STEWART GRANT
STEWART GRANT | |  | | | |
Stewart Grant is a composer whose music is rooted in his long abiding interest in yoga and meditation, his love of nature and his many years of experience as a conductor and oboist. It draws upon a wide variety of influences - from baroque to jazz, from Mahler to medieval - and fuses them into a style which is contemporary, personal and distinct.
Stewart Grant was born in 1948, in Fort William, Ontario, but he grew up and received his early musical training in Montreal, graduating from the Faculty of Music at McGill University and the Conservatoire de musique du Québec, where he was awarded a Premier Prix in oboe in the class of Melvin Berman. His studies also included summers at Tanglewood, at the Aspen Music School and as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, where he studied with Ray Still, principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony. While still a student, Mr. Grant organized and directed a chamber orchestra comprising students from both McGill and the Conservatoire de musique du Québec. Upon graduation, he joined the faculties of both of these institutions and began his career as an oboist, performing with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre de Radio-Canada and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.
In 1972, Mr. Grant joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, and it was during his two seasons with this organization that he decided to pursue a career as a composer and conductor. He subsequently moved to Toronto, where he performed as an oboist with the Canadian Opera Company, the National Ballet, the Hamilton Philharmonic and the St. Andrew’s Consort while pursuing studies in composition and jazz arranging with Gordon Delamont.
In 1978, Mr. Grant was named Music Director of the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra in Alberta. Over the sixteen years he held this position, he developed the Lethbridge Symphony into one of Canada’s finest semi professional musical organizations - establishing Musaeus as its resident professional chamber ensemble, founding the Southern Alberta Chamber Orchestra, and expanding the season from seven to a total of approximately sixty performances of various kinds per year. During his years in Lethbridge, he continued to develop as a composer in an ideal situation where his writing was part of his normal activities within the community. He also appeared as a guest conductor with orchestras in both Canada and the United States while remaining active as an oboist and pedagogue, teaching both in Lethbridge and at the biannual Canadian Festival of Youth Orchestras at the Banff Centre, and presenting countless performances and broadcasts as a member of Musaeus throughout Alberta and as far afield as the former Soviet Union. In 1988, in recognition of his many accomplishments in Lethbridge, he was presented with the Heinz Unger Award at the national conference of the Association of Canadian Orchestras.
Since returning to Québec in 1995, Mr. Grant has composed commissioned works for various artists and organizations, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Les Jeunesses musicales du Canada, the Canadian Chamber Choir, Ensemble Musica Nova, the Banff International String Quartet Competition, l'Orchestre de chambre de l'Estrie, pianist Paul Stewart, violinists Richard Roberts and Martin Beaver, Le Quatuor Claudel, the saxophone quartet Saxart and the Ayorama and Estria Wind Quintets. He has performed as guest conductor and oboist with various orchestras, at the McGill University Faculty of Music and on the National Arts Centre Orchestra's chamber series at the National Gallery. As a member of the duo Jaï - which he formed with 'cellist Joanne Grant - he has performed numerous concerts and produced a CD with organist Patrick Wedd. Since the fall of 1999, he has been Artistic Director of the West Island Youth Symphony Orchestra, with whom he has produced two compact discs and toured France, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic and Western Canada. Artist in Residence for the Centre culturel de Pointe-Claire, Stewart Hall for the 2004-05 season, in July of 2009 he was also appointed Music Director of the Lakeshore Chamber Orchestra.
Over the course of his career, Stewart Grant has also written for artists such as the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the Saskatoon Sinfonietta, The Foothills Brass, pianists Charles Foreman and Glen Montgomery, The Thirteen Strings of Ottawa, organist Dom André Laberge and contralto Maureen Forrester. His compositions have been performed by orchestras such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, Symphony Nova Scotia, I Musici de Montréal, the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra - for whom he was "Composer of the Season" for 1995-96 - the National Youth Orchestra and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, as well as by artists such as pianist Stéphane Lemelin, The Aeolian Winds and James Sommerville, principal horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. His music has been frequently broadcast across Canada on CBC Radio and has been performed in Europe, the United States, Taiwan, India, Mexico and South America. His works are available through the Canadian Music Centre and the Theodore Presser Company.
