Alexina Louie
Encyclopedia
Alexina Louie, OC
, FRSC
(b. July 30, 1949) is a Canadian
composer of Chinese descent
who has written many pieces for orchestra
, as well as pieces for solo piano.
and received an
ARCT
in Piano Performance at the age of 17, studying with Jean Lyons. She received a Bachelor of Music
in Music History
from the University of British Columbia
in 1970 and a Master of Arts
in Composition
from the University of California, San Diego
in 1974. She taught piano
, theory and electronic composition in the Greater Los Angeles Area
until 1980. Since then she has lived in Toronto
.
Louie has composed for various instrumental and vocal combinations in virtually every major genre. One of her earliest compositions, completed in 1972, is an electronic piece for 4-channel tape entitled Molly.
Her object in this composition, based on the last segment of James Joyce
's novel Ulysses
was to make an electronic composition sound "human". Her piano compositions include
Scenes from a Jade Terrace
, Distant Memories
and I Leap Through the Sky With Stars for solo piano, Dragon Bells for prepared piano and pre-recorded prepared piano, and Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (which was commissioned by the CBC).
Her chamber music
includes The Distant Shore for piano trio, Edges for string quartet, Music from Night's Edge for piano quintet, Riffs for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, and Gallery Fanfares, Arias and Interludes (commissioned by the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1993). Orchestral scores include
The Ringing Earth (composed for the opening of Expo 86 in Vancouver), The Eternal Earth (commissioned by the Toronto Symphony), Music for a Thousand Autumns (commissioned by the Ensemble SMCQ) and
Music for Heaven and Earth (commissioned by the Esprit Orchestra).
Louie and her husband Alex Pauk, conductor of the Esprit Orchestra, have collaborated on several film scores, including Don McKellar
's Last Night, which received a Genie nomination for Best Original Score in 1998, and The Five Senses, a film by Jeremy Podeswa
that was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
the following year. Along with playwright David Henry Hwang
she composed a full-length opera, The Scarlet Princess.
An erotic ghost story based on a 17th century Japanese Kabuki
play, it was premiered by the Canadian Opera Company
in 2002. Her 8-minute comic mini-opera Toothpaste, based on a libretto by Dan Redican, has been broadcast in over a dozen countries.
Along with Redican she completed Burnt Toast, consisting of eight comic mini-operas for television, in 2005. Each mini-opera depicts a different stage of romantic love: Attraction, Connection, Commitment, Marriage, Consummation, Perseverance, Disintegration and Starting Over. Louie used a variety of different styles in this work and even borrows from other composers. Most notably, she utilizes the music for the Queen of the Night
aria from Mozart's The Magic Flute
and music from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde
.
Louie's compositions have garnered numerous awards over the years. In 1986 the Canadian Music Council named her Composer of the Year. In 1988 she received the Juno Award
, Best Classical Composition, for her orchestral composition, Songs of Paradise. Songs of Paradise were re-recorded by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra
and Music Director Geoffrey Moull
in 2004 and released on the CD Variations on a Memory. It became the best-selling disc of the Canadian Music Centre in 2005. In 1990, 1992, and 2003, she received the SOCAN Concert Music Award for the most performed Classical composer of the year. In 1996 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary. In 1999 she became the first woman to win the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music
for Nightfall, a work for 14 strings written for I Musici de Montreal.
. Louie also composed the opening music for Expo 86
in Vancouver
, The Ringing Earth.
Some of her other compositions include Three Fanfares from the Ringing Earth, which opened the new National Gallery of Canada
in Ottawa
, and Scenes from a Jade Terrace
, which opened the new Canadian Embassy in Tokyo
. Her Infinite Sky With Birds, a National Arts Centre
commission, debuted on February 22, 2006.
Louie's most recent composition Mulroney: The Opera, is a musical satire of Brian Mulroney
's life. It was released by Alliance Films
in April 2011.
. In 2001 she received the Order of Ontario
, the province's highest honour.
