UNews - composer

Feel the Beat celebrates Mozart

trevor.kenney — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:15:50 +0000

Join us on a magnificent voyage as Mozart and his young son Karl come to life on stage at Southminster United Church, May 15 and 16.

Discover Mozart's passion for composing and embark on a magical journey into the world of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute. Follow the Prince and Papageno as they try to rescue Princess Pamina from the Queen of the Night in Sarastro's enchanted castle.

Mozart's Magnificent Voyage includes 23 excerpts from the master's music. Performed by musicians from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Conservatory of Music, these excerpts are masterfully woven into the drama as two actors recreate historical incidents from the composer's life.

"The Feel the Beat concert series offers free performances year round for children, providing opportunities to hear and see classical music performed live," says Breeanne Fuller, conservatory program co-ordinator. "Our programs are age appropriate, relatively short and always free!"

This mesmerizing concert and story performance is about 50 minutes long and is recommended for audiences age six and up. More than 3,500 seats have already been reserved, but with six performances in total, seats are still available in three performances.

Supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Crowsnest Pass Symphony Orchestra, Feel the Beat is completing its fifth successful season.

Seats are available for only the following presentations: May 15 at 12 p.m., May 15 at 6 p.m., and May 16 at 2 p.m.

Tickets must be reserved in advance by calling the U of L Conservatory of Music at 403-329-2304 or by visiting www.uleth.ca/music-conservatory/mozarts-magnificent-voyage and clicking Register Online.

5 Questions with Dr. Arlan Schultz

trevor.kenney — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 22:26:25 +0000

Dr. Arlan Schultz is an assistant professor of music, composition and theory and the head of the composition area within the Department of Music in the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Schultz's music has been broadcast on Radio Canada, in France on CBC's sister network, and has been heard at performances in Canada, the United States, France, Germany, Austria and Hungary. He has also been commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the McGill Concert Choir, the Stuttgart Wind Quintet with Canadian pianist Louise Besette, Hungarian violinist János Négyesy, Canadian pianist Sandra Brown, Ensemble Resonance, Calgary and New Works Calgary, among others.

In addition to his creative work, Schultz is active in several areas of research related to the field of composition. He is implementing software algorithms for real-time audio spatialization in live performance, and designing symbolic computational algorithms for computer-assisted composition and audio synthesis. As well, he is developing tools for electroacoustic composition in the form of audio-spatialization software and unique audio-sample databases.

Dr. Arlan Schultz uses technologies such as real-time spacialization techniques in his studies.

What first piqued your interest in your research discipline?

At a young age, I was fascinated with the structure of music and the techniques involved in its composition. Although I was a pianist, the act of performance was somehow unsatisfying and I found myself increasingly involved in performative situations where improvisation and creativity were required. This engagement with creative music making is what directly led to my desire for more in-depth study of how music was put together.

Along this path, I discovered that, in addition to the traditional tools offered to a composer by historical (and newer) models for realizing a musical composition, there were significant technologies which could enhance the composer's expressive palette – such technologies include real-time spatialization techniques; interactive and computer mediated performance techniques; symbolic computational models; algorithmic composition; and new real-time techniques for audio synthesis.

How is your research applicable in "the real world"?

My current research is engaged with creating music and configuring it for transmission to an audience. When I consider the relevance of my research to the world at large (beyond the academic walls), I ask myself, "What role does music play in my daily life?"

Music is ubiquitous, but is it all meaningful? I view my research as a means for differentiating levels of meaning and for creating an aesthetic experience that goes beyond the background noise of daily living.

What is the greatest honour you have received in your career?

I have been fortunate to receive many grants and awards for my creative work, among them our current ACDI Grant from the Canada Council. However, the most important honour I have received in my career has been the great privilege of working with world-class performers on the production and performance of my work.

My wife, soprano Martha Renner, is a frequent collaborator on my vocal music and my more recent work has involved the inclusion of ritual Tibetan music. The Monks of the Drepung Gomang Monastery in South West India have honoured me by allowing the recording of their ritual music for study and inclusion in my creative work.

How important are students to your research endeavours?

To be a concert-music composer is to be a teacher – students are central to the survival of concert-music and to the continued advancement of, and experimentation with, musical discourse. The art of composition has always been passed on through apprenticeship models of teaching and my students play a central role in my creative life. My students have been actively involved with my musical productions and have been able to benefit from utilizing new technologies and hearing new ways to organize sound.

If you had unlimited funds, which areas of research would you invest?

I would invest in those forms of endeavour that keep us more fully human. Many have said that art fulfills this criterion, but in my view artistic endeavor informed by and combined with scientific research is among the most exciting fields for future research.

