spring/summer 2020 journal - acwc

Spring/Summer 2020 Journal

eJournal ACWC/AFCC Spring/ Summer 2020

Table of Contents

3 Notes from the ChairCarol Ann Weaver

6 From the EditorFiona Evison

8 ACWC / AFCC Anniversary CelebrationsDiane Berry

10 Special Report: Composers in the Time of a Pandemic

19 Creativity and Routines: Survival Strategies in Anno CovidXenia Pestova Bennett

22 My Journey from Film Distributor to LibrettistSharon Singer

26 Tribute: Rebekah Cummings – A RetrospectiveIrene Markoff

31 Interview: A Special Concert PostponedChristie Morrison

36 A Newly Imagined PianoEve Egoyan

40 New Member Profiles

42 New Canadian Opera: Chinatown

44 International Alliance of Women in Music ReportDiane Berry

50 Member Opportunities and News

All writers in the Journal are ACWC members, unless otherwise indicated.

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Notes from the Chair

Surround-Sound: Listening to our World During the PandemicCarol Ann Weaver

These days during the coronavirus pandemic with schedules blown apart, priorities refocused (or unfocused), musical activities altered or abolished, scored compositions for ensemble music becoming a thing of the recent past or distant future, funds drying up, dreams being put on hold, we begin to wonder about our existence as composers. Virtual ensembles fill our screens with dozens of performers playing music together, distantly (and possibly, moistly!) Multi-tracking our music into segments of larger virtual composites has become an exciting musical option. But what aboutour real-time, non-virtual music? What is our way forward? How do we find ways to hear and present a wider spectrum of sounds, which exist around us in our physical world?

During the spring, I am spending countless hours recording resident and migrating birds, local frogs and toads, rhythmic dripping of water in a spout, all manner of natural sounds in my environment. I realize how interdependent sounds and soundscapes are within and among each other.While recording technology allows for parabolic microphones to capture the very focused sound of a far-away bird, conventional microphones allowfor all surrounding sounds to be equally included. In our desire to hear the natural world in pristine clarity, we tend to stylize our recorded soundscapes by editing out certain distracting mechanical noises which actas sonic bullies within this otherwise “natural” environment – sounds suchas car motors, electric saws buzzing and droning, leaf-blowers drowning out the song of a rare migrating Chestnut-sided Warbler in the backyard.

And now, while we are wondering what music to compose, and for whom, when, where, and how, we may be allowing ourselves to listen to the world about us as a new form of music, a new surround sound in which our music becomes our environment, and our environment becomes our music.

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Since March 2020, the WFAE (World Forum for Acoustic Ecology), of which I am a member, has had a continuous feed of emails from members around the world who are commenting about our changing soundscape during this pandemic, with many fewer vehicles on roads, planes in the skyor industrial noises. Our cities and towns have become quieter with bars, pubs, and restaurants mostly shut down; festivals and concerts postponed;physical gatherings of larger groups of people prohibited. Many people arehearing birds for the first time where they would have previously only heard motors, engines and the buzz of so-called “progress.” Actually, as I listen to the world from my perch here in Waterloo, Ontario, the soundscape today seems somewhat reminiscent of the small town sounds where I grew up, with fewer mechanical noises and more natural sounds. Human speaking voices are easily heard again, as are footsteps on the pavement, children playing in their yards, bicycles and strollers passing by,with city streets becoming playgrounds, and sidewalks becoming (socially-distancing) community centres. Perhaps we didn’t notice the gradual buildup of sound over the years, but for us to be able to return, rather suddenly, to a reshaped sonic environment is a wake-up call for all of us who value sound. How do we want to go from here?

ACWC member and sonic ecologist Hildegard Westerkamp offers these words on silence, which has become a new kind of soundscape during this pandemic.

Silences [can be] eerie because they indicate disaster, hardship, death, suffering. Like all destruction there is also a gift, an opening, a waking up, a noticing of dramatic changes. These silences contain seeds for renewal and inspiration, for learning and sources of information for --toname just one example –how we might better deal with climate change. If people want to document this silence it does not mean they lack compassion or engagement with the hardships and tragedies that are happening in this same silence. Silence is big and can contain all of our human struggles, joys and multitudes of emotions.” (WFAE listserv, March 22, 2020)

Meanwhile, during the pandemic, new ways of making community music seem to be emerging. Every evening in our ’hood we create our own Corona-Jam! Several households of us come out on our porches and

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sidewalks, playing our hearts out on shakers, bells, tambourines, pots, pans, while hearing distant horns and vuvuzelas. We range in age from four years old to seniors. Each evening I play a pot lid with lovely low tone,plus a pair of agogo (African) bells with different higher pitches. These three pitches, along with the infinite variety of rhythms and interactive

improvisations, create a complete sonic world, expressing an exuberant sound of our pandemic era. We play in thanks for life, and in thanks to all healers and front-line workers! We also have circus acts, running contests, riddle sharing, and show-and-tell of Lego projects and moose antler collections. Traditionally, within most world cultures, music has always existed in tandem with otheractivities and expressions, so we arecreating nothing new. Rather, we’re joining the millennia-old experienceof creating sound as a human “rite.”

Many of us would rather not return tothe crescendo of our pre-pandemic,

human-made cacophony, which crowded out much of the natural soundscape and was often too busy to listen to all our voices, no matter how large or small. So, if we are able to start over again, how will we listen to our world and reshape our sonic output? And how will we, as composers, write music that captures the new soundscapes surrounding us? How will we begin to hear a fuller spectrum of sound and incorporate a wider experience of sound making as community experience? As we search for new ways to listen to our current pandemic-era soundscape, we can hopefully create a better sonic world, post-pandemic. This, after all, is the work of us composers – to listen, to reflect, to create! Happy listening to us all!

Carol Ann Weaver is the Chair of ACWC/AFCC. Carol Ann is a cele-brated Canadian composer whose music has been heard throughout North America and in parts of Europe, Africa, Korea and Paraguay.

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Lyle Friesen playing a Ghanian shake and Carol Ann Weaveron tambourine and African agogo doing their Corona-Jam.


From the Editor

How Quickly Things Can ChangeFiona Evison

This is my second edition as Journal editor, and last fall as I learned how to put it together, I never imagined how different life would be now. A big change for me was in employment—I was hired shortly after the last edition's publication as a church music director. I have been a church musician since teenager days, but had stepped back from a regular position in the last few years. It was exciting to be back at the keyboard, helping to leading a community in song –community music has long been my passion and composition focus. However, while I was learning to tame a temperamental pipe organ, and serve the unique musical needs of a new choir, liturgical tradition, and church culture, there was a lurking danger. In the midst of writing and arranging Christmas music to celebrate the Light, there was an unknown coming season of mourning the dark.

All of us in music circles have been significantly impacted by COVID-19, and questioned what this new virus will mean for music-making. I have been tracking the emerging research on the safety of ensemble singing. Or,trying—it is hard to stay on top of it all, and sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the data, the situation, and life under lockdown. As someone with an immune disease, and who is taking immune-suppressing medication, I am in a high-risk category. Although my faith tradition anchors me in hope, being high-risk means that I have been required to stay home more than most. So, these changes in mobility and interactions with others have beena huge adjustment for my extrovert self.

Other changes are family related: a sibling was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at the start of the pandemic, and I have only been able to visit once. Texts and emails are not the same as being together and really seeing how they are doing. A new granddaughter is coming soon into this pandemic world. Normally, I would help my daughter prepare for this new arrival, but have not done so. My niece's wedding turned from a much anticipated family celebration into a minute drive-in affair. These family matters seem even more difficult to me than the disappointment of cancelled concerts.

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The world has become even more virtual than before, and what unique opportunities this presents to make music! And yet, a real struggle for us in community music, who value accessibility for all, has been the reality that there are many to whom technology is a barrier. In my church choir, for example, less than 50% use the internet. This makes any kind of inclusive Zoom ensemble impossible. In my community choir, Zoom rehearsals saw less than half of the members participating on a regular basis. For some, the technology was the issue; for others, singing alone in their home while muted and watching other muted singers failed to provide a nourishing community “musicking” experience. And, as one director that I interviewed recently emphasized, it is not a choral experience. It's a type of musical experience, but it cannot replace being physically present, responding to one another and to the encouragement ofa conductor. We can only provide a pale imitation, despite the wizardry of audio-visual editing and virtual “choirs.” Disconcertingly, the future is unclear as to when we can again safely sing together in community.

When I thought about writing this editorial, I was concerned that it would be gloomy. So, let me share the unexpected rewards of isolation: I have learned to use new video and audio editing software on new musical projects. I have finished compositions long needing attention, and have even been inspired to write new ones. I have participated in a virtual concert, and undertaken new research about the response of local community music leaders to the pandemic. Like many, I have sorted, reorganized, and found buried treasure. These activities, while not replacing community music, are worthwhile, and I'm grateful. I've been accepted into a PhD program at Western for the fall, so time will be a precious commodity! I have remained healthy, and last (but not least), I have joyfully watched communities making their own music from wherever they are isolating, whether it be balcony, porch, or screen.

I trust that you, too, have found unexpected joys in this strange time. Let one of them be reading this Journal, and feeling the connection with your friends and colleagues here. Stay safe and well.

Fiona Evison, a community composer-performer-researcher with a Scottish heritage, lives in Ontario and is ACWC/AFCC's Journal editor.

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ACWC/AFCC News

40th Anniversary of ACWC / AFCC Diane Berry, 40th Anniversary Committee Chair

In 2021, the ACWC/AFCC will celebrating 40 years since its inception in 1981. This is a timeto look back to the past as well as look to the future of the organization and of the music of Canadian women.

We find ourselves in a difficult and unique time to be planning such a celebration. Whole seasons of concerts and events have been cancelled with no clear idea as to when they will return. But this organization is full of creative, energetic people so there will be no shortage of ways to celebrate.

In the summer of 2019, our Chair, Carol Ann Weaver, began asking for ideas on how we should celebrate, and by Christmas she had a long list of possibilities ranging from a large gathering to small concerts to a commemorative postage stamp. At that point, there wasn’t a committee or a chair person to act on any of the suggestions, or even to decide how to proceed.

In January, I was asked, in my role as secretary, to organize all the ideas. I was so impressed with their variety and imagination that it was impossible not to get excited about the celebrations, so I decided to take on the role of chair. Since then I have been joined by Brenda Muller, Emily Heimstra, Pat Morehead, Tina Pearson, Amanda Lowry, Carol Ann Weaver, and our treasurer, Janet Danielson.