The year 2001 saw the release of Sharing Visions, an award-winning television documentary based on Stewart Grant's Sam Black Sketches that explores the creative process both from his perspective as a composer and from the perspective of painter Sam Black, whose sketches, paintings and prints provided the inspiration for the composition. The film culminates in a performance of the twenty-minute work by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra under the direction of David Hoyt. A production of Patenaude Communications in association with Dinosaur Soup Productions, it has since been frequently aired on Radio-Canada, CFRN-TV, Canal D and the Canadian arts network Bravo!
Contact Stewart Grant:
Stewart Grant
116 Stillview Road
Pointe-Claire, Québec H9R 2X8
(514) 426-5947
hriderh@hotmail.com |
"A Seder for Peace" Op. 51 (2004) -- 14'
Fl. Ob. Pno.
Commission Information: Commissioned by Er'ella Talmi and Sons et Couleurs au Musée for Eyal Ein-Habar & Dudu Carmel
Available From Composer
A Band of Story Tellers, Op. 7 for Narrator and Wind Quintet (1982)
Commission Information: commissioned by the Ayorama Quintet
Available From ComposerMovements:
• I. How Tiger Made Spider Build a Web - text by Jan Andrews and George Mully
• II. The Three Companions - text by Jan Andrews
• III. Giovanni and the North Wind - text by George Mully
Burletta, Op. 4 for Trumpet, Horn and Trombone (1978) -- 2'
Commission Information: Commissioned by Brass Company
Available From Composer
Capriccio, Op. 52 for Violin and Piano (2005) -- 5'
Commission Information: Commissioned for Richard Roberts by Le Centre culturel de Pointe-Claire, Stewart Hall
Available From Composer
Dance Rhapsody, Op. 8 for Oboe and String Quartet (1982) -- 10'
Available From Composer
Diversions, Op. 58 for Oboe, Clarinet, and Saxophone (2009) -- 9'
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Trio d'anches de l'Estrie
Available From Composer
Movements:
• I. Sonatina
• II. Scherzo
• III. Blues
• IV. Fugue
Fanfare for Brass, Op. 53 (2006) -- 3'
Commission Information: Composed for the West Island Youth Symphony Orchestra
Available From Composer
Fantasia No. 1 for Solo Oboe d’Amore, Oboe, English Horn or Soprano Saxophone
Available From Composer
Ganesh, Op. 27 for Tuba and Seven Roto Toms (1995) -- 5'
Commission Information: Commissioned by Keith Landry
Available From Composer
Partita for Brass Quintet, Op. 25 (1994) -- 12'
Commission Information: Commissioned by The Foothills Brass through the assistance of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Available From ComposerMovements:
• I. Intrada
• II. Waltz
• III. Scherzino
• IV. Introduction, Blues & Finale
Quatuor à cordes, Op. 45 (2002) -- 11'
Commission Information: Commissioned by Le Quatuor Claudel
Available From Composer
Rhapsodie Concertante, Op. 30 for Wind Quintet and String Quintet (1996) -- 13'
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for the Saskatoon Sinfonietta
Available From Composer
Saxophone Quartet, Op. 37 (1999) -- 8'
Commission Information: Commissioned by Saxart, Ottawa
Available From Composer
Serenata da Camera, Op. 19 for Oboe and String Quartet (1991) -- 9'
Premiere Information: premiered at the Banff Centre for the Arts
Additional Information: Composed for Musaeus for their tour of Belarus
Available From Composer
Serenata Estria, Op. 55 for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon (2008) -- 12'
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Quintette à vent Estria
Available From Composer
Siva’s Dance, Op. 2 for Woodwind Quintet (1973) -- 3'
Additional Information: Composed for the Ayorama Quintet
Available From Composer
Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 35 (1998) -- 12'
