Blog

Christina Petrowska Quilico

More Rivers Are Flowing

What a delight to visit Christina Petrowska Quilico to go over More Rivers, a new suite of solo piano compositions I composed for her. Abby, Christina’s dog, supervised our productive session and kept me nicely in line. ? Christina is a highly acclaimed pianist and Order of Canada recipient. I have been such a big […]

Annex Singers rehearsing for premiere of 'I Am Ice'

Annex Singers Rehearse ā€˜I Am Iceā€™

Want to know how to feel like the most fortunate human being on the planet? Compose music and have a choir sing it to you while you sit in front of them! This was exactly my experience recently as the Annex Singers rehearsed a new work they commissioned me to compose for them: I Am […]

All that remains: Residual Moments Premiere - Nov 15, 2023

World Premiere – All that remains: Residual Moments

There was a beautiful energy in The Aperture Room in the heart of Toronto’s downtown for the world premiere of All that remains: Residual Moments last week. Gunilla Josephson‘s evocative moving imagery projected on 3 large screens surrounding members of the Thin Edge New Music Collective performing a live soundtrack was truly an immersive and […]

All that remains: Residual Moments (composed by Frank Horvat)

Countdown to Residual Moments

Itā€™s a week to go before the world premiere of All that remains: Residual Moments, a large-scale performance art installation featuring music, film and live performance. Rehearsal with members of the Thin Edge New Music Collective went splendidly well today. My multi-year collaboration with innovative video artist, Gunilla Josephson, is shaping up very nicely. Thin […]

Fractures album coming November 17 (photo by Oscar Keys)

FRACTURES Album

Iā€™m so excited to announce that the album recording of the Fractures song cycle will be released on November 17! Here is the album cover designed by Matthew Maaskant… This has been an album 8 years in the making! The idea to compose Fractures came in 2016 when I gave a presentation about environmental music […]

Sinfonia Toronto Rehearsal

Preparing Magnificent Roots

What a pleasure to attend a rehearsal of my new composition, Magnificent Roots, by acclaimed chamber orchestra, Sinfonia Toronto. This is a work that Sinfonia Toronto commissioned in recognition of their 25th anniversary season. Iā€™m looking forward to attending their world premiere performance at Meridian Hall Saturday night! When Nurhan Arman approached me to compose […]

October 17 - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

Eradicate Poverty

Today is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a day that aims to promote understanding and dialogue between people living in poverty and the wider society. We are living in unprecedented times in that our place on this planet is fraught with turmoil and unease. We are battling climate emergencies more frequently, we […]

Jean Martin, Sharlene Wallace, Frank Horvat (photo bySharlene Wallance)

Musically Planting All Trees!

It’s been a while since harpist Sharlene Wallace and I shared an update on our collaborative adventure, Trees.Listen. We are over-the-moon exhilarated that we recently received a generous grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to complete the process of co-composing, recording, and sharing our suite of pieces for solo lever harp and fixed […]

I Am Ice (photo by Frank Horvat)

New Choral Commission

I am delighted to announce that The Annex Singers commissioned me to compose a new choral work for their upcoming December 16 concert! The Annex Singers are a fabulous Toronto cultural institution, now starting their 44th season. I attended their final concert of last season and was blown away by the musicianship and creativity in […]

An Auditory Survey of the Last Days of the Holocene Album Cover

Last Days of the Holocene Coming Soon

Happy to announce that the SHHH!! Ensembleā€™s album recording of my composition, An Auditory Survey of the Last Days of the Holocene, is set to be released October 20 on Leaf Music. Brad Cherwinā€™s album cover so nicely conveys the dramatic quality of this epic hour-long artivist piece… Edana and Zac who make up SHHH!! […]

Rimouski, Quebec

A River Without End / Un fleuve sans fin

There’s a new collaboration I’m very excited about: composing music for the renowned Canadian pianist, David Jalbert! When David and I started discussing the foundation of our collaboration, he spoke about his spiritual connection to the St. Lawrence River. Having been born and raised in Rimouski, Quebec, Le Fleuve Saint-Laurent holds a special place in […]

Helsinki Tram (photo by Tapio Haaja)

Summer in Europe

Well, I feel like the most fortunate person on this planet these past 2 months. Not only did I get a chance to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime Arctic expedition/residency, but I was then able to follow it up with the most wonderful travel adventure with my everything partner, Lisa, in northern Europe. Following my departure […]

Iceberg off the coast of Svalbard

Arctic Circle Expedition Recap

To say that my Arctic Circle Expedition/Residency was a life-changing experience feels like an understatement. As my fellow artists and I returned to Longyearbyen from our odyssey aboard the tall-ship, Antigua, I have been struggling to find the right words to write this post. Visiting the top of the Earth is something that goes beyond […]

Soprano, Pam Patel joins bass clarinetist, Kathryn Ladano, for the premiere of Frank Horvat's 'Anatomy of the Recovering Brain'

Special People, Special Concert

Hi Everyone, it’s Lisa here. Frank may be having fun in the Arctic but I was truly fortunate to be able to attend NUMUS‘ final concert of the season. NUMUSā€™ Artistic Director and brain injury survivor, Kathryn Ladano premiered Frankā€™s new composition, ā€˜Anatomy of the Recovering Brainā€™. This composition couldn’t have happened without a lot […]

Longyearbyen, Svalbard

Arctic Residency/Expedition Underway!

Wow, what an honour and privilege it is to be in this special and unique corner of our planetā€¦.welcome to Longyearbyen! Along with other international artists, educators and innovators, this is where I begin a 3-week journey living and composing on-board a Tall Ship while sailing the waters of the international territory of Svalbard, an […]