This year is the 20th anniversary of electroacoustic concerts at Concordia University, and the 30th anniversary of electroacoustics being taught here. Over the years there have been a number of people who have come to the University who have had impact on and have been impacted by the program. Many past students return and tell of fond memories experienced, and many of their stories focus on the people who 'opened their ears' to a new and exciting adventure in sound.

Tonight's presenter, Jean-François Denis, is one of the people who had a strong impact many students at Concordia. Coming from the visual and communication arts, and receiving his Masters from Mills college in San Francisco, he returned to Montréal to take up a teaching position here and to participate in a wide range of artistic activities, usually centering on electroacoustics. As a teacher from 1985-89, he taught both part and full-time electroacoustic courses, he co-hosted or hosted the ÉuCuE concert series and he worked both behind the scenes and right in the firing line to bring, along with Kevin Austin, a Canadian arts organization for electroacoustics into being (the CEC).

As a teacher Jean-François was (and still is) thoughtful and careful in manner yet regularly provocative, challenging the people around him to turn ideas on their sides to re-examine the obvious in a different and possibly unknown, light.

Since teaching at Concordia he has gone on to co-found one of the most important record companies (if not the most important) for electroacoustics: empreintes DIGITALes. With almost 60 high quality solo and compilation CDs, his company is leading the way to presenting electroacoustics on its own, and best possible, terms to the globe.

It is a great pleasure to have him back at Concordia.

Ian Chuprun
ÉuCuE Concert Manager