Bruno Degazio | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Bruno Degazio

Degazio, Bruno. Composer, b Welland, Ont, 31 Mar 1958, B MUS (Toronto) 1980, M MUS (Toronto) 1981. At the University of Toronto he studied composition with Gustav Ciamaga and Schenkerian analysis with Edward Laufer, and also participated in the Structured Sound Synthesis Project with William Buxton.

Degazio, Bruno

Degazio, Bruno. Composer, b Welland, Ont, 31 Mar 1958, B MUS (Toronto) 1980, M MUS (Toronto) 1981. At the University of Toronto he studied composition with Gustav Ciamaga and Schenkerian analysis with Edward Laufer, and also participated in the Structured Sound Synthesis Project with William Buxton. He was instrumental in organizing Sound Pressure, a contemporary music ensemble. Degazio has been the recipient of numerous Canada Council and OAC research grants and commissions. His work as a sound editor has resulted in a Genie nomination (for Anne Wheeler's Bye, Bye Blues), and prizes from the Baltimore Film Festival and the Toronto Advertising Awards.

Degazio has composed some 20 works for the concert hall, many involving electronic and mixed media, and has had performances throughout Canada, the USA, and Europe. These works include Hunting of the Snark (1981), The Nativity (1981), Crash (1989, with the Monique Giard Dance Company), and Tropus (1990). His music is characterized by broad gestures, visceral dynamic appeal and a conventional approach to tonality. He has worked closely with many leading experimental film makers and has developed sound tracks for two 3-D IMAX films for the 1990 World's Fair in Osaka, Japan. As a researcher in the field of fractal computer music he has presented papers and music at leading national and international conferences. He was the first Canadian to perceive the relationship of fractal geometry and music, and one of the first in the world to apply fractal techniques to algorithmic composition with some degree of depth. Compositions employing this technique include Strange Attractions (1986), HeatNoise (1987; recorded on 4-ACM 37 CD), On Growth and Form (1989), Digital Rituals (1990), and Humoresque (1990; recorded on empreintes DIGITALes IMED-9004 CD). He was also the first to study Joseph Schillinger's method of composition in its relationship to contemporary algorithmic techniques. He is a member of the Canadian Electroacoustic Community.

Writings

Bruno Degazio, 'Musical aspects of fractal geometry,' Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference, (San Francisco 1986)

'The MIDIFORTH computer music system,' Proceedings of Printemps Electroacoustique (Montreal 1987)

'The development of context sensitivity in the MIDIFORTH computer music system,' Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference, (Cologne 1988)

'Fractal geometry and the Schillinger system,' GUIDE Diffusion! (Montreal 1988)

'Fractal music: aesthetic and practice,' Proceedings of the Steirischer Herbst Festival Chaos and Order (Graz 1989)

Degazio also writes a bi-monthly column, 'MIDI buzz,' on MIDI applications for computers in Reset Magazine (Ottawa 1987-)