Each month, the Legend will present 5 Questions With . . . one of our researchers. For a look at the entire catalog of 5 Questions With . . . features, check out the Office of Research and Innovation Services website at www.uleth.ca/research/research_profiles. If you'd like to be profiled, contact Penny Pickles at pickpj@uleth.ca

This story first appeared in the December 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the entire issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Conservatory connects to community

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 May 2011 15:39:25 +0000

We've all used guidebooks, maps and compasses when hiking in the Rocky Mountains, but have you ever heard of a musical guide to the Rockies? That is what creator (and Calgary native) Samantha Whelan-Kotkas has produced.

Through the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Feel the Beat concert series, Lethbridge audiences will get an opportunity to take part in the experience.

"After the success of the original Rocky Mountain Fairytales, presented as part of the U of L Conservatory of Music's Feel the Beat concert series in 2008, we knew her More Rocky Mountain Fairytales would also be a hit," says Breeanne Fuller, Conservatory co-ordinator.

Whelan-Kotkas is doing four concerts in Lethbridge on May 17 and 18 at 10 a.m. and noon each day. Tickets are still available for the noon shows at Southminster United Church.

Children of all ages are sure to enjoy the chamber jazz music performed by U of L music professor Dr. David Renter and local musicians Scott Mezei and Paul Holden in conjunction with some of Canada's finest jazz musicians, including composer Tyler Hornby and pianist Chris Andrew from Edmonton.

"The Feel the Beat series offers free concerts year round for children, providing opportunities to hear and see classical music performed live," explains Fuller. "Our programs are age appropriate, relatively short and always free."

Supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Feel the Beat is enjoying its third successful season.

"More Rocky Mountain Fairytales showcases jazz music, and as an educational music school in this community, it's important to show young children that jazz music owes a great deal of its legacy to the classical tradition. Duke Ellington, for example, loved classical music," she says.

"Families of all ages are invited to the concert. Although admission is free, seats must be reserved before the show," adds Fuller.

Seats can be reserved by calling 403-329-2304.

This story first appeared in the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Conservatory connects to community

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:16:01 +0000

Through the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Feel the Beat concert series, Lethbridge audiences will get an opportunity to take part in the experience.

Whelan-Kotkas is doing four concerts in Lethbridge on May 17 and 18 at 10 a.m. and noon each day. Tickets are still available for the noon shows at Southminster United Church.

Supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Feel the Beat is enjoying its third successful season.

"Families of all ages are invited to the concert. Although admission is free, seats must be reserved before the show," adds Fuller.

Seats can be reserved by calling 403-329-2304.

For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Wind-up for Orchestra

trevor.kenney — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:54:24 +0000

The magnificence of wind orchestra music by modern masters fills Southminster Church as the U of L Wind Orchestra presents its semester wind-up concert, Apr. 8 at 8 p.m. The program highlights the brilliant compositions of 20th century wind orchestra composers and features guest vocalist, Dr. Sandra Stringer.

"All the composers showcased on the program are considered modern masters in our field, starting in the early and middle 20th century with Percy Grainger, and then Jack Stamp and Frank Ticheli, who write primarily for band, to David Maslanka and Donald Grantham, who have a widely varied portfolio including many great band works," says Dr. Thomas Staples,
U of L Wind Orchestra director.

Guest soloist, Dr. Sandra Stringer, performs, Four Maryland Songs, for soprano and band, written by American composer Jack Stamp.

"She is also our featured soloist on a new work for band by Frank Ticheli entitled, Angels in the Architecture," says Staples.

Tickets are available at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Box Office, or by calling 403-329-2616 and at the door on the night of the concert.

For a look at the March issue of the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Opera Around the World

trevor.kenney — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 18:15:03 +0000

One night, 11 countries and 20 operas are on the menu as the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Opera Workshop celebrates with Opera Around The World.

The Opera Workshop takes audiences on an operatic adventure presenting both familiar favourites and new classics, by composers representing a host of different countries. Enjoy an evening of operatic masterpieces, Nov. 5-6 at 8 p.m. nightly in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recital Hall.

"The program features compositions from four continents and 11 different countries," says Dr. Sandra Stinger, director. "The music introduces audiences to the people, cities and cultures of various places around the globe, including Spain, Russia, Austria and China."

Opera Workshop students have been hard at work this semester, perfecting selections from Merry Widow, Carmen, Madame Butterfly and Westside Story.

"We are also performing an exciting sample from Eugene Onegin, by Tchaikovsky," says Stringer. "Our program also presents composer's interpretations of foreign countries, such as, Turandot, which was Puccini's Asian-inspired interpretation of China."

With more than 25 performers, Opera Workshop performances are grand in every sense. From the gowns and tuxedos, to the choreography and tremendous vocal talents of the students, Opera Around the World is a classy night of entertainment.

