Soprano Tracy Dahl, instructor at the Faculty and world-renowned vocalist, was awarded the "Golden Baton" from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra at a gala event in April 2012. The Golden Baton, given for significant contribution to the musical life of the community through excellence or support of the WSO, was given to Dahl for artistic achievement.

Read the full article here.

 An Afternoon of Brass - Winnipeg Brass Collective

Richard Gillis and the brand-new group "The Winnipeg Brass Collective" enjoyed their premiere concert on April 22, 2012.

Winnipeg Brass Collective is an association of some of the most talented and active brass performers in Winnipeg. The goal of the organization is to promote brass performance, literature and education in Winnipeg.

This free concert is in support of Hands of Hope,a local charity that supplies families in need with free furniture and household goods.

Project Rio

On Friday March 30, 2012, our faculty and students presented a vast concert of Brazilian music, as well as other beloved composers, for cello choir and collaborative string ensembles. All proceeds provide travel scholarships to young musicians for the educational master class series at the Rio International Cello Encounter.

Read more about Project Rio

Announcing our new Assistant Professor of Jazz Piano - Will Bonness!

Mr. Bonness has been an active member of the Winnipeg, Canadian and international jazz scenes since his teen years. At age 17, Will joined Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau Band for a year-long world tour which included performances at such venues as the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London. After leaving Maynard’s band in 2004, Will completed a Music degree at the University of Manitoba and then continued his studies in New York and Boston.

“My colleagues and I are delighted to welcome Will to the Faculty,” states Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music Dean Edmund Dawe. “He brings to the position exceptional talents as a performer, success and dedication as a teacher at the post-secondary level, and strong connections to the local, national, and international jazz communities."

Learn more about Will Bonness at his website: willbonness.com

Composition professor Örjan Sandred composition Ice Fog was featured at two events in Fall 2011:

• Auditorium Saint Germain where Ensemble de Musique Interactive premiered the live-electronic version (September 26, 2011)
• Shanghai Electronic Music Week, with Pan Chenfei (saxophone) and Fan Xing (piano), October 13, 2011. Örjan also lectured at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in October 2011.

On March 19, 2012, Professor Örjan Sandred will be presenting at Columbia University in New York, on the topic "10 Years of Research".

Örjan says of his presentation: "It will outline my research in Rule Based Composition Systems, from my previous focus on methods to structure rhythm (and ultimately better understand what parameters determine good musical rhythm) to my present research in developing effective tools to process complex, multilayered musical structures."

On March 24 his piece Ice Fog is performed at the Miller Theatre in New York, by performers will be Philippe Bouveret and Veronique Ngo Sach-­Hien of France:

Ice fog appears when humidity in very cold air freezes into small ice crystals to form a thick fog.  Suspended in the air, the ice crystals are delicate, and will only remain as fog if there is no wind. Ice fog can therefore only exist on very calm and cold winter days (with a temperature below -30˚ Celsius). If there is an air movement, the ice fog dissolves.

This composition attempts to create the same feeling of a frozen and fragile moment of magic stillness. The piano plays a sparse music around the saxophone’s sustained multiphonics. The live electronic part suspends the timbres and creates a slow moving fog around which the instruments move.

Composition professor Örjan Sandred was also featured in the Summer 2011 issue of ResearchLIFE. Read the full article!

Michael Matthews' 2008 piece Six Poems of Novica Tadić was performed at the XXXIII Foro Internacional de Música Nueva Manuel Enríquez in Mexico City, June 2011. This is the oldest and largest new music festival in Latin America, and it was an honour for Michael's work to be included for the fourth time!

Renowned Jazz Trumpeter Joins Faculty!  

The Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music is pleased to announce the appointment of jazz trumpeter Derrick Gardner to the Babs Asper Professorship in Jazz Performance, effective July 1, 2011.

Mr. Gardner is internationally renowned as a performer and has an exceptional record as a dedicated and inspiring teacher at the post-secondary level. He brings to the Faculty over 20 years experience as a professional musician, teacher, composer, arranger, and producer. And he has performed at nearly every major national and international jazz festival.

"As the Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music continues to build an outstanding team, we are thrilled to welcome our newest colleague, Derrick Gardner, an exceptional artist and teacher,” says faculty dean Edmund Dawe.