Commission Information: Commissioned by Martin Beaver; premiered at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival
Available From ComposerMovements:
• I. Allegro agitato
• II. Variations: Andante tranquillo
String Quartet No. 2 "Banff Variations," Op. 49 (2004) -- 10'
Commission Information: Commissioned by the CBC for the Banff International String Quartet Competition
Available From Composer
The Bird’s Revenge for Oboe and String Quartet
Available From Composer
Wind Quintet, Op. 38 for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon (1999) -- 14'
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Ayorama Wind Quintet and the Quintette à vent Estria
Available From ComposerMovements:
• I. Pastorale
• II. Scherzo
• III. Nocturne
Ballade for Piano, Op. 22 (1992) -- 10'
Published: #110-40722
Commission Information: Glen Montgomery through the assistance of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts
• Reviews
Dance Variations, Op. 16 for Piano (1988) -- 14'
Premiere Information: premiered at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Additional Information: Composed for Charles Foreman
Available From Composer
Fantasia No. 2, Op. 6 for Solo Oboe d’Amore, Oboe, English Horn or Soprano Saxophone (1982) -- 6'
Available From Composer
Fantasie sur "Ave Maris Stella" Op. 18 for Organ (1990) -- 9'
Additional Information: Composed for Dom André Laberge, o.s.b.
Available From Composer
Kali Ma, Op. 31 for Solo Contrabassoon (1996) -- 7'
Additional Information: Composed for Fraser Jackson
Available From Composer
Night Music for Solo Cello, Op. 14 (1986-1987) -- 10'
Additional Information: Composed for Shauna Rolston and Julie Amundsen
Available From ComposerMovements:
• I. Fantasia & Fugue
• II. Elegy
• III. Jive
Prelude, Riffs and Angel Music, Op. 28 for Solo Guitar (1995) -- 11'
Commission Information: Commissioned by Dale Ketcheson through the assistance of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Available From Composer
Sangam, Op. 36 for Solo Piano (1998) -- 7'
Commission Information: Commissioned by Paul Stewart
Premiere Information: premiered in Bangalore, India
Available From Composer
Sonata, Op. 57 for Solo Piano (2006-2009) -- 16'
Available From Composer
Trois préludes, Op. 32 for Solo Piano (1997) -- 9'
Premiere Information: Premiered by Dale Bartlett at the Unitarian Church of Montreal's "Third Thursday" concert series
Available From Composer
Two Poems, Op. 50 for Solo Cello (2001) -- 7'
Additional Information: Composed for Joanne Grant
Available From Composer
Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra Op. 40 (2000) -- 20'
Flute, Harp Soli; 2 2(E.H.) 2 2 - 4 2 3(B.Tbn.) 1; Timp. 2Perc. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Montreal Symphony Orchestra for Timothy Hutchins and Jennifer Swartz through the assistance of MusicCanadaMusique 2000 and Le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
Premiere Information: Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Timothy Hutchins, flute, Jennifer Swartz, harp, Charles Dutoit, conductor; Canada 2000 Festival, Montreal, Canada; May 23, 2000
• Reviews
Excursions, Op. 21 for Orchestra (1992) -- 14'
3 2 2 2 – 4 2 3 1; Timp. 2Perc. Str.
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Canadian Association of Youth Orchestras through the assistance of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Laidlaw Foundation
Available From Composer
Jaï, Op. 20 for Orchestra (1991) -- 5'
2 2 2 2 – 4 2 3 1; Timp. Perc. Str.
Additional Information: Composed for the thirtieth anniversary of the Lethbridge Symphony
Available From Composer
Jumba Jambala, Op. 44 for Orchestra (2002) -- 7'
3 2 3 2 (opt. Sax.) – 4 2 3 1; Timp. Perc. Hp. Str.
