and everything that
sings in the carbon of stone and bone
like a page of love, wind-lost from a hand, unread.
– Anne Michaels, ‘There Is No City That Does Not Dream’ (from Skin Divers)
“a radiant and openhearted
musical language”
Cecilia Livingston specializes in music for voice. She is composer-in-residence at the Canadian Opera Company (2022-) and was composer-in-residence at Glyndebourne (2019-2022). Her music is driven by melody, mixing styles to create work that is lyrical and unsettling.
Cecilia’s residencies at the COC and Glyndebourne build on her two-year fellowship at The American Opera Project in New York. Her music has been heard at Glyndebourne, Teatro Colón, Teatro Carlo Felice, Bang on a Can’s summer festival, Toronto’s Nuit Blanche festival, in recital at Koerner Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Barbican, and the Kennedy Center, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Tafelmusik, and Soundstreams, and is available on recording from Deutsche Grammophon.
“[music that asks] slow burning, sometimes fiery questions”
Current projects include an orchestral song cycle with Orange Prize winning poet Anne Michaels and new work for the Canadian Opera Company. Her creative work is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, and SOCAN Foundation.
In the summer of 2022 Cecilia joined the faculty at the Banff Centre’s Opera in the 21st Century program, and she is Vice-President of the Canadian League of Composers and an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre.
She was a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Postdoctoral Fellow in Music at King's College London and her articles and reviews have appeared in Tempo, the Cambridge Opera Journal, The Opera Quarterly, and forthcoming in The Cambridge Companion to Composition. She has given papers on contemporary opera at the Royal Musical Association, American Musicological Society, and Modern Language Association (MLA) annual conferences; in 2024 she was appointed to the MLA Forum Executive Committee on Opera and Musical Performance for a five-year term. She holds a doctorate in composition from the University of Toronto, where she was awarded the Theodoros Mirkopoulos Fellowship in Composition.
Cecilia is represented by Stratagem Artists in New York.
“this vast and curious creative mind”
“Cecilia Livingston, a female composer holding space in a male-dominated field”
courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon
‘Paula Modersohn-Becker’
from Breath Alone
photo by Cylla von Tiedemann
mark
2023
viola, baritone, chorus, percussion, and celeste
40’
Soundstreams
text by Duncan McFarlane
dir. Tim Albery, cond. David Fallis
Matisse
hyacinth: songs of the Minotaur
2023
song cycle for soprano/mezzo and piano
15’
SongFest
Laura Strickling, soprano; Shawn Chang, piano
text by Duncan McFarlane
image by Dog and Pony Studio
luna premit
2023
song cycle for high voice and piano
20’
Canadian Art Song Project
Lawrence Wiliford, tenor; Steven Philcox, piano
text by Anne Michaels and Duncan McFarlane
image by Natalie Orendain
Pay the Piper
2022
opera
Glyndebourne, with Psappha
dir. Stephen Langridge
winner, Best Opera, RESEO Youth Music Awards
photo by Alaina Viau
Singing Only Softly
2019; film 2024
chamber opera
with Loose Tea Music Theatre and Musique 3 Femmes
2020 Dora Mavor Moore Awards nominee
Outstanding New Opera
Capture
2022
for chorus and cello, 20’
a retelling of The Unicorn Tapestries
text by Duncan McFarlane
Fountain School of the Performing Arts, Dalhousie University
Garden of Vanished Pleasures
2021
for 2 sopranos, countertenor, mezzo, chamber ensemble
75’
devised and directed by Tim Albery
Soundstreams
Music
“haunting... eerily beautiful”
Calendar
2024, May 15
Toronto, Canada
Simone Osborne in recital
