July, 2010 This Month in NoteS Atlantic: #124

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1 July, 2010 This Month in NoteS Atlantic: # CMC Welcomes New Associate Composer DINUK WIJERATNE 2. UPDATE: Ok. Quoi?! Arts Festival: July 26 July 30, Submission Deadlines for Music NB and Music NS Awards 4. NYOC to Perform Piece by CMC Atlantic Associate Composer KATI AGÓCS 5. Finalists for the Atlantic Film Festival s Emerging Composer-Director Mentorship Program Announced 6. JEFF REILLY, PETER TOGNI & Blue Engine String Quartet: July 17, CMC Welcomes New Associate Composer DINUK WIJERATNE One of the most eclectic talents of Canada s new generation, Sri Lankan-born Dinuk Wijeratne was recently praised by the CBC as an artist internationally respected for his virtuosity and sensitivity as a musician. Dinuk made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2004 as a conductor, composer and pianist, performing with Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. A second Carnegie appearance followed in 2009, alongside tabla legend Zakir Hussain. Dinuk has composed specially for almost all of the artists and ensembles with whom he has performed; to name a few: Tim Garland, John Dankworth, Nikki Iles, Julian Argüelles, Victor Mendoza, Ed Thigpen, Pandit Ramesh Misra, Adrian Spillett, David Jalbert, Kevork Mourad, Mayookh Bhaumik, Christina Courtin, MIR, the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, 4- Mality Percussion Quartet, the NY Kathak Ensemble, the New Juilliard Ensemble, Onelight Theatre, and Symphony Nova Scotia. Dinuk grew up in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, before taking up composition studies at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), in Manchester, UK. In 2001, he was invited by composer John Corigliano to join his studio at New York s Julliard School. Dinuk s Chamber Concerto About Sankhara (2003) was commissioned by the New Julliard Ensemble and was the first work by a Sri Lankan composer to be performed at Lincoln Center. Dinuk was also composition fellow at the 2002 Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and was appointed Artist-in-Residence by the Performing

2 Arts Foundation at International House for the 2003/4 season. Conducting studies followed at New York s Mannes College of Music. A firm believer in the universality of music, Dinuk founded the cutting-edge NYC-based multimedia group NEOLEXCIA in 2003 together with Turkish DJ Umut Gokcen, Silk Road Ensemble artist Kevork Mourad from Armenia, and Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh (a soloist with Daniel Barenboim s Divan Orchestra for Arabs and Israelis). The quartet synesthetically combine live illustration with a uniquely multinational blend of acoustic & electronic music. With appearances this season across North America and the Middle East, Dinuk and Kinan are currently releasing their debut album entitled Complex Stories, Simple Sounds, a collaboration of original works with clarinetist Kinan Azmeh. Dinuk lectures at Dalhousie University, and is currently Music Director of the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra. He has conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra and appeared many times with Symphony Nova Scotia during his 3-year appointment as Conductor-in-Residence. The Canada Council for the Arts recently awarded Dinuk the 2008 Jean-Marie Beaudet award for orchestral conducting. He is also the recipient of Julliard and Mannes scholarships; two Countess of Munster composition grants; the Sema Jazz Improvisation Prize; the Soroptimist International Award for Composer-Conductors; and the Sir John Manduell Prize the RNCM s highest student honor. His music and collaborative work embrace the great diversity of his international background and influences. 2. UPDATE: Ok. Quoi?! Arts Festival: July 26 July 30, 2010 The fifth annual OK. Quoi?! Arts Festival runs from July in Sackville, NB. An interdisciplinary festival presenting new music, video and installations, this year s edition features guest composer MARTIN ARNOLD. Works by Martin will be performed by singer Helen Pridmore (a premiere of Martin s new work Janet ) and by Motion Ensemble. A special crossover concert, featuring Motion Ensemble and musicians in town for the indie rock festival SappyFest, will take place on the Friday evening and will feature Martin s composition Tam Lin. For a full schedule of events, including various workshops for young people, please visit Contact Helen Pridmore at hpridmor@mta.ca or for more information or to register for workshops. 3. Submission Deadlines for Music NB and Music NS Awards NEWS RELEASE Music New Brunswick unveils the first edition of the MNB Awards! (Moncton, NB June 28th, 2010) Music NB announces its first Music NB Awards which will be presented on October 10, These awards are designed to recognize excellence in music by rewarding artists and workers of the New Brunswick music industry. According to MNB executive director, Jean Surette, these awards underline the fantastic work accomplished by the province s artists and industry professionals: There is a lot of great musical talent in this province and the people of New Brunswick are lucky to have so many excellent musicians amongst them. But beyond the musical artists, there are other industry professionals who work hard to promote NB music in general. It s important to encourage all of these people by distributing awards voted on by their peers and the public. This will greatly contribute to the development of the music industry in the province.

