Launch of CASP’s Art Songs “Far and Wide”
Mentorship Program for Composers
The Canadian Art Song Project (CASP) is proud to announce the launch of its new Art Songs “Far and Wide” Mentorship Program for Composers — a national initiative designed to support the creation of new Canadian art song repertoire and foster mentorship between emerging composers and leading Canadian artists in the field.
This program offers early-career composers the opportunity to create a new set of three original art songs for solo voice and piano, developed over the course of eight months with guidance from established mentors. The resulting works will reflect the rich literary and cultural diversity of Canada, engaging with texts by Canadian writers and poets and exploring themes that resonate across regions, identities, and generations.
The Far and Wide program builds on the success of CASP’s pilot mentorship initiative, which ran for two cycles during the pandemic with generous support from Chung-Wai Chow and John Wright. That pilot program provided vital mentorship and creative opportunities to emerging composers at a time when live performances and collaborative development were otherwise limited. The expanded national scope of the Far and Wide program ensures that this important work continues and evolves in a post-pandemic artistic landscape.
Made possible through generous support from The RBC Foundation and The Azrieli Foundation, this new program includes:
- Mentorship with two experienced composers (or one composer and one expert in a project-related field)
- A development workshop with professional singers and pianists
- A professionally produced audio/video archival recording of the final work
- Artist support through a $4,000 commission fee
- Opportunities for public engagement and national promotion
The first cycle of the Far and Wide program will run from September 2025 to April 2026.
MENTOR
MENTOR
JURY MEMBER
JURY MEMBER
Maria-Eduarda Mendes Martins Named Inaugural Mentee
Following a national nomination and juried application process, CASP is pleased to announce that composer Maria-Eduarda Mendes Martins has been selected as the first mentee of the Art Songs “Far and Wide” Mentorship Program.
A compelling artistic voice with a unique sensitivity to text and vocal expression, Mendes Martins will create a 10–12 minute set of songs for voice and piano. Her work will be developed in collaboration with mentor composers Jeffrey Ryan, and Ana Sokolović.
Mendes Martins was selected through a jury process that included renowned composers Andrew Balfour, Laurence Jobidon, and Jeffrey Ryan, as well as CASP Co-Artistic Directors Steven Philcox and Lawrence Wiliford.
This program launch marks an exciting new chapter for CASP’s ongoing commitment to the evolution and visibility of Canadian art song. We look forward to sharing Maria-Eduarda’s journey — and her new work — in the months ahead.
Maria-Eduarda Mendes Martins is a composer living in Toronto, ON.
Ultimately, Maria-Eduarda’s music aims to reflect the multidimensionality of her world and culture, where so much can happen simultaneously. Her pieces question what is complex and what is simple, what is old and what is new. While composing, Maria-Eduarda feels as though she can shape time – as a sculptor shapes clay.
Born and raised between Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre (Brazil), Maria-Eduarda did not have access to musical education until her adolescence, when she discovered an ability to create medieval-sounding melodies. Since then, she completed a bachelor’s degree in music composition at UFRGS (with Celso Loureiro Chaves), a master’s degree at University of Victoria (with Dániel Péter Biró and Christopher Butterfield), and she is currently finalizing a doctoral degree at University of Toronto, having composer Gary Kulesha as her supervisor. Maria-Eduarda became a Canadian citizen in 2023.
Her music is featured in summer festivals/events such as the Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Netherlands) and Académie Francis Poulenc (France), it is programmed with/performed by the likes of Lang Lang, Gemma New, Louise Bessette, Cosette Justo Valdés, and presented by ensembles/organizations such as Calgary Philharmonic, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Victoria Symphony, Soundstreams, L’Opéra de Montréal & Musique 3 Femmes, among others. Maria-Eduarda was the 2021 co-recipient of the Friends of Canadian Music Award, and her music has been premiered across three continents to date. memmmusic.wordpress.com
2025 Invited Jury Members
Andrew Balfour
Andrew Balfour is a Winnipeg-born composer of Cree descent from Fisher River First Nation. An innovative composer, conductor, singer, and sound designer, Balfour has created an extensive body of works that bridge Indigenous traditions with contemporary classical music.
His notable compositions include Nagamo (nominated for a 2023 Juno Award), Take the Indian (A Vocal Reflection on Missing Children), and Empire Étrange: The Death of Louis Riel. His opera Mishabooz’s Realm premiered in 2017, commissioned by L’Atelier Lyrique de Opéra de Montréal and Highlands Opera Workshop.
Balfour has received commissions from prestigious ensembles including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, and Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. A dedicated collaborator within Indigenous arts communities, he has worked with renowned artists including Buffy Sainte-Marie, Jeremy Dutcher, and Cris Derksen. He co-led the Indigenous Classical Music Summit at the Banff Centre in 2021. Since 2002, Balfour has served as founder and Artistic Director of Dead of Winter, offering innovative “concept concerts” that explore Indigenous themes through eclectic musical collaborations.
Laurence Jobidon
Laurence Jobidon is a Canadian composer. Hailed for her inventiveness, powerful lyricism and for the richness of her language, she has written for a variety of formations, from solo organ to opera, chamber music, orchestra and collaborations with dancers, performance artists, writers and poets. Her works have been performed across the Americas and in Europe, recognized through many national and international competitions, published at Productions d’Oz and New Music Shelf (USA), and have also been the focus of musicological and stylistical analysis in Québec, France and Poland. A pupil of Pamela Gill Eby and Danny Bélisle at the organ and of Andrew Paul MacDonald in composition, she has had the pleasure of working with many Canadian creators, such as Les Violons du Roy, l’Orchestre de l’Agora, Paramirabo, Stick& Bow, Duo Étrange, Musique 3 Femmes, Jacqueline Woodley, Opera RoadShow, the Canadian Art Song Project, Tapestry Opera, Opéra de Montréal’s Atelier Lyrique and many more.
Jeffrey Ryan
Jeffrey Ryan grew up training his ear with Petula Clark, The Partridge Family and Captain & Tennille, playing saxophone and flute in high school, singing in two choirs, and writing his own songs for voice class. Now, as a freelance composer based in Vancouver, Canada, he finds inspiration in the world around him and creates music that runs the gamut from orchestral and chamber works to opera, art song, and choral music.
With compositions that “engage heart and mind in a most satisfying way” (Audio Ideas Guide), Ryan is a recipient of SOCAN’s Jan V. Matejcek New Classical Music Award, and was the first Canadian to win the international NATS Art Song Composition Award. With multiple JUNO and Western Canadian Music Award recognitions, his discography includes the portrait CDs Fugitive Colours, Quantum Mechanics, My Soul Upon My Lips,and Found Frozen: Songs of Jeffrey Ryan,along with many individual works. https://www.jeffreyryan.com
CONTACT
For more information, please contact:
Lawrence Wiliford | Co-Artistic Director | Canadian Art Song Project | wiliford@canadianartsongproject.ca