Tim Brady (composer)
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Timothy Wesley John Brady (born 11 July 1956) 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 ...
, electric guitarist, improvising musician, concert producer, record producer and cultural activist. Working in the field of
contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...
,
experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
, and ''musique actuelle'', his compositions utilize a variety of styles from
serialism In music, serialism is a method of Musical composition, composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other elements of music, musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, thou ...
to
minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
and often incorporate modern instruments such as electric guitars and other electroacoustic instruments. His music is marked by a synthesis of musical languages, having developed an ability to use elements of many musical styles while retaining a strong sense of personal expression. Some of his early recognized works are the 1982 orchestral pieces ''Variants'' and ''Visions'', his ''Chamber Concerto'' (1985), the chamber trio ''...in the Wake...'' (1985, 1988), and his song cycle ''Revolutionary Songs'' (1994).Timothy Brady
Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, by James Hale, 30 August 2019
He is internationally recognized as one of the world's leading experimental/new music guitarists (
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
, Guitar Player: "One of the 30 Most Important Guitarists for the Future of the Instrument"), and in recent years has gained a strong reputation as one of Canada's leading composers of
chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations *Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics *Debate chamber, the space or room that houses deliber ...
, orchestral and music theatre works (2003 Prix OPUS Composer of the Year award, given by the Conseil québécois de la musique; 2006 Jan V. Matejcek award, given by SOCAN).


Biography


Early years and studies

Brady was born in Montréal on 11 July 1956. He began playing guitar at age eleven and was largely self-taught until the age of nineteen, with the exception of 18 months of basic beginner guitar lessons ( chords and
strumming In music, strumming is a way of playing a stringed instrument such as a guitar, ukulele, or mandolin. A strum or stroke is a sweeping action where a finger or plectrum brushes over several Strings (music), strings to generate sound. On most st ...
, playing acoustic folk music). He switched from acoustic to electric guitar at sixteen, and started his own
rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...
soon after. The band (going under the names Tosh and Mystrale) quickly became a vehicle for not only playing, but also for composing music and by nineteen his interest in jazz and other instrumental music had eclipsed the abilities of the
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
(now almost
jazz-fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyb ...
) group. Brady studied music at
Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
in Montreal (1975–1978, composition with Alan Crossman, guitar with Claude Dyotte), followed by graduate studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston (1978–1980, composition with W. Thomas McKinley and guitar with the legendary Mick Goodrick).


The Toronto period (1980–1986)

In 1980 Brady moved to Toronto where he began working both as a 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 ...
and as a
jazz guitarist Jazz guitarists are guitarists who play jazz using an approach to chords, melodies, and improvised solo lines which is called jazz guitar playing. The guitar has fulfilled the roles of accompanist ( rhythm guitar) and soloist in small and large ...
. In Toronto his work as a composer was still strongly influenced by modernist tendencies (i.e.: Elliott Carter, Anton Webern,
Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...
), including his earliest professional
chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations *Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics *Debate chamber, the space or room that houses deliber ...
piece for voice and ensemble, ''4 Songs and an Intermezzo'', and other early works such as his
String Quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
#1, the chamber work ''Five Settings'' (1983, commissioned by Arraymusic), and the ''Chamber Concerto'' (1985, commissioned by New Music Concerts). A series of imaginative but conventional modernist chamber and
orchestral work An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...
s would start to make Brady's reputation as a composer across Canada, and would win him 5 composition awards from CAPAC (now SOCAN) from 1982 to 1986, and he was a finalist in the 1986 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Young Composers' Competition, with the work ''Visions''. His most ambitious and complex modernist work, the 1982
orchestral score Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...
Variants, was premiered by the Esprit Orchestra in Toronto in the 1987–1988 season, recorded by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as a result of winning the 1986 Micheline Coulombe St-Marcoux Prize ( CAPAC). However, two works of the Toronto period point to the future vision of music as a more unified means of expression, without stylistic boundaries: ''SOUND OFF'' (1983), for 40 saxes, 30 trombones, 30 trumpets and 8 bass drums (an outdoor
performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...
piece – unperformed until 1999) and ''Visions'' (1984), for improvising soloist and
string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...
. This latter work was to become his first CD release in 1988, in a remarkable performance by trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, with the Orchestre de chambre de Montréal.


