Virtual (socially distanced) recording of an SSAA choir piece created in collaboration with poet Jessica Hiemstra for the Amadeus Choir's 2020/2021 Choral Creation Lab. 

Jane Fingler - soprano I
Meredith Wanstall - soprano II
Alison Roy - alto I
Emily Lynch - alto II

Composed by Tristan Zaba. Written by Jessica Hiemstra and Tristan Zaba.

But all that's left... (virtual recording)

Virtual (socially distanced) recording of movement 2 of 2 of an SATB vocal quartet piece created in collaboration with poet Genova for the Amadeus Choir's 2020/2021 Choral Creation Lab. 

Jane Fingler - soprano
Allison Winn - alto
Will Reid - tenor
Kristian Lo - bass

Composed by Tristan Zaba. Written by Genova.

Respite, Mvt. II "Dreams Discrete" (virtual recording)

Virtual (socially distanced) recording of an SATB choir piece created in collaboration with poet Matthew Gwathmey for the Amadeus Choir's 2020/2021 Choral Creation Lab.

Meredith Wanstall - soprano, alto
Eric MacKeracher - tenor
Nicholas Wanstall - bass

Composed by Tristan Zaba. Written by Matthew Gwathmey.

Taxidermy 101: Deer Head Mount (virtual recording)

Written during the COVID19 pandemic, Dream Streams accounts for the inherent delay between virtually interactive ensemble members by integrating this variable into the musical structure of the piece. Both the composition of Dream Streams and this live online performance by the Zyra Trio were made possible through the support of the SOCAN Foundation and our supporters through GoFundMe. 

Gregory Lewis - violin
David Liam Roberts - cello
Paul Williamson - piano

Composed by Tristan Zaba.

Dream Streams

A piece for the multi-instrumental duo commissioned for the inaugural concert of Slow Rise Music. My text was assembled from fragments of various eyewitness accounts of major volcanic eruptions ranging from the destruction of the Roman city Pompeii by Vesuvius in 79 AD to the late 20th century. The premiere of this piece in November 2021 was the first live in-person performance of one of my works since the beginning of the Toronto COVID lockdowns in early 2020. This performance was recorded for the 2022 21C Guitar Conference in Muncie Indiana.

McKenzie Warriner - soprano, piano, electronics
Tristan Zaba - bass-baritone, electric guitar

Composed by Tristan Zaba.

Elsewhere There Was Daylight

Overdubbed recording of double SATB choir piece Song for Dzhokhar, created in 2020 for for Victor Daoyuan Cheng and the Mississauga Summer Chorale. Unfortunately all scheduled performances in 2020 were cancelled due to COVID. However, I created this recording in 2022 both to share and so I would finally get a chance to hear it. Text is from Amanda Palmer's Poem for Dzhokhar, written about the Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and the King James Bible. 

McKenzie Warriner - soprano I (concert choir), alto I (concert choir), soprano I (mass choir), soprano II (mass choir), alto I (mass choir), alto II (mass choir)
Tristan Zaba - soprano II (concert choir), alto II (concert choir), tenor I (concert choir), tenor II (concert choir), bass I (concert choir), bass II (concert choir), soprano I (mass choir), soprano II (mass choir), alto I (mass choir), alto II (mass choir), tenor I (mass choir), tenor II (mass choir), bass I (mass choir), bass II (mass choir)

Composed and mixed by Tristan Zaba. Written by Amanda Palmer and featuring text from the King James Bible.

Song For Dzhokhar (overdubbed recording)

This work was composed for my wedding to McKenzie Warriner on Feb. 3, 2024 at Crescent Fort Rouge United Church in Winnipeg, MB. It includes a Processional, a stand-alone movement called …having encountered, some music for the Signing of the Register, and a Recessional. All are for solo organ except movement II. The overall theme of this piece does go somewhat deeper than just being “music for a wedding.” I sought to explore on a conceptual level the exciting unknowability of love… what’s clear, what’s obscured, and what it all means. The second movement ties into this by setting a translated poem from the ancient Greek poet Sappho of Lesbos. Like most of her work, this poem exists only in fragments, most likely due to censorship efforts which occurred after her death. However, in reading the poem, there remains a blinding beauty and profundity to what still exists, and to the mystery of the empty spaces that remain lost to time.

Nikita Labdon - Soprano
Katy Harmer - Alto
Nolan Kehler - Tenor
Nick Niebuhr - Bass
Dylan Summers - Pipe Organ

Composed by Tristan Zaba. Text by Sappho of Lesbos.

Wedding Suite - I. Processional

Wedding Suite - II. ...having encountered

Wedding Suite - III. Signing of the Register

Wedding Suite - IV. Recessional

Encroachment for SATB choir and electronics. Written for the MacMillan Singers when in residence with the ensemble from 2018 to 2019. The piece is set to my own found poetry, using text fragments from Anna Kavan's novels Ice and Who Are You?. Winner of a Godfrey Ridout prize in the SOCAN Foundation's 2019 emerging composer awards. Recorded live on March 24, 2019 at MacMillan Hall, Toronto.

David Fallis - conductor
Rachel Allen - soprano (solo)
Kristian Lo - bass-baritone (solo)

Composed and written by Tristan Zaba.

Encroachment

From Silence for orchestra. Recorded by the Orchestre de la Francophonie as part of their summer orchestral composition workshop on August 1, 2019. Many thanks to everyone involved!

Hoviv Hayrabedian - conductor

Composed and mixed by Tristan Zaba.

From Silence

My only piece for solo Marimba. Composed in late 2018 and premiered on Oct 31, 2019. Many thanks to Cameron Denby (the marimbist for whom this was written), his fantastic Winnipeg new music concert series the Fresh Blood Project, the Desautels Faculty of Music and Groundswell for their support of Fresh Blood, and everyone else who was involved with this inspiring event. 

Cam Denby - marimba

Composed by Tristan Zaba.

Camden

Inspired by communities across Canada as well as literature and film, Toronto-based composer and multi-disciplinary artist Tristan Zaba seeks to break musical boundaries through the radical exploration of artistic sincerity. His work has been featured at festivals including Source Song Festival, the Winnipeg New Music Festival, and Orford Musique, and has been noted for allowing audiences and musicians alike to "journey through the depths of the human mind" (Community News Commons). Recent projects include the founding of new vocal music series Slow Rise Music alongside soprano McKenzie Warriner and collaboration with ensembles ranging from the Toronto Amadeus Choir to Vienna’s Trio Immersio. He has been the recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and SOCAN Foundation; held residencies with multiple ensembles including the University of Toronto Guitar Orchestra; and won numerous honours including the SOCAN Foundation’s Choral Award for Young Composers. Zaba holds a University of Toronto Master’s degree in music composition, and a Bachelor’s in the same subject with a vocal minor from the Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba. As of 2021 Tristan Zaba is an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre and member of the Canadian League of Composers.

Tristan Zaba

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