Glenn Buhr (b. 1954 - Winnipeg, Canada) is a composer, band leader and improvisational pianist. He became well known in Canada as co-founder with conductor Bramwell Tovey of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s New Music Festival. He was Composer-in-Residence with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and curator of the Winnipeg Symphony’s New Music Festival from 1990 - 1996. He is also active as a guest conductor having conducted concerts with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In 1998 he was awarded the University Research Professor Fellowship at Wilfrid Laurier University; it was the first time that the award was given to a creative artist. He is also the founding Artistic Director of the Music in the Ruins festival at the St. Norbert Arts Centre in Manitoba and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony's New Orchestra Series. He is the current artistic director of NUMUS Inc. in Kitchener-Waterloo. Buhr performed the solo part at the premiere of his jazz-oriented Piano Concerto no. 2 with the Esprit Orchestra in March 2006. The work was remounted by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in February 2008 with the composer at the piano. He has toured Canada twice as a jazz artist (pianist/composer), and he released his 3rd jazz CD in March 2007 on the Marquis label. He has received several awards for his compositions and has also received commissions from many important performers and ensembles including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Penderecki String Quartet, the Detroit Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, the Verdi String Quartet, pianist Janina Fialkowska, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Children's Chorus and the Esprit Orchestra. His music has been performed all over the world by such diverse ensembles as the London Sinfonia, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, pianist Louis Lortie, soprano Tracy Dahl and many others. In 2003, his full length ballet Beauty and the Beast was premiered by the Birmingham Royal Ballet in Birmingham, England. The work has since toured the UK three times for a total of more than 100 performances. The ballet has also toured to Hong Kong (2005), Japan (2008) and mainland China (2009). He has also composed a number of scores for film and theatre and has collaborated on several other dance projects. His work and his performances are featured regularly on the CBC. To visit the composer's website: Click here |
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Audio clips from Glenn (Arthur) Buhr
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