It became clear as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed that any kind of large gathering would be impossible. Instead, the committee has chosen to program many smaller events both in person and online. The most obvious

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Click here for updates!

https://acwc.ca/2020/06/03/acwc-40th-anniversary/


way to celebrate the music of Canadian women is through performances. Included in the emails sent to Carol were offers from members in Halifax, Yellowknife, British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario to organize, or perform in, local concerts. It is the hope of the committee that it will be possible to hold concerts in every region of the country.

Our sudden reliance on technology and the internet have presented other opportunities and given rise to other wonderful ideas. Through calls for recordings, we will be compiling playlists of member’s music and releasing them periodically throughout the year. All members will have the opportunity, and are encouraged, to contribute to these lists. On the website will be a page dedicated to all the various events and celebrations, as well as regular updates in the SoundBox. Possible online forums and events will give us an opportunity to connect with each other, learn more about our history, consider our future, and share our music.

There is a strong feeling among the committee members that it is important we recognize the Canadian women who were writing music, teaching future composers, and promoting the works of Canadian women even before the founding of the ACWC. Those composers and the women whose energy and dedication formed the organization will be honoured with the inclusion of their music in the playlists and concerts. To enable members and scholars to learn more about these women, the creation of an online library is being explored as yet another way to celebrate.

Many other wonderful ideas were put forward by members, and as we move ahead with plans, there will be more exciting ways for members to feel involved in this important celebration. Please check the 40th Anniversary page often for more information about this exciting time in our association's history!

Diane Berry is ACWC's Secretary and a composer based in Victo-

ria, BC where she continues to teach, perform, and compose.

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Special Members' Report

Composers in the Time of a Pandemic

As I started to put together this journal, the pandemic was heavy on my heart. This has been such a strange time for all of us with collaborations, concerts, classes, and jobs on hold or changed. For those who are more solitary in nature, it has been "a hermit's dream!" Some of us have been grieving or traumatized. Others have been discovering and even delighting in new ways to accomplish things, and finding time to finish or start works.

I sent out a request to our members forthoughts about how they are doing, whatthey have had to adjust, whatdisappointments or challenges they arefacing, and what have been the unexpectedblessings.

Be encouraged by reading the responsesbelow. They are followed by practical adviceon dealing with the stress of social isolationin a healthy way—Fiona Evison

Sylvia Rickard

On the whole I see this virus as a wake-up call. The absolutely best gift of this COVID-19 virus is to Mother Earth. With very few cars, cycles, trains, ocean liners and cruisers, semi trucks, and airplanes, the Earth has had a chance to breathe. Less pollution in the oceans and on land; clear air in large cities; much less traffic everywhere, on every continent. I hope this pattern continues when the lockout is over—at least I wish people will be more mindful of wasting resources unnecessarily.

For me, the solitude has helped me finish writing my accordion piece for Dutch accordionist Erica Roozendaal and “de-orchestrating” my piece for

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bass clarinet and string orchestra to bass clarinet and marimba. Quite a challenge, but I’ve done it; without the imposed calm of the virus, I probably would have been much more scattered, distracted, so it would have taken me much longer to complete these two projects.

On the negative side, I live with only my two cats, whom I adore, but I misshuman company; I no longer go to Spanish lessons or advanced French class, and can’t have massage therapy or chiropractic, or go to lunch with my friends, etc. I do not wear a mask; I make my own hand sanitizer of oil of oregano and oil of tea tree because I detest all the toxins in the commercial hand sanitizers. I shop when I need to, and look forward to the time when I can resume other activities, especially attending live concerts of chamber, orchestral, choral music and opera, and playing ping pong twice a week at the community centre. I look forward to travel again,both within and without Canada. I am most thankful to be in good health, at almost 83. I wish you and all others good health!

Jennifer Bennett

When the virus arrived, I had just received permission from Lorna Crozier to use part of one of her poems in a composition for women’s choir, which I wrote out in pencil since my computer had died. Well, now there are no women’s choirs, and it looks like any gatherings at all are in the distant future. I just bought a new iMac (which I had to set up myself) and a new version of Sibelius. Even though my first love is choral writing, I’m thinking it’s time to think smaller, for just a couple of performers. The virus has such wide ranging effects on all group performances and budgets that I worry about the future of music here—such sadness. Bless the choir directors doing Zoom singalongs, good for raising the spirits.

Blessings? No pressure, put off till tomorrow what I don’t feel like doing today, lots of time to dream and write. And quiet (!) like composers enjoyed in centuries past.

Leila Lustig

So far, the biggest change the pandemic has caused for me was the cancellation of a concert dedicated to my music scheduled for April 20 this year by the Canadian Music Centre in Vancouver. I was particularly

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saddened for the musicians who would have participated; and for Diane Berry, whose music would also have been featured.

Since I’m no longer performing myself, I guess I would qualify as a hermit!I’ve been busy completing a song cycle for tenor voice and violin, which I have titled Night Voices. The “voices” are non-human. I’ll be submitting it to the CMC library, where I hope someone will be curious enough to find out more about those voices to check out the score.

Here’s what I wrote for the title page, and for the CMC library:

Two of the songs in this cycle were inspired by the poetry of Michael T.Young and Sue Owen. I used my own poem to complete the group. In "Advice from a bat," the violin portrays the sounds of the bat's flight, while the tenor delivers the bat's advice. In "Crickets," the violin is the singing cricket, while the tenor describes how the cricket's voice sounds to him. The violin represents the "Dark Shape” as the song begins, while the tenor describes seeing it outside his window at first light; only at the end of the song does he reveal what the shape actually is.

My sincere thanks to you and the ACWC board members who keep the organization going through good times and hard ones like these.

Julia Jacklein

COVID-19 has impacted me less than many people out there. I am thankfulthat my family and everyone in my network of colleagues and friends continues to be healthy. Since my family lives in locations all over the globe, we have been accustomed to connecting via email, phone, Zoom, etc. I am an introvert, so I am happy to spend time by myself. But like everyone else, I miss regular social activities (choir rehearsals!) and the freedom to visit museums, attend concerts, teach, and visit with friends in person.

It has been a challenging time, what with all the difficult news from aroundthe world, and not knowing how this is going to continue. Staying focused

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on my university studies has not been easy—but I have successfully submitted my thesis, which is a good feeling!

Four concerts at which my music was going to be performed have been cancelled. I had especially been looking forward to a performance by the DaCapo Chamber Choir in Waterloo. But I remind myself that this is a small thing when compared with everything else that has been going on. And maybe, hopefully, some good will come from the pandemic. This quote by Charles Eisenstein says things very well, I think:

“Covid-19 is showing us that when humanity is united in common cause, phenomenally rapid change is possible. None of the world’s problems are technically difficult to solve; they originate in human disagreement. In coherency, humanity’s creative powers are boundless. A few months ago, a proposal to halt commercial air travel would have seemed preposterous. Likewise for the radical changes we are making inour social behavior, economy, and the role of government in our lives. Covid demonstrates the power of our collective will when we agree on what is important. What else might we achieve, in coherency? What do we want to achieve, and what world shall we create?”

https://charleseisenstein.org/essays/the-coronation/

Frances Mae Balodis

I miss The Muskoka Men of Song, a 35 voice choir. I am their director—I email them every night and send them a video of me talking to them every Sunday. Also, I am a birch bark card maker. I have been making many cards and sending many cards/letters to single seniors and very elderly isolated couples. My card sales continue as during this time more people are actually writing a paper card/letter.

Jean Ethridge

I feel like I am in some kind of futuristic dream and some day I will wake up and it will all be behind us! The world will have evolved to be a better place, I hope. I don’t have enough hours in the day to do everything I would like to do. During the isolation I have revised two of my songs and

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https://charleseisenstein.org/essays/the-coronation/


deposited them at the Canadian Music Centre. I have practised the piano a little. I am teaching one student by Skype once a week. I am knitting socks for one of my grandsons for his birthday. Sometimes I read a book or watch a little television. Right now, I am sorting and organizing stuff that has waited for me since I moved in a year and eight months ago. My older son contacts me every day, sometimes more than once a day. It is good to hear about his daily life. My younger son works for BC Ferries and has been working 12-hour shifts because of the increased number of transport trucks. I go grocery shopping on Wednesdays to the Uptown Farmer’s Market, where one can only order in advance on-line. Other times it is good to shop first thing in the morning. I walk around my neighbourhood, and exercise to a DVD on my TV. When this is all over I will have long hair!I am eating healthily and am feeling fine. I miss human contact and have to settle for hugs from my teddy bear!

Keep well and keep safe.

Gayle Young

With no time spent traveling since early March, I’ve been happy to organize some files and develop new pieces. In the absence of ‘live’ concerts, I’m noticing that my music projects remain socially motivated. I play in on-line improvisations, I’m planning a collaborative film project that can be done without travel, and just this week, noting the reduction of sounds from vehicle traffic, and recalling my history with cars and car mechanics, I’ve begun planning an outdoor composition featuring car engines as instruments.

Elizabeth McDonald for Women on the Verge

We are all in a strange holding pattern so I thought I would take a momentto reflect for the Journal on how and what Women on the Verge (WOV) are up to.

All three of us WOV members (Kathryn Tremills, Emily Martin and myself) have definitely struggled through this time of isolation! We all were abruptly pulled from our teaching and performing in those early daysof pandemic shut down. Emily was in London, UK teaching on the Bucknell University campus there and had to pack up her students and her

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family within about 72 hours and fly back to the US. Since she had rented our her home in Pennsylvania, she and her young family went to her parents' second home on the island of Vinalhaven, off the coast of Maine, and were in quarantine for 14 days. They have been there ever since and don’t anticipate leaving until August when (perhaps) school starts back up!

Kathryn is home in Toronto with her young family and husband, singer Giles Tompkins. Giles was in rehearsals at the Manitoba Opera and was in limbo for a week until they cancelled their shows. They are now together and pivoting to online teaching and some performing (check out their Facebook performance here. )

My family and I were planning on flying to the UK and France for a March Break trip to celebrate my youngest's 16th birthday, on the day that Canada shut down. We planned on staying with Emily but…that didn’t happen since Emily was frantically packing to come home! I have now been home in Prince Edward County with my husband (a chiropractor whose office has been closed this whole time) and two teenagers attempting a combination of home schooling, Zoom voice lessons, and meetings with WOV to discuss our way forward.

During this time, all three of us have all been in the middle of managing our students’ distress at cancelled recitals, concerts, and classes, as well as our own loss of summer work and teaching, and the insecurity of what going back to school will look like. But through all of that, the joys of beingin a trio and meeting weekly with friends and musicians that you love and admire has been very healing. Together we have laughed and cried and schemed and planned. We have come up with some new ideas on how to

pivot our work online (stay tuned - it's all about women composers!) and are in the process of writing grants, recording music, and generally trying tostay inspired.

