Anna Höstman (born 1972 in

Port Hardy Port Hardy is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada located on the north-east tip of Vancouver Island. Port Hardy has a population of 3,902 as of the 2021 census. It is the gateway to Cape Scott Provincial Park, the North Coast Tr ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

) is a Canadian composer. She currently lives in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. Höstman studied with John Celona, Christopher Butterfield,

Gordon Mumma Gordon Mumma (born March 30, 1935, in Framingham, Massachusetts) is an American composer. He is known most for his work with electronics, many devices of which he builds himself, and for his performances on horn. Biography Mumma entered the Univer ...

at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

and Gary Kulesha at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. From 2005-2008 she was Composer-in-Residence with the

Victoria Symphony The Victoria Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in Victoria, British Columbia. It is considered Vancouver Island's largest and best-known performing arts organization. Currently conducted by Danish conductor Christian Kluxen, the orchestra used ...

. and she has since written 6 pieces for the orchestra, including a flute concerto for Mark McGregor. Höstman has written music for film, including the music for From Harling Point, a

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

documentary about a Chinese cemetery in BC, directed by Ling Chiu. Höstman's opera, ''What time is it now?'' was based on an original libretto by P.K. Page, performed by the Victoria Symphony and recorded by

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

. It is a chamber opera for three singers and six players about a woman with

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

. Höstman's large-scale work, ''Nuyamł-ił Kulhulmx (Singing the Earth): 11 Pieces about a Place,'' makes use of historical and contemporary sources in four languages (

Nuxalk The Nuxalk people (Nuxalk language, Nuxalk: ''Nuxalkmc''; pronounced )'','' also referred to as the Bella Coola, Bellacoola or Bilchula, are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous First Nations in Canada, First Nation ...

, Norwegian, English and Japanese) in the creation of an artistic response to the isolated landscape and culture of Bella Coola. The piece was made in collaboration with Dylan Robinson, Marion Newman, Patrick Nickelson and was performed by Continuum Ensemble. It was performed again in 2019 by the Victoria Symphony. Höstman has also collaborated with the Quatuor Bozzini, and her piece ''Slanted Birds'' appears on their CD, ''À chacun sa miniature.'' Höstman also interviews Canadian composers for

TEMPO In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

, and has so far interviewed

Linda Catlin Smith Linda Catlin Smith (born 1957 in New York City) is a composer based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2005 she became the second woman to win the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music. Smith studied composition and theory with Allen Shawn in Ne ...

and Christopher Butterfield.

Recognition

In 2013, Höstman won the Toronto Emerging Composers' Award In 2021, Höstman was nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for Classical Composition of the year for Harbour.

List of selected works

Opera

* ''What time is it now?'' for 3 vocal soloists, 6 players (2006)

Orchestra

* ''Drømde mik en drøm i nat'' (2013) * ''Emily’s Piece'' (2011) * ''Snow Variations'' (2009) * ''Trace the Gold Sun'', flute concerto (2008)

Chamber music

* ''tributary,'' for violin, bass clarinet and piano (2018) * ''Float'' (2017) * ''Fog'' (2015) * ''Lehtiä'' (2014)

Instrumental solo

* ''Vines and Shadows,'' harpsichord (2016) * ''Water Walking,'' violin (2016) written for Mira Benjamin * ''Harbour'', piano (2016)

Writing

* Höstman, A. (2017). 'My garden is not pristine': an interview with Linda Catlin Smith. ''Tempo,'' ''71''(280), 8-20. doi:10.1017/S0040298217000055 * Höstman, A. (2017). My world as I remember it: an interview with Christopher Butterfield. ''Tempo,'' ''71''(282), 6-17. doi:10.1017/S0040298217000572 * Höstman, A. (2016). Tuber, rhizome, tendril and corm: on the music of Martin Arnold. ''Tempo,'' ''70''(277), 16–33. doi:10.1017/S0040298216000164

Piano

* Goose On the Loose (CNCM Northern Lights 5B) * Little Spy Moose (CNCM Northern Lights 5B)

References

External links

Listening to Ladies: The Podcast

Official website

Ludwig-van Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Höstman, Anna 1972 births Living people Musicians from British Columbia People from the Regional District of Mount Waddington 21st-century Canadian composers 21st-century Canadian women composers