McGill Association of Student Composers - MASC

McGill Association of Student Composers - MASC McGill Association of Student Composers (MASC) exists primarily to promote and further the artistic and professional development of composition students

Come hear works by composition students April 7th at 8pm in Clara Lichtenstein HallAdmission is free!Featuring music by...
03/31/2026

Come hear works by composition students April 7th at 8pm in Clara Lichtenstein Hall
Admission is free!

Featuring music by :

Claire Son z.74
Aria Bahmani

ella
la.maline
Shundong Li

Our final set of summer Composer Postcards comes from DMus student Liam Ross Gibson (), who recorded the debut album of ...
10/23/2025

Our final set of summer Composer Postcards comes from DMus student Liam Ross Gibson (), who recorded the debut album of his interdisciplinary collective, THIRTYMINUTES (). More info from Liam below:

The other members are Aliayta Foon-Dancoes (composer/violinist currently based in Princeton NJ) and Paul MacIntyre (visual artist/guitarist currently based in Cambridge UK). Sonically, the material on the album consists mainly of pieces for piano/synth, violin, and guitar (my station in the studio pictured). The album also has a visual component, largely based on past small images that we've created for our Instagram page. Paul took these images through a series of materials and transformations, with the outcome being printed on a set of playing cards (pictured). These cards were used to inform musical decisions during the recording process. The images were also printed on large paper which we cut and folded into 125 cubes (some of which are pictured) inspired by the art of Sol Lewitt.

Next, we have some Composer Postcards from recent BMus graduate Fiona Marchetto (), who hosted an open recording session...
10/22/2025

Next, we have some Composer Postcards from recent BMus graduate Fiona Marchetto (), who hosted an open recording session of her large-scale cycle of Shakespeare-inspired works for solo strings, “Dramatis Personae”. This event included performances by Fiona herself, in addition to (in order of group pic) , , .vct, , , , , , , and !

Our next summer Composer Postcards come from BMus student Yan Liang (), who took part in Bled Contemporary Music Week at...
10/21/2025

Our next summer Composer Postcards come from BMus student Yan Liang (), who took part in Bled Contemporary Music Week at the .abeceda Institute in Slovenia – see her piece “coiled within” performed by Robert Feifan, Csuka Marcell and Luka Jahn here! https://on.soundcloud.com/WB6IUhuvtD68gstTKK

Next up, composer postcards from BMus student Brooklyn Wood (), who’s been getting new headshots, working on several upc...
10/20/2025

Next up, composer postcards from BMus student Brooklyn Wood (), who’s been getting new headshots, working on several upcoming projects, and exploring nature! More info from Brooklyn below:

Current projects:
o My Trombone piece for trombone and piano commissioned by over 12 trombonists across North America to be published by Cherry Classics
o I was commissioned by the Prince Edward Island symphony for their 2027 season- concert in March
o I also have an upcoming piece being performed by the Langley Fine Arts School Orchestra and a Choir in Yukon next March, a piece called “In The Meantime”
Fun fact: after hiking UP the mountain [pictured in last postcard pic], I slipped off a cliff and had to climb back up

Next, we have some composer postcards from recent BMus graduate Leo Purich (), who’s been performing with several ensemb...
10/19/2025

Next, we have some composer postcards from recent BMus graduate Leo Purich (), who’s been performing with several ensembles, and experiencing new music and art while traveling! Photo details from Leo below:

1. Wonderful experience leading the viola section of the Orchestre de la Francophonie this summer, and getting to work with .sept, .711, and .mockus!
2. Duo concert with my dad, Peter Purich, at Cedar Park United Church as part of their Senior’s Tea concert series – including compositions by both of us!
3. Ran into fellow composers .theory and while attending the Guča brass band festival in Serbia, then met up again in Belgrade to check out the Contemporary Art Museum and have this lunch on the shore of the Sava River
4. Sight-reading with my friends , and (the Credo Quartet) 💕

Our next Composer Postcards are from PhD student Kalen Smith (), who’s been attending and presenting at multiple researc...
10/18/2025

Our next Composer Postcards are from PhD student Kalen Smith (), who’s been attending and presenting at multiple research and creation events! Photo details from Kalen below:

1. Poster session at the Timbre and Orchestration Summer School (TOSS) of the ACTOR Project
2. Mini-Lecture at the USA International Harp Competition at the Jacob's School of Music
3. Acting as the potbearer in ’s "Claw and Order" opera at the Opera from Scratch workshop in Halifax.

