Posts Tagged Concerts

Jan Tait and the Bear at the CCA

On September 22, 2016   /   Awards, Concerts, Pieces   /   Leave a comment
Jan Tait and the Bear at the CCA

I’m so thrilled that Ensemble Thing, conducted by Tom Butler, will be premiering the fully staged version of Jan Tait and the Bear at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow on Oct. 6 (8 PM) and Oct. 8 (1 PM). This performance stars Alan McHugh, Catherine Backhouse, and Brian McBride, and is directed by Stasi Schaeffer, with costumes by Vicki Brown.

For a little preview, here is a trailer, with beautiful illustrations by Meilo So and animations by Jason Brown of Greenlight Creative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spdmljqd7ow

Tickets are available from the CCA, in advance or at the door. I hope to see you there!

An enormous thanks to Opera America, the Hinrichsen Foundation, and the Canada Council for the Arts for making these performances possible!

 

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Now Hear This Festival

On January 29, 2015   /   Concerts   /   Leave a comment
Now Hear This Festival

I’m delighted to learn that two of my pieces, Col and Why the parrot repeats human words, will be performed at the Now Hear This festival, which will take place from March 20-22, 2015, in Edmonton. Last year the Wind Rose Trio and dancer Gerry Morita gave a wonderful performance of Reeds, and I had a great time attending. The weekend-long festival had the perfect mix of great music, excellent performances, and ample opportunity for discussion and socializing. I’m looking forward to attending again this year.

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Premiere of Seven Duos for Birds and Strings

On November 30, 2014   /   Concerts, Research   /   Leave a comment
Premiere of Seven Duos for Birds and Strings

I wrote Seven Duos for Birds and Strings in 2011-2012, when I was composer-in-residence at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany. The piece explores the ways different species of birds might sing their songs together, ranging from unintended overlapping to hocketing so tight that it sounds like only one bird singing.

Seven Duos was commissioned by the Canada Council for the Arts for violinist Annette-Barbara Vogel and violist Dan Sweaney. For a variety of reasons, the piece did not receive its premiere until November 28, 2014, when Annette-Barbara and Dan performed it at the International Viola Congress. I’m glad they waited, because this year the Congress was in Porto, Portugal, and I was able to attend! They gave a fantastic performance, and I had a great time visiting Porto as well.

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English String Orchestra performs “falling still” in London

On October 20, 2014   /   Concerts   /   Leave a comment
English String Orchestra performs “falling still” in London

I’m just back from London, where the English String/Symphony Orchestra and violinist Harriet Mackenzie, with Ken Woods conducting, gave a beautiful performance of falling still. The concert also featured a fantastic premiere of Wall of Water by Deborah Pritchard, and pieces By Thea Musgrave and Kaija Saariaho. (A detailed review of the concert can be found here.)

I’ve known Ken since the early 1990’s, when we were both students at Scotia Festival of Music, and it was great to have the chance to work with him again. (Ken is a very multi-talented musician. When we were at Scotia Festival, we performed Ancient Voices of Children by George Crumb together: Ken played both the mandolin and the musical saw parts!)

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