Artist Residency

Deep Wireless/CBC Outfront commissioning/residency

New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA) and CBC Radio's Outfront, for the sixth year in a row, are presenting the Deep Wireless commissioning and residency program. This residency program allows both experimental sound artists and radio producers outside of the experimental realm to approach the form of personal narrative from a perspective that combines words and sounds in a fresh and innovative fashion. Four Canadian artists - Tristan Whiston, Friendly Rich Marsella, Marjorie Chan and Eldad Tsabary - were selected from a Canada-wide call for submissions to produce a work for both CBC's Outfront radio broadcast and for presentation during Deep Wireless 2008 festival of radio and transmission art. To follow are descriptions of their works that will be created for Deep Wireless and CBC's Outfront:

Requiem for a Boxer
by Tristan Whiston

Requiem for a Boxer follows a recently retired boxer as he returns to the gym to say a final goodbye. This is his requiem, his ‘prayer for that which is departed’, an audio composition that reveals what is often referred to in boxing as “heart”, and the heart of this one-time boxer.

Tristan R. Whiston has worked in Toronto’s independent theatre community for the past 17 years. His radio documentary Middle C (made for Outfront), won the Premios Ondas award for International Radio and a silver medal at the New York Festivals. As an amateur boxer, Tristan fought in over 40 bouts, competing provincially, nationally and internationally.

The Ugliest Sound in the World
by Friendly Rich

In 1964, Dr. Ronald Gutt set out on a 10-year quest to find and capture the ugliest sound in the world. He documented his hunt with a small tape machine that the BBC recently discovered in Dr. Gutt's secret archives. The "ugliest sound" was played once by Dr. Gutt at a conference in 1977, and the entire audience was hospitalized shortly after.

Friendly Rich Marsella is a composer from Georgetown, Ontario. Mr. Rich has composed background music for 3 seasons of MTV's The Tom Green Show. He is the leader of the 10-piece cabaret ensemble The Lollipop People. Rich resides in the small 10meg suburban website . Friendly Rich recently produced a children’s radio pilot for CBC Radio entitled “Dr. Calamari’s Cabinet”.

Whole Heartiness (2008)
by Eldad Tsabary

The first thing Father Joe showed me when I met him at the St. Willibrord Parish in Verdun was a large poster citing many versions of “Love your neighbor” from many religions in many languages. In the following two months I frequented the church and its hospitality centre in order to experience and learn more about how this important religious activity – loving your neighbor – is carried out on a daily basis in the close-knit St. Willibrord community. Among the countless stories of selflessness I encountered, I selected the hospitality centre – where all are welcome to spend a few hours and receive a hot meal and drinks three times a week – to represent charity and neighborly-love as an important aspect of religion and human life. Being of an Israeli background, I have always experienced an insatiable thirst for unconditional cross-religious human love, respect, and acts of charity; I have found it in the hearts and deeds of the good people of St. Willibrord Parish and composed this piece to express my thanks and appreciation to them.

Dogs Say What?
by Marjorie Chan

In China, dogs say ‘wang wang’. In Spain, dogs say ‘guau guau’. In English, dogs say ‘woof woof’. A fun cross-cultural portrait of animal sounds from around the world.

Marjorie is a writer/performer based in Toronto. Her debut as a playwright was the acclaimed drama China Doll (Nightwood Theatre). She has written several radio dramas for CBC Radio, as well as several short librettos for Tapestry New Opera Works. Other commissioning companies include Deep Wireless (New Adventures in Sound Art), Wu Ming Dance Projects, Crow’s Theatre and Theatre Direct Canada. Her projects slated for the stage in 2008 include the opera Sanctuary Song (with composer Abigail Richardson) for Theatre Direct/Tapestry, as well as a nanking winter for Nightwood Theatre/Cahoots. She is the recipient of a performance Dora and the K.M. Hunter Artist Award.