August 6th, 2011

The Composition Area is pleased to announce that distinguished composer Philippe Leroux will be joining the Schulich School of Music as Professor of Composition beginning in the 2011-12 academic year Leroux writes articles on contemporary music, has given lectures and taught composition at Berkeley University (California), Harvard, Grieg Academy (Bergen), Columbia University (New-York), Royal Conservatory of Copenhagen, University of Toronto, Fondation Royaumont, IRCAM, American Conservatoire at Fontainebleau, Paris and Lyon Conservatoires Nationaux Supérieurs, Domaine Forget (Quebec) , and Georgia Institute of Technology at Atlanta. From 2001 to 2006 he was a teacher in composition at IRCAM in the frame of the "Cursus d'Informatique Musicale".From 2007 to 2009 he was composer-in-residence at Metz Arsenal and at Orchestre National de Lorraine, then from 2009 to 2011, invited professor at Université de Montréal (UdeM). Professor Leroux was a fondation Daniel Langlois visiting professor at the Schulich School of Music for the 2005-06 academic year. His seminal piece Voi(rex)(2002) was performed by the Nouvel Ensemble Modern in Pollack Hall during the opening concert of the 2005 Montréal Nouvelles Musiques (MNM) Festival and again during MusiMars 2010.

July 14th, 2011

SOCAN FOUNDATION PRESENTS ANNUAL YOUNG COMPOSERS AWARDS; 12 young composers honoured in total,six of whom hold degrees from or are currently studying at McGill University's Schulich School of Music.

Toronto, July 14th, 2011-The SOCAN Foundation (the Foundation) announced today the recipients of the 20th Annual SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers. This year's competition attracted 218 entries,awarding a total $29,250 in prizes. Nine of the 12 prize winners are Quebec-based. The annual SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers recognize Canadian composers under 32 years of age for specific musical works in five categories of concert music.

First prizes in the five categories were awarded to Maxime McKinley (Sir Ernest MacMillan Awards), Beavan Flanagan (Serge Garant Awards), Adam Basata (Pierre Mercure Awards), Darren Russo (Godfrey Ridout Awards) and Eliot Britton (Hugh Le Caine Awards).

Additional Award recipients include: Jordan Pal (second prize) and Fiona Ryan (third prize) in the Sir Ernest MacMillan Awards; Zosha Di Castri (second prize) and Haralabos Stafylakis (third prize) in the Serge Garant Awards; Jared Miller (second prize) and Maxime McKinley (third prize) in the Pierre Mercure Awards; Haralabos Stafylakis (second prize) and Zosha Di Castris (third prize) in the Godfrey Ridout Awards; and Émile Payeur (second prize) and Éliane Préfontaine (third prize) in the Hugh Le Caine Awards.

The John Weinzweig Grand Prize in the 2011 SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers was awarded jointly to Montreal-based composers Maxime McKinley and Beavan Flanagan. The prize, for the best overall work submitted in the competition, is valued at $3,000. The two composers were recognized, respectively, for their works Concerto “Fisher-Price” for recorder and 15 instruments, and L'essence perd son sens for string trio.

June 1st, 2011

The International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM) Announces Winners of 2011 Search for New Music Competition - Pauline Oliveros Prize- for works for electro-acoustic media. Winner: Nina C. Young ( currently completing her Masters in composition at the Schulich School of Music ) Honorable Mention: Leah Reid ( BMus Composition 2007 from The Schulich School of Music )

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The McGill 'Digital Composition Studios' ( formerly the 'Electronic Music Studio' ) was founded in 1964. As part of the Composition Area, it plays a vital role within the Schulich School of Music at McGill University. Its mission is to promote and facilitate all activities within the School of Music that involve the creative and applied use of music technologies. As such, it is a meeting place for students, faculty members, and visiting artists and researchers in composition, performance, music technology and sound recording.

Activities within the Digital Composition Studios include teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, compositional projects, performance of works involving technology, creation/research activities (including CIRMMT artistic and research projects), and collaborative projects, as well as supporting events at the Schulich School of Music as required.

Prospective students should note that the Composition Area does not offer a program exclusively in electroacoustic or computer music composition. All students are expected to be proficient in instrumental composition, although extensive opportunities do exist to work with a wide range of approaches to music technology, including mixed works, interactive composition, gestural controllers, acousmatic works, multichannel audio, computer-assisted composition and more.

The DCS is one of three areas within the Schulich School of Music that explore the interaction of music and technology. The other two are the Music Technology Area and the Sound Recording Area.

The Digital Composition Studios (DCS) comprise three large composition studios and three smaller project studios.

Studio 1 - The principal composition studio (link)

Studio 2 - Classroom/Lab for MUCO 541 and MUCO 542 , Classroom for MUCO 341 and MUCO 342 (link)

Studio 3 - This is our Research/Rehearsal space (link)

Studio 4 - This is our lab for MUCO 341 and MUCO 342 (link)

Studio 5 - Our Analog Studio (in need of some renovation) where we keep our Moog Modular and other analog toys. (link)

Studio 6 - Musical Applications of Symbolic Computation (MASC) Lab (link)