October 2024

Emily Hiemstra, viola
Sonya Nanos, cello

Aesop's Fables, A Duo
i. the Donkey
ii. the Tortoise
iii. the Wolf

recording from August 26, 2024
performance at the London Public Library, Charis Collective's concert series for young listeners

Aesop's Fables; A Duo

Composer: Gerda Blok-Wilson
Publisher: Cypress Choral Music Inc.

visit https://cypresschoral.com to study the score while you listen

Little Child of Long Ago - by Gerda Blok-Wilson

Award-winning singer-songwriter and contemporary composer Carmen Braden shares her new single and video ‘An Invite’ out now on all digital streaming platforms. Listen here.

‘An Invite’ is the second single from the Yellowknife artist’s new album, A Hard Light, which is set for release on December 5th. The eclectic ambient pop track feels like an immersive experience, taking the listener on a journey from the first note. The song recalls a moment in Carmen's past, giving it a ghost-like quality, as if participating in a sense memory of someone else's life.

"This tune comes from a memory of a night when I was a young woman away from home," says Carmen. "There was an encounter that brought me sharply to a moment of choices—choices about what I was ready to do with my body and with whom. I remember coming out of that moment feeling so strong, knowing that I had made deep, clear choices for myself. The music emerged from a marimba loop and improvisation by my producer, Mark Adam, which reminded me of that time in my life. The call-and-response moments with Nova Scotia singer Cas Palmer weave into the long melodies of this story-song, featuring expansive rolling grooves and drum-and-bass vibes, all of which have grown into a darkness and intensity that truly match the memory."

A multi-talented artist recognized as an “acoustic ambassador of the Canadian Subarctic” (Musicworks Magazine), Carmen has played intimate theatres and main stage folk festivals, smoothly transitioning between genres of songwriting and composing. Her contemporary classical compositions are nationally recognized, with commissions and performances by world-class ensembles and performers, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, James Ehnes, and the Canadian Chamber Choir.

She has released three studio albums: Seed Songs (2021), Songs of the Invisible Summer Stars (2019), and Ravens (2017). Carmen has earned national recognition by winning the Western Canadian Music Award for Classical Composer of the Year in both 2020 and 2019. Additional nominations include Classical Album of the Year (2020) at the East Coast Music Awards, Classical Artist of the Year (2019 WCMAs), and Classical Composition of the Year (2017 WCMAs). Carmen's fourth studio album, A Hard Light, produced by her long-time collaborator Mark Adam (Music In the Woods, Nova Scotia), will be released on December 5th.

An Invite - MASTER 48kHz

For mixed octet, live electronics, and movement (fl, alto sax, bass cl, tbn, perc, pno, vln, vc). 

Commissioned by and composed for Alkali Collective with support from Arts Nova Scotia & Canada Council for the Arts.

Premiered on May 18, 2024 at The Music Room in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Performed by Alkali Collective, Julia Mermelstein (electronics). Live Recording.

Mixed Foliage

WILDERNESS (2021) for grade 4 concert band - composed and published by Cait Nishimura. Recorded by the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces with Matt McCrady, conductor.

For more info, please visit caitnishimura.com

Aesop's Fables; A Duo

Ewalk101