John Oswald

John Oswald (born May 30, 1953 in Kitchener, Ontario) is a Canadian composer, saxophonist, photographer, and dancer. His best known project is Plunderphonics, the practice of making new music out of previously existing recordings (s

John Oswald (born May 30, 1953 in Kitchener, Ontario) is a Canadian composer, saxophonist, photographer, and dancer. His best known project is Plunderphonics, the practice of making new music out of previously existing recordings (see sound collage and musical montage). He was a student of R. Murray Schafer and Barry Truax at Simon Fraser University and of David Rosenboom, Casey Sokol, Richard Teitelbaum, and James Tenney at York University.

In addition to his extensive work in plunderphonics, Oswald is also involved with acoustic music, as a composer and improvisor. His compositions for orchestra often do include electronic elements, such as Concerto for Wired Conductor and Orchestra (?), but has also composed for acoustic ensembles, such as Acupuncture (1991). Oswald improvises with the saxophone.