Elizabeth was invested into the Order November 23 at a ceremony in Regina. Find a complete list of this years inductees here.
Lito Fontana
Lito Fontana has recorded a fantastic new album entitled When I Walk Alone that includes some really fine recordings of my Three Jazz Moods for Piano and Trombone. Here are some samples to listen to:
Cocky
“Cocky”
Reflection
“Reflection”
Perplexed
“Perplexed”
You can hear more of the album and learn about Lito by visiting litofontana.com.
Jeffery Straker
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Jeff sent this picture taken on one of our run-outs to all the little communities around Regina for the collaboration between his group and the Regina Symphony Chamber Players, for which I wrote the arrangement for his piece, Coat Hanger. Find more of his work at jeffstraker.com
Sergio Carolino
This guy is amazing. Sergio Carolino, the fellow who recorded my Requiem for Wounded Knee with Roger Bobo narrating, has invented a sort of a tuba he calls the Lusophone (click the image to see it). Take a listen to his latest on his MySpace site at www.myspace.com/thetubab.
Arizona Friends of Chamber Music Commissioner’s Circle
Arizona Friends of Chamber Music has created the Commissioner’s Circle for our audience members who wish to sponsor new chamber works with us.
Participation gives you the thrill of making a significant contribution to the creation of important new chamber music and of influencing what will be composed in the 21st century.
I am honoured to be part of the group and you can visit the site to read about the program. Here is a link to a review of a concert featuring my Sonata for Piano Four Hands that was commissioned as part of this initiative.
A Princely performance
This is a picture of the woodwind quintet from the Regina Symphony Orchestra playing for a dinner at which Prince Charles and Camilla were present (as well as the Governor General and Prime Minister). As the Prince is the patron of the Regina Symphony but was unable to come to Regina on his November, 2009 Canadian visit, the RSO sent us as representatives.
I was asked to write a piece for the quintet to play especially for the Prince and I responded with a short work that celebrated the Royal visit and paid homage to several of the things about England that we hold dear. The piece is called Big Ben.
I also wrote a fanfare for the entrance of the principal guests.
Barnaby Kerekes premieres the bass trombone concerto
Barnaby Kerekes premiered my bass trombone concerto March 28, 2009 with the Brampton Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Robert Raines. More on Barnaby can be found on his website www.music-lessons.ca.
A king in the world of the Tuba
Roger Bobo, world renown tuba player, for whom I orchestrated the Concerto del Garda. To follow Roger in his travels around the globe you can visit his site at www.rogerbobo.com.
How Bodies Leave Ecstatic Marks
How Bodies Leave Ecstatic Marks is also available as a download or stream from Apple Music. You can click on the album artwork to download the album or some of the tracks.
(Please note that iTunes does not allow the purchase of any individual track that is longer than 10 minutes, therefore, some of the tracks might only be available with a full album download.)
St. Lawrence String Quartet’s 20th Anniversary Commissioning Project.
I have been asked to represent the Canadian prairies in this incredible project. Here is an excerpt from the email I received:
“It gives us great pleasure to invite you to represent the Canadian Prairies in composing an 8-10 minute work (for string quartet alone) commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the St. Lawrence String Quartet.
It would be an honour to include your composition in our anniversary celebration.”
I will be working throughout the summer months as the Prairie debut will be in early October 2008. Please check back often as I will be posting updates on the progress and news of the actual events.