A Solo Piano Recital Celebrating the Canadian League of Composers 75th Anniversary in 2026.
John Burge pianist and composer
John Burge pianist and composer
In celebration of the Canadian League of Composers 75th Anniversary in 2026, composer and pianist, John Burge, presents a solo piano recital of music composed by many of the CLC’s past presidents. Starting with music by founding President, John Weinzweig, the program proceeds chronologically to music 2 of 17 composed current president, Tyler Versluis. Three of the past presidents whose music is programmed on this concert, have UBC connections including John Burge (DMA in Composition in 1989). The other two are Rodney Sharman, a past UBC faculty member, and current faculty member, Jennifer Butler. The concert opens with a musical land acknowledgement, “Pacific Dogwood,” composed by Indigenous-Canadian composer and CLC member, Beverley McKiver, and concludes with a rousing collective singing of “O Canada”.
This lunchtime recital is a shortened version of a full recital of music that was assembled by John Burge (himself a past president) to pay tribute to the organization’s 75th anniversary in 2026. It is especially wonderful that two past presidents and Vancouver composers, Jennifer Butler and Rodney Sharman, will be present at the concert and will join John Burge on the stage at the end of the concert.
Composer and pianist, John Burge, taught at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, for 38 years before retiring as a Professor Emeritus in 2025. Many of Burge’s orchestral works, such as Snowdrift, The Canadian Shield and Rocky Mountain Overture, have been performed by orchestras across Canada and internationally. His string orchestra work, Flanders Fields Reflections, as recorded by Sinfonia Toronto, received the 2009 Juno Award for the Best Canadian Classical Composition. In 2014 he was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada for his achievements as a composer and support of the Arts in Canada. Having completed his Associate Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto in Piano Performance while still in high school, John Burge has continued to perform throughout his career, usually in presentations of his own music. Over the years, his piano music has been included in a number of conservatory music syllabi and he is in high demand as a music festival adjudicator. A passionate advocate for Canadian music, he served on the executive committee of the Canadian League of Composers from 1993-2007 (including eight years as President) and on the SOCAN Foundation board of directors from 2009-2025, as well as on the boards of several arts organizations in the Kingston area.
Program
Pacific Dogwood – Beverley McKiver [A musical land acknowledgement from McKiver’s Canadian Floral Emblems]
Swing a Fugue – John Weinzweig (CLC President: 1951–57, 1959–63)
Rondo (from Suite No. 1) – Jean Papneau-Couture (CLC President: 1957–59, 1963-66)
Prelude No. 1 (from Four Preludes) – Srul Irving Glick (CLC President:1966-69)
Prelude for John Weinzweig – Sam Dolin (CLC President:1969-73)
The Merry Reel (from Two Latvian Dances) – Talivaldis Kenins (CLC President: 1973-74)
Prelude No. 24 (from The August Collection) – Walter Buczynski (CLC President:1974-75)
The Anglo Tango – Rodney Sharman (CLC President: 1993-98)
From Tiny Acorns – John Burge (CLC President: 1998-2006)
Erasing/Erased – Jennifer Butler (CLC President: 2011-2014)
Toccata (from Invention and Toccata) – Sophie Dupuis (CLC President: 2020-23)
Legend (from Three Melodies) – Tyler Versluis (CLC President: 2023-present)
O Canada – Calixa Lavallée
We invite you to be present and turn off your phones.
Photography and recording are not permitted.
We are gathered together for this event on the ancestral territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking Musqueam peoples.
Tickets (also available at the door)
We are unable to accept cash at the door.
