By almost any metric, Aparna Halpé seems an unlikely candidate to recast Argentine tango music for the modern age while simultaneously, almost paradoxically, safeguarding its musical heritage. As a woman of colour operating in a fiercely male-dominated genre, Halpé is an outlier. She is a classically trained violinist who was raised in Sri Lanka andContinue reading “The Joy and Commitment of Solidaridad Tango”
Article Type Archives
Maria Chávez is shattering old grooves to bring inclusivity to turntable art
In early June, sound artist and noted abstract turntablist Maria Chávez visited Montreal for the first time in a decade, and she seemed to be making up for lost time. Chávez performed at Suoni Per Il Popolo—the annual month-long festival of experimental, liberatory music in the city’s Mile End neighbourhood—and offered a workshop and aContinue reading “Maria Chávez is shattering old grooves to bring inclusivity to turntable art “
RapCity, Michele Geister, and the Rise of the Canadian Hip-Hop Nation
In February 2021, while I was conducting post-doctoral research on the history of anti-Black racism in the Canadian music industry, Jeff “J-Spade” Duke of the Toronto rap group Citizen Kane suggested I talk to Michele Geister, creator of MuchMusic’s ground-breaking Canadian television program, RapCity. Through the development, launch, and evolution of the long-running RapCity, GeisterContinue reading “RapCity, Michele Geister, and the Rise of the Canadian Hip-Hop Nation”
Julie Richard and the Reimagining of Shirley Graham Du Bois’ Tom-Tom
Julie Richard is a classically trained Haitian Canadian composer and instrumentalist (tuba and sousaphone) who performs across a range of styles and genres—jazz, Latin, klezmer, African, improvisation—and is active in several ensembles in Montreal, where she is based. But her passion project is uncovering and preserving the legacy of little-known Black composers, especially women, andContinue reading “Julie Richard and the Reimagining of Shirley Graham Du Bois’ Tom-Tom”
Trevor Grahl, Unusual Worlds in Familiar Frames
The work of Trevor Grahl is as colourful as it is diverse. Earlier this year, the Amsterdam-based Canadian composer was working on a recording of his 2018 composition Of Ancient Days in the Orgelpark, a former church that houses eight organs and a harmonium. Johan Luijmes, the artistic leader of the venue, commissioned Grahl toContinue reading “Trevor Grahl, Unusual Worlds in Familiar Frames”
Resequencing Resonances
Resonances are ghosts. They accentuate unseen presences of sounding bodies as they amplify frequencies inherent in them. Noted Italian composer Luciano Berio explored the transfer of energy from one body to another in his Sequenza X (1984), which requires a pianist to silently depress keys and pedals while a trumpeter blasts accented notes to activateContinue reading “Resequencing Resonances”
Jessica Moss Explores the Orchestra Within
If there is a through line connecting traditional Eastern European klezmer, indie rock, and experimental drone music, it can be found in the work of Jessica Moss. Whether her music is acoustic or electronic, post-rock or post-classical, a stark and dramatic amplified violin performance or a lively klezmer tune with mandolin and Yiddish vocals, Moss’sContinue reading “Jessica Moss Explores the Orchestra Within”
The Quasi-Punk-Rock Life of Du Yun
Whether exploring a musical idea on her own or working with a new collaborator, Du Yun follows her intuition. The New York-based composer, performer, and curator—currently professor of composition at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University and distinguished visiting professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music—has said that her work is often aboutContinue reading “The Quasi-Punk-Rock Life of Du Yun”
Chloe Alexandra Thompson’s Meaningful Exchanges
Chloe Alexandra Thompson has always thought of sound as something visceral. “I think, if I trace it back, my first sound installation happened when I discovered that the fabric in front of loudspeakers could move from the sound vibrations,” she tells me. “I just freaked out and started building this string situation in the livingContinue reading “Chloe Alexandra Thompson’s Meaningful Exchanges”
The Audacious Artistry of Ig Henneman
The year is 1979, and Ig Henneman is ready to rock. In pink zebra-print pants and a black tank top, she strikes a power pose on the stage of Amsterdam’s Paradiso. Her gold-painted Barcus-Berry electric viola glows in the spotlight. She is playing a Rock Against Racism show, flanked by her rock band F.C. Gerania,Continue reading “The Audacious Artistry of Ig Henneman”
Shift Your Frequency!
Ready to submit to our twelfth annual Electronic Music Composition Contest? Read the rules below and ENTER here. Please share this announcement with your friends, audiences, and communities. Our annual juried contest spotlights new musical talent from around the world, offering cash prizes and opportunities to be published and heard. PRIZES First prize: Cdn. $500, aContinue reading “Shift Your Frequency!”
