Now and Then, a new solo piano work by composer John Estacio was commissioned by Contemporary Showcase Edmonton Society with the assistance of an anonymous donor to recognize the incredible contributions of Gladys Odegard. Odegard was a founding member of Edmonton CS and through her many years of service, has fostered Canadian music and promoted its development and enjoyment.
Gladys’ vision was to have a work written to highlight and honour the extensive efforts of students, parents and teachers to maintain music studies throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The work is in 3 movements to show the three stages of pandemic life: before; during; and in better days ahead.
“John Estacio was the first clinician for the Young Composers’ Program which was organized in Edmonton in 1994 and continues to this day. His ability to create a positive learning environment for young students and his ability to show them how to use the entire keyboard in their compositions was breath-taking. He was a natural choice to be the composer for this commission. We owe him our deep gratitude and thanks for accepting the commission request.” -Gladys Odegard, March 2022
The copyright states that the score of Now and Then may be downloaded for use at this year’s 2022 Contemporary Showcase Festivals. After that, the work will be available through the Canadian Music Centre.
The level of this multi-movement work is as follows:
– any single movement: Grade 6. (Note that the 3rd movement would need an advanced, motivated Gr. 6 student)
Jean Collins, a dedicated ACNMP Board Member and member of Contemporary Showcase Toronto’s Festival Committee, passed away on February 3, 2022 at Kelowna General Hospital.
ACNMP President Jill Kelman and the Board Members are very sorry to hear of Jean’s passing. Please visit here for her obituary.
Jean Collins was one of ACNMP Contemporary Showcase’s strongest and enthusiastic advocates . I met Jean while we both served on ACNMP’s board and later part of Toronto Centre’s festival committee. I will fondly remember Jean’s boundless energy, warm smile and sparkling eyes. Her sage advice regarding the growth and expansion of our organization was much appreciated by all who were in her presence. Although dear Jean has not actively participated these past few years, her positive impact on ACNMP will remain permanent. -Janet Fothergill (CSF- Toronto Centre festival committee)
Jean was a warm and steady presence in ACNMP/Contemporary Showcase Toronto Centre for many years. Reliable and committed, Jean was happy to be in the background doing the important and hard work that comes with volunteerism. I will remember the many conversations we had as we travelled downtown to 20 St. Joseph Street and the RCM, together. She was a strong advocate for Canadian music and for creating opportunities for those less advantaged. Her humbleness and dedication to lifelong learning are an inspiration. – Wendy Potter (CSF -Toronto Centre Festival committee)
Calgary Contemporary Showcase is excited to announce a Call-for-Scores: Staged Works. The call is for vocal works spanning aesthetics of contemporary opera to Musical Theatre.
Selected works will be added to Calgary CS’s Vocal Syllabus and an inaugural class will be created at the Contemporary Showcase 2022 Festival.
CRITERIA:
Submissions must be for solo vocal staged works with piano accompaniment.
Composer must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant.
Our judges for the 2021 National Performance Awards are David Gordon Duke and Jialiang Zhu. Read more about the judges below.
David Gordon Duke was born in Vancouver and has degrees in historical musicology from the University of British Columbia, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Victoria. He also studied composition with the pioneer British Columbia composer, Jean Coulthard. Though he has written music in many genres, he is probably best known for his many published educational works. He currently teaches at the School of Music, Vancouver Community College and contributes essays and reviews to The Vancouver Sun and the journal of the North American Music Critics Association, Classical Voice North America.
Chinese pianist Jialiang Zhu passionately embraces solo performance, vocal collaboration, and chamber music. She is the winner of the 2019 University of Toronto Doctoral of Musical Arts
Recital Competition. She performed Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy as a featured soloist with York Chamber Ensemble under the baton of Maestro Trevor Dearham. An enthusiastic collaborative pianist, she co-founded the Bedford Trio with violinist Alessia Disimino and cellist Andrew Ascenzo in 2016. They are the inaugural Irene R. Miller Piano Trio in Residency at U of T’s Faculty of Music. The trio is a champion of contemporary music and a keen collaborator with fellow artists. Their 2021-2022 concert season includes a recital that features six brand new pieces by Canadian emerging young composers dedicated to the trio and combines the music with digital/visual art by local artists. Jialiang’s latest vocal collaboration projects include recording Chinese-Canadian composer Alice Ping Yee Ho’s latest album A Woman’s Voice for high voices and piano; presenting a lecture recital at U of T on Chinese art song with both native and non-native Chinese-speaking vocalists; joining forces with soprano Xin Wang in recital at the Beijing Modern Music Festival and giving the Chinese premiere of Tanzer Lieder by Canadian composer Ana Sokolović.
ACNMP
Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects
