In November, Associate Professor of Conducting and Ensembles Dr. Jonathan Girard and the UBC Symphony Orchestra released Emmerich Kálmán — Symphonic Poems, Saturnalia, Endre És Johanna on the Operetta Archives Label. The album features world première recordings of Kálmán’s two early symphonic poems, “Saturnalia” (1904) and “Endre és Johanna” (1906), written before he embarked on his journey as an operetta composer. The recording also features another world premiere recording, a waltz entitled “La Parisienne” (2010), by his son Charles. The album features the UBC Opera Ensemble under the direction of Prof. Nancy Hermiston, OC, and features alumni Scott Rumble (MMus’18), tenor, and Elana Razlog (DMPS’16, MMus’17), soprano.
Piano Division Chair Mark Anderson recorded Röntgen 5 – Works for 2 pianos by Julius Röntgen, Carl Reinecke and Johannes Brahms with Adjunct Professor of Piano Michelle Mares. The album, which offers the listener “an interconnected view of Romantic and post-Romantic repertoire for two pianos, much of it unknown and unpublished until now,” was released on Nimbus Records this autumn.
Professor of Composition Dr. T. Patrick Carrabré released 100,000 Lakes, his new album, in the spring. In Dr. Carrabré’s own words, “the music on this album brings together many of my interests. Chamber music with various combinations of strings and piano has been central to my output, as have collaborations with artists from outside the western classical tradition. In recent years I have also been working with electronic and manipulated audio sources as a means of augmenting the possibilities of acoustic instruments…. These works search for connections to the past while hoping that we will learn from that past and forge a better future, where diversity is valued and our connection to each other and the natural world nourishes our spirits.”
Adjunct Professor of Oboe Beth Orson, saxophonist and sessional lecturer Dr. Julia Nolan, and Professor of Piano Dr. Corey Hamm performed on Canadian composer Jeffrey Ryan’s new album, My Soul Upon My Lips, out now on Redshift Records. Prof. Orson can be heard on the track “Quince,” playing both oboe and English horn. Prof. Hamm collaborated with Jason Hall, who plays tarogato on “Arbutus,” while Nolan performs “Luminous Blue” for alto saxophone.
Dr. Corey Hamm and erhu player Nicole Ge Li released Piano and Erhu Project Vol. 3 on Redshift Records this summer. On the album they perform works by Prokofiev, Michael Finnissy, Lucas Oickle, Somei Satoh, Gao Ping, Dr. Stephen Chatman and more.
Baritone Tyler Duncan (BMus’98) and pianist Erika Switzer (BMus’97, MMus’00) released a new album, English Songs à la Française, on Bridge Records in August. The album features new interpretations of works by composers Reynaldo Hahn, Darius Milhaud, Alberto Roussel, and more.
Harpist Samantha Ballard (BMus’15) released a new album, Guiding Light: An Octopath Traveler Harp Collection, in May. Watch the album’s first single, “My Quiet Forest Home,” here.
