One Group Of A Number Of Beings (And Parts Of Such A Group) was composed for Aventa Ensemble at the request of Tonus Vivus –
Society for New Music.

Performance by Aventa Ensemble, Conducted by Bill Linwood

As the title implies, there is a group of distinct musical entities in this piece. Each of them was composed separately and completely
without reference to each other, apart from some crossover of primary materials. Each works differently, though a unifying factor in
all of them is a focus on vertical music, i.e. combining sounds in specific registers, pitches and timbres. The final composition was
created by an overall process of selection and assembly somewhat akin to film editing or, more appropriately, “tape music.”

One Group Of A Number Of Beings (And Parts Of Such A Group)

Feel Free To Step On This Work was composed for Chenoa Anderson between 2015 and 2017, with the generous assistance of The Alberta Foundation for the Arts. 

Recorded by Chenoa Anderson and Ian Crutchley, and several audience members, July 16, 2018, Spazio Performativo, Edmonton, AB, with the subtitle, A Nice Cup of Tea. 

The work consists of discrete pages of music, with the order chosen by the performer, with improvised accompaniments offered by a second performer. 

Audience members are permitted to step on this work by contributing sounds and/ or actions and may be invited to do so via specific
instructions or a simple suggestion to contribute as they see fit.

Feel Free To Step On This Work

Arco/Lyrically is based entirely on the manipulation of a few fragments of vocal and violin sound, and was created in 2008. 

It was released on Centrediscs CD, Cult Figures: Electroacoustic Music from Canada

Arco Lyrically

My sound piece, How To Lose Things: Lessons from Elizabeth Bishop, draws on many sonic elements, including recitations of One Art, music, ambient sounds, people talking about Elizabeth Bishop and an abstraction of her voice into what I have been calling “EB Choir.” The profound love people have for the poem is incredible and even a cursory search on YouTube reveals dozens of examples of One Art being read by people. The contexts vary as much as the interpretations, from professional recitations to school projects to drunken, late-night video blogs. The poem’s rich blend of emotions and images, and its ability to resonate with people is striking. These readings form the core of my sound piece. I have made no attempts to hide their flaws, nor do I intend to mock them when they are “imperfect.” I love the honesty of people reading a poem they love, no matter how it turns out. I hope that these readings, and the myriad sounds and textures surrounding them, complement the loving, visual reactions to One Art in the exhibition of photographs at Viewpoint Gallery.