News

We are pleased to offer our congratulations to Bramwell Tovey, composer as well as Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, who has been name an honorary member of the Order of Canada.

Counterpoint represents the catalogue of Bramwell Tovey.  You can learn more about him and  his works through this link:

https://cpmusiclibrary.ca/library_composer.php?cKey=TOVBRA

Counterpoint was represented at the annual Conductors’ Guild Conference June 15-18/13, this year held in beautiful St. Louis, Missouri, at the historic and beautifully restored Union Station – the former train station and gateway to the West. This conference attracts many conductors in different stages of their careers, from student conductors, to those with many years experience. Highlights of the conference, included sessions by Amy Kaiser, the Director of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, speaking about preparing the chorus; David Robertson, Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Donald Hunsberger, former conductor of the famous Eastman Wind Ensemble, at the Eastman School of Music, and Jamie Bernstein, who is continuing her father Leonard’s music education efforts. She is a filmmaker and education, who gave a presentation with a film excerpt about El Sistema, an ongoing project in West Philadelphia.  It showed the encouraging and wonderful things happening with children at risk, who are refocusing on music and enthusiastically learning.

The special feature on the last day was a Retrospective on the conductor Walter Susskind, along with a panel discussion after the presentation, which included his son, Peter Susskind, and members of the St. Louis Symphony, who were conducted by him during his tenture in St. Louis.

As part of this conference there are three sessions focusing on new and recent compositions. I presented a segment in the Publishers’ New Music Project session, on Malcolm Forsyth’s violin concerto Trickster Coyote — Lightening Elk, premiered in 2008 by Tara-Louise Montour and the Edmonton Youth Orchestra. You can view the one-page handout with all the details,

Trickster Coyote Details
I am pleased to announced that the excellent violinist Stephen Sitarski is looking for engagements to perform this work. You can learn more about him through his website www.stephensitarski.com

Click this link for our  Latest Highlights which has an article about the Conference and this work, as well as an article on Malcolm Forsyth’s Atayoskewin which is celebrating its 30th Anniversary in 2014.

Please contact me, Jean-Marie Barker, to learn more.

Glenn Buhr loves music so much he questions the unquestionable and reveres the irreverent, and we and music are better for it.

– Tom Allen, trombonist/author/CBC host

Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment

Knighted by the Republic of Italy for his contribution to music, Antonio Peruch pursues his vision of the accordion as an exciting classical concert instrument. His Logos Futura accordion, built to his specifications in Italy, helps him achieve this vision. His debut Logos Futura CD features the World Premiere recordings of three landmark concerti he commissioned—Malcolm Forsyth’s Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra (Peruch’s live 2001 world premiere performance with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Grzegorz Nowak); Violet Archer’s Pensieroso; and Allan Gilliland’s Concerto for Accordion and String Orchestra. He recorded the Archer and Gilliland works with Cuba’s prestigious Camerata Romeu chamber orchestra, conducted by Music Director Zenaida Romeu, and gave the Gilliland world premiere performance with them in Havana. He has performed with several chamber ensembles and as concerto soloist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, the Sooke Philharmonic Chamber Players, and the San Diego Jewish Community Center Orchestra. Peruch’s upcoming CD releases include Loving: The Music of Astor Piazzolla and Homenaje al Tango, the only monographic CD of Daniel Binelli’s music—both recorded with New York-based Uruguayan pianist and tango specialist Polly Ferman and Cuba’s Camerata Romeu.

Please look at our recent newsletter Highlights 2012 at this link. This issue has articles on Victor Davies new violin concerto The Journey, which was recorded along with a new performance of his most popular work the Mennonite Piano Concerto; Malcolm Forsyth’s new website and upcoming performances; our newest composers Christopher Tyler Nickel and Jacob Plachta, Glenn Buhr‘s new book Our Native Song as well as articles about John Beckwith, Johnny Cowell and Bramwell Tovey:

Highlights 2012

Dan Locklair’s popular organ work Rubrics continues to be enthusiastically received. English organist John Scott, currently Music Director at Saint Thomas Church, New York City, and formerly Choir director of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, is performing the movements IV and V of Rubrics on his world tour. He recently performed it at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg and received an enthusiastic response from the audience. He also performed it at the Shrine of La Verna in Italy, the Roman Catholic Basilica in Haarlem, Holland, as well as Canberra and Melbourne, Australia.
The music is for sale through Hal Leonard Corporation: Click here

GUSTAV MAHLER (1860-1911)
Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit (14 frühe Lieder)
for voice and orchestra
orchestrated by Colin and David Matthews

The early songs by were never orchestrated by Mahler himself, though over the years many people have created their own version of them. Colin and David Matthews, whose relationship with the music of Mahler is well-known, have collaborated on the orchestration of these songs. Their initial work dates back to 1964 and was meticulously refined right through to 2009. Josef Weinberger is proud to announce the release the final performing version of these songs for the first time.

Songs:

Frühlingsmorgen
Erinnerung
Hans und Grete
Serenade
Phantasie
Um schlimme Kinder artig zu machen
Ich ging mit Lust durch einen grünen Wald
Aus! Aus!
Starke Einbildungskraft
Zu Straßburg auf der Schanz’
Ablösung in Sommer
Scheiden und Meiden
Nicht wiedersehen
Selbstgefühl

Orchestration: 2(2 dbl picc).3(3 dbl cor).3(2 dbl ecl; 3 dbl bcl).2(2 dbl cbn) / 4.3.0.0 / Timp / 2 perc / hp / str

Duration: Approximately 34 minutes

Score and parts: Both the score and parts are available on rental

May 16, 2014 – Norman Symonds – Pastel Blue, for string orchestra, 4′

Biography of Norman Symonds

Request a perusal score library@cpmusiclibrary.ca