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It took a minute and it took a village.

I recently received the physical copies of my album, Artemis Sleeps, which features the chamber music of Jocelyn Morlock (1969 – 2023). For the uninitiated, Morlock was one of the most widely loved compositional voices of her generation, writing music that was lyrical and sensuous, while also not being afraid to lean into humour and absurdity. She was the inaugural composer-in-residence for Vancouver’s Music on Main and the first woman composer-in-residence for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; her orchestral piece, My Name Is Amanda Todd, written for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, won the 2018 JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year. She died suddenly in the Spring of 2023, shocking the Canadian classical community, particularly here on the West Coast, where she had lived for some 25 years.

Artemis Sleeps is part of (what I’m hoping will be) a multi-album recording project that explores and celebrates her enormous body of work. This album features so many colleagues, friends, and chosen family, many of whom had their own special connection with Jocelyn. Even so, I was really touched by how immediately enthusiastic everyone was to contribute their gifts to an album that not only acknowledges Morlock’s impact on Canadian music, but also pays tribute to someone who was a friend, colleague, and mentor for so many. It’s really encouraging to see that there’s an appetite for the dissemination of Jocelyn’s music: Alex Varty wrote a beautiful piece for Stir; Anya Wassenberg and I had a lovely chat for New Classical FM/LudwigVan; and Nolan Kehler highlights Morlock’s national impact (and Manitoban roots) in our interview and podcast for Winnipeg’s Classic 107 (also, a big shoutout to Nick Storring of Riparian Media for creating so much visibility for this album).

I’m so, so happy and grateful that we’re able to make this small contribution to Jocelyn’s legacy — and I’m looking forward to the next instalment of this series of Morlockian albums: a new recording of Jocelyn’s orchestral music by the Vancouver Symphony, called Night, Herself, is in its final stages of post-production and will be released before the end of this year.

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Today marks the official release of a recording project that’s very dear to me. André Cormier’s work for ten flutes, –tous facteurs étant égaux, was composed for the Redshift Music event, Échos Fidèles, way back in 2008. This was an event that premiered a number of commissions, meaning we only had time to perform the second movement of André’s piece. Shortly after, the Tempest Flute Ensemble was re-envisioned as an octet, meaning that I would spend the next 15 years wondering what Cormier’s five-movement, 25-minute flute dectet sounded like in its entirety.

Fast-forward to December 2023. I converted my apartment bedroom into a recording studio and began laying down the tracks for –tous facteurs étant égaux. The whole process took several weeks, as I navigated neighbours, garbage trucks, airplanes, and the lunch breaks of the elementary school next door. Each movement of –tous facteurs is conceived as a kind of sonic clock, with an event occurring almost every second. But over the course of five movements, we hear the harmonic complexity collapse in on itself: from the expansive range of the first movement, with its piccolos and alto flutes; to the intensely microtonal fifth movement, where all ten parts cover less than a semitone in range. Moreover, as I slowly multi-track recorded each part, it was fascinating to discover how each movement embodied a different character, from the cheery optimism of the first, to the foreboding urgency of the second, to the claustrophobic (yet weirdly playful) final movement.

I’m indebted to Don Harder, who took my very basic recordings with their dry, unflattering acoustics and transformed them into something that truly sparkles. And of course I have tremendous gratitude to André Cormier and the professional partnership (and friendship) we’ve enjoyed for many years now.

–tous facteurs étant égaux is released on Redshift Records and available on BandCamp and other streaming platforms. You can download the digital booklet HERE.