Still There by Matthew Ricketts, first-place winner of the 2021 Graham Sommer Competition
Performed by The Graham Sommer Trio on September 26, 2021 in Pollack Hall, Montreal

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The Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers encourages the creation of new Canadian chamber music by up-and-coming composers. The competition recognizes works for chamber music formations, including piano, that have the potential to engage a wide audience and become part of the standard repertoire.

This national competition is administered by McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The jury is made up of international and Canadian composers, Canadian musicians, and seasoned chamber music concert-goers.

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ABOUT MATTHEW RICKETTS
Matthew Ricketts (b. 1986, British Columbia) is a Canadian composer currently based in NYC. His music moves from extremes of presence and absence, from clamor to quietude, at once reticent and flamboyant. Matthew’s music has been noted for its “effervescent and at times prickly sounds” and “hypnotically churning exploration of melody” (ICareIfYouListen) as well as its “tart harmonies and perky sputterings” (The New York Times). He is a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow and a 2020 Gaudeamus Prize nominee.

His works have been performed internationally by JACK Quartet, Mivos Quartet, Flux Quartet, the Fromm Players, Quatuor Bozzini; vocalists Margot Rood, Ellen Wieser, Tony Arnold, Sharon Harms and Ekmeles; Yarn/Wire, le NEM, Wet Ink, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players, Ensemble Paramirabo, Argento Ensemble, Talea Ensemble; the Aspen Philharmonic (Robert Spano, cond.), Esprit Orchestra (Alex Pauk, cond.), the Minnesota Orchestra (Osmo Vänskä, cond.) and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (Kent Nagano, cond.).

Matthew is the recipient of fellowships from Civitella Ranieri (2020), the MacDowell Colony (2019), the Tanglewood Music Center (2018) and the Aspen Music Festival (2017), in addition to the 2016 Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund Prize, the 2016 Jacob Druckman Prize, the 2016 Mivos/Kanter Prize, the 2015 Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award, a 2013 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award and eight prizes in the SOCAN Foundation’s Awards for Young Composers.

Matthew holds degrees from McGill University (B.Mus. 2009) and Columbia University (DMA 2017). Matthew’s principal mentors include Brian Cherney, John Rea, Chris Paul Harman, George Lewis and Fred Lerdahl. He is currently a Core Lecturer at Columbia University.

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The Schulich School of Music of McGill University is located in downtown Montreal, one of Canada's most vibrant and international cities. We're home to a diverse community of performers, composers, music theorists, musicologists, educators, scientists and engineers. We offer more than 45 undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and present hundreds of public events each year.

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L'école de musique Schulich est située au centre-ville de Montréal, l'une des villes les plus vivante et cosmopolite du Canada. Nous sommes les hôtes d'une grande communauté composée de musiciens, de compositeurs, de théoriciens, de musicologues, d'éducateurs, de scientifiques et d'innovateurs. Nous offrons plus de 45 programmes d'études supérieures et professionelles. Chaque année, nous présentons des centaines d'événements public mettant en scène toute la diversité de notre communauté.