If this pandemic has taught us anything, it's to gather your people close while giving them room to grow.

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WOV in zoom conversation with Emilie Lebel

https://www.facebook.com/giles.tomkins/posts/10107493554289212


Alice Ho

Humanity is being tested as the world continues under the virus heist. I question my role as a composer; what can I do to make the world feel better? I shall hope to take this as an inspiration and create works that reflect on our societies, commemorating this unusual chapter of history about the heroes and heroines and those who suffered. I must learn and understand and empathize with them as an artist. It's the least I can do besides staying safe!

In addition, I am a lucky person to earn a wonderful opera commission CHINATOWN by City Opera Vancouver on a libretto by Giller Prize and Governor General Literary Award writer Madeleine Thien (see more information on p.46 ).

Christie Morrison

My husband Brent and I are fortunate to have a lakeside home on Vancouver Island. Our “ new normal” models our everyday “normal” except we are missing the touch and physical contact with our family. No hugs and no family sleep overs is so very difficult .

Brent and I also enjoy entertaining, so we are missing the conversation and laughter of good friends as well. We maintain a daily routine of exercise, fresh air, and good food. We both have projects to keep us busy such as gardening, canoeing, professional webinars, lots of books to read, puzzles, games, Zoom video chats with family and friends, and composition. I maintain a positive attitude for the most part and wish all ofyou my very best as we are all in this together! We will get through this.

Ivana Quehl (nee Jokic)

This is the first time in this generation that something like this happened in North America. It has been a challenge for many to adjust to this new way of living. I will take a moment to reflect on how this situation has beenfor me.

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Firstly, I am doing well. I feel very lucky to have a strong network of familyand friends. Those of you who know me know that I am an extrovert and enjoy the presence of people. Unfortunately, the pandemic has taken away a lot of aspects of socialization and forced us to find other means to connect. I feel grateful that we live in a time where video chatting and phone calls are possible. I talk to my mom on the phone almost every day, and have scheduled video chat dates with friends throughout the week. I also live with my husband so I rarely feel lonely.

As for work, I am able to work from home, teaching piano online. This was a learning curve at first but I got the hang of it quickly. Most of my students were able to continue with online lessons when the pandemic started and some resumed lessons online recently after taking some time off.

I have been using my new found free time for many things. During this time, I have been reflecting a lot and finding ways to create balance in my daily routine. Instead of learning a new skill or hobby, I took the time to hone and revisit existing skills, hobbies and catch up on obligations that I fell behind on before the pandemic. I took the opportunity to thoroughly clean my house which is something I never used to do. I’ve also gotten better at cooking. I used to constantly overcook things because I had this fear that the food would not be thoroughly cooked enough, especially meat.I’ve also found creative ways to make simple meals that are both healthy and delicious.

I took the time to practice more piano, which is something I haven’t been doing as much the last few years, as I have been very busy with teaching, composing, and other arts-related obligations. I took the opportunity to learn some pieces that I hadn’t had the opportunity to in the past and also create some of my own covers of pop and rock songs.

Some things in my lifestyle also changed. Because I can teach during the day now, I started going to bed earlier and waking up earlier which has been a game changer for me. I feel more refreshed, energized and get a lot more work done than before. I find that it is a lot easier to eat healthier

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since my husband and I have been cooking a lot as eating at restaurants is not possible anymore, and ordering in gets expensive very quickly.

Before the pandemic happened, I used to get bored easily and always thought that I had to go out somewhere to have a good time. When this all happened, I was worried that I would be bored out of my mind and would have nothing to do other than binge watch every single show on Netflix. However, I quickly adapted and brainstormed different ways I can make use of my leisure time. I realized that I do not need much to keep me entertained. I used to think that to get exercise, I need to go to a gym and use all this fancy equipment. However, all I do now is turn on some music and dance for a couple of hours. If it is a nice day, I go for a walk by myself or a bike ride with my husband. I have also taken the time to research different artists and find new music to listen to for when I am dancing and going on walks. My husband and I also have a home theatre system in our basement so we have a weekly date where we watch movies and listen to music together.

I find that the biggest struggle during the pandemic has been that weekends and weekdays feel very much the same. Usually during the weekend, going to the bar, a concert, having company over, or visiting withfriends and family has been the usual routine. I find that having a differentstructure on the weekend helps. I do not teach during the weekends anymore. I also practice and do chores during the day, and do leisurely things during the evening such as virtual dance parties and weekly movie/music dates with my husband. When the weather is nice, I will usually do asocially-distant visit with my parents. A couple of weekends ago, I did a socially-distant bike ride with my brother and his family.

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Pay-What-You-Can or Donate Option for Dues

Membership fees, due June 30, will be adjusted this year for those encounteringfinancial difficulties, in light of the pandemic.

Members may also donate additional funds to help compensate for thoseunable to pay their full amount this year. Payments above $20 of your normal

membership fee will be considered a receiptable charitable donation.

See our new pay button on our website for either option.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=AA3GQQP5NBZYW&source=url


Education

Creativity and Routines: Survival Strategies in Anno CovidXenia Pestova Bennett

As creative individuals, we tend to be sensitively attuned to the world around us. This intimate connection manifests itself in our output as well as our daily lives. World events and relationships to those around us affect us profoundly, at times triggering anxiety and creating feelings of overwhelm. Having go-to routines that we practice in times when we feel well can also help create a sense of anchoring and grounding in more difficult situations. Here are some of my favourite routines for well-being and creativity.

Movement

We all know intellectually that regular exercise is important for mental as well as physical health, but it can be difficult to appreciate this on an intuitive level. One friend confided recently that she is unable to establish a regular sleeping routine, staying up most of the night. Once she finds some sort of a manageable sleeping pattern, she explained, she will

start taking care of herself and incorporating an exercise regime such as yoga. I bit my tongue as I tried not to slip out of being a sympathetic frienddirectly into “coaching mode.” If we take a holistic approach, we start to realise that our movement / yoga practice is something that influences our sleep and the overall quality of our life, as well as vice versa. I always feel the difference if I am too rushed to do my morning yoga, walk, run, or dip in the freezing sea. Do not wait until “X” happens to start “Y”; do it now and the benefits will follow almost immediately! Find a way to incorporate movement into your daily life to feel better, exit from worrying “loops” in the mind, and come home to the body and the moment: it could be as simple as doing some stretches for a few minutes at regular intervals on work breaks. Ideally, having a balance of more active and passive routines is helpful. This could mean going for a walk or run to raise the heart rate and remove toxins from the body, then doing simple stretches or a yoga /

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Qi Gong sequence to still the mind. A slow and passive practice such as YinYoga can be particularly helpful to provide counterbalance to our hectic lives. (Drop me a line if you’d like to try Yin Yoga together online!).

Breath

One little routine I do on most mornings is a series of breathing exercises. I find that I feel more relaxed, focussed, and much better physically when I take this time for myself. I have increased my lung capacity and drastically reduced the number of respiratory infections I come down with since starting regular breathing exercisestwo and a half years ago. On days that I don’t manage, I am prone get more anxious. If you would like to start withsomething simple, try this version of the calming yogic

“channel clearing” breath (Nadi Shodhana in Sanskrit). Please remember to check in with your healthcare provider if you have conditions that can be affected by breathwork, such as low blood pressure, and always listen toyour body, stopping if something doesn’t feel right (breathwork is not always appropriate for everyone and can be triggering if you suffer from panic attacks):

Sitting down comfortably with a long spine, softly cover your right nostril with your right index finger (no need to cover it completely if your nose is somewhat blocked, or you are having any issues with your sinuses—it might also be helpful to blow the nose beforehand). Take a long, slow breath through the left nostril followed by a long, calm exhale, also through the left. Aim to make the in-and-out breath approximately the same length, for example, five or six seconds long. Do this for a few rounds, then switch and repeat on the other side, covering the left nostril with your left index finger and breathing through the right. Finish with a series of slow breaths through both nostrils. Take a moment to notice how this makes you feel, both physically and psychologically. Breathwork can make us feel a little lightheaded if we are not used to the increased oxygenation of the blood, so please pace yourself and take time before continuing with your day.

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Focus

“Silence is golden” goes the old saying. Taking time to sit in silence, alone or with others, without doing anything: how rare and precious this is. Simply holding the space, building resilience instead of turning to habitual reactivity and trying to “fix” something...We are constantly glued to our screens and devices, narrowing our attention to a pinpoint in front of us, spending time in “doing” mode, tensing up our bodies and holding our breath, anxiety coursing through our veins. What if, instead, we consciously step back and softly widen our focus of awareness, allowing the peripheral vision to come back online and just inhabit our reality with no grasping or controlling? I like to set a timer throughout my day to remind myself to allow the body to expand into the space around me, notice the light and colour and come back to the breath, feeling it softly rising and falling in the belly. There are so many focus exercises, meditation traditions, and spiritual paths to explore—look for approaches that resonate with you. I introduce this in my anxiety management series.

Befriending Anxiety

While at times anxiety is clearly linked to a difficult situation, there can also be days when it sneaks up on us unannounced, seemingly disconnected from whatever else is going on. Or is it? The more I try to “fix” my anxiety, the more stubborn it becomes. What if, instead of fightingand fixing, we work on “befriending” instead? What messages is it trying tosend? Is there something we can learn from this internal communication ifwe stop to listen instead of ploughing on? When I feel anxious, I know that I can initiate one of several routines to calm my breathing and heart rate and still the mind. It could be a simple movement sequence, breathexercise or taking time to slow down and shift my focus. Practicing these routines on a regular basis means that I can activate them when I need them most and benefit physically, psychologically and creatively. What about you—what are your wellness routines?

Xenia Pestova Bennett, a former ACWC member, is a pianist, composer and university lecturer. She also works as a yoga instructor and performance coach, providing sessions on anxiety management n-person and online. Click here for her series of short video interventions on “befriending” anxiety.

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http://www.xeniapestovabennett.com/wellness

http://www.xeniapestovabennett.com/wellness


Member Stories

My Journey from Film Distributor to LibrettistSharon Singer

As a teenager, I fell in love with great literature, and began writing poetry, stirred by the penetrating English classes of the marvellous Miss Havey at Oakwood Collegiate in Toronto. Because of her, Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Richard the Third are an enduring inspiration. Continuing my education in Honours English at the University of Toronto, I was exposed to Anglo-Saxon poetry, the works of Chaucer, Milton, Keats, T.S. Eliot, andso many giants in the canon. But what could I do in the 1960s with an English degree? Teaching was not for me.

