Student Composers Concert

PROGRAM 

Contemplation on purple Horizon 

Menelaos Peistikos 

Menelaos Peistikos, piano 

Piano Sonata No. 2 - Movement 3 

Matthew Woolard 

Matthew Woolard, piano 

Träumerei for Shakuhachi and Piano 

Kevin Zi-Xiao He 

Kevin Zi-Xiao He, Shakuhachi, David Debono, piano 

Meditation 

Benjamin Gabbay 

Benjamin Gabbay, piano, 
Sarah Luedke, mezzo-soprano 
Emma Schmiedecke, violoncello 

In the Bleak Midwinter 

Emmanuel Wong 

Nadia Zbogarm, soprano I 
Eve Channell, soprano II 
Nathalie Winfield-Hicks, alto 
David Zuniga-Molina, tenor 
Cameron Boulter, bass 

INTERMISSION 

Gnarl 

Luke Blackmore 

San Rim, cello 
Luke Blackmore, electronics 

The Overthinker 

Bennett Luo 

Arthur Lo, percussion 

Liminal Reflections 

Emma Clark 

Sophie Reimer-Epp, violin I 
Selen Nsabiyeze, violin II 
Mia Aubuchon, viola 
Daniel Ulloa Garcia, cello 
Benjamin Kemppainen, bass 
Emma Clark, electronics 

Painting on Canvas 

Jeanne Tsui 

Jeanne Tsui, handbells 
Anwen Robertson, flute 
Tom Tsang, clarinet 
Clara Aristanto, oboe 
Taran Massey-Singh, bassoon 

BIOGRAPHIES

Menelaos Peistikos (b. 1995) is a Greek composer, pianist, and novelist. He was selected among the winners in several world and panhellenic composition competitions and calls for scores such as the 7th Molinari String Quartet World Composition Competition (3rd Prize and 1st Prize of the Public), the 4th Opus Dissonus Composition Competition for solo piano (2ndPrize), 2024 SEED Composition Academy, and the 2021 Open Call for Young Greek Composers – Israeli Chamber Project. Over the past three years, his compositional style has shifted in response to his growing interest in Zen Buddhist philosophy and traditional Japanese music. His recent works emphasize sound color as a medium for meditation and emotional depth, something which allowed him to create works that invite listeners into a space of solitude and existential reflection. Menelaos holds an MA in Composition in University of Toronto under the supervision of composer Christos Hatzis, and since September 2022 he began there his DMA in Composition where he is admitted with a full scholarship. Menelaos is the recipient of Nikos Evdemon Graduate Scholarship, University of Toronto Fellowship and the Hellenic Initiative Scholarship. Before continuing his studies with Professor Hatzis, Menelaos studied composition for seven years with Professor Altin Volaj. He has also received music theory degrees (Counterpoint and Fugue) and the Diploma in Composition with Professor Costas Tsougras, and the Degree in Piano with Professor Victoria Victoratou from the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki. Menelaos also holds a BA Honours Degree from the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In December 2024, he made his debut as a writer with his philosophical fiction novel ΜΑΚΑΡΙΟΙ ΘΕΑΤΕΣ (BLESSED VIEWERS) published in Greek language.nexuspercussion.com 

Matthew Woolard is currently enjoying his third year in the Bachelor of Music Program with a Major in Composition at the University of Toronto. His current Composition Instructor is Dr. Roger Bergs. His instructor last year was Andrew Clark. Matthew’s long term mentor is Professor Larysa Kuzmenko. In 2024, he was awarded both the Jean A. Chalmers Scholarship as well as the Sotherton Wadhams In-Course Scholarship. In 2023, he was awarded both the Arthur Plettner Scholarship and the Joseph Alfred Whealy In-Course Scholarship. Matthew completed his ARCT Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music in 2021, achieving First Class Honours with Distinction. His primary instrument is the piano, with his university instructor being Dr. Emily Chiang. He also plays the trumpet for his own enjoyment. Matthew’s hometown is Burlington, Ontario. 