First recordings, first productions

Brady also recorded and produced his first 4 records in Toronto – an
ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...
-influenced jazz trio set of original tunes called Chalk Paper, a recording of 3 chamber works for solo piano (performed by Marc Wider), and two digitally recorded
LPs LPS may refer to: Science and medicine * Lipopolysaccharide (Endotoxin) * Levator palpebrae superioris muscle Schools * Leighton Park School in Reading, England * Lexington Public Schools, a school district in Massachusetts, USA * Lincoln P ...
of music for solo guitar and electronics: ''dR.E.aM.s'' (1985) and ''The Persistence of Vision'' (1987). These two solo recordings began to make his reputation as a guitar innovator both in Canada and internationally. Brady's Toronto years also mark the beginning of his work as a concert
producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
. In 1982 he founded the production company Contemporary Music Projects, and he would produce and perform in major jazz orchestra events with iconic American jazz
arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...
Gil Evans (1984) and maverick Canadian trumpeter/composer Kenny Wheeler (1985). During this period his various jazz groups/ big bands performed in clubs and concerts in Toronto and Montréal, and did recordings of his original jazz works for the CBC Radio programme
Jazz Beat ''Jazz Beat'' was a Canadian radio program, which aired Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. on CBC Radio 2 and at 11 p.m. on CBC Radio One. Hosted by Katie Malloch, the program profiled contemporary jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in th ...
, as well as for the new music/
contemporary classical New Classical architecture, New Classicism or the New Classical movement is a contemporary movement in architecture that continues the practice of Classical architecture. It is sometimes considered the modern continuation of Neoclassical architec ...
programme Two New Hours. Brady had his first major international collaboration in 1983, performing a duo concert at the Edmonton Jazz City Festival with the Hungarian
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...
virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...
Aladar Pege.


London interval (1986–1987)

From 1986 to 1987 Brady lived in London, England, studying
conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...
privately with Odaline de la Martinez, playing jazz gigs with well-known UK jazz musicians such as
Clark Tracey Clark Tracey (born 5 February 1961) is a British jazz drummer, band leader, and composer. Career Tracey was born in London, England. He first played piano and vibraphone before switching to drums at age 13, studying under Bryan Spring. Tracey ...
and
Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...
, and recording a
studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
concert of originals for the BBC.


Montreal, part 1: Bradyworks (1987–1997)

Upon returning to Montreal in 1987, Brady founded his own chamber group and production company in order to have some control over his work, and his new vision of creative music. The group was named simply "Bradyworks". The first major Bradyworks project was Inventions, a 90-minute music and
dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
collaboration, created in conjunction with
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
Julie West. The work included the 5 musicians of Bradyworks plus the jazz soloists
Barre Phillips Barre Phillips (born October 27, 1934, in San Francisco, California, United States) is an American jazz bassist. A professional musician since 1960, he moved to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967. Since 1972, he has been based in south ...
(
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...
) and John Surman ( saxophones). A CD of the project was released in the autumn of 1991, to coincide with the groups' first major tour, including 13 concerts across Canada, plus a performance at Roulette,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
's well-known
experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
space. The tour featured a chamber work entitled The Songline, which had been commissioned by and premiered at the Festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV). This project, as with almost all of his recorded productions since 1988, was produced in collaboration with engineer and
producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
Morris Apelbaum, who also works as live sound engineer for the Bradyworks ensemble. 1992 saw the release of his landmark solo guitar and electronics CD ''Imaginary Guitars''. This was followed by several other solo guitar CDs, all focusing on composing new music for guitar with electronics and
tape Tape or Tapes may refer to: Material A long, narrow, thin strip of material (see also Ribbon (disambiguation): Adhesive tapes * Adhesive tape, any of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive *Athletic tape, pressure-sensitiv ...
: ''Scenarios'' (1994), ''Strange Attractors'' (1997) and the double CD ''10 Collaborations'' (2000). All these recordings were on the Justin Time Records label, out of Montreal. Brady toured extensively in the 1990s as a solo guitarist, including performances at the 1993
Printemps de Bourges Le Printemps de Bourges is an annual music festival that is held in Bourges, France, over the course of five days. It is now a major event in France and Europe. History The festival was created in 1977 (by , , and ). With its span of 35 years, ...
music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...
, the 1993 Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
New Music Festival New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
(with his first electric guitar
concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...
, LOUD), the 1993 Bang on a Can Festival, a 1994 collaboration with the Relâche ensemble in Philadelphia, a 1995 UK tour for the
Sonic Arts Network Sonic Arts Network was a UK-based organisation, established in 1979, that aimed to enable both audiences and practitioners to engage with the art of sound through a programme of festivals, events, commissions and education projects. Its honorary ...
with a performance for the BBC at
The South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Albert E ...
(London), a commission and a solo performance at Maison Radio-France ( INA- GRM, Paris) in 1996 (and again in 2001), the 1997 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and the 1999 Strange Attractor's world tour, with 23 concerts in Canada, the United States, Europe,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and Hong Kong, including a performance at the Festival international de Jazz de Montréal.


