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 August 2023, Daellenbach is the sole original member in the group, with the other members being trumpeters Joe Burgstaller and Mikio Sasaki, hornist Jeff Nelsen, and trombonist Keith Dyrda.
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.
Philip Smith is an American classical trumpet player. He is former Principal Trumpet with the New York Philharmonic and played with the orchestra from 1978 to 2014. Smith, born in the United Kingdom, is from a Salvation Army background. He assumed the co-principal position in the New York Philharmonic in June 1978 and the principal position in 1988. He also is a supporter of brass bands, performing with various groups of distinction.
David Hickman is an American trumpeter, author, academic, and is widely considered one of the preeminent trumpet virtuosi of the 20th century. He is a Regents' Professor of trumpet at Arizona State University and past President of the International Trumpet Guild.
James Sommerville is a Canadian orchestral hornist and conductor. He was the current principal hornist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and former Conductor and Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic, in Hamilton, Ontario.
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.
Jacques Hétu was a Canadian composer and music educator. Hétu is the most frequently performed of Canadian classical composers, both within Canada and internationally.
Roger Louis Voisin was an American classical trumpeter. In 1959, The New York Times called him "one of the best-known trumpeters in this country."
Phillip Rista Nimmons was a Canadian jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader, and educator. Nimmons played "free jazz" and mainstream styles, and other genres including classical music. He composed more than 400 pieces in various genres, and for various instrumentations including film scores, music for radio and television, chamber music, music for large ensembles, concert band and symphony orchestras. He studied clarinet at the Juilliard School, and composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Philip Cashian is an English composer. He is the head of composition at the Royal Academy of Music.
Porkbelly Futures is a Canadian blues music group based in Toronto, Ontario. The latest lineup of the band included lead singer Paul Quarrington (1953-2010),; guitarist/harmonica player Stuart Laughton, bass player Chas Elliott and vocalist Rebecca Campbell.
Donald Richard "Don" Whitton was a Canadian concert cellist, recording musician, and teacher, with a professional career in music spanning over 50 years.
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).
Tine Thing Helseth is a Norwegian trumpet soloist specializing in classical repertoire.
Nigel Clarke is a British composer and musician. He is a former head of composition and contemporary music at the London College of Music and Media.
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.
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.
