The Banff Centre: Communications

Nova Scotia Chronicle Herald — Derek Charke plans to formulate ideas and initial sketches of the work while researching string quartet techniques at the Banff Centre for the Arts in July.

Audophile Audition: The St. Lawrence String Quartet’s recording of Christos Hatzis’s String Quartets 1 and 2, made at the Banff Centre, “is first-rate, as is the St. Lawrence Quartet performance.”

Calgary Herald — Banff Centre contines sweep of prizes with Tom and Isobel Rolston and Greg Hollingshead (last year John Murrell was one of the recipients of the original prize).

Globe and Mail: Calgary Opera plans to toast a Canadian mass murderer and spy in a new commissioned work about the life of Alexander Keith Jr., nephew of the famous Halifax brewer. Composer Bramwell Tovey and playwright John Murrell will write the full-length opera, which is to be premiered in Calgary in January, 2011.

The Charter (Placentia, Newfoundland): Paul Rowe about writing his novel The Silent Time: “It took a long time, about eight years but since 2004 I went to the Banff Centre for the Fine Arts. It was like I turned a corner there because at Banff I was there for five weeks and I got to work with a lot of people who were professional writers, who knew what they were doing. Since 2004, I kind of turned a corner and became really determined that I was going to finish the book.”

Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia): Chamber Music Australia is working to develop programs to put Australian musicians and composers on the world map. “Why does everybody from here have to run off to Banff and all these summer schools everywhere in order to get that level of tuition.” The article also notes that the TinAlley String Quartet, one of this year’s BISQC contendors, made the finals of the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition.

Canada.com: Review by Bob Clark of Summer Arts Festival events.

CNW Group: “Today we unleash Ontario’s Imagination. Ontario’s investment in the Digital Futures Initiative makes possible a new era for OCAD [Ontario College of Art and Design] in its evolution as Canada’s university for the imagination,” said Sara Diamond, president of OCAD [and former director of Media and Visual Arts at the Banff Centre].

Edmonton Journal: Bob Clark writes, “For the first time since it was founded in 1983, two Canadian ensembles are among 10 of the world’s leading young groups competing… at the 9th Banff International String Quartet Competition.”