Double Concerto premiere
The Gatineau Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Yves Léveillé, gave the first performance of the Double Concerto on March 21, 2009 at La Maison de la Culture in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Pascale Margely was the flute soloist and Frederic Hodgson the English horn soloist. The sold-out audience reacted enthusiastically to the new work. For more information:  www.osgatineau.ca

Andersen Stories presented in Finnish
The Mikkeli Orchestra, directed by Pasi-Heikki Mikkola, gave both the Finnish language premiere and the string orchestra premiere of Three Stories by Hans Christian Andersen in a children's program. This was the first use of the new translation of these stories made by Liisa Türkeli especially for this music. The concert took place on November 13 and 14, 2008 at Martti Talvela Hall in Mikkeli, Finland. Actor Risto Kopperi was the story teller. For more information: http://www.mikkeli.fi/en/sisalto/16_orkesteri/01_aloitus/

Carillon music in Britain
Carillonneur Gerald Martindale performed Night Music in his recital of August 3, 2008 on the Loughborough Carillon at Queen's Park in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, UK. For more information: www.loughboroughcarillon.com

Bassoon music in France
Fou de Basson presented the bassoon version of Moonscape at their festival on June 28, 2008 at the musée d'Angoulême in Angoulême, France. Nicolas Raynaud played electric guitar and Franck Leblois played bassoon. For more information, please visit
www.foudebasson.com

Garbage Concerto in New York
On June 6, 2008, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, directed by the young Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra, gave the New York premiere of the Garbage Concerto in a performance featuring Tambuco, Mexico's leading percussion group. They played on a set of instruments made out of Mexican garbage that they previously used in a performance of the same piece in Mexico City. Each movement was enthusiastically applauded. The event took place at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, home of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and was followed by a gala reception. To read an interview with Kliment Krilovskiy of the POA, click below. For more information:

www.poamericas.org/index.html
www.tambuco.org

interview with the composer

Sunset performed in Chicago
On April 20, 2008, Accessible New Music presented Sunset at the Green Mill in Chicago. Robin Clevenger played horn and Matt Peters played vibraphone. For more information, please visit:
www.acmusic.org

Saxophone Moonscape premiered
Alto Saxophonist Victor Herbiet teamed up with composer Jan Jarvlepp on electric guitar to give the first performances of the alto saxophone version of Moonscape. The Ottawa Chamber Music Society presented this event at Maxwell's Bistro, Ottawa on March 17 and 18, 2008. This was done in collaboration with the Canadian Music Centre's "New Music in New Places" initiative.

Birthday Carillon Concert
To mark the 55th birthday of the composer, Dominion Carillonneur Gordon Slater performed Jan Jarvlepp's Evening Music and Night Music on the Peace Tower Carillon at Parliament Hill, Ottawa. Heard in the chilly -19 degree weather of January 3, 2008, the audience consisted mostly of tourists who pointed up at the bell tower in surprise as music issued forth into the winter air.

Garbage Concerto in Taiwan
The Taipei Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Argentinian conductor Alejo Perez, performed the Garbage Concerto with Ju Group as the featured soloists. They played on a set of instruments made from Taiwanese garbage. The concert took place in the National Concert Hall in Taipei on December 18, 2007 receiving very favorable reviews.
For more information:
www.http://epochtimes.com/
www.http://www.jpg.org.tw

Suite for Viola and Strings in Halifax
The Dalhousie Chamber Orchestra, featuring Philippe Djokic as viola soloist and conductor, performed the Atlantic Canada premiere of Suite for Viola and Strings. The event took place on November 30, 2007 at the Lilian Piercey Concert Hall in the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Quintet 2007 at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival
On August 1, 2007, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival presented the first performance of Quintet 2007 for vibraphone and string quartet. The event took place at Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa with J. S. Lacombe as the featured vibraphonist. This piece was the result of an Ontario Arts Council composition grant.

Third Cello Duet premiered
On June 9, 2007 at Woodroffe United Church, Ottawa, cellists Jan Jarvlepp and Kuniko Soda gave the first performance of Cello Duet No. 3 entitled "Rock'n'Roll" in a concert suitably called Cello Mania! This completes the premiere performances of the complete set of Three Cello Duets which were composed for Soda.

Pierrot Solaire performed at Maxwell's Bistro
On February 19 & 20, 2007, the Ottawa Chamber Music Society, under the artistic direction of Julian Armour, presented an informal concert of music by Ottawa composers at the popular nightclub Maxwell's Bistro. Included in the program was an exciting performance of Pierrot Solaire and the CBC was on hand to record it for national broadcast. This was part of the Canadian Music Centre's initiative for new music in new places.