Canadian Opera Company Concert Series, Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre
Presented by TD Bank Group
2024, May 1
Hamilton, Canada
Noyade
Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Gemma New
2024, April 15
Buenos Aires, Argentina
orch. Teatro Colón, cond. Marcelo Ayub
live and worldwide broadcast
Mamá Húngara with Deutsche Grammophon for Stage+
2024, April 13
Bilbao, Spain
Penelope, Moon
Emily D’Angelo, mezzo; Sophia Muñoz, piano
Sociedad Filarmónica
2024, March 10-24
New Brunswick, Canada
Kalypso
Clare Lowe, soprano; Maryse Gallant, piano
tour, Jeunesses Musicales Canada
2024, March 8
Toronto, Canada
guest lecture, University of Toronto ‘Lives in Music’ series
2024, March 3
Manchester, UK
Paula, from Breath Alone
Hera Hyesang Park, soprano; Bretton Brown, piano
Manchester Song Festival 2024
2024, March 1
London, UK
Paula, from Breath Alone
Hera Hyesang Park, soprano; Bretton Brown, piano
Milton Court Concert Hall, Barbican
2024, February 25
Somerset, UK
Paula, from Breath Alone
2024, February 23
Toronto, Canada
Gone With the Winds: Cecilia Livingston with Mozart and Dvorak
Canadian Opera Company Concert Series, Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre
Presented by TD Bank Group
2024, February 11
Kingston, Canada
Breath Alone
text by Anne Michaels
Rachel Krehm, soprano; Kingston Symphony, cond. Evan Mitchell
2024, February
worldwide
Paula, from Breath Alone
text by Anne Michaels
’Breathe’, Deutsche Grammophon
Hera Hyesang Park, soprano
Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice, cond. Jochen Rieder
2024, January 9
New York, USA
Garden of Vanished Pleasures
dir. Tim Albery, Soundstreams
OPERA America New Works Forum
Association for Opera in Canada Showcase
“Creators in Concert: Canadian New Works”
Marc A. Scorca Hall, OPERA America’s National Opera Centre
2023, December 13-14
Vancouver, Canada
luna premit
text by Duncan McFarlane
Asitha Tennekoon, tenor; Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa, piano
Music on Main
2023, December 11
Chicago, USA
hyacinth
text by Duncan McFarlane
Laura Strickling, soprano; Daniel Schlosberg, piano
Guarneri Hall
2023, December 6
New York, NY
hyacinth
text by Duncan McFarlane
Laura Strickling, soprano; Daniel Schlosberg, piano
Washing Square Contemporary Music Society
2023, December 5
Toronto, Canada
Songs of Cecilia Livingston
recital, featuring artists of the COC Ensemble Studio
Canadian Opera Company Concert Series, Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre
Presented by TD Bank Group
2023, November 28
Winston-Salem, NC, USA
2023, November 22, 24, 25
Toronto, Canada
Die Lorelei (Clara Schumann, arr. Cecilia Livingston)
Emily D’Angelo, mezzo
Toronto Symphony Orchestra, cond. David Robertson
2023, November 19
Fredericton, NB, Canada
Kalypso, Penelope
Christina Haldane, soprano; Carl Gionet, piano
University of New Brunswick Contemporary Music Festival
2023, November 10-11
Toronto, Canada
mark
text by Duncan McFarlane
Steven Dann, viola; Alex Samaras, voice
Ryan Scott, percussion; Gregory Oh, celeste
Choir 21, cond. David Fallis
Tim Albery, director
Soundstreams
2023, November 4
Watertown, MA, USA
hyacinth
text by Duncan McFarlane
Jessica Tunick Berens, soprano; Trevor Berens, piano
Sonic Liberation Players
2023, October 30
Toronto, Canada
Mark Rothko & Music: Morton Feldman & Cecilia Livingston
Soundstreams’ TD Encounters Series, in collaboration with Koffler Arts
with Matthew Jocelyn, Lawrence Cherney, Tim Albery, and Cecilia Livingston
register here
2023, October 27
Vancouver, Canada
2023, September 21
Ottawa, Canada
arrangements for voice and orchestra of Clara Schumann’s lieder
National Arts Centre Orchestra, cond. Alexander Shelley
with Midori Marsh, soprano and Alex Hetherington, mezzo
2023, September 16
Picton, Canada
Two Dreams
Jonelle Sills, soprano