Tickets are available for $15 regular, and $10 for seniors and students at the U of L Box Office (403-329-2616), open Monday to Friday from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Opera event a worldwide affair

trevor.kenney — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:45:07 +0000

One night, 11 countries and 20 operas are on the menu as the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Opera Workshop celebrates with Opera Around The World.

Opera Workshop students have been hard at work this semester, perfecting selections from Merry Widow, Carmen, Madame Butterfly and Westside Story.

Tickets are available for $15 regular, and $10 for seniors and students at the U of L Box Office (403-329-2616), open Monday to Friday from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Campus Kudos

trevor.kenney — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:21:49 +0000

Congratulations to Drs. Paul Vasey and Martin Lalumiere (Psychology) on their successful Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Aid to Research Workshops and Conferences in Canada application. The workshop will be held May 31 to June 2.

Dafne Carrasco (New Media student) and friends organized the Help Rebuild Haiti T-shirt Fundraiser that featured original T-shirt designs by fellow students, faculty and alumni.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) recently posted the successful Community-��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Research Alliances (CURA) program applications. U of L professor Dr. Claudia Malacrida (Sociology) is a co-applicant on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta's, six-year, $1 million grant, titled Living Archives on Eugenics in Western Canada.

Dr. Janet Youngdahl (Music) was a soprano soloist in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in Calgary at the Jack Singer Concert Hall on Mar. 27. The concert celebrated the 20th anniversary of Mount Royal's Kantori and also premiers a new work by Imant Raminsh, with the composer in attendance.

Adam Chorneyko of the Pronghorns men's hockey team was named Canada West rookie of the year after a season in which he led all freshmen with 16 goals and 35 points. Defenceman Ryan Pottruff and centre Dustin Moore were named to the Canada West First All-Star Team while goaltender Scott Bowles was named to the second team.

Dr. David Renter (Music) has been invited to be the composer-in-residence at this year's prestigious Stella Royce Music Camp, July 26-30 in Grand Rapids, Mich. He will be debuting a series of original solo piano compositions of varying difficulty for students aged 8-15.

Fourth-year point guard Jeff Price was named to the Canada West men's basketball Second All-Star Team after a stellar first season with the Pronghorns men's basketball program.

Nursing student Alexandra Tritten-Champoux recently received one of seven United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) scholarships awarded to students in their first year of nursing study. The winners needed to be related to a UNA member in good standing and complete an essay on How does the UNA impact nursing worklife?

Music faculty Dr. Janet Youngdahl, Dr. Sandra Stringer, Dr. Blaine Hendsbee and retired music professor Dr. George Evelyn were soloists with the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra's presentation of Haydn's The Creation on Mar. 29.

Dr. Ed Jurkowski (Music) presented, Random Sounds or Organized Structure? What the Compositional Sketches tell us about Morton Feldman's Late Music, last month at the annual meeting of the Pacific-Northwest Chapter of the American Musicological Society.

Glory and Grandeur

trevor.kenney — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:33:02 +0000

Celebrate the glory and the grandeur of magnificent wind band music with the U of L Wind Orchestra, Friday, Mar. 26 at 8 p.m. in Southminster United Church.

"Our feature piece provides the title of our concert," says director Glenn Klassen. "The Glory and the Grandeur by Russell Peck is going to knock everyone's socks off!"

An exciting composition for percussion trio and wind orchestra, three guest percussionists take the stage for this piece – U of L percussion instructor Adam Mason and music majors Jodi Bartel and Matt Groenheide.

"It's a terribly exciting, upbeat and jazzy piece. It's also visually stunning to see the percussionists running back and forth on stage," Klassen says.

The program also features an H. Owen Reed piece entitled, La Fiesta Mexicana.

"This is a wonderful piece inspired by the composer's visit to Mexico during Carnivale," Klassen explains. "The piece has both festive and sacred components, including a Mariachi section. It has some of the typical Mexican sounds and flavours."

Other items on the program include Shostakovich's Festive Overture and another piece called Festivale, which will be conducted by a special guest conductor, to be revealed at the concert.

Audiences outside of Lethbridge also have the opportunity to hear the U of L Wind Orchestra during their tour in March.

"We leave on Mar. 1 for British Columbia," Klassen says. "We'll be playing across the province, from Penticton to Vancouver."

Among the many performances during the tour, a highlight is their appearance at the Okanagan Band Festival.

"We are the featured band for the festival," Klassen says. "This is a big deal for the Wind Orchestra. With over 30 bands performing, it's a great honour to be named as the feature performer."

Tickets for the Mar. 26 Lethbridge performance are on sale at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Box Office (403-329-2616) and at the door. Tickets are priced at $15 regular and $10 for students and seniors.

Glory and Grandeur

trevor.kenney — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:40:43 +0000

Celebrate the glory and the grandeur of magnificent wind band music with the
U of L Wind Orchestra, Friday, Mar. 26 at 8 p.m. in Southminster United Church.