Notes of the North

The Composer's Responsibility: A Talk with Cris Derksen

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 15:13:00 GMT

Juno-nominated composer and cellist Cris Derksen talks using composition to shine light on what we should look at as a society, being about the “feel,” and so much more!

Featured music:

Round Dance Instrumental

Powwow Rhapsody

Mozart's Ghost

Improvisations on the Sunset

New Women Song

Sound Freaks and Sensuality: A Talk with Rodney Sharman

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 15:01:00 GMT

Rodney Sharman talks being a "sound freak", the unique sounds of Toronto, Montréal, and the West Coast, his incredible volunteer and advocacy work, what is at the heart of artistic change, and much more!

Featured music:

Incantation

Missing You

Known and Unknown

Three Songs

What Unfolds in Time: A Talk with Luke Blackmore

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:01:00 GMT

Newfoundlander Luke Blackmore talks his process of how rhythm is everything, overcoming writer's block, music with fog, and much more!

Featured music:

Something Sawed

Spectral Chorale

Humans First, Tech Second: A Talk with Keiko Devaux

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:39:00 GMT

Keiko Devaux (joined by a special guest) talks being honest with your sound, composition as much more than the final piece, the problems of even having a "sound", and so much more!

Featured music:

L’écoute du perdu : III. « Voix jetées »

Rhythm, Patterns, Timbre: A Talk with Jascha Narveson

Sat, 20 Dec 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Jascha Narveson talks growing up surrounded by vinyls, being captivated by the technology rather than the instruments in the room, being a listener rather than a composer, the rewarding process of collaborating with dancers, and much more!

Featured music:

Soundpaper roll two, 8Bit Elf Coffe Shop - 5 minute excerpt

In Line (PLOrk Sideband)

Flash Crash

action/reaction (BounceBounce)

Late_Night_Project 100 | night swim

Late_Night_Project 101 | shortburst

Late_Night_Project 102 | newmood

Late_Night_Project 106 | gates

Late_Night_Project 103 | wheel

Late_Night_Project 104 | hall

Late_Night_Project 107 | burrs

“Everything good begins with a question”: A Talk with Andrew Staniland

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 15:50:08 GMT

Andrew Staniland talks providing good questions rather than good answers, caution in bringing in the outside world through electronics, writing music only for friends, and much more!

Featured works:

Adventuremusic - Toca Loca

True North

The Laws of Nature

Music for the People: A Talk with Daniel Pelton

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:50:08 GMT

Boundary-pushing, community-oriented, genre-blurring composer Daniel Pelton hails from Calgary, Alberta. Join us as we talk finding the fun in live concert, music for the people, the necessity in putting yourself out into the world and “doing the thing,” and much more!

Featured works:

Long Time No Time - Get Up Get Down live at The Palomino

Frank Zappa Roxy The Movie - T'Mershi Duween

For S. - The Daniel Pelton Collective

34902 - 32407

Prelude - Letters from Taylor

Prelude and Jig - The Daniel Pelton Collective

Sweet Child O’ Mine - Letters from Taylor

All Along the Watchtower - Letters from Taylor

Why - Letters from Taylor

Every Story Has its Sound: A Talk with Ryan Shore

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 15:02:30 GMT

Ryan Shore talks his writing process and "throwing down the clay", the two-way street of music, the true skills needed to succeed, improvisation's influence in his work, and so much more!

Featured works:

Odd's Victory

Numb

The Parents

First Solo Flight

News on the March

Mike, Amy and Carver

Rex Steele Main Theme

Full Suite Ahead

Allumette

Arden's Wake

Floyd's Theme

"Chasing the Thrill of Inspiration": A Talk with Matthew Emery

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 18:40:06 GMT

Dr. Matthew Emery talks the intricacies of writing for voice, “honest music,” removing unnecessary pitches, the relevance of Canadian choral music, finding great inspiration in the little atmospheric details, mentorship coming full circle, and much more!

Featured music:

Walk Safely Over Soft Places

From Dewy Dreams, My Soul Arise

Mist trapped in the trees

Lead Us Home

Sketching the Soul: A Talk with Kevin Lau

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 18:40:09 GMT

Composer Kevin Lau talks his composition ideation and sketching process in comparison with an author’s, conveying the universality of hardship and healing through music, how music moves through time, consideration of the collaborator, the idea of “deep connection amidst surface diversity,” responding to your authentic intuition, and so much more!

