James Harley

Compositions

full listing of compositions here

Duol (2009) for violin, acoustic guitar, and soundfiles
duration: 6:30 min.
Composed for Duo Vita (Lynn Kuo, John Oliver)
Performances:

• Duo Vita, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, 10 February 2009
• Duo Vita, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, 12 February 2009
• Duo Vita, COC Ampitheatre, Toronto, Ontario, 17 February 2009
• Duo Vita, Gallery 345, Toronto, Ontario, 17 February 2009

listen (concert recording by Duo Vita, 17 Feb. 2009)

Wild Fruits 3: Chesrtnuts (2008) for 8-channel electroacoustic sounds
duration: 13:00 min.
Performances:

• Harcourt United Church, Guelph, 24 October 2008

Ariel Fragments (2007) for female/treble choir and electroacoustic sounds
duration: 16:45 min.
Composed for the University of Guelph "Shakespeare in Canada" Festival
Performances:

• University of Guelph Women's Chamber Choir, Marta McCarthy, conductor, RiverRun Centre, Guelph, 15 March 2007
• University of Guelph Women's Chamber Choir, Marta McCarthy, conductor, MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, 2 April 2007

listen (link to program notes and streaming audio)

Troi (2006) for violin, cello, piano
duration: 13 min.
Commission by the Transit Festival Leuven for Trio Fibonacci
Performances:

• Trio Fibonacci, Leuven, Belgium, 29 October 2006
• Trio Fibonacci, Montreal, Canada, 9 February 2007

soundskein (2006) for two string quartets (one onstage, one dispersed)
duration: 15 min.
Commissioned by NUMUS for the Penderecki String Quartet and the Lafayette String Quartet
Performances:

• Penderecki String Quartet/Lafayette String Quartet, Waterloo, 10 June 2006 (NUMUS/Perimeter Institute)
• Penderecki String Quartet/Lafayette String Quartet, Toronto, 11 June 2006 (soundaXis Festival)

listen (mp3 excerpt--3'49")

aXis (2006) for ensemble (13 players)
duration: 12 min.
Commissioned by New Music Concerts, Toronto
Performances:

• New Music Concerts, Robert Aitken - conductor, Toronto, 9 June 2006 (soundaXis Festival)

listen (mp3 excerpt--5'16")

Wild Fruits 2: Like a ragged flock, like pulverized jade (2006) for amplified flute, live signal processing, and electroacoustic audio
duration: 9:52"
Texts: Henry David Thoreau Wild Fruits, Annie Dillard Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Supported by a College of Arts Research Enhancement Grant, University of Guelph
Performances:

• Ellen Waterman - flute, University of Guelph, 16 March 2006
• Ellen Waterman - flute, University of Guelph, 13 May 2006
• electroacoustic-only version, Harvest Moon Festival, Montreal, 22 September 2006
• Ellen Waterman - flute, The Art of Immersive Soundscape 2, Regina, 19 June 2007
• electroacoustic-only version, Society for Computer Music Conference, Lefkada, Greece, 12 July 2007

listen (a recording by Ellen Waterman: click on the link to Wild Fruits 2)

Mash (Derome vs Oliveros (2005) for electroacoustic sounds
duration: 7'30"
Sound sources: Jean Derome - alto saxophone; Lullaby for Daisy Pauline by Pauline Oliveros as performed by the University of Guelph Contemporary Music Ensemble and Siren Women's Choir, with soundscape by Michael Waterman
Performances:

• University of Guelph, 14 December 2005
• University of Guelph, 16 March 2006

listen (mp3 of complete piece)

Re: Hallelujah (2005) for mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra
duration: 5'30"
instrumentation: 1111/1111/1perc/1piano/mezzo/11111
Commissioned for Open Ears Festival with assistance from the Laidlaw Foundation
Composition based on "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen (used by permission)
1st performance: Patricia O'Callaghan, Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Daniel Warren - conductor; Kitchener, Canada (Open Ears Festival), 29 April 2005

listen (mp3 recording of live performance)

Wild Fruits: Prologue (2004) for 8-channel electroacoustic audio (with optional slideshow)
duration: 16'10"
Texts: Henry David Thoreau Wild Fruits, Annie Dillard Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Supported by a Composer Fellowship from the McKnight Foundation
Performances:

• Sparks Festival, Minneapolis, 20 February 2004
• Harvest Moon Festival, Montreal, 24 September 2004
• University of Guelph, 3 February 2005
• Minnesota State University Moorhead, 19 April 2005

listen (mp3 recording of a 2'39" excerpt, stereo mix)

