear Music)
- Rē Records Quarterly Volume 3 Number 1ReR QuarterlyThe RēR Quarterly was an English "quarterly" sound-magazine comprising an LP record and a magazine. It was published at irregular intervals between 1985 and 1997 by Recommended Records and November Books, and edited by English percussionist, lyricist and music theorist, Chris Cutler...
(1989, CD, Recommended RecordsRecommended RecordsRecommended Records is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected music released on other independent labels.In 1982 Cutler established November...
) - Prix Ars Electronica 95 (1995, CD, Ars Electronica CenterArs Electronica CenterThe Ars Electronica Center is a center for electronic arts run by Ars Electronica situated in Linz, Austria, at the northern side of the Danube opposite the city hall of Linz. It has been built on the right side of the Nibelungenbrücke....
) - Inventionen '98 - 50 Jahre Musique Concrète (1999, CD, Edition RZ)
- Or Some Computer MusicOr Some Computer MusicOr Some Computer Music is a compilation album CD released in 1999.Mastered by, edited by: Denis Blackham, Russell Haswell.-Track listing:#CD slopper: "Blr oodgr,-1:3"" - 0:32#Trevor Wishart: "Fabulous Paris" - 23:50#Aphex Twin: "Perc # 6" - 4:45...
(1999, CD, OR) - Fümms Bö Wö Tää Zää Uu: Stimmen Und Klänge Der Lautpoesie (2002, CD, Urs Engeler Editor)
- Das Dreidimensionale Möbiusband (2003, 2XCD, Flying Swimming)
- Festival Voor Nieuwe Muziek: Happy New Ears 2005 (2005, CD, Gonzo Circus)