So I set off to film school, first in NewYork, and then in London, England. Ichose film because I felt that this artcould express every aspect of life… intechnicolour. I continued to write poetrybut did not consider it a career. I didn’tknow about opera then.

Returning to Toronto from the LondonFilm School, Certificate in hand, I lookedfor a film job. In the early 1970s, originalCanadian feature films were just gettingstarted. There were NO production jobs. Only a handful of independent features, such as Don Shebib’s Going Down the Road miraculously got produced. Montreal had the NFB but I wanted to work in features, not shorts and documentaries.

I had to expand my horizons. With this new attitude, I discovered Film Canada, a quirky Canadian independent film distribution company. The office was a unique hive of creativity that embodied the explosive intensity and flamboyant chaos of the time. This company also owned and managedthe unusual programming at CINECITY, at Yonge and Charles, one of the

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first art cinemas in Toronto showing independent, experimental, and foreign films. It was close enough to my dream.

After a few weeks at Film Canada, I was sent by Willem Poolman, the company’s owner, to manage the Montreal office. I could speak French, and taught myself film distribution on the job. Montreal office revenues soared, which resulted in Willem calling me back to oversee the Toronto office.

I moved on to International Tele-Film, where I managed Cinema Images, the feature film division. This involved trips to New York negotiating the acquisition of independently produced American films. Then, I arranged film showings at colleges and universities, in film societies and classrooms,and organized mini film festivals on campus, and in independent cinemas.It’s amazing to think of the time before video cassettes, DVDs, and TCM, not to mention streaming.

In the late 1970s, I struck out on my own and was the first woman in English Canada to found a film distribution company: Dabara Films. This did not please the old boys' network. Nevertheless, I purchased the rights to many fascinating foreign and independent feature films which played in cinemas across Canada, including The Innocent with Giancarlo Giannini, Micheline Lanctot’s The Handyman, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, based on the classic novel by Jorge Amado, and Academy Award winner Madame Rosa, starring Simone Signoret.

I still longed to get closer to the creative side of motion pictures, and in 1980, developed a feature film project with director Martha Coolidge, who later scored great hits with such films as Valley Girl and Rambling Rose. At that time, few investors were willing to give three million dollars to a woman producer and a woman director, regardless of the excellence of the project. Martha moved to Hollywood and I became an arts journalist, then a film publicist, working on film sets for ten years.

After all these explorations, I finally discovered, as a late bloomer, that I was a writer. It was time for my poetry to come out of the closet. It burst

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through those heavy doors in 1994 when I began performing my work in Toronto clubs, saloons, and salons. My first poetry book, Fire Rider, was published two years later. I continued performing in Toronto, Ottawa, Newfoundland, and New York, usually with musical accompaniment. Guitarist Richard P. Elliott created soundscapes for many of my poems.

After seeing me perform, Bob Mover, eminent New York Jazz saxophonist, who had played with Chet Baker, invited me to collaborate on a CD, with my spoken word and his jazz improvisations. We had a great time recording Global Warming in a small studio on Sterling Road, beside what is now the new location of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

In 2008, Ottawa soprano Doreen Taylor-Claxton created the project, In Need of Song, which brought Canadian poets and Canadian composers together, and resulted in the CD Hail, Canadian Art Song. Each composer chose one poet’s work. Ottawa composer Colin Mack selected my work and composed the song cycle “The Names of Water” for the CD. Listening to my words sung by Doreen’s glorious voice was an ecstatic experience. This euphoria opened another door—opera fever gripped me.

Luck was on my side when I met Halifax composer Peter-Anthony Togni. He had been looking to write an opera for some time and I had been working on the text of Isis and Osiris, inspired by the Egyptian creation myth. Withcontemporary resonance,Isis and Osiris, Godsof Egypt tells theenigmatic story of KingOsiris and his sister-wife,Queen Isis, in their braveand selfless struggleagainst their evil brother,Seth, who lusts for powerand riches at any cost.

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Michael Barrett as Osiris and Michael Nyby as Seth


We collaborated, mostly long distance. Peter isa kind, thoughtful, brilliant composer whosemusic brought such depth and richness to mytext. The opera went through many stages in itseight year journey with workshop productionsat the Art Gallery of Ontario, Heliconian Hallon Hazelton Avenue, and fundraisers in severalvenues including Gallery 345 on Sorauren.Guillermo Silva-Marin was my mentorthroughout this process.

Finally, in 2016, Isis and Osiris, Gods ofEgypt had its world premiere, produced byVoicebox, Opera in Concert at the St. LawrenceCentre for the Arts in Toronto, starring MichaelBarrett as Osiris, Lucia Cesaroni as Isis,Michael Nyby as Seth, and Julie Nesrallah as Nepthys. The opera played tosold-out houses and excellent reviews.

Every time I hear my words sung, I get the same thrill that I experienced that first time with Colin and Doreen. Opera, like film, can delve deeply into any subject under the sun, and incorporate all the arts in its making. So I remain passionate, and I am currently at work on a new opera. I hope it doesn’t take another eight years to get it on stage.

Toronto-born Sharon Singer is a published poet, librettist, writer, speaker and spoken word performer. Sharon’s work has been included in poetry journals, anthologies, and as original art posters, as well as on three CDs set to classical, jazz, and New Age music. www.ariaworks.ca www.sharonsinger.com

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ACWC / AFCC 40th Anniversary Coming in 2021!

Submit ideas about how best to mark our anniversary Submit ideas about how best to mark our anniversary to the anniversary committee chair, Diane Berry

[email protected]

Isis and Osiris Lucia Cesaroni and Michael Barrett in title roles.

http://www.sharonsinger.com/

http://www.ariaworks.ca/

mailto:[email protected]



Tributes

Rebekah Cummings – A Retrospective1980-2019

Irene Markoff

It is a great honour for me to pay tribute toour beloved, departed songbird and artisteextraordinaire, Rebekah, whose stellaraccomplishments as a composer, visualartist, lyricist, and performer knew nobounds. Growing up in a household wherecreativity was valued and music was a part ofeveryday life, Rebekah and her musicallygifted siblings were encouraged to exploreand develop their innate musical talent and other forms of artistic expression such as drawing and theatre. Rebekah began piano lessons at age seven, but also ventured into composing, recording the fruits of her labour on a cassette player. Taking the lead from her father, David, she drew cartoon figures for family birthday posters and took great delight in delving into her imagination to create characters for mini, whimsical theatrical skits presented to the family. One memorable example, as sister Gillian recounts, was the composition of Egyptian-inspired music to accompany Pharaoh Muffin, Rebekah’s imaginary character created by dressing up her stuffed bear, Muffin, like a pharaoh. She then composed music for the pharaoh with a Middle Eastern, Egyptian flair, called the family into her room, and played her song.1

Singing was also extremely important to Rebekah as she sang with her siblings, in her high school jazz choir and musicals, and led worship sessions accompanying herself on keyboards in collaboration with her brother, Dan, on guitar at the Hamilton Christian Fellowship where her father served as pastor. Dan reflects that Rebekah was “most relaxed” during those sessions where improvisation figured prominently and “her

1Dan Cummings points to the importance of Mario Paint, perhaps “the first simple, kid-friendly digital composition software” for “Rebekah’s growth and interest as a composer.” In his words, “she would just drag and drop all the sounds in, didn’t listen to it along the way or anything, and then hit play. It was always really unique and whimsical.”

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Photo credit: Claire Dam


worlds of composing and performing collided in a really beautiful way.” In the poignant timbre of her voice, one can hear semblances of Celtic heritage from her father’s side of the family. In her love of asymmetric rhythms, drones, dissonances, and vocal ornamentation, however, one can detect the influence of her Bulgarian roots from her mother, Carol, the daughter of Bulgarian immigrants. In general terms, Bulgarian heritage forRebekah was her grandmother’s food, tangible objects such as Bulgarian ceramic dishes, folk costumes and textiles, and Bulgarian folk dances and music. Many of these elements permeate her vibrant visual art and reverberate in her music.

Following many years of studying piano and working as a visual artist, Rebekah received a Bachelor of Music degree with honours of high distinction from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2012. There she studied composition with Peter Hatch and Linda Catlin Smith, electroacoustic music with Richard Windeyer, and piano with Heather Taves. Although singer-songwriter compositions reflective of her deep spirituality had appeared on two CDs before this, it was at Laurier that she blossomed as a composer, and was commissioned to write for several ensembles—her compositional output encompassing chamber, orchestral, electroacoustic, and solo works.2 During this time, she was the only undergraduate student chosen to participate in the Soundstreams Young Artist Overture (2010) where she was mentored by James Rolfe in choral writing. The following year she wrote Liubima Moya (for live piano and pre-recorded electronics), as part of Mass Affect, a project for student composer-pianists

chosen to write and perform electroacoustic music for piano, mentored by John Kameel Farah, Kevin Saltarelli, and Heather Taves. This project culminated in a series of concerts, including the 21st

Century Pianist Showcase at the NUMUS Festival (March, 2011). Liubima Moya, the Bulgarian for “My Love,” was the product of Rebekah’s decision to focus primarily on her Bulgarian roots in composition and practical piano study in 2011. She then reached out to me for guidance to learn more about the melodic modes, rhythms, and other musical gestures of Bulgarian traditional music that

2Because of her lifelong delight in sound, be that from a cutlery drawer, a tree, a human voice, or a musical instrument, Rebekah had a special affinity for electroacoustic music.

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Rebekah's Bulgarian roots is reflected in her art "Beautiful Heritage"


could contribute to a “toolbox” for composing in tandem with improvising for Liubima Moya and for some choral compositions as well. Though still a novice in the serious study of Bulgarian music, the music felt “so foreign, yet so natural and exciting” for her. Even though she respected the authenticity of the traditions, she admitted that it was not her intention “toreproduce Bulgarian folk music” but rather to let her own creative voice speak even though she would inevitably be “breaking the rules” just by being herself. Traces of Bulgarian traditional music, and by extension, Balkan, Ottoman-Turkish music in Liubima Moiya include the asymmetricrhythmic units of 7/16 (223) additive meter, a meter that accompanies the pan-Bulgarian folk dance known as ruchenitsa; Rebekah would go on to incorporate other Bulgarian/Balkan meters in her compositions such as 5/8, 9/8, 10/8, and 11/8, mixing and matching these so-called “limping” (aksak) rhythms to create a driving, colorful palette of rhythmic intensity. Modal influences in Liubima Moya include the use of Turkish/Arab modes such as Hijaz and Mixolydian.