Kevin Zi-Xiao He is a Chinese-born composer, multi-instrumentalist, and music educator. As a composer, his works have been showcased in international new music festivals in North America, Asia, and Europe. Kevin enjoys a prolific career performing on traditional Japanese bamboo flutes as a member of the world renowned Japanese taiko drumming group Nagata Shachu. He currently specializes in the Japanese Buddhist end-blown flute that originates from Tang Dynasty China - the shakuhachi, under the teachings of licensed shakuhachi master Shawn Tairyu Head. He is a doctoral candidate of music composition in the studio of Dr. Christos Hatzis, at the Faculty of Music, U of T.

Benjamin Gabbay is a composer and classical pianist. He holds an ARCT in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music and both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s of Music in Composition from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, where he is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Composition under Prof. Norbert Palej. He is currently an Associate Composer with Arcady, a contemporary music ensemble in Brantford, Ontario (www.arcady.ca). Benjamin’s compositions have received recognition by Toronto’s St. James Cathedral (for “i thank you God for most this amazing day,” one of two winners of the cathedral’s 2018-2019 composition competition), the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (participant of Explore the Score 2024), Fondation Jeunesses Musicales Canada (Artistic Prize recipient, “Do Mi Si La Do Re” Competition 2020, for “And so the night became”), and the Ruth Watson Henderson Choral Competition (honourable mention, 2017, for “Lux Aeterna”). In 2018, he was commissioned to write a highlight premiere for the Mississauga Summer Chorale’s end-of-season concert (“Requiem l’homme armé”). Through U of T, he has been the recipient of the Faculty of Music Graduating Award (2023), the Lothar Klein Memorial Fellowship (2020), the Gwendolen M Grant Music Scholarship (2019), the Robert and John Elliot McBroom Scholarship (2017, 2018, 2019), the Lobodowsky Choral Scholarship (2018), and the Susan Cale Award (2017). 

Emmanuel Wong is from Singapore. Injuring his hand from playing too much piano, he found much comfort in playing church hymns. This change in direction led him to want to interact with the rich heritage of Western Church hymnody. This is his second year in undergraduate studying Pipe Organ with Professor Kevin Komisaruk. He is interested to learn more about music as a vehicle for worship of God in different cultures. Soli Deo Gloria. Back in Singapore, he forms an acapella group with five sisters. They love jamming to Carols every Christmas. 

Luke Blackmore is a Canadian composer, sound artist, and saxophonist based in Toronto and St. John’s. His current artistic practice centers around works that explore acoustic and electronic spaces, and he is interested in exploring the connections and divisions between these two sonic environments. Luke’s work seeks to investigate how these boundaries can be exploited, assured, and otherwise manipulated in order to subvert the collective expectations of audiences . His music explores the tenacious relationship between technological innovation and human performance practice. Luke holds degrees from the University of Toronto and Memorial University, and has studied under Gary Kulesha, Kotoka Suzuki, Eliot Britton, and Andrew Staniland, among others. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Toronto. Luke is the recipient of numerous awards and commissions, most notably the SSHRC CGS-M grant for his ongoing creative research into computer-controlled instrument systems. His music has been performed and recorded by multiple performers and ensembles such as the JACK Quartet, the Alkali Collective, KöNG Duo, Ryan Scott, Ben Diamond, and others. Luke’s compositions have been performed from coast-to-coast in Canada, in venues ranging from dive bars to concert halls. 

Bennett Luo is a Canadian classical pianist and composer from Toronto. He is a fourth year student in the Bachelor of Music program at the University of Toronto, where he has studied piano with Younggun Kim, and composition in the studios of Menelaos Peistikos, Gary Kulesha, Abigail Richardson-Schulte, and James Rolfe. His works have been performed at venues such as the Arts & Letters Club, Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance, Holy Blossom Temple, and University of Toronto New Music Festival. You can find more about his music at bennettluo.com. 

Emma Clark was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and currently studies Composition at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Larysa Kuzmenko. Her music has been performed at the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, the SNATS Canadian Art Song Showcase and in Student Composer Concerts at the University of Toronto. She also enjoys scoring for media, and recently designed audio for a short film featured in the Oakville Film Festival. She has also composed music for plays at the Hart House Theatre Festival and Floyd Theatre Festival. In 2024, she was fortunate to be in Philip Lasser’s composition studio at the EAMA Summer Composition Program. In addition to composing, Emma loves being involved in musical theatre, and enjoys music directing and arranging for her award-winning competitive acapella group Surround Sound. She also recently co-music directed one of her favourite pieces of theatre, Stephen Sondheim’s Company. Emma is excited to be presenting her first ever electroacoustic work, and would like to thank her players for bringing this ambitious performance to life! 

