Brian Current (born May 4, 1972) is a Canadian composer and conductor.[1]
Brian Current | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 4, 1972 London, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Contemporary classical music |
| Occupations | Composer, conductor |
| Website | http://www.briancurrent.com |
Born in London, Ontario, Current grew up in Ottawa where he studied piano, guitar and euphonium, and was a chorister.[2] Following studies at McGill University under composers John Rea and Bengt Hambraeus, he earned a doctorate in composition at the University of California, Berkeley where he also studied conducting with David Milnes and Michael Morgan.[1]
In 2006, Current was appointed director of the New Music Ensemble of the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He became director of the Continuum Contemporary Music Ensemble in 2011, and was chosen artistic director of New Music Concerts in Toronto in 2021.[3]
He is an advocate of contemporary classical music, including for young audiences.[4]
Current composes mainly in larger instrumental forms and opera.[1] A key compositional method, which Current has termed "slanted time," involves fluctuations in tempo and shifts in timbre and texture to make the music in a perpetual state of evolution.[5][6][7]
His work has been widely recognized with commissions and awards including:
- Dora Award, 2022, for the opera, Gould's Wall[8]
- Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music, 2018, for Shout, Sisyphus, Flock
- Commission for the chamber opera, Missing, 2017[9]
- Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year, 2015, for the Naxos recording of the chamber opera, Airline Icarus.[10][11]
- First prize, Azrieli Commissioning Competition, 2015, for The Seven Heavenly Halls[12][13]
- Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award, 2012
- Premio Fedora, 2011, for the chamber opera, Airline Icarus[14]
- Barlow Prize, 2003, for Symphonies in Slanted Time[15]
- Outstanding work by a composer under 30, International Rostrum of Composers, 2001, for This Isn't Silence[16]
- Grand Prize, 2001, CBC National Radio Competition for Young Composers, for For the Time Being[16]
- SOCAN awards, 1997, 1998, 2000[17]
Current has had residencies in the US, Italy and Japan and was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.[1]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 Richard Haskell (March 4, 2015). Brian Current, The Canadian Encyclopedia
- ↑ MJ Buell (February 6, 2020). December's Child is Brian Current, The WholeNote
- ↑ The NMC Board Welcomes Brian Current As Full Artistic Director, New Music Concerts, October 21, 2021
- ↑ Brian Current (2006). A Young Person's Guide for Audiences of All Ages, Circuit, musiques contemporaines, 16(2), pp. 69–72
- ↑ Tyler Versluis (September 7, 2016). On The Speed, Energy And Colour Of Brian Current, Ludwig van Toronto
- ↑ Beth Levy. The Scene People: Brian Current, Schmopera
- ↑ Michael Berger (2008). This Isn't Silence: Works for Symphony Orchestra by Brian Current (review), CAML Review, 36(2–3), pp. 41–42. doi:10.25071/1708-6701.19653
- ↑ Ian Ritchie (August 9, 2022). Gould's Wall (review), Opera Going Toronto
- ↑ Anya Wassenberg (July 25, 2025). Toronto Summer Music: Missing In Concert — A Beautiful Production About Terrible Truths, Ludwig van Toronto
- ↑ Réa Beaumont (December 1, 2014). Brian Current - Airline Icarus (review), The WholeNote
- ↑ Composer Brian Current Among Winners of 2015 JUNO AWARDS, Canadian Music Centre
- ↑ Brian Current Winner of $50,000 Azrieli Commissioning Competition, Azrieli Foundation, September 11, 2015
- ↑ Caroline Rogers (October 1, 2016). Brian Current: The Keys to Creativity, La Scena Musicale
- ↑ Paula Citron (October 31, 2013). Icarus Aloft - A Q&A with composer Brian Current, The WholeNote
- ↑ Prize Recipient, Barlow Prize, June 2, 2026
- 1 2 David Jaeger (June 2, 2016). This Isn't Silence, The WholeNote
- ↑ SOCAN Foundation Past Awards Recipients List 1991 – 2019, SOCAN Foundation
External links
edit- Brian Current, Canadian Music Centre
- Brian Current, New Music Concerts (Toronto)
- Brian Current, Royal Conservatory of Music
- Brian Current discography at Discogs
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