On Friday, February 18 the McGill Wind Orchestra led by Jonathan Dagenais will premiere Bright Distance Blurring by student composer in residence, Anita Pari.
Anita Pari is a composer, pianist, and cellist from Ottawa, currently pursuing a Master of Music in Composition at Schulich studying with Dr. Brian Cherney. Anita has composed music for orchestra, choir, various chamber groups, solo piano, and fixed media electronics. Her works have been performed by the Cecilia Quartet (Nocturne for Strings) and the Harmonia Choir (Worlds Apart: Pappy's Song), among others.
We connected with Anita over email as she was set to begin this academic year.
What are you most looking forward to at the first rehearsal?
So many things! Although I’ve written a few pieces for orchestra in recent years, this collaboration with the McGill Wind Orchestra will be the first time that I have the chance to work with a large ensemble on one of my compositions. I am looking forward to receiving advice about idiomatic writing from the director of the ensemble, and I can’t wait to meet and speak with the players. I think it is wonderful that the residency program at McGill recommends composers to attend all rehearsals of the ensemble that they are writing for, as this allows us to develop a greater familiarity with the group and to really connect with the conductor and players.
What would a goal of yours be for this year?
One of my goals this year is simply to spend more time meeting new people, experiencing Schulich, and experiencing Montreal… I did the entire first year of my master’s degree studying remotely from my home in Ottawa, so actually being in Montreal and having the chance to meet my fellow students and professors in person is incredibly exciting for me! On the academic side of things, I am hoping to do my initial master’s thesis submission by April of 2022, so I will be working toward that throughout this school year.
What's the best thing about making music with others?
I grew up going to chamber music summer camps and I have always loved getting together with friends and playing music together. During the earlier stages of the pandemic, I joined a few improvised jams on the conferencing platform Zoom, which was a fascinating and novel experience that I enjoyed tremendously. After these Zoom jams, I co-presented a lecture-recital in April 2021 of original music for two players that was recorded remotely over Zoom in real time. Making music with others, whether in person or not, has always been a special and valuable activity to me, and it is without a doubt one of the practices that has drawn me so strongly to music as a vocation.
You play a variety of instruments, what makes composing for the McGill Wind Orchestra special?
Composing for the McGill Wind Orchestra has been quite different than composing for any other instrumentation I have worked with so far. In recent years, I have written a piano concerto as well as a shorter piece for orchestra based on local bird songs, so writing for large ensembles is familiar to me, but working without strings has definitely been a new challenge! (I am a cellist.) Instead, with the wind orchestra, I have been exploring a wide range of musical possibilities designed for a rich and colourful group of 26 wind, brass, and percussion players. When I found out that I had been selected for the McGill Wind Orchestra residency, I started watching videos and reading up on the instruments I was less familiar with. I also listened to a number of works for wind ensemble from different eras and styles, in order to get a sense of what has already been composed for this instrumentation in the past. As I now work on the piece every day, it is truly inspiring for me to look ahead to collaborating with the performers and eventually hearing the piece performed in the Winter season!
What would you like the musicians or audience to walk away with after having experienced your composition?
In my composition, I have been drawing from some of my own lived experiences to explore the theme of a journey. The first and final sections of the piece will be full of motion and anticipation, to reflect the beginning and end of this musical journey. I hope that my composition will lead listeners to reflect on the journeys in their lives, whether past, present, future, or imagined.
What led you to composition?
I started music lessons at a very young age, and after some years of piano and cello lessons, my dad suggested that I should try composing. I started taking theory and composition lessons when I was nine, and have been writing music ever since! I must admit that I found composing extremely difficult and frustrating as a kid—much more than practicing—but I came to enjoy it more and more as I got older. Around seventeen, a little before I started my Bachelor of Music at Carleton University, I finally decided to prioritize composition as my main musical focus. Thanks to my dedicated, inspiring composition professors at Carleton and McGill, it has truly been a wonderful journey since then!
Tune in to the McGill Wind Orchestra online this Friday, February 18, 2022 to hear the premiere of Bright Distance Blurring and more!
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To learn more about Anita visit her personal website
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Enjoy the McGill Association of Student Composers (MASC) Composer Spotlight Series discussion with Anita:
