ASL 2014: Guest Composer, Edward Top

Acknowledged by a Dutch newspaper as The Horror Composer, Edward Top’s music grapples with existential questions such as man against nature or reference and association.  Recurring motifs include the grotesque, paranoia, and nostalgia.  Top’s music is inspired by paintings of Hyronymus Bosch, James Ensor and Francisco Goya.  His work expresses both the balance and struggle between different musical traditions and styles, using historical references and rich harmonic texture in detailed orchestrations.

Born in The Netherlands in 1972 Edward Top has lived and worked in London, Bangkok, and Rotterdam.  With his wife and baby boy he now lives in Vancouver where he is Composer-in-Residence with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He studied composition with Peter-Jan Wagemans at the Rotterdam Conservatoire in Holland where he also majored in violin.  He later studied musicology at King’s College London.  He also worked with composers Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio, Peter Eötvös and George Benjamin.

Besides his responsibilities as the Composer-in-Residence with the Vancouver Symphony, he will assume the position of Head of Composition at the Vancouver Academy of Music in 2014. Edward has received commissions of the Schoenberg Ensemble, Holland Symfonia, Calefax, Vocaal LAB, Doelen Ensemble, Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, The Tempest Flute Ensemble and Standing Wave and his works are performed by the Dutch Radio Philharmonic, Netherlands Ballet Orchestra andPeter Rundel, Tokyo Sinfonietta, Ensemble NOISE at San Diego New Music and the Formalist String Quartet in Los Angeles. TheDoelen String Quartet has recorded his two quartets on CD.

ASL 2014: Mezzo, Lynne McMurtry and pianist, Alison d'Amato

As founding faculty of the Vancouver International Song Institute, this couple is the embodiment of dedication to art song. Alison d'Amato is a phenomenal pianist and one of the program's three co-directors, and this will be her fourth year making music as part of Art Song Lab. Joining for her third year, Lynne McMurtry is a mezzo to be reckoned with!

Here they are performing together, three songs from ASL 2012:

ASL 2014: Tenor, Will George and pianist, Corey Hamm

Avid commissioners of new music, Corey Hamm and Will George were a natural fit for ASL 2013.

Listen below to the three songs they worked together on last summer.

ASL 2014: Soprano, Phoebe MacRae and pianist, Marguerite Witvoet

ASL veteran, Phoebe MacRae is joining for her fourth year with the program. Joining for her first year, Marguerite Witvoet is no stranger to the kind of collaboration that makes Art Song Lab what it is!

After reading more about each of them on their websites, listen to some audio samples.
Here are two songs Phoebe performed at previous Art Song Labs:
And here is a video of Marguerite:

ASL 2014: Guest Poet, Evelyn Lau

At ASL 2014, participants will get drop-in time with Evelyn Lau, Poet Laureate of Vancouver. Evelyn is author of five books of poetry, two books of non-fiction, two short story collections, and a novel. She has been translated into a dozen languages worldwide.

Apply for this opportunity to work one-on-one with Evelyn.

ASL 2014: Guest Poet, Elizabeth Bachinsky

Elizabeth Bachinsky is the author of five collections of poetry: CURIO (BookThug, 2005), HOME OF SUDDEN SERVICE (Nightwood, 2006), GOD OF MISSED CONNECTIONS (Nightwood, 2009), I DON'T FEEL SO GOOD (BookThug, 2012) and THE HOTTEST SUMMER IN RECORDED HISTORY (Nightwood, 2013). Her poetry has been nominated for awards including the Pat Lowther Award, The Kobzar Literary Award, The George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature, the Governor General's Award for Poetry and the Bronwen Wallace Award, and has appeared in literary journals, anthologies and on film around the world. She was born in Regina, raised in Prince George and Maple Ridge B.C., and now lives in Vancouver where she is an instructor of creative writing and the Editor of EVENT magazine.

ASL Program Co-Director: Composer, Michael Park

Michael Park is an artist who values innovation, sincerity, and communication. He is co-founder of Art Song Lab, an innovative program that teams composers with poets. The resultant art songs are workshopped and premiered as part of the Vancouver International Song Institute's SONGFIRE festival in partnership with the Canadian Music Centre.

He is currently working on his Doctorate of Musical Arts at The University of British Columbia under the supervision of Dorothy Chang. While pursuing undergraduate studies in piano, Michael's involvement with improvisation and multi-disciplinary collaboration led him to studies in composition. He continues to collaborate with a wide variety of artists, including dancers, poets, visual artists, and musicians. 

Michael has written for choirs, vocalists, pianists, chamber ensembles and, as a pianist, regularly performs his own works, as well as those of his colleagues. Michael’s compositions have been performed in Vancouver at the Sonic Boom Music Festival and the Songfire Festival of Song, as well as concerts presented by Music on Main and the Composers’ Collective. His music has been presented in Winnipeg by Flipside Opera and the Contemporary Opera Lab, and in New York by Opera On Tap.

ASL Program Co-Director: Pianist, Alison d'Amato

Pianist Alison d'Amato is a dynamic and versatile musician, committed to performing and teaching in the full spectrum of solo and chamber music genres. A member of several pioneering organizations, she is Artistic Co-Director of Florestan Recital Project (www.florestanproject.org) and co-founder of the Vancouver International Song Institute (VISI, www.songinstitute.ca). In 2011, she joined the faculty at Eastman School of Music as Assistant Professor of Vocal Coaching. In all these activities, Alison is dedicated to energizing the relationships and communication inherent in music and bringing students’ love of music to the forefront of their projects.

