Cassandra Miller – Notation, detail and richness

Music Research Forum

Cassandra Miller

Notation, detail and richness

Thursday 17 May, 1 – 2pm, MT.G18

In the presentation of her recent chamber works, Canadian composer Cassandra Miller will discuss the relationship of notation to sound-image, interpretive musicality, (non)coordination of elements, recursiveness, and detail. Through a flexible view of notation, Cassandra explores the pull of two opposite desires: the draw of complex nature-inspired sound-worlds, and an impulse towards simplicity and elegance.

Composer Cassandra Miller (1976) is the artistic director of Innovations en concert, a non-profit organization which presents experimental music concerts in Montreal. In 2011, she received the Jules-Léger Prize for New Chamber Music for her composition Bel Canto. Composition teachers included Christopher Butterfield (University of Victoria), Richard Ayres and Yannis Kyriakides (Royal Conservatory of the Hague), and Michael Finnissy (private study 2012). Her music is performed widely in Canada, and recently with increasing frequency in Europe. She is currently composing a new work for pianist Philip Thomas to be premiered at hcmf// 2012. Cassandra Miller’s work combines a love of warmth with a love for the absurd. Her music often involves notation systems that stimulate personal interpretation and connection between performers. Common themes include circular repetition; inspiration from folk music, romantic music, or natural sounds; a re-thinking of the concepts of simplicity and complexity; and a general tendency towards sighing.

To hear this talk, please visit the CMR archive [BSU users only]