Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Trevor Wishart will discuss the diverse uses of audio-spatialisation in works ranging from Red Bird to The Garden of Earthly Delights. These include the spatial distribution of sound materials to differentiate or define musical objects, the construction of imagined spaces, the separation of initially bonded materials into distinct audio streams, and the dynamic reconfiguration of listener–space relations.
The INSIDE/OUT public programme of lectures invites speakers and leading thinkers whose breadth of work, practice, thought, and collaboration we feel will inspire students and staff across the wide range of disciplines in the Leeds School of Arts.
This lecture also serves as the keynote address for the Spatial Audio Gathering conference.
Trevor Wishart is a composer and performer from the North of England, internationally recognised for his pioneering work in sound metamorphosis and the development of compositional tools that enable it, most notably through the Composer’s Desktop Project and the Sound Loom interface.
His work spans music for voice, ensemble, and studio-constructed sonic environments, often engaging with transformations of identity, language, and perception. His recent work, The Garden of Earthly Delights (2021), offers a darkly comic reflection on the human condition through the voices of actors, singers, and political figures.
Alongside his compositional output, Wishart is a leading figure in the development of digital sound processing. His aesthetic and technical approaches are articulated in his influential writings, including On Sonic Art, Audible Design, and Sound Composition, which have shaped generations of composers and researchers in electroacoustic music.
In recognition of his contribution to the field, he was awarded the international Giga-Hertz Grand Prize for lifetime achievement in 2008, and the BASCA Award for Innovation in 2018.