The Body Electric Festival (1997)

Since 1994 Brady had been running the concert production company Innovations en concert, producing many different events in Montreal, some with his music, but also producing concerts by many touring and local musicians as well. In 1995 Brady had the idea of producing the first-ever international festival of contemporary chamber and orchestral music for electric guitar. In collaboration with partners in Toronto, Jonquière, Winnipeg, Victoria, Vancouver, and New York City, he created the festival The Body Electric / Guitarévolution, which was held in 1997, presenting a total of 23 concerts. The event featured performances by
David Torn David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping. Background Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...
, the Fred Frith Quartet, Elliott Sharp,
René Lussier René Lussier (born April 15, 1957) is a jazz guitarist based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a composer, guitarist, bass guitarist, percussionist, bass clarinetist, and singer. Lussier has collaborated with Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, Jean Dero ...
, Ron Samworth, Greg Lowe,
John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...
, Kapser Toeplitz, Scott Johnson and
Paul Dresher Paul Joseph Dresher (born January 8, 1951 in Los Angeles) is an American composer. Dresher received his B.A. in music from the University of California, Berkeley and his M.A. in composition from the University of California, San Diego, where he st ...
. Brady also premiered his second electric guitar concerto, ''The Body Electric'' (1997), on the closing night of the event, a work commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and performed by the
Esprit Orchestra The Esprit Orchestra is an orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that is dedicated to the performance of new orchestral works. It was established in 1983 by music director and conductor Alex Pauk, and is Canada's only full-sized orchestra d ...
. A second, somewhat smaller version of the festival was held in 2002.


Bradyworks – vocal music (1997–2000)

Parallel to his work as a guitarist, his interest in opera, music theatre and vocal music had become one of his main artistic preoccupations. From 1989 to 1992 he worked on a
chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergoles ...
version of the
Man Booker prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
-winning novel ''
The Bone People ''The Bone People'', styled by the writer and in some editions as ''the bone people'', is a 1984 novel by New Zealand writer Keri Hulme. Set on the coast of the South Island of New Zealand, the novel focuses on three characters, all of whom ar ...
'', by New Zealand author Keri Hulme. The project was never completed due to difficulties in working with Hulme, but it sparked a keen interest in vocal music and music theatre which continues in his current works. Out of this failed opera experience came his first major song-cycle, entitled ''Revolutionary Songs'' (1993), based on a variety of poems in English,
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and Spanish. Sung by
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
Nathalie Paulin, and scored for Bradyworks, the work was premiered at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal and later released on CD in 1996, supported by a 5-city Canadian tour. The work combines pulsing, jazz and minimalist inflected
harmonies In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However, ...
with distorted rock guitar and a large range of electronic tape sounds to create a 40-minute portrait of the experience of political revolution. The work had three American performances in 2001, at The Kitchen ( New York City, performed by Bradyworks), in
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
(New Ear Ensemble), and in Boston (Auros New Music Ensemble). A second Bradyworks song-cycle followed, entitled The Knife Thrower's Partner (1997), using only a quartet of
acoustic instrument Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the adven ...
s in setting a text by Canadian poet Douglas Burnet Smith (whose work Brady would use again in 2009). Bradyworks toured this piece across Canada in 2000, giving 8 performances with
mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
Anne-Marie Donovan.


