Composers have always taken each others’ ideas, and if they didn’t, there would be no composing. But now the big music companies would want us to believe that this is somehow wrong. It is, certainly, wrong to profit from the work of others without making any contribution oneself, but there are many uses of existing music that do make new, meaningful contributions. For this reason, I’ve taken an interest in quotation, collage, and related techniques. It’s a way to pay homage to the music that has influenced me while at the same time exposing the false idea that creativity comes out of nothingness. So here I am, cards on the table, showing everyone the music I was thinking of when working on this piece—by quoting that music.

Thus the title Elegy of Others. I wanted to write a piece that was reflective and sombre, and I wanted to make it a collage of the work of others. This was a particular challenge, because I have found collage better suited to fast, upbeat music than it is to the slow and sombre; quotations tend to lose their character when the tempo is slow, and phrases made up of long quotes do not cohere very well. For this reason, I had to approach this piece differently than in my previous work, transforming the material in more extreme ways for the sake of musical expression. In Elegy of Others, therefore, the quotations are not always immediately recognizable, though they do come to the surface periodically. Nevertheless, almost every note in Elegy of Others is quoted, with few exceptions. The pieces quoted are, in order of appearance:

1. The Four Seasons, “Drunkards Asleep”, Antonio Vivaldi, 1723
2. “The Girl from Ipanema”, Antonio Carlos Jobim, 1962
3. “Everybody Hurts”, R.E.M., 1992
4. “Dazed and Confused”, Led Zeppelin, 1968
5. Die schöne Müllerin, “Des Müllers Blumen”, Franz Schubert, 1823
]]> http://aarongervais.com/music/elegy-of-others/feed/ 0 http://aarongervais.com/news/premires-and-projects-2010/ http://aarongervais.com/news/premires-and-projects-2010/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:23:44 +0000 Aaron Gervais http://aarongervais.com/?p=884

The New Year is off to a busy start, with several premières coming up and a variety of new projects in the works.

• On 25 Jan 2010, Brazilian-Canadian pianist Luciane Car­dassi pre­mières my new piece, Hockey Story, on the Hap­pen­ing 2010 New Music Fes­ti­val in Calgary. This piece, on the theme of hockey, is for speak­ing pianist and electronics.
• Shortly thereafter, on 19 Feb 2010, I’m off to Holland for the première of a piece commissioned by ork­est de erepris. This piece, Elegy of Others, is a collage, with quotations ranging from Vivaldi to R.E.M. and Antonio Carlos Jobim.
• Finally, February wraps up with the orchestral reading (28 Feb 2010) of a section from the opera, Oksana G., that librettist Colleen Murphy and I have been developing for several years. We conducted a successful piano-vocal workshop with Tapestry New Opera at the Banff Centre in August and now the Canadian Opera Company is doing a reading, as part of the long-term development process for this piece.

These events mark the culmination of several projects from 2009. Several other projects, including some unconventional ensembles and the use of unusual media, are under development for 2010. Additional details will be posted when available.

