There’s a strange duality about the music of Strasbourg-based Canadian composer Samuel Andreyev. His official bio states that his compositional process is “marked by a rigorous perfectionism,” which might immediately provoke the lazy cynic to slap it with the ultimate new-music pejorative: academic. His nimble ideas are, without fail, framed in tight, tidy structures andContinue reading “Samuel Andreyev’s Sonic Organisms”
Author Archives: Musicworks
11 Creative Music Festivals Making Waves in 2019
sponsored listings Intersection August 29 – September 1 in Toronto, Ontario Intersection is a four-day experimental music festival centered around a Saturday of free outdoor programming at Yonge-Dundas Square featuring a kaleidoscopic array of local and international acts from various corners of the avant-garde music world. Intersection this year kicks off with a free concertContinue reading “11 Creative Music Festivals Making Waves in 2019”
Manuella Blackburn’s Landline
In the pantheon of sounds, the tone, whirr, and ring of the rotary phone belong in the “gone but not forgotten” gallery. If someone’s mobile phone rings à la Ma Bell—as opposed to the usual pulsating buzz, pop-tune riff, or synthesized animal sound—we might get nostalgic and think something like, How quaint . . . that is,Continue reading “Manuella Blackburn’s Landline”
Trauma of My Mouth
In the spring of 2018, Chinese archeologists announced that they’d unearthed a four-thousand-year-old collection of jaw harps (kouxian in Chinese) at the Shimao ruins, a prehistoric site in Shenmu City in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. These artifacts, which were carved from bone, are the oldest jaw harps ever discovered, but various historic versions of theContinue reading “Trauma of My Mouth”
Musicworks 133
The lively stories in the Spring 2019 issue are sure to spark conversations about the diverse ways that people develop creative ideas and potential. BUY THE ISSUE NOW! ON THE COVER: Montreal’s Dominique Fils-Aimé has moved from the mainstream spotlight to a more intimate creative space where many genres unite in her powerful, elegant, and soulful music. TorontoContinue reading “Musicworks 133”
Raven Chacon’s Harmonious Language
“I loved the Beatles so much that I totally exhausted listening to their music. I wanted more.” For Raven Chacon, the answer was easy. “I recorded all of their albums on cassette, then took the tape out of the shell and flipped it so I could have all the albums in reverse. So I hadContinue reading “Raven Chacon’s Harmonious Language”
Luke Nickel Transmits a Living Score
Luke Nickel has written me a piece. No, wait. That’s not quite right. Luke Nickel has left me a series of sometimes vague, sometimes specific instructions via audio recordings of his voice, which I am only allowed to listen to once, so that I might create a piece. Confused? Let me explain. Over the courseContinue reading “Luke Nickel Transmits a Living Score”
Bagpipes Blew My Mind
My partner Emily and I moved to Glasgow from Toronto a year ago. The first TV shows we saw included a pipe-band championship and a shepherding competition. Both were brilliant to listen to. We thought that’s what TV was going to be here. It isn’t. And aside from the guys on Buchanan St. playing “ScotlandContinue reading “Bagpipes Blew My Mind”
The Ever-Evolving Sounds of Thanya Iyer
The music of Thanya Iyer (the name of the musician–composer as well as of her band) is impossible to define—both for her fans and for herself. “I can’t really place the genre of the music that we’re trying to do,” acknowledges Iyer from her home in Montreal. “For us, it’s ever-evolving. We do a lotContinue reading “The Ever-Evolving Sounds of Thanya Iyer”
Musicworks Unveils 2018 Electronic Music Composition Contest Winners
TORONTO, CANADA, March 8, 2019. For immediate release: Musicworks is thrilled to announce the winners of its 2018 Electronic Music Composition Contest. U.K. composer Manuella Blackburn (left)has won first prize with her composition Landline. An article about Blackburn will appear in Musicworks 133 (Spring 2019), available by subscription, from Musicworks’ shop, and on select CanadianContinue reading “Musicworks Unveils 2018 Electronic Music Composition Contest Winners”