Featured music:

Under a Veil of Stars

Glitched Memories & Musical Invention: A Talk with Nicole Lizée

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 19:00:11 GMT

2024 JUNO winner Nicole Lizée talks coffee-fuelled composition rituals, being born into an immersive malfunctioning technological environment, visuals fully embedded in coexistence with music as a member of the ensemble, favourite and most precious equipment, conversations rather than answers, and much more!

Featured music:

This Will Not Be Televised (2007)

RPM

Capturing the Wild: A Talk with Matthias McIntire

Sat, 04 Jan 2025 18:10:06 GMT

Dr. Matthias McIntire talks finding pieces of unfinished pieces, taking inspiration from animals, the process of field recording, and more!

Featured music:

Mysterious Island Seaside Town

Earthbound and Skyward for solo piano

Komqwejwi'kasikl 3 Old Water

Cathedral Grove (and the Gray Jay)

Composing Chocolate that Connects: A Talk with Maxime Goulet

Sat, 21 Dec 2024 19:20:09 GMT

Juno-winning video game and concert composer Maxime Goulet talks his background in rock combo, importance of sensory experience, composing what you like rather than others, and much more!

Featured works:

Maxime Goulet: Symphonic Chocolates

Ice Storm Symphony, I. Turmoil

Chido, Competitions, & Cinematic Soundscapes: A Talk with Luis Ramirez

Sat, 14 Dec 2024 20:50:08 GMT

Luis Ramirez talks his unique take on folklore in music, the role of competitions in the life of a musician, the strengths and challenges of diversity, and much more.

Featured music:

Chido, for symphony orchestra

Leaven, for string quartet

Picante, for symphony orchestra

When Words Escape, Song Remains: A Talk with Lavinia Kell Parker

Sat, 30 Nov 2024 21:40:09 GMT

Choral and concert composer Lavinia Kell Parker talks her background in church music, music as a shared experience, the idea of "comprovisation," and much more!

Featured music:

Other Names for Birds, Audio Excerpt (Penderecki String Quartet/Lavinia Kell Parker)

Soli Deo Gloria

Crawford Road

Finding Something from Nothing: A Talk with Roydon Tse

Sat, 16 Nov 2024 17:21:14 GMT

Composer and educator Roydon Tse talks musical and conceptual balance between Eastern and Western, the intersection of traditional and contemporary, and much more!

Featured works:

Radiant Light

Tripartite Thinking: A Talk with Dinuk Wijeratne

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 19:03:03 GMT

Dinuk Wijeratne talks composing for the performers rather than the listener, the tripartite relationship of creation, the exciting future of concert programming, and more!

Featured music:

Gajaga Vannama

Seed Songs, Snowflakes, & Specifics: A Talk with Carmen Braden

Sun, 19 May 2024 14:50:21 GMT

Composer and songwriter Carmen Braden talks the Northern experience, music impacting parenting style, the significance of specificity, and more!

Featured music:

Small Town Song

The Raven Conspiracy

Crossing Genres, Crossing Borders: A Talk with Bekah Simms

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 22:10:16 GMT

3-time Juno-winning concert composer Bekah Simms talks metal music, sonic trickery and abstraction, complete lack of natural influence, the listener experience, and so much more!

Featured music:

metamold (sextet + electronics)

Foreverdark

"A Rebel in Advance": A Talk with Sophie Dupuis

Sun, 07 Apr 2024 13:20:13 GMT

Join Dr. Sophie Dupuis and Brianna as they discuss opportunities for contemporary Canadian composers, comedy vs creepy, the value of art and more!

Music featured:

Elles ont peint le crépuscule de noir et blanc

There will be no ice left in the Arctic in 22* years from now

Taken by the Locos for Violin and Percussion

Composing Curiosity: A Talk with Martín Kutnowski

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 00:10:16 GMT

Argentinian-New Brunswick composer and pedagogue Martin Kutnowski joins Brianna to discuss the figures that shape him finding something to say through music, music as a defining facet of culture, and more!

Featured music:

"En la mar hay una torre" (In The Sea There Is a Tower")

Five Tango Études

Violin Concerto in E Minor, op. 64, I. Allegro molto appassionato (Felix Mendelssohn)

Overture to "Egmont", Op. 84 (Ludwig van Beethoven)

Music, Memory, & Manitoba: A Talk with Karen Sunabacka

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 12:17:11 GMT

Dr. Karen Sunabacka joins Brianna to talk spoken word in instrumental music, navigating complex issues through music, and transforming the Manitoban environment to sound.

