Francis Battah
Francis Battah is a Montreal-based Quebecois composer. After studying classical and jazz piano at Cégep, he earned a Bachelor's degree in composition from the University of Montreal and a Master's from Â鶹AV, studying with Denys Bouliane, Alan Belkin, Denis Gougeon, and Ana Sokolović. His catalog includes works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and orchestra, with commissions from the Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre de l'Agora, Bozzini Quartet, Quatuor Cobalt, Les Voix Parallèles de Vincent-d'Indy, Bakarlari, and pianists Philippe Prud'homme and Michel Raymond. His music has been performed at the Bozzini Vancouver Lab, Canadian Music Competition, Prix d'Europe, Orchestre de la Francophonie composition residencies, Soir Festival, Société de Concerts de Montréal's creation evenings, Viver programming, and Montreal Contemporary Music Lab.
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Francis Battah's interests encompass jazz influence in contemporary music, microtonality, idiomatic piano writing of the 19th and 20th centuries, and creating imaginary folklore emphasizing melody and modality. He is a grantee of the Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and Conseil des Arts de Montréal. He has won numerous competitions, including the Collégien Prize for Contemporary Music (2019 and 2023), Orchestre Métropolitain Beethoven Heritage Composition Competition, SOCAN Foundation Grand Prize, Andrew Svoboda Prize, and Pierre-Mantha Award from Prix d'Europe.
In Europe, he has won multiple prizes at the Antonin Dvorak International Composition Competition and the International Free Range Competition by the Alvarez Chamber Orchestra and Universal Edition. Francis Battah is also interested in the connections between music and literature, composing melodramas based on poems by Pierre Nepveu and Fernand Ouellette, collaborating with pianist Philippe Prud'homme and actors like Dany Boudreault, Béatrice Picard, and Monique Miller. He has independently produced concerts and recorded his works for piano and chamber ensemble, with scores published by Doberman- Yppan, Nouveau Théâtre Musical, and the Canadian Music Centre.
Kai Kubota-Enright
Kai Kubota-Enright is a composer/performer based in Los Angeles.
Her musical output encompasses a variety of works for both concert and film, as well as contributions to various interdisciplinary projects. Her music primarily focuses on the relationship between sound and spatial environments, both natural and human-made, as well as how these various elements interact with personal memories and subjectivities; drawing from a variety of western and Japanese influences.
In her performances she creates meditative, atmospheric spaces. Recently she performed a one hour solo show for the LA-based series feels like floating, exploring her work with Japanese cicadas, and also performed with artist V.C.R. at Lincoln Center.
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She also has created mixes for NTS and dublab radio, exploring postwar Japanese avant-garde art collectives and their early and obscure tape music. Her most recent live show for dublab explored transgender voice therapies in a collaboration with mezzo-soprano Lindsay Martin.
Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, she graduated with a BM in composition from the Schulich School of Music at Â鶹AV, studying composition with Melissa Hui and piano with Sara Laimon. Currently she is pursuing a MM in composition at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, studying with Camae Ayewa (professionally known as Moor Mother). She recently completed a commission funded by the 2022 ROSL Composition Award for the London Sinfonietta.
In 2018 she received an award from Bow Seat for her piece "Aquas," which utilizes a motif derived from climate data of the seas and terrain, and have also returned annually as a judge for musical works which respond to the climate crisis. In 2019, she received a SOCAN Foundation Young Composer Award for "Isaac,", and from 2021-2022 at Â鶹AV, she completed a brass quintet "Dream Transmission of Phoenix" as the Composer-in-Residence.
Chris LaRosa
Chris LaRosa is a composer for the concert hall, film, and television. Chris' compositions have been performed by orchestras across the world including the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Suzhou Symphony Orchestra. He has received commissions from premier organizations such as the American Guild of Organists and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Chris has prepared music for Hal Leonard's John Williams Signature Series, and he regularly arranges music for ensembles such as l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Chris recently collaborated with beloved Quebecois storyteller Fred Pellerin for a live music-storytelling concert Le Secret de Polichgnon, and created a custom arrangement for the 2024 World Figure Skating Championship Final Gala.
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Chris served as a staff arranger for The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own," where his music and arrangements were regularly performed for sitting U.S. Presidents and world leaders at The White House, Arlington National Cemetery, and The Pentagon. Growing up in Pennsylvania, Chris began his musical journey as a pianist and composed his first pieces at the age of eight. He studied and performed classical music at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, and in Paris at IRCAM, the world's top academy for composers bridging music and technology. Chris completed a doctorate in composition at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and studied film music at the Berklee College of Music. He is currently based in Montreal, Canada.
Philippe Macnab-Séguin
Philippe Macnab-Séguin is a composer of instrumental, electroacoustic and mixed music whose work aims to create a new musical language at the crossroads of popular musics ( especially electronic music, jazz and metal) and contemporary classical music. His music is rhythmically driven, complex, and reflects his eclectic musical background as an electric guitarist in metal and jazz, his study Nancarrow's music, his lessons in konnakol (south Indian vocal percussion) with Ghatam Karthick, his experience in Barbershop singing and arranging, and his study ofHyperglitch music and production with the producer Woulg (Greg Debicki). He and producer Nicolas Gaumond form the prog-pop duo Greetings From The Hole.
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One of his primary research interests is Aural Sonology, a method developed by Norwegian composer Lasse Thoresen, which aims to transcribe, describe, and analyze music-as-heard, without the support of a score, and independently of style. He has given workshops to participants of all levels of musical training, often with his colleagues Dominique Lafortune and Gabriel Dufour-Laperriere. This research informs his compositional work immensely, keeping it firmly grounded in perceptual principles, and allowing him to make cross-stylistic comparisons using the same conceptual framework.
He has received over 20 scholarships and awards for his work, including the Prix d'Europe, a BMI award, four SOCAN young composer awards, and funding from the SSHRC and FRQSC. He received his D.Mus in composition from Â鶹AV under the supervision of Jean Lesage, and has received mentorship from Denys Bouliane, Lasse Thoresen, Pierre Alexandre Tremblay, Matthew Shlomowitz, Philippe Leroux, Du Yun and Steve Takasugi, among others.
Christina Volpini
Christina Volpini is a composer whose work focuses on gradually unfolding harmonies and timbres. Described as "very nuanced, rustling and whispering" (Neomemoire) and "focused intently on the subtle sounds that fall between the cracks." (Ludwig Van Toronto), her music investigates subtle variation in intonation, tuning, instrumental textures, and ephemerality. Through a practice centred on listening as a way of place-making, her works emphasize a patient and intimate sound and are often developed through a collaborative process of creative discovery with musicians.
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Commissioned projects include works for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, Continuum Contemporary Music, Jumblies Theatre, Array Music Ensemble, Freesound Collective, Duo AIRS, and percussionist Ryan Scott, among others. Her work has been presented by Quatuor Bozzini, Soundstreams, Le Vivier, The Music Gallery, and the Canadian International Organ Competition, and she has participated in artistic residencies with The Banff Centre and nyMusikk Norway. She is a recipient of three SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers, including First Place in the Chamber Music category in 2020.
An avid capacity builder in arts spaces, Christina has demonstrated commitment to social responsibility and expanding access to the arts. She was a core organizer of both the Montreal Contemporary Music Lab (MCML) and the Toronto Creative Music Lab (TCML), each of which served as important community Âoriented workshops for early-career artists. Since 2021, she has held the role of Operations Manager with Continuum Contemporary Music Ensemble in Toronto. Christina holds a master's degree in composition from Â鶹AV and is currently based in Hamilton, Ontario.