Vera Wyse Munro (1897-1966) was a pioneering New Zealand ham radio broadcaster, improviser, and sonic experimenter. Her primary media were amateur radio broadcasts, Morse poetry, and sono-topographical scores. Via her broadcasts, which were frequently received by amateur radio operators as far afield as the United States and Europe, Munro initiated some of the earliest telematic performances, in which she would perform prepared violin in structured improvisations with other musicians broadcasting from elsewhere in the world. Munro’s work was often necessarily clandestine, as a result of legislation curbing amateur radio activity in New Zealand. As a result of this, as well as the absence of extant documentation about her life and her ephemeral practice, Munro’s work is only now starting to be regarded amidst New Zealand’s cultural history.
reconstructed score excerpt of the Skywave Symphony (1940)
With thanks to Celeste Oram. Information from http://celesteoram.com/Vera-Wyse-Munro-1897-1966 (also check out the radio documentary on her page)
An expanded biography on Monro is available at http://verawysemunro.nz/Biography
EsotericNZ 