Chaotika (2001) for solo percussion, prerecorded sounds, live electronics
duration: 10'12"
Composed in collaboration with D'Arcy Gray.

listen (mp3 excerpt, D'Arcy Gray, Nov. 2001)
listen (mp3 excerpt, Nate Oshaben, Oct. 2002)
listen (mp3 excerpt, Bryan Malito, Jan. 2005--recorded by CBC Radio "Two New Hours")

Anasazi (Kokopeli I) (2001) for amplified piccolo, prerecorded sounds, live electronics
duration: 10'00"
Commissioned by Elizabeth NcNutt with support from the American Composers Forum Commission Fund
1st Performance: Elizabeth McNutt, Moorhead, Minnesota, April 2001

listen (mp3 excerpt of a live recording, Elizabeth McNutt - piccolo)

Jardinages I (2000) for electric guitar and electroacoustic audio
duration: 6'00"
1st Performance: Glenn Ginn, Moorhead, Minnesota, 29 April 2000

listen (mp3 recording of a live recording, Glenn Ginn-guitar)

Note: The electroacoustic audio for this piece is available upon request. If performed on its own, it is known as Jardinages II.

Édifices (naturels) (2000) for solo piano
duration: c. 10'00"
Commissioned for Marc Couroux (Kore Ensemble) and Brigitte Poulin (Trio Phoenix) with support from The Canada Council
1st Performance: Marc Couroux, Montreal, 8 March 2000

view (first four pages of the score; full score can be ordered from the Canadian Music Centre)

bien serré (1999) for large 'jazz' ensemble
duration: c. 21'00
Instrumentation: 2 Eb alto sax, 1 Bb tenor sax, 1 Eb baritone sax, 4 Bb trumpets, 4 trombones, 1 electric guitar, 1 electric keyboard, 1 electric bass, 1 drumset
Commissioned for Kappa with support from The Canada Council
1st Performance: Kappa, Philippe Keyser - director, Quebec City, 2 June 1999

listen (mp3 recording of a 1'54" excerpt, from early in the piece)
listen (mp3 recording of a 2'30" excerpt, from later in the piece)

Cuimhneachan Urramach (1995) for solo cello and chamber ensemble (14 players)
duration: c. 15'00
Commissioned by Codes d'Accès for the Musiques-Échange Festival, Montréal-Belgique 1995
1st Performance: Paul Pulford, Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Chosei Komatsu - conductor, March 1997

listen (CBC Radio Concert On Demand: Yegor Dyachkov - cello, Groundswell Ensemble, Alain Trudel - conductor, Winnipeg, 20 May 2008)

listen (mp3 excerpt of a performance by Simon Turner - cello, McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble, Denys Bouliane - conductor, Montreal, December 1997)

Tyee (1995) for bass flute and percussion
duration: c. 15'00
1st Performance: Dianne Aitken-Trevor Tureski Duo, Music Gallery, Toronto, January 1996

listen (mp3 recording of premiere performance)

Épanoui (1995) for flute, violoncello, piano
duration: c. 12'00
1st Performance: Trio Phoenix

listen (mp3 recording of a 4'01" excerpt, from the opening on)
listen (mp3 recording of entire piece: Trio Phoenix, Music Gallery Toronto)

Kaleidarray (Jazz III) (1994) for chamber ensemble (7 players)
duration: c. 15'00
1st Performance: Arraymusic, Michael Baker - conductor, Toronto, November 1994

listen (mp3 excerpt of a performance by Arraymusic, recorded by CBC Radio "Two New Hours")

Song for Nobody (1990) for solo Bb clarinet (alternative version available for Bb bass clarinet with low extension)
duration: c. 7'30"
1st Performance: Rachel Ménard, GEMS, Montreal, 1990.

listen (mp3 of recording by Robert Stevenson, released on Roads to Chaos CD, Soundprints SP9603)

Windprints (1989) for symphony orchestra
duration: c. 15'00
1st Performance: McGill Symphony Orchestra, Timothy Vernon - conductor, Montreal, February 1990

listen (mp3 excerpt of a performance at McGill University)

Piano (1989) for solo piano
duration: c. 15'00
1st Performance: Laurie Bridges, Belllingham, USA

listen (mp3 recording of a performance at McGill University)

Encounters II (1984) for percussion duo
duration: c. 10 min.
Awards: 1st prize--MC2 Composition Competition, Avignon, France (1984); 1st prize--CBC Young Composers Competition, Montreal, Canada (1986)
1st Performance: Imposed work--MC2 Performers Competition, Avignon, France (1985)

listen (mp3 recording of a performance by Julien Grégoire and Vincent Dhavernas)