In his youth, Laughton studied trumpet with Joseph Umbrico in Toronto and became one of the original members of the Canadian Brass in 1970 at the age of 19. Laughton left the group to continue his studies with Gilbert Johnson at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In 1973, while still a student at Curtis, Laughton was appointed principal trumpet of La Scala Opera, by Claudio Abbado.
Laughton founded Opening Day Recordings in 1993 as a means of promoting Canadian music and musicians such as pianist Janina Fialkowska, harpist Judy Loman, composer R. Murray Schafer, soprano Mary Lou Fallis and the Hannaford Street Silver Band with conductor Bramwell Tovey. Six of the twenty discs he released were nominated for Canadian Juno Awards.
After a 32-year absence, Laughton rejoined Canadian Brass in 2003, performing and recording with the ensemble over a two and one-half year period. During this time he also released a solo recording entitled "Remembrance" on the Marquis Classics label.
Laughton was a long-time board member (and twice president) of R. Murray Schafer's Patria Music/Theatre Projects. Schafer dedicated his composition The Falcon's Trumpet (Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra) to Laughton; the work was commissioned and premiered by Toronto's Esprit Orchestra.
Laughton's lifelong interest in roots and blues music resulted in his founding the band Porkbelly Futures, in which he performed on lead guitar, harmonica, mandolin, lap and pedal steel guitar and (latterly) harmony vocals; the group's recordings also list Laughton on tin whistle, saxophones and trombone. Porkbelly Futures toured Canada and released three CDs which have included Laughton compositions such as Louisiana (with Martin Worthy), Deep Deep Blue (with Paul Quarrington), Alberta Springtime and March Storm.
Laughton has recently begun performing as a solo singer and multi-instrumentalist (radiodial.ca). He lives in Burlington, Ontario with his wife, a family physician (formerly a professional ballet dancer). They have three grown children.
Joseph Norman Alessi is an American classical trombonist with the New York Philharmonic.
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.
Murray Adaskin, was a Toronto-born Canadian violinist, composer, conductor and teacher. After playing violin with a band, he studied composition and became the director of the Music department of the University of Saskatchewan. Many of his compositions were written while in Victoria after his retirement.
Raymond Murray Schafer was a Canadian composer, writer, music educator, and environmentalist perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book The Tuning of the World (1977). He was the first recipient of the Jules Léger Prize in 1978.
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.
Philip Cashian is an English composer. He is the head of composition at the Royal Academy of Music.
Andrew Paul MacDonald is a Canadian classical composer, guitarist, conductor, and music educator. His compositions have been performed in many countries and recorded by well-known musical ensembles.
Allan Gilliland is a contemporary Canadian composer.
Donald Richard "Don" Whitton was a Canadian concert cellist, recording musician, and teacher, with a professional career in music spanning over 50 years.
José Serebrier is a Uruguayan conductor and composer. He is one of the most recorded conductors of his generation.
Timothy Wesley John Brady is a Canadian composer, electric guitarist, improvising musician, concert producer, record producer and cultural activist. Working in the field of contemporary classical music, experimental music, and musique actuelle, his compositions utilize a variety of styles from serialism to minimalism and often incorporate modern instruments such as electric guitars and other electroacoustic instruments. His music is marked by a synthesis of musical languages, having developed an ability to use elements of many musical styles while retaining a strong sense of personal expression. Some of his early recognized works are the 1982 orchestral pieces Variants and Visions, his Chamber Concerto (1985), the chamber trio ...in the Wake..., and his song cycle Revolutionary Songs (1994).
Hanna Kulenty is a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. Since 1992, she has worked and lived both in Warsaw (Poland) and in Arnhem (Netherlands).
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.
Fred Stone was a Canadian flugelhornist, trumpeter, pianist, composer, writer, and music educator. He worked as a soloist within both the classical and jazz repertoires from the 1950s through the early 1970s, appearing in concerts with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and the San Diego Symphony. Between 1971 and 1983, he mainly focused on his work as a composer and teacher, making only periodic public performances, and often with ensembles composed largely of his students. In 1984, he formed "Freddie's Band", a jazz ensemble in residence at The Music Gallery in Toronto. He performed with this group up until his death two years later.
Larysa Kuzmenko is a Juno Awards-nominated Canadian composer and pianist based in Toronto, Ontario. She currently teaches on the music faculties of The Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto.
The Esprit Orchestra is an orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that is dedicated to the performance of new orchestral works. It was established in 1983 by music director and conductor Alex Pauk, and is Canada's only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to new music. Currently, there are 45 full-time members. A season typically features five concerts featuring 20th and 21st century music as well as newly commissioned works. Notable composers who have written for Esprit include John Burke, Alexina Louie, John Rea, Chan Ka-Nin, Murray Schafer, Owen Underhill, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and John Beckwith.
Curtis Curtis-Smith, better known as C. Curtis-Smith or C.C. Smith, was a modernist American composer and pianist.
Allan Zavod was an Australian pianist, composer, jazz musician and occasional conductor whose career was mainly in America.
James Scott Irvine is a Canadian composer, arranger, and tuba player 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, 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.
Judy Loman is a harpist and harp teacher, born and educated in the United States and active in Canada. She was the principal harp of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1959 until her retirement in 1991, and won a Juno award for Best Classical Album in 1980. She taught at the University of Toronto and established a summer school for harpists. Loman was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 2015.
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