Alexina Louie
Alexina Louie | |
---|---|
Born | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | July 30, 1949
Genres | Contemporary classical |
Occupation(s) | Composer |
Years active | 1981–present |
Website | www |
Alexina Diane Louie,
Early life and education
Louie was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She earned an ARCT in Piano Performance diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music at the age of 17 while under the tutelage of Jean Lyons. Shortly thereafter, Louie received a Bachelor of Music in music history from the University of British Columbia in 1970. In 1974, she completed her M.A. degree in composition from the University of California, San Diego.[3]
Career
While studying in the
She created a number of piano compositions, including Scenes from a Jade Terrace, Distant Memories (dedicated to Jean Lyons) and I Leap Through the Sky With Stars for solo piano, Dragon Bells for prepared piano and pre-recorded prepared piano, and Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, which was commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Louie moved from Los Angeles to Toronto in 1980.[5] Soon after, in 1982, she composed O Magnum Mysterium: In Memoriam Glenn Gould.[6] She composed the opening music ("The Ringing Earth") for Expo 86 in Vancouver, and that year was named Composer of the Year by the Canadian Music Council.
Louie has twice won a Juno Award for Best Classical Composition: in 1989 for Songs of Paradise (1984), and in 2000 for Shattered Night, Shivering Stars (1997) - both are orchestral works. She has received several additional nominations for various works.[7]
Orchestral scores include The Eternal Earth (commissioned by the
Louie's works of chamber music include The Distant Shore for piano trio, Edges for string quartet, Music from Night's Edge for piano quintet, Riffs for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, and Gallery Fanfares, Arias and Interludes (commissioned by the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1993).
In 1990, 1992,[8] and later in 2003, Louie received the SOCAN Concert Music Award for the most performed Classical composer of the year.[4]
Louie and her husband Alex Pauk, conductor of the Esprit Orchestra, collaborated on several film scores including Don McKellar's Last Night, which received a Genie nomination for Best Original Score in 1998, and The Five Senses, a film by Jeremy Podeswa that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival the following year. In conjunction with David Henry Hwang, Louie composed a full-length opera, The Scarlet Princess (1996–2002).
In 1996 Louie received an honorary doctorate from the
The Scarlet Princess, which was premiered by the
Songs of Paradise was re-recorded by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Geoffrey Moull in 2004, and subsequently released on the album, Variations on a Memory. It became the best-selling disc of the Canadian Music Centre in 2005.[10]
Louie's composition Three Fanfares from the Ringing Earth, was performed at the opening of the new National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and Scenes from a Jade Terrace, opened the new Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. Her Infinite Sky With Birds, a National Arts Centre commission, debuted on February 22, 2006. That year, she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.[11]
Louie's composition Mulroney: The Opera, a musical satire of Brian Mulroney's life, was released by Alliance Films in April 2011. In 2013 her composition "Bringing the Tiger Down From the Mountain" was performed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra during their tour of China.[12]
Louie was honoured in 2019 by the Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary, which hosted a feature event of her compositions.[5]
Awards
- Canadian Music Council Composer of the Year, 1986
- Juno Award for Best Classical Composition, 1989, 2000
- SOCAN music award. 1990. 1992, 2003[8]
- Honorary doctorate, University of Calgary, 1996
- Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music, 1999
- Order of Ontario, 2001
- Officer of the Order of Canada, 2005
- Canada Council for the Arts, 2019
See also
References
- ^ "BWW Review: Escape to Serenity with Toronto Symphony's BRAHMS GERMAN REQUIEM". Broadway World, by Taylor Long Sep. 29, 2017
- ^ Matthew Parsons. "10 pieces by living Canadian composers that you will love". CBC Music, December 16, 2014
- ^ Robb, Peter. "Alex Louie's musical journey". Ottawa Citizen, Sep 21, 2013
- ^ ISBN 0-253-21102-6.
- ^ a b Littler, William (4 October 2019). "Alexina Louie gets a rare honour for a Canadian composer: glory while she's alive | The Star". Toronto Star. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-7735-6048-2.
- ^ "Past Nominees + Winners". The JUNO Awards. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ ISSN 0006-2510.
- ISBN 0-253-33819-0.
- ^ "TBSO | News & Info | Press Room". Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
- ^ Royal Society of Canada website Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "NAC Orchestra kicks off seven-city tour of China". Toronto Star, Oct. 8, 2013, Martin Knelman.
Further reading
- Parker, Jon Kimura. "East and West in the Music of Alexina Louie." SoundNotes. SN3:14-25.
- Steenhuisen, Paul. "Interview with Alexina Louie". In Sonic Mosaics: Conversations with Composers. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-88864-474-9.