Hugh Le Caine
composer, physicist, inventor, musician | 1914 - 1977
BornMay 27, 1914 in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada
DiedJuly 3, 1977 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Biographyby Jay Somerset
Electronic music pioneer Hugh Le Caine designed and built more than 20 analogue musical instruments, including the Electronic Sackbut, considered the world’s first voltage-controlled synthesizer, which he invented in 1945. In 1959, Le Caine helped establish Canada’s first electronic music studio at the University of Toronto and equipped it almost entirely with his own inventions, including his Special Purpose Tape Recorder, one of the first multi-track devices of its kind. As a composer, he was responsible for creating “Dripsody” (1955), still considered an electroacoustic classic.
Electronic music pioneer Hugh Le Caine designed and built more than 20 analogue musical instruments, including the Electronic Sackbut, considered the world’s first voltage-controlled synthesizer, which he invented in 1945. In 1959, Le Caine helped establish Canada’s first electronic music studio at the University of Toronto and equipped it almost entirely with his own inventions, including his Special Purpose Tape Recorder, one of the first multi-track devices of its kind. As a composer, he was responsible for creating “Dripsody” (1955), still considered an electroacoustic classic.
inventor, radio pioneer | 1900 - 1939
