/gsc/articles/rss en /gsc/article/conversation-matthew-ricketts <p><strong>Earliest musical memory?   </strong></p> <p>On the cul-de-sac where I grew up, for a time: circling a streetlamp on my tricycle singing "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!" endlessly until I was dizzy. This also feels like my earliest queer memory, somehow.</p> <p><strong>What are the themes that inspire you most in your music?    </strong></p> <p>Enchantment</p> <p><strong>Is there a moment that brought you to now, being a composer — one that changed your course or confirmed it?  </strong></p> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 18:03:20 +0000 Jordan Gasparik 665 at /gsc /gsc/article/conversation-jared-miller <p><strong>Earliest musical memory?</strong></p> <p>Watching the original Fantasia when I was three and being fascinated with the music but simultaneously being scared of the sorcerer in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and hiding under a blanket whenever he was on screen. The blanket had holes in it though, so I could peek at TV screen while still feeling protected from the scary sorcerer!   </p> <p><strong>What are the themes that inspire you most in your music?     </strong></p> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 18:00:12 +0000 Jordan Gasparik 664 at /gsc /gsc/article/conversation-michael-kim-sheng <p><strong>Earliest musical memory?   </strong></p> <p>Listening to Murray Perahia play a Mozart piano concerto in the car. There was a phrase that I really liked. He must have improvised a bit with it, because when my sister and my mom played it for me on the piano, it just wasn’t the same. I told them that I didn’t like it anymore.  </p> <p><strong>What are the themes that inspire you most in your music? </strong></p> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 17:56:58 +0000 Jordan Gasparik 663 at /gsc /gsc/article/conversation-alec-hall <p><strong>Earliest musical memory?  </strong></p> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 17:54:58 +0000 Jordan Gasparik 662 at /gsc /gsc/article/conversation-laurence-jobidon <p><strong>Earliest musical memory?    </strong></p> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 17:42:52 +0000 Jordan Gasparik 661 at /gsc /gsc/article/conversation-graham-sommer-trio <p>With each edition of the Graham Sommer Competition, we welcome top artists to premiere the works of the Finalists. This year’s ensemble features individually accomplished solo and chamber musicians who thrive in the world of new music. The trio has been specially created to premiere the original compositions, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have them. Violinist <strong>Amy Hillis</strong>, cellist <strong>Chloé Dominguez</strong>, and pianist <strong>Meagan Milatz</strong> are the Graham Sommer Trio.</p> Mon, 20 Sep 2021 20:35:03 +0000 Jordan Gasparik 660 at /gsc /gsc/article/conversation-ashkan-behzadi <p>While Iranian-Canadian composer Ashkan Behzadi describes his first pieces as “immature and naïve,” the same certainly can’t be said about his current output. His works have been played by groups around the world, including theOerknal Ensemble and the TAK ensemble,and most recently, he’s been named a finalist in the Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers.</p> Wed, 12 Sep 2018 19:04:34 +0000 Chris Maskell 633 at /gsc /gsc/article/conversation-taylor-brook <p>After hearing Bartok’s String Quartet No. 4 being performed in his high school’s library, Taylor Brook knew that he wanted to become a composer. Not only did the musical experience prove to be exhilarating, hearing the piece also broadened his idea of what music could be – which shows in the music that he writes today.</p> Mon, 03 Sep 2018 01:15:15 +0000 Chris Maskell 631 at /gsc /gsc/article/conversation-thierry-tidrow <p>Ever since he joined Ottawa’s <a href="http://www.stmatthewsottawa.ca/index.php/music">St. Matthew's Choir</a> as a boy soprano, German-based composer Thierry Tidrow knew he wanted to be a musician. After rehearsing and performing with this choir (as well as five others) throughout his childhood, he ended up exploring composition later as a teenager – and started down the path that led him to become a finalist in this year’s inaugural Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers.</p> Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:16:56 +0000 Chris Maskell 629 at /gsc /gsc/article/conversation-chris-goddard <p>For composer and pianist Chris Goddard, pursuing composition as a career came out of a desire to better understand music. After starting piano lessons at the age of seven and participating in boys choirs around this same time, he began to avidly explore music and eventually went on to study theory and composition at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University. It was at this point that his musical curiosity grew even more, and as he puts it, his “fate was sealed” to become a composer.</p> Wed, 22 Aug 2018 15:27:39 +0000 Chris Maskell 627 at /gsc