The SPOGreatMusic Performance Series: S41E11
Release Date: March 12, 2021
On this eleventh episode of our SPOGreatMusic Performance Series (Season 41, 2020/2021), we’re pleased to present the following videos:
Steven Webb’s “Telephonic”
Steven Webb, composer; Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra Chamber Ensemble: Lesley Duff (flute), Gillian Howard (oboe), Kaye Royer (clarinet), Larkin Hinder (bassoon), Andrew Merideth (horn), Connor Crone (bass) with the Odin Quartet – Alex Toskov (violin I), Tanya Charles Iveniuk (violin II), Veronica Lee (viola), and Samuel Bisson (cello). Video assembled and edited by Steven Webb. Sound mix by Steven Webb. Best viewed at 1080p.
“Telephonic” is presented as part of the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra’s annual New Generation Composers Workshop project. The NGCW creates opportunities for young, Canadian composers to create new music for small ensembles and to be mentored by professional Canadian composers from the SPO community, including SPO Music Director and Conductor, Mr. Ronald Royer. The NGCW is presented in association with the University of Toronto Schools, with additional funding support from the SOCAN Foundation and Toronto Arts Council.
The SPO is very proud to have met our commitment to these talented young composers and completed this project during the pandemic. We also appreciate the dedication and commitment from our SPO musicians and the Odin Quartet in adapting to conditions and conquering tech issues associated with remote recording, and to sound editors who assembled and mixed the audio.
Massimo Guida’s “Elegy for Chamber Ensemble”
“Oh, Sheet!” – Animated Short Film
Chris Meyer’s “Journey Through Night”
Haydn’s “String Quartet in B♭ major” Op 76, No. 4 (Sunrise) Finale
Finale – Allegro, ma non troppo, from String Quartet in B♭ major, Op. 76, No. 4 (Sunrise). Franz Joseph Haydn, composer; Odin Quartet: Alex Toskov (violin I), Tanya Charles Iveniuk (violin II), Veronica Lee (viola), Samuel Bisson (cello). Video and audio editing by Samuel Bisson. Video and audio capturing by David Federman. Best viewed in 1080p.
The Quartet No. 63 in B♭ major, Op. 76, No. 4, is nicknamed Sunrise due to the rising theme over sustained chords that begins the quartet. It consists of four movements: Allegro con spirito | Adagio | Menuetto. Allegro | Finale. Allegro, ma non-troppo [Source: Wikipedia]
Performer and Composer Bios
STEVEN WEBB BMus, MMus: Originally from South Africa, Steven Webb (b.1989) is a Toronto based composer, with his work being filtered through the personal lens of his own battle with mental illness. His current compositional work is concerned with examining the human experience, with the disorientation, confusion, and dread that arises from living in a world dealing with a climate crisis, growing conflict and marginalization towards minority groups, and the increasing isolation of the individual in spite of our hyperconnectivity.
His compositions and arrangements have been performed by: The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Thin Edge Music Collective, The University of Guelph Symphonic Choir, The Hamilton Children’s Choir, Exultate Chamber Singers, Prairie Voices, among many others. As a film composer, Steven’s credits include: ‘Chopin’s Heart’ for The National Screen Institute, ‘Period Piece’, winner of the best Canadian Short Film at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, and ‘Scheduled Violence’ for MTS On Demand. As a producer and audio engineer, Steven has worked with bands including: The Lytics, Vikings, and Moses Mayes, and has done audio work for Harper Collins, Strata Studios and Astron 6 Video International. He currently works as a full time composer, audio engineer and collaborative pianist. Steven is a member of the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers (SOCAN), as well as the Screen Composers Guild of Canada, and is an Associate Composer at the Canadian Music Centre. Learn more about Steven on his Website.