Jean-Philippe Jullin’s Nadir and Diana Lawryshyn’s Streams of Consciousness
The 2021 Musicworks Electronic Music Composition Contest awarded two artists with honourable mentions: Jean-Philippe Jullin for Nadir and Diana Nadia Lawryshyn for Streams of Consciousness. JEAN-PHILIPPE JULLIN Born in 1995 in Marseille, France, Jean-Philippe Jullin is currently studying digital music at the University of Montreal. Holding a diploma in audiovisual technique, it is through hisContinue reading “Jean-Philippe Jullin’s Nadir and Diana Lawryshyn’s Streams of Consciousness”
David Berezan’s Tongue Drum
Third place in the 2021 Musicworks Electronic Music Composition Contest was awarded to U.K.-based composer David Berezan’s Tongue Drum. The piece premiered online in May 2021 at the European Art Science Technology Network for Digital Creativity (EASTN-DC) in Corfu, Greece. It was subsequently performed in person at Sonic Matter (Zurich), METS Fest (Cuneo, Italy), Noise FloorContinue reading “David Berezan’s Tongue Drum”
Jessie Lausé’s Movements
Jessie Lausé wins second place in the 2021 Musicworks Electronic Music Composition Contest for Movements, a three-movement work for eight-channel mixed media. “[Movements] explores the melodic and registral capabilities of modified human and spatial mechanical sounds,” Jessie Lausé explains. “Everything heard in this piece began as sounds that were recorded over the course of a weekContinue reading “Jessie Lausé’s Movements”
Musicworks Unveils 2021 Contest Winners
TORONTO, CANADA, July 21, 2022: Musicworks is thrilled to announce the winners of its 2021 Electronic Music Composition Contest. Portuguese composer Mariana Vieira has won first prize with her composition The Unexpected Encounter with Diversity. “Winning the prize of the Electronic Music Composition Contest has been a great joy, and I’m grateful to Musicworks forContinue reading “Musicworks Unveils 2021 Contest Winners”
Jenny Moore Tears Things Up
The first intimation that Jenny Moore has arrived at the music room at The Victoria, a historic pub in East London, is when the crowd slowly starts to part. The six members of her ensemble Mystic Business are doing a slow stomp, each hitting a pair of Boomwhacker tubes against each other to produce pitched,Continue reading “Jenny Moore Tears Things Up”
Gayle Young’s Gentle Interventions
In early October 2021 Gayle Young and I meet in Toronto before heading to her home in Ontario’s Niagara region. The drive is less than two hours, yet somehow, our destination is so much further away. The spaces between buildings grow wider as do those between the little squares of light in the darkness. IContinue reading “Gayle Young’s Gentle Interventions”
Yves Charuest and The Existential Act of Improvisation
In the fall of 2016, I attended Montreal rehearsals and concerts and Toronto recording sessions ofRoscoe Mitchell and the Toronto-Montreal Art Orchestra for a feature article that was published in Musicworks 127. This complex, largely through-composed music—Mitchell’s orchestrations of previous improvisations—required the gradual, stop-start building of short segments. The alto saxophonist Yves Charuest was assignedContinue reading “Yves Charuest and The Existential Act of Improvisation”
Roxanne Nesbitt’s Sonic Investigations
People often describe sound as something that reverberates outward into space, but the music of interdisciplinary artist Roxanne Nesbitt seems to move inward; it has an audiovisual geometry that focuses the eye and the ear, pulling you closer to the source. To perform her 2010 composition Distaff, thin strings are threaded through the strings ofContinue reading “Roxanne Nesbitt’s Sonic Investigations”
Alanna Stuart Embraces the Bombast
Multidimensional artist and music producer Alanna Stuart is constantly evolving. She regards categories not as borders but as things to be transcended. In her acclaimed duo Bonjay, with Ian “Pho” Swain, as well as her collaborative projects and her solo songwriting, she is digging deep into her connections to Jamaica, exploring dancehall more fully, buildingContinue reading “Alanna Stuart Embraces the Bombast”
New Age Doom Steps Forward
The day of my interview with the Vancouver experimental-metal duo New Age Doom began with the heart-sinking news that legendary dub artist Lee “Scratch” Perry had passed away. After making my way through the winding side streets of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, I arrived at the unmarked door of the duo’s studio. Inside, I was greetedContinue reading “New Age Doom Steps Forward”
Frank Denyer Probes the Unconscious
In composer Frank Denyer’s dream, he is watching a small monkey that is inexplicably nestled in the flames inside a stove that closely resembles the one in Denyer’s kitchen. The scenario elicits many questions: How did the monkey manage to get in there in the first place, and then remain unnoticed? How is he evenContinue reading “Frank Denyer Probes the Unconscious”
Roxanne Nesbitt’s Soft Storms Welcomed and Jason Doell’s Leaning Into Softness
Two honourable mentions were given at Musicworks‘ 2020 Electronic Music Composition Contest: the first to Roxanne Nesbitt’s Soft Storms Welcomed, and the second to Jason Doell’s Leaning into Softness. Roxanne Nesbitt is an interdisciplinary artist who explores the space between sound and design. She is trained as an architect and orchestral bassist. Her research includes experimental instrumentContinue reading “Roxanne Nesbitt’s Soft Storms Welcomed and Jason Doell’s Leaning Into Softness”
Understory’s Sonic Ecosystem
Like many performing musicians, I considered leaving the music business in 2020. The confluence of loss of work due to the pandemic, exhaustion from years of gig-hustling, and the intensity of social, political, and environmental crises left me wanting to help directly (on good days) or hide completely (on other days). I needed to seeContinue reading “Understory’s Sonic Ecosystem”