Rachmaninoff Dances

About Christy Morrissey and her research on birds…

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) was the first to sound the alarm about the dangers of over-reliance on toxic chemicals that can harm birds and other biodiversity.  Once common, now many migratory species such as swallows, sparrows, blackbirds and shorebirds are showing steep population declines. Dr. Christy Morrissey, a Professor at the University of Saskatchewan in the Department of Biology, continues Carson’s important work by conducting research into the root causes of migratory bird and insect declines from pesticides and other pollutants. Her research also seeks to understand how nature-based solutions that diversify plants and protect habitats in agricultural landscapes can harness the power of biodiversity to increase food production while minimizing environmental damage.  Dr. Morrissey has been featured broadly in the national and international media (CBC, National Geographic, Nature of Things, The Messenger Documentary etc) for her research on pesticide impacts and conservation of birds, insects and Prairie wetlands and was delighted to work with Vincent Ho to help inspire this beautiful “Whimsical Concerto of Fanciful Birds”.

Ahead of our concert Rachmaninoff Dances we had a special music talk at Dervilia art + design with conductor Robert Franz, composer Vincent Ho, and CEO Mark Turner.

Vincent Ho is a multi-award winning composer of orchestral, chamber, vocal, and theatre music. His works have been described as “brilliant and compelling” by The New York Times and hailed for their profound expressiveness and textural beauty, leaving audiences talking about them with great enthusiasm. His many awards and recognitions have included four Juno Award nominations, Harvard University’s Fromm Music Commission, The Canada Council for the Arts’ “Robert Fleming Prize”, ASCAP’s “Morton Gould Young Composer Award”, four SOCAN Young Composers Awards, and CBC Radio’s Audience Choice Award (2009 Young Composers’ Competition).

During the period of 2007-2014, Dr. Ho has served as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s composer-in-residence and had presented a number of large-scale works that have generated much excitement and critical praise. His Arctic Symphony has been described “as a beautiful work that evokes the Far North in a very special way” (John Corigliano), and “a mature and atmospheric work that firmly establishes Ho among North American composers of note” (Winnipeg Free Press). His percussion concerto, titled The Shaman, composed for Dame Evelyn Glennie was hailed as a triumph, receiving unanimous acclaim and declared by critics as “Spectacular” (The New York Classical Review), “A powerhouse work” (The Winnipeg Free Press), and “Rocking/mesmerizing…downright gorgeous” (The Pittsburgh Gazette). His second concerto for Glennie titled From Darkness To Light, Ho’s musical response to the cancer illness, was lauded as “a lasting masterpiece of sensitivity and perception” (Winnipeg Free Press). His cello concerto, City Suite, composed for Canadian cellist Shauna Rolston, has received similar praise with critics calling it “Thrilling” (Windsor Star) and “Overflowing with striking ideas…The most successful piece heard at this year’s Festival” (Classical Voice America).

Born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1975, Vincent Ho began his musical training through Canada’s Royal Conservatory of Music where he earned his Associate Diploma in Piano Performance. He gained his Bachelor of Music from the University of Calgary, his Master of Music from the University of Toronto, and his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Southern California. His mentors have included Allan Bell, David Eagle, Christos Hatzis, Walter Buczynski, and Stephen Hartke. In 1997, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Schola Cantorum Summer Composition Program in Paris, where he received further training in analysis, composition, counterpoint, and harmony, supervised by David Diamond, Philip Lasser, and Narcis Bonet.

In his free time, he enjoys running, reading, traveling, dancing, hiking, playing chess, and learning the keyboard works of Bach, Beethoven, Ravel, and Ligeti (among many others). He is also an enthusiast of old-time radio shows, photography, crime noir, Zen art, jazz, Jimi Hendrix, graphic novels, and Stanley Kubrick films.

Dr. Ho has taught at the University of Calgary and currently serves as Artistic Director to Land’s End Ensemble. His works are published and managed by Promethean Editions Ltd and Theodore Presser Company.

https://vinceho.com/

Cover image from Vincent Ho’s concerto sketches

Whimsical Concerto of Fanciful Birds:
I. Enchanted Migrations
II. Angels and Mockingbirds
III. Urban Birds

This concerto represents the culmination of my years of writing for saxophone, namely in the series “Whimsical Sketches of Fanciful Birds, Books 1-3” for alto saxophone and piano. This series are a collection of fifteen works that explore various bird-like or bird-inspired sounds that could be created on the saxophone instrument. After writing this collection (with the possibility of more to come), the inevitable next step was to adapt many of these musical ideas into a large-scale concerto. To fully capture the spirit of the avian world I envisioned, I decided to score it for solo alto saxophone, orchestra, AND spatialized saxophone ensemble – a collective of saxophonists placed in various areas of the concert hall surrounding the audience (eg. loges, balconies, aisles, etc) to serve as the “flock of birds” accompanying the soloist and orchestra while creating an immersive sonic experience.

This work was commissioned by The Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra with support from The Alberta Foundation of the Arts and Calgary Arts Development, and was written for my close saxophone colleagues Dr. Timothy McAllister and Dr. Jeremy Brown. I thank the following people who contributed to my creative process with their invaluable input:
– Mark Turner
– Louise Bernice Halfe
– Dr. Christy Morrissey
– Walt DeBoni
– Trevor Herriott
– Bob McGuire
– Gerhard Westphalen
– The graduate students of University of Saskatchewan’s Environmental Science and Biology Departments:
o Jory Litt-Jukes
o Shuqi Ren
o Ana Maria Diaz
o Kayla Caruso
o Biyao Han
o Sonia Cabezas

From composer Vincent Ho

Saskatoon Children’s Choir presents their annual Christmas Concert on December 1st and 2nd at Knox United Church.

Head to tickets.saskatoonchildrenschoir.org to reserve your seats today.