I am pleased to announce that my new string quartet, “Breathe” has recently won the 2015 University of Toronto String Quartet competition run by the eminent Cecilia String Quartet (Winner of the 2010 Banff String Quartet Competition)! The Cecilia String Quartet will give the world premiere of “Breathe” at the U of T New Music Festival on February 4, 2016 as well as making a professional recording of the piece at a later date.
The piece was a recent work that was composed between October and November 2015 for the New Orford String Quartet readings at the University. “Breathe” explores in musical terms the various ideas related to breathing, such as representing musically the phrasing of a natural breath to incorporating sounds of breathing along with the string quartet. It should be an interesting experience for me as the piece was a place where I could explore things I have not done before, such as combining vocal effects as well as ‘remixing’ baroque influences in my music. I don’t want to give too much away, but I invite you to listen to the finished product at noon on February 4 to see what I mean.
Looking forward to hearing the work live!
Roydon Tse 