Reminiscence (2021)

For Green Room Sound Collective

Premiering 2022

10 minutes

Instrumentation

Violin, Vibraphone, Harp (all sharing vibraphone at end)

Program Notes

“As we resume our previous lives in the wake of COVID-19, things have changed. Our relationships, hobbies, and lifestyles are different than they once were. In some cases, changes are imperceptible. In others, they are much more apparent. While writing Reminiscence, I pondered on the necessity of adaptation. If a change is forced upon someone, they must eventually embrace it as a new part of who they have become. Dramatically, the piece is a dialogue between the violin and the vibraphone—the violin desperately clinging onto safety while the vibraphone forges ahead into unexplored terrain. Only once the violinist has let go and leapt forward to join their colleagues do the three instrumentalists finally begin speaking the same language."

Road to Ballito (2020)

for my family

Recorded live at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music on November 26th, 2020 by Paolo Rosselli, Anna Ding, Taylor Krause, and Shin Wang

10 minutes

Instrumentation

Horn Quartet

Program Notes

"'Road to Ballito' is inspired by a memorable visit with my South African family in 2018. We drove from their hometown of Pretoria to Ballito—a small holiday town on the coast. Some highlights of the trip included driving through a massive sandstorm, spending a day finding the perfect beach, and concluding with a lovely family dinner as we watched the waves against the shore. That visit was the last time we were all together as a family, before my Grandpa passed away the following year.

I decided to borrow some pre-existing thematic material to use as signposts throughout the piece. The first is the opening call from 'Shosholoza,' a traditional Nguni song which became popular in apartheid South Africa as a sign of solidarity and comradery. If there is any motive that captures the feeling of watching the sunrise in South Africa, this is it for me. I also borrowed a harmonic progression from my opera, 'Union,' which was dedicated to my Grandpa.

The piece is divided in five distinct sections. It begins with a warm and inviting sunrise, followed by an exhilarating ride in the backseat of a car. The third section portrays the feeling of spending quiet time with family, which is quickly interrupted by agitation and unease: I love South Africa, and I hate seeing such a diverse country wrestling with the long-term effects of hateful and systemic racism. Nevertheless, the country is filled with beautiful and optimistic people, and as the sun sets at the end of the quartet, I hope that the optimism never fades."

-Michael Nunes

Trio for Trumpet, Trombone, and Percussion (2020)

for the National Academy Orchestra of Canada

Performed virtually by Matheus Moraes, Andrea Norman, and Jesse Guo for the National Academy Orchestra of Canada.

15 minutes

Movements

Groove

Tune

Chaos

Instrumentation

Trumpet: C Trumpet (Cup Mute), Piccolo Trumpet in A (Bb version available)

Trombone (Cup Mute)

Percussion: Hi-Hat, 3 Toms, Crash Cymbal, Vibraphone, Opt. Bass Drum

Program Notes

"In the summer of 2020, the National Academy Orchestra of Canada—alongside arts organizations around the world—was affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Unable to perform live in their usual summer music festival, the orchestra was forced online, running seminars on music technology to train its members to produce collaborative content from the safety of their own homes.

Several fortunate members of the orchestra, including myself, were able to gather together in small groups across the country to record chamber music for the online festival. Often this involved some small adaptation of existing chamber music—transposing a horn part or dropping a second trumpet part from a brass quintet score. In other cases, groups required entirely new arrangements or pieces, which brings me to this trio. This piece would not exist if it weren't for a non-standard chamber group gathering at the University of British Columbia. I'm very grateful to Matheus Moraes, Andrea Norman, and Jesse Guo for agreeing to collaborate with me on this exciting and unforgettable adventure, and to Boris Brott and Megan Jones for giving me the opportunity of working with the NAO.

My Trio for Trumpet, Trombone, and Percussion is a rather lighthearted piece, showcasing three distinct musical characters. In "Groove," dance-like drum patterns permeate the score. It culminates in a frantic percussion solo and an explosive climax before dancing away into the distance. The second movement "Tune" showcases melodic playing, giving each member of the group an opportunity to bring a new colour to the movement. Finally, "Chaos" begins with rumbling thunder and a distorted, murmuring version of the first theme, before launching headfirst into a hemiola driven barrage of notes which never lets up until the triumphant ending of the piece."

-Michael Nunes

Unlocked (2020)

for Hannah Corbett

4 minutes

Instrumentation

Violin, 4 Horns

Home, Sweet Home (2020)

for JM Canada’s “Domicile Adoré” Fundraiser Campaign. Donate before June 14th, 2020 to help support Canadian artists!

Performed virtually by Charles Watson and Michael Nunes

3 minutes

Instrumentation

C Trumpet, Horn, Piano

Program Notes

"Our submission for the JM Canada Foundation's 'Do Mi Si La Do Ré' Contest, 'Home, Sweet Home,' is a trio for trumpet, horn, and piano. Although we have all been stuck in self-isolation recently, I've tried to capture the familiar feeling of coming home after a long journey. Born into an immigrant family, my twin brother and I spent much of our childhood visiting family in countries across both Europe and Africa. While I enjoyed the many weeks I spent abroad with my cousins and grandparents, my most important 'vacation ritual' was always joyfully running up the stairs to our shared bedroom and jumping onto my bed--sighing with relief to finally be home again! Although I no longer run through the house when I return from university as I did when I was younger, I am always grateful to be able to return to the home I grew up in. Spending the last several weeks in it again--surrounded by my brother, parents, and dogs--has been nostalgic and comforting. No matter where life takes you, there's nothing quite like coming home!"

