New Music Concerts’ MAKEWAY program helps to train emerging composers. Launched in 2023, it returns this year with four composers who’ll showcase their new works in a concert on May 2.
NMC’s approach is focused on the artist, and is tailored to suit the needs of each participant. That includes creating bespoke ensembles to present their works. The jury included Anthony R. Green, Keiko Devaux, Sheree Spencer, and Eliot Britton, and Jennifer Tung serves as Guest Conductor for the concert.
Four emerging composers were chosen to take part in New Music Concerts MAKEWAY program: Alex Matterson, Anju Singh, Steven Webb, and Tsz Long (Fish) Yu.
We spoke to each of them about their work.
Alex Matterson (CAN) Partitioned (2025 World Premiere) for 8 Instruments
“My dad was a drummer in a rock band,” recalls composer Alex Matterson. Alex remembers an eclectic variety of music that was played in the family home.
Prior experience in music includes years spent in a touring rock band. Along the way, Matterson became more and more interested in contemporary classical.
“I got really attracted to new music.” It led to a desire to dive into the field, and a university degree. “I just graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor’s degree,” Alex says.
Alex names Krzysztof Penderecki as an early influence, along with composer and sound artist Harry Towell and George Crumb. “I really enjoy a lot of modern noise music. I think that has a larger influence on me than most things.”
One of Matterson’s profs emailed him the information about NMC’s MAKEWAY program, and Alex applied without expectations. “I was kind of surprised to be honest. I feel like I’m kind of the least experienced.”
Although Alex is a recent grad, they also participated in The International Summer Course for Composers SYNTHETIS in Poland. The NMC opportunity is both exciting and nerve wracking.
“I’m very, very excited. It’ll be super cool.” Applying for opportunities and commissions is another step in the career path. “It’s been great to start applying for these kind of things.”
Networking opportunities one of the perks of NMC MAKEWAY. The Toronto musicians who’ll be fleshing out the work are another component. “To hear a professional new music ensemble perform my work was really crazy,” Matterson says. “They’re really open to anything.”
Alex’s piece for the event has personal dimensions.
“My piece is called Partitioned. I kind of describe it as passing through a solid object.” As a transgendered person, Alex sees it as a kind of allegory for coming out in today’s society. “I’m using it as kind of passing through a wall.”
The music aims to convey the journey from what was before and what is to come, bearing in mind that the latter isn’t necessarily known, along with the overwhelming, intense, claustrophobic feeling that comes with experiencing discrimination.
“It’s quite intense, as is a lot of my music.”
So far, Alex reports that feedback has been positive.
“It’ll be crazy. It’s a lot of sound the whole time.”
Hearing everyone else’s work is yet another benefit to the program.
“We’re all so different and all of our practices are different.”
Anju Singh (CAN) Titan (2025 World Premiere) for 9 Instruments
“I’m a musician, and I’ve been playing music my whole life,” says Anju Singh. “My first live show was the Fred Penner show when I was six.” She was in the children’s choir that performed on Fred’s show.
Anju was playing the saxophone by age 8. “I knew I’d be playing the saxophone forever.” There was also guitar, piano, and school choir. It’s a good background for a future composer. “Being on stage felt good.”
While performing remained her main focus, she began composing music for films. It made her wonder if perhaps that’s where her talents really lay. As a multi-instrumentalist, she connected with a filmmaker for a specific project, one who happened to mention that playing multiple instruments was a kind of gateway to composing.
“I never thought it was possible,” she says. “Instead of me trying to play the instrument and killing myself, forcing myself to be better, I was better off what I can call playing musicians.”
“I don’t think I’m lazy — I just think I’m not meant to be the person that practices everyday. It’s so much commitment,” she explains. She notes that’s it’s essentially impossible to become a world class performer on multiple instruments.
“But the challenges of composing, I find it easier to deal with.”
It led to a new path for her music, along with continuing her practice of buying and collecting as many instruments as she could. “For this piece that I’m presenting, I’m writing for two instruments [that I haven’t played before]. It was a huge challenge.”
She’s pragmatic about her talent. “I don’t think there’s anything special about me as an artist,” she says. But, she believes she brings a different approach than the usual to a composer’s showcase. “I’m not trained in composition by school. I’m really approaching this from a very self learning perspective.” That’s not to say it was a case of Google university. Anju trained directly with other composers. “I’ve been working really hard at developing my composition practice.”
Traditionally, the role of composer has been seen as somewhat exalted, but Anju doesn’t see her role as being elevated above anyone else’s. “Once we start going down the path of believing that, I think we’re starting to develop an unhealthy relationship with what it means to make art.” She adds, “It’s work. It’s commitment. Part of it is talent, but it only takes you so far.”
She’s looking forward to the showcase concert, and the week long workshopping that precedes it. “When I was accepted, I was really excited. Brian [Current] is an incredible composer.”
The piece she’s composed for MAKEWAY is titled Titan, but her initial title was Monolith, which speaks to the music.
“It’s about big, huge movements of sound moving together.” Playing in various ensembles and groups over time, she was truck by the force of the sound that’s created on stage. “The piece aims to create that.”
She counts other contemporary composers as inspiration. “I’m super inspired by Penderecki.” She cites his vocal and string music in particular. “I was always fascinated by this,” she adds. Other influences include Gérard Grisey and his Spectral Music, along with Italian composer Giacinto Francesco Maria Scelsi.
“He does one note, but it’s not just one note,” she explains.
By using overtones, microtones, and more, one note becomes much more. Anju’s family is Sikh, and the collective prayers that take place in a temple were also an inspiration. “It’s a force,” she describes, “and it’s really intense when you’re a young child.” The multiple voices are united in prayer, but there are microtones and slight imperfections that add dimensions to the sound.
It led to her choice of instrumentation. “For the instrumentation I chose to include the harmonium and the Santoor.” The harmonium, also called a reed organ, incorporates multiple tones and microtones. The Santoor is a traditional Sikh instrument, also known to produce microtones.
Beyond its sonic capabilities, the idea of incorporating traditions into contemporary composition was also appealing. “It’s always trapped in this [traditional] context,” she explains. “What role can contemporary music give these traditional instruments? It’s really about giving these instruments and these players the opportunity to be represented on equal terms with Western instruments.”
Steven Webb (CAN/ZAF) Feeling along… (2025 World Premiere) for 5 Instruments and Electronics
“I’ve always been a musician. I’ve played piano my whole life — since I was five,” says Steven Webb. He completed the Royal Conservatory curriculum.
“When I finished high school, I realized I wanted to […] do it more seriously.” That led to studies at the University of Manitoba.
“I became more and more fascinated with how music was put together,” he explains. “I think I was a little frustrated at the time, feeling like I wasn’t creating, just recreating.”
He began with works for piano and voice, and worked with choirs. “That very quickly expanded.”
The next step was film music, which he pursued in Winnipeg. “I worked as a film composer for a number of years.” It led to a fascination for electronic music, and a Master’s degree at the University of Toronto. “I started exploring integrating electronics with instruments.” He adds, “My output nowadays is very eclectic. I used to feel like that was a weakness in a way.” Now, he realizes that the opposite is true, and that going in different directions circles back to a larger understanding of composition.
The week long workshop that leads up to the composer showcase concert on May 2 was one of the big draws for him.
“It was a really great opportunity,” he says. “It allows for a more ambitious piece.” He adds, “Sometimes, you only get a few hours of rehearsal before the performance.”
He describes the piece he’s presenting, Feeling along… as a composition with a sense of theatricality, incorporating live electronics and projections. “I describe my style as eclectic.” He often uses elements from other artistic practices and technology in his work, such as coding, blending them together to see how they complement each other.
“I still have this love of melody and lyricism that can sometimes get lost in music that is experimental. I try to balance that,” he says. “Experimental lyricism.”
The professional Toronto musicians that NMC has assembled allow for a larger scope. “It was complex to put together. There’s not many opportunities that come around to work with musicians like that.”
Having a choice of instrumentation also allowed him to enlarge his concept. “They encouraged us to think outside the Western sphere of instrumentation. It’s such a blessing for a composer.”
His work incorporates diverse sounds, including viola, bamboo flute, Persian tar, and more.
Tsz Long (Fish) Yu (CAN/HKG) Home《家》(2025 World Premiere) for Erhu and Electronics
Tsz Long (Fish) Yu began his journey in music as a child in Hong Kong, where he grew up.
“I played in a wind band for 12 years in Hong Kong,” Fish explains. He played French horn and trumpet.
“One day, I heard a piece by Stravinsky. It’s called the Rite of Spring,” he laughs.
He was intrigued by the music, enough so that he decided to pursue it in his education. He began composing at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where he’d eventually earn his Bachelor of Music in Composition & Electronic Music. Four years ago, on graduation, he decided to continue his studies in Toronto, where he finished his Master of Music degree at the University of Toronto in Music Technology & Digital Media with a full scholarship under The Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme.
He’s now working on his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Toronto, majoring in Music Composition under the mentorship of Gary Kulesha and Christos Hatzis. Yu has also served as a Composer Fellow with The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra for their 2024/25 season, and his piece Breath of Spring was premiered by the orchestra in February.
Fish says he wrote “old school band music” at first, but gradually expanded his compositional vocabulary. He’s been influenced by various composers he’s encountered along the way, including Toru Takemitsu. He was particularly interested in Takemitsu’s Rain Tree compositions, which were written for various percussion instruments, and call for specific lighting effects.
“I was so surprised and so shocked,” he says of the combination.
It opened his eyes to the endless possibilities of contemporary music. “I like to compose music for acoustics and electronics,” he says.
“Right now, I’m a composer, but a lot of what I’m doing is media,” he explains. His work includes producing shows, as well as video shooting and production. He’s worked with several ensembles and organizations in Toronto, including The Happenstancers and percussion group KöNG Duo. He likes the diversity, and what he can learn from it.
He often includes other multimedia elements into his work. When it comes to new music, multimedia elements often serve as another way for audiences to become immersed in, and understand, it.
His piece《家》incorporates several multimedia and even theatrical aspects. “It will involve some acting,” he explains. He’s working on the final touches of staging, including lighting.
Yu also names British/Japanese composer Dai Fujikura as an inspiration, in particular, his use of traditional Japanese instruments alongside period European instruments.
“It’s very exciting and engaging,” he says of the combination. He’s using an erhu, a traditional Chinese two-string instrument that is bowed, in his new work.
The Concert
The four World Premieres will be presented on May 2 with an ensemble of talented Toronto musicians that includes:
- Padideh Ahrarnejad — Tar
- Shreyas Ambikar — Santoor
- Amahl Arulanandam — Cello
- Patty Chan — Erhu
- Brad Cherwin — Bass Clarinet
- Jesse Dietschi — Bass
- Diane Doig — Horn
- Elias Doyle — Trumpet
- Sarah Fraser-Raff — Violin
- Nikki Huang — Percussion
- Clara Nguyen-Tran — Viola
- Clare Scholtz — Oboe
- Ryan Scott — Percussion
- Wesley Shen — Synth/Harmonium/Sho
- Dora Wang — Bamboo Flute
Find out more about the MAKEWAY showcase on May 2, and get tickets, [HERE].
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