Barry Truax
Barry Douglas Truax is a Canadian composer of electroacoustic music, a writer, and a teacher. He is best known for his association with the World Soundscape Project at Simon Fraser University and his development of granular synthesis using sampled sounds to create multi-channel soundscape compositions, such as Riverrun and Wings of Nike. He is also known for his books Acoustic Communication and the Handbook for Acoustic Ecology. He is the only Canadian recipient of the Magisterium award at the International Competition of Electroacoustic Music, Bourges, France, in 1991. He is a professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University. In June 2025, SFU awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts.
Biography
Barry Truax was born in Chatham, Ontario. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and mathematics from Queen's University in 1969, and a Master of Music degree from the University of British Columbia in 1971. His academic path further led him to the Institute of Sonology at Utrecht University from 1971 to 1973, where he studied electronic and computer composition under the guidance of Gottfried Michael Koenig and Otto Laske. During this period, he created the POD system of interactive composition with digital synthesis, including FM synthesis that he learned from its initial creator John Chowning. In 1977 his Sonic Landscape No. 3 won first prize in the computer music category of the Fifth International Competition of Electroacoustic Music in Bourges.His career encompasses a wide spectrum of activities, including musical composition, the study of acoustic ecology, academic publications and advancements in sound technology. For most of his career, Truax was associated with Simon Fraser University, where he now holds the title of Professor Emeritus.
In 1973, R. Murray Schafer invited Truax to join the World Soundscape Project at Simon Fraser University. The WSP, initiated by Schafer, focused on the emerging field of acoustic ecology, aiming to increase public awareness about the sonic environment and address the growing issue of noise pollution. Truax initially served as a research assistant and later took on the role of director for the project following Schafer’s departure from SFU in 1975. During this period, he edited the Handbook for Acoustic Ecology, first published in 1978. This reference work compiled essential terminology from the fields of acoustics, psychoacoustics, electroacoustics and soundscape studies, providing a scientific foundation for the developing discipline. The Handbook was later released in various formats, including a CD-ROM edition in 1999 and an online version, making it widely accessible to researchers and students.
Truax and Schafer defined the term soundscape as how that environment is perceived and understood by those living within it. Truax’s broader contributions to acoustic ecology include the development of theoretical frameworks for understanding the relationship between humans and their sonic environments. The project provided a framework for him to integrate his scientific and musical backgrounds to explore the complexities of the sonic environment.
Compositional Work
Truax is known for his development of real-time granular synthesis, a technique that involves the creation and manipulation of up to thousands of extremely short sound grains, typically lasting between 10 and 50 milliseconds. In 1986, he developed the GSX computer music system at SFU, which enabled the first real-time implementation of this technique as used in his composition Riverrun. Inspired by the opening word of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, Riverrun utilizes thousands of minute sound droplets to construct a dense and constantly evolving sonic texture, metaphorically representing the flow of a river. It was awarded the Magisterium prize at the International Competition of Electroacoustic Music in Bourges in 1991 and was included as one of 10 significant works in the Oxford publication Inside Computer Music. Other compositions by Truax that feature granular synthesis include Wings of Nike and Tongues of Angels.Truax's approach to soundscape composition is characterized by the creative use of recognizable environmental sounds to evoke specific associations, memories, and imaginative responses in the listener. He operates under a philosophy of context-based creation, where the environmental context of the sounds is intentionally preserved, enhanced, and exploited by the composer. His compositional techniques exist on a continuum, ranging from found sound compositions that remain very close to the original recorded environment to more abstracted works that involve significant transformations of these recordings. Pacific Fanfare is composed of sound signals from Vancouver. Pendlerdrøm evokes a commuter’s train journeys including daydreams. La Sera di Benevento represents a soundwalk in the Italian city of the title. Dominion involves 12 instrumentalists combined with recordings of Canadian soundmarks from coast to coast. The title track of his Islands CD, Island, depicts a sonic journey to a magical realm. All of these works are published on his Cambridge Street label which he founded in 1985.
Other soundscape compositions created with his PODX system include Pacific which explores environmental sounds from the Pacific region time-stretched through granulation techniques; Basilica which stretches the sounds of Quebec City's Notre-Dame de Québec bells; Temple which utilizes convolution to incorporate spatial characteristics of a church; as well as Chalice Well, Aeolian Voices, and Earth & Steel which create immersive virtual soundscapes based on terrestrial elements. Truax employs a variety of both analog and digital studio techniques to transform environmental sounds, often layering them in both stereo and octophonic formats to create immersive sonic environments. Time compression is another technique, as used in The Bells of Salzburg and Rainforest Raven ''.
