“Young Afro Future” (2014) is the third movement of Tijani and the final movement of Children’s Suite (2007-2014), which comprises a trio of three-movement pieces for solo piano dedicated to my children. I’m posting it today in honour of my son turning 10. There are three melodic ideas. The first is a pattern of ascending fourths in the right hand… Continue reading 2014+10 Young Afro Future
World Premiere: Sequences
My composition Sequences (2000) will receive its belated world premiere this Saturday, April 20th, 2024 in a concert that runs from 3-4 pm EST. It will be livestreamed for free. I’ve been waiting 24 years to hear this piece live! It’s for two marimbas and a light drum beat doubled with a synth bassline. It… Continue reading World Premiere: Sequences
2004+20 aix
aix (“waters”), for two pianos, is a short study in rising and falling patterns, with alternating chordal and canonic textures. It’s a slightly unsettled lullaby, composed on “04 04 04” (April 4, 2004, the 36th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.). The primary melodic shape, an ascending seventh followed by a descending… Continue reading 2004+20 aix
Ann Southam Interview Fragment
In August 1999, while I was co-hosting Radio Music Gallery, I was fortunate to have composer Ann Southam (1937-2010) as a guest. It was optional content for the show, unrelated to promoting the concert calendar at The Music Gallery, but more than relevant to the focus of the organization in those years. Early on a Friday morning,… Continue reading Ann Southam Interview Fragment
ex tempore Playlist
I made a playlist to explore the influences and lifetime inspirations behind my upcoming new work ex tempore (exempla ex tempore: “examples from time”).
ex tempore World Premiere
On Thursday, February 1, 2024, as part of New Encounters, the Array Ensemble will give the premiere performance of my new work ex tempore (ik’stempəri – out of the moment / out of time / at the time / from time), for flute, clarinet, percussion, violin, and cello. The piece is dedicated to the memory… Continue reading ex tempore World Premiere
1993+30 Afroid
The title Afroid alludes to my biraciality and refers obliquely to the term “negroid” that was used to identify me on my birth records. In that sense, it’s a satirical correction of the term. The piece was created on the Korg M1’s eight-track sequencer as a quick sketch. (Because of the device’s limited memory, my sequences rarely survived beyond a day… Continue reading 1993+30 Afroid
1993+30 After EP
After (1993) is an unreleased DIY concept album, which was originally created as the score to the dance show “Land of the Living,” performed by the McMaster Dancers under the artistic direction of Dave Wilson. The show was performed in Hamilton, Boston and Lyon. This opportunity resulted in my first trip overseas. There are seven movements,… Continue reading 1993+30 After EP
ex harmonia World Premiere
On April 20 and 22, 2023 as part of Four New Works, the Array Ensemble premieres ex harmonia, in memoriam to my former teacher, the late James Tenney. There have been a few big firsts for me as a re-emerged composer in the past three years, and this is perhaps the one closest to my… Continue reading ex harmonia World Premiere
Madra in Kingston
On February 28, 2023, I’ll be at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts at Queen’s University to introduce a performance of Madra by The Isabel Quartet. The concert is at 7:30 pm Eastern. This will be the premiere of the newest revision of the score, which postdates the Madawaska Quartet’s recording. I’ve been… Continue reading Madra in Kingston