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DEREK CHARKE (born Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, 1974) completed a Ph.D. in composition and a Master's degree in flute at SUNY Buffalo, a Master's degree in composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London, England and a Bachelor's degree in composition at the University of North Texas. He also attended the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Netherlands. His principle composition teachers included David Felder, Louis Andriessen, Steve Martland and Cindy McTee. He studied flute performance with the late Cheryl Gobbetti Hoffman.
A recipient of the NUFFIC grant by the Dutch government, Derek also received a BMI student composer award in New York City, a special mention from the Kubik Prize, and for four years was the recipient of a Presidential Fellowship, the largest awarded at SUNY Buffalo. He has been the recipient of multiple commissions and grants from various sources including: British Columbia Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, Huckabone Family, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Music Director, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture and Heritage, National Flute Association, Canadian Music Centre, SOCAN, CBC Radio Two and Radio Canada.
Derek's music is increasingly performed and commissioned by world renowned artists. The St. Lawrence String Quartet and the Winnipeg Symphony have just commissioned works to be premiered in 2009 and 2010. His compositions for the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet and Inuit Throat Singer Tanya Tagaq; "Cercle du Nord III", "Tundra Songs" and "22 Inuit Throat Song Games" have been heard throughout Europe and North America, including performances at Carnegie Hall, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Vienna Concert House, KOLNMusik / Koln Philharmonic, to name just a few. In 2010 Kronos Quartet will perform "Tundra Songs" at the Olympics in Vancouver (January) and at Carnegie Hall in New York City in March. The Katona Twins guitar duo premiered, and have since performed, "Time's Passing Breath" numerous times in venues throughout Europe, the USA and South America. The Slee Sinfonietta in Buffalo, N.Y. gave the world premiere of "The Winds of Winter" with Derek Charke as soloist on flute. The Group for Contemporary Music gave the New York City premiere of "What do the Birds Think?" at the Guggenheim Museum of Art and the Xanthos Ensemble from Boston recently performed this work again at Roulette in New York City.
Other performers of his music include Chenoa Anderson, ArrayMusic, the Acadia Wind Ensemble, Blue Engine String Quartet, Peter Bacchus, Continuum New Music, Ensemble Symposium, Four Gallon Drum, the Group for Contemporary Music, Helikon Ensemble, Mark McGregor and Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa Duo, Tereasa Payne, Stan Fisher, London Flutes, Society for Chromatic Arts, Quatuor Bozzini, Red Shift Music Society, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and others. His works have been broadcast both nationally and internationally. Derek's compositions are registered through SOCAN in Canada and ASCAP in the United States.
Derek has written extensively for the flute. "WARNING! Gustnadoes Ahead" for solo flute and CD was commissioned for the 2008 National Flute Association Convention. His work "Raga Cha" was premiered by the London Flutes in England and has since been performed numerous times throughout Europe and North America. Other works include "Disturbances of Circadian Rhythm" and "Lumière Immobile" for flute and computer (Max/MSP); "Rain", "Straight Ahead" for solo flute; "Three Duets" for flute and marimba; "Distant Voices I and II" for flute and piano; "Cross-Talk" for flute ensemble; and "Lachrymose" for solo piccolo. For his dissertation he wrote "The Winds of Winter" for solo flute and chamber orchestra. As a flutist himself Derek specializes in contemporary music, especially music since 1945 but also performs many other genres. He continues to freelance as an improvisor and performer, both on his own music and others.
To date Derek has composed over 60 works for an array of ensembles, from solo instrument to large orchestra. Many of his recent works, since 2004 or so, make use of electroacoustic elements. Derek's music bridges a divide between this play of pure sound, collecting natural and environmental sound, and a continuation of the western "classical" tradition, albeit with contemporary and popular influences. Ecological sound as an artistic statement on environmental issues has increasingly become the impetus for new works. In addition his interest in the Arctic has played pivotal roles in many of his compositions. He is focused on furthering the sound words of instruments by using "extended" techniques and electronics (live processing and soundtracks) to extend the sonic possibilities.
Dr. Charke is currently an Assistant Professor of Music at Acadia University in Wofville, Nova Scotia. He is Co-Director of the Annual Acadia New Music Festival, Shattering the Silence, an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers. He and his wife live in Kentville, Nova Scotia. Please visit www.charke.com for more information.
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