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Oikos / Ecos on YouTube

Derek Charke — 2013-05-13T12:12:50-03:00

Oikos/Ecos (2009) was composed for vocalist extraordinaire Janice Jackson. The text is built on my reflections of news headlines and online comments captured within a one hour span on a random day and time back in 2009.

I’ve created a video with the score. Check it out:

Wired and Released!

Derek Charke — 2013-04-27T10:58:35-03:00

I’ve just completed a new work for flute and piano! It’s called Wired and Released.

Take a listen to a mock-up of the entire work here, or browse individual movements by clicking on the above link. If you’re interested in performing this, send me an email.

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Spring is here!

Derek Charke — 2013-04-16T16:35:11-03:00

Went for a walk today and recorded the waves in Kingsport, Nova Scotia. Trying out my new Roland audio recorder...

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Firebird

Derek Charke — 2013-04-09T08:54:54-03:00

Coming up soon! The world premiere of my ‘Concerto Grosso’, and a premiere of one of my composition students from Acadia, Lucas Oickle’s ‘Constellations’. The Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra, conducted by Dinuk Wijeratne. At Acadia University on Sat. April 27 (7 pm), and in Halifax at St. Andrew’s Church on Sun. April 28 (7 pm).

Check it out! http://www.novascotiayouthorchestra.com

Centrediscs’ Release Awarded Two 2013 ECMA Awards

Derek Charke — 2013-03-15T09:01:24-03:00

MARCH 12, 2013, TORONTO, ON - Centrediscs, the recording label of the Canadian Music Centre, is thrilled to congratulate CMC Associate Composer Derek Charke on winning the “Classical Composition of the Year” at the 2013 East Coast Music Awards for his work … between the shore and the ships… from the album Between the Shore and the Ships. Helen Pridmore, soprano, and Wesley Ferreira, clarinetist, were also awarded an East Coast Music Award for their work on Between the Shore and the Ships for “Classical Recording of the Year.”

Read the full release here: http://musiccentre.ca/node/71160

ECMA Award

Derek Charke — 2013-03-11T07:43:25-03:00

My work, “Between the Shore and the Ships” won the 2013 ECMA Award for Classical Composition of the Year!

As well, the album, by the same title, was awarded Classical Recording of the Year. Congrats to everyone involved with this project!

Northern artists to take over Ottawa for spring festival

Derek Charke — 2013-02-26T09:58:41-04:00

Northern artists to take over Ottawa for spring festival

Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq performing live alongside a screening of the iconic Canadian film Nanook of the North is one of the high-profile performances of the Northern Scene cultural festival in Ottawa this spring.

Tagaq’s performance alongside the 1922 silent film casts a contemporary light on the film, considered a significant landmark in recording the lives of Inuit people. Her soundscape incorporates improvisation by Jesse Zubot and Jean Martin, as well as Derek Charke’s original score.

Read the full article

WSO New Music Festival

Derek Charke — 2013-02-25T09:00:00-04:00

New Music Festival drew more than 6,500
Winnipeg Free Press

“… Glennie's performance of The Shaman, by WSO composer-in-residence Vincent Ho, will be part of the WSO's performance at the Spring For Music Festival at Carnegie Hall in New York in May 2014. The orchestra's Carnegie program will also include Derek Charke's 13 Inuit Throat Song Games, featuring throat singer Tanya Tagaq, as well as R. Murray Schafer's Symphony No. 1.”

Read the full article

A winter celebration of new music

Derek Charke — 2013-01-11T16:50:00-04:00

A winter celebration of new music
BY STEPHEN PEDERSEN

January is new music month in Nova Scotia.

Upstream Music’s three-day Open Waters New Music Festival ended in mid-month, a Musikon concert followed soon afterwards, and Scott Macmillan premiered his first symphony Monday night.

As a grand finale, Acadia University is leapfrogging into February with its 6th annual Shattering the Silence New Music Festival — five days of concerts, lectures and master classes featuring student, faculty and guest artist performances from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3.

Read the full article

ECMA Nomination

Derek Charke — 2013-01-18T13:57:01-04:00

My work “… Between the Shore and the Ships …” has been nominated for ‘classical composition of the year’ at the East Coast Music Awards, 2013. Congrats also to Jérôme Blais, Bob Bauer, Scott Macmillan, and Steven Naylor, who are also nominated, as are Helen M. Pridmore, and Wesley Ferreira for Classical Recording of the Year. Good luck everyone!

Shattering the Silence 2013

Derek Charke — 2013-01-11T16:43:54-04:00

For Immediate Release January 9, 2013

The Acadia New Music Society presents Shattering the Silence 2013

Wolfville, NS – The Acadia New Music Society proudly presents the Sixth Annual Acadia New Music Festival, “Shattering the Silence” January 30 to February 3 on the campus of Acadia University.

This year, Shattering the Silence welcomes one of the defining voices of his generation, Pulitzer-Prize winning composer Michael Colgrass (http://www.michaelcolgrass.com). During his residency Mr. Colgrass will lecture, lead workshops, and coach students, professional and Acadia Faculty musicians as they prepare and perform his music.

We are also pleased to introduce the Maritimes to Montreal's extraordinary Quasar Saxophone Quartet (http://quasar4.com) as headline performers and soloists.

All told there will be 18 World Premieres of new works by regional composers and regional professional musicians as part of the Festival. There will be six main concerts, two mini concerts with the Acadia Gamelan, and various masterclass and lecture opportunities.

Highlights include a recital by Quasar on Friday night, and a New Music Kitchen Party on Sunday. On Saturday Feb 2 all three forces – Acadia & Nova Scotia musicians, Quasar Saxophone Quartet, and Michael Colgrass – join to perform Colgrass's epic concerto ‘Urban Requiem’ for saxophone quartet and wind ensemble, under the tutelage of the composer himself.

Shattering the Silence, Co-Directed by Derek Charke and Mark Hopkins, is rapidly becoming known as the most interesting and innovative new music festival on the east coast. Through fifteen events over five days, Shattering the Silence celebrates the joy of creating and performing new music, presenting compelling performances for 21st Century ears.

Events take place on the campus of Acadia University in the town Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Tickets for all shows are available at the door. For a full schedule with dates, times locations, artists, and ticketing information visit www.shatteringthesilence.ca

Suddenly Listen

Derek Charke — 2012-12-13T12:06:44-04:00

Had a great time playing on the 11th with Suddenly Listen, and the amazing improviser, Joëlle Léandre.

Joëlle Léandre – contrabass
Norman Adams - cello
Derek Charke - flute
D’Arcy Gray – percussion

Beat

Derek Charke — 2012-11-17T10:57:49-04:00

Check out an audio excerpt from my newest work ‘Beat’ for open instrumentation and percussion. Composed for subText ensemble.

Song of the Tides

Derek Charke — 2012-10-28T11:26:58-03:00

Dr. Mark Hopkins conducting Song of the Tides with the BCMEA Honour Wind Ensemble in Richmond, BC last week:

Between the Shore and the Ships

Derek Charke — 2012-08-28T11:22:17-03:00

New CD released with a couple of my works, and works by Steven Naylor, Michael Parker, Jérôme Blais, Scott MacMillan, Robert Bauer, John Abram, and Sandy Moore. On the Centrediscs label.

“… Between the Shore and the Ships… the Grand-Pré Recordings” started as a Canadian Music Centre ‘New Music in New Places’ event. Eight Nova Scotian composers were selected to compose new works for soprano, Helen Pridmore, and clarinettist, Wesley Ferreira. The historic texts were gathered from the Grand-Pré National Historical Site of Canada located in Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia just outside Wolfville. These texts dealt with the deportation of the Acadians from the Acadian settlement which occurred between 1755 and 1762. The first performance of the new works was held at Grand-Pré National Historical Site of Canada as the opening concert for the “Shattering the Silence New Music Festival” in 2010.

click to purchase

Cricket in the house

Derek Charke — 2012-08-16T15:58:38-03:00

Found a cricket. Had to record it. Here’s its debut. Cheers!

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Raga Gyarah on YouTube

Derek Charke — 2012-08-13T10:10:27-03:00

‘Raga Gyarah’ is now on YouTube. Take a look:

Raga Das on YouTube

Derek Charke — 2012-08-12T08:29:19-03:00

‘Raga Das’ is now on YouTube. Take a look:

Raga Terah on YouTube

Derek Charke — 2012-08-11T19:12:01-03:00

Continuing with my series of flute videos, I’ve now uploaded a similar video for my most recent flute quartet, Raga Terah. Terah is an English translation of the number 13 in Hindi.

Raga Saat on YouTube

Derek Charke — 2012-08-11T08:58:41-03:00

This morning I created a video with the score and recording of Raga Saat. Raga Saat is a companion work to my earlier quartet Raga Cha. Raga Saat is not based on an authentic Raga, but rather attempts to emulate the sound world through the use of various extended flute techniques. It is repetitive and meditative in character. Take a look:

Raga Cha on YouTube

Derek Charke — 2012-08-10T10:31:28-03:00

I recorded “Raga Cha” this morning. Take a look:

WARNING! Gustnadoes Ahead on YouTube

Derek Charke — 2012-08-09T19:11:01-03:00

I recently took the plunge and purchased an iPhone. Since I can record videos I’ve decided to start posting some of my flute works. I recorded “WARNING! Gustnadoes Ahead” in my studio this afternoon.

Musicworks Article

Derek Charke — 2012-07-20T10:19:14-03:00

Musicworks Magazine has published a particularly lucid article––written by composer WL Altman––about my music; and in particular highlighting my work with northern sounds, the Kronos Quartet, and Tanya Tagaq.

The current issue also features composers Jean-François Laporte, Cassandra Miller, and Rose Bolton.

Preview this issue (including Altman’s full article) online at: http://issuu.com/musicworksmagazine/docs/issue113_preview/15

Derek Charke—writes for Kronos Quartet in the Arctic, page 20, track 3 by WL Altman

Juno-award winning classical composer Derek Charke is an accomplished flautist, composer, and professor at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. His music is characterized by the use of tonal material in unusual ways, his ability to let the musical materials determine the formal structure, and the incorporation the “wrong note” in the right place—a technique he picked up while studying with Louis Andriessen in Amsterdam. What sets his work apart more than anything else is his use of the sounds of the Arctic. A recent commission from the Kronos string quartet had him composing with recorded northern soundscapes and working with throat-singer Tanya Tagaq.

Raga Terah

Derek Charke — 2012-06-04T16:18:06-03:00

Check out the new flute quartet Raga Terah. I’ve also finished a mock-up recording. So take a listen! I’ll upload the sheet music to the Canadian Music Centre soon. ‘Terah’ is the number thirteen in hindi. This is the fifth work in a collection of Raga pieces for flute quartet, which include: Raga Gyarah (2012), Raga Das (2012), Raga Cha (2006), and Raga Saat (2011).

Raga Gyarah

Derek Charke — 2012-05-28T16:56:55-03:00

Check out the new flute quartet Raga Gyarah. I’ve also finished a mock-up recording. So take a listen! I’ll upload the sheet music to the Canadian Music Centre soon. ‘Gyarah’ is the number eleven in hindi. This is the fourth work in a collection of Raga pieces for flute quartet, which include: Raga Das (2012), Raga Cha (2006), and Raga Saat (2011).

Raga Das

Derek Charke — 2012-05-20T14:57:46-03:00

Check out the new flute quartet Raga Das. It’s the shortest of my ‘Raga’ flute quartets, coming in at just over four minutes. I’ve also finished a mock-up recording. So take a listen! I’ll upload the sheet music to the Canadian Music Centre soon. 'Das' is the number ten in hindi. This is the third work in a collection of Raga pieces for flute quartet, which include: Raga Cha (2006) and Raga Saat (2011).

Tundra Songs in Scotland

Derek Charke — 2011-05-11T07:37:15-03:00

By Michael MacLennan
15 May 2011 13:48 GMT

“Finally it was the truly inimitable Tanya Tagaq who joined the Kronos Quartet for an entire mini-set, who before and after performance was obviously delighted to be in attendance and so rapturously received by the audience, looking demure and smiling sweetly. But for the duration of Tundra Songs, oh my! Almost impossible to take your eyes off as she took centre-stage in between the quartet, gutturally growling and moaning rapidly heavy-breathing and gyrating and crooning and then calmly narrating and at all times looking as though she was locked in some sort of trance state, the Canadian’s skills in Inuit throat-singing allowing a development into something quite extraordinary as the Kronos Quartet provided swirling, engrossing accompaniment and kayak, paddle and other natural recorded sounds ricocheting around them. It was an epic sweep with which to end the night, and entirely fitting when over the course of a couple of hours the audience been exhilaratingly flung around several far corners of the globe.”