]]> http://aarongervais.com/news/premires-and-projects-2010/feed/ 0 http://aarongervais.com/performances/elegy-of-others-premire/ http://aarongervais.com/performances/elegy-of-others-premire/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:29:16 +0000 Aaron Gervais http://aarongervais.com/?p=876 orkest de erepris premières a new piece of mine, Elegy of Others, commissioned by them after I won their Young Composers Competition in 2009. The piece is a collage and is reflective in nature, bringing together sources from Vivaldi to R.E.M.
]]> http://aarongervais.com/performances/elegy-of-others-premire/feed/ 0 http://aarongervais.com/cv/awards/ http://aarongervais.com/cv/awards/#comments Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:32:47 +0000 Aaron Gervais http://aarongervais.com/wp/?p=46
2011
• Canada Council for the Arts, Commissioning Grant (Other Minds Festival, San Francisco)
2010
• SOCAN Awards for Young Composers: Godfrey Ridout Award (Vocal Music), third prize
• Canada Council for the Arts, Commissioning Grant (Tapestry New Opera)
• ASCAP Foundation, Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, honorable mention
• Canada Council for the Arts, Travel Grant
2009
• Dilettante, International Digital Composer-in-Residence Competition (London, UK), finalist
• SOCAN Awards for Young Composers: Godfrey Ridout Award (Vocal Music), first prize
• Alberta Creative Development Initiative Grant
• Canada Council for the Arts Commissioning Grant (Ensemble Resonance, Calgary)
• orkest de ereprijs Young Composers Competition, first prize
• Canada Council for the Arts, Travel Grant
2008
• Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award
• SOCAN Awards for Young Composers: Serge Garant Award (Chamber Music), third prize
• Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Music Project Grant
2007
• Culture no.3 selected by the ISCM Canadian Section as part of their submission to the 2008 ISCM World Music Days in Lithuania
• Canada Council for the Arts, Commissioning Grant (Toca Loca, Toronto)
2006
• International Gaudeamus Music Week, Amsterdam, finalist
• Canada Council for the Arts, Grant to Professional Musicians
• SOCAN Awards for Young Composers: Pierre Mercure Award (Solo or Duet), first prize
• Canada Council for the Arts, Grant to Professional Musicians
• UC San Diego, Travel Grant
• SOCAN Foundation, Composer Residency Grant (Ensemble contemporain de Montréal)
2005
• Neil D. Graham and William Erving Fairclough Graduating Scholarships (University of Toronto)
2004
• SOCAN Awards for Young Composers:
Serge Garant Award (Chamber Music), second prize
Godfrey Ridout Award (Vocal Music), third prize
• George Coutts and Gwendolyn Grant Academic Scholarships (University of Toronto)
2003
• TrypTych Toronto Young Composers’ Competition, first prize
• Monica Ryckman and Ben McPeek Academic Scholarships (University of Toronto)
2000
• Jazz Band Most Valuable Member Award (Grant MacEwan College)
1999
• Louise McKinney Scholarship and entrance scholarship (Grant MacEwan College)
• Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Study Grant
1998
• Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Study Grant
]]> http://aarongervais.com/cv/awards/feed/ 0 http://aarongervais.com/cv/professional-experience/ http://aarongervais.com/cv/professional-experience/#comments Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:29:00 +0000 Aaron Gervais http://aarongervais.com/wp/?p=38
Apr 2011
Quatuor Bozzini Composers Kitchen
Montréal, Canada
Workshop and residency with the string quartet. Development and performance of new work.
Jan–Mar 2010
Judge
JUNO Awards, Classical Composition of the Year Category
Sep 2009–present
Consultant and Web Writer
San Francisco Contemporary Music Players
Developing and implementing strategies for audience building. Involving graduate students from San Francisco–area music departments in volunteer publicity activities for the ensemble. Writing interviews.
Jul 2009
Composition Fellow
Chamber Music Conference and Composers’ Forum of the East
Bennington VT, USA
By invitation. Duties include composing a work for amateur musicians and coaching the ensemble.
Feb 2009
orkest de ereprijs Young Composers Meeting
Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
Winner of the 2009 competition. Wrote a piece for the ensemble, participated in masterclasses.
2008
Artistic Director
Recycled 80s Live
Canada
Conceived and organized the creation of a concert-length, amplified piece for nightclubs based on quotations of ‘80s pop songs, including composition of the score, hiring of musicians, arranging for performances, and creating audio–video support materials.
Nov–Dec 2009
Banff Centre Fall Creative Music Residency
Banff, Canada
Sep–Dec 2007
Koninklijk Conservatorium Residency
the Hague, the Netherlands
Professional development residency and composition masterclasses with Martijn Padding.
Aug 2007
Domaine Forget Academy New Music Seminar
