Prism
Composed in 1978 for Three Flutes, Three Trumpets, Three Violoncelli, Two Percussion, Harp and Piano
Prism is the only piece from my student days that I will still admit to! It was a prize winner in the 1980 Sir Ernest MacMillan Competition sponsored by CAPAC (now SOCAN) and was subsequently read by the New Music Concerts Ensemble (Toronto) conducted by Robert Aitken in October 1982. This is a classic graduate student piece: cut-out score, eclectic with quirky instrumentation and no compromises with respect to the performers or the audience! It has never been performed, but I keep hoping that someone pick it up, hence its inclusion here. I still think it’s a very good piece, but my mother, if she ever gets a chance to hear it, definitely won’t like it!