Unfinished Business - album release (October 6, 2023)

Probably the biggest and most urgent piece of news is the release of a new album of my work for piano/voice and solo piano on the CMC’s Centrediscs label in a little over a week! This project was a long process, starting life in early 2022 as a proposed recording by Paul Williamson of my solo piano work Matryoshki and a Blue Vase. However, before we knew it, it spiralled into an EP of piano music, into a longer EP also featuring soprano McKenzie Warriner, finally arriving at the ultimate destination of a classical music concept album with a “proper” label release.

And what is the concept? The best way to describe its theme is probably as “progression." Upon being asked whether he believed films should have a beginning, middle, and end, director Jean-Luc Godard famously stated in 1966 “yes, but not necessarily in that order.” Interesting! But to my mind this is potentially still somewhat simplistic. Upon deeper analysis, when does any event ever have a clear beginning? What about a middle? An end? To my mind, we likely only insist upon such categorizations in order to better understand our realities. The music on this album, like everything else, is truly unfinished business. It never began, and as you listen to it and your relationship with it develops, it will continue to be ever-changing. Its through-line is ultimately its self-awareness of this fact while discussing topics like the deaths of species, the beginnings of careers, and general ceaselessness. I also consider this theme as likely being relatable for many in the wake of the COVID pandemic, when time for a while began to seem all-around strange and malleable.

Solely featured (in a very minimalistic turn from a production standpoint) are soprano McKenzie Warriner and pianist Paul Williamson. In addition to acting as composer I was also recording engineer, mixing engineer, and producer on this project. Mastering was done by Dave Horrocks. Many many thanks to the UTEMS, photographer Nicola Yardy, my various mentors over the years, my family, Centrediscs, and to the Canada Council for the Arts who have all supported me through so much. All scores for the pieces on this album will be available to purchase on the CMC website by the time of release. Also stay tuned on the Centrediscs website if you’d like to order a copy of the album. It will also be available on all major streaming platforms and for sale at all dates of the 2023 Eckhardt-Gramatté Winners’ Tour, which leads to the next thing...

Eckhardt-Gramatté Winners’ Tour (October-November, 2023)

In April my long-time collaborator and fiancée (!) McKenzie Warriner won the 46th Eckhardt-Gramatté competition in Brandon, Manitoba alongside pianist Danielle Guina. For those of you who don’t know, this competition is a big deal for contemporary classical music in Canada, and I was honoured that her programmes featured a lot of my work. In the first (video) round she presented my 2022 multi-instrumental piece Beginnings, and in the finals she gave the Canadian premiere of the final version of my piece Études for a Dying Race.

As part of winning this competition McKenzie and Danielle will also be embarking on a Canadian tour this fall, each show of which will feature either Études for a Dying Race or one of my Finishing Songs. As mentioned, McKenzie’s, Paul Williamson’s, and my new album Unfinished Business will also be available for purchase (one reason why the release date is so soon).

Times, locations, and other details can be found on the E-Gré website. I will also be present at most of these dates, to both hear my music and record the shows for posterity. Drop by to say hi and to hear a couple of really amazing musicians do some very impressive work!

Slow Rise Music - Here Be Sirens (November 18, 2023)

My and McKenzie Warriner’s new vocal music series Slow Rise Music is proud to announce its third concert Here Be Sirens, live and live-streaming from the Main Hall of Toronto’s Tranzac Club on November 18 at 7:30PM eastern time. This show is designed to be an immersive musical experience around the unifying theme of siren song, especially exploring the symbolism associated with femininity, the human voice, and temptation. Performers include sopranos Natalya Gennadi, Midori Marsh, Shantelle Przybylo, and McKenzie Warriner, and VC2, comprised of cellists Amahl Arulanandam and Bryan Holt, alongside quadrophonic surround sound electronics. The live-stream will also present a surround sound experience through a binaural downmix of the show (virtual surround sound you can listen to over headphones). Majority world-premiere commissioned music by composers including Aida Khorsandi, Kathryn Knowles, Paul Lessard, Ashley Seward, and Kate Soper. Sound design by me, set design by Jessica Hiemstra. Slow Rise's work has thankfully and essentially been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, SOCAN Foundation, and private donors since 2021. Check our link tree for more info.

Red-winged Blackbird with Jessica Hiemstra in Sweden (February 10, 2023)

Since 2021 I’ve had the privilege of semi-regularly collaborating with Etobicoke-based writer, visual artist, set-designer, filmmaker, and multi-disciplinary extraordinaire Jessica Hiemstra. A large amount of the art that has come out of our work together has been short animations, amazingly hand-drawn or painted by Jessica, to my music. Last year we strung some of these together and sent them to the Lund Contemporary festival in Sweden, in response to a call for audiovisual work.

We were incredibly honoured that our application was accepted and we were featured on a February 10 programme entitled En Audiovisuell Mosaik. I was also extremely lucky to be able to travel to Sweden to present Red-winged Blackbird, as well as take in the festival, thanks to the generous support of the SOCAN Foundation and CUPE 3903, the union representing TAs at York University. This is the first time my work has made it to Europe and it was so special and momentous to be there, especially as the only Canadian programmed on the entire festival.