by Lawrence Wiliford | Sep 23, 2021 | Blog, Industry News
Updated September 23, 2021 Recognizing that Canadian Art Song Project has not programmed, commissioned or recorded any works by Black Canadian composers since our founding in 2011, I took time to explore some of the song repertoire that we have overlooked. I thought...
by CASP Editor | Oct 6, 2020 | Blog, Industry News
Maria Thompson Corley, a Jamaican-born Canadian and professional Julliard-trained pianist, is among the first class of mentees as part of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Art Song Mentoring Program for composers. Maria, who was raised in Alberta and has...
by Lawrence Wiliford | Sep 29, 2020 | Blog, Industry News
In the fall of 2019 Canadian Art Song Project released our podcast discussion with composer Ian Cusson and mezzo-soprano Marion Newman about the appropriation of First Nations, Inuit and Métis songs and stories in Canadian art song and chamber music. At the time, I...
by CASP Editor | Jun 25, 2020 | Blog, Industry News
CASP can do better. Black Lives Matter. Canadian Art Song Project was founded in 2011 by myself and Steven Philcox – two white guys, a tenor and a collaborative pianist at the beginning of our careers hoping to give the Canadian composers of art song repertoire a...
by CASP Editor | Feb 2, 2020 | press
Canadian Art Song Project is proud to announce that Healey Willan: Summer Night and other songs for voice and piano has been nominated for a 2020 JUNO Award as Classical Album of the Year: Vocal solo recording. This is the first JUNO nomination for the...
by Lawrence Wiliford | Nov 14, 2019 | Recordings
We are very excited to announce the release of the very first recording devoted to the art song of Healey Willan. This recording, released through Centredisques, features beloved favourites as well as works that had remained unpublished until very recently. A terrific...
by Webmaster | Oct 31, 2019 | press
Posted on October 31, 2019 Summer Night is a CD of songs by Healey Willan produced by the Canadian Art Song project and due to be released on the Centrediscs label next month. Willan is best known as a composer of church and choral music but he also wrote over 100...
by CASP Editor | Sep 26, 2019 | press
The Canadian Art Song Project welcomes Marion Newman and Ian Cusson for a compelling discussion Robert Rowat · CBC Music · Posted: Sep 26, 2019 6:00 AM ET Mezzo-soprano Marion Newman performs with Gordon Gerrard at the piano. (Chris Graham)...
by Lawrence Wiliford | Sep 25, 2019 | Blog, Industry News
I have been thinking a lot about Indigenous story and music in Canada following the release of the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in December of 2018 (http://www.trc.ca/). Since then I have challenged myself to learn more about the experiences of...
by CASP Editor | Sep 25, 2019 | Industry News, Podcast
Marion Newman, mezzo-soprano and Ian Cusson, composer Mezzo-soprano Marion Newman and composer Ian Cusson join host Lawrence Wiliford in a discussion about representing Indigenous song and story in Canadian art music and song. This is a conversation that is both...
by Lawrence Wiliford | Jun 4, 2019 | Blog, current project, Recordings
We have been in the studio for a new recording project focussing on the works for voice and piano by Vancouver-based composer Jeffrey Ryan. This month we have been recording our 2018 commission, Miss Carr in Seven Scenes with mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó and pianist...
by Webmaster | May 23, 2019 | press
Published May 23, 2019 on operaramblings.blog – Link to article This year’s Canadian Art Song Project commission is a setting of poems by EJ Pratt by Dean Burry entitled Sea Variations. It was given its first performance yesterday in the Richard Bradshaw...
by Lawrence Wiliford | May 22, 2019 | Blog
Derek Holman had a significant impact on me as I began to look into the Canadian art song repertoire after moving to Canada in the early 2000’s. He had an incredible, challenging wit and I found his songs to be some of the most beautiful and unique among the...
by CASP Editor | Mar 1, 2019 | Commissions
Canadian Art Song Project is thrilled to announce that award-winning composer Afarin Mansouri has been commissioned to write a new set of songs for soprano and piano. This new work is being composed for soprano Miriam Khalil and will be premiered as part of the...
by CASP Editor | Jan 22, 2019 | Podcast
As we anticipate the premiere of our latest commission, Steven Philcox sat down with composer Dean Burry and tenor Michael Colvin for a discussion about the new work and its inception. Dean Burry is one of Canada’s most active composers, having...
by Lawrence Wiliford | Oct 15, 2018 | Podcast
Lawrence Wiliford and Steven Philcox talk with John Greer, one of Canada’s most performed living song composers about his life and career. We had a wonderful conversation with John Greer about his musical education, his international work as a...
by Lawrence Wiliford | Sep 11, 2018 | Blog
Since founding Canadian Art Song Project in 2011, Steven and I have been regularly asked for suggestions of Canadian art song repertoire by voice teachers, students and professionals at all levels in their careers. There are some usual suspects that are always cited...
by Webmaster | Jul 16, 2018 | Podcast
We recently sat down with Canadian soprano and voice teacher, Mary Morrison to talk about her life, her extraordinary career and the incredible part she played in contemporary vocal music during the mid 20th century. You don’t want to miss this...
by Lawrence Wiliford | May 30, 2018 | featured projects, Scores
With the blessing of the Estate of Healey Willan and in collaboration with the Canadian Music Centre, Canadian Art Song Project has completed and released 22 songs that were not previously published*. Artistic Directors Lawrence Wiliford and Steven Philcox were...
by CASP Editor | Feb 23, 2018 | Commissions
My first encounter with art song, and song cycles, was in high school. I was taking music history lessons to prepare for an RCM exam, and our textbook included “Ich grolle nicht,” from Schumann’s Dichterliebe. Although classically-trained voices still sounded alien to...