In 2005 she became an Officer of the Order of Canada
. In 2006, she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
.
title Unwanted Soldiers
, Sleeping Tigers: The Asahi Baseball Story).
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, FRSC
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
(b. July 30, 1949) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
composer of Chinese descent
Chinese Canadian
Chinese Canadians are Canadians of Chinese descent. They constitute the second-largest visible minority group in Canada, after South Asian Canadians...
who has written many pieces for orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, as well as pieces for solo piano.
Biography
Alexina Louie was born in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and received an
ARCT
Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto)
The Royal Conservatory of Music, also known as The Royal Conservatory, is one of the largest and most respected music education institutions in the world...
in Piano Performance at the age of 17, studying with Jean Lyons. She received a Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music, usually requiring a...
in Music History
Music history
Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is the highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies the composition, performance, reception, and criticism of music over time...
from the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
in 1970 and a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
from the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
in 1974. She taught piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, theory and electronic composition in the Greater Los Angeles Area
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
until 1980. Since then she has lived in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
Louie has composed for various instrumental and vocal combinations in virtually every major genre. One of her earliest compositions, completed in 1972, is an electronic piece for 4-channel tape entitled Molly.
Her object in this composition, based on the last segment of James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's novel Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
was to make an electronic composition sound "human". Her piano compositions include
Scenes from a Jade Terrace
Scenes from a Jade Terrace
Scenes from a Jade Terrace is a solo piano composition by Alexina Louie.It was written in 1988 to commemorate the opening of the new Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. The piece was commissioned by Jon Kimura Parker, who played it during his 1989 tour of Japan...
, Distant Memories
Distant Memories
Distant Memories is the 3rd piece of music for piano from Alexina Louie's Piano Music. It was commissioned by the Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects in 1982...
and I Leap Through the Sky With Stars for solo piano, Dragon Bells for prepared piano and pre-recorded prepared piano, and Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (which was commissioned by the CBC).
Her chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
includes The Distant Shore for piano trio, Edges for string quartet, Music from Night's Edge for piano quintet, Riffs for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, and Gallery Fanfares, Arias and Interludes (commissioned by the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1993). Orchestral scores include
The Ringing Earth (composed for the opening of Expo 86 in Vancouver), The Eternal Earth (commissioned by the Toronto Symphony), Music for a Thousand Autumns (commissioned by the Ensemble SMCQ) and
Music for Heaven and Earth (commissioned by the Esprit Orchestra).
Louie and her husband Alex Pauk, conductor of the Esprit Orchestra, have collaborated on several film scores, including Don McKellar
Don McKellar
-Personal life:McKellar was born in Toronto, Ontario to a lawyer father and teacher mother. He attended Glenview Senior Public School, Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute and later studied English at the University of Toronto's Victoria College...
's Last Night, which received a Genie nomination for Best Original Score in 1998, and The Five Senses, a film by Jeremy Podeswa
Jeremy Podeswa
Jeremy Podeswa is a Canadian/American film and television director. He is best known for directing the films The Five Senses and Fugitive Pieces . He has also worked as Director on the television shows Six Feet Under, Nip/Tuck, The Tudors, Queer as Folk, and the HBO World War II miniseries The...
that was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
the following year. Along with playwright David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University...
she composed a full-length opera, The Scarlet Princess.
An erotic ghost story based on a 17th century Japanese Kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
play, it was premiered by the Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
in 2002. Her 8-minute comic mini-opera Toothpaste, based on a libretto by Dan Redican, has been broadcast in over a dozen countries.
Along with Redican she completed Burnt Toast, consisting of eight comic mini-operas for television, in 2005. Each mini-opera depicts a different stage of romantic love: Attraction, Connection, Commitment, Marriage, Consummation, Perseverance, Disintegration and Starting Over. Louie used a variety of different styles in this work and even borrows from other composers. Most notably, she utilizes the music for the Queen of the Night
Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen
"Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" is the second aria sung by a coloratura soprano role Queen of the Night in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute .-The aria:...
aria from Mozart's The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
and music from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
.