Three Stories by Hans Christian Andersen premiered
The Ottawa Chamber Music Festival presented the first performance of Three Stories by Hans Christian Andersen for narrator and string ensemble. Composed for children, this piece includes the classic Andersen tales “The Steadfast Tin Soldier”, “The Little Match Girl” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. The composer has made new Canadian English versions of the texts based on old British English translations. The event took place on July 31st, 2006 at the Glebe Community Centre, Ottawa. The featured narrators were Lori Jean Hodge and Doreen Taylor-Claxton. The Little Match Girl was composed as part of a City of Ottawa Ottawa arts grant project.

Harmonia Choir presents Lord’s Prayer setting
Under the direction of Kurt Ala-Kantti, the Harmonia Choir performed Jan Jarvlepp’s setting of the Lord’s Prayer in a concert given at Rideau Park United Church, Ottawa on May 14, 2006. The choir was accompanied by piano and string quartet. For more information:
www.harmoniachoir.com

New Music in New Places
The Ottawa Chamber Music Society took part the Canadian Music Centre’s “New Music in New Places” project by presenting a concert of contemporary Canadian chamber music at Maxwell’s Bistro, Ottawa on March 20 and 21, 2006. Included in the program was the first movement of Jan Jarvlepp’s “Quintet 2000” for celesta and string quartet. The concert was recorded and broadcast by the CBC. For more information:
www.musiccentre.ca

New Year starts with carillon music on the composer's birthday
To mark Jan Jarvlepp's birthday, Dominion Carillonneur Gordon Slater performed his Morning Music and Afternoon Music from Time Traveller on January 3rd, 2006. The event took place at Parliament Hill, Ottawa on the Peace Tower Carillon as part of a noon-hour recital.

Pierrot Solaire in Mexico
Ensamble Permutaciones performed Pierrot Solaire on December 15, 2005 in the Sala Xochipilli of Escuela Nacional de Música in Coyoacan, Mexico.

New Cello Duet premiered
Cellists Jan Jarvlepp and Kuniko Soda gave the first performance of Cello Duet No. 1 in a cello concert held at Woodroffe United Church, Ottawa on December 9, 2005.

Two guitars version of Guitar Piece premiered
The classical guitar duo of Keenan Comartin and Kieran Greeson gave the first performance of the two guitars version of Guitar Piece on November 30, 2005 at the University of Ottawa's Perez Hall, Ottawa.

"Jan Jarvlepp and Friends" toured the Ottawa area
Jan Jarvlepp and Friends gave three concerts featuring the music of Jan Jarvlepp, Mark Ferguson and Evelyn Stroobach. Performing were Pascale Margely - flute and piccolo, Frederic Hodgson - oboe, Mark Ferguson - piano, Scott Chancey - violin and viola, and Jan Jarvlepp - cello and guitar. The concerts took place on October 12, 2005 at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec à Gatineau, Gatineau, Québec, on October 23 at Kanata United Church, Kanata, Ontario, and on October 30 at St. Luke's Church, Ottawa. The October 23 concert included the premiere of Pre-Concert Announcement, a spoken text involving humour.

Shinkansen released on Japanese CD "Flutist from the East, vol. 4"
Flutist Kohei Nishikawa and the Nishikawa Ensemble of Japan are featured in a new recording on the Live Notes label entitled "Flutist from the East, vol. 4" (WWCC-7495). Included is Jan Jarvlepp's work Shinkansen, a piece commissioned by the Nishikawa Ensemble and first performed by them on their 2002 North American tour. The CD can be purchased by contacting Mr. Nishikawa directly at: icc22268@nifty.com.

Quintet 2005 at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival
The Ottawa Chamber Music Festival presented the first performance of Quintet 2005 for bass clarinet and string quartet. The concert took place on August 2, 2005 at St. John's Church in Ottawa. The featured bass clarinetist was David Bourque of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. This work was commissioned with an Arts Grant from the City of Ottawa specifically for this festival.

Time Traveller on Parliament Hill
In his series of summer recitals, Dominion Carillonneur Gordon Slater gave four performances of the four-movement Time Traveller suite for carillon. The music was played on the Peace Tour Carillon at Parliament Hill, Ottawa on July 5, July 20, August 4, and August 19, 2005.

