HISTORY

New Music Concerts was founded in 1971 by the internationally acclaimed Canadian musicians, flutist and composer Robert Aitken and composer Norma Beecroft, to promote interest in the art of music and contemporary music in particular. This mandate has resulted in the presentation of over 300 Toronto concerts of the music of our time by Canadian and international composers. A consequence of this juxtaposition of worldwide composers and their Canadian colleagues has been a legacy of global rapport and good will. Impressed by the calibre of performance and dedication to the musical ideals by our local musicians, these composers (and on occasion, artists) return home with a deeper appreciation and respect for Canadian composers and performers. Added to this are numerous tours of Canada, the United States and Europe. Extending this fundamental aspect of our mandate, NMC has offered lectures, films, mixed media presentations, forums, reading weekends and music theatre. Now celebrating its 38th season, NMC has produced or performed on nine recordings, including an upcoming 2008 disc of the music of Elliott Carter on the NAXOS label. Contact

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New Music Concerts has nurtured performers and audiences over the years for contemporary music activities in Toronto. This has been accomplished by the excellence of performance and the diversity of programming which has built an appreciative audience for contemporary music in the city. We are continually involved in presenting the finest and most interesting of the world's composers and ensembles to reflect and contrast the international scene with the Canadian one. At the same time NMC has reflected the cultural diversity of our own country, with concerts highlighting the musical cultures of such countries as Poland, Italy, Japan, China and recently Iceland, Slovenia, and Lithuania. We have also been active in taking Canada to the world, through our broadcasts, recordings and, in earlier years, through tours in Canada (Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Kingston), the USA (Boston, Washington and New York) and Europe (with sixteen concerts in Oslo, Bergen, Stockholm, Reykjavik, London, Paris, Saarbrucken, Bourges, Nantes and Brussels). Critics have been generous in their praise since the very beginning and continue to support our efforts. Robert Harris, writing in the Globe and Mail, observed that “The composers of today, I am sure, give daily thanks to pioneers like Bob Aitken and the New Music Concerts Ensemble, who consistently deliver their works with the highest degree of professionalism. Someday, perhaps, this music will win the wider audience it so richly deserves.”

News

Flutist, composer and conductor Robert Aitken wins the

Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts

awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts

Ottawa, October 20, 2009 - Internationally renowned flutist, composer and conductor Robert Aitken, of Toronto, is the winner of the 2009 Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts. The $50,000 prize, administered and presented by the Canada Council for the Arts, recognizes the highest level of artistic excellence and distinguished career achievement by Canadian artists who have spent the major part of their career in Canada in theatre, dance or music.

Mr. Aitken was selected by a peer assessment committee consisting of Henri Brassard, pianist and professor (St-Charles-sur-Richelieu, QC); Jani Lauzon, multi-disciplinary Métis performing artist (Toronto); and Ian McDougall, trombonist, composer and teacher (Victoria, BC).

In awarding the prize to Mr. Aitken, the committee said, “A masterly force in the world of contemporary Canadian music, Robert Aitken has demonstrated for over half a century a tireless commitment to its development, performance and promotion in every corner of the globe. As a flutist, composer, interpreter and teacher, he is a distinguished innovator and continues to exert a strong influence on upcoming generations.”

An image of Mr. Aitken can be downloaded from the Canada Council image gallery.

Robert Aitken

World renowned Canadian flutist, composer and conductor Robert Aitken has been honoured with the Order of Canada and is a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France). In 1970, having previously served as principal flute for both the Vancouver and Toronto Symphony Orchestras, Mr. Aitken embarked on a solo career that has taken him all over the world.

He has more than 40 recordings to his credit and such notables as R. Murray Schafer, John Cage, George Crumb, Elliott Carter, Toru Takemitsu, Gilles Tremblay, John Beckwith and Bruce Mather have dedicated works to him. In 2003 he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Flute Association (USA). In 2004 he retired as Professor für Flöte at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany, a position he had held for 16 years.

As a composer, he holds bachelor and master’s degrees from the University of Toronto and all of his works are published by Universal Edition, Salabert, Ricordi and Peer Music. Mr. Aitken was director of the Banff Centre Winter Program in Music, founder and artistic director of Music Today, Music at Shawnigan and co-founder, with Norma Beecroft, of New Music Concerts which he has directed since its inception in 1971.

Music

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