Montreal, part 2: operas, Ambiances magnétiques, CNMN (2002–2005 )

In 2002 Brady parted company amicably with Justin Time Records and began working with
Ambiances Magnétiques Ambiances Magnétiques is a Canadian record company and label started by Jean Derome, René Lussier, and others, and the artists' collective that preceded it. History In 1982, "guitarist René Lussier and saxophonist/flutist Jean Derome presente ...
based in Montreal. The first release was of his work 20 Quarter Inch Jacks, a piece for 20 electric guitars, commissioned by the Festival Les Coups de Théâtre. In 2003 he released ''Unison Rituals'', a CD of his music for saxophone and chamber ensemble, including the first of many collaborations with the Quasar saxophone quartet, and an overdubbed and reduced performance of the 1983 work ''SOUND OFF'', for 100 winds and 8 bass drums. Later in 2003 Bradyworks performed its first European tour, with concerts in London (for the BBC at Maida Vale), Aberdeen University (Scotland) and at the
Project Arts Centre Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary arts centre based in Temple Bar, Dublin, which hosts visual arts, theatre, dance, music, and performance. History Project Arts Centre was founded by Jim FitzGerald and Colm O'Briain in 1967 after a thr ...
in Dublin (Ireland) as part of the Crash Ensemble's New Music Festival. 2002 saw the premiere of his 45-minute, multi-movement work Playing Guitar: Symphony #1, for solo electric guitar,
sampler Sampler may refer to: * Sampler (signal), a digital signal processing device that converts a continuous signal to a discrete signal * Sampler (needlework), a handstitched piece of embroidery used to demonstrate skill in needlework * Sampler (surna ...
and 15 musicians. The work was performed in Montreal (Oscar Peterson Hall,
Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
– Oct. 2002), Marseille (G.M.E.M. – Festival Les Musiques – May 2003) and New York (Interpretation Series, Merkin Hall – November 2002) by its commissioner, the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, and was released on CD in 2004. 2002 also saw the premiere of his orchestral work ''Three or Four Days After the Death of Kurt Cobain'' by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréa under conductor Rafael Frubek de Burghos, followed by a performance by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in 2004. The next few years would be occupied with the creation and production of Brady's two chamber operas: ''The Salome Dancer'' (2005 – libretto by John Sobol, commissioned and produced by NUMUS concerts at the Open Ears Festival, with Bradyworks in the pit, conducted by Paul Pulford, with stage direction by Anne-Marie Donovan), and ''Three Cities in the Life of Dr. Norman Bethune'' (2003) – found-text libretto by the composer, commissioned by
La Société Radio-Canada 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 governme ...
, premiered by Bradyworks and baritone Michael Donovan in Montreal. Bethune had subsequent productions in
Lennoxville Lennoxville is an ''arrondissement'', or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometres south of downtown Sherbrooke. Lennoxvi ...
, Toronto and Guelph (conducted by
Pierre Simard Pierre Simard (1954 Québec) is a Canadian professor of social sciences who applies economic theory to political science. Career Born in Québec, Simard received a bachelor's degree in economics (1978), a master's degree in policy analysis (1980) ...
), and was released on CD in 2005. Brady left the Innovations en concert production company in 2004 to focus on his own projects (running under the Bradyworks banner), and to work on the beginnings of what would eventually become the Canadian New Music Network (CNMN, 2005). The CNMN is a large, pan-Canadian movement to make contemporary creative concert music a more vibrant part of Canadian society. The organization brings artists together in an annual event entitled FORUM, held in a different Canadian city each year (Winnipeg – 2007, Toronto – 2008, Montreal – 2009). Brady is the current president of the CNMN (2005–2010). Since 2004 he has served on the board of directors of The Music Gallery.