In works like Song of Songs, and Steam he integrates narrative elements and live instruments with soundscape material. Finally, some of his works explore more abstracted perspectives on the soundscape, such as What The Waters Told Me, How The Winds Caressed Me, and When The Earth Mourned For Me. By validating environmental sound as a musical element, Truax and his colleagues at SFU such as Hildegard Westerkamp broadened the horizons of electroacoustic music and encouraged a more ecologically conscious approach to sound art.
Beyond traditional concert settings, Truax has also created multimedia works such as the opera Powers of Two which integrates singers, dancers, and an eight-channel soundtrack to explore themes of psychological, spiritual, and sexual unity. He has also created other works that incorporate computer graphics and video, including Divan, Wings of Nike, Song of Songs ,'''', and Night of the Conjurer in collaboration with Theo Goldberg. His music theatre work Androgyne, Mon Amour'' combines a double bass player with a soundtrack based on selected poems by Tennessee Williams.
Academic career
Barry Truax's academic career at Simon Fraser University began in 1973 and spanned several decades until his retirement in 2015. He held positions in both the School of Communication and the School for the Contemporary Arts where he helped establish the Music program and taught courses in acoustic communication and electroacoustic composition, with a specialization in soundscape composition. Truax supervised numerous students and other composers, such as Hildegard Westerkamp, Paul Dolden, and Arne Eigenfeldt.In 1999 he received the Award for Teaching Excellence from Simon Fraser University. After his retirement, Truax served as the Edgard Varèse Guest Professor at the Technical University, Berlin and as a guest composer at the BEAST Festival in Birmingham. He also taught online webinar courses in sound and audio, as well as soundscape composition.
He is a founding member of the International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music, the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, and the Canadian Electroacoustic Community to which he was appointed Patron in 2024. In 1985, he established the Cambridge Street record label, which specializes in computer and electronic music, and hosted the 1985 International Computer Music Conference in Vancouver. He and his partner, Dr. Guenther Krueger, also established Glenfraser Endowments at both SFU and Concordia University, Montreal to support students in sound studies and electroacoustic composition.
He was made a Member of the Order of Canada on December 31, 2025.
Selected Works
'''Compositions'''Works for Instruments and/or Voice and Soundtracks
Aerial, 1979, solo horn and four soundtracksBamboo, Silk and Stone, 1994, Asian instruments and two soundtracks
Dominion, 1991, chamber ensemble and two soundtracks
East Wind, 1981, amplified recorder and four soundtracks
From the Unseen World, 2012, piano and six soundtracks
Inside, 1995, bass oboe and two soundtracks
Love Songs, 1979, solo female voice and four soundtracks; Text: Norbert Ruebsaat
Nautilus, 1976, solo percussion and four soundtracks
Nightwatch, 1982, solo marimba and four soundtracks
Patterns, 1996, female speaker and two soundtracks
She, a Solo, 1973, mezzo-soprano and tape
Sonic Landscape No. 4, 1977, organ and four soundtracks
Steam, 2001, alto flute and two soundtracks
Tongues of Angels,1988, oboe d'amore, English horn and four soundtracks
Twin Souls, 1997, chamber choir and two soundtracks
The Way of the Spirit, 2005-2006, ichigenkin, shakuhachi and eight digital soundtracks
Wings of Fire, 1996, female cellist and two soundtracks; Text: Joy Kirstin
Stage Works
Androgyne, Mon Amour, 1996–97, amplified male double bass player and two soundtracks; Text: Tennessee WilliamsThe Ghostly Moon, 2008, erhu, guzheng, marimba and digital soundtracks
Gilgamesh, 1972–73, narrator, singers, dancers, sopranino recorder, oboe, and four soundtracks; Libretto: William Maranda
Powers of Two, 1995-1999, an electroacoustic music opera in four acts, for six singers, two dancers, video tape and eight soundtracks; Libretto: Barry Truax