Read the full article here

Women's Voices: Kronos Quartet historic concert at YBCA

Derek Charke — 2012-05-19T07:09:36-03:00

Johnathon Bakan
SF Asian Music Examiner (http://www.examiner.com)
May 15, 2012

“The entirety of the second half was devoted to one piece: “Tundra Songs” (2007) by composer Derek Charke. It featured the amazing and powerful voice of Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq. Tundra Songs is divided into five continuous movements each exploring a unique sound world. Based loosely on the four seasons, it uses extended bowing techniques to make the string quartet sound similar to Inuit throat singing.

This was very effective as it was often hard to grasp where the strings ended and the throat singing began. This is in part also due to Tanya Tagaq's extended range voice and unusual vocal techniques that made her sound like a human resonating string.

Was this a string quartet and vocal piece or was this a string quintet was always the question that often came up during the performance. In the middle of it all the dramatic tale of Inuit goddess Sedna who created all living things was recounted.

Tundra Songs also featured a soundtrack comprised of many field recordings the composer gleaned in the Arctic north. The sound of ice breaking, ravens wings and shrieking, whale sounds, a dog sled race, and snow mobiles to name a few interwove themselves into the sonic fabric.

Tundra Songs was very effective in creating imagery in the mind of the listener. One could easily imagine the arctic tundra, open expanses, ice flow, and exotic wildlife. Although Tundra Songs was lengthy, there was never a dull moment it was the kind of sound that one would want to go on and on all night if it could.

“Women's Voices” was a delightful success. It provided the maximum value for the entertainment dollar, chock full of memorable performances, interesting exotic instruments, unusual sound worlds, top-shelf musicianship, and the finest compositions.

Hopefully, it will tour to other cities in the future and become more widely known and celebrated.”

For the full article please click here.

Women, electronics, and the Kronos Quartet

Derek Charke — 2012-05-19T07:01:29-03:00

Stephen Smoliar
SF Classical Music Examiner (http://www.examiner.com)
May 12, 2012

“The other vocal offering was the Bay Area premiere of Derek Charke’s Tundra Songs, featuring the Inuit performer Tanya Tagaq. The composition was structured in five movements, following the annual cycle of seasons from winter through spring, summer, and fall, to the anticipation of the next winter. Tagaq performed primarily through a broad repertoire of vocalizations, creating sonorities that blended intimately with the sounds of the quartet and their electronic context. Text only emerged in the middle movement, in which she shifted from vocalizing to spoken storytelling.

As was the case in much of Võ’s score, Charke’s music involves evocation of the natural world. It is programmatic to an extent that one could almost imagine it as the soundtrack of a film portraying the natural setting of tundra geography for each of the seasons in his cycle. Here again the overall rhetoric was a quiet one, owing much to the effectiveness with which all the contributing sonorities created an integrated, and highly distinct, atmosphere.”

For the full article please click here.

Camping in the Yukon Territory

Derek Charke — 2011-07-18T09:51:54-03:00

Here are a few photos from a camping trip to the Yukon:

On the Dempster Highway

Dempster highway

Tombstone Park

This is what your camper looks like after driving on the Dempster highway! It was white... I think?

Dawson City

Yukon River

It wants my coffee!

Woman's Voices

Derek Charke — 2012-05-04T10:55:27-03:00

I was in San Francisco for the Bay Area premiere of Tundra Songs, a work for the Kronos Quartet and Tanya Tagaq. The concerts were held at the Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts on Fri. May 11, and Sat. May 12. More information...

“San Francisco’s own Grammy-winning Kronos Quartet continues its multi-year partnership and residency at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts with a program featuring the artistic voices of several contemporary women composers and performers. Women's Voices features works written specifically for the Quartet including the world premiere of a new piece written and performed by composer and musician Vân-Ánh Vanessa Võ, co-commissioned by YBCA and the Kronos Performing Arts Association, as well as three Bay Area premieres: Laurie Anderson’s Flow, Nicole Lizée’s Death to Kosmische, and Derek Charke’s Tundra Songs featuring Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq.”

Derek Charke and Tanya Tagaq rehearsing Tundra Songs in San Francisco

Kronos Quartet rehearsing Tundra Songs in San Francisco

Derek Charke and Pauline, with Sidney Chen at a reception after the concert. Photo by Laird Rodet.

I visited Jarvis Winery where they make their wine in a cave.

I also took a trip to Santa Cruz (and a few other places). That water looks COLD!

subText Concert

Derek Charke — 2012-04-21T07:16:21-03:00

Tonight I’m playing flute in a concert with subText in Halifax. The theme is synaesthesia. I’ve written new work for this event called SPIN. If you’re free, come check it out!

Saturday, April 21: synaesthesia. Improvised music & real-time video performance. Christoph Both, Derek Charke, Steven Naylor, Lukas Pearse, Jeff Reilly, Tom Roach. 8:00 pm. Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery, Halifax. Tickets $20/$15 at the door. Cash bar.

synaesthesia is a co-production of subText Music & Media Arts and Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery, with support from the Province of Nova Scotia.

synaesthesia_poster

JUNO Award

Derek Charke — 2012-04-03T07:05:47-03:00

Sepia Fragments won a JUNO award for ‘Classical Composition of the Year’.

For a complete list of nominees click here.

Accepting the award in Ottawa.

Shawn Bostick (Director of the Atlantic CMC) and Derek Charke (Juno Award Ceremony in Ottawa)

Pauline and Derek Charke (Juno Award Ceremony in Ottawa)

Derek Charke and Christina Petrowska Quilico, who gave a performance of Sepia Fragments, arranged for piano on 30/03/2012 at the National Arts Centre Main Lobby for ‘Classical JUNOS in Concert’.

Derek Charke at the parliament buildings (Ottawa) after a performance of Sepia Fragments with Dr. Andrea McCrady, Dominion Carillonneur.

Watch the acceptance speech.

Reviews of Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra

Derek Charke — 2012-03-07T17:25:23-04:00

A few reviews from the premiere of Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra:

"A full house (almost) at Roy Thomson Hall—for a concert of New Music? Yes! And standing ovations that wouldn’t quit for the première of Derek Charke’s Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra? Too right! Charke’s music is eclectic, hectic and sometimes electric. The concerto’s finale is a post-climactic mix of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra playing mournfully, while out of the speaker system issue loud chords by Kronos String Quartet infused into a taped soundscape of eerie narwhal and ring seal vocalizations that is simply beautiful. It prepares a silence that is the hallmark of a fulfilled audience resting before an explosion of appreciation. Backing up from the concerto’s finale we find ourselves excited by a toe-tapping, percussive frenzy of rhythms driving in successive, serialist waves that rock the room like its back ain’t got no bone. And backing up towards the beginning we get broken bits of sound and silence that gather into oscillating melodies broken by guttural grunts, yells and cries by Kronos. Listening backwards or forwards, Charke’s music is about the freedom to be an individual, and the audience got it." Opus One Review by Stanley Fefferman (March 4, 2012) Read the full article here

"This composition was a gem of musical genius, embodying a vast variety of diverse emotions and themes into a single piece. The final descent from celebration led into a darker and mysterious theme featuring the soundscape technique with distinct seal, whale and dolphin sounds. This immense sense of imagination and imagery concluded the piece, earning the performers and the composer a well-deserved standing ovation." Bachtrack.com by Daniel Frasca (March 4, 2012) Read the full article here

"With this concerto, Charke staked out a vast sound-world as his musical territory. His horizons are very broad – encompassing not just the fragmented syntax of Widmann or the subtle timbres of Eotvos, but also familiar modal harmonies, a steady, danceable beat and even a dash of Hollywood film-score glitz. As if that weren’t enough, there was also some shouting from the orchestra players, and prerecorded seals and narwhals from Nunavut." The Globe and Mail by Colin Eatock (March 7, 2012) Read the full article here

Premiere of Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra

Derek Charke — 2012-02-28T20:51:25-04:00

Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra will be premiered on Saturday, March 3 at Roy Thomson Hall, as part of the New Creations Festival in Toronto.

Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra will be performed by the Kronos Quartet and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Peter Oundjian. This new work was commissioned by the TSO and was generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. Concerto for String Quartet was composed over a span of about nine months in 2011 at my home studio in Kentville, Nova Scotia. This is my third commission for the Kronos Quartet; the first two were: Cercle du Nord III and Tundra Songs. It's an honour to have this opportunity to compose a work for these world-class musicians!

For tickets, and more information please visit: New Creations Festival, TSO

JUNO Nomination

Derek Charke — 2012-02-08T10:29:50-04:00

‘Sepia Fragments’ composed for the St. Lawrence String Quartet has been nominated for a JUNO award in the category of ‘Classical composition of the year’.

WSO to play Carnegie Hall

Derek Charke — 2012-01-24T19:17:54-04:00

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra announced Monday that it is one of six major regional orchestras heading to the famous New York City venue in 2014 for the fourth annual Spring for Music (S4M) festival. The orchestra plans to perform pieces from its New Music Festival, including Derek Charke’s 13 Inuit Throat Song Games featuring throat singer Tanya Tagaq, WSO Composer-in-Residence Vincent Ho’s The Shaman: Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra featuring Dame Evelyn Glennie as well as R. Murray Schafer’s Symphony No. 1.

The full article can be found at the Winnipeg Free Press

5-Penny New Music

Derek Charke — 2012-01-24T19:13:07-04:00

The 5-Penny New Music Ensemble, a group comprised of some of Sudbury’s leading musicians, will be giving the next concert in the 5-Penny Concert Series. The concert is on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 8 pm at St. Peter’s United Church, Sudbury. General admission for each concert is $20 and $15 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at Black Cat, 96 Durham Street, Sudbury, or at the door. The debut of this ensemble, which includes violinists Christian Robinson and Geoff McCausland, violist Jane Russell, cellist Alexandra Lee, flautist Myriam Valley, and pianist Yoko Hirota, represents a new phase in programming for the series. It will serve as a core unit that will perform masterworks of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in future seasons. For its inaugural concert, the ensemble will perform music by Canadian composers. Works will include “Surface” for solo flute by Brian Harman (World premiere), “Five Pieces” for flute and cello by Alice Ho (Canadian premiere), “Piano Piece No. 1” by Brian Current, “Adagio and Rondo, op. 3” for string quartet by Jacques Hétu, “Rolling” for solo piano by Laurie Radford, “Flute Quartet” for flute and strings by Derek Charke, and “Territoires intérieurs” for piano and strings by Robert Lemay.

First posting 2012!

Derek Charke — 2012-01-12T16:40:39-04:00

Happy New Year! Here are a few highlights from January 2012:

(1) On January 12 Janice Jackson performs Oikos/Ecos at the Open Waters Festival in Halifax.

(2) January 18, 19 and 20: Carmen Braden (an Acadia University Composition Alumni) is presenting a paper on 'Tundra Songs' at the conference Music and the Imaginary of the North and the Cold in Montreal, at L'Université du Québec à Montréal. Three Studies for Flute (which was written in Inuvik, NWT) will also be performed by flutist MariÈve Lauzon during the conference.

(3) On January 21 Cercle du Nord I receives a performance by the Quebec group Erreur De Type 27 at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.

(4) Disturbances of Circadian Rhythm is one of six official Canadian selections for the 2013 ISCM World Music Days in Košice, Bratislava and Vienna.

Edge of the Center

Derek Charke — 2011-10-26T13:54:07-03:00

A blog posting about my studies at SUNY Buffalo is online at the University at Buffalo’s Center for 21st Century Music blog: Edge of the Center.

Spring for Music

Derek Charke — 2011-10-26T13:53:36-03:00

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra needs your vote! The WSO has entered a proposal for a concert at Carnegie Hall in 2014, and it's now in the public voting stage. They need more votes to get this to happen. The proposed concert has a work of mine, a new work by Vincent Ho (resident composer with the WSO) and Murray Schafer's new symphony. Although public votes aren't the only criteria, they will help. If you could take a moment to vote for this it would be greatly appreciated!

http://springformusic.com/2011/10/2014-program-27/

Voting is open until Nov. 4, 2011.

Cheers!
Derek

Raga Saat – New Flute Quartet

Derek Charke — 2011-09-12T11:03:42-03:00

A new flute quartet is now available. Raga Saat is the companion work to Raga Cha. The work is available from me, and will be available soon from the Canadian Music Centre. To learn more about this work visit: Raga Saat

Symphony No. 1 on CBC Concerts on Demand

Derek Charke — 2011-09-07T17:35:55-03:00

Symphony no. 1 ‘Transient Energies’, performed by Symphony Nova Scotia, is now available on the CBC website.

http://music.cbc.ca/#/concerts/Symphony-Nova-Scotia-Charke-2011-04-07

Recording sounds for Symphony no. 1

SNS offers huge works by Brahms, Charke

Derek Charke — 2011-04-09T15:10:32-03:00

By STEPHEN PEDERSEN
Concert Review

© Sat, Apr 9, 2011, Chronicle Herald, Halifax

Derek Charke and Bernhard Gueller Backstage after the premiere of Symphony No. 1

It was blockbuster night for Symphony Nova Scotia on Thursday at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium.

