Richard Covey (composer)

Richard Covey (composer)
Richard Covey (born May 28, 1979) is a Canadian composer who is currently a sessional instructor in the Department of Music at the University of Prince Edward Island.
Biography
Canadian composer Richard Covey was born in Brockville, Ontario, Canada on May 28, 1979. Since 2006 he has resided in Prince Edward Island, where he teaches theory and composition in the Music Department at UPEI, and also performs as a pianist with the contemporary chamber music ensemble eklektikos and other musicians. As a professional composer, Covey has received several commissions, and his works have been performed by orchestras such as Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, PEI Symphony Orchestra; wind ensembles such as Charlottetown Rural High School Senior Concert Band, Queen Charlotte Intermediate School Band, UPEI Wind Symphony; chamber ensembles such as eklektikos and the Gryphon Trio; and choirs such as Sirens. His Echoes was chosen as the required work for UBC’s 2012 Knigge Piano Competition.
In 2017, Covey was one of four Atlantic Canadian composers commissioned by the PEI Symphony Orchestra to create a collaborative work, Cantata for Canada 150, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Each composer was asked to set their music to poetry written by one of four young PEI students chosen through a provincial poetry contest. The poem Covey set was titled 'As I Walk'. Created with partial funding from the Canadian federal government, the new work received its premiere on November 19, 2017.
As an educator, Richard Covey's work extends beyond the university and into the community. In 2016, for example, Covey worked with the Grade 8 band students at Queen Charlotte Intermediate School, in Charlottetown, PEI, to create a new work based on the anti-bullying themes behind the school’s new motto, “Reflect, respect, connect”. The project, made possible through an ArtsSmarts grant, allowed Covey to guide the students through a musical exploration of the themes of their motto, which culminated in a public performance of their collaborative composition.
Covey is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre.
Education
B.Mus., Wilfrid Laurier University (Jamie Parker, piano; Glenn Buhr, composition)
M.Mus., University of British Columbia (Stephen Chatman, composition)
D.M.A., University of British Columbia (Dorothy Chang, Keith Hamel, composition)
Compositions
Solo works
In the Groove (piano) 2016
Over the Sand Dunes (piano) 2016
The Moment When (alto saxophone) 2013
Echoes (piano) 2012
Echoes I: Of Time and Tone (piano) 2011
Discord (flute) 2005 - Premiered by eklektikos on April 9, 2005.
Wedding March (organ)
Wedding March No. 2 (piano) 2012
Piano Sonata No. 1
Berceuse (piano)
Chamber works
Through Fire and Water (violin, piano) 2017
Give Voice (string orchestra) 2015
Dance of the Summer Wind (clarinet, piano) 2015
This Broken Chain (brass quintet) 2014
Brevis Lux (string orchestra version) 2013
Improvvisando (trombone, piano) 2010 - Premiered by eklektikos on September 27, 2010.
Te Deum (flute, clarinet, piano) 2010 - Premiered by eklektikos on September 27, 2010.
Songs on the Waves (flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, piano) 2007 - Premiered by eklektikos on July 15, 2007.
Come Ye Washed (flute, cello) 2007
Homage (woodwind quintet) 2007
Four Snapshots (clarinet, violin, cello, percussion, piano)
Six Miniatures for Brass Quintet
Three Hymns (2 flutes)
Piano Trio No. 1
Fantasia (trombone, piano)
Fugue No. 1 (string quartet)
Fugue No. 2 (string quartet)
Vocal works
Night Songs (songs for mezzo-soprano, in progress) 2017
The Winter Snow (SATB) 2015
Lost Voices (SSA) 2014 - Premiered by Sirens Choir on April 28, 2014.
Brevis Lux (SATB) 2013
Still (voice, piano) 2013
Lament and Hope (bass/baritone voice, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, violin, cello, bass, percussion, piano)
The Most of It (alto voice, piano)
Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience (2 sopranos, flute, cello, piano)
Psalm 54 (SATB, organ/piano)
Born in Bethlehem (SSA)
Christmas Carol (SSA)
Barbara Allen (English Folksong)
Works for large ensemble
As I Walk (part of Cantata for Canada 150) 2017 - Commissioned by the PEI Symphony Orchestra. Premiered on February 1, 2015.
Respect, Reflect, Connect (junior high school band) 2016 - Premiered by Queen Charlotte Intermediate School Band.
Blue Waves, Yellow Sun (wind symphony) 2016
Black Night and Dreams of White (wind symphony) 2015
Abegweit, Symphony for an Island (orchestra, folk fiddle) 2014 - Commissioned by the PEI Symphony Orchestra. Premiered on February 1, 2015.
The Place We Call Home (orchestra, soprano voice) 2014
Canadian Soundscape (orchestra) 2014
The Red Island Awakes (wind symphony) 2014 - Premiered by Charlottetown Rural High School Senior Concert Band on May 22, 2014.
ARISE (orchestra) 2013 - Premiered by the PEI Symphony on February 10, 2013.
Maestoso (wind symphony) 2012
In Three (orchestra) 2007
Symphonic Poem (orchestra)
References
1979 births
Living people
People from Brockville
Canadian classical composers
Wilfrid Laurier University alumni
University of British Columbia School of Music alumni