James Harley (born 1959) is a Canadian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, and professor of music born in

Vernon, British Columbia Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the British Columbia Interior, Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former Member of the Legislative Assembly, MLA of British ...

. His creative output consists of orchestral, chamber, solo, electroacoustic, and vocal music.

Studies

Harley studied at

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...

(B.Mus., magna cum laude, 1977–1982),

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

(1983–1985), Université de Paris (1986–1987), Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

(1987–1988), and

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

(D.Mus., 1988–1994).

Teaching

He has taught at the Faculty of Music at McGill University (1989–1995),

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

(1995–1996),

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

(1997),

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(1997), and

Minnesota State University Moorhead Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a public university in Moorhead, Minnesota, across the Red River of the North from Fargo, North Dakota. The school has an enrollment of 7,534 students in 2019 and 266 full-time faculty members. MSUM ...

(1999–2004). In 2004, he took up a tenure-track position in music at

University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...

, where he is associate professor. Harley is also the author of the book ''Xenakis: His Life in Music''. His areas of expertise and specialization include

digital music Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, samp ...

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

, contemporary music analysis, and history of electronic/computer music. Music and research by James Harley is represented by Art Music Promotion.

List of works

Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

*''Along the Riverrun'' (1983) 10 min. :Version I: 1111/1100/timp/66643 :Version II: strings (20220 concertante/66644 orchestra) *''Overture Divertimento'' (1984) 8 min. 2222/2220/timp/strings *''Windprints'' (1989) 15 min. 2222/4221/3 perc/pf/strings *''Kekula (Memories of a Landscape – III)'' (1992) 15 min. 2222/4221/strings *''N(ouvelle)aissance'' (1994) 16 min. 1202/2000/1 perc/44321 *''Old Rock'' (1996) 10 min. 2222/4221/timp/strings Ensemble *''Sabbath'' (1981) 20 min. jazz ensemble (5

saxophones The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

, 5 trumpets, 4 trombones,

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

electric bass The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s) *''The Tail of Pinky Oozgreen and the Mossbrains'' (1983) 20 min. jazz ensemble (5 saxophones, 5 trumpets, 4 trombones, electric guitar, electric bass, piano, drums) *''Stillness Dancing'' (1983, revised 1984) 10 min. 11 players (1111/1000/1 perc/pf/10111) *''Mobile'' (1984) 18 min. 10 trombones (8 tenors, 2 bass), 2

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

*''Prelude (Under the Thin Rainfall)'' (1985) 7 min.

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

, horn,

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

*''Tapisse(reve)rie'' (1986) 13 min. 11 players (1111/1110/10111) *''Memories of a Landscape – II'' (1988) 15 min. 13 strings (44221) *''Daring the Wilderness'' (1991) 12 min. percussion ensemble (5 players) *''Etude pour une Fete (Jazz II)'' (1991) 6 min.

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

(or clarinet), trumpet, trombone, cello,

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

, piano *''Neue Bilder (Der Holle Rache)'' (1991) 10 min.

piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

, E♭ clarinet, trumpet, percussion,

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

, cello, double bass *''Wine of Dragons'' (1993) 7 min. :Version I: Taiko ensemble – 9 performers :Version II (1997): percussion ensemble (9 players) *''Kaleidarray (Jazz III)'' (1994) 15 min. violin/bass violin, clarinet/

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common Soprano clarinet, soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays no ...

, trumpet, Thai gongs,

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

, piano *''Cuimhneachan Urramach'' (1995) 15 min. solo cello and 14 players (1111/1110/1 perc/pf/11111) *''Octane-VX'' (1996) 8 min. flute, oboe, clarinet,

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

, horn, trumpet, trombone, double bass *''Can(y)on'' (1997) 3 min. clarinet, trumpet, vibraphone, marimba, piano, violin, double bass *''bien serré'' (1999) 20 min. jazz ensemble (4 saxophones, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, electric guitar, electric bass, keyboard, drums) *''KappaMusik'' (2002) 13 min. jazz ensemble (4 saxophones, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, 2 electric guitars, drums) *''aXis'' (2006) 12 min. 13 players (1111/1111/11111) *''soundskein'' (2006) 15 min. two string quartets

Chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

*''Images'' (1983) 17 min. flute, vibraphone, violin, viola, cello *''Encounters – II'' (1984) 10 min. percussion duo *''String Quartet'' (1984) 10 min. 2 violins, viola, cello *''Jazz'' (1985) 7 min. saxophone quartet (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone) *''Here the Bird'' (1993) 13 min. viola, piano *''Épanoui'' (1995) 12 min. flute, cello, piano *''Tyee'' (1995) 13 min. bass flute and percussion *''Consort: Dances of the Borealis'' (1998) 15 min. two pianos, two percussion *''Cachées'' (2000) 11 min. guitar and cello *''nmaya (Kokopeli II)'' (2002) 12 min. percussion and piano *''TreDue Sextet'' (2010) 10 min. flute, clarinet, marimba/vibraphone, piano, violin,

violoncello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C ...

. Instrumental *''Exposures'' (1984) 7 min. horn *''Portrait'' (1984) 8 min. flute *''Piano'' (1989) 14 min. piano *''Variations'' (1989) 21 min. piano *''Song for Nobody'' (1990) 8 min. B♭ clarinet (alternative version for B♭ bass clarinet with extended low register) *''Ma'dhanah'' (1990) 12 min.

Accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

*''flung loose into the stars'' (1995) 10 min. piano *''Exh...'' (1999) 5 min. piccolo *''Édifices (naturels)'' (2001) 10 min. piano *''pLayer8a'' (2007) 5 min.

player piano A player piano is a self-playing piano with a pneumatic or electromechanical mechanism that operates the piano action using perforated paper or metallic rolls. Modern versions use MIDI. The player piano gained popularity as mass-produced home ...

Vocal and choral *''Five Poems by

Richard Brautigan Richard Gary Brautigan (January 30, 1935) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. He wrote throughout his life and published ten novels, two collections of short stories, and four books of poetry. Brautigan's work has been publi ...

'' (1981) 8 min.

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

, flute, cello, percussion, piano *''Soft Morning'' (1983) 7 min. (text by James Joyce) soprano solo (alternative version for mezzo-soprano) *''Singing a silence of stone'' (1983) 6 min. (text by e.e. cummings) soprano, harp, 2 percussion *''Two Psalms'' (1986) 14 min. Lullaby ( Psalm 23), Jubilate Domino (

Psalm 100 Psalm 100 is the 100th psalm in the Book of Psalms in the Tanakh. In English, it is translated as "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands" in the King James Version (KJV), and as "O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands" in the Book of C ...

) SATB chorus, harp *''Jubilate Domino'' (Psalm 100) SATB chorus, harp *''Reflections on a Prayer of Saint Augustine'' (1987) 13 min. (text in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

from St. Augustine's Confessions, and

The Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, it is erotic poe ...

) SATB chorus (36 parts, 9 groups) *''one winter after(a flower)noon'' (1987) 8 min. (text by e.e. cummings). soprano, bass clarinet, cello, piano *''Cantico delle Creature'' (1993) 23 min. (text by St. Francis of Assisi) mezzo-soprano, choir (SSAATTBB), chamber orchestra (2222/2220/3 perc/piano, celeste/22222), soundfiles *''re: Hallelujah'' (2005) 5.5 min. (text by

