Set to premiere in 2022, New Normal is a collaboration between Soundstreams and Red Note Ensemble. A composer from each organization, Northern Irish composer Brian Irvine and Ukrainian-Canadian composer Anna Pidgorna, will work with the other’s ensemble, creating interleaved works which loosely interact with one another through a series of episodes weaved together through shared, but misinterpreted, objects and ideas. It will be a whimsical exploration of social isolation and strange world events which have occurred during the time of global pandemic.
This November, Pidgorna joins Red Note Ensemble in workshops to develop material for New Normal. This work-in-progress imagines a group of highly interdependent and immensely curious aliens exploring the English language and the empty streets of a suburban town under lockdown. Wer hoomun?
Please note, these workshops are not a public performance.
Anna Pidgorna is a Ukrainian-Canadian composer, vocalist and multi-media artist who combines sound, visual arts, writing and carpentry to create works that are dramatic and picturesque. She works extensively with Ukrainian folk singing, draws inspiration from the natural soundscape, and incorporates visual elements into some of her manuscripts. Her work has been commissioned, performed and recorded by soloists and ensembles in Canada, USA, Uruguay, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Poland, Ukraine and South Korea. She holds a PhD from Princeton University, an MMus from the University of Calgary, and a BA from Mount Allison University. She lives on the traditional and unceded territory of the Qayqayt First Nation in New Westminster, BC.
Soundstreams is one of the world’s leading contemporary music companies, and the largest global presenter of new Canadian music. Founder and Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney is committed to showcasing the work of Canadian and international composers, and has commissioned over 170 new works, and programmed hundreds of unique and compelling concerts including chamber music events, multi-choir spectaculars, operas, music-theatre works, and seven highly successful international festivals.
Red Note Ensemble
Ruth Morley, flute
William White, clarinet
Colin Scobie, violin
Robert Irvine, cello
Tom Hunter, percussion
Jessica Leary Soprano
Emma Morwood Soprano
Laura Margaret Smith Mezzo Soprano
Ian Shaw Répétiteur
New Normal is a co-production with Soundstreams.
