Canada: May 2006 Report
CMC Audio Archive Goes Digital
Established in 1959, The Canadian Music Centre (CMC) serves as a home for Canada's composers of classical, jazz and electroacoustic music and their work. It functions as a "one-stop shop" through its information, publishing and CD distribution activities aimed at promoting the works of its 648 Associate Composers. It is also an important resource for performers, conductors, orchestras, choirs, ensembles, broadcasters, researchers, educators, students and all those who listen to Canadian music. There are over 17,000 unpublished Canadian music scores and over 5,000 performance recordings in the CMC archival collection.
The CMC's Anne Southam Audio Archive is one of the largest sources of non-commercially recorded Canadian concert music. As such, it functions as an essential research tool for CMC clients and patrons. The CMC has recently embarked on the process of improving both the access to and preservation of this archive by creating digital audio master files to be housed on a CMC in-house server. This activity is part of a project which has been made possible through a grant from Canada's Audio Visual Preservation Trust. AVTrust is a non-profit organization which was created in 1994 under the leadership of the National Archives of Canada, with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage, to explore the need for a national strategy for the protection of Canadian archival materials, and to provide access through partnerships with the audio-visual community.
The CMC's project is focused on completing the digitization of audio from a large number of reel-to-reel tapes, audio cassette tapes and DAT cassettes. These tapes and cassettes contain radio broadcasts of live performances of Canadian concert music composed by CMC Associate Composers, as well as composer audio submissions from the past ten years. Works that previously have been transferred to CD will also be transferred to the audio server. Having these audio files stored in one format and in one location not only makes sense from an archival perspective, but it will also allow the CMC to consider future web-based audio initiatives.
Attention will be drawn to this AV Trust project through the creation and launch of a virtual exhibit. The exhibit will highlight the importance of maintaining and preserving Canadian recorded musical history, reinforcing the cultural legacy of such an important collection. This will be achieved through a series of audio galleries showcasing the cultural diversity of Canada's musical heritage, and drawn directly from the CMC's audio archive collection. The exhibition will be launched on the CMC's website (www.musiccentre.ca) at the end of May 2006.
