Róisín Adams: Banff Musician in Residence 2017
About Róisín
Róisín Adams is a Vancouver-based composer and pianist whose artistic interests lie in the intersection of composed and improvised music. Classically trained from a young age in Royal Conservatory of Music, Adams draws from many genres to inform her practice. She completed her studies in Contemporary/Jazz Keyboard at Vancouver Community College where she had the fortune of studying with Alan Matheson, Lisa Cay Miller, and François Houle and was named the winner of the 2013 Contemporary Competition, the Chris Gage Memorial Award, the Fred Bass Scholarship, and the Andres Alejandro Espinoza Memorial Scholarship. She writes and performs regularly with her instrumental jazz quartet, Hildegard's Ghost (consisting of harp, prepared piano, double bass and drums) and collaborates with artists from all disciplines including visual arts, poetry, puppetry, filmmaking and dance.
Wo[v]en // Wo[m]en
“Minimalist, iterative compositions remind me of ‘women’s work’ – repetitive, monotonous tasks such as knitting and cleaning that nevertheless sustain life”
-Ann Southam
In Wo[v]en // Wo[m]en, I honor the late pioneering feminist composer Ann Southam (1937-2010). The way in which she reflects traditional female roles in her music is the inspiration for this solo piano piece. Resembling her famous Glass Houses compositions, Wo[v]en // Wo[m]en is a vivacious, uplifting wash of repeated patterns that patiently reveal more just when one has attuned to the pattern. By utilizing form, repetitions and variations of sections, both hands weave in and out of highly patterned music to slowly reveal functionality of mundane, glory-less tasks. There is a 21st century twist in allowing lyricism to expand beyond fixed patterns. The music is patient yet dynamic.
Watch Róisín perform her original composition Wo[v]en // Wo[m]en here!
