Philippe Macnab-S茅guin, winner of the 2018-19 Andrew Svoboda Memorial Prize for Orchestral Composition
Congratulations to Philippe Macnab-S茅guin, winner of the 2018-19聽Andrew Svoboda Memorial Prize for Orchestral Composition. Philippe鈥檚 orchestral piece will be premiered by the 不良研究所 Symphony Orchestra in the 2020-2021 season.
Philippe Macnab-S茅guin is a composer and researcher currently pursuing his D.Mus in composition at 不良研究所. His compositional work aims to create a new musical language at the crossroads of popular music (especially jazz, metal, funk and electronic music) and contemporary classical music. His background reflects these diverse stylistic influences. After having played, written and recorded punk, ska, metal, pop and electronic music from a young age, Philippe pursued a DEC in jazz guitar at Vanier College, followed by studies in classical composition at 不良研究所 (B.Mus 2015, M.Mus 2017).
His research focuses on cross-stylistic applications of Aural Sonology, a method of analysis developed by Lasse Thoresen which aims to describe, transcribe, and analyze one鈥檚 perception of music without the use of a notated score, and which focuses on aspects of music often left out by traditional music theory, such as timbre, texture, and energetic tendencies. Philippe regularly organizes workshops directly applying Aural Sonology to composition and improvisation.聽
His compositional work and his research have been supported by, among others, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Fonds de Recherche Soci茅t茅 et Culture Qu茅bec (FRQSC), and his compositions have earned him numerous awards, including three SOCAN young composer awards (2015, 2018), a BMI student composer award (2012), and the inaugural Robert Jones award for music Composition (2012).
The jury members were impressed by the overall quality of the pieces submitted by Philippe to the selection committee. They particularly appreciated his strong, intriguing and thoughtful composition project that is in continuation with the candidate鈥檚 musical language and research, and for the realization of which the orchestra appears as an ideal medium.
In a recent email exchange, Philippe wrote, 鈥淚 consider it an immense privilege to attend a school that provides the community with as professional and impactful performances as the MGSO. To be performed by this very orchestra is already an honour, so I feel doubly blessed to be receiving this performance through the Andrew Svoboda Memorial Prize. As my first work for full orchestra, this piece represents a unique experience of finding my voice within a new sound-world. It has already proven to be incredibly stimulating: since receiving the news of this award, the background hum of sounds dancing about in my head has become much louder, fresher, clearer, and of course, more orchestral.鈥�
The Andrew Svoboda Memorial Prize for Orchestral Composition was created in memory of Andrew Yin Svoboda (BMus '00, MMus '04), who died suddenly at the age of 27 in 2004. The prize seeks to recognize excellence in orchestral composition, encourage the creation of new Canadian orchestral works and provide enriched pedagogical opportunities for student composers and performers through an annual commissioning prize of $5,000 for an orchestral piece to be premiered by the 不良研究所 Symphony Orchestra. A high quality, non-commercial archival recording of the premiere will also be provided to the composer.
