What is the ISCM Canadian Section and how does it function?

The Canadian Section includes a President, a Vice-President, and an Administrator. Either the President or Vice-President acts as first delegate at the ISCM General Assembly; the other acts as second delegate. The section shares its budget year with the Canadian League of Composers (July to June) and is formed by regional representatives of the CLC. After every CLC biennial election, the current President of the Section retires, is replaced by the current Vice-President, and a new Vice-President is chosen by the CLC council, creating a total of four years of presence in the section for any individual involved. In the case that a President leaves before the end of his/her term, he/she is to be replaced for the rest of that period of time by the current Vice-President. A new Vice-President will immediately be chosen by the CLC council. The same applies if the Vice-President were to leave before the end of his/her term (CLC council would choose a new Vice-President). The ISCM Canadian Section can apply for different funding grants through the CLC; its budget is included in the CLC budget as a separate noted item. As much as possible, the Section’s President and Vice-President try to represent best the geo-cultural diversity of Canadian composers; one of them has some knowledge of both official languages.

What is the role of the Canadian Section?

The basic role of the section is to promote Canadian music on an international level, and to communicate the results of their actions to Canadian composers. The actions taken yearly (calendar year, not budget year) by the sections are at minimum:

• Organizing a jury to select 6 works as the ‘national submissions’ to the upcoming World New Music Days. This is done through a general call for works. The juries are composed of 3 or more Canadian composers chosen by the Section. Compositions submitted must be accompanied by a recording, and the composer must have secured the rights to publish the promotional, non-commercial CD.
• Publishing a promotional, non-commercial CD with the 6 selected works. If space allows, more works can be added if the jury agrees to do so at the time of making the list of the ‘national submissions’.
• Encouraging Canadian Composers to send ‘private submissions’ to each year’s WNMD organizers, by publicizing these calls for works through CLC Newsflashes and other means.
• Participating at the ISCM General Assembly, with at least one delegate—preferably 2 whenever this is possible, pursuant to budget, timing, and other considerations.
• Helping Canadian composers being performed at the WNMD by encouraging them to apply for travel grants, and, when budget allows, assisting them financially. This is often possible after the rest of our activities have been budgeted for, with any surplus funds in the yearly budget. The Section gives priority to composers whose works have been part of that year’s Canadian ‘national submissions’.
• Helping Canadian composers and music presenters establish contacts with their counterparts in other countries or regions, through their ISCM national sections or the relationships the Canadian Section has built in the past. This could potentially include facilitation of meetings, recommendation letters, sharing information on places to go for music projects and on possible sources for funding.
• Organizing, with partners, the WNMD Festival on Canadian soil whenever this is possible, and at minimum, every 55 years (55 is the number of national and regional sections at the time of writing).

The Canadian League of Composers has been the home of the Canadian Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) from 1953-56, and from 1981 to present. The current executive of the Canadian Section are:

Jim Hiscott, President, ISCM Canadian Section
Brian Current, Vice-President, ISCM Canadian Section

To contact the ISCM Canadian Section, please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

ISCM Canadian Section Announcement of Selected Works for the World Music Days 2012 in Belgium

The ISCM (International Society for Contemporary Music) Canadian Section is pleased to announce the composers and works selected to represent Canada for 2012. A committee consisting of Brian Current, Melissa Hui and Jim Hiscott met recently in Toronto and selected six works as Canada’s official submission to the international jury of the 2012 World Music Days. These works will be featured on the annual ISCM Canadian Section CD, which will be handed out to presenters and interpreters from countries around the world. World Music Days 2012 in Belgium.

ISCM Canadian Section Selected Works (no order of preference*)

David Berezan
buoy (electroacoustic)

Gabriel Dharmoo
(improviser)

Gilles Gobeil
Castalie (electroacoustic)

Heather Hindman
Two and a Half Miniatures (piano solo)

Nicole Lizée
Dystopia Suite (percussion quartet)

Rita Ueda
as the snowflakes return to the sky (string orchestra)

The ISCM Canadian Section is pleased to be associated with the above works, and we look forward to hosting our selected composers at the World Music Days Festival 2012 in Belgium.

For more information on ISCM activities, and on the artists and their works, please review the websites listed below and/or contact the ISCM Canadian Section representatives. At least one of the six works included in our national submission will be performed during the festival (the international jury can, however, select more than one of these works); we will endeavour to promote and disseminate all of these works with the hope that they will receive performances in Canada and abroad, in addition to the eventual World Music Days performance and annual ISCM Canadian Section CD printing.

