News

Remembering Phil Strong

On December 2nd, we lost a great, multifaceted talent with the death of composer, sound designer, producer and engineer Phil Strong. He leaves behind his life partner, the wonderful singer and composer Laurel MacDonald, family members, and countless friends and colleagues.

Phil was a beloved collaborator of filmmakers, choreographers, installation artists, and other musicians. His work included scores and sound designs for dozens of films for directors including Ali Kazimi, Su Rynard, Dennis Day, Gisèle Gordon & Kent Monkman, b.h. Yael, Richard Fung, Nick de Pencier, Gail Maurice, and Moze Mossanen. He did complex, multi-channel sound design for the Bruce Mau installation Stress, and for John Oswald’s 35-channel installation A Time To Hear for Here, which is permanently installed at the Royal Ontario Museum. He composed widely for dance, including a decade as principal composer for the Toronto Dance Theatre, and created the music and sound design for Denise Fujiwara’s dance adaptation of Christian Bök’s EUNOIA. He produced records for his partner, Laurel MacDonald, and for Mary Jane Lamond, Tatjana Kukoc, and Steven Crown, and contributed to numerous recordings by John Oswald. According to Vtape Distribution Director Wanda vanderStoop, no other person appears in the Vtape distribution catalogue with so many music and sound-editing credits (at least 67).

Phil’s awards and accomplishments are too many to list. More importantly, he was a true collaborator, and a kind, generous, and genuine person.

You can find more information about Phil’s life and work here:

https://www.socanmagazine.ca/news/socan-mourns-the-loss-of-award-winning-composer-sound-designer-producer-phil-strong/

https://www.fyimusicnews.ca/articles/2022/12/06/obituaries-dec-8-2022

https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/theglobeandmail/name/philip-strong-obituary?pid=203396320