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Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology

exploring the role of sound in natural and cultural environments

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A recap of the 2023 WFAE Conference: Listening Pasts – Listening Futures

The World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, (WFAE) a global nonprofit membership association devoted to the study of soundscapes, hosted an international conference, Listening Pasts – Listening Futures from March 23-26, 2023, in partnership with Atlantic Center for the Arts (New Smyrna Beach, FL USA) and Stetson University (Deland, FL USA).  

The Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology was thrilled to have multiple members present at the event, including Alex Braidwood, Lindsey French, Maya Nguyen, Deirdre Harrison, Ivy Fu, Viv Corringham, Alex Young, Lisa Schonberg, Maya McCollum, and the outgoing WFAE President, Eric Leonardson. They presented music, installations and papers and composed an important part of the vital dialogue fostered by this conference.

The WFAE 2023 conference coincides with the 30th anniversary of the WFAE, founded in 1993, during ‘Tuning of the World: The First International Conference on Acoustic Ecology’ at the Banff Centre for the Arts. ​This is the first time it has been held in the United States of America.

Artists, academics, authors, students and community engagement specialists gathered to present research, performances, installations and workshops prompted by the essential question of how we may learn collectively from the past and imagine new futures based on a diversity of listening practices and acoustic relationships in our ecosystems. Over 80 people from 20+ countries of origin, including a dozen students from Stetson who assisted with installation, concert and panel production we hosted on-site in New Smyrna Beach, were joined by 109 remote participants from around the globe over four days, with an additional 100+ members of the local public at pre-conference events organized by ACA and Stetson. Another 30 or so visually impaired youth participants and staff of the Young Sound Seekers program at Canaveral National Seashore spent an afternoon with global attendees making field recordings together. 

As the wider field of sound studies has matured, so have contributions made by acoustic ecology towards sonic scholarship and practice, including addressing the legacies of the World Soundscape Project. At a time of pivotal environmental awakening, the convening of this community of international specialists allowed time and space to reflect on and re-imagine core values of the field, central approaches, methods, and key theorists of past, present, and future.  Emerging from this reflective process is the conviction that acoustic ecology and soundscape studies have much to offer the world.


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  • Acoustic Environments in Change and Five Village Soundscapes : [PDF facsimile] Järviluoma, Helmi; Kytö, Meri; Truax, Barry; Uimonen, Heikki; Vikman, Noora; Schafer, R. Murray; Tampere University of Applied Sciences (2023)
  • Arcana Editions Arcana Editions presents books and scores by Canadian composer, educator, and soundscape researcher Raymond Murray Schafer (1933-2021). Many are unobtainable through other sources, including Schafer’s newer works.
  • Handbook For Acoustic Ecology Barry Truax, editor. Second Edition, 1999. Originally published by the World Soundscape Project, Simon Fraser University, and ARC Publications, 1978.
  • HUSH CITY MOBILE LAB Hush City is a free, citizen science mobile app, which empowers people to identify and assess quiet areas in cities as to create an open access, web-based map of quiet areas, with the potential of orientating plans and policies for healthier living…
  • Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology A scholarly peer-reviewed journal produced by the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, now in digital form and available to all.

Friends of MSAE

  • Audio Arts and Acoustics – Columbia College
  • Biosphere Soundscapes
  • Brushwood Center
  • Center for Global Soundscapes
  • Chicago Parks Foundation
  • Experimental Sound Studio
  • FLUX BIKES
  • Great Lakes Association for Sound Studies
  • Indiana Dunes National Park
  • Inferno Mobile Recording Studio
  • International Society of Ecoacoustics
  • Mixage Fou
  • NEXT.cc
  • Night Out In the Parks | Chicago Park District
  • Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
  • Radius
  • SAIC SOUND
  • Singing Insects Monitoring Program
  • The EcoVoice Project
  • The Lucky Trikes
  • Wild Things
  • World Forum for Acoustic Ecology
  • World Listening Project

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Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology2 weeks ago
First of all, we’d like to thank you for your support over the past year. As we enter the second year that the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology has implemented a membership structure, we have now grown to over 60 engaged community members. We couldn’t be happier to be doing this work with you! With your help, the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology has been able to support artists and students to lead acoustic ecology programming throughout the region, and attendance and participation in the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE) conference, Listening Pasts, Listening Futures, which convened a global cohort to mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE).

We’ve enjoyed our Night Out in the Parks summer programming, World Listening Day, the Hear Below series with NON:op, and other events throughout the year - we hope you did too!In the coming year, we are excited to expand our programming in Chicago and the great Midwest region.

This Giving Tuesday, support MSAE by renewing your membership for 2024, or joining us for the first time today. Visit our website to find out more: https://mwsae.org/about/
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Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology2 months ago
Please join us on Saturday, October 14th from 10:30-noon to celebrate Indigenous People's Day.
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