Upon completing undergraduate studies, Rebekah established and directed Zamar Hamilton, a unique initiative focused on mentoring young composers and pianists through private lessons and group courses involving musicianship, composition (including electro-acoustic), song writing, and improvisation. During her four years with Zamar, she was able to curate and record seven concerts featuring nearly 200 world premieres by children and teen composers in Hamilton ((link)). Rebekah’s lessons were stimulating, and enjoyable as even though she pushed her students to build on their creativity, she taught them with great clarity, loving kindness, and a quirky sense of humor. 3 Her passion for the materials she was teaching and the atmosphere she created empowered her students because most felt that she believed in them more than they believed in themselves.4

In 2016, Rebekah began graduate studies at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Christos Hatzis as her supervisor and Dennis Patrick as a mentor in the sphere of electro-acoustic music. She obtained her MMus in Composition with honours of high distinction in September of 2018. During these two years, Rebekah achieved great maturity and depth

3I thank Kate Bootsma, former Zamar student, for her input.4I thank Abby Hall, former Zamar student for her thoughts.

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http://www.soundcloud.com/zamar-hamilton


in her bountiful compositional output and as a result won many awards. These awards include: the 2016 U. of T. String Quartet Competition award (Cecilia String Quartet) for Chasing Beauty, a work imbued with a Bulgarian spirit, the fragmentation of rhythm through changing meter, often additive, and harmonic fragmentation; the 2016 Ann H. Atkinson Prize in Electroacoustic Composition, Forget, for cello and electronics (comprised of “chopped up” and “manipulated” cello and vocal samples woven together in duet form); and the 2017 Karen Kieser Prize in Canadian Music for flute and drums and electronics (flute, percussion, vocal and supplementary sounds recordings that are layered and manipulated through filtering and transposition), Fearless.

In 2016, Rebekah received a commission to compose The Way I Dream, a song cycle with hints of “Balkan seasoning” (7/8 meter and augmented seconds, characteristic of maqam Hijaz) for soprano and piano inspired byLucy M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables that was the finale for the Canadian Women Composers’ Project, and in 2017 as Composer in Residence for the University of Toronto’s Concert Orchestra, she wrote Grief Learns to Dance for solo violin and string orchestra. Hope Is, writtenin 2018, and performed at the University of Toronto in March, 2019, is a surround sound electroacoustic piece consisting primarily of recorded ‘water-based sounds” together with Rebekah’s voice and bells that convey the sometimes “elusive and unattainable nature” of hope. Her last composition, Our Strength, Our Song, completed just months before she died, was funded by the Ontario Arts Council for the Mercer Duo (Rachel and Akemi Mercer on cello and violin). In Rebekah’s words, “it is based on a short theme written in traditional Bulgarian (two-part, drone-based) folksinging style” with the cello and violin assuming the role of the generationsof women, the song bearers, who ensure the songs’ perpetual transmission.

Because Rebekah was such a deep thinker and meticulous in articulating and documenting her thoughts about life, self, God, and the creative process, we are fortunate that she wrote program notes that open the door to the inspiration for her works. These notes, and the scores and digital audio files for her compositions, will soon be available online at the Canadian Music Center where Rebekah is now an Associate Member. In reading the program notes, we learn that her music functioned as “an honest window into her soul,” revealing her vulnerability and emotional

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states with unabashed transparency, passion, and traces of innocence. We learn that Rebekah’s music was symbolic of deep, profound, philosophical debates with herself that sought to unravel the complex stirrings of her mind, spirit, and soul. We find themes such as fear, anxiety, and struggle conquered through the liberating forces of conscious transformation bringing one back to “a childlike confidence” through “melodic / rhythmic playfulness” (Fearless); grief as a positive experience (Grief Learns to Dance); the mind as a battleground in understanding the true meaning of beauty in self and artistic forms (Chasing Beauty); the process involved in an impossible relationship that has ended, but can’t be forgotten (Forget); digging for hope (Hope Is); the power of strong “generational bonds between women” to transmit wisdom, culture, values, beauty, and strength(Our Strength, Our Song); and the journey from childhood into womanhood (The Way I Dream).

Rebekah Cummings, “a sower of seeds,” “an intense dreamer” in both the prophetic spiritual and creative sense, “a bird on a wire” ready to take flight.5 “Rebekah is. She still breathes through her fantastical music and artand her powerful words that still vibrate in the air. The most loyal of hearts, the love and joy she poured into her friends and family endures.”6

In closing, I would like to thank my sister, Carol Cummings, who spent hours extracting Rebekah’s scores, digital audio files, program notes, and concert programs from her computer and organizing the materials for the Canadian Music Centre. Without these documents and Carol’s steadfast guidance and patience, I could not have possibly written this article. I would also like to thank family members, friends, and former Zamar students for contributing to this modest, and far from comprehensive, tribute through the sharing of their memories.

Irene Markoff is Rebekah’s aunt, an ethnomusicologist, and performer with a PhD in Music (Ethnomusicology) from the University of Wash-ington (Seattle) following M.A. studies in Bulgaria, and undergraduatestudies at the University of Toronto. Irene teaches studies courses, di-rects the Balkan Music Ensemble, and teaches Balkan singing and Turkish bağlama (long-necked, plucked lute) at York. She also contrib-utes to the Graduate Programs in Music and Anthropology.

5My sincerest thanks to family members Gillian Owensby, Justine Cummings, and David Cummings, respectively, for sharing these thoughts about Rebekah.6The final word goes to Claire Dam, photographer, and one of Rebekah’s closest friends whose support for Rebekah was unwa-vering.

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Concert Reports

Interview: A Special Concert PostponedACWC member Christie Morrison was to present her composition, “Lost Nursery Rhymes of Innocent Children”, recently. Like so many other events, this was postponed. Christie, who lives in British Columbia, shared by email more about this important project.

Please tell our members more about this event. Where was it to be held and what was its purpose?

"A BOY'S STORY, A MAN'S MEMORY" was the event that was scheduled to be presented on Saturday March 28th at 4:00 pm in recognition of the 75th anniversary year of liberation for the Jewish nation from the Holocaust. This event was being hosted at Shepherd of the Hills in Fountain Hills, Arizona.

The event's title is intriguing—to what does it refer?

Author Oskar Knoblauch, a 94 year-old Holocaust survivor and motivational speaker, will share stories from his book, A Boy's Story, A Man's Memory: Surviving the Holocaust 1933-45. Oskar's mission is to spread the voice of tolerance through the help of teachers and the community. Oskar lived through horrific moments of bullying. The experiences he endured made him stronger. He was willing to share with all of us the lessons learned, such as respect, self love, and being what he calls an "Up-Stander," which is the opposite of a "by-stander."

You sent me a picture of some art work. How is it connected to the event?

Artist Robert Sutz, whose entire family was murdered at the infamous camp known as Auschwitz, will present the topic, "We Remember", through Holocaust art. Sutz will speak about creating life masks of Holocaust survivors and other prominent people. Robert has created paintings based on the stories of Holocaust survivors as described to him, and was to display his work in oils, pen and ink, pastels, and water colours. Robert and I met two years ago at an exhibit in Scottsdale,

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Arizona, and when I shared the lyrics to my composition, he cried and stated, "All of my family were on those trains!" It was at this this point in time that Robert agreed to draw the cover page for my composition "Lost Nursery Rhymes of Innocent Children". Robert expressed his desire to be a part of the event. He is 90 years of age, and the state of Arizona is presently in the process of building a five million dollar museum for Robert's art work alone.

Could you tell us more about your composition?

"Lost Nursery Rhymes ofInnocent Children" waswritten for the 75th

Anniversary year in memory,honour, and respect for over amillion children who lost theirlives in concentration camps. I had visited Auschwitz in2006 with my university choir,and my life was foreverchanged! After visiting thebarrack where the infamousDr. Josef Mengele performedhis experimentation on youngchildren, and performed abortions on mothers and their babies, I just knew that I needed to educate others through music that, YES, a Holocaustreally did happen, and we must NOT FORGET!

I have also written a piece with a connection to the Holocaust, and know that it is an emotional subject. How did you feel as you were composing?

The writing of this composition was by far one of the most difficult and emotionally taxing projects I have ever taken on. I felt compelled to pay attention to my emotions and implement musically all the facts I had read and discussed with survivors who endured these atrocities. There are manypivotal parts in the score but I believe the climax to be the arrival at Auschwitz where dogs were barking, babies crying, people of all ages screaming, chaos was everywhere—my tears, unstoppable, fell across my

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manuscript. I felt as if I was truly there, re-living Auschwitz, as I devoted my entire soul to the writing of this piece.

Did you do anything specific to research its theme? What musical elements did you incorporate?

Yes, the research was inspired by the following event in history: in 1942, Janusz Karczak sacrificed his life to be with 192 orphans as they were led to the gas chambers in Treblinka. Some musical elements implemented arethe use of a marimba representing the "clacking of the train tracks" as the children were deported. Lullabies written in minor keys suggest the tragic ending we know is imminent for these innocent children.

Is there a link to a recording of "Lost Nursery Rhymes” that you could share with us?

At present, there is no live recording, due to COVID-19.

Tell me about how you became part of this event.

I found Oskar Knoblauch's book, A Boy's Story, A Man's Memory, in a Good Will store and decided to take a chance and write to him at an e-mail address provided at the end of his book. I had hoped to be able to meet a child Holocaust survivor, anticipating inspiration and insights to put towards the emotion of my composition. Oskar provided all of this and more. His tenacity, courage, and wisdom has had a significant effect on thewriting of this piece, and my music is dedicated to him.

The event became a reality as I was working in Fountain Hills as a director of Contemporary Music at a large Lutheran church. The venue presented itself, and due to both Oskar's and Robert's advancing years, I set about to plan and orchestrate this event myself. I contacted professional musicians for the parts of marimba, cello, piano. I was directing a choir so I had access to a baritone who represented Janusz, and I worked independently with a local middle school children's choir.

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It sounds like it would have been a wonderful concert.What interest had been expressed by the community?

The community was very involved and most supportive of theevent. The local library, community centre, churches, Jewish synagogues, and schools all participated by putting up posters to promote the event. The local newspaper committed to writing three different excerpts to further advertise on our behalf.

How disappointing to have to postpone! How was that?

Dress rehearsals were well underway and everything was coming together. We were one week away from performance when COVID-19 hit, and I was told of having to return immediately before our Canadian borders were closed. My immediate reaction was not for myself but for the protection of my Jewish Holocaust friends. I did not want them exposed to the 500 attendees, and become infected with a deadly virus. After all, they had survived a Holocaust and this was the last thing I wanted them exposed to. I think my own disappointment to having the event postponed hit home once I arrived back in Canada. I felt, and still do feel, a deep sadness that these two men who have given me so much as my friends would not beable to hear the performance that they were both looking forward to. I was equally sad to have to miss out on what they were also bringing to this event as a key note speaker and a world renown artist.

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Christie Morrison in Arizona with author Oskar Knoblauch and artist Robert Sutz.


Have there been any discussion about possibly holding the eventonline, or future plans for the event?

As a member of ACWC and NATS, I am learning more and more about virtual presentations. People in Arizona are still hopeful that this event canand will take place in late fall 2020 or spring 2021. So much depends on COVID-19, as far as the ability to travel, etc. There are two directors of a children's choir here in Victoria, B.C. that have already agreed to have my work performed in September 2020 and spring 2021.

Is there anything else you would like to share with the ACWC members?

It was also a privilege for me to be able to talk to many of my American colleagues about my connection and association with ACWC. This event provided an opportunity for me to both speak and advertise Canadian women composers and the part we all play. Many did not know about our association and listened with great interest.

Also, I learned yesterday that my piece has won an award in the BC provincial writing competition.

Congratulations! Thank you for the interview.

Thank you for this opportunity allowing me to share some of the details about my composition and the events surrounding it.

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Members Biographies

If you have not sent in your bio, links, and list of works for yourmember page, please send them to Mary-Catherine.

[email protected] (See Tawnie Olson’s page for formatting)

If you have a French page on the CMC site, please send thelink to Mary-Catherine Pazzano to include in your profile.

https://acwcweb.wordpress.com/members/tawnie-olson/



Guest Performer Insights

A Newly Imagined Piano Eve Egoyan

I am creating a body of work for a newly imagined piano that delves into the space between what a piano can do, and what I have always wished a piano could do. The core of these works is the live sound of the physical piano I am playing. But through the delicate intervention of technology, I test and tease)the edges of the piano’s natural sound, ultimately pushing it beyond the familiar into the impossible and extraordinary.

I am endeavouring to take the piano on a journey that is fully my own. In order for me to create for myself, I have had to deconstruct everything. Thecreation of a new sounding piano is a way for me to break from the past music I have heard for piano, and from how music written by others that I perform inhabits my body.

The work that mostsignificantly shiftedmy interpretative practice is En amor duro and De puro amor, a two-hour long diptych, by Spanish / German composer Maria de Alvear. It is written in loose proportional notation where pitches are selectedby the composer but where exact

durations, voicing, and pedalling are left open. The score is a map which both challenges and invites its interpreter into a new type of dialogue, allowing room for the performer to adjust to the given acoustics of the

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The author working with Maria de Alvear.


performance space, the piano, and the shared energy between performer and audience.

This led me into an exploration of freer forms of notation that offer obliqueguidance, suggestions, and pathways for me to follow and within which to express my own creativity.

I have always been particularly attracted to music written by pianist-composers. Their physical approach to the instrument is clearly embodied in their scores (and I feel, in a sense, as though I am wearing their body when I perform their work). For my own work, I am seeking to marry the visceral, sensually connected, deep engagement I find in improvisation with more considered structure and overall form.

In the past, instruments were built to the owner’s specifications. The creation of my new sounding piano follows this tradition. I am working with technology experts to enhance the acoustic piano’s capabilities.

To do this, I use a physicalmodelling synthesizer thatallows me to manipulate allthe physical variables thatdetermine the soundcharacter of an acousticpiano. This both allows forvery precise replication ofthe sound of particularmodels of piano but also forextending the character ofthe sound of the pianooutside its normal range.Because the acoustic pianotriggers the modelled piano,and the acoustic andmodelled sounds blendtogether, the modulations

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The newly imagined piano.


and extensions seem to emerge organically from within the piano’s naturalacoustic sound.

In my interpretative practice, I listen deeply into the decay of the piano and make my interpretative decisions by listening between the attacks to the space between the notes. I am known for performing pieces where the decay or resonance is an intricate part of the composition.

With the physically modelled synthesized piano, I can, for example, make the virtual soundboard much more rigid, dramatically increasing the length of the sustain of struck notes so that they ring on almost to infinity. This allows me, through subtle manipulations of this impossible ‘ghost’ piano, to introduce apparent shifts in the dynamics, pitch, and timbre through the natural decay of the piano.

For me, it is like the piano is in conversation with another piano that is behaving impossibly. The modelled piano is able to make the acoustic piano sound like it is possible to do things that it actually can’t do. The piano is dreaming into what it wishes it can be.

Through the grant I received, I am able to hire specialists to create and customize a fluid and intuitive system for me to work within on a regular acoustic piano. We are developing a purely acoustic system to transcribe piano performance into computer signals in real-time using AI. I will also be working with an optical pickup system developed in the UK. We are alsoexploring and implementing alternative methods for me to control the parameters of the enhanced piano using a gyroscope to capture the pan, tilt, and nod of my head. In some instances, I would like to be able to inflect the sound with the same naturalness with which a shakuhachi flute player can fluidly shift pitch and timbre within a melodic line.

I am grateful to have received Canada Council funds to make this project possible. I am also very grateful for residencies at Avatar, Quebec City; at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music; and at CMMAS (Centre for Music and Sonic Arts) in Morelia, Mexico. As I write this article, I am interweaving and intermingling the enhanced and acoustic piano sounds

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in preparation of a programme of work to be premiered in January 2021. To hear a piece from the programme, click here.

Note: I wrote this article prior to the arrival of COVID-19 in all of our lives.I am still working on this project, though in isolation. The residency at CMMAS in Mexico was postponed, and technical development with parts of my team (my AI programmer and developers in the UK) are on hold. Working with the technology I have in hand, I am composing works along the lines described in this article. My hope is that the pieces will still be performed in January. I miss performing enormously and I look forward to the time when we can gather again and share listening together. Stay well.

Eve Egoyan is an internationally celebrated artist whose medium is the piano. She continually re-invents her relationship with her instrument through the creation and commissioning of new workswhich she has performed around the world. Trained as a classical pianist, Eve has followed her curiosity into the world of contempo-rary music since arriving in Toronto 30 years ago, inspired by an emerging generation of Toronto-based composers. Eve works to improve gender equity in the world of contemporary music per-formance as a performer and as a voice in the community. She is one of Canada’s primary ambassadors for Canadian music abroad. eveegoyan.com https://eveegoyan.bandcamp.com/

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Check out the ACWC /AFCC renovated website'snew features.

You'll find ACWC / AFCC news, events andopportunities, collectives, and more

here.

https://acwc.ca/

https://eveegoyan.com/

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5jda8vygnsl2y5b/New%20Work-HD%201080p.mov?dl=0


New Member Profiles

Shelley MarwoodShelley Marwood is a Canadian composer whose music has been described as "laugh out loud funny" (Selfie, Classic Concerts NS), "charming and wistful" (Merge, CAML), and "full of personality" (Merge, Notations). Her music is frequently narrative, theatrical and comedic, strongly emotional, and visually evocative. Shelley’s work has gained recognition throughvarious commissions and awards, including the Karen Kieser Prize in Canadian

Music, the CMC Prairie Region Emerging Composers’ Competition, the VSO Olympic Commissioning Project, the Land’s End Composers’ Competition (finalist), and the U of T Choral Composition Competition. She was one of the featured composers of the 2009 Windsor Canadian Music Festival, and her composition Merge can be found on the Rubbing Stone Ensemble’s CD “The Lethbridge Sessions” (Centrediscs). Her work has received support from grants through the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, the University of Toronto, The Banff Centre, and the SOCAN Foundation.

Shelley has written for all types of ensembles, large and small, but has recently explored writing for the voice in various forms: two choral works (Elements and These Fragile Snowflakes); a one-act opera (Say No to the Dress); two art songs for soprano and piano (Selfie and In Spring); and three short art songs for students, commissioned by the Regent Park School of Music in Toronto (I am lost,Where She Went, and Reverse War). She is currently collaborating on a song cycle(supported by the Canada Council for the Arts) with writer Maria Reva (poet of Selfie). Dear Agony Aunt explores love, sex, and relationships in the format of questions to a newspaper advice column or call-in radio show. The questions in each song will vary in content and tone: some are funny, some heart-wrenching, and some rather puzzling—displaying general confusion about situations a person finds themselves in. The topics that are explored push beyond the common scope of traditional and heteronormative song cycles about love: they include polyamory,BDSM, faking orgasms, and unsolicited pictures that result from some online dating interactions.

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Shelley holds degrees from the University of Toronto (DMA '19), the University of Calgary (MMus '10), the University of Windsor (BMus '04), and an A.R.C.T. in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She currently runs a piano studio in Toronto, and has developed a passion for long-distance running—two half-marathons and Around the Bay 30K completed so far—and is currently training for her first full marathon.

Catherine BevanCatherine Bevan (b. 1996) is an emerging composer based in the Edmonton region, writing primarily in the acoustic medium. Her works often take their form from research in music psychology, and she defended her Masters of Music thesis on “Text and Controlled Improvisation as Vehicles for Musical Development”. While a composer first and foremost, Catherine is also a performer, with her primary instrument being handbells. She is a member of the auditioned handbell choir Jubiliso! Bells of Concordia which own the largest set of handbells and handchimes in the country.

addition to ensemble playing, Catherine is an active handbell soloist. A published handbell composer, her prize-winning piece Polaris and the Northern Lights has been performed across Great Britain.

Her works have been workshopped and performed by the likes of the Land’s End Ensemble, the Edmonton Saxophone Quartet, and the Winds of the Scarborough Philharmonic. Academically, she holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Music from York University, graduating summa cum laude, and a Masters of Music in Composition from the University of Alberta, graduating with honours of the highest distinction. She is the recipient of over a dozen awards and scholarships, including a SSHRC research grant, the Violet Archer Graduate Scholarship in Composition, and the Dr. Peter Zaparinuk Memorial Scholarship in Composition.

She has accepted an offer to purse a second Masters Degree at the University of Alberta, this time in Digital Humanities with a specialization in Music. Her thesis will explore the capabilities of Virtual Reality as a medium for musical presentation.

