Soundstreams is accepting submissions for their 2024 RBC Bridges: Emerging Composers Workshop and Showcase Programme. The workshop and showcase will take place in April 2024, and the deadline for applications is November 30, 2023.
The programme brings emerging composers together with established composers as mentors, and a resident ensemble of professional musicians, to develop and premiere a new work that will be presented as part of Soundstreams’ performance series.
RBC Bridges
The RBC Bridges programme offers young composers the chance to get together with well known composers who will mentor them through the process of working with a resident ensemble of professional musicians. The week-long programme is tuition-free, but comes with a bit of a catch — the six emerging composers are chosen via a competition.
As part of the process, the winning composers will benefit from professional development workshops that focus on key areas:
- How to publish work;
- The commissioning process;
- How to approach producers or artistic directors with work;
- Other details relevant to making a living as a composer.
Participants will be able to network, attend seminars and events, work through rehearsals, and more.
The composer-mentors are chosen from the luminaries of contemporary classical music, and in the past have included R. Murray Schafer, Unsuk Chin, Steve Reich, Kaija Saariaho, and Chris Paul Harman. The resident ensembles young composers have worked with in the past have included the Gryphon Trio, the Ralston String Quartet and TORQ, among others.
RBC Bridges: Emerging Composers Workshop & Showcase 2024
The workshop takes place from April 13 to 21, 2024, with the RBC Bridges Showcase on April 19.
Mentor Composers for 2024 include Paul Grabowsky and André Ristic.
Australian pianist, composer and conductor Paul Grabowsky was born in Papua New Guinea, and grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He was part of Melbourne’s jazz scene before working in Europe and the United States during the early 1980s. On his return hone to Australia, he quickly established himself as a sought after musician and music director. Along with work in television, he’s written scores for feature films in Australia, the UK, and US. The founding director of the Australian Art Orchestra, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2014.
Canadian composer, pianist, accordion player, and music theorist André Ristic was born in Québec, and studied first mathematics, then music in Québec, Montréal, New York, and Paris. A chamber musician and recording artist as well as composer, his works have been commissioned and performed by the Ensemble TUYO, the Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal, The Molinari Quartet, the Black Jackets Company and Trio Fibonacci, among others.
For the competition:
- Each composer will write a short piece of 5 minutes or less for one or more of the instruments in the resident ensemble.
- Instrumentation includes piano, harpsichord, electronic keyboard, and digital organ.
- Successful applicants will have to submit a completed 5 minute work by March 1, 2024.
The showcase will be presented as part of Soundstreams’ mini-festival KEYED UP!, which takes place from April 18 to 20.
The opportunity includes a $1,000 honorarium, and free accommodation in Toronto for the week-long workshop.
More information and application forms available [HERE].
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