Viano Quartet, 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition winners
Prince Edward County Chamber Music Festival
2023, September 16
Toronto, Canada
luna premit
text by Anne Michaels and Duncan McFarlane
Rachel Krehm, soprano; Janelle Fung, piano
Canzona Chamber Players
2023, August 16
AmHerst Island, Canada
Moon
Jenna Simeonov, piano, in recital with Claire de Sévigné and Aviva Fortunata
Waterside Summer Series 2023
2023, August 3
Bratislava, Slovakia
Penelope, Moon
Emily D’Angelo, mezzo; Sophia Muñoz, piano
Viva Musica! Festival, Slovak National Gallery
2023, July 15
Toronto, Canada
Penelope
Michaela Kelly, soprano
’Cornerstones: Mozart, Beethoven & Strauss’
Toronto Summer Music
2023, June 14
Nashville, TN, USA
hyacinth: songs of the Minotaur
song cycle for soprano and piano (14’)
text by Duncan McFarlane
Laura Strickling, soprano; Shawn Chang, piano
SongFest Sorel commission
2023, June 10
Toronto, Canada
luna premit
text by Anne Michaels and Duncan McFarlane
Lawrence Wiliford, tenor; Steven Philcox, piano
Canadian Art Song Project with Concerts @ 100
2023, June 1
Brooklyn, NYC, USA
Penelope
Sarah Nelson Craft, mezzo; Mila Henry, piano
Brooklyn Art Song Society
2023, May 27
Toronto, Canada
“The Labours of Love: Resurrecting Haydn’s Orfeo”
symposium, University of Toronto
2023, May 7
Toronto, Canada
luna premit
song cycle for tenor and piano (20’)
text by Anne Michaels and Duncan McFarlane
commissioned by Linda and Michael Hutcheon
Lawrence Wiliford, tenor; Steven Philcox, piano
Canadian Art Song Project with Syrinx Concerts, Heliconian Hall
2023, April 21
Brandon, MB, Canada
Lullabies, Mercy, Two Dreams
Rebecca Cuddy, mezzo; Craig Terry, piano
Eckhardt-Grammatté Competition Gala Concert
Lorne Watson Recital Hall
2023, April 1
Vancouver, Canada
Three Memories for Piano
Michael Park, piano
Erato Ensemble Solo Series, Annex Performing Arts Theatre
2023, April-May
print / online
Cover feature, La Scena Musicale magazine, Vol. 28 No. 6. PDF edition here.
2023, March 8
Vancouver, Canada / online
2023, March 3
New York, USA
Breath Alone, for soprano and piano (20’)
text by Anne Michaels
Hera Hyesang Park, soprano; Katelan Trân Terrell, piano
’Songs of Her’, Carnegie Hall
2023, March 3
Sackville, NB, Canada
Penelope
Christina Raphaëlle Haldane, soprano; Carl Philippe Gionet, piano
Collegia Musica, Mount Allison University
2023, February 28
Barcelona, Spain
Penelope, Moon
Emily D’Angelo, mezzo; Sophia Muñoz, piano
L’Auditori Barcelona
2023, February 22
Toronto, Canada
Penelope, Moon
Emily D’Angelo, mezzo; Sophia Muñoz, piano
Koerner Hall, Power Corporation of Canada Vocal Concerts Series
guest lecture, University of Toronto ‘Lives in Music’ series
“Room to Fail or Doomed to Fail?
How misunderstandings of creative labor in opera undermine new works.”
Modern Language Association convention, 2023
mentor, Canadian Art Song Project
Chung-Wai Chow and John Wright Art Song Mentorship Program for Composers, 2023-2024
Words
“Nothing New Under the Sun: Composition as Adaptation,” The Cambridge Companion to Composition, ed. Toby Young. June 2024.
Interview: ‘Soundstreams present The Bright Divide’, Foyer, Art Gallery of Ontario (Oct. 2023)
Cover feature, La Scena Musicale magazine, Vol. 28 No. 6 (Apr-May 2023), pg. 22-24. Online here.
Feature profile, Opera Canada magazine, Vol. 63 No. 4 (Spring 2023), pg. 26-29.
Artist talk, University of Toronto ‘Lives in Music’ series
“Room to Fail or Doomed to Fail? How misunderstandings of creative labor in opera undermine new works.” Modern Language Association convention, 2023
BBC Music Magazine, ‘Music to My Ears’, Feb. 2022 issue
Contact
Stratagem Artist Management, LLC.
New York, NY USA
info@stratagemartists.com
tel. 646.847.9924
Justin Werner
Founder and President
jwerner@stratagemartists.com
Rebecca Townsend
Artist Manager
rtownsend@stratagemartists.com