Hamlet - Coté Dance/Ex Machina

14/07/23

First showing of Guillaume Coté and Robert Lepage's Hamlet, a full length dance version of the Shakespeare I'm writing music for. This version will used samples for the music but this fall we'll record a band of string quintet, electric guitar, harpsichord and percussion for a score that is over an hour and a half. Super exciting and cool version that I'm very proud to be composing on.

Premier in Saint Sauveur

Treemonisha - Volcano

13/06/23

Helped implement Michael Laird's design and manage and mix Scott Joplin's opera, Treemonisha, for Volcano Theatre at the Luminato Festival. Its a great piece with a live band onstage that just needed a bit of sonic help to work at the Bluma Appel theatre, a subtle job that helped the audience fully experience the work without getting in the way.

Nuit - Citadel + Compagnie

11/06/23

Reworked the original sound design for Jean-Pierre Perreault's 1986 choreography for Citadel + Compagnie for the Luminato Festival. Its a beautiful piece where all the sounds are created by the dancers. I helped design and mix the stage mics to pick up all the footsteps, breaths, vocal sounds and textures that create a fascinating score.

Haptic Voices - Inter Access

19/05/23

Jim Ruxton and David Bobier's installation used 10 channels of sound exciters to create a wall for 'listeners' to lean into and experience sound as full body vibrations. I created a 3 minute, 10 channel piece, Perception/Preception using low frequency sounds of square waves to play with the change between rhythm and pitch. Leaning into the wall and feeling/experiencing the works for this installation was really exciting.

Haptic Voices

Paint me this house of love - Tarragon

21/03/23

Chelsea Woolley's script was a pleasure to work on, she used broken thoughts and language to create really interesting characters. Mike Payette's direction was clear and detailed. The show didn't need much sound or music but I was happy to be there and add what was needed.

Mahabharata - Why Not Theatre/Shaw/Barbican

19/03/23

Working with co-composer/bandleader Suba Sankaran, we created the music for this two part retelling of Mahabharata for Ravi Jain's Why Not Theatre, the Shaw Festival and the Barbican. Such a privilege and honour to work on this piece. The first part, Karma, involved Suba and I onstage with a six piece band performing live with the actors and the second part was recorded but also included a 15 minute aria in Sanskrit we wrote sung by the lovely Meher Pavri.

A bit of what the press said:
A fantastic six-piece band led by guitarist John Gzowski adds plenty of nuance along the way.

The centrepiece of the entire show is a mesmerizing opera sequence with Meher Pauri, achingly showing us the inhumanity of war.
https://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/entertainment/stage/2023/03/09/review-an-epic-mahabharata-worth-the-wait-at-shaw.html?rf

Part 2 contains the Bhagavad Gita opera sung in exquisite stillness by Meher Pavri. She is dressed in a gold gown (kudos to Gillian Gallow for the beautiful costumes) and sunburst head covering. She slowly moves cross the stage singing the opera, her hands are by her sides. There are no gestures for emotion. It’s all in the singing. Stunning.

The beautiful score by John Gzowski and Suba Sankaran underscores the telling of the story without ever distracting from it. It always enhances the story and accentuates the power of war.

https://slotkinletter.com/2023/03/review-the-mahabharata

For me, the focal point of Karma is the musical ensemble, comprised of Dylan Bell, Gurtej Singh Hunjan, Hasheel Lodhia, Zaheer-Abbas Janmohamed, Suba Sankaran, and conductor John Gzowski. The music, composed by Gzowski and Sankaran, is a beautiful accompaniment, perfectly timed and tuned to the tone of the piece: and just as impressive are the sound effects created by the instruments and the musicians themselves. Crackling fires and slithering serpents, a fishing net being thrown into a river — every sound is precisely calibrated. Just as the direction of this Mahabharata involves both contemporary and classical forms of storytelling, the blend of instruments represents varying cultures and traditions, from guitar and keyboard to bansuri and tabla.

https://www.intermissionmagazine.ca/reviews/review-mahabharata-at-why-not-theatre-shaw-festival-barbican/

Part Two also includes an original Sanskrit operatic adaptation of The Bhagavad Gita, the most renowned, influential and significant passage of The Mahabharata. London, Ontario soprano Meher Pavri, 2007’s Miss India Canada, takes the spotlight with her powerful voice in a show stopping performance here.
https://www.notllocal.com/local-news/mahabhrata-breaks-new-ground-for-shaw-6687491

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/reviews/article-why-not-theatres-mahabharata-shows-it-deserves-an-international/

https://www.stage-door.com/3/Reviews/Entries/2023/3/mahabharata-parts-1--2.html