What is the Norman Burgess Memorial Fund?

The Norman Burgess Memorial Fund is a vehicle for the commissioning, publishing and showcasing of high quality new music specifically designed to advance the talents of young Canadian string musicians.

The Fund regularly selects and commissions Canadian composers to work in partnership with consulting music educators to create enriching new music for study and performance. Completed works are workshopped and showcased by talented student performers at an annual Fund event called Ping! as well as via other live performance opportunities.

Works completed under the support of the Norman Burgess Memorial Fund are published to professional standards and deposited and promoted via CMC’s five free lending libraries and via this website. These same works are placed in the collections of music education organizations, such as the Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects and Conservatory Canada, ensuring that teachers and their students have broad and easy access to exciting new Canadian music.

Results of the Fund’s activities are evaluated via a partnership with the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Education under the “New Sounds of Learning” program led by Dr. Bernard W. Andrews. The Fund was launched in 2004 with seed funding from the Canadian Music Centre (CMC) and the generous support of a community of dedicated private donors. The Fund continues to seek out new sources of support such that its current level of annual activities can be sustained.

Who was Norman Burgess?

Dr. Norman Burgess was a noted musician, educator, consultant and administrator in Canada and the USA who had a passion for fostering innovation, creativity and excellence. As an educator, Dr. Burgess was Music Director at Sheldon Williams Collegiate and for over 15 years was Director of the Conservatory at Mount Royal College. Drawing on his professional experience as both performer and educator, he instituted a number of internationally recognized programs including Mount Royal College’s successful Academy for Gifted Children and the Calgary Fiddlers. At the Royal Conservatory of Music, Dr. Burgess initially consulted and advised on the national examination system, subsequently served as Dean and founded the highly recognized Learning Through the Arts program.

Norm was particularly known at the Canadian Music Centre for his excellent work as Chair of the Ontario Regional Council and as a national board member. Here, he displayed all the qualities for which he is to be remembered: unlimited energy, optimism, perseverance, intelligence, patience and compassion.

Dr. Burgess wished for there to be a larger and richer collection of high quality Canadian music for young players. The Norman Burgess Memorial Fund has been established to fulfill this wish.

The Fund Rationale

The importance and impacts of new music in youth education have been well established by numerous contributors to the education literature:

• Learning the work of living composers excites and inspires youth through the meeting, conversing and sharing of ideas with living, breathing music creators. They become actively engaged in the process of music creation via the collaborative conception, preparation and performance of new music. Creative collaboration enhances the quality of their arts education experience as well as develops core social skills in the areas of discipline, team-work, creative problem solving and interpersonal communication.
• The resulting new music stimulates youth’s creative and critical faculties - they provide a range of artistically and technically demanding works for study and performance that were previously lacking.
• Youth involvement in the creative process establishes music as a viable practice, thus encouraging youth to consider the music field as a career option, whether as composers, musicians or via other paths.
• Perhaps most importantly, new music in arts education connects youth to the artistic voices of their time, music that speaks with a contemporary voice about the contemporary human condition, and enriches their overall sense of expression and belonging. Ultimately, it enlightens the performers, teachers and arts supporters of the future.

It is generally agreed in both the composition and educational communities that there is a lack of quality music for use in both individual instruction and in the classroom. While there have been various initiatives to help rectify this situation, there continues to be gaps in the repertoire and in accessibility to this music. The Norman Burgess Memorial Fund has been established to help fill these gaps.

Invest in the Creation of New Music for Young Musicians

Your tax creditable contribution helps create an enduring collection of Canadian music, enriching the education of Canada’s talented young musicians.

A donation of $1,600 will commission a complete musical work from the Fund. A donation of $500 will underwrite the honorarium for a professional consulting music educator. Or for $400 you could commission a portion of a new Canadian work for young musicians.

Donations of any amount are welcome: every dollar goes towards the creation of new work for young musicians. Every donation is tax-receiptable. Please contact CMC-Ontario to discuss your donation level and payment method.

Commissions Completed to Date

Dance Set for two cellos by James Harley: A Professor of Digital Music at the University of Guelph, Jim has written prize-winning music that has been globally performed and broadcast by some of the world’s most virtuosic musicians. His Fund commission has resulted in a new three-part work for beginner violoncello duo that melds popular music with other moods and styles, creating sound worlds that aid young musicians to learn good intonation. Jim worked with Madawaska String Quartet cellist Amber Ghent as his consulting educator.