Return of the solo (now multi-media) guitarist / orchestral maneuvers (2006–present)

In 2006 Brady released his first solo CD in 6 years, ''GO'' uitar obsession signaling a renewed interest in electric guitar music. The CD combined several of his works with pieces by composers Alex Burton, Tristan Murail, Jean-François Laporte and
Laurence Crane Laurence Crane (born 1961 in Oxford) is a composer of contemporary classical music. Career Laurence Crane is closely associated with the ensemble Apartment House, who have given over 40 performances of his works. Some performances they have g ...
. He toured music from the CD to the Netherlands in January 2007 in collaboration with the
Quasar A quasar is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a m ...
saxophone quartet ( concerts in
Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Utrecht and at the BIMHAUS in Amsterdam), and in July of the same year he toured the project to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, performing in Brisbane (The Powerhouse, with Topology), Perth (Tura Concerts), and at the Darwin International Guitar Festival. He was back in the Netherlands in September 2007 for several performances, and also to give a lecture on new music and the electric guitar, at the OUTPUT Electric Guitar Festival, held in the Muziekgebouw, in Amsterdam. 2006 saw the first of two major collaborations with Montréal
video artist Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. ...
Martin Messier: the work was entitled ''My 20th Century'', a music/ video/ theatre work for the Bradyworks ensemble. The work toured
Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
in 2008, including a performance at the Festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville, and undertook a 9-city Canadian tour in the autumn of 2009, to coincide with the release of the CD and DVD on Ambiances magnètiques. Brady's renewed interest in solo performance led to his second collaboration with Messier: the 65-minute work for video and electric guitar entitled ''24 Frames'', premiered in Montreal in October 2008. Another long-term collaborator, the Topology ensemble of Brisbane. Australia, brought out a CD of Brady's chamber work in 2007, entitled ''SCAT'', on Ambiances magnètiques. His 2002 work ''20 Quarter Inch Jacks'' was given its American premiere in January 2009, produced by CALARTS at the
REDCAT Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT) is an interdisciplinary contemporary arts center for innovative visual, performing and media arts in downtown Los Angeles, located inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex. Opened in November 2003 ...
Hall of the Disney Auditorium, in Los Angeles, and at Rosza Hall in Calgary in 2012. After many years away from the orchestral composition, 2007 onwards saw a major increase in orchestral works by Brady. This new orchestral music is very different from his earlier, modernist works. Recent orchestral scores include ''The Choreography of Time: Symphony #2'' (for saxophone quartet and orchestra, another collaboration with the Quasar group and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra), ''Opposites Attract'', a
bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...
concerto commissioned by the CBC Radio Orchestra for Lori Freedman, ''The Guess Who Symphony'', a series of radical deconstruction of songs by the 1960s/1970s rock group The Guess Who (also a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation commission), ''
Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
21.5'' (for solo violin and orchestra) and ''Un Amour, un Hiver'', for voice and orchestra, with text by Québec
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...
icon
Michel Rivard Michel Rivard (born September 27, 1951) is a singer-songwriter and musician from Quebec. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His father, , was an actor. Michel began his career at an early age appearing in a Canadian television series (''R ...
. The last two works are part of his work with the Orchestre symphonique de Laval, where he served as composer in residence (2008–2013). The relationship with Laval created the first version of his work "Requiem 21.5 – concerto for violin and orchestra", as well as his "Viola Concerto", written for OSL violist Jutta Puchhammer-Sédillot. From 2011 – 2015 Brady worked closely with Symphony Nova Scotia, in Halifax, premiering both final version of "Requiem 21.5" as well as a commissioned work: "The How and the Why of Memory: Symphony #4". These two works, along with the Viola Concerto, were recorded for Centrediscs, and released in 2015. The CD won an East Coast Music Award for Best Classical CD. His work "Atacama: Symphony #3" was premiered in 2012, released in ATMA Classique in 2013, and nominated for a Juno that year. It was performed as well at the Festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville (2013) and in New York at National Sawdust in 2015, but David T. Little's Newspeak Ensemble and Trinity Wall Street Choir, conducted by Julian Wachner. 2015 saw the premier of his chamber opera "Ghost Tango" (libretto by Douglas Smith) in Halifax (NS), and Kitchener (ON), and 2016 saw the release of the first CD of his new electric guitar quartet, Instruments of Happiness, on the US Starkland Records label. From 2014 – 2017 he also worked on the music for choreographer Isabelle van Grimde's multi-media piece "Symphonie 5.1", in collaboration with drummer Thom Gossage. The work toured to Canada, The Netherlands and France. The Instruments of Happiness Quartet did a major Canadian tour in 2017, performing in Edmonton, Halifax, Regina, Brandon, Winnipeg, Victoria, and Montreal. 2015 also saw his fort work for 100 spatialised electric guitars "100 Very Good Reasons Why", performed at the Montreal/Nouvelles Musiqeu Festival. A YouTube video of that work has proved quite popular. In 2016 he presented another work for 100 guitars – "100 questions, 100 réponse", this time in a church. The work was featured in an article on the history of the electric guitar in UK's Guardian newspaper in August 2016. In 2014, after 9 years at the head of the Canadian New Music Network, he stepped down as president. He served on the board until 2017, but is still active in cultural policy development. He was awarded the Canadian Music Centre/Canadian League of Composers, "Friends of Canadian Music Award" in 2016 for his work at CNMN. Two major chamber works were premiered at the 2017 Festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville: "Désir: concerto for electric guitar and large ensemble" and "8 Songs about: Symphony #7". Brady was the soloist in the concerto, and conducted the symphony, which featured the voices of Vincent Ranallo and Sarah Albu. Both works are for a chamber group of 13 players, and were recorded for release in 2018.