Commission Information: Commissioned by Arts Bureau of the Continents for the Canadian Youth Orchestra Festival, Ottawa
Available From Composer
Landscapes for Symphony Orchestra, Op. 29 (1996) -- 20'
2 2 2 2 - 4 2 3(B.Tbn.) 1; Timp. 2Perc. Pno. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Regina Symphony Orchestra in collaboration with the Newfoundland, Mississauga and Saskatoon Symphony Orchestras through the assistance of the Canada Council
Premiere Information: February 10, 1996
Movements:
• I. The Prairie
• II. The City
• III. The Sea
Sam Black Sketches for Orchestra, Op. 17 (1989) -- 20'
2 2 2 2 - 4 2 2 1; Timp. 3Perc. Hp. Cel. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Gerald Borch
Additional Information: Based on works by artist Sam Black.
Movements:
• B.C. Working Boats
• Bowen Island in Sunlight
• Caribbean Sketches
• Coastal Poem
• Farewell to Summer
• Misty Morn
• Storm Over Moresby
• The Accuser
• The Home Guard
• Reviews
Sinfonietta for Orchestra, Op. 39 (2000) -- 11'
2 2 2 2 - 2 1 0 0; Timp. Perc. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Brampton Symphony Orchestra and the Oakville Chamber Orchestra
Premiere Information: Brampton Symphony Orchestra; Ontario, Canada; March 11, 2002. Oakville Chamber Orchestra, Charles Demuynck, conductor; Ontario, Canada; March 26, 2000
Movements:
• Allegro
• Oakton Variations
Symphonic Dances / Danses symphoniques, Op. 48 (2003) -- 14'
2 2 2 2 – 4 2 3 1; Timp. 2Perc. Hp. Str.
Commission Information: Commissioned by l’Orchestre symphonique du Laval with l’Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil, l’Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke and l’Orchestre symphonique de Trois Rivières
Available From Composer
Symphonic Variations for Orchestra, Op. 10 (1984) -- 15'
3 2 2 2 - 4 2 3 1; Timp. 2Perc. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Lethbridge Symphony Association with the assistance of the Canada Council
• Reviews
Symphony "Et in Terra" for Orchestra, Op. 23 (1993) -- 21'
2 2 2 2 - 4 2 3(B.Tbn.) 1; Timp. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in collaboration with the Hamilton Philharmonic and Trois-Rivières through the assistance of the Canada Council
"Spring Came Dancing" for String Orchestra, Op. 26 (1994) -- 13'
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for The Thirteen Strings of Ottawa
Premiere Information: The Thirteen Strings, Paul Andreas Mahr conducting, Ottawa, Canada, October, 1994
Additional Information: Inspired by a poem of Paramahansa Yogananda
Bhajan, Op. 9 for Solo Cello and String Orchestra (1983) -- 11'
Available From Composer
Chaconne, Op. 5 for String Orchestra or String Quartet (1979) -- 5'
Premiere Information: Premiered by the National Youth Orchestra of Canada
Available From Composer• Reviews
Concerto for Horn and String Orchestra, Op. 15 (1987) -- 15'
Commission Information: Commissioned by David Hoyt; premiered by David Hoyt and the Southern Alberta Chamber Orchestra
Available From Composer
Laksaman, Op. 3 for Oboe and String Orchestra (1978) -- 6'
Additional Information: Composed for Jon Peterson and the Hamilton Philharmonic for the CBC Summer Symphony television series
Available From Composer
Prelude and Fugue for String Orchestra, Op. 13 (1986) -- 7'
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Composed for the Southern Alberta Chamber Orchestra
• Reviews
Symphonie Estrienne for String Orchestra, Op. 33 (1997) -- 14'
Commission Information: Commissioned by l'Orchestre de chambre de l'Estrie in collaboration with The Thirteen Strings of Ottawa, I Musici de Montréal and The Kensington Sinfonia through the assistance of the Canada Council
Available From Composer
Canticle to Brother Sun (Cantique de Frère Soleil), Op. 42 for Voice and Piano (2001) -- 5'
Commission Information: Commissioned by Les Jeunesses Musicales du Canada for their National Vocal Competition
