ASL 2015: Pianist, Corey Hamm

Returning for a fourth year, we're thrilled to welcome back pianist Corey Hamm for Art Song Lab 2015.

A champion of new music, Corey is considered to be one of the leading interpreter's of Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated! and has even edited a publication of Rzewski's piano music.

It is an understatement to say that he is an avid commissioner; having commissioned, premiered, and recorded over 200 works from composers around the world. In a recent project, he and Erhu virtuoso, Nicole Li have endeavored to premiere and record a collection of newly composed pieces for piano and erhu, including pieces by 7 composers who have participated in Art Song Lab.

A fuller bio can be found on the UBC website, where he is an Associate Professor of Piano and Chamber Music.

Here is a recording of Corey performing at ASL2014.

ASL 2015: Guest Poet, Fred Wah

Fred Wah has been active in the international poetry scene since the 1960's, with a collection of publications and honours that is second to none.

He has won awards for his poetry, essays, short fiction, and literary criticism; notably the Dorothy Livesay Prize, and the Governor General's award. He served as Canada's fifth Parliamentary Poet Laureate and has been named an Officer of the Order of Canada.

While these credentials might make him seem untouchable, Fred is kind and approachable, with a passion for Canada's thriving literary culture, collaboration and cross-disciplinary work.

We're honoured that Fred is on board with Art Song Lab, and are thrilled to be presenting a participant workshop with Fred Wah as part of ASL 2015.

Apply today at www.artsonglab.com!

ASL 2015: Guest Composer, Neil Weisensel

photo credit: Aaron Kostuik

Neil Weisensel is a composer, conductor, and sound designer whose career is the essence of collaboration. He has written for opera, theater, film and television, and of course art song!

Most recently, Neil was commissioned by Vancouver Opera to compose Stickboy, in collaboration with spoken-word artist Shayne Koyczan. Weisensel's score incorporated spoken-word recordings of Shane, with live sung text, while the production blended traditional staging with stunning animation and video design.

It's clear that Neil is working at the cutting edge of where words meet music - exactly what we want to explore at ASL 2015!

Apply today at www.artsonglab.com. 

ASL 2015: Pianist, Rachel Iwaasa

After taking a year off from ASL to direct Vancouver's Queer Arts Festival, we're excited to have pianist Rachel Iwaasa back for her third year at ASL 2015. Check out her website for more info, but this quote speaks for itself.

"Pianist Iwaasa quite simply pulls no punches, attacking each composer's work with passion, intensity and the nuanced playing she's acclaimed for. . . she manages to instill a sense of dynamic tension and pull to every note."
-Stuart Derdeyn, The Province

 Here is a recording from Rachel's performances at ASL 2013.

ASL 2015: Pianist, Alison d'Amato

One of the driving forces behind Art Song Lab, Co-Director Alison d'Amato is excited to be one of our three pianists for ASL 2015.

Pianist Dr. Alison d’Amato is a dynamic and versatile musician, committed to performing and teaching in the full spectrum of collaborative musical genres. A valued 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). Among her current initiatives is the Academy for Collaborative Performance, a new summer program with Florestan Recital Project that explores interdisciplinary collaborations and new approaches to the performer-audience relationship. In all these activities, Alison is dedicated to energizing the relationships and communication inherent in music.

Here is Alison d'Amato performing with contralto Lynne McMurtry at the ASL 2014 final concert.


Apply today for the chance to work with a pianist who works tirelessly for the advancement of words and music!

ASL 2015: Tenor, Will George

We are thrilled to announce that tenor, Will George will be returning for a third year with Art Song Lab in 2015!

Tenor William George has performed with many international musical organizations, including Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Savonlinna (Finland) Festival, the Aldeburgh (England) Festival, the Stockholm Tonsattarfestival, Philippines Symphony, Elysium Festival and at Carnegie Hall.
A specialist in contemporary music, Mr. George has sung several prestigious North American premieres, including the role of Hermes in Sir Michael Tippett's King Priam, the world premiere of Enigma by electronic composer Barry Truax (a work that was composed for him) with Vancouver New Music, Edgar Allen Poe in Augusta Read Thomas’ Ligeia, and Kenneth Leighton’s Symphony #3. He also received acclaim for his performances of Tippett’s song cycles at Tippett festivals in Stockholm and Sacramento, and Benjamin Lees’ Echoes of Normandy.

As artistic director of Vancouver's Erato Ensemble, Will shows his excitement about the music coming out of Art Song Lab by programming several pieces that have been written by ASL Participants over the past few years.

Here is Will George performing a rollicking tale or toe-woe from ASL 2014.

ASL 2015: Soprano, Heather Pawsey

We are excited to announce that soprano, Heather Pawsey will be joining us for art Song Lab 2015. While this will be her first year involved with Art Song Lab, she is no stranger to either art song or new music.

A passionate and fearless champion of contemporary music in general, and Canadian music in particular, Heather has world premiered works by Vancouver composer Leslie Uyeda, Taiwanese composer Gordon Shi-Wen Chin, Vancouver composer Kathryn Cernauskas, Toronto composer Omar Daniel, Edmonton composer Allan Gilliland, Austrian composer Martin Ritter, American composer Patricia Alessandrini.

Heather is particularly known for her all-Canadian, all-contemporary, site-specific, inter-active chamber music concerts. Audience members and musicians alike travel from site to site within an unusual venue for a kaleidoscope of auditory and sensory impressions.

Apply today for the opportunity to work with a major force in the premiering and interpretation of Canadian new music.

Here is Heather singing in Leslie Uyeda's (ASL 2012 Guest Composer) setting of Lorna Crozier's "Sex Lives of Vegetables".

ASL 2015: Contralto, Lynne McMurtry

With us since the beginning, we're thrilled to welcome Lynne McMurtry back for the fifth year of Art Song Lab.

Described as “a force of nature” (Toronto Star) and “an actress of immense talent” (Opera Canada), contralto Lynne McMurtry is happiest when rehearsing powerful words set to evocative music, which is why she loves Art Song Lab.  Recent opera performances include Mistress Quickly in Verdi’s Falstaff with Calgary Opera and Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera Lyra.  In the concert realm she dreams of singing more of Das Lied von der Erde (Mahler) and the Alto Rhapsody by Brahms, both of which she performed with orchestra recently.  She teaches at the State University of New York College at Fredonia and is a Founding Faculty Artist of the Vancouver International Song Institute.

Apply Today for the opportunity to work with a phenomenal artist whose dedication to art song is matched only by the warmth and richness of her voice!
But don't take my word... listen for yourself:

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.