This is my choral piece "Süßer Friede". It was written in January 2013 and was awarded an honourable mention in the 2013 UofT Student Composers' Choral Competition. It was performed by the MacMillan Singers on February 2, 2014 as part of their "Snowforms" concert during the 2014 UofT New Music Festival. 

Text from Goethe's Wandrers Nachlied:
Der du von Himmel bist,
Alles Leid und Schmerzen stillst,
Den, der doppelt elend ist,
Doppelt mit Erquickung füllest,
Ach, ich bin des Treibens müde!
Was so all der Schmerz und Lust?
Süßer Friede,
Komm, ach komm in meine Brust!

English translation: 
Thou which art from heaven,
Thou sooth all grief and pain,
Him who is doubly wretched,
Thou doubly restorest,
Oh, I am weary of this unrest!
Why all this pain and joy?
Sweet peace,
Come, oh come into my heart! 

I want to thank the MacMillan Singers, Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt and Frances Farrell for putting the time and effort in making this performance happen. 

Süßer Friede

Here is the most recent performance of my piccolo and marimba piece "Strange soft gleam...". This was recorded during the Newfound Music Festival XI in St. John's, NL in January 2014. Performed by Gillian Sheppard and Evan Harte. 

Program notes:

This piece depicts the northern lights, or the Aurora Borealis, which is a light display usually found in the skies in high latitude regions around the world. It is caused by a collision of charged particles (such as solar wind), which are then guided by the Earth's magnetic field into the atmosphere. The name Aurora Borealis originates from the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas. There are perhaps many different interpretations of this phemonenon from various cultures, each with their own meanings or beliefs: for example, the Cree call it the "Dance of the Spirits". Typically the colouration of the northern lights is green, but can have hints of other colours such as red or purple.
Personally, I have observed the northern lights numerous times throughout my life. A local tradition from the region I grew up in would be to whistle or sing at the lights to coax them to dance or move in the sky. The lights were almost always green, which made seeing the other colours a very rare sight.
For this composition, I wanted to influence as much of the beliefs of the northern lights as possible, both historical and personal. I aimed to create a 'dawning' atmosphere by starting with a little material and gradually blooming into something more full and bright. I also wished to depict a windiness in the music, using long sustained notes as well as quick flourishes. I also wanted to incorporate some of the folk traditions with the lights, such as the dancing and whistling elements.
Another element in my inspiration for this piece was referencing a poem by Dinah Craik called "An Aurora Borealis". In this poem, Craik creates a wonderful mental picture of the northern lights and I chose four lines from the poems beginning which I felt would serve as a great form for the piece:

Strange soft gleam...
O ghostly dawn...
That never brightens onto day...
Let us look out beyond the grey.

I thought that these words evoked an excellent reference to the northern lights and that many musical elements could be derived from them. There are sections in the piece which effectively represent each line and are presented in a logical and audible order. There is, however, room for interpretation for where exactly each section may begin or end. One person may hear one section ending and another starting and someone else may think otherwise. This, hopefully, effectively establishes the fact that each person interprets the sight of the northern lights in their own unique way.
The piece's 'tonality' attempts to imitate the northern lights as well. Since, in my experience, the lights remain a constant colour (green) the 'key center' roughly remains the same. Sudden surprises and dramatic changes to this key center aim to portray those rare sparkles of different colours.

Strange soft gleam...

A lounge remix of Tick Talk, premiered at Wilfrid Laurier University! Enjoy! Electronics- WTF, Live audio mix- Erik Kwan, Recording Engineer- Allan Laidman IATSE 357

Tick Talk (Live Lounge Mix)

Wisdom for Wanderers was written by Katerina Gimon for Thrive Games to be included in Dragon of Legends. 

This piece was melodically inspired by ancient Scandanavian music, and the text comes from an ancient poem called Hávamál, which can be read here: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/havamal.html

We are planning to perform this piece will a full choir and will share that once it's done, but for now - here is a sketch of what it should sound like. Enjoy! 

Wisdom For Wanderers [WIP]

Blue Water

A piece for Solo Bb Trumpet and Electronics

Using a mixture of Max 7 and Pro tools 11

Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.

Take A Walk

161104_CNMMCSConcert1_ConcertHall

Eva Variations (World Premiere- UI Symphony Orchestra

Five protest songs written in memory of labor rights activist and singer songwriter Joe Hill.

Songs for Joe Hill

Created as a part of the production "What Was Needed Most" by Robert Chafe and performed by Duo Concertante and Amy Collier-Holmes. This work was a part of the Tuckamore Festival and was toured across the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

My contribution to the work, which is placed between the 2nd and 3rd stories, is called "In Conversation". I used parts from Chafe's second story as a means for creating the musical material. There are short statements that are told by a lot of different people. These statements, over time, tell an overall narrative. I created rhythms from these statements and attached a melody/musical material to them. Most of the solo lines and identifiable melodies are derived from these statements. The music is perhaps more emotional than I originally intended, but the nature of the stories brought out these feelings through the music. 

It was an absolute joy to work with Robert, Nancy, Tim, and Amy (and the entire Tuckamore team involved), and I'm delighted to share this incredible recording from their St. John's production from MUN's D.F.Cook Recital Hall.

Aiden Hartery's Album

In Conversation

The Duck (2016/Rev. 2017)

Music by Nathan Hudson -- Text by Ben Loory

flute, Hannah Porter
oboe, Regina Cohn
clarinet, Kai Hariyama
bassoon, Garret Brown
horn, Wil Dannenberg
violins, Kate Dreyfuss, Jennifer Wei
viola, David Shann
cello, Stephen Moran
bass, Sean Cortese
soprano, Alina Tamborini
baritone, David Davani
narrator, Joseph Sferra
audio engineer, Justin Waller

The Duck (2016)

I'm a composer from Markham/Unionville, Ontario, Canada. Based in Toronto. I hold an Masters degree in music composition from Western University and an undergraduate degree in Music Composition from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Take A Walk

William Nicolaou

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