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Dear Colleagues and Friends: It is with great sadness that I write to inform you that Nigel Frayne passed away on Friday, January 6, 2018. His death comes after many years of battling cancer. Until his final days, Nigel was actively helping the leadership of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE), as Treasurer, and its Australian affiliate, the Australian Forum of Acoustic Ecology (AFAE).  Nigel Frayne (1952 - 2018) in Melbourne, August 2003. Photo: Helen Dilkes, PhD. Nigel joined the WFAE in 1996, a few years after its founding, when he met Hildegard Westerkamp. She wrote an eloquent piece about this experience, titled "Thanking Nigel" on pages 5-6 of the 2010 edition of Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology, Volume 10. Hildegard describes the essential role Nigel subsequently played in the WFAE's future. Not only defining the organizational structure of the WFAE, but for over 20 years, Nigel served as a steadfast friend and supporter of the new leadership of which I am honored to be a part. This, with my mentors and a new younger generation of forward-thinking scholars, artists, researchers, and designers, is Nigel's gift.
Of Nigel's role, AFAE President and WFAE Vice President, Dr. Leah Barclay wrote: Nigel Frayne had an incredible impact on the field of acoustic ecology. As a founding member of the AFAE, he spearheaded many activities over the years, including the 2003 WFAE conference in Melbourne; a pivotal event for many people on a national and international scale. As the first and longest-standing chair of the WFAE, his commitment, passion, persistence and dedication transformed the organisation into a truly global network. Nigel’s vision to make the WFAE a more manageable organisation resulted in a restructure into clusters of groups with geographical administration and governance. This was the beginning of WFAE affiliates, which is how we continue to operate internationally today.  In December 2017, Biosphere Soundscapes and the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre are hosting “Perspectives on Listening” an international symposium and workshop bringing together an interdisciplinary group of researchers to explore the role of sound in our environment.
Biosphere Soundscapes is an interdisciplinary research project investigating the creative and scientific possibilities of acoustic ecology through environmental field recording, biodiversity monitoring and a diversity of creative projects spanning four continents. The project works in partnership with multiple organisations to develop and deliver socially embedded acoustic ecology research in collaboration with the communities of UNESCO biosphere reserves across the world. Biosphere Soundscapes is part of an exciting portfolio of interdisciplinary collaborations across creative arts and environmental sciences emerging at Griffith University. Perspectives on Listening will introduce the interdisciplinary possibilities of acoustic ecology and ecoacoustics and highlight the value of listening in changing environments. The three-day program features keynotes from Steven Feld (USA) and Monica Gagliano (AU) in addition to panels, research presentations, live performances, immersive installations, sound walks and field trips across the rainforests of the Sunshine Coast and aquatic ecosystems in Noosa Biosphere Reserve. Steven Feld is a leading American ethnomusicologist, anthropologist, and linguist who will present the 25th anniversary edition of ‘Voices of the Rainforest’ – his composition of a day in the life of the Bosavi rainforest and Kaluli people in Papua New Guinea. The work has touched audiences concerned with ecological integrity, interspecies art, and cultural survival, and remains in popular circulation through Smithsonian Folkways. Monica Gagliano will speak about plant bioacoustics – a new field she has pioneered by demonstrating for the first time that plants emit their own ‘voices’ as well as detect and respond to the sounds surrounding them. Dr Gagliano is a Research Associate Professor in Evolutionary Ecology at the University of Western Australia and her research is radically transforming our perception of plants and more generally, nature. The event is endorsed by the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE) and will feature virtual contributions from across the world supported by Arts Front, including artists developing new technologies for live streaming audio in remote locations, scientists pioneering new research in freshwater ecoacoustics and artists from Vanuatu speaking about indigenous perspectives on listening and climate change. The creative program includes an immersive listening room and the Queensland premiere of Dr Leah Barclay’s new spatial sound installation “Migration Patterns: Saltwater” which features marine hydrophone recordings from the Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve. Perspectives on Listening concludes with sonic explorations through subtropical rainforests on the Sunshine Coast and a closing ceremony in the Noosa Biosphere Reserve. This is an intimate event with limited capacity, registration for the three days is $120 ($85 for students). Biosphere Soundscapes and the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre are also encouraging virtual registration and are working towards measuring and minimising the carbon impact of this event as part of an initiative to encourage environmentally sustainable research practices. The virtual registration ($40) is open for delegates anywhere in the world and will enable participation from community collaborators in remote locations across Mexico, India, Indonesia and Vanuatu. ‘Perspectives on Listening’ is a dynamic participatory event encouraging dialogue and collaborations that continue to promote Queensland as a global focal point for acoustic ecology. The outcomes from this symposium will inform the development of Biosphere Soundscapes programs in 2018 and build momentum towards the International Ecoacoustics Congress, hosted in Brisbane in June 2018. Explore the program and register here. |
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