It's Spring! Or is it? I'm getting contradictory information. There is snow, yes, there is cold, yes, but I've also heard the calls of three seasonal birds that have arrived into town and might well be peeved that the weather isn't quite what it should be...
Anyway, it's a good time for some news!
I have several musical premieres coming up (three in April! crazy!), and an old favourite will return. Nothing theatrical taking the stage in the known future, but don't worry, there's a new solo show brewing...
1) Saturday, April 2, 2011 - 8:00pm - Toronto: Premiere of "Windmill Dance" for 9 wind instruments and percussion.
Conducted by Alex Eddington.
Presented by the Scarborough Philharmonic, the concert ("Spring Serenade") will also feature premieres by Toronto composer Philip McConnell, and major Hollywood composer Bruce Broughton!
Kingston Road United Church, 975 Kingston Rd. Tickets $30/$25/$10.
2) Thursday, April 21, 2011 - time uncertain - Montreal: Premiere of "Talking with strangers" for string quartet. Quatuor Bozzini.
Part of a unique commissioning/fundraising project that will see the premiere of 32 new miniatures on the same concert! *I'll be going to Montreal for this premiere*
Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur, Montreal. 100 Sherbrooke E.
3) Saturday, April 23, 2011 - 5:15pm - Toronto: Premiere of "The Stolen Child" (text by W.B. Yeats) for tenor and piano.
** note: THIS PREMIERE HAS BEEN DEFERRED TO A LATER DATE (summer?)
4) Tuesday and Wednesday, May 3 and 4 - 8:00pm - Toronto: Performance of "Eight Poems of Dennis Lee" (2001) for soprano and string quartet. Talisker Players with Xin Wang, soprano.
Concert includes a premiere by my former composition teacher and extraordinary composer Alexander Rapoport.
Trinity St. Paul's Centre, 427 Bloor Street West, Toronto.
http://www.jentekcompany.com/talisker/home.html
5) Sunday, May 22 - 8:00pm - Toronto: Performance of "People are not cars" (2006, electroacoustic).
Mechanical textures are made from human voices speaking phonemes. Originally composed for Mile Zero Dance (Edmonton) for the "Parking Lot Project" at the 2006 The Works festival.
The concert will feature electroacoustic works, with or without live performers, by emerging and established composers.
Gallery 345 - 345 Sorauren, Toronto
$15 adults, $10 students
6) Saturday, June 11 - 8:00pm - Toronto: Premiere of "Light Looked Down" for SATB choir a cappella (text by Laurence Housman). Voices choir, conducted by Ron K.M. Cheung.
This is their 15th anniversary concert, featuring works by 15 contemporary composers!
St. Thomas' Church (383 Huron St., Toronto)
http://www.voiceschoir.com
And beyond:
"Fuzzy Logic" (for Continuum ensemble with me narrating) premiere in October
Scarborough Philharmonic premiere of "Dancing About Architecture" for brass quintet and orchestra, also in October
"Grasslands, Badlands and Spirit Sands" for piano six hands (!) for the Junctqin Keyboard Collective in the fall sometime (also October??)
"Watershed" for two violins (teacher and student) for the CMC's wonderful New Music for Young Musicians project (will be premiered at Ping! in April 2012)
and the Brantford Symphony performing my piece "Saturday Night at Fort Chambly" some time in the Spring of 2012!