Jeanne Tsui, born in Hong Kong, is a second-year student studying voice and composition at the University of Toronto. She began composing in high school and was a finalist in the Crossroads Composition Competition, organized by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her music explores diverse rhythmic and timbral possibilities, often drawing inspiration from spoken languages, especially Cantonese. Jeanne began her vocal training in 2019 and currently studies under Ms. Monica Whicher. In addition to her studies, she is an active handbell musician, participating in both local and international events as a member of ensembles such as Bellaholics (Hong Kong), Bronze Foundation (Toronto), and Zenith (United States).

PROGRAM NOTES 

Contemplation on purple Horizon is a one-movement composition for solo piano written in spring 2024. It is dedicated to the memory of my mother Sandy (1960-2024). 

Piano Sonata No. 2 - Movement 3 – This piece was inspired by the exhilarating yet unsettling experience of travelling to an unfamiliar big city far from home. The first movement elicits a feeling of agitation and uncertainty with constant but varying motion as this new location is initially encountered. The second movement is slower and calmer as an element of cautious familiarity gradually sets in as the city is surveyed. The third movement, which is performed today, is much faster and exciting to symbolize the increased confidence and eagerness to explore these new captivating surroundings. 

"Träumerei" is my first attempt to compose for the shakuhachi, the Japanese bamboo flute played by the Zen monks centuries ago, in a "classical", chamber music frame. The German title serves as a playful homage to the meditative essence of traditional shakuhachi practice. While the French impressionists were merely influenced by the Far East, the piece explores a day-dream state when an actual Japanese instrument is employed with its elusive timbre. With a touch of jazz harmonies, this is a personal composition embracing my various influences, central among which is the spirit I have felt in some contemporary Japanese composers. 

Meditation – The narrator in Baudelaire's poem "Recueillement" (often translated as "Meditation" in English versions of the text) speaks endearingly to their own grief as though it were a person, leading it on through a twilit scene. Condemning the frivolities and vain pleasures of the masses, the narrator invites their personified grief to look beyond these earthly cares and watch the sun set into "la douce Nuit qui marche"—"the sweet Night that marches.” This piece, which I call a mélodie for its stylistic ties to early-20th-century French art song, sets Baudelaire's text with almost chorale-like simplicity against a gently rocking melody that pervades the entire work—reminiscent of a lullaby or an old folk tune, steadily advancing like Baudelaire's "march" of the night. 

In the Bleak Midwinter – Here in Toronto in the middle of winter, we take this time to remember the mystery and wonder of the Christmas Story - God incarnate lying in a manger, with ox and camel looking on. What is God teaching us through this story? 

GNARL is inspired by the flora and landscapes of Canada’s east coast, particularly coastal regions where trees grow on cliff faces and roots emerge through cracks in rocks. In GNARL, the cello uses extended techniques to mimic the sounds of these landscapes. These mimicking sounds are accompanied by musical motives to imbue them with emotional meaning. The electronics use tactile transducers fixed to the body of the cello, in order to insert the electronics into the resonant body of the cello. The electronics and the acoustic part are heard as one being, equal and unified. The piece is written in a completely through-composed form, where no section repeats for further development. GNARL is a journey from point-A to point-B. 

The overthinker is a person who compulsively thinks about the same thoughts over and over, creating unnecessary anxiety in their daily life. The tape represents the imagination interfering with reality. The entire piece is composed only using sounds that originate from crotales. Some of these sounds are manipulated electronically to create effects. Thank you to Amiel Ang for helping me record the samples for the tape! 

Liminal Reflections explores the idea of technology and AI distorting ideas. The opening theme is presented in the First Violin, and is fragmented in each of the other string voices, with each of the fragments being developed independently. The work is in an arc form with three themes, and when each of the themes return, they are augmented and distorted, developed into fragments like a game of broken telephone. The piece ends with a decaying of its mostly-tonal landscape, a swell of noise and dissonance evoking a sense of all original meaning being lost.