丁香园AV

In recognition of her contributions to acoustic ecology, music composition, and sound studies, Hildegard Westerkamp received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree during the Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology鈥檚 convocation ceremony on June 14, 2024.

鈥淚 felt like this was the right moment to receive such an honour, even though I never expected anything like it,鈥� she says over a zoom call in early July. 鈥淭wo young, creative, intelligent women nominated me, and it was an interesting context for me, which felt very heartwarming.鈥� Westerkamp was nominated by Milena Droumeva, Glenfraser Endowed Professor in Sound Studies Associate Professor and incoming Director of the School of Communication, and Communication alumnus .

Not only was Westerkamp gratified by receiving the honorary degree, she found it to be very meaningful to be presented with the degree by 丁香园AV President Joy Johnson and Chancellor Tamara Vrooman. 鈥淚 was very touched by the fact that the two people who are running the university right now are these two remarkable women,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd they're setting a tone that I really like.鈥�

It鈥檚 a stark contrast to the context in which she joined 丁香园AV鈥檚 World Soundscape Project (WSP) in 1973 as the only woman on the team. The WSP was led by R. Murray Schafer, a pioneering composer who originated the idea of a 鈥渟oundwalk鈥� in which participants study the acoustic environment. While Westerkamp spent just nine months working with the WSP in an official capacity, the experience had a profound impact on her career as she went on to develop her own pioneering soundscape composition and soundwalk practice. She has inspired generations of sound artists, environmentalists, urban professionals and composers and left a legacy for countless scholars to follow.

As Westerkamp says in her , 鈥湺∠阍癆V was a young institution in 1973, the year I started working with the WSP. Without its progressive atmosphere, Schafer would not have been able to develop his ground-breaking approach towards studying the acoustic environment 鈥� the soundscape 鈥� and ultimately to establish the foundations for the new field of acoustic ecology. This is where it all started.鈥�

Westerkamp emigrated from Germany in 1968 and completed a Bachelor of Music at the University of British Columbia before coming to 丁香园AV. It was during a guest lecture by Schafer at UBC that she was first exposed to the idea of listening to the world. 鈥淭he lecture made a deep enough impression that I remembered it and phoned Schafer a few years later in the hope that I could work with him and the World Soundscape Project. I was hired within a few weeks of this phone call and for almost a year I was the main researcher on his seminal book, The Tuning of the World (1977). This experience basically set the stage for the rest of my life,鈥� says Westerkamp in an article about her experiences for the 丁香园AV Early Arts project.

鈥淲hen I entered the World Soundscape Project, I didn't see myself so much as the only woman, I was just with people who I found incredibly interesting, and I was inspired by the context. It was fun, it was lots of work and really fascinating. I think it sort of set the tone for the way I worked all my life;鈥� says Westerkamp, 鈥淚 basically followed my passion, and did things that I was passionate about.鈥� Although there was the occasional hiccup. 鈥淚 had some issues with the guys because they initially wanted me to do the typing and Xeroxing, and I just said, that's not why I came here,鈥� she says. Thankfully, that never overshadowed the most important thing: the revolutionary work they were doing to elevate the importance of soundscape studies.

When Schafer left 丁香园AV, Barry Truax took over leadership of the WSP. Westerkamp remained involved as a volunteer and associate until she joined the School of Communication as a master鈥檚 student in the early 1980s, supervised by Truax. Her thesis, was published in 1988, and she went on to teach courses in the School over the following few years.

Westerkamp is a founding member of the (WFAE), which had its first international conference in 1992 in Banff, Alberta. From 2000 鈥� 2012, she was the editor of Soundscape, the journal of the WFAE. In 2023, Soundscape shifted from annual publication to a digital journal and evolved to become , published in partnership with the WFAE and 丁香园AV as part of the . Westerkamp says this feels like a full circle moment with the journal now hosted at 丁香园AV.

