Listening Conditions We tend to think of an emergency as something sudden—the kind of jarring, life-and-death situation that leaps out at us with abrupt urgency. And when we think about what an emergency sounds like, that assumption is often fresh in our minds: sirens, clatter—noises sharp and loud[...] Read more

Featured Article Sara Constant Issue 139

Muxubo Mohamed Dares to Represent Compromise? What is compromising? Compromising for what? Compromising for what reason? . . . What is compromise? —Eartha Kitt   That emphatic excerpt from a 1982 documentary is sampled at the start of “He(r)story,” the opening track on[...] Read more

Sound Bite Monica Pearce Issue 131

Audiopollination Seeds Creative Evolution “Two musicians, say, coming together to play a piece of music, I think has to be interesting. Even if the results are not in themselves a great piece of music, the way they find to work with each other says something about music. So you can hear one musician figuring out—you can[...] Read more

Sound Bite Joe Strutt Issue 144

Gordan Monahan Gordon Monahan’s voice floats to me across the Internet from his farm, the Funny Farm, his home base in Meaford, Ontario.   Monahan was recently awarded a 2013 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, and is already planning a series of installations for 2013,[...] Read more

In the Works David McCallum Issue 116

Yves Charuest and The Existential Act of Improvisation In the fall of 2016, I attended Montreal rehearsals and concerts and Toronto recording sessions of Roscoe Mitchell and the Toronto-Montreal Art Orchestra for a feature article that was published in Musicworks 127. This complex, largely through-composed music—Mitchell’s[...] Read more

Featured Article Stuart Broomer Issue 141

What's Inside Musicworks 144? Cozy up with the Winter 2022–23 issue and discover new pathways of sonic connectivity!   ON THE COVER: SLOWPITCHSOUND With roots in turntablism that extend into the likes of classical composition, sound design, and theatre, Toronto-based artist and musician[...] Read more

Featured Article Issue 144

Winners of Musicworks' 2019 Electronic Music Composition Contest Announced . . . at Last! After a month delay due to challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, Musicworks is thrilled to announce the winners of its 2019 Electronic Music Composition Contest. We thank composer entrants for their patience.   Brazilian composer Alex Buck, who is currently based[...] Read more

Featured Article STAFF

João Pedro Oliveira's "La Mer Émeraude" Third place in Musicworks’ 2020 Electronic Music Composition Contest was awarded to João Pedro Oliveira's La Mer Émeraude (The Emerald Sea). The composition has also received awards at SIME Competition, Città di Udine Competition, the Destellos Competition[...] Read more

Featured Article STAFF

The Blessed Riders of Streetcars in Vienna Streetcars in Vienna are blessedly quiet. The machines—brand new, high-tech plastic platforms—announce themselves on approach with only a slight electric hum. I now react to their high pitch with the same short sprints I used to make to catch the lumbering College streetcar in[...] Read more

Sonic Geography Caitlin Smith Issue 118

Lido Pimienta curates a sonic community Colombia-born, Toronto-based Lido Pimienta has been called “the consummate collaborator”—and with good reason. Although she writes, sings, produces, and plays many instruments—and is certainly talented and strong-willed enough to make recordings on her own—[...] Read more

Sound Bite Mary Dickie Issue 120