Patrick E. Carpenter

Biography

Sample Works

Patrick E. Carpenter earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Composition and Theory at the University of Victoria, where he studied with Rudolf Komorous. He later studied under Bulent Arel at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, completing his Master of Arts in Music Composition in 1978. The prizes and awards Carpenter has received for his music include the Second Prize (also the Prize for the best work by a B.C. composer) in the CBC's Young Composer's Competition of 1976, for the electroacoustic piece Touchstone I. His music has received performances in various countries including Australia, Canada, France, Israel and the United States.

Carpenter describes his music: "I have written both acoustic and electroacoustic music. My works include pieces for solo tape, solo instruments, small chamber ensembles and large ensembles such as orchestra and forty voice choir. A strong sense of form is present in all my works. Unity through diversity is what I am constantly striving to achieve. In an attempt to write what is, in my view, original music, I have always followed my own musical intuition when composing, and have never consciously allowed my work to be influenced by particular composers or styles. My music is music that comes, simply, from the heart."

Carpenter currently lives in Nanaimo, British Columbia, where he has taught Music History, Theory and Composition at Malaspina College since 1979.

CAPAC, Canadian League of Composers

1988

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