Composer and musician Joel Toews recently released his debut EP We Remember Moments. The release includes seven original tracks in a classical crossover style, revolving around a theme based on a quote by Italian novelist and poet Cesare Pavese, “We do not remember days, we remember moments.”
Each of the tracks is based on a memory or impression, resulting in atmospheric and evocative pieces.
He’s joined on the album by musicians Jacqueline Goring (harp), William Lamereaux (violin), Jess Lajner (guitar), and Matt Smith (trumpet), with Toews acting as composer, producer, pianist, and mixer.
LV spoke to Toews about the music.
Joel Toews’ Sleeping Giant, inspired by Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, and performed by Michael Newnham and Orchestra Toronto:
Joel Toews
Contemporary Canadian composer, arranger, songwriter, and keyboardist Joel Toews is based in Toronto. He studied at Berklee College, and subsequently earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Popular Music from MacEwan University. Joel recently completed a Master of Arts in Music Composition from York University with a specific focus on composing music dedicated to Canadian National Parks and their ongoing sustainability.
In terms of style, Toews is influenced by Western classical, jazz, and contemporary pop music and techniques. His goal is to create music that touches the emotions in a versatile style.
Joel’s compositions have been commissioned and performed by a variety of ensembles throughout North America.
Joel Toews: The Interview
Toews’ musical journey began early.
“I started doing piano lessons when I was really young,” he says. “I was five.” He studied the Royal Conservatory curriculum.
The spark to create music also began in childhood.
“From a pretty early age, I realized I really liked sitting down at the piano and seeing what I could come up with.”
He recalls going to his piano lessons, and his instructor would first ask if he’d learned his scales and exercises for the week. “I’d go, no, but I tried writing a song.”
The piano is often a gateway to composition.
“There’s something about it begin a very visual instrument,” Joel says. It’s easy to understand the patterns of harmony and music theory.
The EP
“It came together in a relatively short time once I decided that I wanted to put together the collection,” he says.
Two tracks, Prairie Sky and Stephanie’s Theme had already been written some five or six years ago. “But I had never really recorded them. I decided last year to do a little more of a recording project.”
He composed the other five pieces between January and March of 2025, then headed to the recording studio between March and May. Then came several months of editing and production work. Through the whole process, he was conscious of trying to create a collection of music, rather than seven separate tracks.
“I really tried to find ways, while writing the pieces, and putting together some of the electronic elements, that one piece flows into each other,” he says.
In terms of style, they incorporate all of his influences from classical to jazz and pop.
“I think broadly I would use the term classical crossover, even though that’s a very broad category in and of itself. It is influenced by all the different music upbringings that I had.” His studies included both Western classical and jazz, and as a performer, he also played in pop bands, and in folk groups with friends. “In my writing, I like to include all of those.”
He was also conscious of creating something new with each piece. “It provides its challenges, to try and find those different feelings from one to the other,” he says. Solace, recorded with jazz trumpeter Matt Smith, incorporates improvisation and jazz harmonies. Joel’s classical influences are much more apparent in Stephanie’s Theme.
As Joel emphasizes, the tracks are based on memories, but not in an encyclopedic way, attempting to recreate a place or sensation in detail. Memories are built on impressions left by specific moments, those bits and pieces that we stitch together to recall the emotional imprint of an experience.
“The memories that I’m trying to emulate in the music are all from different feelings and different people. We don’t have a picture perfect memory. Our memories are actually quite fallible,” he explains.
“It’s the emotion of the experience, that is what we are left with, and that’s what carries into our present day lives.”
That’s how he’s looking to connection with his listeners — through their emotions.
“This is very personal music. This is really coming from my own experiences. There is something with music, that when you have your own experiences, it resonate with other people. There’s a kind of beauty in it.”
The music is melodic, and that’s another aspect he’s hoping listeners can connect with. “That they feel the melodies […] that there’s an inspiring character to them. That they can reflect on their own lives.”
The music conveys the memories and associated emotions that are important to him.
“That someone listening to the music can reflect on their own memories.”
Final Thoughts
Now that the EP has been released, Toews is already thinking about next steps.
“I’m thinking about doing an album maybe next year,” he says. He’s looking to deepen the collaborative aspect of recording, and incorporate more instrumental variation.
There may be some live dates during the summer in support of the release.
“The last thing I would say is, if someone wants to look at this album and focus on one track, that is August 2006,” Joel says. It’s music based on his memories of a specific stage in his life. He was 12 years old, and it was summer time. “I experienced a real taste of freedom.” His biggest concern at the time was where he and his friends would go on an afternoon. “The birds singing and the wind going through your hair.” The music captures a sense of both that freedom, and a nostalgia for a time of life that’s past.
We Remember Moments: The EP
Joel Toews debut EP We Remember Moments was released on May 1, 2026.
- Find it on Spotify and other major streaming sites [HERE].
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