Skin & Metal, 2004, leather percussionist and digital soundtracks
Thou & I, 2003, tenor, baritone and digital soundtracks
Mixed Media Works
Beauty and the Beast, 1989, narrator, computer images, and two soundtracks; Graphics: Theo GoldbergDivan, 1985, computer graphic slides and two soundtracks, graphics: Theo Goldberg
Night of the Conjurer, 1992, video tape; Video: Theo Goldberg
Pacific Dragon, 1991, computer graphic slides and four soundtracks; Graphics: Theo Goldberg
Song of Songs, 1992, oboe d'amore, English horn, two soundtracks and computer graphic images; Graphics: Theo Goldberg
Threshing, 1993; Video: Thecla Schiphorst
The Wings of Nike, 1987, computer graphic slides and two or eight soundtracks; Graphics: Theo Goldberg
Tape Solo Works
Aeolian Voices, 2013, eight digital soundtracksAndrogyny, 1978, four computer-synthesized soundtracks
Arras, 1980, four computer-synthesized soundtracks
Ascendance, 1979, stereo electronic tape
Basilica.1992, two digital soundtracks
The Bells of Salzburg, 2018, eight digital soundtracks
The Blind Man, 1979, two-channel tape; Text: Norbert Ruebsaat
Chalice Well, 2009, eight digital soundtracks
Earth And Steel, 2013, eight digital soundtracks
Fire Spirits, 2010, eight digital soundtracks
The Garden of Sonic Delights, 2015–16, multiple soundtracks
How the Winds Caressed Me, 2023, eight digital soundtracks
Infinity Room, 2019, eight digital soundtracks
Island, 2000, eight digital soundtracks
La Sera di Benevento, 1999, two digital soundtracks
Ocean Deep, 2017, eight digital soundtracks and video
Pacific, 1990, four digital soundtracks
Pacific Fanfare, 1996, two digital soundtracks
Pendlerdrøm, 1997, eight digital soundtracks
Prospero’s Voyage, 2004, eight digital soundtracks
Rainforest Raven, 2020, eight digital soundtracks
Riverrun, 1986, four digital soundtracks; revised 8-channel version 2004
Sequence of Earlier Heaven, 1998, eight digital soundtracks
Sequence of Later Heaven, 1993, four digital soundtracks
The Shaman Ascending, 2004-2005, eight digital soundtracks
Solar Ellipse, 1984–85, four computer-synthesized soundtracks
Sonic Landscape No, 3, 1975, rev.1977, four computer-synthesized soundtracks
Tapes from Gilgamesh, 1972–73, 12 four-channel tapes
Temple, 2002, eight digital soundtracks
Wave Edge, 1983, four computer-synthesized soundtracks
What the Waters Told Me, 2022, eight digital soundtracks
When the Earth Mourned for Me, 2024, eight digital soundtracks
Written Documents
Books
Acoustic Communication. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing, 1984. 2nd ed., 2001.Handbook for Acoustic Ecology, No. 5, Music of the Environment Series, World Soundscape Project. Vancouver: ARC Publications, 1978 ; 2nd edition, CD-ROM version, Cambridge Street Publishing, 1999.
Book chapters
Re-engaging the Natural and Built Soundscape through Soundscape Composition, in Out Of Nature, Chigiana Journal of Musicological Studies, S. Caputo & C. Felici, eds. Third Series, Vol. 2, 2020.Imagining Acoustic Spaces through Listening and Acoustic Ecology, in M. Grimshaw-Aagaard, M. Walther-Hansen, and M. Knakkergaard, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Sound and Imagination, vol. 1, Oxford, 2019.
Acoustic Ecology and the World Soundscape Project, in M. Droumeva & R. Jordan, eds., Sound, Media, Ecology, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.
Acoustic Space, Community and Virtual Soundscapes, in The Routledge Companion to Sounding Art, M. Cobussen, V. Meelberg and B. Truax, New York: Routledge, 2017.
Voices in the Soundscape: From Cellphones to Soundscape Composition, in Electrified Voices: Medial, Socio-Historical and Cultural Aspects of Voice Transfer, D. Zakharine & N. Meise, eds., Göttingen: V & R Unipress, 2012.
Sonology: A Questionable Science Revisited, in Otto Laske: Navigating New Musical Horizons, J. Tabor, ed. Greenwood Press, 1999.
Computer Music and Acoustic Communication: Two Emerging Interdisciplines, in Liora Salter & Alison Hearn, eds., Outside the Lines: Issues in Interdisciplinary Research, McGill-Queen's University Press, 1996.
Electroacoustic Music and the Soundscape: The Inner and Outer World, in Companion to Contemporary Musical Thought, J. Paynter, R. Orton, P. Seymour and T. Howell, eds., Vol. 1, London: Routledge, 1992.
