The Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers /gsc/articles/rss en In conversation with Kai Kubota-Enright /gsc/article/conversation-kai-kubota-enright <p><strong>What are the themes that inspire you most in your music? </strong></p> Thu, 15 May 2025 19:32:38 +0000 adam.dillon@mail.mcgill.ca 699 at /gsc In conversation with Francis Battah /gsc/article/conversation-francis-battah <p><strong>What are the themes that inspire you most in your music? </strong></p> <p>In recent years, I’ve been especially interested in melody and the many ways it can be shaped and transformed. This includes ornamentation, its relationship to form and harmony, as well as modal systems and tuning structures. Melody, for me, is a gateway to deeper expression—it carries cultural weight and emotional nuance, especially when explored through non-standard intonation and invented systems.</p> Wed, 14 May 2025 01:20:16 +0000 adam.dillon@mail.mcgill.ca 692 at /gsc In conversation with Christina Volpini /gsc/article/conversation-christina-volpini <p><strong>What are the themes that inspire you most in your music? </strong></p> Wed, 14 May 2025 01:19:10 +0000 adam.dillon@mail.mcgill.ca 691 at /gsc In conversation with Philippe Macnab-Séguin /gsc/article/conversation-philippe-macnab-seguin <p><strong>What are the themes that inspire you most in your music? </strong></p> Wed, 14 May 2025 01:16:12 +0000 adam.dillon@mail.mcgill.ca 690 at /gsc In conversation with Chris LaRosa /gsc/article/conversation-chris-larosa <p><strong>Was there a particular moment or experience that set you firmly on the path to becoming a composer? </strong></p> Tue, 13 May 2025 17:42:06 +0000 adam.dillon@mail.mcgill.ca 689 at /gsc In conversation with Matthew Ricketts /gsc/article/conversation-matthew-ricketts <p><strong>Earliest musical memory?   </strong></p> <p>On the cul-de-sac where I grew up, for a time: circling a streetlamp on my tricycle singing "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!" endlessly until I was dizzy. This also feels like my earliest queer memory, somehow.</p> <p><strong>What are the themes that inspire you most in your music?    </strong></p> <p>Enchantment</p> <p><strong>Is there a moment that brought you to now, being a composer — one that changed your course or confirmed it?  </strong></p> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 18:03:20 +0000 Jordan Gasparik 665 at /gsc In conversation with Jared Miller /gsc/article/conversation-jared-miller <p><strong>Earliest musical memory?</strong></p> <p>Watching the original Fantasia when I was three and being fascinated with the music but simultaneously being scared of the sorcerer in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and hiding under a blanket whenever he was on screen. The blanket had holes in it though, so I could peek at TV screen while still feeling protected from the scary sorcerer!   </p> <p><strong>What are the themes that inspire you most in your music?     </strong></p> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 18:00:12 +0000 Jordan Gasparik 664 at /gsc In conversation with Michael Kim-Sheng /gsc/article/conversation-michael-kim-sheng <p><strong>Earliest musical memory?   </strong></p> <p>Listening to Murray Perahia play a Mozart piano concerto in the car. There was a phrase that I really liked. He must have improvised a bit with it, because when my sister and my mom played it for me on the piano, it just wasn’t the same. I told them that I didn’t like it anymore.  </p> <p><strong>What are the themes that inspire you most in your music? </strong></p> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 17:56:58 +0000 Jordan Gasparik 663 at /gsc In conversation with Alec Hall /gsc/article/conversation-alec-hall <p><strong>Earliest musical memory?  </strong></p> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 17:54:58 +0000 Jordan Gasparik 662 at /gsc In conversation with Laurence Jobidon /gsc/article/conversation-laurence-jobidon <p><strong>Earliest musical memory?    </strong></p> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 17:42:52 +0000 Jordan Gasparik 661 at /gsc