The Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO), in collaboration with the Association of Canadian Women Composers (ACWC), is excited to announce a Call for Applications to be workshopped in the upcoming Flute Music by Women Composers Festival, an international online festival hosted by the SPO taking place Feb 4-25, 2022. This call is open to gender-expansive and women composers of all ages and experience levels in Canada, as well as Canadians currently living abroad.
Selected participants will have a 40-minute session to work with flutist Sophie Lanthier and/or flutist/composer Anh Phung on an artistic project of their choice. Examples include: a reading session/informal recording of a solo flute piece; a discussion or testing session of flute techniques for a work-in-progress; an informal recording session of flute samples for a future electronic composition; or any other idea you might have, that would benefit from focused time with our mentor artists.
This workshop is online on February 19, 2022 (12pm-4pm est). Participants should plan to be present online for their session.
Available instrumentation is solo flute (1 player, playing piccolo/flute/alto flute/bass flute) and/or electronics (stereo).
To apply, please submit the following via the Google Form below:
- A short description (100-250 words) of how you would like to use the workshop time on February 19
- 1 link to an example of your proposed project or artistic practice that represents how you plan to use the workshop time if selected. Examples include: sketches or notes about a work-in-progress you plan to workshop, an existing score for a piece you’d like played, a description of a future piece that you’d like advice/comments on, a list of samples you’d like to record, etc.
Up to 6 participants will be selected to workshop their ideas with the mentors. The workshop will be streamed publicly online on February 19 at the Canadian Music Centre in Toronto. Professional audio recordings will be made available to all composers for their use, with the performer’s permission. Selected participants will also be invited to join the ACWC’s membership (at no cost), if they are not already members.
Deadline: February 1, 2022. Applicants will be notified of the results by February 5, 2022.
Sophie Lanthier is a Toronto-based freelance flutist with a devoted interest in contemporary music as both a soloist and chamber musician. A dynamic and expressive performer, she is committed to discovering and programming flute repertoire that represents the growing diversity of the contemporary flute scene, with a vested interest in flute music by female composers.
As an orchestral musician, Lanthier has worked with several world-renowned conductors, including Gábor Takács-Nagy, Bramwell Tovey, Johannes Debus, Andras Keller, Tania Miller, and Leon Fleisher. She has also been featured as a soloist with the Northwestern University Baroque Music Ensemble, performing JS Bach’s Cantata no. 209 and Vivaldi’s Chamber Concerto in G minor RV 107. In addition, she performed the first movement of Mozart’s Flute Concerto in G major in December of 2019 as a soloist with the Northwestern University Philharmonia.
Lanthier is currently attending the University of Toronto as a Doctor of Musical Arts student, studying with Leslie Newman. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance with Honours from the University of Toronto, an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University. Her primary teachers include Nora Shulman, Susan Hoeppner, and John Thorne.
Outside of her formal academic studies, Lanthier has attended the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, Centre d’Arts Orford, and was a member of the Continuum Ensemble’s HATCH Ensemble in 2019, as well as a flutist in the National Academy Orchestra of Canada’s 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Anh Phung is a shining example of the modern musician: as a child, she earned her virtuosity while sweeping flute contests across Canada, and has since used her mastery of the flute as a compass to navigate countless styles of music, constantly learn new instruments and consistently deliver exciting performances. Not bothered by the conventions and standard limitations of the flute, her powerful musical voice steers her through everything from hip-hop to bluegrass to Bulgarian folk music, and she is the leader of prog-rock tribute band Tullstars and performance art act Hairbrain. Catch Anh Phung on the mainstage at a summer festival facing off with the lead guitarist, or slinking around the basement after-hours at a free jazz club, but blink and she’s off chasing the next new sound.
IG: @anh.t.phung