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

) soprano and

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

(1111/1111/perc/piano/11111) Electroacoustic *''Sonnet Sonore'' (1985) 14 min. oboe and stereo electroacoustic *''Voyage'' (1986) 15 min. 4-channel electroacoustic *''Per Foramen Acus Transire'' (1987) 15 min. flute/bass flute and stereo electroacoustic *''Night-flowering ... not even sand – I'' (1989) 12 min. bassoon and electroacoustic *''Night-flowering ... not even sand – II'' (1990) 9 min. stereo electroacoustic *''Spangled'' (1996) 5 min. stereo electroacoustic *''Jardinages – I'' (2000) 6 min. electric guitar and tape *''Jardinages – II'' (2000) 6 min. stereo electroacoustic *''On Frogs'' (2000) 13 min. reciter, interactive electronics (3 players) *''Anasazi: Kokopeli I'' (2001) 11 min. amplified piccolo and electronics *''Xmix'' (2001) 12 min. stereo electroacoustic *''Chaotika'' (2001) 12 min. percussion and interactive electronics *''jem'' (2003) 3 min. 4-channel electroacoustic *''Wild Fruits: Prologue'' (2004) 16 min. 8-channel electroacoustic (alternate version with slides) *''Wild Fruits: Installation'' (2004) open duration keyboard controller, sampler, stereo electroacoustic *''Mashup: Derome vs Oliveros'' (2005) 7 min. stereo electroacoustic *''Wild Fruits 2: like a ragged flock, like pulverized jade'' (2006) 11 min. amplified

alto flute The alto flute is an instrument in the Western concert flute family, pitched below the standard C flute and the uncommon flûte d'amour. It is the third most common member of its family after the standard C flute and the piccolo. It is chara ...

, live electronics, 8-channel electracoustic *''blueBob (Dylan Remix)'' (2006) 5 min. stereo electroacoustic *''Ariel Fragments'' (2007) 17 min. SSSAAA choir, 8-channel electroacoustic *''pLayer8b'' (2008) 5 min. 8-channel electroacoustic *''re:Nude'' (2008) 4.5 min. stereo electroacoustic *''re:Nude:ty'' (2008) 1 min. stereo electroacoustic *''Wild Fruits 3: Chestnuts'' (2008) 13 min. 8-channel electroacoustic *''re:Reckoner'' (2009) 4.5 min. stereo electroacoustic *''Duol'' (2009) 7 min. violin, guitar, soundfiles *''Raindown (MegMix)'' (2009) 4.5 min. stereo electroacoustic Educational music *''Dance Set'' (2009) 8 min. two cellos, Grade 4 level Music theatre *''Scenes From a Theatre on Mars'' (1984) 15 min. (Text: James Harley, adapted from '' The Last Days of Mankind'' by Karl Kraus) 2 speaking/acting roles (1 male, 1 female), 2 cl (2nd doubles sax), tp/flugel, vn/vl, vc.

Affiliations

James Harley is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre, and a board member of the Canadian League of Composers. He is also a member of the American Composers Forum, the

Canadian Electroacoustic Community La Communauté électroacoustique canadienne (CEC; ''English'': The Canadian Electroacoustic Community) is Canada's national Electroacoustic music, electroacoustic / computer music / Sound art, sonic arts organization and is dedicated to promoting ...

, and the International Computer Music Association.

Selected performers

Arraymusic, Codes d'Accès, Composers' Orchestra, Continuum, Corey Hamm Marc Couroux, ECM, Hammerhead Consort, Kappa, Kore, Kovalis Duo, Duo Vira, Groundswell, Hammerhead Consort, Lafayette String Quartet, McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble, McGill Symphony Orchestra, Elizabeth McNutt, New Music Concerts, Patricia O'Callahan, Oshawa-Durham Symphony, Open Ears Festival,

Penderecki String Quartet The Penderecki String Quartet is a string quartet, founded in 1986, now based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. History The original members of the string quartet started in Poland as the New Szymanowski Quartet. In 1986 they won the Krzysztof Pende ...

, Polish Society for New Music, Brigitte Poulin, Prince George Symphony, Ben Reimer, SMCQ, Transmission, Trio Phoenix, Trio Fibonacci, Alain Trudel, University of Guelph Women's Chamber Choir, Vancouver Bach Choir, Ellen Waterman.

References

External links

Classical Composers Database entry

''Chaotika'' performance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harley, James 1959 births Living people People from Vernon, British Columbia 20th-century Canadian classical composers 21st-century Canadian classical composers Electroacoustic music composers Canadian male classical composers 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians