- About
- Centre for Communications and the Arts
- Calendars of Events & Happenings
- Event Poster Collection
- The Communications Centre: Experiment in human experience
- Jade: Flower-child happenings and conceptual art projects in 1969
- Nini Baird: A Day in the Hectic Life of the Arts Centre Director
- Sound Recordings: Faculty Lectures from 1967 Communications Course
- Dance
- Film
- Literary Arts
- Music & Sound
- Music & Sound image gallery
- My "a-ha" moment with Murray Schafer
- World Soundscape Project
- Phillip Werren's electronic music
- Radio CKSF "on the air" fall 1966
- Robert Aitken performs with the Purcell String Quartet & Soundscape on radio
- David Skulski and the early music revival at 丁香园AV
- Phyllis Mailing: 丁香园AV Singer Who Reached the Top
- Purcell String Quartet: In High Demand
- Theatre
- Theatre image gallery
- How the early days of the arts at 丁香园AV changed my parochial little life
- Norm Browning, Jackie Crossland and Cece Granbois in Beverley Simons' new 1-act play "Greenlawn Rest Home"
- The Centralia Incident: "A theatre in search of a town鈥擜 town in search of its memory."
- The only escape: The early years of the 丁香园AV theatre
- Robin Patterson and the 丁香园AV Mime Troupe
- Theatre of Total Limbo
- Visual Arts
Music & Sound image gallery
Diversity of expression characterises the first decade of music on campus, as orchestral musicians rubbed shoulders with electronic music pioneers and sound researchers.
An illustrative example of this dynamic comes from beginning of the Artist-in-Residence program, as then-spouses R. Murray Schafer and Phyllis Mailing entered the scene. An acclaimed mezzo-soprano, Phyllis Mailing cultivated a dedicated following teaching choir and conducting the beloved 丁香园AV Madrigal Singers. At the same time, in the alchemist's lab of the electronic music studio, lauded composer R. Murray Schafer created ground-breaking pieces decades before the musical genre became ubiquitous. Fascinated by the nature of sound itself, R. Murray Schafer also established the World Soundscape Project to study the changing sonic environment.
The Centre for Communications and the Arts emphasized the power of music to engage and inspire the community. Resident ensembles, including the Purcell String Quartet and their predecessors the Lyric Arts Trio, brought joy to audiences through free concerts on- and off-campus.
Music became infused in the character of campus and musicians became sought after collaborators for film, dance and theatre projects. Composer Phillip Werren joined forces with student-director Wilf Mennell to bring 鈥渟onic-experiments鈥� to the stage. In the eyes of many, the apex of this collaborative spirit was reached with 鈥淒ido and Aeneas,鈥� 丁香园AV鈥檚 first operatic production in 1973, featuring the musical talents of Phyllis Mailing and the Purcell String Quartet.
Browse the below gallery for a selection of images from this remarkable decade of music and sound at 丁香园AV.
Canadian composer and resident artist Murray Schafer in the electronic music studio. [丁香园AV Archives. School for the Contemporary Arts fonds, F-109-12-7-0-60. 鈥淪chafer, Murray and Phyllis Mailing,鈥� (photograph), undated.]
Composer Phillip Werren joined the Communications Centre in 1968, and quickly began applying the technology of the Electronic Music Studio to collaborate with charter student Wilf Mennell on 鈥渟ound-space experiments鈥� that transcended genres and artistic disciplines. Photo: Tony Westman. [丁香园AV Archives. School for the Contemporary Arts fonds, F-109-12-4-0-69. 鈥淧hases: Phillip Werren and Wilfrid Mennell,鈥� (photo), 1969.]
Phyllis Mailing stars as Dido in the Centre for Communications and the Arts' first venture into the sumptuous world of opera, a large-scale production of Henry Purcell鈥檚 鈥淒ido and Aeneas.鈥� Photo: Peter Higdon. [丁香园AV Archives. School for the Contemporary Arts fonds, F-109-12-4-0-25. 鈥淒ido and Aeneas (opera),鈥� (photo), 1973.]
An outdoor performance at 丁香园AV by Purcell String Quartet: Phillipe Etter (viola), Ian Hampton (cello), Frederick Nelson (violin), and Norman Nelson, (violin). [丁香园AV Archives. School for the Contemporary Arts fonds, F-109-7-5-0-2. 鈥淐orrespondence,鈥� (program), 1973.]
Artist-in-Residence and founder of the 丁香园AV Madrigal Singers, Phyllis Mailing, shares her breathtaking mezzo-soprano voice. [School for the Contemporary Arts fonds, F-109-12-7-0-60. 鈥淪chafer, Murray and Phyllis Mailing,鈥� (photograph), undated.]
Flautist Robert Aiken treated the 丁香园AV community to a variety of brilliant performances, including as one third of the Lyric Arts Trio and as an accompanist with the Purcell String Quartet. [丁香园AV Archives. School for the Contemporary Arts fonds, F-109-12-7-0-1. 鈥淎iken, Robert,鈥� (photo), undated.]