Tobin David Stokes (born 1966) is a Canadian composer and theatre creator, notable for his work in opera, theatre, choral music and television. His works have been performed by New York City Opera, Long Beach Opera, City Opera of Vancouver, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, and the Victoria Symphony. He also composes for television, including scores for documentaries by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, ABC, and PBS.

Life and career

Stokes was born in North Vancouver,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. He studied the piano from the age of three and became a charter member of the Powell River Boy's Choir at age seven, performing, competing and touring internationally with them until he was fourteen. He holds a BMus in percussion from the University of Victoria and an MFA in creative writing from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

. Stokes was resident composer at the biannual International Choral Kathaumixw Festival in Powell River, British Columbia, B.C. from 1994 to 2014. He was resident composer with the Victoria Symphony from 2005 to 2008, at the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

, and with the Urban Youth Choir Festival in Örebro, Sweden from 2011 to 2012. Stokes has composed several operas: ''Fallujah'', with libretto by Heather Raffo, '' Pauline'', with libretto by

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

,'' Vancouver Sun'' (11 March 2008)
"Atwood pens opera piece about Vancouver first nations writer-performer"
. Retrieved 1 July 2014.

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

(23 May 2014)
"Margaret Atwood's opera debut Pauline opens in Vancouver"
Retrieved 1 July 2014. ''The Vinedressers'', and ''Rattenbury''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Tobin 1966 births Canadian composers Canadian male composers People from North Vancouver Musicians from British Columbia Living people University of Victoria alumni