Scott Irvine

Last updated

Scott Irvine
Birth nameJames Scott Irvine
Born (1953-12-30) 30 December 1953 (age 69)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s)Composer, arranger
Instrument(s)Tuba

James Scott Irvine (born 30 December 1953) is a Canadian composer, [1] arranger, and tuba player [2] based in Owen Sound, Ontario. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers, he has been commissioned to compose works by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, [3] the Laidlaw Foundation, and the Ontario Arts Council. His works have been recorded on a number of commercial releases, including CDs by Joan Watson, Jack Grunsky, the Canadian Chamber Ensemble, and the Berlin Philharmonic. Most of his compositions are written for concert band and brass instruments.

Contents

Early life and education

Irvine grew up in Toronto, Ontario. He studied tuba with Charles Daellenbach at the University of Toronto. He is a graduate of The Royal Conservatory of Music where he studied music composition with Samuel Dolin.

Career

Irvine was a member of the Hannaford Street Silver Band with whom he performed, composed, and recorded for more than 20 years. He played the tuba music featured on the children's television program The Elephant Show .

Irvine has been the principal tubist for the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra since 1984 [4] and currently holds the same post with the Esprit Orchestra. In 1997, he co-founded True North Brass [5] with whom he has released four CDs, all of which feature some of his own compositions.

In 2002, Irvine performed a joint concert with the Canadian Horn Quartet, billing himself as the Tuba Tyrant. [6] The following year the Canadian Opera Company orchestra premiered his work "The Opera House Fanfare". [7]

Irvine performed as part of the Champagne Symphony Pops Orchestra in the "King of Swing" concert at Roy Thomson Hall in 2006. [8] In 2009 he played the tuba with the New Music Concerts Ensemble in Toronto. [9]

In 2010, an album or recordings from the 1990s, Spoiled Bratland, with Irvine on tuba, was released by Mendelson Joe. [10]

In 2015, Irvine performed with the Canadian National Brass Project as part of the Ottawa Chamberfest. [11] In April 2017, he hosted an edition of the CBC Radio 2 show This is My Music.

Family life

Irvine married musician Joan Thelma Watson (1953–2015), who became the principal horn player of the Canadian Opera Orchestra (COC). They raised two sons together, Max and Joel. [12]

Related Research Articles

Simon Proctor is a British composer and pianist, known for his works for unusual instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Brass</span> Chamber music ensemble

The Canadian Brass is a Canadian brass quintet formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, by Charles Daellenbach (tuba) and Gene Watts (trombone), with horn player Graeme Page and trumpeters Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet. As of 2018, Daellenbach is the sole original member in the group, with the other members being trumpeters Joe Burgstaller and Fabio Brum, hornist Jeff Nelsen, and trombonist Achilles Liarmakopoulos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brass quintet</span> Musical ensemble

A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. The instrumentation for a brass quintet typically includes two trumpets or cornets, one French horn, one trombone or euphonium/baritone horn, and one tuba or bass trombone. Musicians in a brass quintet may often play multiple instruments. Trumpet players for instance may double on piccolo trumpets and flugelhorns. There can be variation in instrumentation depending on the type of quintet. In some quintets, the horn is replaced by an additional trombone. Euphonium may also be substituted for the trombone part. While the tuba is considered a standard, the range and style of many pieces lend themselves to being played with bass trombone as the lowest-pitched instrument. Additionally, some pieces call for the use of percussion instruments, particularly the snare drum, tambourine, or timpani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian classical music</span>

In Canada, classical music includes a range of musical styles rooted in the traditions of Western or European classical music that European settlers brought to the country from the 17th century and onwards. As well, it includes musical styles brought by other ethnic communities from the 19th century and onwards, such as Indian classical music and Chinese classical music. Since Canada's emergence as a nation in 1867, the country has produced its own composers, musicians and ensembles. As well, it has developed a music infrastructure that includes training institutions, conservatories, performance halls, and a public radio broadcaster, CBC, which programs a moderate amount of Classical music. There is a high level of public interest in classical music and education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Ewazen</span> American composer and teacher

Eric Ewazen is an American composer and teacher.

The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (OSO) is a full size orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, including professional, student and amateur musicians. With around 100 musicians, the OSO is Ottawa's largest orchestra, which allows it to perform large symphonic repertoire of the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by Canadian composers.

Dan Welcher is an American composer, conductor, and music educator.

David C. Sampson is an American contemporary classical composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Laughton</span> Canadian musician

Stuart John Laughton is a Canadian musician. He was Founder and for 13 years Artistic Director of The Forest Festival in Ontario's Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve.

Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman is a series of six short compositions, or “parts” of one 25-minute composition, by Joan Tower. Parts I, II, III and V are scored for brass, Parts IV and VI for full orchestra. The score for the whole series includes 3 trumpets, 4 horns, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, 2 bass drums, 5 cymbals, 2 gongs, tam-tam, tom-toms, the triangle, glockenspiel, marimba, and chimes. Tower wrote Part I in 1987, Part VI twenty-nine years later, in 2016. The fanfares are a tribute to "women who take risks and are adventurous", with each dedicated to an inspiring woman in music.

Gary Kulesha is a Canadian composer, pianist, conductor, and educator. Since 1995, he has been Composer Advisor to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He has been Composer-in-Residence with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (1988–1992) and the Canadian Opera Company (1993–1995). He was awarded the National Arts Centre Orchestra Composer Award in 2002. He currently teaches on the music faculty at the University of Toronto.

Steven Gellman is a Canadian composer and pianist. He has been commissioned to write works for the Besançon International Music Festival, the CBC Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, McGill University, Musica Camerata, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, Opera Lyra, the Pierrot Ensemble, the Stratford Festival, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra among others. Since 1976 he has taught music composition and theory at the University of Ottawa.

Omar Daniel is a Canadian composer and pianist, and an associate professor of composition at the Western University.

Gregory Fritze is a former chair of the Composition Department at the Berklee College of Music. Fritze has also been a performer with Boston Ballet, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and other orchestras.

Bernard Howard Gilmore was an American composer, conductor, French horn player, and Professor Emeritus of music at the University of California, Irvine. He is best known for his compositions, including Five Folk Songs for Soprano and Band which has become a reputable work in contemporary band music repertoire.

Kerry Turner is an American composer and horn player. Turner is a recognized name in the horn and brass industry. Turner’s major ensembles with whom he performs include the American Horn Quartet, the Virtuoso Horn Duo, and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Turner has performed internationally as a soloist and clinician. Turner also sings tenor in a semi-professional octet.

Riki Turofsky is a Canadian concert and opera soprano, broadcaster, and video producer. She has sung leading roles with opera companies in Canada, the United States, and Europe, and has performed on the concert stage with major ensembles throughout North America. In 1978 she expanded her career into broadcasting as a host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation program Summer Festival. She has since appeared as a host on numerous programs for the CBC and the CTV Television Network. She also owns and operates the company Riki Productions which produces arts related programing for Canadian television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Luedeke</span> American and Canadian composer of classical music

Raymond Luedeke is an American / Canadian composer of contemporary classical music. Praised for his idiosyncratic instrumental writing and for his orchestration, Luedeke has more recently concentrated on works for music theatre. Although born in New York City, he spent 29 years as Associate Principal Clarinet with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, a position he left in 2010. A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, Ray Luedeke is artistic director of Voice Afire Opera-Cabaret in New York City.

Peter Aloysius Meechan is a British composer, conductor, and music publisher.

Joan Thelma Watson was a Canadian french horn musician and teacher. She served as principal horn of the Canadian Opera Orchestra and was a founding member of the True North Brass quintet.

References

  1. "Bandstand: What's In a Name?". The Whole Note, by Jack MacQuarrie , 1 June 2016
  2. "The serious fun world of Globokar". The Globe and Mail, Robert Everett-Green, Toronto, 12 December 2011
  3. Fanfare. Vol. 18, Issues 3-4. J. Flegler. 1995. p. 374.
  4. "Inaugural COC Orchestra Chamber Series Honours Richard Bradshaw". La Scena, By Joseph K. So on 29 September 2011
  5. "Spectacular the music event was simply … spectacular!". Saugeen Times, By Sandy Lindsay - 28 June 2019
  6. "Recent Events". Horn Ontario, May 2002
  7. "Opera house gets off the ground, with fanfare". The Globe and Mail, 12 April 2003, Sandra Martin
  8. "To Dream – Carnegie Hall 1938". The Live Music Report, 31 December 2006, by Paul J. Youngman
  9. "NMC’s Roger Reynolds and his Protégés". Showtime, reviewed by Stanley Fefferman, 30 March 2009
  10. "John's Blues Picks". Maple Blues, June 2010, page 11
  11. "Music review: Chamberfest opens with a brass fanfare". Ottawa Citizen, Natasha Gauthier Updated: 23 July 2015
  12. "Joan Watson - French horn". Music By The Sea. Retrieved 20 March 2021.