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Press Releases

CITY OPERA VANCOUVERannounces COMPOSER FOR

‘CHINATOWN’

ALICE PING YEE HO

A Project Supported by theVancouver Foundation and the City

of Vancouver “We are proud to announce that a City Opera jury has chosen renowned Canadian composer AlicePing Yee Ho to write the music for our next new work: CHINATOWN”said City Opera president Ethel Whitty. “This opera will tell the story of the history, people, and culture of one

of our most important neighbourhoods,” added Whitty. “Its libretto has been written by Canadian author Madeleine Thien, winner of the Giller Prize and Governor-General’s Award for Do Not Say We Have Nothing.” Alice is one of the most acclaimed composers writing in Canada today. She works in many musical genres (CHINATOWN will be her third opera), and has received such awards as the $25,000 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize (2019), Louis ApplebaumComposers Award (2016), and Dora Mavor Moore Award (2013) for ‘Outstanding Original Opera’. Her works have been performed by the Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Victoria, Nova Scotia, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Windsor symphony orchestras, and the Finnish Lapland Chamber Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, China National Symphony, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish Radio Choir, Estonia's Ellerhein Girls' Choir, the Luxembourg Sinfonietta, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, New Music Concerts, Penderecki String Quartet, TorQ percussion quartet, Duo Concertante, and at the ISCM World Music Days, Ottawa Chamberfest, Demark's CRUSH New Music Festival, and

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Asian Music Week in Japan. A two-time JUNO Award Nominee (2015 and 2018), she has an impressive discography released on the Centrediscs, Naxos, Marquis Classics, Blue Griffin, Electra, and Phoenix labels. “Ho’s musical language is a startlingly original three-way mélange of Baroque, traditional Chinese and contemporary Western idioms. The sung dialogue (the librettois in English) between the two illicit lovers is strikingly stylized, as if they were acting out a ritual while having a conversation. Rhythmic energy and fresh, exotic instrumental colors spill from every bar in Ho’s expertly deployed mashup of instruments from different cultures—pipa, zhongruan and erhu with lute, recorders and harpsichord, plus modern strings and ominously pounding percussion.” – The Lesson of Da Ji. Joshua Rosenblum, Opera News, New York, May 2016 Alice holds a Bachelor of Music in composition with high distinction from Indiana University, and a Master of Music in composition from the University of Toronto. Her teachers have included John Eaton (USA), Brian Ferneyhough (Germany), and John Beckwith (Canada). Alice speaks fluent Cantonese. This is her first commission for City Opera. www.alicepyho.com

CHINATOWN opens in September 2021 at the 668-seat Vancouver Playhouse. City Opera Vancouver, established in 2006, is a professional chamber opera company that specializes in new and unusual work, featuring Canadian themes and artists. CHINATOWN is City Opera’s fifth commission, and world premiere, in nine years.

FUNDINGThe Vancouver Foundation has awarded City Opera Vancouver a three-year creation and production grant for its new opera, CHINATOWN. This complements an award previously granted by the City, through its Creative City Strategies programme. “We are honoured and grateful,” said City Opera president Ethel Whitty. “The generosity and imagination of The Vancouver Foundation, and of the City of Vancouver, will allow us to lead creation of an important work about the history, the people, and thefuture of Chinatown. “Art elevates discourse. It moves us from the abstract to the personal. Our new opera will lead to a new discussion—at many levels—about one of our most important neighbourhoods and peoples.”

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http://www.alicepyho.com/


IAWM Report

International Alliance for Women in Music:Interview with Christina Rusnack

Diane Berry

I was lucky enough to attend the IAWM concert in Dublin, Ireland in October of 2018, where I met Christina Rusnack, who was the IAWM treasurer at the time. She has just stepped up to take on the role of president and I thought I would take this opportunity to interview her for our journal.

What is your musical background and your musical field?

I’ve been composing since I was nine years old. My mother was an amateur vocalist and a patron of the arts. As a child, she took me to everything—the symphony, the ballet, musicals, jazz concerts, and even to see John Cage. In high school, I joined choir, wrote songs instead of papers for English classes, and studied voice in college. I earned my graduate degrees in Composition and Arts Leadership in 2010 from the University of North Texas.

Passionate about composing about place and the human experience, I work at the intersection of nature, culture, history, and art to integrate context into my music from the world around me. I consider the performers to be my primary audience. If the musicians enjoy performing my work, that energy engages attending audience. I write for chamber ensemble, orchestra,

wind band, and solo pieces, as

well as jazz, women’s choir, electro-acoustic works, and film. Over my career,I’ve had some great experiences. In 2016, I traveled to Cuba as part of the People–to-People program to record two choral pieces in Havana. An avid hiker, and a member of the Landscape Music Composers Network , a

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https://landscapemusic.org/

https://landscapemusic.org/


significant number of my pieces focus on Landscape. Between 2012 and 2019, I’ve had several composer residencies at various national and state parks, and was commissioned by the U.S. Forest Service to commemorate the Wilderness Act. I worked with Kino-Lorber Films to compose my first film score in 2018 for a short comedy by the ground-breaking filmmaker in the early 20th century—Alice Guy Blaché, an amazing artist I’d never heard of. In 2019, I was chosen to lead the renowned Composing in the Wilderness program as part of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. I’m currently working on a piece about the Mojave Desert. In the fall, I’ll be working on a cross cultural project at the Visby International Center for Composers in Sweden.

How long have you been a member of the IAWM? Why did you decide to join?

About five years or so. Philosophically, after music history prerequisites are met, I believe that musicians should primarily listen to and study the music of our time. Unlike some of my peers, I never looked to find women role models in music. The creative process began very early—a composer is simply what I am. That said, it was discouraging that so many New Music concerts repeatedly featured works of a few “star” composers, most of them men. I wanted to learn about the 21st century women composers in the world, and actively seek out and listen to their works along-side their more well-known male counterparts.

How long have you been a member of the board? How many new members are there with this new board?

I joined the board in the fall of 2015, and have been Treasurer until this year. We are so excited to welcome over a dozen new board members this year. The board has been very composer and USA-centric in the past. With this year’s board, we are making inroads to becoming more geographically and disciplinarily diverse. In 2020, half of our new board members live outside of the US in Europe, Asia, and Australia, with a much greater proportion of performers, musicologists, and conductors. There are generally 15-17 board members.

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What made youdecide to take on aleadership role?

Equity and inclusionmatter! Amazing, highquality music has and isbeing created by, for,and with women whosenames and work remainunknown. There are somany women producers,conductors, researchers,composers, music editors, engineers, and more. Slowly the veil of fog is lifting. Secondly, I have leadership experience. During my years with a full-time day job, I worked up to a director level of a large corporation. I’ve also served as executive director for a chamber orchestra.

In a 2016 article for New Music Box titled, “Composing Advocacy: Social Voices,” I wrote: “As humans, most of us believe that we possess the power to make positive change in the world. Across communities, new music is actively challenging us to pay attention to the issues and the voices in our society.”1 Quoting renowned composer and advocate Darrell Grant: “I believe that we who create art possess an extraordinary power to communicate, inspire, provoke, inform, and to move others to transform society.” Our world is far richer when ALL voices are represented, heard, and valued.

What is your vision for the IAWM in the future?

As president, I want to work with the board and the membership to actively address equity and inclusion in all fields of music by seeking out and recognizing the countless women in music who have been historically excluded, as well as those who continue to be marginalized across the continents. In line with our goals of greater equity and inclusion, our vision is to be more relevant to our members and in the musical community.

1Christina Rusnak, https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/composing-advocacy-social-voices/ (April 19,2016).

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Visions take time. We sent out a survey in April and will spend May synthesizing the input from both members and followers from our Facebook page. In spring/summer 2020, IAWM is creating our first Strategic Plan. Based on input of the survey and feedback from within the musical community, IAWM is launching strategies to improve communication, increase our online presence, expand our awards, provide new grants, look fornew ways to engage with members and followers, and advocate for all women in the field of music. The board wants IAWM to be a community for you.

In the fall we will be putting out a notice about our new educator grant. This will be for teachers of K-12 to teach about women in music. The details are currently being worked out and it should be presented to the board for approval in June.

How has COVID-19 affected the IAWM?

I think the larger question is how COVID-19 has affected the IAWM community. Naturally, the answer is “tremendously.” While the impact on bars, restaurants and hair salons make the news, hundreds of thousands of musicians have been devastated by the impact of the virus. In late March, IAWM, along with many other music organizations, researched and posted resources for our members. April is a time for many to renew their memberships, and with concert performances and many musicians’ primary income eliminated, we are sending a PDF of the spring Journal to all current and lapsed members, in addition to the hard copy to current members. In addition, IAWM has set a up a sponsorship program so members less affected can sponsor the membership of a person who cannot pay. This pandemic has highlighted the intense need to connect, to share our music with others. It confirms that our current strategies are on the right path. The iawmcommunity Instagram page launches in May.

We are still hoping to present our annual concert in Washington, D.C. in November, with plans for it being held in Singapore or Australia in 2021. Then the conference to be held the following year will be in Europe. At the moment we are looking to hold events in the United States every third year, with the intervening years elsewhere in the world.

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https://www.instagram.com/iawmcommunity/

https://iawm.org/news-events/resources-you-during-covid19-crisis

https://www.facebook.com/IAWMusic/

https://www.facebook.com/IAWMusic/


If someone were to ask “why should I become a member of the IAWM,” what would be your answer?

The answer to that question on the IAWM website lists primarily the concrete benefits: the journal, opportunities for awards, annual concert participation, the listserv, board service. The key reason one should become a member of the IAWM is people. Our membership includes people from 22 countries around the world. I have learned so, so much about amazing women in music—performers, composers, conductors, musicologists, historians, publishers, educators, producers, and more. I’ve listened to music and met musicians I may never have encountered. Remember that game—the six degrees of Kevin Bacon? IAWM membership can put you one degree closer. Through membership in IAWM, I met one of my heroes in the field of musicology and have developed many new friendships.

In the summer, IAWM will begin the nominating process for new board members to serve 2021-2023, replacing those whose terms will be up at the end of the year. We look forward to Canadian representation in the future.

Diane Berry is ACWC's Secretary and a composer based in Victo-

ria, BC where she continues to teach, perform, and compose.

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ACWC / AFCC General Annual Meeting

Saturday, August 22, 2020, at 12:00 noon EST

Please contact Carol Ann at [email protected] with agenda items


https://iawm.org/join-iawm


About ACWC Membership/AFCC Adhésion

There are four categories of membership, based on / L’AFCC dispose de quatre catégories d’adhérente. Le traitement des dépôts de candidature et des nominations se base sur les critères suivants:

1. ACTIVE – A composer who is a Canadian citizen or a landed immigrant. She will be entitled to a vote. ACTIF – Une adhérente active est une citoyenne canadienne ou une résidente permanente. Elle pourra voter une fois.