Only two pieces filled the program, which will be repeated Sunday at 2 p.m., the world premiere of Derek Charke’s Symphony No. 1 Transient Energies and the great Brahms Violin Concerto.

Both challenged the limits of possibility, though by now the Brahms, written in 1878 and initially considered unplayable, is standard repertoire for college level violinists.

Certainly concertmaster Robert Uchida made it sound, well, not easy, but formidable still, though he transformed each of the profound technical challenges into artistic opportunities for ever-deeper musical expression.

Charke’s challenge was to integrate sounds associated with energy production from wind, water, oil and internal combustion, into a contemporary symphonic palette of instrumental colour, rhythmic invention and electronic manipulation.

And he had to guide his audience’s attention span, challenged even by the sweetly sonorous soundscape of the Brahms and much more so by contemporary music where the safety rope of intelligible melody has been heartlessly swept away.

Charke took care of this, partly, by means of unexpected changes of direction and tireless building and rebuilding musical momentum, all packaged into a tightly knit, four-movement score of unusual length.

His ear for instrumental tone as well as the shimmering timbres of natural sounds of automobiles, wind turbines, flowing water, gurgling oil, shovelled coal and the clatter of trains over buzzing steel rails is amazingly acute and all-inclusive.

Charke’s ability to extract rhythmic episodes from subtle sonic hints was paid for with hours of listening and the compilation of 450 sound files, some reproduced as recorded, others subjected to state-of-the-art digital manipulation, and all of it accumulated into a mind-boggling mass of musical material.

Consistently and forcefully, Charke marshalled them into order, while maintaining firm artistic control of imagery, shape and playability.

Moments of extraordinary tranquility, as in the mystical vision at the end of the hectic fourth movement, echoed through the Mahler-esque cello solo, played so expressively by principal cellist Norman Adams in the melancholy first movement.

The sound image of cars swooping by on a busy Highway 101 outside Kentville began the first movement and returned at the end of the fourth to diminish into the silence of vanishing momentum, a strangely sad sound.

The orchestra played the score like the musical Olympians they are when meeting such a challenge. Bernhard Gueller, the symphony’s music director, maintained control with an extremely light but unalterably sure touch.

Resident conductor Martin MacDonald sat at a small table back of the cellos, furnished with a notebook computer screen and a controller with eight pads on it that allowed him to play the prepared electronic score with the timing of a trained musician.

After intermission, the opening measures of the Brahms concerto, radiant with warmth and dark-tone colour, took us into the 19th century sound world as quickly as a click of the mouse on a computer.

Before long Uchida, Gueller and the orchestra revealed the details woven by Brahms into musical tapestries alive with subtle colour and melodic variation.

The controversy that raged around Brahms’ head in his day between his "absolute" music and the "program" music of Berlioz and Liszt is long gone. Yet, in a curious way, the complexities of Brahms’ musical invention, and the pictures deliberately painted by the tone painting of some of his contemporaries, was unselfconsciously combined in Charke’s music of more than a century later.

Whatever energized that somewhat abstract debate in the musical politics of the 19th century has yielded, in the 21st, to the growing confidence of contemporary composers in the art of organic musical invention, where everything is made new, and impossibility is seen only as opportunity.

(spedersen@ns.sympatico.ca)

Stephen Pedersen is a freelance arts writer who lives in Halifax.

Sounds of the world make music

Derek Charke — 2011-04-06T07:09:47-03:00

Charke brings Transient Energies to the symphony
By STEPHEN PEDERSEN

© 2011-04-06, Chronicle Herald, Halifax

Symphony Nova Scotia brings the outside world into the concert hall on Thursday.

In a concert, which also features concertmaster Robert Uchida playing the Brahms Violin Concerto, the orchestra premieres its latest commissioned work, Transient Energies, by Acadia University flutist-composer Derek Charke.

Charke integrated more than 400 recordings of traffic, wind turbines, water gurgling and coal being shovelled into a 40-minute, four-movement symphony with an environmental, energy-inspired soundscape.

But the piece does not have an ecological purpose, Charke said in a Saturday afternoon interview in Halifax.

"I’m using environmental sounds, sounds which have been derived from energy production in Nova Scotia, but I have no environmental agenda with this piece," he said.

Charke took his microphone and digital recorder to capture the sounds of the diesel generators in Acadia’s power plant, stood under giant wind turbines in Pubnico, hunched down in a ditch beside heavily travelled Highway 101. He pointed his microphone at running water on the Bay of Fundy’s tidal flats, squeezed a bottle of ketchup to get that gulping sound that oil also makes when poured, recorded trains clacking over the tracks and even shovelled small rocks and gravel in his backyard to suggest shifting coal.

With 450 files of what he calls "power sounds," Charke spent hours listening, cataloguing and manipulating their pitches.

"There are various levels of processing the sounds," he said. "The first is just the raw sound, which makes its way into the piece at points where you hear just that. The traffic is one of them. Water is another, the sound of the wind turbine another. Many other sounds make their way in maybe for only a couple of seconds, electric saws, for example."

Charke began to manipulate the sounds after listening long and closely to understand the characteristics of each sound, the rhythms that can be related to it, for example.

"At one moment, the train sound comes in and several layers of things happen and (conductor) Bernhard Gueller has to ignore the soundtrack to make sure it does not affect the tempo of the orchestral sounds," he said.

"The last movement is a large scale accelerando, which starts at a slower pace and gradually builds up to a climax. Bernhard has to go through something like 15 tempo changes in it."

The four movements are titled Highways (eight minutes), Dis-shovel’d (nine minutes), Rotations (11 minutes) and Crude (12 minutes).

Charke has written several other long works, the 30-minute Tundra Songs commissioned by the Kronos String Quartet, a 20-minute concerto for Kronos and the Toronto Symphony and, in 2009, Falling From Cloudless Skies, his first work for symphony orchestra with electronic soundscape that was commissioned by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

"Transient Energies does have references to traditional symphonic structure," Charke said. "But I did not set out to imitate symphonic form. The material the orchestra is playing and each one of the movements is very different from the others. Each movement has its own form."

Audiences will find much in the piece that resonates with what they have heard before. But not exactly, given the electronic soundscape, he said.

"The actual shape of the piece, I think they are going to find that it is absolutely natural. I hope, I hope, you never know."

(spedersen@ns.sympatico.ca)

Stephen Pedersen is a freelance arts writer who lives in Halifax.

Kronos Quartet surprise, unsurprisingly, at the Walker Art Center

Derek Charke — 2011-02-16T09:06:06-04:00

BY KATE GALLAGHER, TC DAILY PLANET
February 16, 2011

Friday’s program opened with Derek Charke's Cercle du Nord III, a piece written for Kronos that begins with the sounds of the Canadian far north: sled dogs barking, wind howling, boots crunching on snow, and then the sounds of civilization: truck tires on snow, a car door slamming. As the quartet began to play, a driving pace was established that continued throughout the work. I often find it difficult to visualize what instrumental music may be trying to suggest, even after reading the program notes, but as Cercle du Nord III took off, my mind was flooded with images of sled dogs racing across a vast frozen landscape, their panting and the sound of the paws breaking the crust on the snow the only noises to interrupt the frozen landscape. Even in this world the sounds of humanity were never far away; I was pulled from my imagined world by Inuit throat singing also featured prominently in the work. I had never heard throat singing before and was struck by the depth and intensity of the music.

Quoted in Part. Read the full article here: http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/arts/kronos-quartet-walker-art-center-review

Review of Sea to Sea in The Globe and Mail

Derek Charke — 2011-02-01T08:58:40-04:00

Sea to Sea
St. Lawrence String Quartet (Centrediscs)

In Sea to Sea, the St. Lawrence String Quartet (currently the resident string quartet at Stanford University in California) acknowledges its roots with six new compositions by Canadian composers. These tend to acknowledge their roots, too, referencing Canadian fiddle tunes and birdsong, Inuit folk songs and throat singers. This risks a certain provincialism – it’s a bit like sewing a Canadian flag on the back of one’s jacket – although at their best the allusions serve as mere points of departure, soon enough obscured. Derek Charke’s smeared lines and quivering textures have an immediate appeal; Brian Current’s Rounds is more bracingly abstract; Marcus Goddard contrasts whip-snapping exchanges with a delicate lyricism. The SLSQ plays with its trademark commitment, precision and fantasy, giving all the pieces a cosmopolitan polish.

© By Elissa Poole Link

New work for the Toronto Symphony and Kronos Quartet Announced

Derek Charke — 2011-01-27T08:18:17-04:00

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra Announces Its 90th Season (Jan 26, 2011 11:08 ET ) The TSO continues its tradition of orchestral commissions and première performances with four TSO 90th season commission premières. In the first programme of the 2012 New Creations Festival, TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian conducts the TSO and the Kronos Quartet in the world première of a TSO commission from Canadian composer Derek Charke, his Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra (Mar 3, 2012).

Click here for the full press release.
Click here to visit the TSO’s website.

Acadia music festival hits Halifax market

Derek Charke — 2011-01-26T08:27:01-04:00

Students and faculty from Acadia University say their music festival is different every year. This year, they pushed for variety by holding one of the events at a new location: the Seaport farmer's market.

Read the complete story: http://unews.ca/story/item/acadia-music-festival-hits-Halifax-market/

Sea to Sea

Derek Charke — 2011-01-06T08:51:30-04:00

Just released: ‘Sea to Sea’ with the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Includes “Sepia Fragments” by Derek Charke plus works by Brian Current, Suzanne Hérbert-Tremblay, Marcus Goddard and Elizabeth Raum.

SEA TO SEA
St. Lawrence String Quartet
Various
2010 Centrediscs / Centredisques
CMCCD 16310
Purchase

Shattering the Silence 2011

Derek Charke — 2010-12-12T10:57:36-04:00

Shattering the Silence 2011 is quickly approaching. Here’s a copy of the poster.

Click here for a larger pdf version.

Williams Symphonic Winds and Opus Zero Band to Perform "Rising/Falling."

Derek Charke — 2010-11-23T08:55:19-04:00

The Williams College Department of Music presents The Symphonic Winds and Opus Zero Band directed by Steven Dennis Bodner on Friday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. in Chapin Hall on the Williams College campus. This free event is open to the public.

The Symphonic Winds will present the New England premieres of two works for band and electronics—one which rises (James Mobberley's Ascension) and one which falls (Derek Charke's Falling from Cloudless Skies)—as well as a piece which obstinately stays in place (Armando Bayolo's Fanfare: Treadmill). These three works, each in its own way, reveal both the powerful virtuosity and fragile transparency of the modern wind band. Rounding out the program will be two chamber works, David Lang's Increase and Brian Simachik's Like a Man. For this program, the Opus Zero Band and Symphonic Winds will be joined by the Handbell Quintet, as well as student conductors Chaz Lee '11 and Noah Fields '11.

Williams Symphonic Winds

September Press

Derek Charke — 2010-09-30T07:50:30-03:00

Here are three recent press releases for Cercle du Nord III with the Kronos Quartet in Maine and Raga Cha with flutist Laura Barron in Vancouver. Quoted here in part, please click the links to see the full articles.

Portland Ovations Begins 2010-11 Season Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Posted: 07:09 PM - by BWW News Desk

The series, Traverser la Frontière, which is programming that celebrates the diversity of artists from Canada and Maine's shared heritage, includes the afore mentioned circus acrobat Jamie Adkins' and his one-man-show entitled Circus INcognitus, the French-Acadian sounds of the four-member female ensemble Gadelle, and a work by Canadian composer Derek Charke as part of Kronos Quartet's program, Music Without Borders. link

A focus on the new, and the new to Vancouver Concerts from the Turning Point Ensemble and Music On Main bring some adventure to the autumn program
By David Gordon Duke, Special To The Sun
Vancouver Sun
September 30, 2010 1:17 AM

A lavish assortment of events begins at Music on Main ground zero, Heritage Hall, with flutist Laura Barron and friends playing Steve Reich's Vermont Counterpoint, as well as works by Derek Charke, Arvo Part, and Radiohead. A late show has pianist David Jalbert tackling J.S. Bach's monumental Goldberg Variations. link

Music on Main's Modulus Festival aims to recharge chamber music By Alexander Varty
Georgia Straight
September 30, 2010

Other Modulus Festival participants are hoping to achieve something similar. Vancouver musician Laura Barron, whose 10-piece Flauto Perpetuo ensemble opens proceedings at Heritage Hall on Thursday night (September 30), wants to redefine audience perception of the flute by tackling a program of bold and unconventional sounds, running from Reich’s Vermont Counterpoint to Derek Charke’s percussive Raga Cha to arrangements of songs by Radiohead and Imogen Heap. “This is music that I think belongs together,” says Barron, by phone from her home. “I’m excited to demonstrate to audiences the classical and substantial qualities of Radiohead and also the very inclusive and catchy and popular qualities that something like the Reich might have. “We also wanted to truly exploit the timbres that are available from the flute,” she adds. “That’s always a challenge for those of us that play monochromatic treble instruments—but by including bass and alto flutes, and piccolo, we can get that full, orchestrated effect.” link

Art Gallery Presents Tidelines

Derek Charke — 2010-09-23T08:21:29-03:00

ART GALLERY PRESENTS TIDELINES - AN INTEGRATED PRESENTATION

September 23, 2010

Tidelines, conceptualized by photographer Dick Groot, is an integrated presentation of music, poetry, and photography inspired by the tidal landscape of Minas Basin. The central component of the exhibition is a large mobile with 32 suspended photographs, from Dick Groot's Tidescape series, a project in a continuing state of becoming.

