ALEX EDDINGTON

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Alex Eddington’s music has been described as “eclectic” (Wholenote Magazine), “remarkable and very theatrical” (Nieuwe Noten) and “[shining] with wit and assurance… subtlety and truthfulness” (National Post).

His choral pieces have been performed across Canada and the U.S.A., including Elektra Women’s Choir, Chronos Vocal Ensemble, Toronto Chamber Choir, KC VITAs and the Da Camera Singers. His instrumental music has been commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Mississauga Symphony, Continuum, Toronto Consort and violinist Conrad Chow.

Known for his solo vocal music, Alex’s debut album A Present From a Small Distant World showcased his decades-long collaboration with soprano Kristin Mueller-Heaslip. Additionally, his music has been recorded and released on albums by Quattuor Bozzini, Odin Quartet, junctQín Keyboard Collective, soprano Stephanie Lamprea and the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra.

Alex’s work with young and community musicians includes collaborative composition projects with VIVA Singers, Jumblies Theatre, St. Paul’s Steel Band and the Suzuki String School of Guelph. As a theatrical composer he has worked with Guild Festival Theatre, Tarragon Theatre and many small companies touring the Fringe theatre circuit.

Alex Eddington is also a high school music/drama teacher, bird enthusiast, playwright/storyteller, and host of the contemporary music podcast Fresh Sounds / Open Ears. please visit www.alexeddington.com

Boy with Orange (Out of Kosovo)

by Alex Eddington

SATB with piano – CP 1924 – duration: 3:50
SSA with piano – CP 2000
SSAA with piano – CP 2001
TBB with piano – CP 2002
TTBB with piano – CP 2003

Boy with Orange (out of Kosovo) takes its text from the poem of the same name by U.K. poet Lotte Kramer. Born in Germany in 1923, Kramer escaped to England as a child refugee. She started writing poetry in her 30s to help process her experiences. This poem is a striking universal image of how war affects the lives of children and their families. It reflects the devastating reality of modern warfare, and the resulting global refugee crisis.

LOOK & LISTEN

Picking Wild Berries

by Alex Eddington

SATB a cappella – CP 1923 – duration: 5:20

Picking Wild Berries is a setting of Julie Flett’s beautiful children’s book Wild Berries / Pikaci Mīnisa, in both English and Swampy Cree. A boy and his grandmother pick blueberries in a forest clearing, while observing nature. Grandma checks for bears; Clarence sees an ant, a spider, and a fox; they leave berries as a thank-you for the birds.

I was as much influenced by Julie Flett’s illustrations as by her text. Watch the video on the listening page. The restricted colour palette and clean lines have analogies in the music. The deep red sun is represented by a drone on the pitch A, heard in almost every moment of the piece. Its timbre changes with the quality of light, it is filtered through different harmonies, but the sun is always there.

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