Nina C. Young

Composer and Sound Artist

November 3, 2011:


The first N SEME (National Student Electronic Music Event) was a great success thanks to Evan Combs and Peabody Conservatory's Computer Music Department!

N SEME, the brain child of Evan Combs, was created by and for students, aiming to bring together the nation's composers and performers currently studying in the ever-growing field of electronic music. The conference took place over two days. November 2nd consisted of rehearsals and two concerts in Griswold Hall (5:30pm and 8:30pm). Austin Boyer performed Chatter on the 5:30pm concert. You can watch the performance on youtube.

On November 3rd I was invited to give a lecture on the use of electronics in my music. The lecture was titled: "What's the sound source? Using source material and spatialization as a compositional solution to integrating instrumental writing with electronics."


July 31, 2011:


I just moved from Montreal to New York City to begin my DMA in music composition at Columbia University.


July 6, 2011:


Hosts Jaris Saitis and Theo Mathien of “Where’s the beat” (Montreal radio station CKUT 90.3FM invited composers Terri Hron, Haralabos [ Harry ] Stafylakis, and me to discuss their music and views. You can listen to the two hour show here: http://archives.ckut.ca/128/20110706.09.00-11.00.mp3 (The show actually beings at 31:26 and the interview at 39:12).


June 1, 2011:


The International Alliance of Women in Music (IAWM) selected Kashchei to receive the Pauline Oliveros Prize in their 2011 Search for New Music. Press Release


April 14, 2011:


McGill University graduate students David Adamcyk, Marlon Schumacher, Anthony Tan, and Nina C. Young produced Clavisphere:

The Clavisphere places the audience within a multi-dimensional aura of the piano. Within this environment, we encourage the audience to experience an immersive relationship between space, sound and musical history. For over 600 years, the clavier has undergone tremendous cultural and technological transformations. Clavisphere places the audience within this context, deconstructing the piano not just from the point of view of its sonority but also its mechanics, associated performance gestures and its ability to speak to our memories, and cultural experiences. Each piece on the program takes its own point of view of the piano, providing further insight into an instrument that has not only become a tool for musical expression but also as a symbol for cultural experience.



Clavisphere was performed in April 14, 7:30pm, in the McGill MMR as part of the Live@CIRMMT Performance Series.

The program was as follows:

Prevue (2011) 2' de/by Anthony Tan  (Création / Premiere)
    • Pour sons fixés / For fixed media
  • Kolokol (2010) 11' de/by Nina C. Young
    • Pour deux pianos et électronique / For two pianos and electronics
      • Xenia Pestova et/and Julia Den Boer, piano
  • Revue (2011) 3' de/by Anthony Tan  (Création / Premiere)
    • Pour sons fixés / For fixed media
  • Ab-Tasten (2011) 10' de/by Marlon Schumacher  (Création / Premiere)
    • Pour disklavier et électronique / For disklavier and electronics
  • Residue (2011) 3' de/by Anthony Tan  (Création / Premiere)
    • Pour sons fixés / For fixed media
  • Re/Pose (2011) 14' de/by Anthony Tan  (Création / Premiere)
    • Xenia Pestova et Julia Den Boer, piano
    • Ben Duinker, percussion
ENTR'ACTE / INTERVAL
  • Cheval Mémoire (2011) 30' de/by David Adamcyk  (Création / Premiere)
    • Pour solo piano, électroniques et installation / For solo piano, electronics and installation
      • Pascale Roy, piano



Nina C. Young - Kolokol
Nina C. Young - Kolokol

April 5, 2011:


Stafylakis & Young presented the 2011 version of Designs in Harmony. This consisted of two concerts - one in Cambridge, MA on March 31, 2011 at the LilyPad and a similar concert in Montreal on April 5, 2011 in Clara Lichenstein Hall. The concert featured chamber music by composers Ramon Castillo, Alexandra Fol, Michal Novotny, Haralabos [ Harry ] Stafylakis, and Nina C. Young. Performers included Thomas Carr (piano), Ramon Castillo (Ensemble Bleep Blop), Scott Chancey (viola), Alexandra Fol (piano), Amy Hillis (violin), Amy Horvey (trumpet), Toby Kuhn (cello), Hyun-Jung Kwon (flute), Pei-Yeh Tsai (piano), Eli Weinberger (cello), and Chris Whitley (violin). Amy Horvey premiered Nina's Chatter for trumpet and electronics. More details can be found at http://www.designsinharmony.org

February 18, 2011:


Moon in the Water, for mezzo-soprano and chamber wind ensemble, was premiered by the Orkest de ereprijs at their 2011 Young Composers Meeting (YCM) in the Netherlands. VPRO radio featured a little blurb on their blog: http://blog.jongklassiek.radio4.nl/?p=1168

February 8, 2011:


Kashchei, for nine instruments and electronics, was premiered at McGill University on the Expanded Musical Practice concert of the Live@CIRMMT Performance Series. The concert featured works by Denys Bouliane, Sean Ferguson, Philippe Leroux, and Nina C. Young. The concert was recorded by the CBC and webcast by McGill. You can listen to the CBC recording here: http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/cod/concerts/20110208cirmm Below are some photos from the dress rehearsal:

Nina C. Young - Kashchei
Nina C. Young - Kashchei
Nina C. Young - Kashchei

January 28, 2011


Kolokol was selected for performance at the 2011 SEAMUS Conference in Miami, Florida. The work was performed on January 22, 2011 with a most excellent interpretation by New York based, Canadian pianists Yuxi Qin and Devon Joiner.
Nina C. Young - composer