Unrealistic Spaces by UBC alum Sam Davidson and Will Howie, and Yujin Honda

Sam Davidson: Clarinet, Whistles, Akai EWI 4000s, Electronics
Yujin Honda: Drums, Timpani
Will Howie: Electronics, Spatial Sound Design, Bass
Featured UBC Alum: Sam Davidson (BMus ’06) and Will Howie (UBC BMus’04)
Release: 2026
Description:
Unrealistic Spaces is a collection of new compositions for clarinet, whistles, electronic wind instrument (EWI), drums, and live electronics, written, performed, recorded, and mixed specifically for 12-channel 3D audio reproduction (7.1.4, or Dolby Atmos). It was recorded at McGill University, with multi-grammy award winning engineer Richard King. It is also a research project supported by McGill University and UBC, investigating new ways of composing and capturing music for 3D audio environments.
To purchase/stream the album, and for program notes, see: https://redshiftrecords.org/catalogue/2026-releases/tk584/
ADM BWF Atmos Masters and discrete 7.1.4 master files can be downloaded here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19542627
Assistant Professor of Voice & Opera
The UBC School of Music invites applications for a full-time, limited-term position in Voice and Opera. The anticipated start date will be August 1, 2026. This is a one-year position as Assistant Professor Without Review (i.e., non-tenure-track), potentially renewable for up to two more years, subject to the availability of funds and demonstration of excellence in research, teaching, and service.
We seek an accomplished professional singer and educator with significant experience in opera. Qualified candidates will have demonstrated engagement with diversity or inclusion through performance, mentoring, teaching, or community-based initiatives that will help diversify the activities of the Voice and Opera division. They should have demonstrated experience in teaching studio voice lessons, preferably at the university level, including familiarity with the vocal training needed to develop young voices. They should have extensive knowledge of art song and oratorio repertoire, including contemporary forms, different languages used in classical vocal repertoire, and the IPA. They should be familiar with young artists and summer voice programs, community-based work, and the current professional environment. The successful candidate will have a PhD, DMA, or appropriate terminal degree, but candidates with a combination of education and appropriate experience, as noted above, will be considered.
Duties will include individual undergraduate and graduate voice lessons; teaching courses; supervision of masters and doctoral students, other service on School and University committees, and active and ongoing performance/research activities consistent with successful teaching and productive service.
The UBC School of Music offers a full range of undergraduate and graduate programs in music, including M.Mus., M.A., DMA, and Ph.D. programs. For information about the School, visit
music.ubc.ca
Applications and all supporting materials should be received byJune 15, 2026
Applicants should be prepared to provide:
- a letter of application that includes the names and contact information (incl. institutional affiliation, address, e-mail address) of three referees;
- curriculum vitae;
- a statement of major research accomplishments, and current and future research;
- a statement of teaching/pedagogy philosophy; and a concise record of teaching experience, including evidence of teaching effectiveness (e.g., evaluations and sample syllabi);
- a statement addressing experience working with a diverse student body as well as past and potential contributions to creating/advancing a culture of equity and inclusion.
Referees for the candidates on the long list will be contacted to provide confidential reference letters. Long-listed candidates will be asked to provide samples of their performances, including links to recordings, and other relevant documented professional experiences. The expected pay range for this position is $8,333/month – $9,167/month; salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. This position is subject to final budgetary approval.
The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible work environment for all members of its workforce. Within this hiring process we will make efforts to create an accessible process for all candidates (including but not limited to disabled people). If you have any questions regarding accommodations or accessibility during the recruitment and hiring process or for more information and support, please visit UBC’s Centre for Workplace Accessibility website
The UBC – Vancouver Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking Musqueam people. Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Métis, Inuit, or Indigenous person. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
Deadline for applications: Monday June 15, 2026
Posting date: Thursday May 14, 2026
How Sign Language Analyzes Musical Form
Author: Anabel Maler
Publication details: Anabel Maler, How Sign Language Analyzes Musical Form, Music Theory Spectrum, 2026;, mtag001.

Weblink: https://academic.oup.com/mts/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mts/mtag001/8664087
Abstract:
This article reframes sign language cover songs as music analysis, arguing that Deaf listeners are expert formal analysts who use sign language to convey analytical insights into the form of existing pieces of popular music through the medium of sign language cover songs. Sign language cover songs are placed on a continuum from literal to free translations, and from descriptive to suggestive analysis. The article explores three form-defining parameters—movement type, space, and nonmanual markers—revealing how each one can be used in an American Sign Language (ASL) cover to articulate aspects of musical form.
Trio Garibaldi: In Faded Sepia

In Faded Sepia by Trio Garibaldi
Featured UBC Faculty: Jose Franch-Ballester, clarinet & David Fung, piano with Marina Thibeault
Release: March 2026 on ATMA Classique
Description:
With In Faded Sepia, the Garibaldi Trio offers a musical journey where memory, lyricism, and stylistic contrasts intertwine in a remarkably rich sonic palette. The album brings together works by Lowell Liebermann, Dorothy Chang, and Stephen Chatman, along with a vibrant tribute to Duke Ellington through original arrangements by Yuri Kuriyama. Through these works, the trio showcases the full sonic range of the clarinet, viola, and piano. This intimate yet expansive ensemble allows for a seamless transition from profound lyricism to a more vibrant energy, with occasional nods to jazz.
The recording’s central theme is Dorothy Chang’s Persistence, and more specifically its “Song, in Faded Sepia” movement, which inspired the album’s title. Like an old photograph whose contours have softened with time, the music evokes a memory. Fragments of a familiar theme reappear, like fleeting images that cannot be held onto. Between the almost diabolical fervor of Liebermann‘s trio, the virtuosic and luminous sweep of Chatman‘s Garibaldi Suite, and the timeless elegance of Ellington revisited with freedom and imagination, In Faded Sepia weaves a sensitive dialogue between tradition and modernity.