Arraymusic Ensemble Biographies

picture of Bob StevensonROBERT W. STEVENSON (Artistic Director, clarinet / bass clarinet)

Robert W. Stevenson has performed with most of the contemporary music ensembles that have existed in Toronto since the 1970's, and he has been a founding member of several (Evergreen Club, Hemispheres, musicdance orchesta, Critical Band).Robert was Artistic Director and conductor of the improvising new music ensemble Hemispheres from 1997 - 1999. During his long relationship with the dance community he has collaborated with choreographers such as Holly Small, Terill Maguire, Joan Phillips, Maxine Heppner and Bill James. He has toured nationally and internationally, and is featured as soloist in Steve Reich's "New York Counterpoint" on ARRAYMUSIC's CD, Chroma. Mr. Stevenson's own compositions focus on issues relating to performance practice and physical space, and recently involve improvisation and inter-disciplinary collaboration.




picture of Stephen ClarkeSTEPHEN CLARKE (piano)


Stephen Clarke has performed as a soloist in festivals in Europe, Canada, and the United States. He plays in a duo with violinist Marc Sabat and with ensembles con.Takt and Ergo.



picture of Henry Kucharzyk HENRY KUCHARZYK (piano)

Henry Kucharzyk is a composer, conductor and performer based in his native Toronto. He has been in the forefront of contemporary Canadian music for over twenty years as an active pianist and keyboard player, conductor, broadcaster, thereminist and record producer, He has had a long-standing association with ARRAYMUSIC, first as a pianist, then serving as Artistic Director for five years and now as conductor. He also performs on Theremin and keyboard in PHH!K, the ground-breaking electro-acoustic duo. Mr. Kucharzyk’s compositions reflect his eclectic musical interests and include both conventional concert forces as well as instrumental, electronic, and world-music combinations. Many leading Canadian companies have commissioned his work including Nexus, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the C.B.C. and the Toronto Symphony. Kucharzyk’s international commissions include works for Studio Grame (Lyon, France) and Piano Circus (U.K.). His upcoming premieres include ‘supercoolrainbowspecial’for children’s choir and “The Piano Tuner” for Montreal’s Centaur Theatre. He also owns and operates Artifact Music a label which has produced 27 discs of contemporary music .



picture of Blair MackayBLAIR MACKAY (percussion)

Blair Mackay’s eclectic performance career as a percussionist and a drummer has been highlighted in a wide range of musical contexts. He frequently performs for radio, television, and film soundtracks as well as performing and recording with many orchestras and small ensembles in Toronto. In 1988, Blair completed his Master of Music degree in performance at the University of Toronto. Since 1994, Blair has toured with the Dangerous Kitchen Ensemble performing the music of Frank Zappa in Europe, the United States, and Canada. He has been a featured soloist premiering new works for drum set in a variety of instrumental contexts. Blair is a performer with and Artistic Director of the Evergreen Club Gamelan Ensemble and a co-composer for Mosaic.





picture of Peter PavlovskyPETER PAVLOVSKY (double bass)

Peter Pavlovsky began his Double Bass studies at the University of Regina and received a Bachelor of Music Summo Cum Laude in 1991. He continued his studies in Prague, Czech Republic for two years before returning to Canada to study with Joel Quarrington at the Royal Conservatory Professional School. Peter is the Principal Bass for Arraymusic, Sinfonia Toronto, Toronto Philharmonia and Kingston Symphony. He is very active in the field of new music has premiered several new works at the Banff Centre for the Arts, and in Toronto for Arraymusic, Tapestry New Music, Queen of Puddings Productions, New Music Concerts and Continuum. As a freelancer he has performed with the Toronto Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the National Ballet of Canada, and on several commercial and movie soundtracks. He has recorded for CBC on numerous occasions and can be found on the latest CD release of Arraymusic entitled 25 Miniatures, and on the Juno Award winning CD of the Toronto Symphony featuring works by Sibelius. Peter resides in Toronto and teaches at the Royal Conservatory of Music.




picture of Rick SacksRICHARD SACKS (percussion)

Richard Sacks holds a masters degree in percussion from SUNY Stony Brook. He performs with Arraymusic, The Glass Orchestra, New Music Concerts, the Canadian Opera Co., Tapestry New Opera, the Evergreen Club Gamelan and others. He has toured extensively through Europe and Asia. Rick also works as both a performer and a composer/sound-designer in contemporary dance and theatre productions. He has performed with Robert Desrosiers, Dancemakers, Le Group de la Place Royal, Bill James, Carbon 14, and Toronto Dance Theatre. In theatre, recent work has been as composer/performer for Canadian Stage's Midsummer Night's Dream in the Park at High Park, Midsummer Night's Dream at Passe Muraille, the hit show 'Sibs' (Tarragon), and the award winning children's shows, "Dib and Dob" and "Danny, King of the Basement" (Roseneath). Rick is also Arraymusic's webmaster and the director of the Metcalf Project




picture of Rebecca Van Der PostREBECCA VAN DER POST (violin)

 Since completing her studies at the Guildhall School in London with Pauline Scott and in Switzerland with Professor Igor Ozim and Karen Turpie, Rebecca van der Post has given recitals and solo performances throughout Europe with duo partners including Thomas Adès and Sophie Rahman. In 1995, she gave the first performances of Peter Cowdrey’s concerto at the Purcell Room, London, with subsequent performances at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Istanbul Festival. For several years, Rebecca was the leader of the London-based new music group Ensemble Corrente, with whom she performed at the Aldeburgh and Belfast Sonorities Festivals and broadcast works like the piano trio Presence by Bernd Alois Zimmermann for the BBC. In Toronto, Rebecca has performed for CBC’s Two New Hours with Stephen Clarke, giving Canadian premieres of music by Magnus Lindberg, Galina Ustvolskaya, and Michael Hynes.
 



picture of Mike WhiteMICHAEL WHITE (trumpet / signal processors)

Michael White, known for his performances and recordings with ARRAYMUSIC, New Music Concerts the experimental industrial/jazz group Lonely Universe, and the higth tech rhythm band King Brand Valium, studied trumpet at the University of Toronto with Larry Weeks. Through his work with ARRAYMUSIC and New Music Concerts, he has had the opportunity to work with many of the world's leading and upcoming composers. Michael White has toured throughout Canada and internationally with many different groups including ARRAYMUSIC, Lonely Universe, the Esprit Orchestra, Nexus, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Cloud about Mercury, and Bruce Cockburn.


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