Additional Information: text adapted from Saint Francis of Assisi
Available From Composer
Chansons d'amour, Op. 54 for Voice and Piano (2007-2009) -- 7'
Commission Information: Commissioned by Kerry-Anne Kutz (Sept Roses / La Vie, l'amour et toi / Amours / Alliance)
Additional Information: based on poems by Daniel Turp
Available From Composer
Gloria, Op. 24 for Mixed Chorus, Strings, and Timpani (1993) -- 3'
Available From Composer
Love Songs, Op. 46 for Mixed Chorus and Piano (2002) -- 16'
Additional Information: on texts by William Blake, Stewart Grant, William Shakespeare, Christina Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John W. Looney. Commissioned by the Canadian Chamber Choir - Iwan Edwards, Artistic Director
Available From Composer
Magnificat, Op. 34 for Soprano, Choir, Oboe and Percussion (1998) -- 10'
Commission Information: Commissioned by Marc David and Ensemble Musica Nova, Sherbrooke, Québec
Available From Composer
Of Maids and Men, Op. 12 Canadian Folk Song Settings for Contralto and Chamber Orchestra (1985) -- 10'
Contralto; 1 0 1 0 – 2 0 0 0; Str.
Additional Information: Written for Maureen Forrester and the Southern Alberta Chamber Orchestra
Available From Composer
Two Marian Anthems, Op. 56 (Salve Regina & Regina Caeli) (2008) -- 7'
SATB Chorus a cappella
Commission Information: Commissioned by the CB West Choir - Joseph Ohrt, Director
Available From Composer
Une Nouvelle Chanson, Op. 41 for Youth Chorus and Piano with optional Children's Choir (2001) -- 3'
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Canadian Music Centre and the Canada Council for the Arts for the McGill Youth Choir and Children's Chorus - Erica Phare, Director
Available From Composer
"... a thunderous ovation."-Arthur Kaptainis, The Montreal Gazette"Well done...with important solos for each instrument, a nice dialogue between the two, dramatic gestures and shadow play even for the flute, a beautiful orchestral framework. And magnificently played by all."-Claude Gingras, La Presse
"Perhaps the most interesting work was Ballade, which was composed last year by Stewart Grant. A complex piece with lots of contrast and tension, Ballade was ripe with romance, vigor and drama."-Paula Wild, Comox Valley Record
"…showed how effectively older forms can be melded with contemporary, even jazz-influenced musical nuances to produce a striking, challenging statement. String bass rhythmic impulses were particularly prominent, echoed by pizzicato responses from the smaller stringed instruments, as the moods quickly built, tapered and evolved."-Dave Mabell, Lethbridge Herald"Set upon blues-oriented subjects reminiscent of late Gershwin and early Bernstein, the piece astounds by being tight and viable. All the right tensions and releases play off each other and Grant has a firm hold on writing not only solidly, but weightlessly."-Colleen Johnson, Kitchener-Waterloo Record
"…a marvelously subtle and substantial score."-Kenneth DeLong, The Calgary Herald"This concert was definitely educational and made me wonder why so little is written about Canadian music in our music appreciation and music history books. With composers like Stewart Grant who can cook up such interesting orchestration, you can be sure more than a few sentences and paragraphs will be written in the future."-Bradford Meyerdierks, Muncie Star
"Stewart Grant is a Canadian composer who is going places… Grant knows how to handle orchestral color, and in these variations he manipulates his material with great ingenuity. This is a work with a future."-Eric McLean, Montreal Gazette
"When Grant's Chaconne for strings ended, it left you wanting more of this composer. This short piece, built around a repeated 16-note figure, seemed to have a halo around it. Tightly constructed but almost transparent in sound, its build-up and dying away left the ears thirsty."-Gillian Haggart, London Free Press
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