About Me ~ Lisa Gasior
Lisa Gasior has been hearing since birth but started listening in September of 2000. She received her B.A. in Communications and Journalism with a minor in Electroacoustic Studies at Concordia University, and is currently pursuing her M.A. in Media Studies at Concordia. Lisa’s thesis project, Sounding Griffintown (funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada), is taking her back in time as she researches the history and soundscapes of this Montreal neighbourhood.
Lisa is a research assistant for Dr. Andra McCartney, having worked on Dr. McCartney’s soundscape project, Journées sonores: Canal de Lachine, as well as the In and Out of the Sound Studio research project and conference. Lisa is also part of Dr. Matt Soar’s Logocities project (www.logocities.org). Lisa has been teacher’s assistant in both beginner and advanced sound production courses at Concordia and, in her spare time, she composes short electroacoustic pieces and works on sound for film, in such capacities as location recordist, editor, Foley artist and, most recently, sound mixer. Lisa hopes to introduce others to the joys of listening and find beautiful soundscapes wherever she goes.
Soundscape Influences
During my undergraduate degree in Communications, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to a number of fascinating technologies and gain invaluable experience working in sound production. My specialization allowed me to explore both the analog and digital worlds of sound for projects in film sound, music recording, radio documentary and electroacoustic composition.
It was also at the undergraduate level that my interest in soundscape work developed thanks to the guidance and instruction of Professor Andra McCartney. In the fall semester of 2002, I completed a directed study called "Soundscaping the Paramount," which was my first exploration into the world of studying environments through sound. I listened, recorded and measured sound levels to end up with a detailed document as well as a composed soundscape piece. In March 2003, I visited Nassau, the Bahamas and decided to record a series of soundwalks throughout the city. This second soundscape project continues to develop every year I return to Nassau but my only composed piece to date, "Heaven and Hell in Paradise," was completed in April 2003.
In spring 2003, I became very involved in Dr. McCartney’s own soundscape project, "Journées sonores: Canal de Lachine," which was a gallery installation at the Lachine Museum from September to December of 2003. For this project, I recorded interviews with Lachine residents, edited recorded sounds of the present day and attempted to create illustrations of the sounds of the past. I was also production manager for the exhibit.
Since then, I have taken my minidisc recorder to numerous places: Kingston, Ontario, Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve in rural Ontario, the last Montreal Expos home game, numerous Montreal Canadiens games, other Montreal hot spots and, most recently, Griffintown. Here's a little something I recorded at Gareth Keenan’s desk at Wernham Hogg in Slough.