Some musicians fall in love with an instrument at a very young age and never look back; others experiment with many different ones before they find the ideal match for their talents. Cris Derksen is one of the latter. As a child, she first wanted to play flute, then saxophone, then double bass. Later, atContinue reading “Cris Derksen enhances her sonic adventure”
Author Archives: Musicworks
Vancouver’s Intercultural Music Scene
Intercultural music-making in British Columbia is nothing new. Gold seekers brought the violin to the province’s north in the 1890s, and their jigs and reels were quickly adapted by the region’s Tahltan musicians into a true hybrid form. In the mid-1960s, Vancouver performers from a variety of ethnic backgrounds found common cause in the R&BContinue reading “Vancouver’s Intercultural Music Scene”
Myk Freedman Makes Room for an Ensemble of One
Myk Freedman is best known as the lap-steel-wielding leader of the nonet St. Dirt Elementary School, whose idiosyncratically tuneful music (released on Rat Drifting and on Barnyard Records) is nestled in the crevice between whimsy, sentimentality, and ragtag experimentation. Ostensibly a jazz group, its diverse instrumentation, wonkiness, and the sweetly pithy character of Freedman’s tunesContinue reading “Myk Freedman Makes Room for an Ensemble of One”
Simon Cacheux’s InnerSelf
Simon Cacheux works as a musician, sound designer, and sound artist. He is interested in the texture of sounds, how they blend with each other, and in the microfictions that occur within the sounds themselves. His work leans towards minimalism—in particular drones, ambient, and noise music. His deep interest in technology has lead him exploreContinue reading “Simon Cacheux’s InnerSelf”
Los Arroyos in Stereo
A springtime hike through the hills of the Sierra Nevada, Andalucía, Spain. I follow my guide, Neftali, scrabbling up switchbacks, sweat from the raw sun cooling in the alpine breeze swishing my neck. The hike has been filled with talk. Neftali pointing out species, warning of sliding scree. He tells me the legends of theContinue reading “Los Arroyos in Stereo”
Meet Our 2014 Contest Winners
TORONTO, CANADA Montreal composer and sound artist James O’Callaghan’s Bodies-Soundings has won first place in Musicworks’ 2014 Electronic Music Composition contest. “I’m very grateful for Bodies-Soundings to have this recognition!,” O’Callaghan says. “Composition is usually a very insular, introspective process for me, and so once a work is released into the wild it’s a pleasure to seeContinue reading “Meet Our 2014 Contest Winners”
The Mystical Instruments of Walter Smetak
In March 2014, I found myself facing the late Walter Smetak’s Pindorama, a seven-foot-two-inch-tall instrument installation comprising seven calabash gourds arranged in a diamond-like formation and resting on a bamboo pedestal. Dozens of clear plastic tubes with flute mouthpieces fixed at their ends hung from the gourds. Cowbells were suspended from the frame. Later, duringContinue reading “The Mystical Instruments of Walter Smetak”
Jean Derome’s Reflections of Joy
Over the past four decades, Jean Derome’s musical interests have spanned everything from standards to skronk. He has composed graphic scores for large ensembles, created multimedia works for string quartets, and devised music for dance, theatre, and cinema works. But what Derome is best known for is his key role in the development of theContinue reading “Jean Derome’s Reflections of Joy”
Shannon McKee’s “The Copy Room”
As I step into the undersized side room of the middle-school office, I want to remove my high heels. I want to kneel on the thin, brown carpet and touch my forehead to the ugly floor. I want to offer up a soft song. Because when I—a teacher’s assistant for twenty-five twelve-year-olds—cross the threshold ofContinue reading “Shannon McKee’s “The Copy Room””
The Passion and Curiosity of Barbara Hannigan
“An absolute stroke of luck for opera” is just one of the countless accolades Canadian-born, Amsterdam-based soprano Barbara Hannigan has received for her performances of both classical and contemporary music. Composers and musicians she has worked with are unanimous in their praise. She has premiered a large number of major works, among them operas withContinue reading “The Passion and Curiosity of Barbara Hannigan”