A walk through Toronto, with the express purpose of recording sound material… Finding electrical hums and the sounds of people and traffic was not surprising. More unexpected were the discovery of a cavernous underground drain or water cistern and urban cicadas alongside a busy road. For me, though, the most Toronto-specific sounds were those originating in the Subway (run by the Toronto Transit Commission): trains, public announcements and clattering turnstiles at the station entrances.

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Toronto Transit was realized on the composer’s laptop in 2011, while staying in Toronto (Canada), and premiered under the provisional title of We’re serious about your safety on August 20, 2011 at Wychwood Theatre in Toronto (Canada) as part of the Sound Travels Intensive. Thanks to Darren Copeland for the invitation to speak and perform at the Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium and the Sound Travels Intensive, and to Louise Rossiter for suggesting the city walk in the first place — although it did turn out to be much further than I had anticipated!

Preparation

• August 15, 2011, Toronto (Ontario, Canada)

Premiere

• August 20, 2011, Under the provisional title We’re serious about your safety: Sound Travels Intensive, Wychwood Theatre — Artscape Wychwood Barns, Toronto (Ontario, Canada)