Featured Articles

Scott Thomson Among bike bells, olives, and music maps, Scott Thomson lounges in his Montreal apartment, seeming to enjoy a relaxed summer evening. Later, the sight of his trombone—on a stand nearby—will remind him he has a lot of work to do.   Scott is working on new piece to[...] Read more

In the Works Gloria Lipski Issue 111

Tate Carson's Before, I wandered as a diversion Tate Carson is a composer and upright bassist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Before, I wandered as a diversion (2016), for clarinet and live electronics, won second prize in Musicworks’ 2016 electronic music composition contest. Listen to the full piece, streaming on this page.[...] Read more

Sound Notes

HAVN Records: Fronting Art Music in ‘The Hammer’ First came the band, then the space, then the label.             The band is Haolin Munk, a jazz and hip-hop quartet formed in the early 2010s by drummer Aaron Hutchinson, tenor saxophonist Connor Bennett, alto saxophonist[...] Read more

Sound Notes Daniel Glassman Issue 133

Arkora’s Cloud Chamber Arkora, a Toronto-based electric, vocal, chamber consort, includes an eight-voice choir and an accompanying ensemble, with irresistible composer bait—the Lumiphone. A giant, three-octave, thirty-one-tone, equal-tempered (31-TET) glass marimba, the Lumiphone was designed and constructed[...] Read more

Visions of sound Tova Kardonne Issue 137

The Restless Sonic Architecture of William Kuo Adjudicating applications for an emerging-composer program is a sort of high-volume evaluation scenario that necessitates a concentrated mode of listening in order to provide fair and sufficiently individualized appraisals. But every so often, you come across a candidate whose music is so[...] Read more

Featured Article Nick Storring Issue 134

Olivia Block FULL-TEXT AVAILABLE IN PRINT EDITION ONLY     The sound of a clarinet passage emerges from a quiet section and is punctuated by a series of minute electronic tones. Accompanying the clarinet is a recording of the wind, but the sound is more than just that of a rush of wind; it is[...] Read more

Featured Article Chris Kennedy Issue 112

Musicworks' 2017 Summer Festival Preview Some of my most cherished experiences happened at summer music festivals—from scanning the schedules and planning the road trips to meeting new friends and, of course, identifying new musicians and artists. Here at Musicworks, we’re discovering more must-see festivals and events[...] Read more

Sound Notes

Cerro Bellavista Rooftop, Valparaíso When rain falls, it falls into the open-air stairwell unopposed, rattling metal banisters and pattering on tile. Human sounds congeal below you like wet papier-mâché: gentle voices ricocheting around the stucco walls; kids’ laughter bubbling out of an open window; loose[...] Read more

Sonic Geography Rick Maddocks

Margaret Noble and Caitlin Smith win top marks in Musicworks' 2013 Electronic Music Composition and "Sonic Geography" Writing contests TORONTO, February 4, 2014   Musicworks is thrilled to announce the winners of its 2013 contests. San Diego interdisciplinary artist Margaret Noble’s Safer Is Better has won first place in Musicworks’ 2013 Electronic Music Composition contest, and[...] Read more

Sound Notes

Resonate At first glance, Resonate appears to be a static, glowing, string structure in a dark, drone-filled room. But enter the space and pluck any of the glowing strings and dynamic pools of light suddenly appear, as sound objects form a rhythmic and spatial counterpart to the drones.[...] Read more

Visions of sound Peter Kiefer Issue 115

Nico Muhly “Rules in cooking are not iron-cast (and, as in any medium of expression, they are often bent or broken by practitioners of talent—but to break rules, one must have rules). They are merely the expression of a well of experience formed and enriched over the centuries, re-[...] Read more

Featured Article Julian Cowley Issue 111

Wadada Leo Smith and the Possibilities of Dreaming Think of this as a sketch. We’re not going to get into a complete report on the doings of Wadada Leo Smith here, his more than fifty recordings, his dozens of collaborations with luminaries from all over the globe, his long engagement with creative music. No, we’re merely[...] Read more

Featured Article Alexander Varty Issue 133