I’m delighted to join the CNMN board of directors to serve as a representative of the West Coast. The vision and mission of the CNMN are very much in alignment with my practices as artist and arts administrator. I believe we can always do better when it comes to raising the bar for equity in arts organizations and I’m here to further that conversation at the CNMN. I’m a great admirer of the work that CNMN does on the ground and have participated in the PCM Hub. I hope to work with other members of the board to expand on such initiatives and build new and exciting adventures for our growing new music community.
JUNO and WCMA award-winning violinist and composer Meredith Bates has thoroughly embedded herself in the Canadian musical landscape, both as a generous collaborator and increasingly as a powerful and idiosyncratic solo artist.
Gratefully basing herself on unceded Coast Salish territory in “Vancouver”, the multiple-award winner has developed a reputation for both refined introspection and unfettered virtuosity on her instrument. She has spent the past twenty years recording and performing around the world in ensembles such as JUNO and Western Canadian Music winning instrumental band Pugs and Crows, and the avant-chamber pop outfit Gentle Party. She’s also involved in projects led by Vancouver scene stalwarts such as Peggy Lee, Tony Wilson, Leah Abramson,Lan Tung, Ruby Singh, CR Avery, Joshua Zubot, and Ford Pier.
A big part of Bates’ enduring versatility is her commitment to staying artistically curious. She has studied privately with everyone from renowned classical music pedagogue Philippe Djokic to acclaimed experimentalist Carla Kihlstedt, and has continued to invest in the expansion of her sound through opportunities such as the late Jerry Granelli’s legendary Creative Music Workshop in Halifax, and residencies in crucial centres for creative exploration including Stockholm’s Fylkingen, Western Front (Vancouver), and the Banff Centre.
This inquisitive spirit can also be witnessed in the considerable range of Bates’ artistic projects. She is the founder and leader of Like the Mind, a sextet of celebrated female improvisers from Vancouver and Stockholm—namely the aforementioned Lee, Lisa Ullén, Lisen Rylander Löve, Elisa Thorn, and Emma Augustsson—and of Sound Migrations, a collaborative endeavour combining multi-channel electroacoustic soundscapes with processed photography. In 2019, Bates founded the Improvised Arts Society which supports process-based interdisciplinary experiences throughout the year and two multi-day festivals of performing arts: Listen, Listen Festival and the West Coast String Summit. Meredith also serves on the Seagrass Music Society and Canadian New Music Network board of directors and is participating in the BC Arts Council’s Pathways Program.
In 2019, Meredith released her ambitious solo debut, the 2‑disc If Not Now on Phonometrograph, which garnered both praise in the media and a Polaris Prize long-list mention. Her similarly expansive follow-up,Tesseract, released in 2023, was also met withacclaim in notable press outlets. Vancouver Sun’s Stuart Derdeyn called it “haunting and completely addictive” while veteran critic Marc Masters listed it among The Best Experimental Music on Bandcamp for June 2023. “Tesseract is ultimately mood music in the best sense,” Masters noted. “It not only can alter your current mood but conjure unfamiliar ones. That’s especially true on the 46-minute title track, a monumental collage of hums and roars that could be revisited forever.” Tesseract was nominated for Best Instrumental Album of the Year at the 2023 JUNO Awards.
www.meredithbates.com | www.improvisedarts.ca