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Toronto's Historic Red Oak

Honouring Magnificent Roots

Very happy to announce that I have been commissioned by the acclaimed chamber orchestra, Sinfonia Toronto, to compose a new work in honour of their 25th anniversary season! When Nurhan Arman approached me to compose this concert overture, I immediately thought about how it would be fitting to base the composition on something positive and […]

NUMUS Premiere Announcement

Countdown to a Recovering Brain

One of the exciting projects I have been working on this year is a new large-scale composition focused on bringing awareness to the invisible health impacts and struggles of having a brain injury. I composed the piece for bass clarinetist, Kathryn Ladano, a brain injury survivor herself. All of our work will culminate in a […]

Zac Pulak, Frank Horvat and Edana Higham at Port William Sound

The Creative Last Days for the Last Days

Completing a project can always be an intense time in the creative process, especially when on the theme of climate change. But these past 2 days working with the piano/percussion duo, SHHH!! Ensemble, has been amazing and gratifying putting the final touches on the epic hour-long artivist piece they commissioned, An Auditory Survey of the […]

Post-Concert Chat

FRACTURES World Premiere

People often ask me, what is it like to listen to your music being performed? Honestly, it’s always this wonderful out-of-body experience. This was the case x 10 as I sat with such a great audience to experience the magic of vocalist, Meredith Hall, and pianist, Brahm Goldhamer, presenting the world premiere of my large-scale […]

Frank Horvat, Jean Martin and Sharlene Wallace

Growing 2 More Trees!

If someone ever tells you that making new music is a solitary endeavour, don’t believe them! Case in point, my collaboration with Sharlene Wallace – we recently found out that a group of Sharlene’s students had banded together to commission an Oak tree in our Trees.Listen project, one of the pieces that will make up […]

The Odin Quartet performing pieces from the album From Oblivion to Hope

Album Release with Odin Quartet

We had a wonderful time at the Canadian Music Centre celebrating this week’s release of From Oblivion to Hope, my album collaboration with the amazing Odin Quartet! From Oblivion to Hope has a serious and pessimistic tone to start. But, as we go from piece to piece, the tone evolves to something more optimistic, ending […]

Meredith Hall and Brahm Goldhamer performing Frank Horvat's composition, FRACTURES.

Update on the FRACTURES Journey

I was in awe and filled with exhilaration as I witnessed my good friend and acclaimed soprano, Meredith Hall present the first complete performance of all 13 songs from my large-scale cycle for voice and piano called Fractures. Joined by eminent collaborative pianist and vocal coach, Brahm Goldhamer, this was their final private presentation for […]

From Oblivion To Hope album cover

From Oblivion to Hope – new album March 31

I am very happy to announce that my album collaboration with the wonderful Odin Quartet will be released March 31! Come celebrate with us on March 29 at the Canadian Music Centre in Toronto! Here’s the official unveiling of the album cover designed by Matthew Maaskant… From Oblivion to Hope will have a serious and […]

Soprano Meredith Hall (right) and friends

FRACTURES Performance #1

What a delightful evening it was to attend the first performance, for close acquaintances, by my good friend and acclaimed soprano, Meredith Hall, and eminent collaborative pianist and vocal coach, Brahm Goldhamer. They performed selections from a large-scale song cycle for voice and piano that I composed called Fractures. The idea for this project first […]

NUMUS Premiere Announcement

Anatomy of the Recovering Brain

I am pleased to announce that one of Canada’s foremost new music presenters, NUMUS, has commissioned me to compose an ambitious new work for bass clarinet, instrumental cameos, and fixed electronics called Anatomy of the Recovering Brain. Acclaimed bass clarinetist, my friend and collaborator, Kathryn Ladano, and I started conversations about this project 1.5 years […]

Night Sky at Port William Sound

Evolution of the Last Days of the Holocene

This past week, I was fortunate to return to Port William Sound in Eastern Ontario’s beautiful countryside to continue my collaboration with the ground-breaking and innovative percussion-piano duo, SHHH!! Ensemble. They’ve commissioned me to compose a new large-scale artivist composition on the theme of climate change. We used this 2nd retreat as a means to […]

Trees.Listen - Become a Patron

Give the Gift of a Musical Tree

Looking for an extra special gift idea for that special someone in your life? How about commissioning a piece of music while making a difference in the world? Sharlene Wallace and I are co-composing a special collection of music for solo lever harp and fixed electronics called Trees.Listen. Our suite is inspired by the enlightening […]

Brahm Goldhamer, Meredith Hall and Frank Horvat

FRACTURES Rehearsal

After a year of creative work together, it was such a pleasure for me to attend the rehearsals of my good friend and acclaimed soprano, Meredith Hall, and eminent collaborative pianist and vocal coach, Brahm Goldhamer. Meredith is rehearsing a large-scale song cycle for voice and piano that I composed for her called Fractures. The […]

In Chilliwack by the Fraser River

Observing More Rivers

Lisa and I just spent a wonderful week outside the city of Chilliwack. It’s a 90-minute bus ride east of Vancouver. We gave ourselves this secluded work retreat following an amazing eventful week in Vancouver. We rented an AirBnB overlooking the mighty Fraser River and a beautiful mountain range. It was important for us to […]

Sharlene Wallace and Frank Horvat recording demos for Trees.Listen

Co-Composing Trees.Listen

What a wonderful way to spend a day with my friend, harpist, Sharlene Wallace! We recorded some demos for our project, Trees.Listen, a collection of pieces for solo lever harp and fixed electronics. Our suite is inspired by the enlightening book, To Speak for the Trees, by acclaimed medical biochemist and botanist, Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger. […]