CNMN has an elected board of 15 members from across Canada, elected by voting members of the organisation, with each board member having a term of 2 years. The board is representative both regionally and in terms of practice — and includes composers, performers, administrators, and a broad range of new music community representatives.
The board must have representation from across Canada — Atlantic / Québec / Ontario / Prairies and the Northern Territories / British Columbia. In addition, two non-regional members represent Canadians abroad.
Board of Directors
-
President
Juliet Palmer (ON) (President 2019-present, Vice President 2016–2019)I attended my first FORUM in January 2016 and was impressed by the depth and range of experiences of the presenters. Meeting and mingling with innovative Canadian delegates alongside innovators from Europe gave me a fresh perspective on music creation and dissemination. It was heartening to encounter the growing number of individuals and organizations working toward making our community more welcoming to those long excluded from it. Collaboration is at the heart of my creative practice and central to my work as educator, facilitator, mentor and composer-in-residence. As a board member, I look forward to fruitful collaborations with my fellow board members and to the continued growth of this invaluable national network.
New Zealand-Canadian composer Juliet Palmer is known as a “post-modernist with a conscience” (The Listener) whose work “crosses so many genres as to be in a category of its own” (Toronto Star). Her work has been featured around the world, with performances at New York’s Lincoln Center, London’s Southbank Centre, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Bath International Festival, Voix Nouvelles France, Italy’s Angelica Festival, Evenings of New Music Bratislava, Musica Ficta Festival Lithuania, NYYD Festival Estonia, The Istanbul Festival, Soundculture Japan, the Adelaide Festival, the New Zealand International Arts Festival and Canada’s Sound Symposium. Juliet is the artistic director of Urbanvessel, a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration.
-
Vice President
Norman Adams (Atlantic) (2014-present)I have attended CNMN’s FORUM 2010 in Halifax, FORUM 2014 in Calgary and FORUM 2016 in Ottawa. There I have discovered a group of people with the same challenges, worries and goals as I have, with great taste in music! I lend my energy to CNMN and our community in order to help provide our artists and organizations with a strong and clear voice. I believe passionately that we are stronger as a unit, and I would like to play my part as a representative of artists and organizations from the East, and all over Canada.
I have a unique experience that can provide perspective on a broad range of new music practices. I enjoy a career as a classical musician, playing contemporary and more traditional orchestral and chamber music repertoire, an improviser with an interest in electronic music, and Artistic Director and administrator of an arts organization. As Principal Cellist of Symphony Nova Scotia, and as frequent member of SNS’s programming committees, I have a clear view of the way “the establishment” works. At the same time, my thirteen years as Artistic Director and Administrator of suddenlyLISTEN Music has given me the opportunity to curate and produce concerts of a wide variety of contemporary musicians from established international improvisers, to locals, all pushing out the very edges of music making. As well I am a founding presenter for The Circuit, a national presenting collective for touring improvisers and exploratory musicians.
It is both inspiring and energizing to work for our national community as a CNMN board member.
Norman Adams is the Principal Cellist of Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Artistic Director of suddenlyLISTEN, and a cellist, improviser and electronic musician exploring music, sound creation and performance. Norm has performed classical, free and new music across Canada, the US, the UK and France, collaborating with many leading artists including Joëlle Léandre, Eddie Prévost, Pauline Oliveros, Gerry Hemingway, Jean Derome and Marilyn Crispell. In addition to CNMN, Norm serves on the boards of Strategic Arts Management, and The Nova Scotia Lt. Governor’s Masterworks Award. He has released several recordings including a solo cello CD. In 2010 he was awarded an Established Artist Award by the Nova Scotia Arts and Culture Partnership Council for his varied work.
www.normanadams.ca
www.suddenlylisten.com
www.soundcarrier.net -
Secretary
Helen Pridmore (Prairies) (Secretary 2020-present; Board Member 2019–2022)I am honoured and excited to be part of the CNMN Board. This is a strong and vital organization that brings together our new music community across Canada. Such a vast land, so many projects and opportunities: CNMN offers a way to connect, to share, to collaborate and to enjoy the depth and breadth of music and sound possibilities in our country. Laissez les bons temps — et la belle musique — rouler!
