In the newest episode of New Music Edmonton's The No Normal podcast, Reid interviews Toronto-based composer and performer Bruce A. Russell. From navigating through systemic barriers as an emerging artist, his mentorship under James Tenney, and becoming the composer/curator-in-residence at Arraymusic, Bruce's story and compositions embody a deep passion for music and creation. Interest in Bruce's music increased following the global Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. As a result, his work has been performed by Prism Percussion, San Juan Symphony, Idaho Falls Symphony, Grant Park Orchestra, Regina Symphony Orchestra, Isabel String Quartet, Mill City String Quartet, and the University of Delaware School of Music. The most recent performances of his work have included Mill City String Quartet, University of Delaware Percussion Ensemble, Piano Lunaire, and junctQín keyboard collective.

Music included in this episode:

01:13 – Kalimba Canon (excerpt 1)

Composed by Bruce A. Russell, Performed by Second Note Duo, July 2020

13:20 – Linea Nigra (excerpt 1)

Composed by Bruce A. Russell, part of the Ashil Mistry Royal Academy of Music, July 2016

24:12 – Sequences (excerpt)

Composed by Bruce A. Russell, Performed by the University of Delaware Percussion, Directed by Gene Koshinski, May 2024

39:54 – ex harmonia (full)

Composed by Bruce A. Russell, Performed by Arraymusic, 2023

55:29 – Linea Nigra (excerpt 2)

Composed by Bruce A. Russell, part of the Ashil Mistry Royal Academy of Music, July 2016

72:07 – Kalimba Canon (excerpt 2)

Composed by Bruce A. Russell, Performed by Second Note Duo, July 2020

For more information:

● Bruce A. Russell / El Mahboob

○ Website: https://elmahboob.com/

○ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/el_mahboob/?hl=en

○ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BruceARussellComposer/

○ Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/brussell

Welcome back to The No Normal.

Multi-faceted artist Helen Pridmore is our guest on this episode. For decades Helen has been a champion of cutting edge compositions by a huge roster of contemporary composers. With a palette of vocal techniques that includes virtually every “extended” technique imaginable, traditional classical singing, improvisation, live electronics and more, Helen Pridmore’s work is wide-ranging, and she has performed across Canada, as well as in the US, Europe, and elsewhere. Among her priorities as an artist has been intense, sonic and multidisciplinary collaborations with a huge list of great artists. Recent projects have included theatrical works, both self-composed, and created in tandem with others. Our conversation with Helen looks at all of these things, and begins with some really interesting background talk about her voice, and how she came to be interested in experimental music and art.

Music included in this episode:

02:03 Out Loud (2023, excerpt 1)

Composed and Directed by Terri Hron in collaboration with Helen Pridmore and Jennifer Beatty

17:10 Voi(REX) (excerpt 1)

Composed 2003 by Phillipe Leroux, performed 2021 by Helen Pridmore and Aventa Ensemble

28:37 Aria (excerpt)

Composed by John Cage, 1958, performed 2013 by Helen Pridmore

37:14 Voi(REX) (excerpt 2)

Composed 2003 by Phillipe Leroux, performed 2021 by Helen Pridmore and Aventa Ensemble

43:31 Voi(REX) (excerpt 3)

Composed 2003 by Phillipe Leroux, performed 2021 by Helen Pridmore and Aventa Ensemble

52:45 GOYA (excerpt)

Composed 2015 by WL Altman, Libretto by David Fancy, both in collaboration with Helen Pridmore

61:36 Out Loud (2023, excerpt 2)

Composed and Directed by Terri Hron in collaboration with Helen Pridmore and Jennifer Beatty

67:22 Sor Juana and the Silences (excerpt)

Created and performed by Helen Pridmore, 2018

68:06 Out Loud (2023, excerpt 3)

Composed and Directed by Terri Hron in collaboration with Helen Pridmore and Jennifer Beatty

For more Information:

Helen Pridmore:

https://www.helenpridmore.ca/

https://soundcloud.com/helen_pridmore

Aventa Ensemble:

https://aventa.ca/

Phillipe Leroux:

https://www.lerouxcomposition.com/en/

Terri Hron:

https://terrihron.com/

Jennifer Beattie:

https://brightworknewmusic.com/person/jennifer-beattie/

WL ALtman:

https://uregina.ca/media-art-performance/directory/altman-wl.html

David Fancy:

https://www.davidfancy.ca/site/home

In this episode of The No Normal we have a feature interview with ‘cellist, composer, improviser and sound artist India Gailey. Named one of “30 Hot Classical Musicians Under 30” by the CBC, India Gailey is a cellist, composer, and improviser of “unparalleled talent” (Take Effect) based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, NS. With a background spanning many styles, she has worked most often in the realms of classical and experimental music, including tours across Canada, the United States, and Germany. In May 2022 India released her second solo cello album, to you through (Redshift Records) to much acclaim. She is a member of the lauded improvisational quartet New Hermitage, and works frequently with living composers, filmmakers, visual artists, and dancers to create exploratory works of interdisciplinary art. India is the recipient of numerous honours, including awards from Arts Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Talent Trust, the Canada Council for the Arts, and Acadia & McGill Universities. India loves raspberries, large marimbas, and the smell of burning thyme.