2. AFFILIATE – A composer of any nationality, whether or not she resides in Canada. She will not be entitled to a vote. AFFILIÉ – Une adhérente affiliée peut avoir n’importe quelle nationalité, et résider ou non au Canada. Elle ne sera pas autorisée à voter.

3. COMPOSER-IN-TRAINING – a student composer who is a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant, currently involved in completing basic compositional training (i.e. undergraduate, masters' degree or equivalent independent study). She will not be entitled to a vote. COMPOSITRICE-EN-FORMATION – Elle doit être citoyenne canadienne ou résidente permanente en train de terminer un cursus dans le domainede la composition musicale (Niveau Bac, Maîtrise ou équivalent). Elle ne sera pas autorisée à voter.

4. ASSOCIATE – (i) Individual – a supporting person who is not a composer. No voting privileges. (ii) Institutional – a supporting organization interested in supporting the aims of the ACWC. No voting privileges. ASSOCIÉ – (i) Individuel – un soutien individuel de la part d’une personne qui n’est pas compositrice. Pas de droits de vote. (ii) Institutionnel –Une organisation qui donne son soutien à l’AFCC et à ses objectifs. Pas de droit de droits de vote.

How to Become a Member/Comment devenir adhérente

1. Complete our Membership Form here. Please see our above requirements for membership categories / Complétez notre Formulaire d’Adhésion ici. Vous trouverez ci-dessus les conditions nécessaires pour chaque catégorie de membre.

2. Once you have submitted your form and it has been approved, please pay your dues here either through Paypal or cheque / Après avoir soumis votre formulaire et que celui-ci a été approuvé, veuillez payer vos cotisations ici, à travers Paypal ou par chèque.

All Members will receive a full version of this Journal, be listed in the ACWC directory, and have website privileges to have their biographical information displayed. Toutes les Adhérentes recevront la version intégrale de la revue de l’AFCC, verront leur nom inclus dans le registre de l’AFCC et auront le privilège de voir figurer des éléments de leur biographie sur le site web de l’association.

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https://acwc.ca/members/pay-dues/

https://acwcweb.wordpress.com/members/pay-dues/

https://acwcweb.wordpress.com/members/pay-dues/

https://acwc.ca/registration-form/

https://acwcweb.wordpress.com/registration-form/


Opportunities and News

Brenda Margaret Muller, Winner of 2020 ACWC Initiatives Fund

Brenda Margaret Muller has been chosen asthe winner of the 2020 ACWC InitiativesFund for new creative work projects or com-positions. Muller’s project relates to herRiversongs Festival of community-based mu-sic, through which she will, in turn, sponsoran award to an ACWC member for a newcomposition for the Riversongs Festival. Thenew work will be scored for community or-chestra and/or community orchestraand choir. Muller is founder and Artistic Di-rector of the Riversongs Festival, which oc-curs in Parry Sound, Ontario. The festival, in-volving Whispering River Orchestra andCommunity Choir, originally scheduled for

June 2020, will be rescheduled to due tocoronavirus.

From her roots as a classically trained cellist,ACWC member Brenda Margaret Muller hasgone on to create conceptual events thatweave together poetry, music, and song.Working as a Musician, Poet, and Song-writer, as well as Artistic Director for the past32 years, Muller has created inter-arts eventsacross the province, founded and directed theArdeleana Chamber Music Society, and re-leased six recordings with her trio, Ardeleana,including a CD of original cabaret songs, WolfAt My Door, and the first CD to featureonly music by Canadian women—Spinners ofStarlight (1997). She is the creator of twostory operas—Melissa’s Song and Jonathon’sStorm, both of which have toured across theprovince to the critical acclaim of enthusiasticyoung people. Muller has commissioned andpremiered over 150 works of music by Cana-dian composers. She is the founder and direc-tor of the Whispering River Orchestra andRiversongs Festival, a 10 day Community Cel-ebration of Music, Poetry and Art in ParrySound, Ontario.

More information here.

Results: ACWC Toronto Concert Project Call for Scores

The ACWC / AFCC Toronto concert project,in partnership with the Canadian Music Cen-tre, are pleased to share the results of the callfor scores and proposals issued earlier thisyear! The concert will feature works from

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https://acwc.ca/2020/04/21/brenda-margaret-muller-2020-winner-of-the-acwc-initiatives-fund/


Monique Jean, Heather Hindman, RoxanneNesbitt, Cleo Palacio-Quintin, Catherine Be-van, Sophie Dupuis, and Naomi McCarroll-Butler. Our original plan to host a concert inJuly has been modified, and we are workingwith the ensemble and participating com-posers to identify a date to share this perfor-mance. The CMC will make an effort to sup-port the livestream presentation.

Roberta Stephen Award Application Deadline: TBA

The Roberta Stephen Award, worth $500, of-fers support to a Canadian woman composeraged 36 or older for professional develop-ment such as further studies, confer-ences, workshops, or composers’ festivals. To apply: check the latest information on theacwc website.

Getting to Know the Composers Series

Interviews on the Canadian Women Com-poser’s website, done by written by ClarisseTonigussi who speaks with several of ACWCmembers such as Rebekah Cummings, JeanEthridge, Jana Skarecky, and Martha HillDuncan can be read here.

HATCH 2020 Continuum Summer Music Mentorship Program

Deadline: June 8, 2020Information: Available here.

Continuum is delighted to announce thatwith the ongoing support of the Azrieli Foun-

dation, we are able to continue a modifiedversion of our HATCH mentorship programfor early-career performers and composersthis summer. This summer in July and Au-gust, selected composers, performers, andconductors will be working online with theContinuum core ensemble, conductor mentorBrian Current and composer mentors AnnaHöstman and Emilie LeBel and participatingin live online events.

Barbara Buehlman Prize forComposition

Deadline: September 1, 2020Information: Available here

Composers born after January 1, 1986 are eli-gible to submit compositions for middle orhigh school wind band. Winning composi-tions will receive a prize of $2000 (for middleschool band) or $3000 (for high school band)in addition to a performance of their work atthe 75th Anniversary of the Midwest Clinic inDecember 2021.

International Women's Brass Conference Composition Competition

Deadline: December 1, 2020Information: Available here

The IWBC commissions works from womencomposers for its biannual conference. Forthe 2021 conference, the composition compe-tition will be for a collegiate level tromboneensemble piece (6 or more parts). The piecemust be a minimum of 5 minutes, and havebeen written after January 1, 2018. It may bepreviously performed or published. Winningcomposers will receive $1500 USD and up to

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https://www.myiwbc.org/commissioned-compositions

https://www.midwestclinic.org/barbara-buehlman-prize-for-composition.html

http://continuummusic.org/news/hatch-2020-applications-open

https://www.canadianwomencomposersproject.com/interviews

https://acwc.ca/2019/11/25/new-deadline-april-15-for-roberta-stephen-award-application-2020/

https://acwc.ca/2019/11/25/new-deadline-april-15-for-roberta-stephen-award-application-2020/


$1000 to cover the required travel to attendthe IWBC Conference, held May 25-29,20201 at the University of North Texas.

Music Creators Academy

Cait Nishimura will be involved in a uniquesummer music camp opportunity this July.With in person camps cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, a group of band and or-chestra composers has stepped into the voidto provide middle- and high-school studentsan opportunity to make new musical friends,collaborate with renowned composers, andperform new works for virtual ensembles.This new, online summer camp, the MusicCreators Academy, will run July 20–31, 2020and culminate in a live-streamed concert onFriday, July 31, 2–4 PM EDT.

Composer-mentors include Brian Balmages,Steven Bryant, Viet Cuong, Tyler Grant, Gar-rett Hope, Cait Nishimura, Benjamin Taylor,Alex Shapiro, Joseph Sowa, and HaleyWoodrow. Over the program’s two weeks,students will meet with these composers andother campcounsellors over Zoom for 3 hoursdaily, Monday to Friday. Students will per-form and record new synchronized pieces forvirtual ensembles (as popularized by Eric

Whitacre’s virtual choirs) written by theAcademy’s faculty composers. Faculty com-posers will also lead students through musi-cal games and improvisation scenarios andmentor them as they collaborate with theirpeers to create new works that will also beperformed at the final concert. More info.

The Monkiest King Virtual CD Launch

On behalf of Canadian Children's OperaCompany and Canadian Music Centre, AliceHo invites you to the virtual CD launch of herchildren's opera, "The Monkiest King"', onJune 5, 7 pm EST. Alice is the producer andsound editor of this new album, with record-ing engineer Doug Doctor at the Glenn GouldStudio, her 5th solo CD with Centrediscs.

Alice is especially proud of the beautifulsinging of the youth and children performersof CCOC, accompanied by an incredible en-semble of mixed Chinese and Western instru-ments featuring the Penderecki String Quar-tet, harp (Sanya Eng), percussion (RickSack), dizi (Lesllie Allt), erhu (Patty Chan),guzheng (Lina Cao), and pipa (Wendy Zhou).

Plan to join, or check out the new album re-leased on June 5 on Centre discs.

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Two Ways to Share News and Opportunities:Monthly SoundBox Email – Submit to [email protected]

Twice Yearly Journal – Submit items to [email protected]

All items should be brief and “camera ready” (as you would want it to be read, in 3rd person POV)

ACWC / AFCC reserves the right to edit and / or determine which items are suitable for our members

https://cmccanada.org/shop/cmccd-28020/

http://www.musiccreatorsacademy.com/




ContactsBoard of Directors

ChairCarol Ann Weaver

TreasurerJanet Danielson

SecretaryDiane Berry

Journal Editor Fiona Evison

SoundBox EditorStephanie Orlando

Web Manager

Mary-Catherine Pazzano

Representatives

West Coast Janet Danielson

Ontario Edith Covach

Atlantic Mary Knickle

InternationalTawnie Olson

ACWC Founder

Carolyn Lomax

Positions to be FilledRepresentative —QuebecRepresentative —Prairies

General Inquiries Carol Ann Weaver

caweaver@ uwaterloo . ca

Membership Dues$40 – Active Members

$35 – Associates/Affiliates$25 – Student Members

Due annually on July 1. Payon our website using PayPal:

Pay dues here

or mail a cheque directly to:

ACWC10158 Fifth St.

Sidney, BC V8L 2Y1

Do you have composer news for the ACWC/ACFF Journal?

Would you like to contribute an article?

Contact our editor at [email protected]

Submissions for the next edition must be received by

November 15, 2020

https://acwc.ca/members/pay-dues/






spring/summer 2020 journal - acwc

Documents