Helen Pridmore is a singer and sound artist, with a focus on contemporary scored music, experimental music and improvisation. She has performed across Canada and the US, including a solo appearance at Carnegie Hall; Helen has also performed in Europe, Mexico and Japan. She has three CDs to her name, including …between the shore and the ships…, which won the 2013 East Coast Music Award for Best Classical Recording.
Helen’s current focus is on the technology of the voice and the body, with explorations into the concepts of aural beauty, space and silence. She is writing and performing new works for voice that employ both structure and improvisation. One of her current projects is her solo voice work Sor Juana and the Silences, which will be touring Canada in the 2020–21 season. Helen also shares her ideas with students and community members via workshops and improvisation sessions: see http://www.beingastonished.com/voice-lab/ for current work and projects.
With degrees from the Universities of Saskatchewan and Toronto, and the Eastman School of Music, Helen is currently a faculty member in Music and Creative Technologies at the University of Regina. www.helenpridmore.ca
-
Treasurer
Sean Clarke (ON) (2016-present)When I attended FORUM 2016 in Ottawa I felt an immediate connection to the CNMN’s goals of building a stronger, more collaborative new music community and of giving voice to an important Canadian art form. The inclusive nature of the network is vital to building a rich and relevant artistic community. As an active composer and performer I’m committed to highlighting the importance of new music in Canadian society and recognize the value of having a national organization such as the CNMN to achieve that goal. I have worked in several different settings in the new music community, including as a composer, a performer of new and traditional music in chamber and orchestral settings, a concert producer, a board member of New Works Calgary, and a theorist at academic conferences. I bring my experience and enthusiasm to the CNMN board, to work for this important organization and the new music community at large.
Sean Clarke is a composer and flutist from Calgary, AB. Before completing a doctorate in instrumental composition at the University of Montréal under the co-direction of Ana Sokolovic and Jonathan Goldman, he studied flute and composition at the Royal Northern College of Music, England, and the University of Calgary. His works have been played in the United States, France, and across Canada, including on CBC national radio. Sean has also written several works for young performers, one of which is published by the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto).
Sean has presented his theory research at several national and regional conferences, including those of the Canadian University Music Society where his paper was a finalist for the SOCAN Foundation/George Proctor Prize; the South Central Society for Music Theory where he was the recipient of the Best Student Paper Award; and the West Coast Conference of Music Theory and Analysis.
As a flutist, Sean has performed in new music festivals in Montréal, Calgary and Saskatoon, as an extra musician with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and in concert series including the Société de Musique Contemporaine de Québec’s Série Hommage and McGill University’s Schulich Professional Concert Series.
www.sean-clarke.com
https://soundcloud.com/seanclarkecomposer‑1
https://www.musiccentre.ca/node/138590/showcase -
Present Board Members
Jennifer Thiessen (2022 — present)For me, joining the board of the CNMN is about fostering a thriving community of creative
musicians across many regions. When I moved back to Manitoba in 2021, after twenty years in
Montreal, I was uncertain about what it would be like to continue my artistic practice outside of
the strong creative community I had become a part of. I revelled in that artistic hotbed and
relied on its possibilities and opportunities to develop my work. Moving to Winnipeg, it has
become particularly important to me to stay connected to a wide network of musicians, while
also discovering the excellent scene here and wanting to share it with others. I now also have a
position as artistic director of a classical chamber music series in Winnipeg, so am newly
involved in programming and presenting. I need support and connection to continue doing the
work I want to do, and I know others need this too. The CNMN addresses exactly this need. I
look forward to working alongside wonderful friends and fellow artists I’ve met over the years
and to meeting others for the first time through our work together.Bio:
Mixing new sounds with instruments of the past, Jennifer Thiessen is known for improvising
and commissioning new works on the viola and the viola d’amore as well as interpreting their
historical repertoire. She creates new music as singer-songwriter Daily Alice and with her duos
Park Sounds, S[ILK]S and Toninato/Thiessen, as well as many other collaborations. Jennifer has
worked extensively as a violist with contemporary, classical and historical ensembles in
Montreal, Winnipeg and across Canada. She is a creative writer and contributes music
journalism to Musicworks magazine. Originally from Manitoba, Jennifer lived in Montreal for
two decades before moving to Winnipeg in 2021. She became Artistic Director of Virtuosi
Concerts in 2022. From within a multiplicity of artistic adventures, she remains grounded in a
passion to create meaningful experiences for herself and her listeners. -
Andrew Reed Miller (2022 — present)
I have been practising various kinds of music both new and old for 3 decades now and I’m looking forward to sharing and networking with the next generation.
