Current timbre research has focused overwhelmingly on what George Lewis (1996) describes as Eurological traditions; musical traditions that are based in European-derived beliefs, behaviors, and logics.

Through score and audio analysis using a perceptually based taxonomy of orchestrational effects, we studied three compositions written by McGill University graduate students in collaboration with the ensemble’s performers. Our analytical approach considered perceptual issues of auditory fusion, segregation, integration, and stratification, focusing largely on the strategies developed by each composer to achieve their desired textural effects.