BIO 200 words
Derek Charke (b. 1974, Fredericton, NB) is a composer, a flutist, and a professor of music at Acadia University in Nova Scotia.
Derek’s music has been described as inventive, rich textured, full of colour, and imbued with drama and rhythmic vitality. He creates works with a depth and intensity that often juxtapose moments of extraordinary tranquility. Ecological sound and field recordings play important roles in many of his compositions.
Commissioned by world renowned artists such as the Kronos Quartet, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Derek’s music has been performed across North America and Europe, including venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Vienna Concert House. In 2008 Tundra Songs (commissioned by the Kronos Quartet) was premiered to a standing ovation at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Derek has been a guest composer for the Winnipeg Symphony's New Music Festival, and the NewFound Music Festival in St. John's. He has been the recipient of various grants and awards, including a prestigious 4-year Presidential Fellowship at SUNY Buffalo, where he completed his PhD in composition.
Dr. Charke is Co-director of the annual Acadia New Music Festival ‘Shattering the Silence’, a member of the Canadian League of Composers, and an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre.
For more information please visit www.charke.com
BIO 450 words
Derek Charke (born 1974, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada) is a Composer, a Flutist and an Associate Professor of music at Acadia University. Derek’s music has been described as ‘inventive’, ‘rich textured’, ‘full of colour’, and imbued ‘with drama and rhythmic vitality’. Tending towards post-Minimalist techniques, he creates works with a ‘depth and intensity’ that often juxtapose ‘moments of extraordinary tranquility’. Derek’s compositions increasingly pair electroacoustic elements with acoustic instruments. Ecological sound, field recordings, and electronic sound play an important role, as does a fascination with the Arctic.
His music is performed and commissioned by world renowned artists such as; the Kronos Quartet, Tanya Tagaq, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Katona Twins, the Group for Contemporary Music, the Xanthos Ensemble, the National Flute Association, and many others. He has been invited as a guest composer for the Winnipeg New Music Festival and the Newfound Music Festival. Additionally he is Co-Director of the Annual Acadia New Music Festival “Shattering the Silence”, an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers.
Derek completed a Ph.D. in composition and a Master's degree in flute at SUNY Buffalo, a Master's degree in composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London, England and a Bachelor's degree in composition at the University of North Texas. He also attended the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Netherlands. His principle composition teachers included David Felder, Louis Andriessen, Steve Martland and Cindy McTee. He studied flute performance with the late Cheryl Gobbetti Hoffman. A recipient of the NUFFIC grant by the Dutch government, Derek also received a BMI student composer award in New York City, a special mention from the Kubik Prize, and for four years was the recipient of a Presidential Fellowship, the largest awarded at SUNY Buffalo. He has been the recipient of multiple commissions and grants from various sources including: British Columbia Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, Huckabone Family, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Music Director, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture and Heritage, National Flute Association, Canadian Music Centre, SOCAN, CBC Radio Two and Radio Canada.
Derek's music has been heard throughout Canada, including the Orpheum Theatre and Chan Centre in Vancouver, the Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto and the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse, throughout the USA including Carnegie Hall and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco; in Mexico City, Colombia and Brazil, and throughout Europe including the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Hungary and Austria.
Derek has written extensively for the flute. As a flutist himself Derek specializes in contemporary music. He continues to freelance as an improvisor and performer, both on his own music and others.
For more information please visit www.charke.com
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