The emotion engendered by the tidal landscape is reflected in recorded poetry and music integrated into a soundscape designed specifically for this exhibition by composer Derek Charke. The poetry is by Dutch poet Onno Kosters with the work of the late John Frederick Herbin. Michael Bawtree and Paula Rockwell with voice students Kyla Cook, Rosanna Harris, Haley Watson read the poetry, recorded by Carl Anderson with Stephen Naylor as Sound Installation consultant.

The audience experiences the photographs, poetry and soundscape simultaneously. As they are walking through the mobile to the view the photography, the whole structure moves suggesting the motion of the tides.

The exhibition will be view on from September 10 - October 22, 2010. An artist roundtable with Dick Groot, Derek Charke and Onno Kosters will be held on October 2, 2pm.
Established in 1978 the Acadia University Art Gallery presents a year-round exhibition program of historical and contemporary art.

For more information contact:

Acadia University Art Gallery
Tel: 902-585-1373
Email: artgallery@acadiau.ca
Web: http://gallery.acadiau.ca

Tidelines Opening

Derek Charke — 2010-09-11T08:19:35-03:00

There was a great turnout for the launch of Tidelines Installation last night at the Acadia Art Gallery.

Be sure to drop by the installation between now and October 22. There will be an artist roundtable on Sat. Oct. 2 at 2 p.m.

Acadia Art Gallery

Song of the Tides

Derek Charke — 2010-08-23T17:12:02-03:00

New studio recording of Song of the Tides has been posted. Click here to listen. Mark Hopkins, conductor with the Acadia University Wind Ensemble. Rod Sneddon was the recording engineer. This work will be on an upcoming CD featuring the Acadia Wind Ensemble. More news will be posted when this CD is available.

The Island Low Brass Mafia

Derek Charke — 2010-07-06T08:59:37-03:00

A low brass recital featuring the world premiere performance of a new work by Nova Scotia composer Derek Charke will take place July 18, 2:30 pm at the Steel Recital Hall, UPEI, Charlottetown. It will feature Eric Mathis, Dale Sorensen, trombones; Bob Nicholson, bass trombone/tuba; Gregory Irvine, tuba; and Frances McBurnie, piano

New Website for Charke.com

Derek Charke — 2010-05-24T18:26:15-03:00

Charke.com has been completely overhauled. The old site was becoming unwieldy and hard to manage. Ultimately it was taking more time to maintain than I wanted it to, and mostly because the format was a bit outdated and less flexible than I would have liked. This new site has been created using RapidWeaver, which I find rather intuitive to work with. You can sign-up to the new RSS feed for the news. I don't post material that often, so there is no worry of inundating your inbox with loads of material.

Because the website has been reworked, most of the old URL addresses have changed. Please take a moment to update any links that you might have had to this site. I've redirected some of the old links, and others should simply direct you to the home page.

Oikos / Ecos

Derek Charke — 2010-05-17T08:14:52-03:00

A demo recording of Oikos / Ecos, a new work that was premiered by soprano Janice Jackson at Shattering the Silence 2010, has been posted. Oikos refers to the Greek word for our home. The text is personal responses to various news articles.

More Information

New Version of Aurora Dances

Derek Charke — 2010-05-06T08:17:22-03:00

Aurora Dances has been completely revised and updated as of May, 2010. This new version is (1) for a smaller and more practical orchestra and (2) has been reworked slightly, both harmonically and more important, structurally. Overall the work flows better. Three minutes of music were ultimately removed, and several ideas were completely reworked. The work is essentially the same, but hopefully flows better and is structurally more consistent. Both the score and parts will be available from the Canadian Music Centre by the end of May, 2010.

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Let There Be Flute

Derek Charke — 2010-04-21T08:20:34-03:00

Vancouver Courier

For the latest installment of Western Front's Clamour! series, Laura Barron and Liesa Norman, a.k.a. Forbidden Flutes, deliver a program of original works and arrangements of Imogen Heap and Radiohead paired with Canadian composer Derek Charke's "Raga Cha" and Steve Reich's "Vermont Counterpoint." We don't write this stuff. The flute-friendly affair goes down April 22, 5-7 p.m., at Grand Luxe Hall (303 E 8th Ave). $10 at the door.

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Acadia concert celebrates Prince’s generosity

Derek Charke — 2010-03-19T08:27:00-03:00

The Dr. Fred Prince Memorial Instrument Collection, a dedication concert featuring the Acadia University Wind Ensemble, will be held on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Festival Theatre, Acadia University, Wolfville. Mark Hopkins is the conductor and Mark Adam the percussion soloist. Prince, who was born in 1928 and died on June 4, 2009, was a general practitioner in Bridgewater for over 50 years. As a trustee and later chairman of the South Shore School Board, he was the driving force behind the implementation of school music programs and the formation of several community and school band programs, including the Bridgewater Firemen’s Band.

The concert features the percussion concerto Tongues of Fire by Toronto composer Christos Hatzis and Falling from Cloudless Skies by Derek Charke, an Acadia University composition professor.

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Origin of Species

Derek Charke — 2010-03-17T08:28:34-03:00

"Darwin's Origin of Species is not only one of the most important scientific works of all time, but one of the most beautifully written. In The Origin Cycle, eight contemporary composers from Australia set fragments of Darwin's great book to music, for performance by soprano Jane Sheldon and a chamber ensemble.This one took place in Halifax and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and featured the regions best chamber musicians."

Listen to a CBC Concerts on Demand recording. I was playing flute in the ensemble. And if you're wondering; they used a picture from a different performance on their website!

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Symphony Nova Scotia

Derek Charke — 2010-03-15T08:29:10-03:00

Symphony Nova Scotia has just posted their 2010/2011 season. It includes a new 30 minute work that I'm starting on shortly!

Thursday April 7, 2011, 7:30 pm
Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Dalhousie Arts Centre

This concert will also be performed Sunday April 10, 2011 as an Encore Matinee. Featuring: Robert Uchida, violin, Bernhard Gueller, conductor

Derek Charke: TBA (movements to include themes on Coal, Wind, Water, and Oil)
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D

Symphony Nova Scotia concertmaster Robert Uchida takes on Brahms’ fiery Violin Concerto, one of the most challenging concertos ever written for violin. We’ll also hear a brand-new work by acclaimed Nova Scotia composer Derek Charke, who uses the theme of climate change and power consumption in Nova Scotia to create an innovative, acoustic-electronic soundscape.

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Kronos Quartet's New York Tundra

Derek Charke — 2010-03-14T08:30:32-03:00

Global Beat Fusion: Kronos Quartet's New York Tundra Derek Beres / Global music
photojournalist/DJ/producer, novelist, yoga instructor

"It was 12:45 when we finally stood, after being wrapped into Tundra mythology with the five movements of Derek Charke's commissioned piece for Kronos Quartet. When Charke, who has lived in the Arctic before, was asked to write it, he was immediately trekked to Nunavut, the northernmost edge of Canada, to record shrimp, krill, seals, ice, and ravens. These noises were sprinkled in throughout.

Nunavut is the size of Western Europe and houses less than 30,000 people. Looking at pictures of it reminds me Werner Herzog's documentary on Antarctica, Encounters at the End of the World, a place where humans can only live three or four months a year. So it was fitting that Kronos asked Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq to perform the vocal "parts" of Charke's piece. You often could not tell whether it was the seals and ravens that he recorded or Tagaq herself, which was the point. Her music is so outrageously unexplainable that while even if you can't bear to listen to some of it, you're intrigued and can't turn away. That's the sense I had when listening to her latest album, Auk/Blood, which featured Mike Patton, himself one of the more outlandish vocalists of our time.

Hearing Tagaq vocalize (while some of it is singing, that's really not the proper word) is a lesson in breath control. She is able to both utilize inhale and exhale, not to mention retention, with its own unique tone, while employing the overtone of a second "voice" to the mix. It is a ritual technique for entering trance, a state she most definitely reached while the four men nimbly ran over Charke's composition. The closest thing to compare Tagaq to is Bjork's Medulla phase, a no-brainer considering Tagaq sings on that record and toured the album with her."

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From the Top of the World - NY Times

Derek Charke — 2010-03-14T08:29:51-03:00

MUSIC REVIEW | KRONOS QUARTET From the Top of the World: Warmth Amid Ice By ALLAN KOZINN Published: March 14, 2010

"The Kronos and Tanya Tagaq, an Inuit throat singer from Nunavut, the Canadian territory, closed the program with Derek Charke’s “Tundra Songs,” a rich-textured five-movement work in which a combination of slowly unfolding, consonant string writing, Ms. Tagaq’s athletic vocalizations, and manipulated recordings of arctic sounds (ice cracking, raven calls, seals) evoke the change of the northern seasons and tell the story of Sedna, an Inuit goddess who is described, in Ms. Tagaq’s narration, as the foremother of humanity."

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Falling from Cloudless Skies for Wind Ensemble

Derek Charke — 2010-03-13T08:31:30-04:00

The Acadia University Wind Ensemble, under the leadership of Mark Hopkins, premieres a new version of "Falling From Cloudless Skies" at the College Band Director’s National Association Northeast Conference.

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Tundra Songs premiere at Carnegie Hall

Derek Charke — 2010-03-13T08:31:03-04:00

"On March 13 Kronos concludes an evening devoted to music from the Arctic Circle with the New York premiere of Canadian composer Derek Charke’s Tundra Songs featuring the raw, primal music-making of Inuit throat-singer Tanya Tagaq." (From Carnegie Hall News)

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Tiresias CD

Derek Charke — 2010-03-04T08:31:54-04:00

Tiresias is pleased to announce preparations for a new CD, Halos of the Moon, to be released on Redshift Records. This new project celebrates the cultural ties between Canada and Japan. Being both descended from Japanese-European ancestry, Iwaasa and McGregor have been fascinated with the concept of cultural hybridity since they began collaborating together. This CD will feature works that define Japanese-Canadian music from different angles: the album will feature works by Canadian composers Elliot Weisgarber, Hiroki Tsurumoto, Kara Gibbs, Anthony Genge, and Derek Charke, as well as Japanese composers Toru Takemitsu and Jo Kondo. This project was the recipient of generous funding from the Canada Council for the Arts.

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CBC Recordings

Derek Charke — 2010-02-19T08:32:30-04:00

Hear the complete performances with the Winnipeg Symphony and Tanya Tagaq at CBC Concerts on Demand:

Falling from Cloudless Skies - Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
Cercle du Nord III - Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Tanya Tagaq
13 Inuit Throat Song Games - Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Tanya Tagaq
WARNING! Gustnadoes Ahead - Michelle Cheramy, flute and cd

Tagaq's throat-singing defies description, captivates crowd By: Holly Harris

Derek Charke — 2010-02-12T08:33:25-04:00

"Canadian composer Derek Charke's 13 Inuit Throat Song Games, composed originally for the Kronos Quartet and re-envisioned for this concert, consists of thirteen evocative slices of Inuit life. Its 13 sections, with suggestive titles like Dogs and Story of a Goose, each flow into the next as one organic entity. The barefooted Tagaq's throaty voice provided both counterpoint as well as rising above the strings like a howling wolf."

