A vertiable force of creative talent, Department of Music Graduate Composers are showcasing their skill on a national level. From full orchestra compositions to percussion-only performances, these graduates are breaking ground in new, exciting ways.
Colin Ladabie, DMus Composition
"On Monday April 4 at 8pm, the University Symphony Orchestra will premiere my first orchestra piece at The Winspear Centre for the Arts. The inspiration for the work is was derived from the photography of Ed Burtynsky, who recently had an exhibit at the Art Gallery of Alberta. We will project the images that inspired the work while the piece is being performed. This is an exciting opportunity - I'm looking forward to working with the USO.
Regarding working with a full orchestra, the more instruments you have, the more options you have for different types of combinations and colour blending. So, in some ways it's liberating because the possibilities are endless. But it's for that same reason that it's so hard - when virtually anything is possible, it can be overwhelming. You have to find ways to give yourself boundaries, at least at the outset so you can start getting notes on paper. Then after that you can let yourself drift a bit.
One of the most challenging parts is the notation. A minute of music in realtime can take several days, or even weeks, to notate because there are so many instruments, and so many small details. It's also a lot to keep track of. You have to know the capabilities and limitations of all the different instruments. Some project better or worse in certain registers, so when you combine them in certain ways, it may not end up sounding the way you think it will. This is also my first attempt at an orchestra piece, so it's been especially challenging.
The biggest reward has been the opportunity to really engage with Ed Burtynsky's work. I've even been in touch with his company, and he agreed to let me project some of his works during the performance free of charge. So I've had the opportunity to really think about the relationship between sound and image, and what it means to interpret images musically. It's especially rewarding since Burtynsky's work is so engaging and fascinating - it's provided endless inspiration for musical ideas.
I most looking forward to hearing the sound of the orchestra--there's nothing quite like it!"
Ruth Guechtal, DMus Composition
"The Saxophone Quartet will be playing my piece at the North American Saxophone Conference in Vancouver between February 17-19. The quartet - three of whom are also graduate students with the Department of Music - consists of Laura Kerslake, Low Chee Meng, Stephen Lewis and Justin Massey.
My saxophone quartet is called 'kinEsis'. This is my second venture into aleatorism, meaning that some of the decisions about the piece's parameters are left up to the performers, so some improvising is required on their part.
I only gave them a description of what sound I was after as a means to encourage the ensemble to really listen to each other during the performance.The idea behind this work was to represent a source of energy that becomes gradually more active and eventually collapses onto itself.
I also have a piece entitled 'Percussion Quartet No. 1' which will be played by TorQ Percussion Quartet on February 26th in Toronto as part of the Toy Piano Composers concert. It is based on this rhythm written by a favourite death metal band of mine from Montreal called Ion Dissonance. I first thought of ways to deconstruct the rhythm so that it was unrecognizable to the listener. I then slowly reconstruct the rhtyhm throughout the entire piece. It is finally played in its entirety for the last 30 seconds of the work."
Daniel Brophy, DMus Composition
"I am excited to announce that near the end of this month, the première of my percussion quartet KI will be performed by the TorQ Percussion Quartet at the event "Recess" presented by the Toy Piano Composers. The work is a sort of homage to heavy metal, as the main ingredients of the piece are classic heavy metal rhythms including the "gallop" made famous by Iron Maiden and other power metal bands.
TorQ is a percussion quartet consisting of University of Toronto alumni and graduate percussionists. They've just returned from a Canadian tour and have commissioned a group of composers that I am a part of named The Toy Piano Composers.
The Toy Piano Composers are a group of Toronto based composers who curate concerts of New Music four to five times a year. The group is run by U of T alumni Monica Clorey and current doctoral student Chris Thornborrow. The group was formed in order to present shows to the general public that included not only great music, but also an atmosphere that isn't so mysterious and doesn't take itself too seriously."