Originally from New York, Andrew studied in Ottawa and Toronto and eventually toured with The Canadian Opera Company, the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
Andrew has performed at many venues, including Open Ears Festival (Kitchener), New Music Calgary, Sound Symposium (Newfoundland), the Scotia Festival of Music, Ensemble Kore (Montreal) The Music Gallery (Toronto), Western Front (Vancouver), and Tonic (New York).
Miller has written music for orchestra, dance, chamber music, film, television, and theatre.
“Miller is a superb player, a master and a creative inventor.…..” ‑Stephen Pedersen The Chronicle Herald (Halifax) Jan 10, 2011 -
Liberté-Anne Lymberiou (2023 — present)
I’m happy and excited to play a part as CNMN board-member, as it is a valuable cross-canadian network builder. Gathering a wide variety of artists: musicians, performers, improvisers, composers, interpreters, cultural workers, bridge builders and beyond, is a motivating mission. The meeting of these various practices, throughout diverse cultural practices and traditions, can and will most always humble, enrich and liberate our individual experiences. I’m looking forward to partake in the work of the CNMN, aiming to exemplify and bolster the rich cultural diversity that makes up the Canadian landscape, and cater to the well-being of these interconnected communities.
Liberté-Anne Lymberiou is a composer, pianist and bandleader from Montreal. Her artistic process focuses on a holistic vision of music, considering the traditions, the environment, the physics, the movement, and the spirituality of the sounds with which she is engaging in the moment. Her work being principally informed by jazz music, Liberté Anne poses a particular attention to improvisation and rhythmic structures from the African diaspora, along with the concepts and philosophies that surround these practises.
Liberté-Anne began her career in 2013 in New York City, founding her orchestra the “Liberté Big Band”, performing her original works. She received mentorship from composer and pianist Arturo O’Farrill who first encouraged her to pursue a composing and bandleading path. It is through her studies with percussionist Chief Baba Neil Clarke that she begins engaging more seriously with pan-african percussion ensemble concepts and a holistic vision of art.
In 2017, she rebuilt the Liberté Big Band in Montreal and pursued various self-produced performances and collaborations across styles and formations. Between 2017 and 2019, she travelled extensively to Cuba to research and study under Irian Lopez, focusing on Batà drumming.
Lymberiou’s most recent works span across traditions and genres, and include a 50-minute opus for 20-piece jazz orchestra, as well as repertoire for saxophone duos, choir, and multi-disciplinary projects involving dance, textile art and film.
-
Marina Hasselberg (2023 — present)
As a member of the CNMN board I aim to take advantage of my own experience as a music performer to actively support the organization’s mission of connecting and enriching the Canadian music scene and improving its impact in the world.
Eclectic and award-winning cellist Marina Hasselberg “has become a standout presence on Vancouver’s music scene” (Georgia Straight). Like her new Jesse Zubot-produced album Red, her performances are a provocative, deeply personal mix of classification-resistant written works and adventurous improvised excursions, with Hasselberg employing extended techniques, a variety of bows and accessories, and electronics to skirt the fine line between the known and the unknown.
