I met John ff just once, maybe 25 years ago, when he was in Cambridge, MA, and dropped off a CD of the Door Project or perhaps another collaborative release at my office. He was warm and incredibly generous of his time when I was starting out with Csound. We spent some time chatting in the lobby of my office, and afterwards others thought he was related to me because he was so warm and familiar. Thanks so much John, you will be missed.
Grant Covell
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 12:09:59 -0400
From: "Dr. Richard Boulanger" <rboulanger@BERKLEE.EDU>
Subject: John ffitch has passed awayDear Csounders,
It is with a heavy heart that I share the news with you that John ffitch
passed away in the hospital this past Thursday.Although Barry Vercoe wrote Csound, few of us would have spent the past 40+
years working, discovering, exploring, learning, teaching, creating, and
growing with Csound were it not for John's work, gift, and commitment to
supporting all of our dreams, especially mine.I am headed to London in a week to demo "Csound's Brain" with a 16-year-old
student at NIME. And, as always, I am using dozens of his opcodes and
tricks to make it sound magical and work beautifully! In fact, I added
extra days to the trip so I could go to Bath, visit him, and help him with
his Linux and sound systems. I have a mixer in my bag for him and a
Quest 3, too, so he could jam in the MetaVerse with me in my studio and him
in from home. Now, he will just live in my music and be a part of every
performance and will not need a Quest3 for that!I have lost such a dear friend. We have all lost a dear friend. He gave us
all so very much.As we continue to share the beauty, power, elegance, and possibilities of
Csound with our students and each other, we now have a patron saint who is
teaching Csound to the angels. (And maybe adding some new opcodes for them
too, but probably not AutoTune.)I love you, John, and have been so blessed to work with you, study with
you, learn from you, hang with you, play with you, publish with you,
compose with you, and perform with you!There is a huge empty space in my heart that I will fill every day with
gratitude for all the blessings that I continue to receive from you.Do give Barry Vercoe a hug for me, and for all of us csounders, too.
I can't begin to imagine the sounds and music that the two of you are
making possible up there.Gsound?
- Rick
*- Dr.B*
*Dr. Richard Boulanger*
Professor
Electronic Production and Design
*Berklee College of Music*
Professional Writing & Technology Division
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