An Interview with Trevor Wishart

Abstract

Trevor Wishart (see Figures 1 and 2) has carved a distinct niche as a composer, author, educator, vocal improviser, software designer, and practitioner of sonic art and digital music creation. Born in 1946 in Leeds, England, Mr. Wishart studied at Oxford, the University of Nottingham, and the University of York, where he earned his doctorate in composition in 1973. He became involved in the early stages of electronic music, which he has actively researched and developed ever since, creating an impressive body of works that have been commissioned by l’Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM), the Paris Biennale, and the BBC Promenade Concerts. (See Table 1.) He has also been awarded prizes such as the Giga-Herz Grand Prize at Zentrum fur Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM), the Golden Nica at the Linz Ars Electronica, the Gaudeamus Award, and the Euphonie d’Or at the Bourges Festival. Mr. Wishart is also known for his works involving the human voice, including improvisations using extended vocal techniques, as well as his musical theater pieces. Specializing in sound metamorphosis, he is a principal contributor to the Composers’ Desktop Project (CDP), a set of software tools for multifaceted sound transformation. Mr. Wishart has developed and maintained Sound Loom, a user interface for CDP, since 2000. Further contributions include his books On Sonic Art and Audible Design, as well as his Sounds Fun books of educational games, which have been translated into Japanese. (See Table 2.) Mr. Wishart has held residencies in Australia, Canada, Holland, Germany, and the United States, and at the Universities of York, Cambridge, and Birmingham. He is an honorary Visiting Professor at the University of York. I first met Trevor Wishart in June 2003 while attending a summer program in Electronic Music at the Centre de Creation Musicale, Iannis Xenakis (CCMIX), in Paris. I was struck by his knowledge of