-Michael Nunes

The Seven Ages of Man (2019)

for Charles Watson and Jacob Valcheff

Premiering in the 2019-2020 University of Toronto Performance Season by Charles Watson and Jacob Valcheff (delayed due to COVID-19)

15 minutes

Instrumentation

Trumpet (Piccolo Trumpet, C Trumpet, Flugelhorn)

Percussion (Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, Chimes, Triple Ocarina*, Susepnded Cymbal, Cowbell, Triangle, Snare Drum, Ratchet, 2 Toms, Bass Drum)

*although the ocarina part may be substituted with alto or tenor recorder, the cymbal scrapes which occur simultaneously become impossible to perform, unless one is able to perform the first phrase on tenor recorder, and the second phrase on alto recorder, thus freeing up their right hand on each held note. Alternatively, the scrapes may be performed by the trumpeter.

Program Notes

“The Seven Ages of Man is a seven movement suite for trumpet and percussion written for my friends, Charles Watson and Jacob Valcheff. Its movements are each based on a particular stage of life, as described by Jaques in Shakespeare's As You Like It. Structurally, the piece loosely takes the form of a theme and variations, with the primary thematic material introduced as a lullaby in the first movement. The second movement is dominated by ringing school bells, as the student wakes up and heads off to school. The intimate duet in the third movement creates the image of a couple walking together at night; however, this pensive tune is quickly replaced by the aggressive percussion in the fourth movement. The Justice is a noble chorale, which becomes a shadow of its former self in the following movement. Finally, the main lullaby is restated as the man peacefully drifts off.

Famous motifs, including Lavallée's "O Canada," Stafford Smith's "The Star-Spangled Banner," and the transfiguration motif from Strauss's "Death and Transfiguration" are briefly quoted in various later movements, serving to musically reinforce aspects of Shakespeare's text.”

-Michael Nunes

Winter Music (2019)

for Eric Belanger, Michelle Hui, Tommaso Masnari, and Luca Ortolani

Premiered on November 19th in Walter Hall, Toronto by Eric Belanger, Michelle Hui, Tommaso Masnari, Michael Nunes, and Luca Ortolani

A companion piece to Samuel Barber’s Summer Music for Woodwind Quintet

10 minutes

Instrumentation

Woodwind Quintet

Program Notes

“What initially started as an inside joke became a reality when I finally sat down to write Winter Music for my woodwind quintet. Though I call it a companion piece to Barber’s legendary Summer Music, the two are actually quite different in terms of mood and musical styles. Starting in the dead of winter, parallel chords depict glassy icicles dangling all around the listener. Gradually, the piece warms up into a lush and cantabile series of solos, as snow gently begins to fall. After a brief recap of the icicle theme, spring begins to emerge. The piece ends calmly, with bird calls and rays of sunshine.”

-Michael Nunes

Sunrise at Sea (2019)

For Boris Chung, Charlotte McIntosh, Ben Storm, Shin Wang, and Benjamin Whitby

Presented on January 22nd, 2019 in Walter Hall, Toronto at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music’s 2019 New Music Festival with guest composer Toshio Hosokawa

Premiered on May 1st, 2019 at the Toronto Arts and Letters Club by Brian McAuley, Charlotte McIntosh, Shin Wang, Carter Friesen, and Benjamin Whitby.

5 minutes

Instrumentation

Brass Quintet

Program Notes

“Sunrise at Sea is a short, lyrical piece for brass quintet. It is my interpretation of being out at sea at night, watching the sun begin its ascent into the sky. I have been in love with the noble, rich sound of the brass section since I began playing horn myself in middle school, and I find brass instruments particularly well suited to the long, flowing melodic lines in this piece. After a brief introduction, the main theme is introduced by the horn, with a muted accompaniment. As the piece develops, more independent melodic lines are introduced, culminating in a dark, fragmented section. Suddenly, all five instruments briefly play in unison, and the first trumpet leads the quintet in a soaring rendition of the theme, mellowing out as the sun rises in the distance.”

-Michael Nunes

Stop (,) Watch (2018)

For Matthew Chan, Hannah Corbett, and Diana Dawydchak

Presented on January 22nd, 2019 in Walter Hall, Toronto at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music’s 2019 New Music Festival with guest composer Toshio Hosokawa

Presented on February 27th, 2019 in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, Toronto by the Calidore String Quartet

5 minutes

Instrumentation

String Quartet

Program Notes

“Stop (,) Watch is one of the most angular and jarring pieces I have written, and has a title with multiple layers of meaning. The surface imagery is immediately evident—with Bartok pizzicato, pizzicato, and sharp rhythmic pulses, one can easily picture an old-fashioned stopwatch, ticking along to its metal heart’s content. I wrote the piece during a period of intense change in my life: moving to a new city for the first time. After moving, I was so engrossed in my daily routine that I almost forgot to spend time with my amazing new friends discovering everything the new city had to offer me. For me, the deeper meaning is in the more lyrical portions of the piece: a personal reminder to stop and savour all of the changes constantly happening in my life.”

-Michael Nunes