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Winnipeg New Music Festival

Derek Charke — 2010-02-12T08:32:52-04:00

Some photos from the Winnipeg New Music Festival:

Steven Stucky, Derek Charke and Alexander Mickelthwate

Derek Charke, Tanya Tagaq Gillis & Vincent Ho

Pauline and Derek

Giving a lecture at FortWhyte Alive

An Enlightening Journey By: Chris Hay

Derek Charke — 2010-02-09T08:34:09-04:00

"Also premiered were two arctic-themed pieces by Canadian composers. Derek Charke's “Falling From Cloudless Skies” was an enjoyable blend of electronics and orchestra. While the musicians played, Charke focused on his laptop, carefully executing more than 200 recorded sounds. The piece began with synthesized sounds and a mild pulse. Suddenly, it became chaotic as the audience was assaulted with full force chaos of the orchestra. There was a surprise when a recorded voice reported that a six-pound chunk of ice fell from the sky and that this and other extreme atmospheric events may be associated with climate change. The strings began undulating and the music took on a movie soundtrack quality. By the end of the piece, the orchestra sound had thinned out and the electronics had more prominently returned. It had an open feeling — perhaps the sky's relief after letting loose its ice chunks."

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Breaking New Ground

Derek Charke — 2010-02-06T08:35:18-04:00

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra New Music Festival "Breaking New Ground"

I'm honoured to be invited as one of the Distinguished Guest Composers for this year's Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra New Music Festival. My wife and I will be in Winnipeg for the entire festival. On Sat. Feb. 6 the Winnipeg Symphony will perform the world premiere of Falling from Cloudless Skies, and on Thur. Feb. 11, Tanya Tagaq will join the symphony in performing two new arrangements of 13 Inuit Throat Song Games and Cercle du Nord III, which were originally commissioned by the Kronos Quartet. As part of a SOCAN residency grant I will also be participating in the Arctic Climate Change Youth Forum 2010 at FortWhyte Alive in Winnipeg on February 5, 2010, and will visit the University of Manitoba to give a talk on my music.

New Music Festival features eclectic lineup By: Gwenda Nemerofsky

Derek Charke — 2010-02-04T08:34:44-04:00

"Distinguished Canadian guest composer Derek Charke will debut Falling from Cloudless Skies. He has a special interest in acoustic ecology and the study of environmental sound. His experiences in the Arctic and concern for the state of the environment crystallize in his work. "Composers and sound artists can't recreate nature but they can shine a spotlight on it," he wrote."

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Tanya Tagaq and the Kronos Quartet made Tundra Songs a masterpiece

Derek Charke — 2010-02-01T08:35:43-04:00

By Alexander Varty Georgia Straight
At the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on Saturday, January 30

"...This time around, the string quartet commissioned Derek Charke to create a score for the five players; between his deep understanding of the North and the band's growing comfort with their guest, Tundra Songs was every bit the masterpiece first violinist David Harrington had promised."

Composer Derek Charke's Tundra Songs tapping a northern cool

Derek Charke — 2010-01-30T08:36:05-04:00

Composer Derek Charke headed to the ice floes to create Tundra Songs for the Kronos Quartet and throat singer Tanya Tagaq By Alexander Varty Georgia Straight in Vancouver.

"When he was asked to write a new piece, Tundra Songs, for the Kronos Quartet and Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq, composer Derek Charke knew that he'd have to make the physical presence of the North a central feature. So he donned a parka, hopped a flight, and got busy.

The end product, Tagaq reports, has lived up to Charke's hopes and exceeded her expectations.
"Derek gives me cues throughout the piece about when to sing, " she says, on the line from Yellowknife. "But he doesn't really tell me what to sing, so it's pretty open. I'm really fortunate that way, in that most people allow me to have my artistic freedom.

"I can really feel my home in the piece," she adds. "He nailed it on the head. He's brilliant."

The Kronos Quartet's leader and first violinist, David Harrington, agrees. "It's really one of the major, spectacular pieces that has ever been written for Kronos, I would say -- and I think it's a breakthrough piece for Derek Charke, too," he offers, reached at the quartet's San Francisco office. "It's fun to play; I think there's kind of an elemental quality to the music, and to the collaboration. It feels really great, to me."

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Newfound Music

Derek Charke — 2010-01-28T08:37:10-04:00

January 28 to 30, 2010

NewFound Music VII: Crossing Boundaries MUN's annual mid-winter festival celebrating the music of our time with concerts, workshops and seminars. Explorations of new classical music under the influence of rock, pop, jazz and world music, visual art or social issues. A side trip to the music of South America. Guest-composer-in-residence will be Derek Charke. Presented in collaboration with SOCAN.

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Shattering the Silence

Derek Charke — 2010-01-26T08:36:31-04:00

Thank you to everyone involved in our 4th annual Acadia New Music Festival, Shattering the Silence. It was a great success! Today however, I'm off to St. John's, Newfoundland to be a part of the Newfound Music Festival, where, as part of a SOCAN residency grant, I'll give a couple of school presentations, a talk on my own music and a lecture on Acoustic Ecology. Additionally I'm playing two of my own pieces for flute and electronics and giving a flute mastercasss. I'm looking forward to being a part of this, and meeting the students and other musicians.

Symphony Nova Scotia

Derek Charke — 2010-01-09T08:37:48-04:00

A review of a Symphony Nova Scotia concert held on Jan. 7 by Stephen Pederson.

"...Charke's four Inuit Throat Singing Games (chosen from a longer compilation) was chiefly remarkable for the use of bowing techniques (circular bowing and a kind of scrubbing up and down), in imitation of the throaty, scratchy, in-breath and out-breath voicings of Inuit throat singers. ..."

Happy New Year

Derek Charke — 2010-01-01T08:38:10-04:00

Upcoming performance on January 7th with Symphony Nova Scotia and the New Music Network – part of their Forum 2010 being held in Halifax on Jan. 7 – 9, 2010.
Canadian composers unveil new music at Dunn Thursday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sir James Dunn Theatre

Symphony Nova Scotia partners with the Canadian New Music Network, Upstream Music Association and Vocalypse Productions to present New Music for a New Year, a concert of all-new Canadian music on Thursday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sir James Dunn Theatre, Halifax. Conducted by Symphony Nova Scotia Music Director Bernhard Gueller, it features six diverse works for orchestra by composers Mark Armanini, Sandeep Baghwati, Jérôme Blais, Tim Brady, Paul Cram, and Derek Charke.The performance also serves as the opening event of the Canadian New Music Network's international Forum 2010 conference, Partnering Diversity. Cram's Beyond Benghazi is a collision of jazz improvisation and high-energy orchestral composition, while Charke's Inuit Throat Singing Games crosses cultural boundaries into the North. Armanini's Heartland features erhu player Lan Tung, Blais' Dremlen Feigl oyf di tsvaygn is sung in Yiddish by Halifax's Janice Jackson and Brady's Three or Four Days After the Death of Kurt Cobain uses music from the Nirvana song Smells Like Teen Spirit. Tickets are $20, $15 and $10, and are available at the box office at 494-3820 or 1-800-874-1669 or online at http://artscentre.dal.ca.

Winter

Derek Charke — 2009-12-24T08:47:00-04:00

It's winter in Nova Scotia. No snow, yet, but loads of rain. Today there was a spectacular rainbow after the rain let up.

10 Electroacoustic Studies

Derek Charke — 2009-12-24T08:46:43-04:00

10 Electroacoustic Studies are finished today! I've been slowly working on these studies in order to practice my EA skills. I think in 2010 I'll create a longer EA piece; we'll see what happens. You can listen to all 10 studies here. For all of the studies I've been using a combination of Digital Performer and Max/MSP to edit the soundfiles. Click here to listen to all 10 works.

Studio

SLSQ Premieres

Derek Charke — 2009-11-12T08:48:28-04:00

The St. Lawrence String Quartet premieres "Sepia Fragments" which was Co-commissioned by The Kathleen and Alan Huckabone Family of Petawawa, Ontario, and CBC Radio 2 on the following four concerts:

Backstage with the quartet. Festival Theatre, Acadia University

UPEI Thursday, November 12, 7:30 PM Dr. Steel Recital Hall http://www.upei.ca/music/upei-music-department-concert-series

Acadia University Friday, November 13, 7:30 PM Festival Theatre http://www.acadiau.ca/artsacadia/apas/index.html

Memorial University of Newfoundland Saturday, November 14, 8:00 PM D.F. Cook Recital Hall. http://www.mun.ca/music/concerts/

University of Toronto Monday, November 16, 7:30 PM Walter Hall All five works on this concert were co-commissioned by CBC Radio and will be recorded for future broadcast on Sunday Afternoon in Concert and The Signal. http://www.music.utoronto.ca/events/calendar/

At a dinner with all of the composers and the CMC staff.

SLSQ Preview

Derek Charke — 2009-11-03T08:49:17-04:00

Kings arts - as of Nov. 3 by Wendy Elliott/The Advertiser
http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-395130-Kings-arts-as-of-Nov-3.html

"The St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ) has established itself among the world-class chamber ensembles of its generation. Since winning both the Banff International String Quartet Competition and Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1992, the quartet has delighted audiences with its passionate and dynamic performances and will be in Wolfville Nov. 13. The SLSQ is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a new recording of Haydn and Dvorák quartets (two composers whose work will be featured at the Wolfville concert) through a partnership with the innovative company ArtistShare.com. In concert, the foursome regularly delivers traditional quartet repertoire, but is also fervently committed to performing and expanding the works of living composers. This season sees them performing new works by both John Adams and Osvaldo Golijov.

In 2008, following a nationwide search, Acadia’s Derek Charke was one of five Canadian composers, each representing a region of Canada, invited to create a new work celebrating the 20th anniversary. The SLSQ is delighted to have the opportunity to premiere this work in Atlantic Canada.

Violist Lesley Robertson is a founding member of the group, and hails from Edmonton. Cellist Christopher Costanza is from Utica, NY and joined the quartet in 2004. Violinists Geoff Nuttall and Scott St. John both grew up in London Ontario; Geoff is a founding member and Scott joined in 2006. Depending on concert repertoire, the two alternate the role of first violin. All four members of the quartet live and teach at Stanford University in California. For tickets ($26 adults/$17 students), call the Acadia Box Office at 542-5500."

SLSQ Premieres Five

Derek Charke — 2009-10-29T08:49:47-03:00

Written by Jason van Eyk Thursday, 29 October 2009 18:11

Quoted in part... be sure to read the full article here: http://thewholenote.com/

"The St. Lawrence was hard pressed to select just five composers from the trove of almost 90 submissions they received back in the fall of 2007, when this project as launched. “To hold in our hands such a body of work from Canadians, coast to coast, was tremendously inspiring,” said Robertson, who coordinated the project. In trimming the selection down to the final group, the quartet was struck again and again by the diversity, creativity and strength of all the submissions. But in the end, only five could be selected, and so composers Marcus Goddard, Elizabeth Raum, Brian Current, Suzanne Hébert-Tremblay and Derek Charke were invited to join the St. Lawrence’s Anniversary Commissioning Team. The resulting works are themselves as diverse as Canada itself.

"New Brunswick-born composer Derek Charke offers a musical journey from the present to the past in his Sepia Fragments. The work plays off of several quotations, both original and borrowed, that appear to be sometimes clear, sometimes blurred, like memories captured in a time capsule. Fiddle tunes and reels dissolve to fragments of harmonics and trills. Snippets of Shostakovich transition into parlour music. Tchaikovsky-inspired tunes gives way to Vietnamese folk melody."

In addition to this culminating concert, the St. Lawrence has opened their November 16 afternoon rehearsal to the public. Anyone wishing to attend this free session may benefit immensely by observing the interaction between the Quartet and the composers, some of who will be hearing their work for the first time. The session, which will run 1-4 pm in Walter Hall, will include demonstrations and conversation with the musicians and the Commissioning Team."

Updates

Derek Charke — 2009-09-24T08:50:18-03:00

I'm (finally) getting started on a new work for voice (Janice Jackson) and electronics. This should be completed by the middle of November. Today I begin my search for text in earnest. I've been thinking about the direction the work will take and will, in all likelihood, steer it towards themes of earth and acoustic ecology with ecopoetics as source material for the text.

Here are some details on several upcoming events:

1. A performance of works based on Darwin will happen at the Maritime Museum on October 17. I'll be playing flute in this ensemble.

2. Two Canadian Music Centre 20th Anniversary concerts will happen this October; (1) on October 24 in Antigonish at St.FX. University and (2) on October 25 in Wolfville at Acadia. Mark Adam and I will be performing Tony Genge's work "arabesque". Eugene Cormier and Ross Chaisson, a former Acadia grad, will be performing "Time's Passing Breath" for two guitars and soundtrack. I'll post more info closer to these dates

3. The St. Lawrence String quartet will perform a new work commissioned as part of their 20th Anniversary. "Sepia Fragments" was co-commissioned by the Huckabone Family and CBC radio. The SLSQ will perform this work in four locations; (1) PEI on Nov. 12, (2) Acadia University on Nov. 13, (3) MUN in NFLD on Nov. 14 and finally in Toronto (4) on November 16 at the University of Toronto. This performance will be recorded for CBC and broadcast at a later date. I'll post more info closer to these dates.