Alison enjoys a variety of interdisciplinary projects with musicologists, composers, writers, and dancers. Alison is co-creator of the 2011 Art Song Lab, a new partnership between VISI and the Canadian Music Centre (Vancouver) that presents new works in collaboration with composers, poets, and performers. Alison has been a guest artist at numerous schools including The American University in Bulgaria, University of Toronto, Tufts University, Royal Conservatory of Music, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, SUNY Fredonia, Boston University, and Boston Conservatory. In addition to traditional masterclasses in collaborative repertoire, Alison has shared classes with colleagues such as musicologist Barbara Heyman, English professor David Ball, singers Lynne McMurtry and Aaron Engebreth, and flutist Barry Crawford. From 2006-2011, she was Visiting Assistant Professor at University at Buffalo, working directly with colleagues to create and enhance collaborations and chamber activities in the music department.

Alison has performed at venues across North America, including Boston’s Jordan and Symphony Halls and New York’s Weill Recital Hall. The 2012-13 season features a wide variety of activities in new and established repertoire including reappearances with the Buffalo Chamber Players, several recitals with saxophonist Wildy Zumwalt, and original interdisciplinary projects at Eastman and VISI.

Alison received the Grace B. Jackson Prize from Tanglewood Music Center acknowledging her 'extraordinary commitment of talent and energy.'

ASL Program Co-Director: Writer, Ray Hsu

 
Dr. Ray Hsu is co-founder of Art Song Lab and the Medici Group.

Dr. Hsu has published over 150 written works in over 50 publications internationally.
He is the author of two award-winning books of poetry: Anthropy (winner of the Gerald Lampert Award and shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award in Poetry) and Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon (winner of an Alcuin Award).

He has been a faculty member at the Banff Centre, the SFU Writers Studio, and UBC Creative Writing. He also taught writing for over two years in a US prison.

ASL 2013: Mezzo-Soprano, Lynne McMurtry

Described as “a force of nature” (Toronto Star) and “an actress of immense talent” (Opera Canada), mezzo-soprano Lynne McMurtry is an exciting and vibrant performer, possessing a rich and generous instrument. Her growing career spans the breadth of classical music genres, from opera and oratorio through art song and new music. She has performed with the Boston Symphony, the Winnipeg Symphony, the Edmonton Symphony, Opera Ontario, Edmonton Opera and Manitoba Opera, and at many of the major festivals, including Tanglewood, Ravinia, Banff, and Aldeburgh. Conductors with whom she has performed include Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, James Meena, Howard Dyck, Kevin Mallon, Wayne Strongman, Robert Cooper, and Lorraine Vaillancourt.

On the operatic stage, Lynne’s vocal and theatrical versatility has won her excellent reviews in such diverse roles as Mistress Quickly in Falstaffwith Edmonton Opera, Arsace in Rossini’s Semiramide and Mme. de Croissy in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, both with Opera in Concert, and Olga in Evgeny Onegin. Other performances include Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Hamilton, Marthe in Gounod’sFaust with Calgary Opera, and a return to Opera in Concert to sing the title role in Handel’s Tamerlano. In the past few seasons, Lynne has been featured in no less than seven Canadian operas, including three premieres. Her highly acclaimed and multi-faceted performance in Tapestry New Opera Works’ 2004 "Opera to Go" was broadcast on CBC Radio.

Lynne’s warm, opulent sound and keen musical intelligence have brought her acclaim in a wealth of opera and orchestral concert repertoire. Concert appearances include Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass with the Edmonton Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with both the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and the Kitchener Waterloo Philharmonic Chorus, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Kingston Symphony, Raminsh’sMagnificat with Chorus Niagara, Elijah with the Newfoundland Symphony, Mahler’s Rückert Lieder with the Winnipeg Symphony, and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Eastman Faculty Players.

Lynne is an active recitalist and has sung at many distinguished song venues, including Tanglewood, Ravinia, and the Vancouver International Song Institute, where she collaborated with renowned pianist Margo Garrett. Her recital with pianist Alison d’Amato exploring settings of the poetry of Walt Whitman earned her a rave review in the Toronto Star, which stated that “Art doesn’t get any more moving than this.” Her many premieres include the world premiere of Conquering the Fury of Oblivionby Augusta Read Thomas, the Canadian premiere of Ned Rorem’s Evidence of Things Not Seen, and the North American premiere of Judith Weir’s The Voice of Desire. Her discography includes Vivaldi’s La Griseldaand Nisi Dominus, both recorded with Aradia Ensemble and Kevin Mallon, conductor.

Lynne grew up in Vernon, British Columbia, and attended the University of British Columbia, the Eastman School of Music, and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama, where she was a winner of the Opera Trust Scholarship. She is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Voice at the State University of New York College at Fredonia.

ASL 2013: Pianist, Corey Hamm

Dr. Corey Hamm is both an internationally performing pianist and Assistant Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at The University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada. He is Director of the UBC Contemporary Players and joined the faculty of UBC in Fall 2005.

Hamm is pianist with the prominent new music ensemble The Nu:BC Collective. With Nu:BC ("a delightfully diverse evening of sights and sounds" - Georgia Straight) he has performed multimedia concerts of works by Gyorgy Ligeti, Howard Bashaw, George Crumb, Gyorgy Kurtag, and many others. The Nu:BC Collective is proud to have been a part of Vancouver Pro Musica’s Sonic Boom new music festival for the last three years, premiering dozens of works by Vancouver composers.

Hamm is also a founding member of the Canadian two-piano, two-percussion ensemble Hammerhead Consort, formed in 1990, and winners of such important Canadian awards as the Sir Ernest Macmillan Memorial Foundation Chamber Music Award (1992), and the CIBC National Music Competition (1991), as well as the 1993 ARIA Award for Best Classical Recording.