|
Hugh Le Caine not only built the world's first voltage controlled music
synthesizer (1945), touch sensitive keyboard, and variable speed
multi-track tape recorder, he also composed unique works that helped to
popularize electronic music. Dripsody, a composition produced through
the electronic manipulation of the sound of a single drop of water, is
considered to be a classic of the genre and the most-played example of this
type of electronic music.
Le Caine, who built his first instrument at the age of four, developed
an early love of music that never left him even though his more
practical side compelled him to pursue a career in physics. After
studies at Queen's University, he joined the National Research Council Canada (NRC) in Ottawa
where he made important contributions to nuclear science and the
development of radar during WW II. Despite his success in these areas,
he was always drawn back to music. From 1954-1974, NRC provided Le
Caine with his own electronic music lab and with these facilities, he
supported composers and students as the Universities of Toronto and McGill
as well as other institutions around the world.
With his induction to the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame, Dr. Hugh Le Caine joins Nobel Laureates such as Dr. Gerhard Herzberg and Sir Frederick Banting
and respected inventors such as J. Armand Bombardier and Alexander Graham Bell 
Interesting Link - Hugh Le Caine
|
