Alexina Diane Louie, (born July 30, 1949) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

composer of contemporary art music. She has composed for various instrumental and vocal combinations in a variety of genres. She has fulfilled a number of commissions, and her works, which have been performed internationally, have earned her a number of awards, including the Order of Canada and two Juno Awards.

Early life and education

Louie was born in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

. She earned an ARCT in Piano Performance diploma from the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

at the age of seventeen while under the tutelage of Jean Lyons—of the Jean Lyons School of Music in Vancouver. Shortly thereafter, Louie received a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...

Music History Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history o ...

from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

in 1970. In 1974, she completed her M.A. degree in

Composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

from the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...

.Robb, Peter
"Alex Louie's musical journey"
''Ottawa Citizen'', Sep 21, 2013

Career

While studying in the

Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...

, Louie was a member of an ensemble, and later she taught

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, theory, and electronic composition at

Pasadena College Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a private Christian liberal arts college with its main campus on the Point Loma oceanfront in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1902 as a Bible college by the Church of the Nazare ...

and

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campu ...

. One of her earliest compositions, completed in 1972, is an electronic piece for 4-channel tape entitled, ''Molly''. The object in this composition, based on the last segment of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

's novel '' Ulysses'', was to make an electronic composition sound "human." She created a number of piano compositions, including ''Scenes from a Jade Terrace'', '' Distant Memories'' (dedicated to Jean Lyons) 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

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

(CBC). Louie moved from Los Angeles to

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in 1980. Soon after, in 1982, she composed her well-known piece '' O Magnum Mysterium: In Memoriam Glenn Gould''. She composed the opening music ("The Ringing Earth") for

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 May 2 until October 13, 1986. The fair, the theme of which was "Transportation and Communicatio ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, and that year was named Composer of the Year by Canadian Music Council. Louie has twice won a Juno Award for Best Classical Composition: in 1989 for ''Songs of Paradise'' (1984), and in 2000 for ''Shattered Night, Shivering Stars'' (1997) - both are orchestral works. She has received several additional nominations for various works. Orchestral scores include ''The Eternal Earth'' (commissioned by the

Toronto Symphony The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...

), ''Music for a Thousand Autumns'' (commissioned by the Ensemble SMCQ) and ''Music for Heaven and Earth'' (commissioned by the Esprit Orchestra). Louie's works of chamber music include ''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). In 1990, 1992, and later in 2003, Louie received the SOCAN Concert Music Award for the most performed Classical composer of the year. Louie and her husband Alex Pauk, conductor of the Esprit Orchestra, collaborated on several film scores including

Don McKellar Don McKellar (born August 17, 1963) is a Canadian actor, writer, playwright, and filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. He is known for directing and writing th ...

'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 (born 1962) is a Canadian film and television director. He is best known for directing the films '' The Five Senses'' (1999) and ''Fugitive Pieces'' (2007). He has also worked as director on the television shows '' Six Feet Under ...

that premiered at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

the following year. In conjunction with

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yell ...

, Louie composed a full-length opera, ''The Scarlet Princess'' (1996–2002). In 1996 Louie received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary. That year she was composer-in-residence at the Canadian Opera Company. In 1999 she won the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music for ''Nightfall'', a work for 14 strings written for

I Musici de Montreal I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

. ''The Scarlet Princess,'' which was premiered by the

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Cent ...

in 2002, is an erotic ghost story based on a 17th-century Japanese

Kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is though ...

play. Her eight-minute comic mini-opera entitled, ''Toothpaste'' (1995), based on a libretto by

Dan Redican Dan Redican (born 1956 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian comedy writer and performer and puppeteer, best known for his work with the comedy troupe, '' The Frantics.'' As a founding member of the troupe he has worked since 1979 on numerous stage ...

, has been broadcast in more than a dozen countries. With Redican, Louie also completed ''Burnt Toast'', which consists of eight comic mini-operas for television, in 2005. She draws upon the music for the Queen of the Night aria, "

Der Hölle Rache "" ("Hell's vengeance boils in my heart"), commonly abbreviated "", is an aria sung by the Queen of the Night, a coloratura soprano part, in the second act of Mozart's opera ''The Magic Flute'' ('). It depicts a fit of vengeful rage in which the ...

", from Mozart's ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

'', as well as music from

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was comp ...

''. ''Songs of Paradise'' was re-recorded by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and Music Director

Geoffrey Moull Geoffrey Moull is a Canadian professional conductor. He was principal conductor of the Bielefeld Philharmonic Orchestra and music director of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. Education Geoffrey Moull was born in London, Ontario, Canada and ...

in 2004, and subsequently released on the album, ''Variations on a Memory''. It became the best-selling disc of the Canadian Music Centre in 2005. Louie's composition ''Three Fanfares from the Ringing Earth,'' was performed at the opening of the new

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the ...

in Ottawa, and ''Scenes from a Jade Terrace'', opened the new Canadian Embassy in

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. Her ''Infinite Sky With Birds'', a

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

commission, debuted on February 22, 2006. That year she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Louie's composition ''Mulroney: The Opera'', a musical satire of Brian Mulroney's life, was released by Alliance Films in April 2011. In 2013 her composition "Bringing the Tiger Down From the Mountain." was performed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra during their tour of China."NAC Orchestra kicks off seven-city tour of China"
''Toronto Star'', Oct. 8, 2013, Martin Knelman. Louie was honoured in 2019 by the Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary, which hosted a feature event of her compositions.

Awards

*Canadian Music Council Composer of the Year, 1986 *Juno Award for Best Classical Composition, 1989, 2000 *

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...

music award. 1990. 1992, 2003 *Honorary doctorate, University of Calgary, 1996 * Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music, 1999 *

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official Award, honour in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the A ...

, 2001 *Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

, 2005 *

Molson Prize The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and humanities. The priz ...

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

, 2019

References

External links

Canadian Music Center (CMC) Composer Showcase: Alexina Louie

''Encyclopedia of Music in Canada'' about Alexina Louie
* Interview at artslive.ca
Official Website of Alexina Louie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louie, Alexina 1949 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Living people Canadian classical composers Canadian people of Chinese descent Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music winners Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year winners Members of the Order of Ontario Musicians from Toronto Musicians from Vancouver Officers of the Order of Canada Canadian opera composers University of British Columbia alumni University of California, San Diego alumni Pupils of Pauline Oliveros Women classical composers 20th-century Canadian composers Women opera composers 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers Canadian women composers 20th-century Canadian women musicians 21st-century Canadian women musicians Canadian film score composers

Early life and education

Career

Awards

See also

References

Further reading

External links