St-Irénée QC, Canada
Participated in masterclasses. Rehearsals and performance with the Nouvel ensemble moderne.
Feb 2007
Arditti Quartet Residency, UC San Diego Visiting Artist Program
San Diego, USA
Composed a piece for the Arditti Quartet. Rehearsals, recording, and masterclasses with the quartet.
2005–2007
Teaching Assistant
University of California, San Diego
Preparation: Three-month, intensive pedagogy seminar on teaching critical reading and writing to undergraduates.
Duties: Attending lectures and meetings with professors, creating lesson plans based on course reading, teaching classes, holding office hours, helping students develop research papers, and grading written assignments and exams.
Classes Taught: (Music) MUS1B Music Theory, MUS12 Intro to Opera, MUS4 Introduction to Western Music History, LTEN159 Popular Music of the ‘60s; (World Literature) MMW2 The Great Classical Traditions, MMW3 The Medieval Heritage.
2005–2006
Composer in Residence
Ensemble contemporain de Montréal Génération 2006
Montréal, Canada
Wrote a piece for the ensemble, gave a masterclass on my music at the École de musique Vincent d’Indy, rehearsals with student musicians, workshop and rehearsals with the ensemble, cross-Canada tour.
Aug 2005
Tapestry New Opera Works Composer–Librettist Laboratory
Toronto, Canada
Composition of four short opera scenes with four librettists, daily masterclasses and discussions, rehearsals with performers, performances.
Sep 2004–Jan 2005
University of Toronto Contemporary Opera Showcase Programme
Toronto, Canada
Only undergraduate student invited to participate. Wrote a chamber opera for U of T students, rehearsed with the singers and ensemble, held meetings with the music director.
Spring 2004
Artistic Director, Organizer
University of Toronto – Harvard Composition Exchange
Organized a student-run exchange between composition students at both universities. Curated a concert of student works.
Spring 2004
Artistic Director, Organizer
Curated a concert of new music for saxophone in Toronto. Responsible for finding performers, composing a new piece, making programming decisions for other repertoire, and publicizing the concert.
Summer 2002
Artistic Director, Organizer
Curated a concert of new music for student composers at the University of Alberta. Responsible for finding performers, composing a new piece, making programming decisions for other repertoire, and publicizing the concert.
1995–2007
Private music instructor in percussion, composition, music theory, and history.
]]> http://aarongervais.com/cv/professional-experience/feed/ 0 http://aarongervais.com/performances/orkest-de-ereprijs-at-gaudeamus-music-week/ http://aarongervais.com/performances/orkest-de-ereprijs-at-gaudeamus-music-week/#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:05:39 +0000 Aaron Gervais http://aarongervais.com/wp/?p=490 orkest de ereprijs performs my piece, Love in the Time of Connectivity, at the Gaudeamus Music Week. This is the same piece that won their Young Composers Competition in February 2009.
]]> http://aarongervais.com/performances/orkest-de-ereprijs-at-gaudeamus-music-week/feed/ 0 http://aarongervais.com/news/orkest-de-ereprijs-ycm-competition/ http://aarongervais.com/news/orkest-de-ereprijs-ycm-competition/#comments Sun, 15 Feb 2009 06:38:11 +0000 Aaron Gervais http://aarongervais.com/wp/?p=263 I’m pleased and excited to announce that I was declared the winner of this year’s annual Young Com­posers Meet­ing in the Nether­lands, hosted by renowned Dutch ensem­ble, orkest de ereprijs. The jurors chose between 16 pieces that the invited com­posers wrote for the ensem­ble. My piece, Love in the Time of Con­nec­tiv­ity, was a col­lage of approx­i­mately a dozen other pieces, with sources rang­ing from Claude Debussy to Pizzi­cato Five. I’ll be writ­ing another piece for the ensem­ble, to be per­formed in 2010.
]]> http://aarongervais.com/news/orkest-de-ereprijs-ycm-competition/feed/ 0 http://aarongervais.com/performances/orkest-de-ereprijs-young-composers-meeting/ http://aarongervais.com/performances/orkest-de-ereprijs-young-composers-meeting/#comments Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:36:07 +0000 Aaron Gervais http://aarongervais.com/wp/?p=504 Première of a new work written for the ensemble, a collage based on love songs.
]]> http://aarongervais.com/performances/orkest-de-ereprijs-young-composers-meeting/feed/ 0 http://aarongervais.com/news/new-performances-and-projects/ http://aarongervais.com/news/new-performances-and-projects/#comments Sun, 11 Jan 2009 06:41:24 +0000 Aaron Gervais http://aarongervais.com/wp/?p=269 This year is off to a busy start, with two pre­mières in Feb. One is a col­lage piece based on love songs, for the orkest de ereprijs in Hol­land. The other piece, for soprano and speak­ing pianist, is based on spam email texts and is being pre­mièred in Toronto’s SHIFT Fes­ti­val by pianist Greg Oh and soprano Xin Wang.