Next up in our summer highlights, we have composer postcards from DMus student Hannah Barnes (), who had a packed summer...
10/17/2025

Next up in our summer highlights, we have composer postcards from DMus student Hannah Barnes (), who had a packed summer of premieres, workshops, and collaboration! Photo details and more info from Hannah below:

- Went to New York City to put the finishing touches on my new violin and electronics piece “clouded winding paths” and present it in concert with violinist Jennifer Gersten
- Attended the SPLICE Institute at Western Michigan to learn about OpenMusic and FluComa
- Attended the Darmstadt Ferienkurse, where I attended upwards of 20 concerts and lectures; had lessons with Chaya Czernowin and Mark Andre; and participated in a workshop led by Rebecca Saunders (composition) and Sarah Saviet (violin) to write a miniature for violin (“Selenetrope”) in three days; also danced at the Silent Disco
- Visited Boston to workshop with Lamnth, who are commissioning me for two works, and learn all about the cimbalom

Upcoming and works-in-progress:
- Some revisions on “clouded winding paths” before it is performed again at live@CIRMMT in December
- An arrangement of Schubert’s “Der Tod und das Mädchen” for violin and cimbalom for Lamnth’s Halloween Spooktacular
- A new piece for string quartet and mezzo-soprano, for Quatuor Memoire and Joanna Mieleszko, for premiere in January 2026
- Getting 100% in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

McGill composers have been getting up to all sorts of exciting composer things this summer, and as we settle back into t...
10/16/2025

McGill composers have been getting up to all sorts of exciting composer things this summer, and as we settle back into the new school year, we’re looking back and highlighting some of those composer activities in the return of our series of “Composer Postcards”! First up, our newly-elected MASC President and current MMus composition student, Nicholas Ma ()! Nicholas completed several exciting commissions and programs this summer, working on orchestra, chamber music, and operatic works! Photo details from Nicholas below:

1. Orchestra premiere of "Hijinks", commissioned by Esprit Orchestra - photo credit to Karen Reeves
2. Pre-concert talk of Hijinks - photo credit to Karen Reeves
3. Invited for a live interview on CBC Weekend Radio in Newfoundland
4. Wrote a piano trio for the Tuckamore Festival, the ensemble later toured across Newfoundland playing this trio on their program
5. Wrote a Lobster Opera called "Claw and Order" at the Opera from Scratch workshop in Nova Scotia.
6. Photo of the lobster on trial

This year's composition networking event will take place on Wednesday October 8th at 18:30 (6:30pm) in room A-832 (top f...
10/03/2025

This year's composition networking event will take place on Wednesday October 8th at 18:30 (6:30pm) in room A-832 (top floor of the Elizabeth Wirth Music Building). 

This event is a chance for musicians and recording students to connect with composers. Are you interested in collaborating with a composer on a new piece? Are you looking to gain experience performing contemporary music? Are you interested in recording pieces written by your colleagues? Do you just want to get to know more people in your academic community? These are all great reasons to attend! 

This is a welcoming event - musicians of any kind are welcome. Talk to your friends and bring them along - this event is about fostering connections and building community! If you feel like it, spread the word to anyone you think might be interested. And yes, there will be snacks!

Looking forward to seeing you there,

The MASC Events Committee (Hannah Barnes, Liam Gibson, and Jonas Regnier)

Post 2/2: Last year, several composition students started a very special initiative: the OFF-TOPIC ENSEMBLE. This studen...
09/07/2025

Post 2/2: Last year, several composition students started a very special initiative: the OFF-TOPIC ENSEMBLE. This student-led group of composer-performers offered invaluable mentorship and workshopping opportunities for other composition students (as well as members of the ensemble), to create works for various combinations of winds, strings, voice, piano, and harp. The process culminated in a concert of six exciting new works in May 2025, for which composer-performers Lorenzo Paniconi , Kalen Smith , Leo Purich , Christopher Curry .currysax, Brooklyn Wood , Richard Davis , Dylan Pinette and Nicholas Ma prepared works by Iulia Fărcuțiu , Yan Liang , Simon Rostis , Leo Purich, Julia Wiger-Nordås, and Fiona Marchetto ! These pics present snapshots from the performance 🌟

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Montreal, QC

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