I just can’t see the CBC as a big museum for European culture.

I never could resist controversy, so it’s time for my second instalment on the classical versus “post-classical” controversy at CBC (I’ll leave the concept of post-classical for a later blog entry). Today’s Winnipeg Free Press (April 18, 2008) features an editorial in which my name appeared rather prominently.

William Neville has been writing about the impending program changes at CBC. He’s not happy! Now, I haven’t actually spoken to Mr. Neville, he’s referring to some brief comments attributed to me in the Free Press last Saturday. I spoke to columnist Morley Walker when a small group gathered out front of the CBC building here in Winnipeg. I went out to talk to a few friends and ended up chatting with Morley for a few seconds.

I should probably back track a bit. I am a composer of what we might call “new classical music” – whatever that means. I have a Ph.D. in Music, so I’m at least not uninformed about the history of music – although what we learn at University is almost exclusively the history of “western art music.” I can discuss the great masters of western music history and I do love the music. But! And I’m talking a big BUT, the last few years have brought me to a very different place in my thinking about where music is going. This all started with a piece I wrote for Katajjaq singers and orchestra. It was the first piece I was asked to write for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra when I became their Composer-in-Residence. At first I didn’t want to write the piece, but after I did a bit of thinking, I came to the conclusion that it was an incredible opportunity – one I shouldn’t pass up just because I felt a little out of my element.

It was a life altering experience. I worked with two wonderful singers from Rankin Inlet (Pauline Pemik and Inukshuk Aksalnik). The piece eventually became a “recommended work” at the International Rostrum of Composers and it broadcast in many countries around the world (incidentally, we’ve been playing works from last year’s Rostrum on The Signal on Sunday nights – around midnight).

Pauline and Inukshuk come from a musical tradition that was almost stamped out when Southerners (dare I say white Christian clergy?) forbid the Inuit their traditional customs. But there’s now a younger generation who have learned this incredible style of singing (mostly from their grandparents) and they are taking it to the world. Tanya Tagaq is probably the best known in popular music circles – as she’s performed all over, including a recent project with the Kronos Quartet.




This whole experience made me realize two things. The first was that you can’t freeze a tradition in time. If an art form is going to remain vital it has to change. The second was that my view of the musical world was painfully small. I kind of knew that already, but this experience forced me to deal with it. Since that time, I’ve worked on several large pieces that brought together musicians from different cultures and my idea of what music should be in our time has changed dramatically.

So back to the changes at CBC. Western classical music stands among the greatest achievements of humankind. The new programming at CBC will continue to keep that traditional alive and available – nobody has said it’s going away. However, we need to make room for the music of our time and our country. This is really important and it is far easier for an audience to access quality recordings of classical music than it is to find out what is being created in our country – beyond those artists who have the support of the commercial music industry.

I hope that music lovers will find the new CBC format to be the perfect place to hear good music – no matter what genre or historical period. Take this Sunday night’s show on The Signal for example. We’re celebrating the 75th birthday of Canada’s best known composer, R. Murray Schafer and we’re putting the music of Quebec cellist and indie-rock sensation Jorane up close to Vancouver composer Mark Armanini’s Dance of Many Colours. It features traditional Vietnamese instruments mixing with a Western “classical” orchestra.