Featured music:

Hiding for solo piano (1999)

Mama's Painting - Louis Riel's Dream

Psychological Practice & Breaking Boundaries: A Talk with Anthony Tan

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 11:24:38 GMT

Researcher and electronic musician Dr. Anthony Tan discusses innovation in music, the challenges of inclusivity meeting diversity, creating "alienating" music and more.

Featured music:

"And/Or" - for 14 musicians and electronics

"Ways of Returning" III. - for amplified string quartet and electronics

"On the Sensations of Tone II" - amplified octet and electronics

Facing Fear & Finding Flow: A Talk with Vincent Ho

Sat, 13 Jan 2024 19:03:38 GMT

Today Dr. Vince Ho discusses his eclectic and multicultural mosaic of musical influences. We also hear about how the pandemic served as a powerful springboard for his career. How do you fuse together East and West? How can we see fear as an ally? All this and more.

Featured works:

The Shaman: Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra: I. Ritual

The Water Dragon: Concerto For Zhongruan And Chinese Orchestra

Whimsical Sketches of Fanciful Birds: Book 3. V. The Angel and the Mockingbird

From Istanbul to the Icefields: A Talk with İlkim Tongur

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 12:10:21 GMT

İlkim Tongur joins Brianna for the Season 2 finale! Join us as we talk soundscapes, not taking innovation seriously, drawing the trajectory of music and more.

Featured music:

Yakamoz

Rhythm, Roots & Reinventing Opera: A Talk with Ana Sokolović

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 01:03:36 GMT

Ex-ballerina Ana Sokolović talks theatrics, staying in tune with current society, and calling Montréal home. ‎

Featured music: ‎

Ciaccona‎

…And I Need a Room to Receive Five Thousand People With Raised Glasses… Or… What a Glorious Day / The Birds Are Singing / Halleluia

100,000 Lakes and a Thousand Stories: A Talk with T. Patrick Carrabré

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 01:03:34 GMT

Métis composer Dr. T. Patrick Carrabré discusses his unique compositional style, the Sixties Scoop, and his musical experiences in British Columbia.

‍Featured music:‎

Ancestral Drone‎

Chanson de la Gornouillèr (Métis Songs)‎

Inuit Games

Composing the North: A Talk with Daniel Janke

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 01:03:32 GMT

Explore the sonic and frigid landscapes of Yukon with Daniel Janke. Daniel talks European influence, musical influences, the challenges of Canada's vastness, and more.

Featured music:‎

Dancing Man‎

Time You Thief

Echoes of the Land: A Talk with Sonny-Ray Day Rider

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 01:03:30 GMT

Composer Sonny-Ray Day Rider of the Kainai Blood Tribe explains his perspective on music-making and composition in Canada.‎

Featured music:‎

Storm Maker‎

Orogeny‎

Binary

Music from the Heart: A Talk with Marjan Mozetich

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 01:03:28 GMT

Today we spotlight Ontarian composer Marjan Mozetich and his captivating sound.

Featured works:

Affairs of the Heart

Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Sz. 106

Music for the Future and Climate Change: A Talk with Kati Agócs

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 01:03:26 GMT

Join Dr. Kati Agócs as we discover the sound of Newfoundland!

Featured music:‎‎

Concerto for Violin & Percussion Orchestra‎

Perpetual Summer‎

Schoenberg: 6 Orchestral Lieder, op. 8‎

Building Community Through Unity of Voice: A Talk with Paul A. Aitken

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 01:03:23 GMT

Choral composer Dr. Paul A. Aitken brings us to the sound of Nova Scotia. Listen to Paul's anecdotes on his musical journey, biggest inspirations, and building community through unity of voices. ‎‎

Featured works: ‎‎

And None Shall Be Afraid‎‎‎

Flanders Fields

"Bartók on steroids": A Talk with Kelly-Marie Murphy

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 02:14:47 GMT

Dr. Kelly-Marie Murphy's music, described as "Bartók on steroids", is sure to catch your attention. Kelly talks life in Canada's capital VS Saskatchewan, and making somewhere truly your home.‎‎‎

Featured music:‎‎‎‎‎‎

En el oscuro es todo uno‎

Give Me Phoenix Wings to Fly: III

‎A Thousand Natural Shocks