Arthur LeBlanc Quartet plays Quintet 2003
On January 19th, 2005, guest violinist Nadine Theriault joined the Arthur LeBlanc Quartet in a performance of Quintet 2003 in a concert recorded by Radio Canada. The enthusiastically received event took place at the Theatre L'Escaouette in Moncton, NB, Canada as part of the Mercredi de musique de chambre series (MMC).

Nishikawa Ensemble premieres Procession and Auction
On November 17, 2004, the Nishikawa Ensemble (Kohei Nishikawa - piccolo, Hideko Nara - piano, Patrick Graham - percussion, and guest artist Jan Jarvlepp - cello) gave the first performance of Procession and Auction, a work composed especially for the group's North American tour. The concert took place before a full house at The Fourth Stage in Ottawa, Canada..

Enigmatica records Lament
Enigmatica, the mandolin ensemble under the direction of Marilynn Mair, has just released a CD containing Jan Jarvlepp's Lament. This piece, which is the second movement of Quintet 2001 for mandolin and string quartet, has been successfully arranged for mandolins by the group's leader. For more information on this eclectic and entertaining CD, go to: www.marilynnmair.com.

Quintet 2004 premiered at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival
The Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, under the artistic direction of Julian Armour, presented the first performance of Quintet 2004 for harp and string quartet. Lori Gemmell was the featured harpist in this four-movement work. The event took place at Dominion-Chalmers United Church, Ottawa. The composition of this work was financially assisted by an Arts Grant from the City of Ottawa.
www.chamberfest.com.

Earth Song and Lord's Prayer performed in Kanata
The Kanata Choral Society, under the direction of Gloria Jean Nagy, sang Earth Song and The Lord's Prayer at Glen Cairn United Church in Kanata, Ontario on May 8, 2004. In the prayer, the choir was accompanied by Carol Ann Cameron - flute, Kevin James - violin, Bill Smith - bass guitar, and Ursula Pidgeon - organ.

All-Jarvlepp Concert at the Winter Festival of Canadian Music
The Ottawa Chamber Music Society, under the artistic direction of Julian Armour, presented an all-Jarvlepp concert (the third such event to ever take place). The concert happened on January 10, 2004 as part of their Winter Festival of Canadian Music held at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa. Pascale Margely gave the first performance of Comet, a virtuosic flute piece written for her. Other works on the program were Sunset, Earth Song, Quintet 2003, Harpsichord Piece, Trio No. 2 and Pierrot Solaire.

Interview with music critic Richard Todd
an interview with Jan Jarvlepp appears in Richard Todd's own music-oriented web site http://www.opuspocus.ca. The tone is very conversational and informal giving a more personal glimpse of the composer than the composer's own web site.
www.opuspocus.ca.

Quintet 2003 at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival
"Quintet 2003", a 21-minute work for three violins, viola and cello received its first performance at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival on August 5, 2003 at Tabaret Hall, Ottawa. The piece was commissioned with a grant from the Ontario Arts Council especially for this event.

Time Traveller on Parliament Hill
Carillonneur Gordon Slater performed the four-movement "Time Traveller" suite on July 9, July 24, August 8 and August 25, 2003 on the 53-bell Peace Tower Carillon at Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada.

Saxophone Quartet at the Muskoka Lakes Festival
The Saxart saxophone quartet performed "Saxophone Quartet" on July 17, 2003 at the Muskoka Lakes Festival at the Port Carling Community Centre in Port Carling, Ontario.
 www.artsinmuskoka.com

Evening Music and Night Music at U.S. Carillon Festival
On June 5, 2003, carilloneur Gordon Slater performed "Evening Music" and "Night Music" at the 42nd International Carillon Festival in Springfield, Illinois, USA. He played on the 67-bell Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon in Washington Park.

Dance Works presents Trio No. 2 in Memphis
On May 16, 2003, Dance Works performed "Trio No. 2" with choreography by Judith Davies assisted by Dance Works students who were also performers. Staging was by Karen J. Zissoff and the musicians were Andra Hawk - piccolo, Jonathan Kirksey - cello, and Lenny Schranze - viola. The event, which took place at the Southwest Tennessee Community College Theater in Memphis, was part of their 16th annual Open House. The same choreography had already been presented on April 26 and 27, 2003 at the same venue as part of National Dance Week by the same performers with the exception of Michelle Fine on viola.

Suite for Viola and Strings at CMC Reading Session
On May 8th, 2003, The Canadian Music Centre presented a reading workshop in which "Suite for Viola and Strings" was rehearsed and then performed. The event took place at St. Andrew's Church in Ottawa. The event was not a formal concert but rather an open rehearsal followed by a performance that was recorded for demo use.

