All For Musicians

                                                                                                    Electro-acoustic composer and author Allen Strange died last week at the age of 64. While Strange was probably best known to a generation of musicians as the author of one of the definitive books on electronic music – Electronic Music: Systems, Techniques, and Controls – he also was very active as a composer and performer of electro-acoustic music.

“Allen’s performances incorporated some very bizarre things,” said Mark Grey, a sound designer who studied under Mr. Strange. “You’d have someone with a lawn mower on stage next to a string quartet while someone else in the corner was processing it all through a computer, sitting in a lawn chair.” “Allen,” said Grey, “could articulate the absurd so well that it just made sense.”