Join us for a Sunday afternoon featuring original music from local composers and a lively post-concert discussion!

Sunday, June 11 | 3-6PM
St. Stephen’s Church | 1121 14 Avenue SW, Calgary AB

Calgary’s original string orchestra, Kensington Sinfonia, will be presenting two exciting new commissions by local composers, fully supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, to mark the unique time and place that Mohkinstsis (Calgary) represents today.

‘UNESCO Heritage,’ by Kristin Flores takes the listener on a journey around incredible sites in Alberta — including Writing on Stone Provincial Park — and Italy, while Sonny Ray Day Rider invites the audience on an introspective journey of the psychology of loss in ‘Grief Eater.’

The evening will conclude with a discussion exploring the intersections between nature, culture, music and place facilitated by CPAWS Southern Alberta and including our own Executive Director, Katie Morrison. Light snacks and beverages will be provided.

We hope you can join us!

Speakers

Kristin Flores, Composer

Canadian composer Kristin Flores is captivated by the beauty of sound. She loves the way that different intervals have an effect on the listener – the frustration that dissonance creates and the calm of consonance. Flores began studying composition formally at the University of Alberta in 1998 after completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Augustana University College. In 2001 she obtained a Bachelor of Music degree in music composition and theory from the University of Alberta and in 2004 graduated with a Master of Music degree in composition from the University of Alberta. In 2010 she graduated from the University of Calgary with a Ph.D. in music composition, under the supervision of Dr. Allan Gordon Bell. She has studied composition with Malcolm Forsyth, Laurie Radford, Howard Bashaw, Paul Steenhuisen, William Jordan, David Eagle and Allan Gordon Bell.

Sonny Ray Day Rider, Composer

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Sonny-Ray Day Rider (B.A., Music) is a Blackfoot composer, pianist, from the Kainai Blood Tribe.  Sonny-Ray has a broad musical palate working with many genres. Sonny-Ray is currently pursuing advanced studies (M.mus) in music composition at the University of Lethbridge. He shows great promise in the field, having accumulated a large breadth of significant creative projects as an emerging Blood (Blackfoot) artist in an impressively short time span. He also currently has a seat on the Indigenous Advisory Circle to the Library and Archives Canada and is past faculty alumni to the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Debra Fast, Violinist

At the age of four, Canadian violinist Debra Fast launched into her musical studies. At fifteen she began appearing on Canadian television with performances on both piano and violin and graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1998. Since then, she has turned her focus to the violin, playing throughout the world as a soloist as well as with many chamber groups and orchestras including the Fidelio and Armadillo quartets, the Vancouver Opera orchestra, the Victoria Symphony, the Ottawa Symphony, the North Shore Sinfonia and the orchestras of Abbotsford, Prince George and the Okanagan.In 2006 Debra Fast moved to Italy where she began an intense concert activity, directing her attentions to the solo violin repertoire, often collaborating with important composers of today. An integral part of Violinist Debra Fast’s musical activities is the promotion of contemporary music. “Creating music is a process, for the composer as well as the performer. It is so important to support and encourage today’s composers. There is a type of symbiosis in the relationship, allowing both of us to learn and grow along the way.”

Katie Morrison, Executive Director of CPAWS Southern Alberta

Katie is a Professional Biologist with more than 20 years of experience in the environmental sector. She holds a B.Sc. in Environmental and Conservation Sciences from the University of Alberta and a Masters of Environmental Design from the University of Calgary. Katie has worked in Canada and Latin America for university research projects, nongovernmental organizations, and environmental consulting companies. She has an in-depth understanding of conservation, ecology, campaign and strategic planning, community engagement, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. Katie is an avid hunter, angler, and gardener and spends as much time as she can in the backcountry and the back yard, discovering the wonders of nature and our place in it.