Jeffrey Martin · 2019 ArtScape Artist-In-Residence

Jeffrey Martin, a composer and music educator from Sackville, New Brunswick.

• Sounding Cliffs | A soundscape composition project

Martin focuses on electro-acoustic works, but also spans a wide range of music, including instrumental and vocal works, film soundtracks, pieces for jazz improvisation, and collaborations with choreographers and visual artists. His compositions have been heard across Canada and in Asia.

He has been involved in music education as both teacher and researcher, and has published numerous articles and book chapters on topics pertaining to creative thinking and student composition. His teaching appointments have included the China Conservatory of Music and Mount Allison University.

Martin’s Sounding Cliffs: A Soundscape Project will explore the Joggins Fossil Cliffs from the perspectives of sound and, in particular, the tradition of soundscape composition. Through a series of soundwalks and field recordings, done at various sites along the cliffs, Martin will enquire into the unique acoustic features of this specific environment, as well as gather material for a sound-based musical composition to be completed during the residency. The soundscape exploration and resultant musical work is intended to offer the public an encounter with the fossil cliffs that enhances and complements the visual experience.

The completed composition will be presented both live and as a web-based listening experience, the latter of which will include samples of the recorded sound sources and their transformations. Also planned are guided soundwalks, artist talks and workshops on soundscape composition for children and adults. Sounding Cliffs is purposed to draw attention to the Joggins Fossil Cliffs as a kind of musical performance rather than as simply a sonic background.