Notes of the North

Juno-nominated composer and cellist Cris Derksen talks using composition to shine light on what we should look at as a society, being about the “feel,” and so much more! Featured music: Round Dance Instrumental Powwow Rhapsody Mozart's Ghost Improvisations on the Sunset New Women Song

Rodney Sharman talks being a "sound freak", the unique sounds of Toronto, Montréal, and the West Coast, his incredible volunteer and advocacy work, what is at the heart of artistic change, and much more! Featured music: Incantation Missing You Known and Unknown Three Songs

Newfoundlander Luke Blackmore talks his process of how rhythm is everything, overcoming writer's block, music with fog, and much more! Featured music: Something Sawed Spectral Chorale

Keiko Devaux (joined by a special guest) talks being honest with your sound, composition as much more than the final piece, the problems of even having a "sound", and so much more! Featured music: L’écoute du perdu : III. « Voix jetées »

Jascha Narveson talks growing up surrounded by vinyls, being captivated by the technology rather than the instruments in the room, being a listener rather than a composer, the rewarding process of collaborating with dancers, and much more! Featured music: Soundpaper roll two, 8Bit Elf Coffe Shop - 5 minute excerpt In Line (PLOrk Sideband) Flash Crash action/reaction (BounceBounce) Late_Night_Proje...

Andrew Staniland talks providing good questions rather than good answers, caution in bringing in the outside world through electronics, writing music only for friends, and much more! Featured works: Adventuremusic - Toca Loca True North The Laws of Nature

Boundary-pushing, community-oriented, genre-blurring composer Daniel Pelton hails from Calgary, Alberta. Join us as we talk finding the fun in live concert, music for the people, the necessity in putting yourself out into the world and “doing the thing,” and much more! Featured works: Long Time No Time - Get Up Get Down live at The Palomino Frank Zappa Roxy The Movie - T'Mershi Duween For S. - The...

Ryan Shore talks his writing process and "throwing down the clay", the two-way street of music, the true skills needed to succeed, improvisation's influence in his work, and so much more! Featured works: Odd's Victory Numb The Parents First Solo Flight News on the March Mike, Amy and Carver Rex Steele Main Theme Full Suite Ahead Allumette Arden's Wake Floyd's Theme

Dr. Matthew Emery talks the intricacies of writing for voice, “honest music,” removing unnecessary pitches, the relevance of Canadian choral music, finding great inspiration in the little atmospheric details, mentorship coming full circle, and much more! Featured music: Walk Safely Over Soft Places From Dewy Dreams, My Soul Arise Mist trapped in the trees Lead Us Home

Composer Kevin Lau talks his composition ideation and sketching process in comparison with an author’s, conveying the universality of hardship and healing through music, how music moves through time, consideration of the collaborator, the idea of “deep connection amidst surface diversity,” responding to your authentic intuition, and so much more! Featured music: Under a Veil of Stars

2024 JUNO winner Nicole Lizée talks coffee-fuelled composition rituals, being born into an immersive malfunctioning technological environment, visuals fully embedded in coexistence with music as a member of the ensemble, favourite and most precious equipment, conversations rather than answers, and much more! Featured music: This Will Not Be Televised (2007) RPM

Dr. Matthias McIntire talks finding pieces of unfinished pieces, taking inspiration from animals, the process of field recording, and more! Featured music: Mysterious Island Seaside Town Earthbound and Skyward for solo piano Komqwejwi'kasikl 3 Old Water Cathedral Grove (and the Gray Jay)

Juno-winning video game and concert composer Maxime Goulet talks his background in rock combo, importance of sensory experience, composing what you like rather than others, and much more! Featured works: Maxime Goulet: Symphonic Chocolates Ice Storm Symphony, I. Turmoil

Luis Ramirez talks his unique take on folklore in music, the role of competitions in the life of a musician, the strengths and challenges of diversity, and much more. Featured music: Chido, for symphony orchestra Leaven, for string quartet Picante, for symphony orchestra

Choral and concert composer Lavinia Kell Parker talks her background in church music, music as a shared experience, the idea of "comprovisation," and much more! Featured music: Other Names for Birds, Audio Excerpt (Penderecki String Quartet/Lavinia Kell Parker) Soli Deo Gloria Crawford Road

Composer and educator Roydon Tse talks musical and conceptual balance between Eastern and Western, the intersection of traditional and contemporary, and much more! Featured works: Radiant Light

İlkim Tongur joins Brianna for the Season 2 finale! Join us as we talk soundscapes, not taking innovation seriously, drawing the trajectory of music and more. Featured music: Yakamoz

Dinuk Wijeratne talks composing for the performers rather than the listener, the tripartite relationship of creation, the exciting future of concert programming, and more! Featured music: Gajaga Vannama

Composer and songwriter Carmen Braden talks the Northern experience, music impacting parenting style, the significance of specificity, and more! Featured music: Small Town Song The Raven Conspiracy Menu

3-time Juno-winning concert composer Bekah Simms talks metal music, sonic trickery and abstraction, complete lack of natural influence, the listener experience, and so much more! Featured music: metamold (sextet + electronics) Foreverdark

Join Dr. Sophie Dupuis and Brianna as they discuss opportunities for contemporary Canadian composers, comedy vs creepy, the value of art and more! Music featured: Elles ont peint le crépuscule de noir et blanc There will be no ice left in the Arctic in 22* years from now Taken by the Locos for Violin and Percussion

Argentinian-New Brunswick composer and pedagogue Martin Kutnowski joins Brianna to discuss the figures that shape him finding something to say through music, music as a defining facet of culture, and more! Featured music: "En la mar hay una torre" (In The Sea There Is a Tower") Five Tango Études Violin Concerto in E Minor, op. 64, I. Allegro molto appassionato (Felix Mendelssohn) Overture to "Egmo...

Dr. Karen Sunabacka joins Brianna to talk spoken word in instrumental music, navigating complex issues through music, and transforming the Manitoban environment to sound. Featured music: Hiding for solo piano (1999) Mama's Painting - Louis Riel's Dream

Researcher and electronic musician Dr. Anthony Tan discusses innovation in music, the challenges of inclusivity meeting diversity, creating "alienating" music and more. Featured music: "And/Or" - for 14 musicians and electronics "Ways of Returning" III. - for amplified string quartet and electronics "On the Sensations of Tone II" - amplified octet and electronics

Today Dr. Vince Ho discusses his eclectic and multicultural mosaic of musical influences. We also hear about how the pandemic served as a powerful springboard for his career. How do you fuse together East and West? How can we see fear as an ally? All this and more. Featured works: The Shaman: Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra: I. Ritual The Water Dragon: Concerto For Zhongruan And Chinese Orch...