4. The Winnipeg Symphony has invited me to be one of their "Distinguished Canadian Guest Composers" for the 2010 New Music Festival, whose theme is also Earth. I'm quite excited about this! I've finished the scores and parts for three works, two arrangements of earlier string quartet pieces that I discuss in my posting below this one, and a new commission for full orchestra and soundscape, which I also discuss below. I'll be in Winnipeg for more than a week in February and will have a chance to take in the entire event.

5. Our own Acadia New Music Festival, Shattering the Silence is starting to take shape. It will happen on Jan. 20 – 24, 2010. We've commissioned two new works, one from Jerome Blais and the other from Peter Togni, which I'm excited about! We're in the process of securing our special guest performer and solidifying the concerts and other events which will take place during the 5 days.

6. Recently announced; The Kronos Quartet will perform Tundra Songs again this year with Tanya Tagaq. More info closer to the dates...

Updates

Derek Charke — 2009-07-25T08:50:55-03:00

It's been quiet on this news page lately so I thought it might be time to post something...

I've taken some time this summer to simply read, study scores and listen to music – and also to travel and to attend my sister's wedding in Nanaimo. However, my composing schedule has been busy as usual. I'm working on several pieces at the moment, including:

1. Electroacoustic Studies that are based on – more or less – singular sound sources;

2. A new 15 minute work for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (it includes an electronic soundscape, which has taken a considerable amount of time to complete!) called Falling from Cloudless Skies;

3. A reworking of some Inuit Throat Song Games for string orchestra that will be premiered by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Tanya Tagaq during the Winnipeg New Music Festival in February 2010 (along with the new orchestra work mentioned above (2.) and a string quartet – Cercle du Nord III – which was originally composed for the Kronos Quartet);

4. And I'm starting a new work this August for Halifax soprano Janice Jackson that will be premiered at our New Music Festival in Wolfville this January 2010. Funding just came through – thanks once again to Nova Scotia, Tourism, Culture and Heritage for their ongoing support. This work will be for voice and live processing using the Max/MSP programming environment.

5. In addition I'll begin work this year on a composition for 2 tenor trombones, bass trombone and tuba, that has been commissioned by PEI trombonist Dale Sorensen with funding provided by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Photo taken in the early morning from the top of Haleakala Crater. This is from a trip my wife and I took to Maui earlier this month; be sure to click on the photo for a larger resolution. Cheers!

Shattering the Silence 3

Derek Charke — 2009-02-02T08:51:31-04:00

The Third Annual Acadia New Music Festival, Shattering the Silence 2009 was a success!

Thanks to everyone who was a part of this years festival. I'd especially like to thank the many volunteers who worked behind the scenes to make this happen, and of course all of the performers and composers who did a phenomenal job!

All told there were 6 full concerts, two lecture presentations by Jeff Hennessy and Russell Hartenberger, 2 composer master classes, including one by Ian Crutchley, a percussion master class with Dr. Hartenberger and a film on Elliott Carter. We only had one weather cancellation on the second morning but we rescheduled and managed to pull it all off. All the events went smoothly, and all had something special to offer. Audience turn out was WAY up this year which makes me believe we're starting to get the word out about new music in the Annapolis Valley!

The percussion ensemble played extremely well on Wednesday, probably the best I've ever heard them yet. The Thursday concert was perhaps the most eclectic but also the most exciting with such a diverse array of talent; the vocal ensemble, symphonic band and various faculty and student performances. The Acadia String Ensemble played a moving rendition of Charles Ives's the Unanswered Question. Also thanks to Ron Tomarelli for the Prokoviev and Ken Shorley for his work. The Friday concert was fun to play in. It was refreshing to be able to present Raga Cha the way it's supposed to sound, with a loud amplified flute quartet. The Wind Ensemble did an admirable job in their first performance of Lollapalooza and I'm excited to hear it again.

The Gala concert was remarkable. The performers did an excellent job on all the pieces, especially Zwilich's Trio, and I was particularly moved to hear John Luther Adams' work, The Farthest Place, performed to such an exacting standard. Chenoa Anderson sounded great on my new work, even though it took a second try to get the computer to cooperate! D'Arcy Gray pulled off Bone Alphabet with finesse. Can't forget Bob Bauer who wrote us a wonderful new gamelan inspired work, and Simon Docking who graced us with a performance of music by Tristan Murail. I'll announce as soon as I can when CBC Radio 2 is going to broadcast parts of this concert on the Signal.
Also thanks to all student composers, both in the emerging composers concert and in the CMC sponsored film event. There were many promising new works and many positive comments about the quality of writing. Plus thanks to all of the ensembles and solo performers who took time to learn and play such wonderful music for our festival this year.

I am particularly grateful to Russell Hartenberger for giving his time so graciously, also to Mark Adam for his tireless contributions, even with a full on cold.

Finally I must also thank my co-conspirator Mark Hopkins for all of his work in organizing and conducting. We're both looking forward to doing it all again this time next year!

Cheers, Derek

Remarkable Night

Derek Charke — 2009-02-01T08:51:55-04:00

A remarkable night at Acadia’s Shattering the Silence By STEPHEN PEDERSEN Arts Reporter Sun. Feb 1, 2009

"Flutist/composer Derek Charke demonstrated his quality as both composer and performer Friday night on the third concert of Acadia University School of Music’s six-concert Shattering the Silence New Music Festival.
His Raga Cha for amplified flute quartet opened the program in Denton Hall by Acadia Faculty and Friends with captivating minimalism, featuring himself as well as flutists Chenoa Anderson, Jack Chen and Brenna Harriss. Charke led the ensemble with a series of chuffing bursts of air containing the merest hint of tone, played with exciting energy in a repetitive jazz-like rhythm. Chen echoed the chuffs while maintaining a machine-gun stream of short notes in step with Anderson and Harriss. The three flutes built a slowly unfolding harmonic spectrum over which Charke’s rhythmic thrusts danced and under which Anderson’s low-pitched alto flute painted a halo of resonance.

The admirable simplicity of the concept kept the audience riveted on catching the tiniest details.
On the second half, Charke returned to play Brian Ferneyhough’s Cassandra’s Dream Song for solo flute. Ferneyhough threw the kitchen sink at the performer with tremolos, multiphonics, tongue rams, key clicks, whistle tones, bent pitches and fourth octave notes, all arranged in a rapid fire series of gestures which also included singing and playing at the same time.

Charke described the technique as The New Complexity, in introducing this remarkable work. His mastery of everything Ferneyhough demands of the player was mind-boggling.

In other first half works, Acadia guitarist Eugene Cormier played a fascinating, if a little long-winded, transcribed improvisation by Carlo Domeniconi, called Koyunbaba Suite. The guitar is tuned down a minor third from its usual E minor tuning to the key of C-sharp minor. The effect was surprisingly bright for such a low tuning.
Clarinetist/professor Stan Fisher played the Abime des oiseaux movement from Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, written for violin, clarinet, cello and piano while Messiaen was incarcerated in a German prison camp in the Second World War. He was followed by Symphony Nova Scotia second clarinetist Eileen Walsh in a lively interpretation of Muczynski Time Pieces, accompanied by pianist Jennifer King.

Chenoa Anderson returned with pianist John Hansen and guest percussionist Russell Hartenberger on vibraphone to play John Luther Adams’s haunting exploration of the resonances hidden in slowly evolving work based on the harmonic "ladder" of natural overtones.

Conductor Mark Hopkins led the Acadia Wind Ensemble in Morton Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium and Adams’s Lollapalooza to end the concert. The Wind Ensemble is a student/community performing group not yet ready for prime time perhaps, but accomplished enough to give more than just an idea of what these works were about. Many moments of fine ensemble playing gave promise of potential development to a high level.

The Acadia Shattering The Silence New Music Festival, co-directed by Charke and Hopkins and in its third year, ends today. It is a valuable addition to the Nova Scotia music scene."

New Music in the Air

Derek Charke — 2009-01-29T08:52:22-04:00

Shattering the Silence festival will feature 20 world premieres by Atlantic composers By STEPHEN PEDERSEN Arts Reporter Thu. Jan 29, 2009
"FLUTIST-COMPOSER Derek Charke and conductor Mark Hopkins are Shattering the Silence at Acadia University in Wolfville this week.

Tonight to Sunday the two music professors will present 20 world premieres by Atlantic composers, performed by Acadia School of Music students, faculty, and guests.

"Derek and I started this three years ago," Hopkins said over the phone from his studio at Acadia last week. "In previous years the festival has been more of a showcase or tapestry of different styles and ideas.

"The whole idea is we can recognize strengths within the School of Music itself. The percussion studio at Acadia is truly astonishing thanks to Mark Adam. We asked him about bringing in someone to work intensely with the percussion studio while here, to teach and perform as well. He suggested the ideal candidate: percussionist Russell Hartenberger."

Hartenberger is a founding member of Nexus, Canada’s ground-breaking percussion ensemble since 1971. He will do workshops and coach student percussionists as well as perform Steve Reich’s Marimba Phase (with Mark Adam) and other works
"Mark has a great percussion studio here," said Charke, who teaches flute and composition at Acadia. "Besides Hartenberger, we’ve invited Dalhousie University Music Department’s percussion teacher D’Arcy Gray. He’ll be doing Brian Fernyhough’s Bone Alphabet. It’s an incredibly difficult piece. It turned out D’Arcy was looking for an opportunity to play it."

Charke, who will be playing a Ferneyhough flute piece at the festival, describes Ferneyhough as a "new complexity" composer.

"He’s pushing the boundaries of what is possible and what is not possible," Charke said.
"Most of his pieces have this kind of hyper intensity. Performers have to attempt to get in all these gestures and all these notes and articulations and rhythmic structures such as playing 15 notes in the time of 16 . . . the page is just black."

Of the six concerts the main one is the big gala on Saturday night featuring the Ferneyhough percussion piece as well as Charke’s own Disturbances of Circadian Rhythm for flute and computer, written for and played by Sackville flutist Chenoa Anderson.

His work and Halifax composer Bob Bauer’s Nuovo Gamelan, played by Wolfville Tidal Pool Collective Ensemble, conducted by Hopkins, are world premieres.
"Derek and I both landed here intrigued with Acadia and the Annapolis Valley three years ago," Hopkins said. "We felt the place was underachieving, that there was good work to be done. The teaching was great, but an active new music community was missing.

"I have this voracious appetite for music. I drive a 20-year-old car, but I have more scores and recordings than you can think of. Derek is the same. In our second year, we decided to form a musical ensemble that does regular performances of music that we want to hear."

Meanwhile, Hopkins and Charke are bringing a group of Halifax performers to Wolfville for the Saturday night concert, including Gray, pianist Simon Docking, guitarist Bob Bauer, violinist Isabelle Fournier and Symphony Nova Scotia musicians clarinetist Eileen Walsh, cellist Norman Adams and doublebassist Max Kasper.
School of Music faculty performers include guitarist Eugene Cormier, clarinetist Stan Fisher, and pianists John Hansen and Jennifer King as well as Charke and Hopkins.

The festival ends Sunday afternoon in the Al Whittle Theatre with student composers who have written music for a segment of the film, Man With A Movie Camera, by Dziga Vertov (1896-1954).

They include James Fogarty (Université de Moncton), Robert Drisdelle (Dalhousie University), Denis Callaghan (Memorial University), Lukus Uhlman (Mount Allision University) and Carmen Braden (Acadia University).
The concert is part of the Canadian Music Centre (Atlantic Region) New Music in New Spaces project.
"Five Maritime universities have composition majors," Hopkins said. "We would like them to be a part of what’s going on too."

Tickets for most concerts are $15 at the door. Acadia students get in for free with a university I.D.
For complete details of programs and performers see http://music.acadiau.ca/shatteringthesilence"

Ecology

Derek Charke — 2008-11-23T08:52:39-04:00

I've added a new page to my site on Sound Art & Ecology . . . please be sure to visit!

Cercle du Nord Review

Derek Charke — 2008-11-01T08:53:05-03:00

A short review by Joe Banno of the Washington Post came out today for a Kronos Quartet concert at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Centre in Maryland on October 30th, 2008.

"... Elsewhere on the program, Canadian composer Derek Charke's "Cercle du Nord III" wove Inuit throat-singing and barking sled dogs into a taped rhythm track that chugged along under toe-tapping minimalist writing for the quartet ...

... These composers could hardly have hoped for more dedicated or virtuosic advocacy than what the Kronos gave them."

Time's Passing Breath Review

Derek Charke — 2008-10-23T08:53:19-03:00

A review by Colin Marshal of the Santa Barbara Independent came out today for a Katona Twins concert at the Santa Barbara, Museum of Art on October 14, 2008.