Louie's compositions have garnered numerous awards over the years. In 1986 the Canadian Music Council named her Composer of the Year. In 1988 she received the Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
, Best Classical Composition, for her orchestral composition, Songs of Paradise. Songs of Paradise were re-recorded by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra
Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra
The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra based in the Community Auditorium in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on 29 November 1960 as the Lakehead Symphony Orchestra, debuting at the Lakeview High School auditorium...
and Music Director Geoffrey Moull
Geoffrey Moull
Geoffrey Moull is a professional conductor and pianist.- Education :Geoffrey Moull was born in London, Ontario, Canada and studied conducting with Kirill Kondrashin, Sergiu Celibidache and Martin Stephani...
in 2004 and released on the CD Variations on a Memory. It became the best-selling disc of the Canadian Music Centre in 2005. In 1990, 1992, and 2003, she received the SOCAN Concert Music Award for the most performed Classical composer of the year. In 1996 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary. In 1999 she became the first woman to win the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music
Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music
The Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music is a Canadian contemporary classical music award given to composers in recognition of quality new works of chamber music. Granted annually since 1978 , the prize is won through a competition administered by the Canadian Music Centre...
for Nightfall, a work for 14 strings written for I Musici de Montreal.
Works
Louie first attained national and international recognition in 1982 with her O Magnum Mysterium: In Memoriam Glenn GouldO Magnum Mysterium
O Magnum Mysterium is a responsorial chant from the Matins of Christmas. A number of composers have reworked the chant into a contemporary setting; the settings by Byrd, Victoria, Gabrieli, Palestrina, Poulenc, Judith Bingham, Harbison, La Rocca, Mäntyjärvi, Pierre Villette, Morales, Lauridsen and...
. Louie also composed the opening music for Expo 86
Expo 86
The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo '86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from Friday, May 2 until Monday, October 13, 1986...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, The Ringing Earth.
Some of her other compositions include Three Fanfares from the Ringing Earth, which opened the new National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, and Scenes from a Jade Terrace
Scenes from a Jade Terrace
Scenes from a Jade Terrace is a solo piano composition by Alexina Louie.It was written in 1988 to commemorate the opening of the new Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. The piece was commissioned by Jon Kimura Parker, who played it during his 1989 tour of Japan...
, which opened the new Canadian Embassy in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. Her Infinite Sky With Birds, a National Arts Centre
National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal...
commission, debuted on February 22, 2006.
Louie's most recent composition Mulroney: The Opera, is a musical satire of Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
's life. It was released by Alliance Films
Alliance Films
Alliance Films is a major Canadian motion picture distribution/production company, which serves Canada, the United Kingdom, and Spain.-History:It was formed in 1984 by Stephen Roth, Denis Heroux, John Kemeny, Robert Lantos and Jay...
in April 2011.
Awards
In 1986, Louie was named Composer of the Year, and in both 1988 and 1998, she won Juno Awards. In 1990, 1992, and 2003, she won the SOCAN music award. In 1996, Louie received an honorary doctorate from the University of CalgaryUniversity of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
. In 2001 she received the Order of Ontario
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
, the province's highest honour.
In 2005 she became an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. In 2006, she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
.
Family
She and her husband, Alex Pauk, have two daughters, Jasmine and Jade. Her sister is documentary filmmaker Jari Osbourne (NFBNational Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
title Unwanted Soldiers
Unwanted Soldiers
Unwanted Soldiers is a 1999 made-for-TV documentary written, directed and narrated by Jari Osborne for the National Film Board of Canada. It won the Canada Award at the 2000 Gemini Awards....
, Sleeping Tigers: The Asahi Baseball Story).
Further reading
- Steenhuisen, Paul. "Interview with Alexina Louie". In Sonic Mosaics: Conversations with Composers. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0888644749
See also
- Music of CanadaMusic of CanadaThe music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
- List of Canadian composers