Thursday, March 26 · 6:00 p.m.
Free, Rolston Recital Hall
The Banff Centre
Information: 1-800-413-8368 or 403-762-6301
On Thursday, March 26, audiences in Banff will hear the premiere performances of five original works by the five finalists for Evolution: The New CBC / Radio-Canada National Composition Prize. On location at The Banff Centre since early March, finalists David Adamcyk, Geof Holbrook, Vincent Ho, Andrew Staniland, and Gordon Williamson were given the theme – Darwin and Evolution – and a key instrument to incorporate into their original compositions. Each of the five new works will be performed by the Ensemble contemporain de Montreal in The Banff Centre’s Rolston Recital Hall, and broadcast live on CBC Radio 2, Espace Musique, and on the web. Guest of honour at the premiere is celebrated Dutch composer Louis Andreissen.
The finalists were selected by the first jury, with Banff Centre director of music Barry Shiffman as non-voting chair – Gryphon Trio cellist Roman Borys, Patrick Carrabré, composer and weekend host of CBC Radio 2’s The Signal, composers Nicole Lizée and Serge Provost, and conductor, trombonist, and composer Alain Trudel. Since arriving in Banff, their work has been tracked for an online audience, giving people a unique audio-visual behind-the-scenes glimpse of the creative process.
The final compositions, each one incorporating a different required instrument (horn, trombone, double bass, piano, and percussion) will be juried by composer and pianist Glenn Buhr, composers Denis Gougeon, Jeffrey Ryan, and Ana Sokolovic, and composer and musician Christian Thomas, with Barry Shiffman as non-voting chair. The winning composer will receive the $20,000 National Composition Grand Prize, awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts and CBC/Radio Canada. A $5,000 people’s choice award will be presented by Jeunesses Musicales of Canada Foundation, and an additional $5,000 commission will be awarded to one of the finalists by the Orchestre de la francophonie canadienne.
The March 26 Banff Centre concert will be broadcast live across Canada on CBC Radio 2 and Espace musique at 6 p.m. MT (5 p.m. PT, 7 p.m. CT, 8 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. AT, and 9:30 p.m. NT). The concert will also stream live in audio and video at www.cbc.ca/evolution
Follow the competition at:
www.cbc.ca/evolution
