Canadian composer Emilie Cecilia LeBel is readying her debut full-length album, field studies, for release. She has spent the past 15 years immersed in various streams of contemporary music including chamber and orchestral pieces, with and without electronic processing, as well as intermedia productions.
The musicians that feature on this recording include Edmonton ensemble, UltraViolet (named in honour of composer Violet Archer), consisting of pianist Roger Admiral, percussionist Mark Segger, flutist Chenoa Anderson, and saxophonist Allison Balcetis. Multi-hyphenate artist Jane Berry also joins UltraViolet as a vocalist on one track, “drift.”
The outer pieces are played by the two artistic directors of Canadian ensemble, Thin Edge New Music Collective. Now in their tenth season, the group has commissioned a considerable body of work and collaborated with a number of other notable living composers. Featured on the album are pianist Cheryl Duvall and Ilana Waniuk on violin.
LeBel’s compositions have been performed and recorded across North and South America, Europe and the UK by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Mark Takeshi McGregor, Continuum Ensemble, and many more.
Since 2018 LeBel has been based in the Canadian Prairies on Treaty 6 Territory. LeBel holds a DMA from the University of Toronto, and she currently teaches currently teaches at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta.
