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Biography
Canadian composer of interdisciplinary works that have been performed throughout the world; he was also active as a writer. Mr. Schafer initially studied harpsichord, music theory and piano at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto from 1945–55. He then briefly studied composition with John Weinzweig, harpsichord with Greta Kraus and piano with Alberto Guerrero at the University of Toronto in 1954–55, from where he was expelled for insubordination. He obtained a piano degree from the Royal College of Music in London while still in Canada. He later taught himself journalism, languages, literature, music, and philosophy in Vienna and London from 1956–61, on a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. He received six honorary doctorates from universities in Argentina, Canada and France.
Among his honours were two prizes from the Fromm Foundation (1968, 1972), the Canadian Music Council Medal (1972), a Guggenheim Fellowship (1974), the William Harold Moon Award (1974), the Composer of the Year Award from the Canadian Music Council (1976), the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music from the Canada Council for the Arts (1977, for String Quartet No. 2, 'Waves'), the Prix Honegger (1980, for String Quartet No. 1), the Glenn Gould Prize for Music and Its Communication (1987), the Molson Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts (1993), the Louis Applebaum Composer's Award (1999, for his œuvre), the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts from the Canada Council for the Arts (2005, for his œuvre), the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (2009), and the title of Companion of the Order of Canada (2013).
As a writer, he contributed articles to many publications and edited the collections British Composers in Interview (1963) and Ezra Pound and Music: The Complete Criticism (1977, W. W. Norton & Company). He wrote the books The Composer in the Classroom (1965), Ear Cleaning: Notes for an Experimental Music Course (1967), The New Soundscape (1969), The Book of Noise (1970), When Words Sing (1970), The Rhinoceros in the Classroom (1975), E. T. A. Hoffmann and Music (1975), Creative Music Education (1976), Music in the Cold (1977), The Tuning of the World (1977), On Canadian Music (1984, Arcana Editions), The Thinking Ear: On Music Education (1986), Patria and the Theatre of Confluence (1991, Arcana Editions), A Sound Education (1992), and Voices of Tyranny: Temples of Silence (1993). Among his other writings were the story Wolf Tracks, the novels Dicamus et Labyrinthos: A Philologist's Notebook (1984, Arcana Editions) and Ariadne, the calligraphic stories The Chaldean Inscription and The Sixteen Scribes, and the autobiography My Life on Earth and Elsewhere (2012, The Porcupine's Quill).
He was also active in other positions. He founded the series Ten Centuries Concerts in Toronto in 1962 and served as its director in 1962–63. He undertook research in the field of acoustic ecology and remained active as a researcher with the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (formerly the World Soundscape Project), which he founded in 1970. He later co-founded with Diana Smith, Jerrard Smith and Thom Sokoloski the company Patria Music/Theatre Projects for the production of works in his cycle Patria in 1987.
He taught as artist-in-residence at Memorial University of Newfoundland from 1963–65, then taught at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia from 1965–75, where he founded the Studio for Sonic Research and Electronic Music.
There are no productions for this artist in the Season Schedule of Performances which currently only dates back to 1991.
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Artist Information
All information is derived from OPERA America's Season Schedule of Performances and titles databases which date back to 1991. OPERA America is constantly updating this data. If you feel that a work or an artist has been omitted or that information is incorrect, please use the linked forms below. Title Information Form Artist Information Form
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