Richard Covey (born May 28, 1979) is a Canadian

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 ...

who is currently a sessional instructor in the Department of Music at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Biography

Canadian composer Richard Covey was born in Brockville, Ontario, Canada on May 28, 1979. Since 2006 he has resided in Prince Edward Island, where he teaches theory and composition in the Music Department at UPEI, and also performs as a pianist with the contemporary chamber music ensemble '' eklektikos'' and other musicians. As a professional composer, Covey has received several commissions, and his works have been performed by orchestras such as Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, PEI Symphony Orchestra; wind ensembles such as

Charlottetown Rural High School Charlottetown Rural High School (CRHS), known colloquially as "The Rural", is a Canadian secondary school in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Students who attend the school come from the north and east parts of Queens County, including the Ci ...

Senior Concert Band, Queen Charlotte Intermediate School Band, UPEI Wind Symphony; chamber ensembles such as ''eklektikos'' and the Gryphon Trio; and choirs such as Sirens. His ''Echoes'' was chosen as the required work for UBC’s 2012 Knigge Piano Competition. In 2017, Covey was one of four Atlantic Canadian composers commissioned by the PEI Symphony Orchestra to create a collaborative work, ''Cantata for Canada 150'', in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Each composer was asked to set their music to poetry written by one of four young PEI students chosen through a provincial poetry contest. The poem Covey set was titled 'As I Walk'. Created with partial funding from the Canadian federal government, the new work received its premiere on November 19, 2017. As an educator, Richard Covey's work extends beyond the university and into the community. In 2016, for example, Covey worked with the Grade 8 band students at Queen Charlotte Intermediate School, in Charlottetown, PEI, to create a new work based on the anti-bullying themes behind the school’s new motto, “Reflect, respect, connect”. The project, made possible through an ArtsSmarts grant, allowed Covey to guide the students through a musical exploration of the themes of their motto, which culminated in a public performance of their collaborative composition. Covey 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 A ...

Education

B.Mus. 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 presc ...

, Wilfrid Laurier University (Jamie Parker, piano; Glenn Buhr, composition) * M.Mus., University of British Columbia ( Stephen Chatman, composition) *

D.M.A. The Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) is a doctoral academic degree in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually music performance, music composition, or conducting) with graduate-level academic study in su ...

, University of British Columbia (Dorothy Chang,

Keith Hamel Keith Hamel (born 1956 in Morden, Manitoba, Canada) is a composer, software designer, and professor of music. His music consists of orchestral, chamber, solo, and vocal music, often focussing on live electronics and interactivity between ac ...

, composition)

Compositions

Solo works

* In the Groove (piano) 2016 * Over the Sand Dunes (piano) 2016 * The Moment When (alto saxophone) 2013 * Echoes (piano) 2012 * Echoes I: Of Time and Tone (piano) 2011 * Discord (flute) 2005 - Premiered by ''eklektikos'' on April 9, 2005. * Wedding March (organ) * Wedding March No. 2 (piano) 2012 * Piano Sonata No. 1 * Berceuse (piano)

Chamber works

* Through Fire and Water (violin, piano) 2017 * Give Voice (string orchestra) 2015 * Dance of the Summer Wind (clarinet, piano) 2015 * This Broken Chain (brass quintet) 2014 * Brevis Lux (string orchestra version) 2013 * Improvvisando (trombone, piano) 2010 - Premiered by ''eklektikos'' on September 27, 2010. * Te Deum (flute, clarinet, piano) 2010 - Premiered by ''eklektikos'' on September 27, 2010. * Songs on the Waves (flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, piano) 2007 - Premiered by ''eklektikos'' on July 15, 2007. * Come Ye Washed (flute, cello) 2007 * Homage (woodwind quintet) 2007 * Four Snapshots (clarinet, violin, cello, percussion, piano) * Six Miniatures for Brass Quintet * Three Hymns (2 flutes) * Piano Trio No. 1 * Fantasia (trombone, piano) * Fugue No. 1 (string quartet) * Fugue No. 2 (string quartet)

Vocal works

* Night Songs (songs for mezzo-soprano, in progress) 2017 * The Winter Snow (SATB) 2015 * Lost Voices (SSA) 2014 - Premiered by Sirens Choir on April 28, 2014. * Brevis Lux (SATB) 2013 * Still (voice, piano) 2013 * Lament and Hope (bass/baritone voice, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, violin, cello, bass, percussion, piano) * The Most of It (alto voice, piano) * Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience (2 sopranos, flute, cello, piano) * Psalm 54 (SATB, organ/piano) * Born in Bethlehem (SSA) * Christmas Carol (SSA) * Barbara Allen (English Folksong)

Works for large ensemble

* As I Walk (part of ''Cantata for Canada 150'') 2017 - Commissioned by the PEI Symphony Orchestra. Premiered on February 1, 2015. * Respect, Reflect, Connect (junior high school band) 2016 - Premiered by Queen Charlotte Intermediate School Band. * Blue Waves, Yellow Sun (wind symphony) 2016 * Black Night and Dreams of White (wind symphony) 2015 * Abegweit, Symphony for an Island (orchestra, folk fiddle) 2014 - Commissioned by the PEI Symphony Orchestra. Premiered on February 1, 2015. * The Place We Call Home (orchestra, soprano voice) 2014 * Canadian Soundscape (orchestra) 2014 * The Red Island Awakes (wind symphony) 2014 - Premiered by Charlottetown Rural High School Senior Concert Band on May 22, 2014. * ARISE (orchestra) 2013 - Premiered by the PEI Symphony on February 10, 2013. * Maestoso (wind symphony) 2012 * In Three (orchestra) 2007 * Symphonic Poem (orchestra)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Covey, Richard 1979 births Living people People from Brockville Canadian classical composers Wilfrid Laurier University alumni University of British Columbia School of Music alumni