Instruments of Happiness (2015 – )

In 2015 Brady launched the Instruments of Happiness electric guitar project. The project has 3 parts: an electric guitar chamber quartet, a guitar ensemble of 12 – 20 professionals, and large, site-specific projects for 100 to 150 electric guitars, primarily based around using community, amateur performers. The quartet toured Canada in 2017, and again in 2018 with singer Marie-Annick Béliveau, and made a small US tour in 2019 (New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago). Major site-specific projects for 100 – 150 guitars (all of which are filmed and available on YouTube) include: 2015 – 100 Very Good Reasons Why – Festival MNM – Montreal 2016 – 100 Questions, 100 Réponses – Église le Gesù, Montréal 2016 – 100 Very Good Reasons Why – Modulus Festival – Vancouver 2017 – Hymne Sauvage – Complex Desjardins – Montreal (music by Alexandre David) 2017 – 100 Very Good Reasons Why – Stratford Summer Music Festival – Stratford, ON 2018 – While 100 Guitar Gently Weep – Luminato Festival – Toronto 2019 – As Many Strings As Possible, Playing: Symphony #9 – St. Joseph's Oratory – Festival MNM – Montreal 2021 – Virtual Concerto for an Imaginary Space – an iPhone/video-based production for 62 socially distanced electric guitars With the exception of the 2017 "Hymne sauvage" project, (music by composer Alexandre David) all the music for the site-specific project is composed by Tim Brady.


Recordings


As leader/composer/soloist

CDs *2021 – Actions Speak Louder – 3 CD-set – Act 1 – Solo – Simple Loops in Complex Times / Act. 2 – Of Sound, Mind and Body – Triple Concerto: Because Everything Has Changed / Act. 3 – Voices – Bradyworks, Mirror Image (Redshift Records) *2019 – Instruments of Happiness – The Happiness Handbook (Starkland Records) *2018 – Music for Large Ensemble – Tim Brady (Starkland records) *2016 – Instruments of Happiness – electric guitar quartet (Starkland records) *2016 – Of Sound, Mind and Body: concert #3 (improvised music) (Redshift Records) *2015 – The How and the Why of Memory – Symphony Nova Scotia (Centrediscs) *2013 – Atacama: Symphonie #3 (ATMA Classique) – JUNO nomination 2014


CDs and DVDs on ''Ambiances magnètiques''

*2011 – 24 Frames: Scatter * 2010 – 24 Frames: Trance * 2009 – My 20th Century * 2007 – SCAT (because we all have voices and stories to tell) * 2006 – GO uitar obsession* 2005 – Three Cities in the Life of Dr.
Norman Bethune Henry Norman Bethune (; March 4, 1890 – November 12, 1939; zh, t=亨利·諾爾曼·白求恩, p=Hēnglì Nuò'ěrmàn Báiqiú'ēn) was a Canadian thoracic surgeon, early advocate of socialized medicine, and member of the Communist Party ...
* 2004 – Playing Guitar:
Symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...
#1 * 2003 – Unison Rituals * 2002 – Twenty Quarter Inch


