Performed by Mark Takeshi McGregor, alto flute; Adrian Verdejo, guitar

The score for Night Rain (1978) is in a ‘mobile’ form, and, as such, the material for each of the instruments is arranged so that it can be performed in any order chosen by the performers. The work is written in three ‘movements’, and all of the material for each movement — between 8-10 short musical fragments for each performer — must be performed only once, without repeats, before both performers can proceed to the next movement. The work calls for an active interplay between the two performers, and each performance will be similar in many respects, but always differing in its details. 

The title for the work comes from an 18th century Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock print, Night Rain in the Yoshiwara, by Ippitsusai Buncho.
- Anthony Genge

Anthony Genge: Night Rain, Movement Two

Described as a “mind-blowing” musician of “huge physical energy” (Times Colonist), flutist Mark Takeshi McGregor is one of Canada’s leading interpreters of classical, contemporary, and experimental music. As a soloist, chamber musician, and interdisciplinary artist, Mark has performed extensively across five continents, including appearances at Vancouver New Music Society, Little Chamber Music Series That Could, Innovations en Concert (Montreal), GroundSwell (Winnipeg), Honolulu Festival, Internationale ADEvantgarde-Festival (Munich), the Melos-Ethos Festival (Bratislava), Núcleo Música Nova’s International Symposium of New Music (Curitiba, Brazil), and the 2017 ISCM World New Music Days (Vancouver). An outspoken advocate of new music, Mark is the principal flute of the Aventa Ensemble in Victoria, flutist of the Vancouver-based Tiresias Duo with pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa, and flutist of the McGregor-Verdejo Duo with guitarist Adrian Verdejo. McGregor has given many local and world premieres, and considers the commissioning of new works by contemporary composers to be a cornerstone of his work as a musician.