Allan Gordon Bell, (born 24 May 1953) is a Canadian
contemporary classical composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
.
Career
Born in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Bell received a Master of Music degree from the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
where he studied with
Violet Archer
Violet Louise Archer (24 April 191321 February 2000) was a Canadian composer, teacher, pianist, organist, and percussionist. Born Violet Balestreri in Montreal, Quebec, in 1913, her family changed their name to Archer in 1940. She died in Ottawa o ...
, Malcolm Forsyth, and Manus Sasonkin, after completing undergraduate studies in philosophy. He also did advanced studies in composition at the
Banff Centre for the Arts
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...
where his teachers were Jean Coulthard, Bruce Mather, and Oskar Morawetz. He has created works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, orchestra, band, and electroacoustic media.
Bell is an Associate Composer of the
Canadian Music Centre
The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...
, for which he served as President of the National Board from 1984 to 1988. From 1978 to 1980, and from 1985 to the present, he has been a professor of composition and music theory at the
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...
, where he helped to create the Department of Music's doctoral programme.
["Lecture of a Lifetime: Allan Bell ‘stands on shoulders of giants’ , News & Events , University of Calgary"](_blank)
. ''www.ucalgary.ca''.
He served on the jury of the 2002 SOCAN Awards for Young Composers and was a composer-in-residence at the 2001 Cantai Festival in Taiwan.
In the works of Bell one can hear the influences of prairie cultures and scenes and the sounds of nature, which he illustrates with orchestration. In 2004 he received a transplant that halted a serious liver condition;
today he actively works in academia and continues to compose.
Recognition
In 2012, for his contribution to Canadian contemporary classical music and culture, Bell was made a Member 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 ...
. Previously, The Association of Canadian Choral Conductors had presented him with an award for outstanding choral compositions (in 1994 and again in 1999). He has also been the recipient of numerous teaching excellence awards.
In 2014, Bell received a Juno Award for his ''Field Notes'' in the Classical Composition of the Year category.
[March 29, calgaryherald Updated:; 2014, (29 March 2014)]
"Calgary composer Allan Bell wins first Juno Award , Calgary Herald"
Music
Bell's works have been performed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra,
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons. It is also the resident orchestra for the Calgary Opera, A ...
, Esprit Orchestra, the
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...
, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Edmonton, Alberta. As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city it presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to co ...
the Orford String Quartet, the Purcell String Quartet, the ensembles of Toronto New Music Concerts, Arraymusic and the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, and many other professional and amateur organizations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, West Germany, Israel, and Japan.
Highlights of performance of Bell's compositions include:
*''1988 - Concerto for Two Orchestras performed at the Olympic Arts Festival''
*''1989 - Arche II was performed by the finalists at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and was sent by the CBC as the English Network submission to the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris''
*''1992 - An Elemental Lyric was performed at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C., and Symphony Hall in Boston''
*''1996 - Danse sauvage was the imposed piece for the 1996
Honens International Piano Competition
The Honens International Piano Competition is a triennial classical piano competition held in Calgary, Canada that awards prizes in piano performance. In addition to monetary awards, the top prize winner receives access to a career development prog ...
''
*''2001 - Turtle Wakes (chamber opera) premiered by
Calgary Opera
Calgary Opera is a Canadian opera company based in Calgary, Alberta. The company has its administrative base at the Mamdani Opera Centre, a facility in the Wesley United Church, since July 2005. The company gives its seasonal mainstage productio ...
''
Works
*''Pas de quatre for percussion ensemble, 1976''
*''Beltine for Violin, 1977''
*''Nocturne for soprano and piano, 1977''
*''Prelude and Passacaglia for piano, 1977''
*''Ark for string quartet, 1980''
*''Encounters for two violins and two cellos, 1980''
*''Five Rituals for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon and two drums, 1980''
*''Morning Music: A Reflection upon Stillness for Violin and Piano, 1980''
*''Dynamus for string orchestra, 1980''
*''Kinesis for speaker, two pianos and two percussion, 1981''
*''Drawing down the Moon for string orchestra, 1982''
*''Mistaya for two drums, 1982''
*''Monashee: Three Lyric Sketches for Cello and Piano, 1982''
*''From Chaos to the Birth of a Dancing Star Band, 1983''
*''Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra, 1984''
*''The Gift of the Wolf, music theater for narrator, children's ensemble, violin, cello and piano, 1984''
*''Gaia for flute, oboe, clarinet, four cellos, piano and two percussion, 1984''
*''The Ugly Duckling, musical theater for female voice, flute, violin and piano, 1985''
*''In the Eye of the Four Winds Concert Band, 1986''
*''At Enchantment for Cello and Piano, 1986''
*''Prairie for synthesizers and computers, 1986''
*''Innua: Three Masks for Violin, Cello and Piano, 1987''
*''The Ascendant Voice for wind ensemble, 1988''
*''Concerto for Two Orchestras, 1988''
*''Prairie II for synthesizers, digital samplers and computers, 1988''
*''Sonora Borealis for piano, 1989''
*''Vision Quest for band, 1989''
*''Ark II for String Quartet, 1989''
*''Orca for nine players, 1989''
*''Lumen: A Quintet for Two Violins, Two Violas and Cello, 1990''
*''Moon of Flowers for synthesizers, digital samplers and computers, 1990''
*''A Prairie Requiem for clarinet, harp and marimba, 1991''
*''At Elemental Lyric , 1992''
*''Old Coyote's Saturday Night for piano, 1992''
*''Snow - More Snow - Snow for bass clarinet, cello and marimba, 1993''
*''Grassi Lakes Four Seasons for children's choir and piano, 1993''
*''Aurages: Seven Ephemera for Flute, Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass, 1994''
*''Spirit Trail, 1994''
*''Ark III for violin, percussion and string orchestra, 1994''
*''Shadows, Echoes, impressions for digital samplers and computers, 1994''
*''Animus for alto saxophone, percussion and string orchestra, 1995''
*''Nebulae for piano, 1995''
*''Danse sauvage for piano, 1996''
*''Sweetgrass for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion, 1997''
*''Chthonic Canons for three tubas, 1998''
*''Sundogs Reel for string orchestra, 1998''
*''Turtle Wakes - An Opera , 1998''
*''Two Roads to the Heartland for Children's Choir and Piano, 1998''
*''Chiaroscuro, 1999''
*''a great arch softening the mountains for voice, bass clarinet, violin, piano and Axio / soundfiles, 2001''
*''Symphonies of Hidden Fire , 2002''
*''Serenity for small orchestra, 2004''
*''Trails of Gravity and Grace for clarinet, cello and piano, 2003''
*''Festival Fanfare for horn, two trumpets, trombone and tuba''
*''music for Aesop's Fables (one-act play), 2013''
References
External links
Allan Gordon Bell's Canadian Music Centre ProfileAllan Gordon Bell's Lecture of a Lifetime at the University of Calgary, 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Allan Gordon
1953 births
Living people
21st-century classical composers
21st-century Canadian male musicians
Canadian classical composers
Canadian male classical composers
Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year winners
Members of the Order of Canada
Musicians from Calgary
University of Alberta alumni
Academic staff of the University of Calgary