Encounter performed in Cleveland
Violist Arthur Klima and percussionist Andrew Pongracz performed "Encounter" in a viola recital held on March 22, 2003 at Drinko Recital Hall on the Cleveland State University campus in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Klima is a member of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Second performance of Quintet 2000
"Quintet 2000" for celesta and string quartet, originally composed for the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, received its second performance on January 21, 2003 in a concert of the Ottawa Chamber Music Society entitled "Ottawa in the 21st Century". The event took place at Tabaret Hall in Ottawa and was recorded for broadcast by the CBC. Participating were violinists Martin Riseley and David Stewart, violist Guylaine Lemaire, cellist Julian Armour and celesta player Jean Desmarais.

New Lord's Prayer setting heard
On December 15, 2002 The Ottawa Finnish Singers presented Jan Jarvlepp's new setting of the Lord's Prayer accompanied by an instrumental quartet. It took place at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Ottawa during a service of the St. Michael's Finnish Lutheran Congregation.

Quintet 2002 at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival
On August 6, 2002, the first performance of Quintet 2002 for English horn and string quartet was heard at Tabaret Hall as part of the Ottawa Chamber Music festival. Participating were Philippe Magnan - English horn, Mark Friedman and Leah Roseman - violins, Sally Benson - viola and Carole Sirois - cello.

Alabama Youth Orchestra plays Camerata Music
On March 24, 2002 the Huntsville Youth Orchestra of Huntsville, Alabama, under the direction of Viljar Puu Weimann, performed Camerata Music at the Estonian House Hall in Toronto. This concert was part of their trip to Canada where they were guests of the Mississauga Youth Orchestra. Weimann has previously conducted this work in the USA.

Concerto 2000 in Ottawa
On January 28, 2002, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra under David Currie performed "Concerto 2000" at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Robert Cram was the featured flute soloist. For more details consult: www.ottawasymphony.com.

Birthday Carillon Performance
On January 3, 2002, Jan Jarvlepp's birthday, carillonneur Gordon Slater performed his Evening Music and Night Music from the Time Traveller Suite on the 53-bell carillon of the Peace Tower at the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Canada.

Nishikawa Ensemble premieres Shinkansen
On January 19, 2002, the Nishikawa Ensemble of Japan, with guest cellist Jan Jarvlepp, gave the first performance of Jan Jarvlepp's Shinkansen, a work commissioned by the ensemble. The event took place in the Freiman recital hall at the University of Ottawa's Perez Hall. Also on the program was Jarvlepp's Tarantella, heard in its piccolo and electric guitar version with composer on guitar and Kohei Nishikawa on piccolo. These two works were repeated in Montreal on January 31, 2002 at the Frontenac Cultural Centre along with a performance by Arashi Daiko who did an East/West fusion with the Nishikawa Ensemble and Jan Jarvlepp on electric guitar. On January 24, the Nishikawa Ensemble and Jan Jarvlepp played his Tarantella and Moonscape at St. George the Martyr Church in Toronto as well as a group of Japanese pieces including a trio by Takahashi with Jan Jarvlepp on cello.

Garbage Concerto in Mexico
The Tambuco percussion ensemble performed the "Garbage Concerto" in Mexico City on December 1-2, 2001 with the Mexico City Philharmonic conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto. They used a custom set of percussion instruments made of Mexican garbage.

Suite for Viola and Strings premiere
On Sunday, November 25, 2001, the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra under the direction of David Thies-Thompson presented the premiere performance of the "Suite for Viola and Strings". This piece was specially composed for Kevin James who was the featured viola soloist. The event took place at the Glebe Community Centre, Ottawa.

Garbage Concerto in Switzerland
On October 17 and 18, 2001 the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester performed the "Garbage Concerto" in the Salle blanche at Lucerne, Switzerland. Jonathan Nott conducted and soloists were Daniel Bertschi, Raphael Christen, Michael Erni, Fabian Stofer and Erwin Bucher.

Quintet 2001 at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival
The Ottawa Chamber Music Festival 2001 presented the first performance of "Quintet 2001" for mandolin and string quartet on July 30, 2001. Richard Green was the featured mandolinist. The work was commissioned for this event with a grant from the Laidlaw Foundation.

Gordon Slater performs Time Traveller
On July 2, July 23, August 6 and August 20, 2002, carilloner Gordon Slater performed Time Traveller, Jan Jarvlepp's four-movement suite of carillon pieces composed for Slater, on the Peace Tower carillon at Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada.