CDs on ''Justin Time Records''

* 2000 – 10 Collaborations * 1997 – Strange Attractors * 1996 – Revolutionary Songs * 1994 – Scenarios * 1992 – Imaginary Guitars * 1991 – Inventions * 1990 – Double Variations (with John Abercrombie) * 1988 – Visions


Vinyl

* 1987 – Persistence of Vision (Apparition Records) * 1985 – dR.E.aM.s (Apparition Records) * 1984 – Music for Solo Piano (Apparition Records) * 1983 – Chalk Paper (C-Note Records)


As composer

The following compositions by Tim Brady are also featured on compact discs: * Slow Dances – for
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
and
string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
– Jean-Guy Boisver (cl.) + Quatuor Bozzini (CD: "Le livres des méloncoliques") * public space / private music – for solo
tape Tape or Tapes may refer to: Material A long, narrow, thin strip of material (see also Ribbon (disambiguation): Adhesive tapes * Adhesive tape, any of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive *Athletic tape, pressure-sensitiv ...
( installation) – on "4 × 4 Commissions" CD, limited edition put out by the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow, Scotland (2001) * Quartet 1998 – for saxophone quartet – on self-titled CD by the group
Quasar A quasar is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a m ...
* Waiter, Waiter, Call the Manager – for big band – on the self-titled CD by the KAPPA ensemble (1998) * Trois histoires – Brady's performance of Roche noire (chronique irlandaise) appears on this recording of music by composer / guitarist
René Lussier René Lussier (born April 15, 1957) is a jazz guitarist based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a composer, guitarist, bass guitarist, percussionist, bass clarinetist, and singer. Lussier has collaborated with Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, Jean Dero ...
* Circling – original version for
flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
and vibraphone – on Marie-Josée Simard and Lise Daoust's CD "L'Aube Enchantée – Enchanted Dawn" * Reaching Past – for
harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
and
tape Tape or Tapes may refer to: Material A long, narrow, thin strip of material (see also Ribbon (disambiguation): Adhesive tapes * Adhesive tape, any of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive *Athletic tape, pressure-sensitiv ...
– on Vivienne Spiteri's "New Music for
Harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
from Canada and the Netherlands" * Changes – for piano, vibraphone and marimba – on Marie-Josée Simard's self-titled solo CD * Doubling – solo harpsichord version – on Vivienne Spiteri's "comme si l'hydrogène...the desert speaks"


Sources


Magazine articles and reviews

* '' Guitar Player Magazine'' – review 1985; articles: 1994, 1997, 2007 * ''
DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
Magazine'' – CD reviews 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005; preview article, 2008 * ''Musicworks Magazine'' – 1997 article by Andrew Hurlbut, numerous CD & concert reviews over the years, articles by Brady on a variety of issues * '' The Wire'' – article, 1991; review, 2007 * ''
La scena musicale ''The Music Scene'' (French: ''La Scena Musicale'') is a Canadian bilingual quarterly magazine that promotes classical music in Canada. The magazine was established by Wah Keung Chan in September 1996. Each issue contains a comprehensive calendar ...
'' – cover article, 2004 * ''Paroles & Musique Magazine'' ( SOCAN) – cover article, 2002 * ''The Canadian Composer'' ( CAPAC) – article, 1983 * ''
Option Option or Options may refer to: Computing *Option key, a key on Apple computer keyboards *Option type, a polymorphic data type in programming languages *Command-line option, an optional parameter to a command *OPTIONS, an HTTP request method ...
'' – article, 1989 * '' Canadian Musician Magazine'' – 1993 * ''Avancées Magazine'' (France) – 1993 * ''Le Dauphiné'' (
Annecy Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed ...
, France) – 1993 * ''La Nouvelle République'' (France) – 1993 * '' Toronto EYE'' Magazine – article, 1993 * ''OPUS Magazine'' (Toronto) – article, 2007 * ''Whole Note Magazine'' (Toronto) – article, 2004 * '' Electronic Musician'' – article, 1 July 2005 * ''
Opera Canada ''Opera Canada'' is a quarterly music magazine published by Opera Canada Publications. It is the oldest continuously published arts magazine in Canada. It is an independent magazine separate from the Canadian Opera Association. Along with Opera ...
Magazine'' – review, 2005 * '' Grok Magazine'' (Perth) – article, 2007 * Allaboutjazz (online publication) – review, 22 May 2008''Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville: Day 2 – May 16, 2008'' by John Kellman
/ref>