"... Spanning over three centuries and no fewer than five countries, the evening’s eclectic program included an astonishingly fast-fingered arrangement of the overture to Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito; an entertaining (if less than perfectly polished) rendition of the universally recognizable overture to Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Villa-Lobos’s haunting, and at times slightly goofy, Alma Brasileira; and the contemporary Canadian composer Derek Charke’s Time’s Passing Breath, a piece layering the dual guitars atop a prerecorded bed of crystalline bells, their rings electronically stretched and skewed nearly beyond recognition. If such a diverse, enticing sample is representative of their repertoire, it would be surprising indeed if any audience member left without wanting to hear what other musical surprises the brothers Katona have up their black sleeves." Time's Passing Breath

World Premiere in Kansas City

Derek Charke — 2008-08-07T08:53:44-03:00

WARNING! Gustnadoes Ahead will have it's world premiere at the 2008 National Flute Association Convention. It was commissioned for the High-school soloist competition.

Radio Broadcast

Derek Charke — 2008-07-03T08:54:15-03:00

Between 4:05pm and 5:50pm (Atlantic Time) there will be a radio broadcast of the Katona Twins in concert. Included in this program is the world premiere of Time's Passing Breath www.dradio.de (note you have to choose the stream for "Deutschlandfunk".)

Structure – What do the Birds Think?

Derek Charke — 2008-07-01T08:54:30-03:00

A review of "What do the Birds Think?" by Bruce Hodges. Read the full blog here.

"Structure is important to Derek Charke, who takes a poem by Al Purdy and dissects it letter by letter, while analyzing it numerically. Although his description of What Do the Birds Think? is almost impossibly complex, the results would be engaging no matter how they were created. Charke asks the players for high frequencies, percussion accents, a shrieking second section and a more agitated final one, before the piece ends with the cello in a long bout of static, as if a radio station had gone off the air."

Tundra Songs

Derek Charke — 2008-06-12T08:54:59-03:00

Canadian Premiere of Tundra Songs with Tanya Tagaq and Kronos Quartet. Isabel Bader Theatre, Toronto, ON at the Luminato Festival. June 12 and 13, 2008

Xanthos – New York Times Review

Derek Charke — 2008-05-26T08:55:29-03:00

A great review of the Xanthos Ensemble concert came out today in the New York Times by Steve Smith. Included is a short review of "What do the Birds Think?"

"Among four newer pieces, only Derek Charke’s “What Do the Birds Think?” could be said to extend the modernist tradition. The work’s animated outer movements call for a catalog of unorthodox expressive techniques. In between, an onstage trio (alto flute with muted violin and cello) is juxtaposed with an offstage duo (bass clarinet and percussion). While physical separation was impossible here, the layered sounds still proved fascinating."

Xanthos in NY

Derek Charke — 2008-05-24T08:56:12-03:00

If you happen to be in New York City on the 24th be sure to check out the following concert:
Xanthos Ensemble http://www.xanthosensemble.com Saturday, May 24th, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. Roulette http://www.roulette.org/ 20 Greene Street New York City, New York Admission is $15 (students and seniors $10)

"Xanthos Ensemble, currently Ensemble in Residence at The Boston Conservatory, will perform a program to include Charles Wuorinen’s New York Notes, Pierre Boulez’s Dérive, and Mario Davidovsky’s Flashbacks, and world premiere of Three Nature Songs by Ohio native Daniel Knaggs, student of Bright Sheng. Also included on the program will be works by Brooklyn resident Donald Hagar and Canadian composer and flutist Derek Charke."

Xanthos

Derek Charke — 2008-05-24T08:55:52-03:00

Dionysiacs

Derek Charke — 2008-05-07T08:56:30-03:00

Just returned from a successful performance and recording of David Felder's Dionysiacs in Cleveland, Ohio. Performers included Tino Scirri, Derek Charke and Alice Teyssier, Kathleen Chastain, Cheryl Gobbetti-Hoffman and Anne Thompson

Performing flute

Tundra Songs Review - L.A. Times

Derek Charke — 2008-05-05T08:57:25-03:00

A review of Tundra Songs by Mark Swed of the L.A. Times (quoted here in part) Read the entire review

"Tagaq appeared at the end of the evening as well for a new work by Derek Charke commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which presented the concert. Before that, the Kronos played short, engaging pieces by the Norwegian group Xploding Plastix, the popular Icelandic band Sigur Rós and the Finnish accordion and sampling duo Kimmo Pohjonen and Samuli Kosminen, along with an arrangement of a Swedish folk song as haunting as a Bergman film. Kronos also revived Kaija Saariaho’s "Nymphéa," a sensual sonic landscape of bows scraping on amplified strings that the Finnish composer wrote for it 21 years ago.

Charke, a Canadian composer, provided a long, compelling program note about traveling to Nunavut's capital, Iqaluit, to prepare for his collaboration with Tagaq and recording nature sounds, which accompany the Kronos and the singer in "Tundra Songs." But one remarkable aspect of this extraordinary half-hour piece in five connected sections is that you can't tell what is what. This is music that goes far beyond the composer's vivid descriptions of howling dogs, whizzing snowmobiles, buzzing mosquitoes, honking geese and hoof-clicking caribou.
The score also goes beyond the notes on the page. Tagaq, who sat (though hardly still) behind the quartet, had music in front of her. But her eyes were elsewhere. She seemed to take her cues from the music absorbed in her body. She became one with the strings and the prerecorded soundscape.

Charke's style is not far out. He has a command of likable post-Minimalist techniques. He creates grooves. He matches string textures, through devices such as circular bowing, with atmospheric sounds. But he understands Tagaq's ability to inject a life force into sound, and the piece took off. In the central movement, Tagaq recited an Inuit myth, "Sedna's Song," about a drowned goddess whose severed fingers became the creatures of the sea. It was mesmerizing.

"Tundra Songs" is the 600-and-somethingth piece written for Kronos over more than three decades -- and another keeper. The playing all evening was passionate and superb. If ever an ensemble has found a fountain of youth, it is this one."

Tundra Songs Premiere

Derek Charke — 2008-05-03T08:57:49-03:00

World Premiere at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

The premiere of Tundra Songs with Kronos Quartet and Tanya Tagaq was a resounding success!

Walt Disney Hall

Looking forward to a busy summer. . .

Derek Charke — 2008-04-14T08:58:11-03:00

Pauline and I are traveling to San Francisco and Los Angeles at the end of April for the world premiere of Tundra Songs at the Disney Hall with the Kronos Quartet and Tanya Tagaq on May 3.Then it's off to Cleveland to play flute for a concert and recording of David Felder's "Dionysiacs" with the Slee Sinfonietta. At the end of May Xanthos Ensemble from Boston is performing What do the Birds Think? in New York City.We head to Toronto for the Luminato Festival in June where Kronos is playing Tundra Songs again for two evenings, June 12 and 13. Straight after this we hop on another flight to Winnipeg to visit Pauline's family. In July it's back to Wolfville to participate in the Acadia Wind Conducting Symposium. Then more travel in August, to Kansas City to hear WARNING, Gustnadoes Ahead at the 2008 National Flute convention. Updates and photos will be posted as soon as I find time

Shattering the Silence 2008

Derek Charke — 2008-01-24T08:58:33-04:00

January 24 – 27, 2008

Shattering the Silence 2008 Mark Hopkins and Derek Charke, Festival Directors Rodney Sharman, Guest Composer www.shatteringthesilence.ca

Words, music, break the silence

Derek Charke — 2007-11-13T08:59:45-04:00

by Wendy Elliott The Advertiser

"Composer Derek Charke’s new work will have its world premiere in Wolfville this weekend.

“Silenced” is for string quartet and clarinet, commissioned by Charke’s Acadia University music colleague, Stan Fisher. Funding was provided by Nova Scotia department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage.
The premiere will take place Saturday, Nov. 17 at Wolfville’s Festival Theatre.

The genesis of this special evening came from Fisher, who plays the clarinet. “He wanted to deal with the issue of violence against women, and essentially asked me for a work of an elegiac nature. I thought about the project quite a bit before responding.” Charke wasn't too sure about tackling the subject matter: “for one thing, I'm not a woman, and I didn't think that I had any direct experience with violence against women. But after a while I came around and realized that this is a subject that affects us all: our wives, sisters, daughters, or friends, other relatives.” Watching the horrific events unfold in the Robert Pickton trial inspired Charke’s composition.

“I grew up in the lower mainland of B.C. This was such a terrible tragedy, made worse because of the lack of interest from the police for such a long time. All of those missing women - and no one really paid any attention.”
He says he decided to call the work “Silenced” so it would be more encompassing. He and Fisher set the premiere to coincide with the École Polytechnique Massacre in Quebec, so the title became more apropos. Students from Acadia have been recruited to extinguish 14 candles, representing the 14 women killed in Montreal.

Charke composed the work over a four-month stretch, then talked with Donna Smyth about her poem. Smyth, who used to teach creative writing at Acadia, is contributing a newly commissioned poem, “Spirit-wind,” her response to violence directed at women. The Halifax-based Blue Engine String Quartet, along with Fisher, will perform a Brahms clarinet quartet, along with Charke’s new work."

World premiere of "Silenced"

Derek Charke — 2007-11-07T08:59:09-04:00

Stan Fisher, Clarinet / Blue Engine String Quartet / Donna E. Smyth, Poet / Featuring "Silenced" a new work by Derek Charke / Saturday, November 17, 2007 at 7:30pm / Festival Theatre, Wolfville, Nova Scotia More

Colombia Guitar Festival

Derek Charke — 2007-10-22T09:00:03-03:00

October 22 - November 1 , 2007

The Katona Twins perform Time's Passing Breath at the Colombia Guitar Festival

Nunavut in Los Angeles...

Derek Charke — 2007-10-09T09:00:18-03:00

"Derek Charke has a way with sound and music. Charke is an assistant professor at Acadia University. And these days he is working on a new composition commissioned by the world-renowned string quartet The Kronos Quartet. The working title of the piece is called "Tundra Songs". It will feature Inuit throat-singer Tanya Tagaq. And will also include many natural sounds recorded by Charke in Nunavut. Arts producer Phlis McGregor dropped by Derek Charke's studio outside of Wolfville to put together this piece. [runs: 5:17] Listen here (real audio)" by Phlis McGregor In The Arts - Maritimes

CHARKE & MARK

Derek Charke — 2007-09-04T09:00:51-03:00

The free improv duo returns on the last Tuesday of each month at On The Verge Restaurant and Music in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Mark Adam on percussion and Derek Charke on Flutes with special guests from time to time.

Nunavut’s first symphony

Derek Charke — 2007-08-29T09:01:09-03:00

Classical composition includes ravens, throatsinging CHRIS WINDEYER
(Quoted here in part)

"Vivaldi had his four seasons. Derek Charke has six to work with.

Charke was in Iqaluit this past March collecting sounds for a piece he's composing for the Kronos Quartet, a California-based string quartet who are as close as it comes to stars in the world of classical music these days.
The composition is to be part of a program entitled "Nunavut," which the quartet will perform with Cambridge Bay throat singer Tanya Tagaq Gillis in Los Angeles next April.

The Kronos Quartet is "pretty much scouring the globe for anything and everything in terms of integrating world music into their repertoire," Charke said from his home in Kentville, Nova Scotia.

Charke was just sitting down to start work on the piece June 1 when a reporter called. Its working title, for now, is "The Seasons." Relaxed and affable, Charke's demeanour stands in contrast to the image of the tortured composer tearing his hair out over a score. He works at a drafting table, with a computer to one side and a piano to the other.
"I was actually combing through literature this morning and trying to figure out the whole idea about the seasons and the Inuit mythology about the seasons," he said. "It's very different, obviously, than the southern seasons."
Armed with an array of microphones and escorted by Iqaluit outfitter Matty McNair, Charke set out to find sounds that will serve as accompaniment for the Kronos Quartet's strings and Gillis' throat singing. Charke collected the sounds of sled dogs, wind, and skidoos and even stuck a microphone under the sea ice.

But even out on the sea ice, while taping McNair's dog team, Charke found he couldn't escape the creep of high technology.

"I get 20 minutes of great sounds and then I get about an hour of the airplane engines starting and taxiing, with a few raven sounds in between," Charke says, laughing.

"But then there's something that's typically northern: transportation in the north now. And the whole thing about this is not just keeping it historical because that's not what Tanya does with her music either."

The professor of composition at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia also collected the sounds of local storytellers and drum dancers which will all be melded together to create a backing track that will morph from sound to sound, drifting in and out of rhythm. When he's finished writing the score, Charke will send the completed soundscape and string parts to the other musicians who will overdub their tracks.