3 Eligibility All New Brunswick artists who have released recordings between October 1st, 2008 and July 31st, 2010 are eligible to apply for the 2010 Music NB awards. Applicants must be from New Brunswick (either born in the province or having lived here for at least two years). The submission period starts on June 30th and ends on July 30th, 2010, at 5 PM, Atlantic Time. The submission forms are available on the MNB website (ww.musicnb.org.) Categories Prizes will be awarded according to three types of categories: General, Genre specific, and Special categories. In the General category, there is an award for Anglophone Album of the Year, Francophone Album of the Year, Male Recording Artist of the year, Female Recording artist of the Year, Group Recording of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year Awards will be given for recordings in specific genres: Bluegrass; Country; Folk; Jazz; Blues; CLASSICAL; Pop; Rock; Loud, which includes Metal, Punk and Hard Rock; Roots Traditional; Spiritual; and Urban. If a sufficient number of both anglophone and francophone candidates are received for the general and genre specific categories, separate awards will be given for each language. Submissions will also be accepted in the following categories: Musician of the Year; Music Business of the Year; Music Industry Professional of the Year; Event/Venue/Festival of the Year; Visual Artist of the Year; Educator of the Year; Video/DVD of the Year; and the Fan s Choice Award (one in English and one in French). The nominees in each category will be announced September 7th, Voting will begin immediately and close on October 8th. Winners will be chosen by a combination of the following: 50% combined votes of all eligible members of Music NB, 25% public voting through the MNB website and 25%, final jury. All member voting will take place online. The jury, composed of a panel of experts, will vote the week preceding the announcement of the winners. Winners will be announced at the Music NB Music Awards in Moncton on October 10th, More information on these awards will be released later in July Music Nova Scotia Award Nominations Now Open Deadline: July 23, 2010, 5:00 p.m. (NO extensions) Music Nova Scotia is now accepting music and industry award nominations for Molson Canadian Nova Scotia Music Week 2010 until Friday, July 23 at 5:00 p.m. no extensions will be given! Please click the link below to read the NSMW 2010 Awards Manual with all forms required. Make sure you read the information contained in these documents carefully to ensure that your submissions fulfill the criteria for the categories you are applying for. Music Nova Scotia may present awards in forty-seven (47) categories. Music Awards All Nova Scotian artists who are members in good standing and who released recordings between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010 are eligible to submit for the Music Nova Scotia Music Awards. You are not eligible to be nominated for the same record in the same category two years in a row.