Sincerely,

Jim Hiscott

Jim Hiscott, President, ISCM Canadian Section (non-voting Committee Chair)
Brian Current, Vice-President, ISCM Canadian Section

*please note that the committee identified several other high-quality works that unfortunately were not selected due to the limitations imposed on each ISCM country’s submission.

IMPORTANT: Composers whose works were not selected by the Canadian Section, and composers who would still like to apply on a private basis are welcome to submit directly to the international jury (fee applies for individual submissions). Deadline for individual submissions: August 1 2011

**For more detailed information provided by the festival organizers, visit:
ISCM WMD 2012 call for works: http://www.worldmusicdays2012.be/eng/callForWorks.htm

Information:
For additional information specific to the ISCM Canadian Section: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For information on the ISCM and the World Music Days 2012 visit:
http://www.worldmusicdays2012.be
www.iscm.org
www.composition.org

ISCM Canadian Section contact:
Jim Hiscott : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
20 St. Joseph St. Toronto, ON M4Y 1J9

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. The ISCM Canadian Section is administered by an elected Council member of the Canadian League of Composers.

Annonce des oeuvres selectionnees par la Section canadienne de la SIMC pour les Journees mondiales de la musique 2012 en Belgique

La Section canadienne de la SIMC (Société internationale pour la musique contemporaine) est heureuse d’annoncer les compositeurs et les œuvres qui représenteront le Canada en 2012. Un comité formé de Brian Current, Melissa Hui et Jim Hiscott s’est réuni récemment à Toronto et a choisi six compositions pour représenter le Canada au jury international des Journées mondiales de la musique 2012. Les œuvres retenues seront également incluses sur le CD promotionnel de la Section canadienne qui sera mis à la disposition, notamment, des présentateurs et des interprètes.

Les Journées mondiales de la musique 2012 en Belgique Œuvres sélectionnées par la Section canadienne de la SIMC (sans ordre de préférence*)

David Berezan
buoy (électroacoustique)

Gabriel Dharmoo
(improvisateur)

Gilles Gobeil
Castalie (électroacoustique)

Heather Hindman
Two and a Half Miniatures (piano solo)

Nicole Lizée
Dystopia Suite (quatuor de percussions)

Rita Ueda
as the snowflakes return to the sky (orchestre à cordes)

La Section canadienne de la SIMC est heureuse d’être associée aux œuvres ci-dessus, et il nous fera grand plaisir de recevoir nos compositeurs sélectionnés à l’édition 2012 des Journées mondiales de la musique. Pour plus de renseignements sur les activités de la SIMC, sur les artistes et leurs œuvres, veuillez visiter les sites Web énumérés ci-après ou contacter les représentants de la Section canadienne de la SIMC. Au moins une de ces oeuvres sélectionnées sera présentée en public lors du festival (le jury international peut cependant choisir plus d'une de nos suggestions); nous nous efforcerons toutefois de promouvoir et de diffuser toutes ces œuvres dans l’espoir qu’elles seront exécutées au Canada et à l’étranger, en plus d’être possiblement présentées aux Journées mondiales de la musique, et d’être gravées sur notre CD annuel.

Avec mes meilleures salutations,

Jim Hiscott

Jim Hiscott, président, Section canadienne de la SIMC (président du comité non votant)
Brian Current, vice-président, Section canadienne de la SIMC

* Veuillez noter que le comité a identifié plusieurs autres compositions de haute qualité qui, malheureusement, n’ont pas été sélectionnées à cause des limites imposées aux soumissions présentées par chaque pays membre de la SIMC.

IMPORTANT: Les compositeurs dont l’oeuvre n’a pas été retenue par la Section canadienne ou qui aimeraient encore soumettre une composition peuvent le faire directement via le jury de sélection international (un tarif s’applique pour les soumissions individuelles). La date de tombée pour les soumissions individuelles est : le 1 aout 2011

Pour plus de renseignements, fournis par les organisateurs du festival, visitez (en Anglais): les Journées mondiales de la musique 2012 en Belgique appel d'oeuvres: http://www.worldmusicdays2012.be/fr/callForWorks.htm site du festival: http://www.worldmusicdays2012.be

Information
Pour plus d’information spécifique à la Section canadienne de la SIMC : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Pour des renseignements sur la SIMC et les Journées mondiales de la musique 2012, visitez: www.worldmusicdays2012.be
www.iscm.org
www.composition.org