© Tristan R. Whistan, Moynan King, TRACE, 2012. Photo Henry Chan.

Canada
https://reddressproductions.org/

Tristan R. Whiston is a multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto, Canada. He is the artistic co-director of Red Dress Productions, with whom he has co-led seven large-scale community public mosaic projects. His work as an audio artist over the past five years has gained him international acclaim. Tristan has written and directed five audio documentaries for CBC; most notably, his work, Middle C, which won the 2007 Premios Ondas Award for International Radio and has gone on to air on national radio in 7 countries. Tristan was the founding director and head boy of The Boychoir of Lesbos from 1995–2006.

Middle C by Tristan R. Whiston
Tristan R. Whiston first performed as a solo soprano at the age of six. With that raw talent, years of hard work led to an accomplished singing career. But Tristan has decided to give up the most precious thing a singer has—the voice. You see, something was never quite right. Tristan always wanted to be a man. Now that dream is about to come true as Tristan embarks upon the process of gender reassignment. In a year’s worth of intimate audio diaries, we hear milestones like Tristan’s first shave. But the most striking thing is the transformation of Tristan’s singing voice. Tristan starts out as a soprano whose voice soars on the high notes. As the testosterone takes effect in Tristan’s body, that sublime voice is ripped to shreds and has to be completely recast—just like his identity. Middle C was produced by Carma Jolly and Tristan R. Whiston for CBC Radio’s Outfront in 2007. It won the Premios Ondas award for International Radio and a silver medal at the New York Festivals.

Listen to Middle C: http://theunobserved.com/culture/middle_c/