Christian Calon (born 5 September 1950) is a French-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

who is active in

electroacoustic music Electroacoustic music is a Music genre, genre of Western art music in which composers use recording technology and audio signal processing to manipulate the timbres of Acoustics, acoustic sounds in the creation of pieces of music. It originated a ...

. He has worked extensively in large computer-based studios in Canada and Europe and has received commissions from the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...

, the Groupe de Musique Expérimentale de Marseille, and the

Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec The Ministry of Culture and Communications (, ) is responsible for promoting and protecting the culture in the Canadian province of Quebec. The current minister, since 2022, is Mathieu Lacombe. The ministry was formed in 2012 after the immigr ...

. His work is written in an expressionist and narrative style and his pieces are characterized by

acousmatic diffusion Acousmatic sound is sound that is heard without an originating cause being seen. The word ''acousmatic'', from the French , is derived from the Greek word ''akousmatikoi'' (ἀκουσματικοί), which referred to probationary pupils of the phi ...

Life

Born in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, he immigrated to Canada in 1966 and settled in

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Calon is a largely self-taught musician who became interested in electroacoustic music through his friend and mentor, Francis Dhomont. He received his only formal training at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

where he pursued graduate studies in computer music for one year. Calon began his composing career in Montréal. In 1986 he co-founded the

Canadian Electroacoustic Community La Communauté électroacoustique canadienne (CEC; ''English'': The Canadian Electroacoustic Community) is Canada's national Electroacoustic music, electroacoustic / computer music / Sound art, sonic arts organization and is dedicated to promoting ...

with some 100 other musicians, serving as the organization's vice-president in 1989–90. In 1985 his work ''Portrait d'un Visiteur'' won first prize at the 1985 Luigi Russolo International Competition. He moved to Europe in 1990, and in 1991 was appointed music director of the studios of the Groupe de Musique Expérimentale de Marseille. In 1995–96, with the support of the DAAD (Germany), he was one of the foreign artists in residence in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He is currently based in Montreal.

List of works

*''Aiguiser l'ouïe'' (2001) *''Atlas'' (2005–08) *''Constellations'' (1992–94) *''Les corps éblouis'' (1994) *''La disparition'' (1988) *''Documents de surface'' (2002), radio roadmovie in collaboration with Chantal Dumas *''Dunkelblau'' (2008), film opera in collaboration with Uli Aumüller *''En vol'' (1994) *''Infamie: Fragmente einer Kartographie'' (2005) *'' mprovisation' (2005) *''Lettre à M.'' (1995), radio work *''men women train'' (1995) *''Minuit'' (1989) *''Le petit homme dans l'oreille'' (2000), radio roadmovie in collaboration with Chantal Dumas *''Portrait d'un visiteur'' (1985) *''Prochaine station'' (1990), in collaboration with Claude Schryer *''Le projet Ulysse'' (1997–2000), *''Sémaphore-Nord'' (1997) *''Souffles primitifs'' (2001), bass flute, and tape *''The Standing Man'' (1994–96), installation-performance for three-dimensional sound spaces (projected from 24 channels), on a poem by

François Villon François Villon (; Modern French: ; ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these e ...

*''The Ulysses project'' (1997–1998), radio work, for DeutschlandRadio Berlin *''Temps incertains'' (1990) *''Time Well'' (2000) *''Vers les oiseaux'' (2002) *''Die Windrose'' (2008) *''Die Zimmer der Erinnerung es chambres de la mémoire' (1997), a fictional essay for radio after

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...

(DeutschlandRadio Berlin) *''z , s (un essai sur le Temps)'' (1999–2002), (DeutschlandRadio Berlin)

Awards

*2006 – Prix Opus, Quebec *2004 – Represents Canada at the World New Music Days (Switzerland) *2003 – Distinction at the International CIMESP competition (Brazil) *2003 – Selection of the Confluencias International Competition (Spain) *2001 – Grand Prix Phonurgia Nova (France) *1999 – Grand Prix Marulic of the UER/EBU *1997 – Mention at the

Prix Ars Electronica The Prix Ars Electronica is one of the best known and longest running yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music. It has been awarded since 1987 by Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria ...

(Austria) *1996 – Lynch-Staunton Prize (Canada) *1995 – Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica (Austria) *1995 – Residency at the DAAD (Germany) *1994 – 2nd Prize at the Concours International de Bourges (France) *1991 – 2nd Prize at the NEWCOMP International Computer Music Competition (USA) *1989 – 1st Prize at the Concours International de Bourges (France) *1989 – Chosen to represent Canada at the World Music Days *1988 – 2nd Prize at the NEWCOMP International Computer Music Competition (USA) *1985 – 1st Prize at the Concours International Luigi Russolo (Italia)

Recordings

*''Radio Roadmovies'' with Chantal Dumas ( 326 music, 326 006/007, 2003) *''Les corps éblouis'' (empreintes DIGITALes, IMED 9838, 1998), nominated for the album of the year at the 1998 "Opus Awards" (Canada) *''Ligne de vie: récits électriques'' (empreintes DIGITALes, IMED 9001, 1990), selected for the 1990

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. His works also appear on these compilations: *''Électro clips'' (empreintes DIGITALes, IMED 9004, IMED 9604), *''Anthology of Canadian Music: Electroacoustic music'' (Radio Canada International, AMC 37), *''DISContact! II'' ( CEC, 95CD1-2), *''Cultures électroniques 4'' (Le chant du monde, LDC 278049/50), and *''Cultures électroniques 8'' (Mnémosyne musique média, LDC 278058/59).

References

*Zelli, Bijan. "Reale und virtuelle Räume in der Computermusik: Theorien, Systeme, Analysen." Unpublished PhD dissertation. Kommunikations- und Geschichtswissenschaft, Technische Universität Berlin, 2001. Available o
the author’s website
the dissertation includes an analysis of ''The Standing Man''.

External links