Newspapers


Multiple references

''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
,
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
, Toronto NOW Magazine, Montréal La Presse,
The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...
, Le Devoir,
Voir ''Voir'' was a francophone alternative weekly newspaper in Montreal, Quebec, published by Communications Voir. ''Voir'' was founded by Pierre Paquet in November 1986. The first issue of the newspaper was published on 27 November 1986. Later on t ...
(Montréal, Québec City),
Halifax Chronicle-Herald ''The Chronicle Herald'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada owned by SaltWire Network of Halifax. The paper's newsroom staff were locked out of work from January 2016 until August 2017. ''Herald'' management cont ...
, Vancouver Georgia Straight,
Kitchener-Waterloo Record The ''Waterloo Region Record'' (formerly ''The Record'') is the daily newspaper covering Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, including the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, as well as the surrounding area. Since December 1998, the ''Re ...
, Philadelphia Inquirer,
Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...
''


Single references

''New York Village Voice'' (1991), ''Edmonton Journal'' (1991), ''Mannheimer Morgan'' (2007), ''Rhein-Neckar Zeitung'' (2007),'' Die Reihnpalz'' (1995), ''Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Union Times'' (1993), Quebec City ''Le Soleil'' (1996), ''The Glasgow Scotsman'' (1999), ''AF of M International Musician'' (1999), ''Sydney Morning Herald'' (2000), Copenhagen ''Berlingske Tilden'' (2001), Bolzano ''Corriere delle Apli'' (2001), Bolzanno ''Il Mattino'' (2001), Dublin ''Irish Times'' (1998), ''Baseler Agenda'' (2004), Sherbrooke ''La Tribune'' (2005)


Programmes

Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (also known by the acronym HCMF, stylised since 2006 as the lowercase hcmf//) is a new music festival held annually in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since its foundation in 1978, it has featured ...
, INA- GRM (Radio-France), Winnipeg
Symphony Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...
New
Music Festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...
, festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville, Bang on a Can Festival, Relâche ensemble, Esprit Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre symphonique de Laval, G.M.E.M. (
Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
), Interpretations Series ( New York City), The Kitchen, Auros New Music Ensemble, New Ear Ensemble, Conseil québécois de la musique – Prix OPUS, Festival Les Coups de Théâtre ( Montréal), OUTPUT Festival, CALARTS REDCAT Theatre ( Los Angeles), Edmonton Jazz City, Festival international de jazz de Montréal.


Books

* = Encyclopedia of Music in Canada * ''The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Contemporary Music'' by Brian Morton and


Record catalogues

* Justin Time Records (1988–2000) *
Ambiances Magnétiques Ambiances Magnétiques is a Canadian record company and label started by Jean Derome, René Lussier, and others, and the artists' collective that preceded it. History In 1982, "guitarist René Lussier and saxophonist/flutist Jean Derome presente ...
(2002–present)


Archives

* Innovations en concert * Bradyworks * Canadian New Music Network * Canadian Music Centre * Music Gallery archives * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation archives * Société Radio-Canada archives * British Broadcasting Corporation archives * Radio-France (INA-GRM) archives


Notes


External links


Tim Brady's Official site

Tim Brady's discography on actuellecd

Brady's page at the Canadian Music Centre

Official site for the Music Gallery, where Tim Brady is on the Board of Directors

Official site for the Canadian New Music Network, where Tim Brady was founding president (2005-2014).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brady, Tim 1956 births Living people 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Anglophone Quebec people Canadian classical composers Musicians from Montreal New England Conservatory alumni Canadian male classical composers 20th-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian guitarists Canadian male guitarists 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians