Calling Composers of All Ages: Marc Djokic and CAMMAC Music Centre Present the CAMMAC Composers Callout

Marc Djokic is a co-sponsor of the
CAMMAC Composers Callout.

Marc Djokic and CAMMAC Music Centre have teamed up to co-sponsor the CAMMAC Composers Callout.

Marc received a Talent Trust scholarship to assist his studies in violin. He’s currently CAMMAC’s artist in residence, where he teaches, performs, conducts research, and will create a commissioned work to be premiered at CAMMAC.

He recently released his debut album, Solo Seven.

The Callout is open to composers of all ages to write an original composition, with an emphasis on encouraging young composers to try their hand at composing. 

There are three age categories: 13 years and under; 14 – 20 years old; 21 years and older.

The winners of each category will receive a modest cash prize, and the winning compositions will be played in concert at the CAMMAC Music Centre in the summer of 2019.

In addition to having their work premiered and recorded, there will be some other great prize elements.

The theme is Music in the Laurentians.

Previously written work is also accepted as long as it hasn't been premiered or received other awards.

Everyone is welcome to submit their compositions, regardless of experience levels.

The deadline is December 15, 2018. Registration fees ($20 CAD) are waived until November 30, 2018.

For more information, visit CAMMAC Composers Callout online.

Emily Doolittle and Wind Quintet International Present a Free Workshop on Her Latest Composition

Halifax-born composer Emily Doolittle and Wind Quintet International will present a free workshop with Nova Scotian wind quintet Fifth Wind.

The workshop features Emily's new composition for the Forecasting the Canadian Wind project.

When & where:
Wednesday, May 23, 1:00 p.m. 
MacAloney Room (Room 406) 
Fountain School of the Performing Arts
Dalhousie University, Halifax

Emily grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and attended Dalhousie University, Indiana University, Princeton University, and the Koninklijk Conservatorium in the Hague, where she studied with Louis Andriessen with the support a Fulbright fellowship. From 2008-2015 she was an Associate Professor of Music at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. She now lives in Glasgow, UK, where she is an Athenaeum Research Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

She's written for such ensembles as Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal), Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Toronto), Symphony Nova Scotia, the Vancouver Island Symphony, Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal, the Motion Ensemble and Paragon, and soloists such as sopranos Suzie LeBlanc, Janice Jackson, Patricia Green and Helen Pridmore, pianist Rachel Iwaasa, violinist Annette-Barbara Vogel, viola d'amorist Thomas Georgi and viola da gambist Karin Preslmayr.

For more information: https://windquintet.international/events/

Edward Enman is the winner of the NSYC National Composition Competition

Edward Enman, composer is the

Edward Enman, composer

winner of the Nova Scotia Choral Federation's 2015 National Composition Competition. 

The Nova Scotia Youth Choir will be premiering the piece entitled "Time's Small Space" during their fall tour.

You can hear it on 
September 19 at 7:30 p.m. 
at First Baptist Church, Halifax 

and September 20 at 3:00 p.m. at Wolfville Baptist Church.

In addition to his musical life, Edward is also an avid runner and on August 30, 2015 he ran and finished the Quebec City Marathon for the 2nd time. 

Congratulations Edward on all your achievements!

NSTT's 2015 Goodwill Ambassador announced

The Nova Scotia Talent Trust provides opportunities for emerging artists of all ages to receive scholarships in their formative years in order to pursue their artistic passions. One such talented artist is Lucas Oickle. Lucas was one of 51 recipients of NSTT’s support in 2014, but without wonderful benefactors like you, the NSTT could not be there to help our young talented Nova Scotian artists reach the top of their fields. To truly understand the profound impact we make together on the lives of artists like Lucas, please read Lucas’ story in his own words.

 

My name is Lucas Oickle and I'm an emerging composer originally from the Bridgewater area; I received my B.Mus. from Acadia and I'm currently finishing my Master’s in Music Composition at the University of British Columbia. I am very excited to be acting as the 2015 Goodwill Ambassador for the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.

I am so incredibly fortunate to have the support of the NSTT, and that support is all the more significant because it comes from my home province: 2014 has been an incredible year. With the help of the NSTT, I spent two weeks studying Sundanese gamelan music in Indonesia (organized by NS percussionist/composer Ken Shorley), a further two weeks in Shanghai, China, and then another three months in various parts of Japan. Words do little to accurately express how deeply grateful I am for these experiences and for the help I received that made them possible.

I recently finished working on a commission from Montreal which deals with the environmental consequences of a massive land-moving project currently underway in China; and last spring I completed a contemporary arrangement of Farewell to Nova Scotia that connotes new meaning for the words that we all know.

The support of the NSTT allows me to continue to pursue these artistic and aesthetic directions, both financially and as a crucial vote of confidence. I am so thankful for this, and I am always proud to tell everyone about the unwavering support that Nova Scotia has for its artists.

Please consider helping artists like myself by supporting the NSTT's mandate to help tomorrow's artists today. Please donate today by mail or online at www.nstalenttrust.ns.ca

Sincerest regards,
Lucas Oickle
Nova Scotia Talent Trust 2015 Goodwill Ambassador
www.lucasoickle.com 

All donations are fully applied to scholarships or named awards. Tax-deductible donation receipts are issued for all amounts. You can donate online at canadahelps.org or by mail to NSTT, PO Box 575, Halifax, NS, B3J 2R7.

Masterworks Arts Awards Nomination 2014 includes Emily Doolittle and Alasdair MacLean

‘I am in need of music,’ the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary legacy recording

Creators: Suzie LeBlanc (soprano); Emily Doolittle, Christos Hatzis, Alasdair MacLean, and John Plant (composers)

Nominator: Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia

‘I am in need of music,’ the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary legacy recording, the brainchild of the Nova Scotian soprano Suzie LeBlanc, is a musical program which commemorates the connection between Great Village, Nova Scotia, and the distinguished American poet Elizabeth Bishop. Ms. LeBlanc commissioned four of Canada’s top composers to set Bishop’s poems for her to sing with The Elizabeth Bishop Players (Dinuk Wijeratne, Conductor) and Blue Engine String Quartet. The program of original compositions was first performed on the occasion of the Bishop centenary celebrations in 2011.

Jury Comments: Suzie LeBlanc’s passion and commitment are obvious, noted the jury. The music is moving, rich and full of small surprises. It has been performed in several venues, affirming its excellence and spreading impact. The eleven compositions may be thought of as a compendium, rather than as a single work.