Encounters for viola and guitar (or piano) by Aris Carastathis: A classically trained guitarist and Professor of Composition at Lakehead University, Dr. Carastathis has created a two-movement work for viola and guitar with an alternate piano accompaniment. The piece includes free and open sections that encourage advanced young musicians to embrace new music in a flexible and creative fashion. Aris worked with educator Catherine Jilling to create this piece.

Night Spirit Suite for solo guitar by Andrew Staniland: One of Canada’s leading early career composer in high demand, and also a past TSO Affiliate, Dr. Staniland returned to his primary instrument to compose a suite of pieces for beginner guitar. The five works that make up the suite use tablature, traditional and graphic notation to give young students easy access to contemporary music without years of previous experience. Andrew worked with educator William Beauvais to create this piece.

Very Near the Edge of the Flat Earth for viola and piano by Rose Bolton: Two shorter works for intermediate viola and piano that can be linked to make a more substantial concert piece. The piece also allows violists to shine through long melodies and atmospheric passages while exploring technical elements through trilling, double stops, tremolos and other bowing techniques. Rose worked with educator Kathy Rapoport to create this piece.

Wandering the Threshold of Delirium for solo violin with optional electroacoustics by Christien Ledroit: An advanced level work in two movements for solo violin that helps students bridge the gap between conventional and contemporary techniques, and between the practice room and the concert stage. Christien worked with educator Joan Barrett to create this work.

Bossa Antiqua for string orchestra by Kye Marshall: Also know as a jazz cellist and improviser, Ms. Marshall has composed a new 3-movement, intermediate level work for string orchestra that incorporates jazz and Latin styles, as well as extended sound palettes and new playing techniques. Kye worked with educator Alan Torok in composing this piece.

The Labyrinth for string orchestra by Abigail Richardson: This rising-star composer, a past Affiliate Composer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, has created a one-movement string orchestra work that encourages students to discover new sound worlds. Semi-improvised sections within the work give students their own creative stake in the music-making. Abigail worked with educator Michael Schulte to create this intermediate to advanced level piece.

Schumann Scenes for string orchestra by Chris Paul Harman: A Professor of Music Composition at McGill University, Chris is a two-time winner of the prestigious Jules Léger Prize among other major international recognitions. His music has been performed widely and broadcast in 25 countries around the world. Chris’s Fund commission for advanced youth string orchestra explores tonal materials in a variety of different contexts that provide young musicians with a bridge to less familiar musical territory, including more advanced techniques. Chris worked with accomplished violist, youth ensemble director and educator Jean MacRae as his consulting educator.

Suite for Strings for string orchestra by Jan Jarvlepp: A highly accomplished composer known for his postmodern, neo-tonal style, Jan also works as a freelance cellist, teacher and recording technician in the Ottawa area. His Fund commission for intermediate string orchestra has resulted in a 12-minute work in four movements, each of which allows the musicians to master a specific challenge of string playing. Jan worked with the conductor of the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy’s Intermediate String Orchestra, Pauline McCombe, as his consulting educator.

Two for strings by Chris Mayo: A member of the Camberwell Composers Collective and the first composer-in-residence for Tatton Park, Chris currently lives in London, England where he is completing doctoral studies at the Royal Academy of Music. His music has been performed in Canada, USA and UK, including at prestigious festivals and venues like the Aldeburgh Festival, London Handel Festival, Bang on a Can Summer Festival and Wigmore Hall. Chris’s Fund commission for string orchestra resulted in a progressive, modular work aimed at allowing musicians from beginner to more advanced levels to share in one musical experience. Each orchestra part has been given four different levels of difficulty, totaling 16 parts in all (plus optional double bass). These parts can be performed in any combination - from the four simplest parts to all 16 together - resulting in over 100,000 different possible variations. Chris worked with violinist Vince Sipprell as his consulting educator.

Want to Know More?

Please feel free to contact CMC-Ontario during regular business hours in person, or by phone, fax or e-mail:

Norman Burgess Memorial Fund
c/o Canadian Music Centre, Ontario Region
20 St. Joseph St.
Toronto, ON M4Y 1J9

T. 416.961.6601 ext.207
F. 416.961.7498
E. ontario@musiccentre.ca

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