-
Julie Richard (QC) (2019-present)
As a member of the francophone community in Quebec, it is of interest to me to open my horizons to more global initiatives whose scope and mandates are just as innovative as the causes they support. I am therefore filled with impatience and curiosity as I join the board of CNMN.
Committed musician, composer and cultural worker, Julie Richard has been actively involved in Montreal’s artistic and musical scenes for nearly 20 years. Three-time graduate in classical music, she is also versed in vocal interpretation, jazz, pop, experimental music as well as African, Gypsy, Jewish and Creole music.
Having participated in numerous tours across Canada and the United States, she participated in the SXSW festival and performed internationally in Eastern Europe, France and Colombia. Alongside her musical practice, Julie’s interdisciplinary career led her to work in the areas of artistic management, intervention psychology, and cultural research and animation. She is also known for her involvement in the programming of the Lux Magna festival and the Suoni per il Popolo festival.
Her latest project, Black Ark Orchestra, inspired her to work with fragments of musical compositions created by black musicians who predominantly came up in the United States in the 1920s. The Black Ark project aims to rehabilitate these marginalized works of classical music produced by African-American women. It is a question of finding, updating and recognizing the value of what remains of these compositions so that they do not remain forgotten, so that they can finally enter into conversation with the history of contemporary music. In composing, she does not seek to accurately reconstruct the contours of these compositions, but aims to draw a living gesture that is non-linear and simultaneously healing, transformative and creative.
-
Müge Büyükçelen (BC) (2019-present)
I’m very happy and honoured to serve as a board member of the CNMN. As an active performer and huge advocate of contemporary music and specifically Canadian contemporary music, I’m aware of the importance of networking, communicating with wider communities. I’m hoping to be able to share my excitement and joy of working with composers, performers in creating new works. I’m hoping to utilize my experience in the field to assist in promoting new Canadian music.
Müge Büyükçelen is a passionate violinist known for her multi-genre versatility. Highlights of her recent performances include the premier of Jared Miller’s violin concerto dedicated to Müge, the Beethoven violin concerto, a concert tour through Australia and New Zealand, performances of new works by Jennifer Butler, Paul Frehner, as well as various concerts with the Emily Carr String Quartet.
She is a current member of the Victoria Symphony, Emily Carr String Quartet and the Aventa Ensemble as well as an active violin teacher at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Müge has been a featured soloist with numerous orchestras around the world. In 2009, she premiered “Archimedes’ Codex’ a Canadian work dedicated to her by composer Michael Oesterle. She holds a Masters degree in music performance from Bilkent University, in Ankara Turkey, an associate teaching diploma from the Victoria Conservatory of Music and was a teaching assistant student at the Toulouse National Conservatory.
-
Emily Doolittle (Non-Regional) (2016-present)
I’m thrilled to join the board of the CNMN as a Non-Regional Representative. I’ve lived in a number of different countries in my life as a composer – Canada, the US, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, and now Scotland – and while each of these countries has lots of fantastic musicians and amazing musical things to offer, my time outside of Canada has made me aware of just how special the Canadian new music community is. We have such a rich diversity of music being made, so many strong and supportive regional and nationwide networks, and, most importantly, a real sense that we’re all in this together. Anything that helps one of us helps all of us.
As a Non-Regional Representative, I’m particularly interested in figuring out how to maintain connections between Canadian composers and new music performers abroad and those in Canada, in promoting the work of Canadian composers worldwide, and in facilitating international collaborations. I’m also interested in finding ways to encourage ensembles, concert series, and festivals to program new pieces in a way that represents the true diversity of Canadian composers, in terms of gender, ethnicity, regional, stylistic and other differences. I will work with the CNMN on behalf of all of us in the Canadian new music community.