4 Nova Scotia Music Week is using Sonicbids as the preferred method to apply for music awards. Visit to complete your application. With Sonicbids, you are able to upload information quickly and easily saving you time, mailing and product cost. The jury will listen to a selection of four songs so please update your Sonicbids page to reflect this. Paper applications will still be accepted. When submitting a CD, please mark the four songs you would like the jury to listen to. Industry Awards The Music Nova Scotia Industry Awards recognize the achievements and contributions of our industry professionals and leaders from across Nova Scotia over the past year. These awards celebrate the people and companies who are working to build a strong and vibrant Nova Scotia music industry. All Music Nova Scotia members in good standing are eligible to submit. There are two new categories this year in the Industry Awards: Community Presenter of the Year This award goes to a non-profit community organization that has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to presenting musical performances in Nova Scotia. The award goes to the organization. Radio Station of the Year: This award recognizes a radio station for outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting. The award goes to the station. Note: Industry Awards will require a paper application. Online voting will take place in the late summer/early fall. Only current members are eligible to vote. Update your Music Nova Scotia membership now 4. NYOC to Perform Piece by CMC Atlantic Associate Composer KATI AGÓCS Canada s leading training organization for aspiring young orchestral musicians, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYOC) has named Kati Agócs as its 2010 composer-in-residence. A composer and vocalist whose musical style has been heralded by the New York Times as striking, Windsor-born Ms. Agócs will compose a special piece for the orchestra s 50 th anniversary celebrations in 2010, which will see the NYOC perform in cities from Montreal, QC to Vancouver, B.C. Barbara Smith, executive director of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, said, We are delighted to have an artist of Kati Agócs caliber compose a piece for our 50 th anniversary tour. Kati is a true talent who brings with her a very unique, powerful and innovative style. This appointment also re-emphasizes the NYOC s commitment to Canadian composers. Each year, the NYOC commissions a new composition from a Canadian composer. Over its 50 years, the NYOC has commissioned a vast array of composers, many of whom are now some of Canada s well-known names, including Omar Daniel, R. Murray Schafer, and Robert Aitken. Composer Rob Teehan was nominated for a Juno in The dates of the 2010 NYOC tour are July 24 th to August 14 th. A full list of the NYOC s 2010 tour locations and repertoire is available at

5 5. Finalists for the Atlantic Film Festival s Emerging Composer-Director Mentorship Program Announced Halifax, NS The Atlantic Film Festival Association, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Guild of Canadian Film Composers recently announced the participants of the second annual mentorship program for emerging film composers and directors. Composers Lukas Pearse, Craig Dodge, Catherine Wilson and DINUK WIJERATNE were selected as finalists along with directors Jason Levangie, Christian MacDonald, Eva Madden-Hagen and Megan Wennberg. During the 30th Atlantic Film Festival in September, these four composers and four film directors will be paired up and given the opportunity to collaborate on the composition of an original score for a three-minute film cue with the participation of Symphony Nova Scotia. Collaborating composers and directors will work with mentorship from established film composers, orchestrators, and recording engineer Hayward Parrott from St. Cecilia Studios. Each team will be given approximately 30 minutes with the orchestra to record their cue in a fully produced recording session at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. This session will be open to the public. The finished pieces will be presented at a screening during the 30th Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax, NS. 6. JEFF REILLY, PETER TOGNI & Blue Engine String Quartet Bass clarinetist JEFF REILLY paired with Organist PETER TOGNI and Halifax s favorite string ensemble, the Blue Engine String Quartet, conjure up a recipe for a sonic delight of rich classical melodies mixed with intensely vibrant improvisation. Known for their world-class trio with Christoph Both, Sanctuary Trio, these two immensely talented musicians have been amazing audiences around the world for their meticulous technique combined with a deeply emotive sound that touches each listener. Breathing new life into Canada s Contemporary Classical scene, St. Paul s Church will come alive with the powerful compositions of these two musicians in a very special collaboration with the award winning Blue Engine String Quartet. Be prepared for an evening of soaring melodies that will astound you with their beauty while transporting you to a completely new musical world. July 17, 2010 (Saturday) 7:00 PM at St Paul's Anglican Church Price: $19.50 ($17.50 seniors and students / $14.50 JazzEast members) Amy Dalziel, NoteS Atlantic Editor NoteS Atlantic is the newsletter of the CMC Atlantic Region, sent to CMC Atlantic Associate Composers, CMC Voting members, and others interested in the Canadian music scene in Atlantic Canada. Past issues are available for viewing under "Newsletters" on the Atlantic section of the CMC website at We welcome all submissions regarding new music and Canadian music in Atlantic Canada; however priority will be given to those involving music by the Associate Composers of the CMC. Submissions may be edited for clarity. Do you know anyone who might have an interest in reading NoteS Atlantic? us and we can send them the next issue. If you would like to be removed from the NoteS Atlantic mailing list, please us at atlantic@musiccentre.ca Visit us at