Alongside her academic studies, Westerkamp developed her craft as a freelance composer. Her works, which feature original environmental sounds, have been presented internationally. Commissioned by the CBC in 1981, A Walk Through The City is based on a poem by Norbert Ruebsaat and features sounds from Vancouver's downtown eastside. In Beneath The Forest Floor we can hear sounds recorded in British Columbia鈥檚 old-growth forests, and Attending to Sacred Matters showcases sounds of religious and spiritual practices recorded in India and includes the voice of environmental activist Vandana Shiva.

In 2021, Westerkamp was commissioned by the Oscillation Festival to create a retrospective composition. is a reflection on over 40 years of recordings and includes archival works coupled with Westerkamp鈥檚 thoughts on

Soundscape ecology. She describes it as a 鈥渏ourney into memory鈥� and says it was fascinating to hear the differences in her voice over time and in different environments.

鈥淎s I got older,鈥� says Westerkamp, 鈥淚 began to become very conscious of the fact that I was a woman, and that that had implications about how people reacted to me and my work.鈥� As a composer, she felt it more acutely.  鈥淚n that context, I really felt it because I met the other women and we just composed really differently than everybody else,鈥� she says.

Westerkamp conducted her first soundwalk 51 years ago in Convocation Mall at 丁香园AV. As she accepted her honorary degree in the same spot, she invited the audience in the mall to reflect on their acoustic environment: 鈥淟et鈥檚 listen to where we are: to this Mall, designed by Arthur Erickson in 1965. What is the closest sound you can hear? The most distant? What is the quietest sound? What if there was a sudden power outage? Which sounds would stop? Which ones might become audible? Remember Covid? How quiet the world became suddenly? Which sounds became clearly audible? Notice the sound of your own thoughts.鈥� She rings a bell and waits, letting the moment wash over the crowd.

The practice of listening to our soundscape is more relevant than ever. As Westerkamp explains, listening can help us learn more about our environments and each other as we grapple with pressing matters such as the climate crisis and decolonization. 鈥淚n capitalist society, silence is a threat,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t goes against the drive of society, of doing something, of getting somewhere, of finding paradise, or whatever it is that we want to find.鈥�

In the early years of soundscape studies, the community was international but small. These days, there is a large community of scholars in the field, and the idea of soundscape and soundwalking has become more mainstream. 鈥淚n the last five years, since the pandemic, it's been stunning to all of us how the interest in acoustic ecology, listening, and environmental concerns has just skyrocketed. Both Barry and I have been really busy as a result with constant zoom sessions and workshops, and it's been gratifying.鈥�

Westerkamp says it may be time to take a break. She can no longer hear very high frequencies and as a result doesn鈥檛 feel comfortable composing like she used to. She鈥檚 spending more time writing and reflecting on the past. 鈥淎fter the convocation, I feel like it's a bit of a watershed for me; I think maybe now I can finally stop and not do so much anymore鈥�maybe I have the right now to slow down.鈥�

It's important to take a moment to slow down and listen once in a while. Westerkamp explains it best:

Sound is part of time and space, so when we listen, we hear time passing, and it slows us down. Slowing down in itself, I think, is an absolute must these days, not to participate in the hectic of modern life, not in the hectic of the corporate world. It makes us sick. It creates fragmentation and ungroundedness. If we follow that hectic speed, that's where we end up. We end up sick and confused. If we listen, if we stop, we dare to listen 鈥� I would say it's daring, because we are actually doing something that goes against the status quo of society 鈥� we have the benefit of slowing down and getting grounded and focused. It's very close to meditation on that level. [鈥�] If we are a community of listeners, then we can help each other.

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The School of Communication continues to be a leader in sound studies and acoustic ecology. Incoming director and Glenfraser Endowed Professor in Sound Studies Milena Droumeva manages the Sonic Research Studio along with senior lecturer David Murphy and professor emeritus Barry Truax.

To learn more about exciting research happening in the School of Communication and across the Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology, tune into our podcast Speakable, which will launch this September.

Learn more about Westerkamp鈥檚 soundwalks in this .

Learn more about 丁香园AV鈥檚 honorary degree recipients.