MASSIMO GUIDA Bmus. Hons., Mmus., D.M.A.: Toronto-based Italian-Canadian composer, theorist, educator, and copyist Massimo Guida was born in Modena, Italy, in 1990, and has lived in Canada since 2008. He completed his doctoral studies in composition at the University of Toronto in 2019, under the supervision of Professor Christos Hatzis. He previously also completed his undergraduate and Master’s studies in composition at the same institution, studying composition under Professors Norbert Palej, Alexander Rapoport, Chan Ka Nin, and Gary Kulesha, as well as classical guitar with Eli Kassner. Described as a composer who writes with “a particularly strong melodic inspiration” by La Scena Musicale in 2012, in 2015, his song cycle Confessions (2014) was the recipient of the Violet Archer Prize, while his work Infant Joy (2013) won the Mississauga Festival Choir Competition. In 2020, he participated in the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra’s “New Generation Composers Workshop.” Massimo’s compositions and arrangements have been performed in Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, and South Korea, as well as the 2020 Orford New Music Festival; he also has upcoming performances in the United States. Outside of composition, Massimo is interested in music theory and web development; he also works as a copyist, arranger, and educator. He has been the recipient of several academic awards, including a SSHRC CGS Master’s Scholarship for his research on the early music of Italian composer Alfredo Casella, and multiple Ontario Graduate Scholarships for his doctoral research on Giacomo Puccini’s final opera Turandot (1926), which was supervised by Professor Steven Vande Moortele. Learn more on his website.
SERGEI KOFMAN: (b. 1996) Sergei is an imaginative young composer based in Toronto. Having recently completed his masters degree in Composition at the University of Toronto, he is active as a composer, producer, audio engineer, pianist, and educator. Sergei writes music for various media as well as the concert hall. He draws on an eclectic combination of influences in his work. His music has been performed by ensembles around Canada and the United States. Learn more about Sergei by visiting his Website.
CHRIS MEYER: Chris has a long history with the SPO, having started as a young composer under the guidance of Ronald Royer. Over the years, he has composed a number of pieces for the SPO, as well as other Ontario orchestras and ensembles, has orchestrated a number of pieces, and was also a past President of the SPO Board. In addition to composing, Chris is a highly-respected TDSB Physics teacher, having designed or revised most of the modern curriculum for high school physics students. Chris is also working with the Institute for Quantum Computing, based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Learn more about Chris by visiting his Website.
ODIN QUARTET : Born in early 2015 on the Philosopher’s Walk in downtown Toronto, the Odin Quartet unites four musicians who represent the diversity that Canada takes pride in. Violinist, Alex Toskov, is originally from Belgrade, Serbia. Tanya Charles Iveniuk, also a violinist, grew up in Hamilton, Ontario with roots in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Veronica Lee, born in South Korea, is a violist from LaSalle, Ontario. French-Canadian cellist and composer, Samuel Bisson, hails from Ottawa, Ontario. In June 2015, the Odin Quartet was selected to be one of the few ensembles to participate in the Luminato Festival’s epic production of R Murray Schafer’s, Apocalypsis. Through this, the Quartet had the opportunity not only of being mentored by the award-winning Afiara and Cecilia Quartets, but were also invited to collaborate with them on outreach and performances shortly thereafter. Since then, the Odin Quartet has been frequent performers of the Ottawa Valley Music Festival, Barrie Concert Series, Guelph Connections, Music in the Atrium, Music at Mount Pleasant, and Music Niagara. The Quartet, which takes its name from the one-eyed Norse deity, aims to promote modern Canadian compositions in addition to collaborating with other musicians and artists of other disciplines.
The Odin Quartet has served as the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra’s Ensemble- in-Residence since September 2017. In 2018, the ensemble premiered a new piece by Samuel Bisson, entitled EPITAPH foratonality, which featured the Quartet as soloists with the Scarborough Philharmonic, conducted by Ronald Royer. Collaborations have included artists such as Atis Bankas (violin), Victoria Kogan (piano), Raffi Altounian (guitar), Carmen Romero (flamenco dancer), Christopher Kelk (actor, storyteller), the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and Spectrum Music. In 2019, the ensemble celebrated the inaugural concert of its Drying Ink series, performances dedicated to the premiere of new, Canadian works written for the Quartet. Currently, they look forward to incoming compositions from their Lockdown Lullabies call for scores. This project, initiated in May of 2020, aims to inspire composers, worldwide, to continue to create and stay in positive spirits during the challenging times related to the COVID-19 health crisis. Learn more about the Odin Quartet on their website .
Click here to return to our 2020/2021 SPOGreatMusic Performance Series listings.
Click here to go to our 2020/2021 SPOGreatMusic Podcast Series listings.