Aaron Gervais, composer » recycled 80s live

Professional Experience

Aaron Gervais — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:29:00 +0000

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.

Recycled80sLive.com goes live

Aaron Gervais — Sat, 23 May 2009 04:37:04 +0000

Regular readers will recall the ‘80s collage piece I was working on in 2008. I’ve since put together a promotional website for the project, and have started planning a West Coast tour of North America, tentatively slotted for late 2010. More information as it becomes available, posted here and at recycled80slive.com.

New Performances and Projects

Aaron Gervais — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 06:41:24 +0000

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.

Recycled 80s Live première

Aaron Gervais — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:44:40 +0000

If you’re in the Banff or Calgary area, come out to the première of my new project. Also pass this along to your friends.

For those living too far away to attend, a project website is in the works, with video and audio clips, slated for early 2009.

Recycled 80s Live

Aaron Gervais — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 04:40:34 +0000

Première of Recycled 80s Live at the Banff Centre for the Arts, a mash-up of ‘80s tunes performed live.

SOCAN Awards 2008 and Update

Aaron Gervais — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:47:17 +0000

I’m happy to say I was awarded another SOCAN Award this year, for Culture no.3.

Also, in other news, work on the nightclub project, now titled Recycled 80s Live, is progressing well. The first performance will take place at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Dec, and a project website and media clips should be available shortly thereafter. Further performances in 2009 are in the planning stages.

Lastly, be sure to check the Performances section for upcoming concerts.

Nightclub Project

Aaron Gervais — Mon, 19 May 2008 06:48:48 +0000

Some exciting news. I’ve received funding to develop a musical project that I have been planning for several years. It involves writing an evening-length piece for amplified instruments, to be performed in non-traditional venues such as nightclubs. This is a large-scale project that I will be working on over the remainder of the year. More information to be posted as the work progresses.