Emily Doolittle’s music has been described as “eloquent and effective” (The WholeNote), “masterful” (Musical Toronto), and “the piece…that grabbed me by the heart” (The WholeNote). Doolittle has been commissioned by such ensembles as Orchestre Métropolitain, Tafelmusik, Symphony Nova Scotia, and Ensemble Contemporain de Montreal, and supported by the Sorel Organization, the Canada Council for the Arts, Opera America, and the Fulbright Foundation, among others. Recent projects include Seal Songs, a 30-minute piece based on Gaelic selkie folklore, commissioned by Paragon and the Voice Factory Youth Choir (Glasgow), a concerto for violinist Calvin Dyck and the Vancouver Island Symphony, and five months as composer-in-residence at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany. Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, Doolittle was educated at Dalhousie University, Indiana University, the Koninklijk Conservatorium, and Princeton. From 2008–2015 she was on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. She now lives in Glasgow, Scotland.
emilydoolittle.com
https://www.facebook.com/EmilyDoolittleComposer/ -
Past Board Members
Jennifer Waring (ON) (President 2016–2019, Board Member 2014–2016) -
An-Laurence Higgins (2020- 2022)
-
Robert Thomson (BC) (2020 — 2022)
-
André Cormier (Atlantic) (2018-present)
-
Po Yeh (Prairies) (2016–2022)
-
Linda Bouchard (Non Regional) (2018–2023)
-
Megumi Masaki (Prairies) (2016–2023)
-
Jérôme Blais (Atlantic) (2012-present)
-
Marc-Olivier Lamontagne (QC) (2016–2017)
-
Clemens Merkel (QC) (2017–2020)
-
David Pay (BC) (2012–2019)
-
Jason Cullimore (SK) (2008–10)
-
Patrick Giguère (QC) (2018–2019)
-
Janice Jackson (Atlantic) (Secretary, 2008-12)
-
Brenda Cleniuk (SK) (2017–2019)
-
Jennifer Butler (BC) (2016–2019)
-
Aimé Dontigny (QC) (2006)
-
Brent Lee (ON) (2011–14)
-
Heidi Ouellette (MB) (2012–16)
-
Cléo Palacio-Quintin (QC) (Treasurer, 2010–14)
-
Alain Perron (SK)(2010–2017)
-
Clark Ross (NF) (2006–08)
-
Ellen Waterman (ON) (2006–07)
-
Gayle Young (ON) (2006–08)
-
Jason van Eyk (ON)(2010–2011)
-
Jerry Pergolesi (ON) (2008–13)
-
Jim Hiscott (MB) (Secretary-Treasurer, 2006-08; Board Member, 2009-10)
-
Jim Montgomery (ON) (Secretary, 2012–16)
-
Joe Sorbara (ON) (2006–08)
-
John Gzowski (ON) (2008–12)
-
John Reid (AB and the Northern Territories) (2010–14)
-
Karen Sunabacka (MB) (2010–12)
-
Kathryn Ladano (ON) (2016–2018)
-
Kyle Brenders (ON) (President, 2014–16; Board Member, 2013–14)
-
Lawrence Cherney (ON) (2008–10)
-
Louise Campbell (QC) (Vice-President, 2014–16; Board Member, 2008-12)
-
Marianne Perron (QC) (2006–08)
-
Mireille Gagné (QC) (Vice President, 2005-08; Treasurer, 2009-10)
-
Randy Raine-Reusch (BC) (2010–12)
-
Paul Cram (Atlantic) (2005–14)
-
Pauline Minevich (SK) (2006–07)
-
Pierre-Olivier Roy (QC) (2018–2020)
-
Roger Admiral (AB) (2005–10)
-
Ron Samworth (BC) (2006–08)
-
Sarah Albu (QC) (Board Member, 2016–2018)
-
Stacey Brown (QC) (Treasurer, 2014–16; Vice-President, 2012–14)
-
Therese Costes (MB) (2006–07)
-
Tim Brady (QC) (Board Member, 2014–2017; President, 2005–14)
-
Tina Pearson (BC) (Vice President, 2008-12)