And… we are very pleased to introduce a new member of our team: Reid Contreras Woelfle is a composer, percussionist, sound engineer, and teacher, and is joining The No Normal as an interviewer. His interview with India Gailey is a great start to what we hope will be a wonderful series of contributions to our podcast.

Performances by India Gailey included in this episode:

13:20 Grotesquerie (excerpt 1)

Composed by Nicole Lizeé, from the album Problematica, Released 2023

Label: People Places Records

24:15 Light the Rubble

Performed by New Hermitage

35:25 Ghost, from the album to you through, Released 2022

Composed by India Gailey

Label: redshift records

59:10 Joinery

Composed by Joseph Glaser, from the album Problematica, Released 2023

71:05 Grotesquerie (excerpt 2)

Composed by Nicole Lizeé, from the album Problematica, Released 2023

For more Information:

India Gailey:

https://indiagailey.com/

https://www.facebook.com/india.yeshe/

Nicole Lizeé:

https://www.nicolelizee.com/

Joseph Glaser:

https://www.facebook.com/joseph.j.glaser/

Welcome back to The No Normal.

In this episode of The No Normal we are delighted to feature one of the key figures in the experimental arts scene here in amiskwaciy-wâskahikan/ Edmonton, Kelly Ruth. Since moving here from Winnipeg in 2017, Kelly Ruth has given dozens of live performances, mainly featuring amplified weaving looms, collaborated with many local and visiting artists, created gallery installations, and worked within, or alongside, some of the key arts organizations here. Among her many activities, Kelly Ruth has for several years been developing a performance practice that takes place in the virtual world, on Second Life. Through her avatar, Poppy Morris, she has cultivated a unique approach to artistic world-building while developing an entirely new, international audience. To top it off, Kelly Ruth has developed a really amazing practice that hybridizes simultaneous in-person and virtual performances.

Music included in this episode:

02:27 Simulacra - Real Virtuality (excerpt)

Kelly Ruth, from the album Simulacra, Released 2021

Label: Pseudo Laboratories

13:21 Simulacra - Illusory Perceptions (excerpt)

21:00 Simulacra - Sensorial Waters (excerpt)

34:25 Pixelated Oscillations (excerpt 1)

Kelly Ruth and Allison Balcetis

Hybrid Live/ Virtual Performance, Harcourt House, Edmonton

April 21, 2023

44:36 Hybrid Live/ Virtual Performance (excerpt 1)

New Adventures in Sound Art

South River, Ontario

December 9, 2023

54:20 Hybrid Live/ Virtual Performance (excerpt 2)

New Adventures in Sound Art

62:09 Pixelated Oscillations (excerpt 2)

Kelly Ruth and Allison Balcetis

Hybrid Live/ Virtual Performance, Harcourt House, Edmonton

April 21, 2023

For more Information:

Kelly Ruth:

https://www.kellyruth.ca/

https://www.youtube.com/@kellyruth5063

Pseudo Laboratories:

https://pseudolaboratories.bandcamp.com/

Harcourt House Artist Run Centre

https://harcourthouse.ab.ca/

New Adventures in Sound Art

https://naisa.ca/

Moment Discovery

https://momentdiscovery.ca/

Welcome back to The No Normal. In this episode, we are happy to welcome Canadian interdisciplinary artist Steph Patsula. The projects Steph creates are focused across a variety of processes coalescing in a union of somatic experiencing, experimental sound creation and lens based ephemera. Patsula’s work prioritizes the creation of immersive art installations and live-performance which explore bodies as beacons and receptors in relationship to each other. Her processes embrace the unpredictable dynamics of working with new materials, spaces and bodies by corresponding with them improvisationally. A technique that reflects a personal desire for reciprocity and intimacy through an attentiveness to collaboration and adaptability.

New Music Edmonton was delighted to feature Steph in our 2023 festival, where she gave a live performance of her ongoing project, Sympathetic Resonance, and took a bunch of us on a lovely, if somewhat smokey, soundwalk in the river valley.