Computer Music Language Design and the Composing Process, in The Language of Electroacoustic Music, S. Emmerson, ed. London: Macmillan, 1986.
Journal Articles
Speech, Music, Soundscape and Listening: Interdisciplinary Explorations, Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 279-293, 2022.R. Murray Schafer and the World Soundscape Project, Organised Sound 26, 419-421, 2021.
Acoustic Sustainability in Urban Design: Lessons from the World Soundscape Project, Cities and Health, 122-126, 2019.
Editorial, Context-based Composition, Organised Sound, 22, 2017 ; 23, 2018.
Paradigm Shifts and Electroacoustic Music: Some Personal Reflections, Organised Sound, 20, 105-110, 2015.
From Epistemology to Creativity: A Personal View, Journal of Sonic Studies, no. 4, 2013.
Sound, Listening and Place: The Aesthetic Dilemma, Organised Sound, 17, 193-201, 2012.
Soundscape Composition as Global Music: Electroacoustic Music as Soundscape, Organised Sound, 13, 103-109, 2008.
Homoeroticism and Electroacoustic Music: Absence and Personal Voice, Organised Sound, 8, 117-124, 2003.
Genres and Techniques of Soundscape Composition as Developed at Simon Fraser University, Organised Sound, 7, 5-14, 2002.
Electroacoustic Music and the Digital Future, Circuit, 13, 21-26, 2002.
The Aesthetics of Computer Music: A Questionable Concept Reconsidered, Organised Sound, 5, 119-126, 2000.
Letter to a 25-year-old Electroacoustic Composer, Organised Sound, 4, 147-150, 1999.
Composition and Diffusion: Space in Sound in Space, Organised Sound, 3, 141-146, 1998.
Public Culture and Commercial Culture in Computer Music, Computer Music Journal, 20, 27-28, 1996.
Soundscape, Acoustic Communication & Environmental Sound Composition, Contemporary Music Review, 15, 49-65, 1996.
Sounds and Sources in Powers of Two: Towards a Contemporary Myth, Organised Sound, 1, 13-21, 1996.
The Inner and Outer Complexity of Music, Perspectives of New Music, 32, 176-193, 1994.
Discovering Inner Complexity: Time-Shifting and Transposition with a Real-time Granulation Technique, Computer Music Journal, 18, 1994, 38-48.
Composing with Time-Shifted Environmental Sound, Leonardo Music Journal, 2, 37-40, 1992.
Musical Creativity and Complexity at the Threshold of the 21st Century, Interface, 21, 29-42, 1992. ISSN: 03033902
Capturing Musical Knowledge in Software Systems, Interface, 20, 217-234, 1991.
ISSN: 03033902
Composing with Real-Time Granular Sound, Perspectives of New Music, 28, 120-134, 1990.
Real-Time Granular Synthesis with a Digital Signal Processor, Computer Music Journal, 12, 14-26, 1988.
Sequence of Earlier Heaven: The Record as a Medium for the Electroacoustic Composer, Leonardo, 20, 1988, 25-28.
The Computer Music Facility at Simon Fraser University, Computers and the Humanities, 19, 225-234, 1985.
The PODX System: Interactive Compositional Software for the DMX-1000, Computer Music Journal, 9, 1985. ISSN: 0148-9267
Timbral Construction in Arras as a Stochastic Process, Computer Music Journal, 6, 1982.
The Inverse Relation between Generality and Strength in Computer Music Programs, Interface, 9, 1980. ISSN: 03033902
Organizational Techniques for C:M Ratios in Frequency Modulation, Computer Music Journal, 1, 39-45,1978. ISSN: 0148-9267; reprinted in Foundations of Computer Music, C. Roads and J. Strawn. MIT Press, 1985.
Computer Music Composition: The Polyphonic POD System, IEEE Computer, 11, 1978, 40-50.
The Soundscape and Technology, Interface, 6, 1977, 1-8. ISSN: 03033902
The POD System of Interactive Composition Programs, Computer Music Journal, 1, 30-39, 1977.
A Communicational Approach to Computer Sound Programs, Journal of Music Theory, 20, 227-300, 1976. ISSN: 0022-2909
Some Programs for Real-time Computer Synthesis and Composition, Interface, 2, 1973. ISSN: 03033902
Recordings
Digital SoundscapesPacific Rim
Song of Songs
Inside
Islands
Twin Souls
SFU-40
Spirit Journies
The Elements and Beyond
Personal Website: www.sfu.ca/~truax
Compositional Archive:
Primary Materials Archive: