Composer Frank Horvat’s upcoming release The Banff Suite is a love letter to the Canadian Rockies, celebrating a variety of landscapes from lakes to mountain tops. The album’s theme comes as no surprise to anyone who is familiar with Horvat’s work, which often focuses on nature, the environment, and environmental issues.
The project stems from a Banff residency that Horvat undertook in 2021. Recorded with pianist Vicky Chow, the album releases on Redshift Records on September 12, 2025.
Frank Horvat: The Interview
The music on the release was composed in a spirit of spontaneity, but the process had been mapped out in advance.
“This was planned when I did my application for the residency,” Horvat explains of the project. “It had always been a dream of mine to visit Banff.”
Before going in 2021, he talked to friends who loved hiking. “That’s all they talk about is the nature there,” he says. It led to his proposal. “Why don’t I plan to compose this music while I’m there?” he wondered.
It ended up as an organic way of working. “We would do a day hike, and we’d come back,” he explains. He’d begin to compose music almost immediately. “I might start the next day.”
The location, and a beautiful studio where he could soak up the view, added to the experience. “I’d spend three, four days,” he adds. “I really dove in.” He’d go straight to the piece itself, not sketching out ideas or snippets first. “80 to 90 percent of what you hear on the album is what I did in that moment.”
During his four-week residency, he composed eight pieces. He enjoyed the discipline and sense of routine from both a physical and creative perspectiv.
“I’d never done anything like that,” he said. He’d received invitations to similar projects, but not in the same specific and detailed manner.
What he saw, and how he felt, became music.
“The titles of the eight pieces in the Suite are the locations,” he explains. Those names include Sulphur Mountain, Sundance Canyon, In Town, Bow River.
A typical tourist view of Banff focuses primarily on mountains, but the time he spent there gave Horvat the opportunity to explore it in depth. Some of his walks took him through the town, and some locations were quite remote, with no other people in sight.
“You really notice the subtleties,” Frank says. “It was a really big mix.”
Eight Walks Through Banff
“As much as I love routine, I love the discipline of composing music — I’ll be honest, it started to take a toll,” Horvat admits. The music reflects his ups and downs. “They’re not all inspiring.”
The hikes included walking the area’s mountain ranges, and physical exhaustion overcame him on one of those occasions. The mood became part of the music. His goal was to capture his reactions with a sense of immediacy. “To reflect that time and space,” he says. “I really wanted it to be reflective.”
“Even though I’m calling it the Banff Suite, they are really eight independent pieces that stand on their own,” he says. The Suite has a kind of overarching story, but each of the pieces within it also contain their own narrative.
“One piece can tell a very specific story.”
Pianist Vicky Chow
“I approached her,” Horvat explains.
“Vicky’s reputation is one of the — and I’m not exaggerating when I say this — she is one of the preeminent interpreters of modern classical music in the world today,” he adds.
“I’ve been aware of her work for so long.” Frank says they had been aware of each other’s work for some time without making a direct connection.
“I was on the fence whether I’d record this myself,” he relates. The piece, as is much of his music, is technically quite challenging. When he was able to secure funding, he decided to get in touch with Chow.
“I reached out, just to see what she might say.” Horvat had not met her previously. “She replied right away, and was very gracious.”
Originally from Vancouver, Hong Kong/Canadian/American pianist Vicky Chow is largely based in NYC nowadays. She’s developed an international reputation as a brilliant performer with an uncommon affinity for contemporary music, and performs regularly as a member of renowned ensemble Bang On A Can.
“She’s done the pilgrimage to Banff before,” Frank points out. “It was really great that she got excited about the project.” Having visited the area herself, she could relate to the inspiration for the music. It was the beginning of a genuine connection.
“You connect with people through making art, and what ends up happening is now, you’ve become good friends,” he says.
When Chow came to Toronto to record the album, she stayed with Horvat and his wife Lisa. After a few days of music, meals, and conversation, they’ve not surprisingly become friends.
“One of the great things about being a musician is that, pretty much every strong relationship I have in my life, other than my parents, has resulted from music,” Frank says.
Horvat says Chow participated in post-production, including listening to all the mixes, and mastering.
“She was a real, genuine collaborator,” Horvat says. “A lot of her fingerprints, so to speak, are on it,” he adds.
- Find links to stream or buy Frank Horvat’s The Banff Suite [HERE].
- Listen to/download the advance track Sulphur Mountain [HERE].
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