In addi­tion, I’m work­ing on a piece for Brazilian-Canadian pianist, Luciane Car­dassi, which will involve elec­tron­ics and her voice (in addi­tion to her piano play­ing). I’m also work­ing on a col­lab­o­ra­tive mul­ti­me­dia piece with Amsterdam-based flautist/composer Anne La Berge.

Lastly, after a suc­cess­ful pre­mière in Banff last month, I’m putting together mate­ri­als based on Recy­cled 80s Live, which will be acces­si­ble here once they’re ready. I’m cur­rently in the plan­ning phases for an even­tual tour of the piece; details TBA as they become avail­able.

]]> http://aarongervais.com/news/new-performances-and-projects/feed/ 0 http://aarongervais.com/music/love-in-the-time-of-connectivity/ http://aarongervais.com/music/love-in-the-time-of-connectivity/#comments Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:05:05 +0000 Aaron Gervais http://aarongervais.com/wp/?p=411 Love in the Time of Con­nec­tiv­ity is a col­lage. In fact, even the title is a col­lage: I took the title of Gabriel García Márquez’s novel, Love in the Time of Cholera, and com­bined it with a ref­er­ence to the cul­ture of Inter­net file shar­ing. I have been inter­ested in col­lage and the reap­pro­pri­a­tion of mate­r­ial for some time, because as the saying goes, good artists borrow but great artists steal. Col­lage is the most honest way to honour that prin­ci­ple, and I spent most of 2008 work­ing in this direction.

Col­lage, as well as related ideas such as sam­pling, remix, and mash-up, are among the few uni­fy­ing forces dri­ving artis­tic change today. Through video sites like YouTube and audio sites like ccMix­ter, these ideas have been respon­si­ble for renew­ing ama­teur art on a mass scale, for chal­leng­ing the stan­dards of cre­ativ­ity, for expand­ing musi­cal taste, and even for influ­enc­ing legal prece­dent.

For the first time in his­tory, we are drown­ing in art. There is too much music of the high­est artis­tic qual­ity for anyone to ever hope to expe­ri­ence. So how can artists con­tribute to cul­ture in a sit­u­a­tion like this? I think col­lage is an impor­tant part of the answer, and the proof is in the atti­tudes of those who grew up with the Inter­net. For many of them, art is not some­thing simply to be expe­ri­enced, it is a resource to be adapted, changed, built upon, and shared.

While com­pos­ing Love in the Time of Con­nec­tiv­ity, I gave myself some restric­tions in order to inspire cre­ativ­ity. For exam­ple, I decided to try to present all quo­ta­tions in as rec­og­niz­able a form as pos­si­ble. I did not allow myself to trans­pose frag­ments from their orig­i­nal tonal­i­ties, and I did not allow myself to com­pose my own new mate­r­ial to bridge together the quo­ta­tions—every note is bor­rowed. I also made tempo an inte­gral part of the musi­cal devel­op­ment, and I tried to make gram­mat­i­cal sense of all the text frag­ments I com­bined. Finally, every quote relates to the others in some way, either in terms of theme, title, text, artist, or (obvi­ously) musi­cal sounds.

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