Music included in this episode:

- 11:01 Flexible Hours Live at The Grand, Steph Patsula and Eric Fraser

- 23:33 Flexible Hours Live in Iceland

- 53:14 Sympathetic Resonance

- 58:30 Tailgate, Live in Chicago

For more Information:

- Steph Patsula, i-am-YEG - arts

- Steph Patsula Facebook

- https://flexiblehours.bandcamp.com/

Welcome back to The No Normal.

Please note this important caution: this episode includes discussion of mental health issues experienced by the artists, and including experiences of suicidal ideation and a depressive episode. Listening to this may be triggering for some listeners.

This episode is dedicated with thanks to everyone at The Canadian Mental Health Association.

Back in February 2023 New Music Edmonton presented an extraordinary event, the premiere of a new composition by Mike McCormick, performed by Edmonton vocalist, and long-time friend of Mike, Jessica Wagner. The work, under: went is a powerful, very personal artistic gesture, a work and performance unlike anything I have ever experienced in a concert hall. We were honoured to have present at the show staff and volunteers from The Canadian Mental Health Association. They led us through a post-performance discussion group focused on the topic of suicide, and of the ideas brought forth by the composition.

In the following conversation, we caught up with Mike and Jessica only a few days after the event, and we had a chance then to really get to the heart of the work, and also to get to know a little more about both of their backgrounds.

Music included in this episode:

02:11 Underwent (excerpt)

Jessica Wagner, soprano

Composed and with electronics by Mike McCormack

6:11 Regnevejr (excerpt)

Jessica Wagner, soprano/ Natalie Dzbik, violin

Composed and with electronics by Brandon Chow

08:22 Duo 1 (excerpt)

Jessica Wagner, soprano

Composed and with electronics by Nico Arnáez

14:02 Rootpat (excerpt)

Composed by Mike McCormack

25:40 Underwent (excerpt)

43:33 Underwent (excerpt)

58:58 Underwent (excerpt)

For more Information:

Jessica Wagner:

https://www.jessicawagnermusic.com/

Mike McCormack:

https://mccrmck.com

The Canadian Mental Health Association

https://cmha.ca/

https://edmonton.cmha.ca/

We are back with another episode of New Music Edmonton’s The No Normal. Today’s guest is an artist familiar to many people in many places. Composer and violinist Alissa Cheung. Her compositions have been performed often in Edmonton and for several years she was a key part of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s violin section. More recently, Alissa moved to Montréal to take up a position in the mighty Quatuor Bozzini, and since then has continued to build her career as a composer while also taking part in the quartet’s almost constant schedule of performing, recording, and working with emerging artists.

It’s always fantastic to chat with Alissa, and we hope you enjoy sitting with us while we do so! And so here we are, in a wide-ranging conversation recorded in early spring, 2023.

Compositions by Alissa Cheung Included in this episode:

- 20:45 ZWISCHENTÖNE (EXCERPT 1)

Performed by Alissa Cheung and Ewald Cheung, C’mon Festival Edmonton, 2022

- 25:27 ZWISCHENTÖNE (EXCERPT 2)

- 38:10 CHEMINS DE FER

Composed by Alissa Cheung, 2018

- 48:04 DU NORD (EXCERPT 1)

Performed by Quatuor Bozzini, Montréal, 2021

- 54:15 DU NORD (EXCERPT 2)

- 60:32 EUPHORIA (EXCERPT 1)

Performed by Continuum Contemporary Music HATCH, 2021

- 65:02 EUPHORIA (EXCERPT 2)

- 70:15 DU NORD (EXCERPT 3)

For more Information:

Alissa Cheung:

http://www.alissacheung.com/

Quatuor Bozzini:

https://quatuorbozzini.ca/en

Continuum Contemporary Music:

https://www.continuummusic.ca/

Continuum Contemporary Music Euphoria video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAmEW6CQsNE

C’mon Festival:

https://cmonfestival.ca/

This episode of The No Normal features composer and santurist Mehdi Rezania, a prolific and diverse artist, very familiar to audiences in our city. From his early teen years studying santur in Iran, and later compositional studies at York University, and current doctoral studies at The University of Alberta, Mehdi Rezania has developed a unique and compelling approach to creative music making. At home with traditional Persian music, composition, improvisation, and more, he regular performs and records as both a soloist, and as a much sought-after partner for artists from a unique array of practices.