Street Scene premiere on Feb. 11, 2001
Kevin James, viola and Jan Jarvlepp, electric guitar gave the first performance of Jan Jarvlepp's "Street Scene" in an Espace Musique concert held in the Rideau Chapel of the National Gallery in Ottawa.

Concerto 2000 premiered on November 4, 2000
Flutist Pascale Margely gave the first performance of Jan Jarvlepp's "Concerto 2000" for flute and symphony orchestra which was commissioned for her with a Canada Council grant. Yves Léveillé conducted the Hull Conservatory Orchestra for the capacity audience at the Église Saint-Benoît-Abbé in Hull.

Quintet 2000 at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival
The Ottawa Chamber Music Festival presented the first performance of "Quintet 2000" for celesta and string quartet, a Canada Council commission. The event took place on August 1, 2000 at St. John's Anglican Church in Ottawa and was received by an enthusiastic capacity audience.

Flights of Fancy CD available June, 2000!
Pierrot Solaire, Saxophone Quartet, Trio No. 2, Tarantella, Robot Dance and Overture - all composed by Jan Jarvlepp - are available on this independent J&W CD (#001). It was digitally recorded and has a playing time of over 67 minutes.

Jan Jarvlepp and Friends at the Ottawa Fringe Festival, 2000
During June 16 to 25, Pascale Margely - piccolo and flute, Kevin James - viola, and Jan Jarvlepp - electric guitar and bass guitar, gave six performances of their show "Robot Dance" at the Ottawa Fringe Festival . On the program was Robot Dance, Moonscape, and Tarantella by Jan Jarvlepp and works by Philip Glass, Luciano Berio, Kelsey Jones, Silvio Palmieri and Harry Somers. The first performance of the piccolo and electric guitar version of Tarantella was heard.

May 13, 2000 Earth Song in Ottawa
The Centennial Choir directed by James Caswell gave the first performance of Jan Jarvlepp's first choral piece Earth Song which has words attributed to U.S. Indian Chief Seattle (but actually by Ted Perry). The performance took place at St. Anne's Church in Ottawa.

April 24, 2000 Stockholm
International release of Garbage Concerto on BIS CD-1052 coupled with the Rock Symphony by Imants Kalnins of Latvia. The Kroumata percussion ensemble and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lan Shui are the performers. The soloists play on their special set of percussion instruments made out of recycled garbage from Stockholm. For more information, check out new releases at www.bis.se.

Winter, 2000 Toronto
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, directed by Boris Brott, gave five
performances of the first movement of Jarvlepp's Garbage Concerto in their concert series for students. Feedback from teachers and students has been very positive.

Gordon Slater performs Morning and Afternoon Music
Morning and Afternoon Music for carillon were performed by Gordon Slater on the carillon of the Peace Tower at the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Canada on Oct 6, 1999

September, 1999
The Singapore Symphony conducted by Lan Shui gave two very successful performances of the Garbage Concerto with Sweden's excellent Kroumata ensemble as featured soloists. That was followed by recording sessions during which BIS's recording team made a beautiful 20-bit recording of their exciting performance. The composer gave a pre-concert lecture to prepare interested listeners for the piece as well as a radio interview.

Gordon Slater performs Time Traveller three times
The four-movement Time Traveller suite for carillon was performed by Gordon Slater on the carillon of the Peace Tower at the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Canada on July 15, August 4, and August 26, 1999.

Summer, 1999
Rehearsals and recording sessions of Dilemma, Saxophone Quartet, Trio No. 2, and Overture took place in various locations. Commencement of the composition of Concerto 2000.

May 27, 1999
The Ayorama Wind Quintet gave the first performance of Jan Jarvlepp's Overture, a Laidlaw Foundation commission. The event took place at an Espace Musique concert of Ottawa Composers held at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Jan Jarvlepp resigned as Music Director of Espace Musique after having held that position for six and a half years so that he could commit more time to composition.

February 4, 1999
Jan Jarvlepp and Friends travelled to Montreal to present a program of new music at Concordia University's Concert Hall. Participating were Pascale Margely, Kevin James, Jan Jarvlepp as well as soprano Louise Yard and pianist Isabelle Roszycki of Montreal who rounded out the program with new works by John Winiarz. Jarvlepp gave a lecture to music history students on the topic of "From Minimalism to Postmodern."

© 2000-01 Jan Jarvlepp. Last updated January 2010