Gillis and the Kronos Quartet have performed together several times, including two shows last month in Paris and Koln, Germany. Charke has also written music for the quartet before: 2005's Cercle du Nord III involved similar experimentation with Arctic sounds, tape loops and stringed instruments and was broadcast on CBC Radio Two.
And while Charke says some might resist the integration of traditional forms like throat singing with contemporary sounds, he restates the rock musician's maxim of stealing from everybody.
"This is happening all over the world now," he says. "[Artists are] begging, borrowing and stealing from every culture in the world and mixing it. It's one of the ways forward for music as a whole."

Out with the old, in with the new

Derek Charke — 2007-08-02T09:02:54-03:00

Out with the old, in with the new (music) Thur Feb. 8, 2007 Shattering the Silence festival begins this Friday - compositions by students, professors and international musicians alike By Katie Fahey

"Between the innovative student composers and performers, the showcase concerts and the Cabaret evening at On the Verge, you can brace yourself for some very cool music this weekend. This weekend marks the debut of Acadia’s first annual New Music Festival aptly named, Shattering the Silence.

“We want to mix this up and give students and the community a chance to hear sounds they haven’t encountered before… hence the theme Shattering the Silence!” says enthusiastic co-founder and co-artistic director of the festival, Dr. Derek Charke. He, along with fellow music professor Dr. Mark Hopkins, conceived of the event. “There is so much beautiful music being written right now, today, by living composers that it’s a shame to not have a showcase festival that specifically addresses, promotes and fosters new music creation.”

Charke says a good percentage of the music being performed has been written in the past ten years. “What makes this festival special is the sheer number of world premieres.” He goes on to say “there will be so much variety that the audience is sure to walk away with some memorable experiences!”

The weekend kicks off Friday afternoon with a free preview concert at Denton Hall Auditorium. It continues with showcase concerts throughout the weekend and includes an evening at On the Verge. Excitingly, there are two specifically student focused concerts both at noon on Saturday and Sunday.

Student composer Justin Wah Kan will be debuting a piece involving two flutes and his own live electronic mix. “It’s great to be able to be a part [of the festival] and watch it grow,” he says, adding that “its part of being in composition to have your pieces performed at these type of events (and as many as we can get into).”

Fellow student composer Greg Harrison says his pie was one of five chosen from Dr. Charke’s composition class to be performed at the festival. “This isn’t your conventional music festival (i.e. selected Bach works on piano). There will be some wacky performances and works out there,” he says. “For instance, the piece I wrote is for marimba and a guitar loop pedal.”

On the programme are 10 world premieres by student composers including Andrew Anderson, Nick Bedell, Mitch Burke, Rebecca Crisp, Kevon Cronin, Edward Enman, Greg Harrison, Amanda Riley, Ryan Neilson and Justin Wah Kan. Student performers include Stephen Ambra, Alaina Boyd, Mitch Burke Greg George, Laura Gillis, Greg Harrison, Kathyrn Humphries, Megan Johnson, Emily Lang, Kristen Lenz, Chad Nelson, Erin O’Toole, Joel Rudolph, Kattie Titus, Roy Richardson and Casandra Widdifield."

Banff

Derek Charke — 2007-06-01T09:01:25-03:00

At the Banff Centre for the Arts for a Composer Residency.

On a hike at Lake Louise with other participants

Before a performance of Raga Cha

Practice studio in the woods

New CD

Derek Charke — 2007-04-10T09:01:58-03:00

New CD released by Composer Michelle Boudreau contains Derek Charke's "Cercle du Nord II" and a performance by Derek on flute of Michelle's work "La chasse caribous", part of her work "L'Intruse" from 2002.

Iqaluit

Derek Charke — 2007-03-19T09:02:15-03:00

In Iqaluit, Nunavut March 19 - 27 to record sounds for a new Kronos Quartet commission.

View from the window of the Bed and Breakfast

Getting ready to travel by dog sled

At a Polynia

Downtown Iqaluit

Race day!

New Music Culture-Hopping and Boundary-Free

Derek Charke — 2006-12-24T09:03:11-04:00

New Music Culture-Hopping and Boundary-Free By ALLAN KOZINN Published: December 24, 2006 (Quoted here in part)

"The Kronos Quartet, which has been arguing for omnivorous multiculturalism for years, offered its latest manifesto in its “Live Mix” series at Carnegie Hall and Zankel Hall in March and April. The three-hour closing concert was especially illuminating: after a section that included striking works by composers from Ethiopia (Getatchew Mekurya) and Canada (Derek Charke), as well as the quartet’s arrangements of short pieces by the Icelandic rock band Sigur Ros, the Kronos joined forces with the Indian singer Asha Bhosle for an extraordinary performance of film songs by Ms. Bhosle’s husband, Rahul Dev Burman."

SONG OF THE TIDES

Derek Charke — 2006-10-27T09:03:27-03:00

SONG OF THE TIDES performed at the 2006 NSMEA Conference on Friday Oct. 27, 2006 at Trinity United Church, Temperance St., New Glasgow.

Cercle du Nord III

Derek Charke — 2006-10-23T09:03:43-03:00

Posted by Matt Sedlar Kronos Quartet at GW's Lisner Auditorium, Washington D.C. (Quoted here in part)

"The quartet began the night with perhaps one of the strongest arrangements, Derek Charke's "Cercle du Nord III." Commissioned by Canadian public radio, the piece utilized sound recordings taken from a 2005 trip to Canada's Northwest Territories, where Charke attempted to record nature but discovered that the presence of mankind kept interfering -- whether through the sound of snowmobiles, trucks or even an Inuit power plant. The arrangement, which played out in three distinct sections, combined the sound recordings with Harrington, violinist John Sherba and violist Hank Dutt playfully trading off parts. The piece also showed off Larry Neff's excellent lighting design, which effectively followed the mood throughout."

SONG OF THE TIDES

Derek Charke — 2006-10-21T09:04:00-03:00

Dr. Mark Hopkins conducts the Acadia University Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble in the world premiere performance of SONG OF THE TIDES. Sat. October 21, 2006 8pm Harvey Denton Hall on the Campus of Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

New approach to wind band comes with “Song of the Tides” Acadia music profs debut composition By Kathryn Furtado

"Saturday, October 21 marked the first concert of the year for Acadia University’s Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble. Dr. Mark Hopkins, conductor of both groups, described the evening as a “concert of firsts”. Not only did the Acadia University Wind Ensemble, a group newly created this year, give their first-ever performance, but they also premiered a brand new piece of music, “Song of the Tides.” This piece was commissioned by Dr. Hopkins for the Acadia University Wind Ensemble, and composed by Acadia’s Dr. Derek Charke. The piece looks beyond simple performance and, with funding from the Canadian Music Centre and SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada), it serves as a teaching tool for junior high school bands across Nova Scotia and the other Atlantic provinces.

“Song of the Tides” looks to emulate the sounds of the shore of Nova Scotia, while keeping developing players within comfortable ranges and rhythms. Accompanied by a collection of pre-recorded sounds from around Nova Scotia, it encourages students to make less standard sounds with (and without) their instruments to achieve the proper effect. All these sounds serve a purpose, such as teaching students about intonation and tone, or making them more aware of their breathing. The piece hopes to expose junior high students to quality wind band music. It will allow them to explore both a different style of composition and a different type of performance than the more mainstream, mass-produced, developing wind band literature (which is described as “the musical equivalent of a fast food diet”).

The piece has two movements. The first, “Low Tide,” has the soundtrack playing while either select soloists, or all the players in the ensemble, improvise along with it. This freedom makes it an ideal movement for a workshop setting, and allows the students to explore the music as well as the various styles of playing. The ensembles will also be invited to write their own scores for the first movement, making it their own. The second movement, “High Tide”, is fully scored with the soundtrack only playing periodically throughout the movement. Like the first movement, the second seeks to introduce different techniques, but also includes more ‘traditional’ writing for wind bands, all within the technical abilities of a junior high ensemble.

The next performance of “Song of the Tides” by the Acadia University Wind Ensemble will take place on Friday, October 27, at 4:00pm at the Nova Scotia Music Educators’ Association (NSMEA) conference in New Glasgow. At this conference, junior high band teachers will hear the piece played, and, following this, (thanks to the funding from SOCAN and the Canadian Music Centre) will have the chance to sign a list to receive a score and set of parts, completely free of charge.

Drs. Hopkins and Charke will then set up clinics with the schools that are interested (an estimated minimum of twelve schools), during which they will attend rehearsals to workshop the techniques involved in the piece, allow for exploration with the improvisational section, and provide students with a rare opportunity: the chance to meet and quiz the composer of a piece they are playing. As Dr. Hopkins pointed out during the Saturday night concert, this is a rare occasion, because the bulk of the works students will perform were composed by people who are now dead.
Though Dr. Charke admits that it’s difficult to judge just how long it took to compose a piece of music, he estimates that “Song of the Tides” was completed in about four months. Drs. Charke and Hopkins toured the province in August to collect the sounds found on the CD, which include the waves rushing over the rocks, the calls of seagulls, and even the horn of the Princess of Acadia ferry, blown especially for the recording.

“Song of the Tides” is an outreach initiative born at Acadia University that is already well on its way to enriching both the developing wind band’s repertoire and the musical training of young players in Nova Scotia."

Mark Hopkins and Derek Charke recording sounds for Song of the Tides

Guggenheim

Derek Charke — 2006-05-19T09:05:43-03:00

Derek was at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City for a performance of WHAT DO THE BIRDS THINK? by the Group for Contemporary Music as part of the Works and Process at the Guggenheim, Mary Sharp Cronson, producer. The program was curated by Howard Stokar. For over forty years The Group for Contemporary Music has distinguished itself as a leading force in the discovery of new talent. The explosive new works of five young composers - Drew Baker, Yu-Hui Chang, Derek Charke, Jason Eckardt, and Paul Nauert will be performed.

Group for Contemporary Music in rehearsal at the Guggenheim

European Premiere of CERCLE DU NORD III

Derek Charke — 2006-05-18T09:04:21-03:00

Kronos Quartet presents the European Premiere of CERCLE DU NORD III at the Vienna Concert House, Vienna, Austria.

Raga Cha

Derek Charke — 2006-05-14T09:04:21-03:00

London Flutes present the World Premier of four new works for flute quartet at a series of events throughout May 2006.

Each programme include new works by British composers Hywel Davies, Edmund Jolliffe, Tara Guram, and Canadian composer Derek Charke. The evening concerts in Brighton and London each follow one of the quartet’s highly successful one-day flute workshops for flutists of all abilities and ages. Tickets are £10, £8 concessions and £5 for students attending the Brighton and London one-day flute workshops. All tickets include a glass of wine or soft drink, and are available online or on the door.
Doors open at 7pm.

Sunday 14th May 2006, 7.30pm, Brighton College, Brighton, UK Sunday 21st May 2006, 7.30pm, Lauderdale House, London N6, UK Saturday 27th May 2006, 7.30pm, Bristol Music Club, Bristol, UK

World Music Review – NY Times

Derek Charke — 2006-04-11T09:05:08-03:00

Kronos Quartet and Asha Bhosle Make Not-So-Strange Bedfellows By ALLAN KOZINN (Quoted here in Part)

"For the final concert of the Live Mix series, on Saturday evening, the Kronos Quartet moved upstairs to Carnegie Hall's main stage from the comparatively intimate confines of Zankel Hall. It had good reason to make the jump, with the singer Asha Bhosle as the soloist in the second half of the program. The concert drew a huge audience, with the quartet's usual following dwarfed by Indian-music fans who were well versed in Ms. Bhosle's repertory and responded to it as rapturously as a Western pop audience responds to a band playing its biggest hits...

The three-hour concert began with a few non-Indian works, including arrangements of short pieces by the Icelandic rock band Sigur Ros and an Ethiopian composer, Getatchew Mekurya, as well as "Cercle du Nord III," an inventive, rich-textured score for quartet and electronic sound by the Canadian composer Derek Charke."

Carnegie Hall

Derek Charke — 2006-04-08T09:05:29-03:00

Derek was in New York City to hear CERCLE DU NORD III receive it's NYC premiere by the Kronos Quartet on a sold out program with legendary Bollywood singer Asha Bhosle at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium.

In Carnegie Hall

New York

Cercle Du Nord III

Derek Charke — 2006-01-20T09:06:05-04:00

On tour with the Kronos Quartet! The Kronos Quartet recently commissioned and premiered two of Derek's works, 22 INUIT THROAT SONG GAMES FOR STRING QUARTET and CERCLE DU NORD III at the Chan Centre in Vancouver, Canada.

Group shot in Calgary

Kronos in performance

Yukon river

Panel discussion David Harrington, John Sherba, Hank Dutt, Jeffrey Zeigler, Derek Charke, Tanya Tagaq

Kronos Quartet dog sledding

Arriving in Whitehorse, Yukon