Compositions by Mehdi Rezania Included in this episode:

02:07 Gems of Radif 1: At The Gate of Dawn (clip)

16:44 Gems of Radif 1: At The Gate of Dawn

31:22 Gems of Radif 2: Shahrāshub

38:40 Gems of Radif 3: Banafsheh

44:24 Fields of Abadeh, performed by The Windermere Quartet

58:49 Ice, performed by Toloe Roushenas

68:31 Gems of Radif 4: Sāqi-Nāmeh

For more Information:

Mehdi Rezania:

https://rezania.com

Mehdi Rezania New Music Edmonton Performances:

Now Hear This 2022: https://vimeo.com/732642086

Summer Solstice Series 2021, with Good Women Dance: https://vimeo.com/577714078

Baarbad Music:

https://sv-se.facebook.com/Baarbad/?ref=page_internal

Windermere Quartet:

https://windermere.braveform.com

New Music Edmonton is happy to return with a new series of The No Normal. We have some great interviews with amazing people lined up for the coming months, and we’re looking forward to sharing their work and their words with you!

To get things going, we are delighted to present composer Sointu Aalto, in conversation with Suzette Chan. Born in Helsinki, raised in Edmonton, Sointu Aalto is a composer and cellist, who has emerged as one of the most compelling emerging artists, with a formidable output of uncompromising instrumental and audio-visual works. She has studied with many eminent teachers in Edmonton and elsewhere, and has been a competition winner, and participant in festivals across Canada and abroad. In June, 2022, Aalto and her colleagues in The JAMS Quartet performed in the Now Hear This Festival in Edmonton, where they gave a rare, full-length performance of works by Aalto and other composers.

Compositions by Sointu Aalto Included in this episode:

2:34 THINK THINK THINK THINK THINK (Excerpt)

Audio portion of audio-visual work, commissioned by New Music Edmonton for the Summer Solstice Series, 2021.

6:09 Mass Extinction (Excerpt)

Performed by The JAMS Quartet: Jessica Ortlieb, Anna Vlasova, Mora Clarke, Sointu Aalto, with Kauri Aalto, tam-tam

13:22 super(ficial) (Full Length)

Performed by Bergamot Quartet at MATA Jr., Music at the Anthology Festival, NY, 2021

18:10 The Pizza Man Is Real (Full Length)

Performed by The JAMS Quartet: Jessica Ortlieb, Anna Vlasova, Mora Clarke, Sointu Aalto

34:01 THINK THINK THINK THINK THINK (Full Length)

Audio portion of audio-visual work, commissioned by New Music Edmonton for the Summer Solstice Series, 2021.

38:20 Yosinfonia (2020) (Full Length)

Performed by Daniel Aalto, piano, Eija Aalto, soprano

Text: Yösinfonia, 1, by Kirsi Kunna

For more Information:

Sointu Aalto:

https://soundcloud.com/user-759064400

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-z7kOEcb8OZ9B2wiBmlo9A

Suzette Chan:

(https://suzettechan.wordpress.com)

Our city is teeming with emerging artists of all kinds, many of them classical composers. This episode of The No Normal focuses on one such artist, Mary Alice Conrad. Over the last few years, her name has appeared with increasing frequency in concert programming, workshops and commissioned works lists across the country. In this interview, you’ll get to know about this compelling artist’s background and we dig into some of her recent works, with lots of great information on the genesis of Mary Alice Conrad’s diverse and prolific compositions.

Music Included in this episode:

19:44 The Mountains Rend Themselves Apart (excerpt)

Artistic Director and conductor, Raymond Baril

June 3, 2022, Convocation Hall, University of Alberta

Recording Engineer, Mike Malone

29:30 The Peculiar Dances of Shifting Minds (excerpt 1)

Allegra Chamber Orchestra, Janna Sailor, conductor, Opus. 59 Films.

FestivELLE Online Concert Series, June 2021, Orpheum Annex, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

41:58 Breathing Room (excerpt)

Live Mix of MacEwan University Music Department “Generations” Recording Project 2022.

Conducted by Raymond Baril

Recording Engineers, Paul Johnston and Padraig Buttner-Schnirer

At the MacEwan University Recording Department

53:24 Twenty-Six Punctographic Preludes (excerpt)

The Edmonton Saxophone Quartet

Kendra Heslip, Alto Saxophone

Charles Stolte, Tenor Saxophone

Ben Whittier, Baritone and Bass Saxophone

Allison Balcetis, Soprano Saxophone

December 2021, Convocation Hall, University of Alberta

Audio Engineer, Russel Baker

68:44 The Peculiar Dances of Shifting Minds (excerpt 2)

For more Information:

https://marialiceconrad.com/about

https://edmontonwinds.com

https://allegrachamberorchestra.com

https://www.facebook.com/MacEwanBigBand/

http://www.edmontonsaxophonequartet.com