new work, Canadian Opera Company
details to be announced

Parélios (2026)
80’00
libretto by Duncan McFarlane
for Opera 5 and TorQ Percussion Quartet

• soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone; SATB chorus; 4 percussion

Fall River, the legend of Lizzie Borden (2026)
80’00
libretto by Michael Patrick Albano
for the University of Toronto Faculty of Music

with the generous support of Denton Creighton and Kristine Vikmanis and the Roger D. Moore Distinguished Visitor in Composition Fund at the Faculty of Music

• 2 sopranos, 2 mezzos, 1-2 tenors, 1-2 baritones; SATB chorus

• 1.1.1.1 | 1.0.1.0 | 2 perc | pno | string quintet (1.1.1.1.1)

Pay the Piper (2022)
65’00
based on the Pied Piper of Hamelin
libretto by Hazel Gould
for Glyndebourne
co-created with Anna Appleby, Ailie Robertson, and Ninfea Cruttwell-Read

• soprano, mezzo, bass-baritone, child soprano/soubrette; youth chorus (SSSAB)

• fl/picc, cl/b.cl, perc, pno, vln, vc

Freud / Jung (2016)
25’00
chamber opera (soprano, tenor, bass-baritone, piano)
libretto by Duncan McFarlane
for The American Opera Project

Masque
30’00
libretto by Duncan McFarlane, from Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘Masque of the Red Death’
for Opera 5 and the Kingston Symphony

orchestra, choir, and soloists (2015)

• soprano, tenor, 2 baritones, SATB chorus (including mezzo solo)

• 2/Picc. 2/E.Hn. 2/Eb Cl. 2 | 4.3.3.1 | timp + 2 | pno | str

chamber orchestra, choir, and soloists (2013)

• soprano, tenor, 2 baritones, SATB chorus (including mezzo solo)

• 1.0.1.0 | 0.0.0.0 | 1 perc | pno | str quartet

Four Scenes of Loss (2013)
30’00
opera scenes
libretti by Nicolas Billon, David Yee, Morris Panych, and Julie Tepperman
for Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist Laboratory (LibLab)

• soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, piano

Breath Alone (2024)
soprano/mezzo and orchestra
25’00
text by Anne Michaels, on the lives of artists Eva Hesse, Nelly Sachs, and Paula Modersohn-Becker

• 2/Picc.2.2.2/contra | 4.3.3.1 | timp+2 | hp | sop/mezzo | str

Die gute Nacht, die ich dir sage and Die Lorelei (2023)
mezzo and orchestra
5’00
Clara Schumann, arr. Livingston
for the National Arts Centre Orchestra

• 2.2.2.2 | 4.1.1.0 | timp+1 | sop/mezzo | str

Paula Modersohn-Becker from Breath Alone (2023)
soprano/mezzo and chamber orchestra
7’30
text by Anne Michaels, on the life of artist Paula Modersohn-Becker
for Hera Hyesang Park and Deutsche Grammophon
listen on Spotify

• 1.1.1.1 | 1.0.0.0 | 2 perc | hp | sop/mezzo | str quintet

mark (2023)
viola, baritone, SATB choir, percussion, and celeste
40’00
text by Duncan McFarlane, on the art of Mark Rothko and the Rothko Chapel
for Soundstreams

Leap of the Heart (2017)
miniature for orchestra
2’00
for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Kingston Symphony

• 2.2.2.2 | 4.2.3.1 | timp + 2 | str

Masque (2015)
opera for orchestra, choir, and soloists (see Opera, above)
30’00
libretto by Duncan McFarlane, from Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘Masque of the Red Death’

• 2/Picc. 2/E.Hn. 2/Eb Cl. 2 | 4.3.3.1 | timp + 2 | pno | str

Noyade (2014)
chamber orchestra
8’00
for Bang On a Can's Summer Music Festival

• 2/Picc.0.2/BCl.0 | 0.0.0.0 | 2 perc | pno | gtr | str quartet

Starve (2013, rev. 2018)
string orchestra
9’00
for the Canadian Contemporary Music Workshop

• min. 3.3.2.2.1

After the Wind (2025)
string quartet
5’00
for the New Orford String Quartet

Fanfare (2022)
horn quartet
3’00
for Glyndebourne and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, on Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers

Gone with the Winds (2020)
wind sextet (2 clarinets, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons)
3’30
for Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra

Sea Glass (2020)
solo piano
1’00
for Jani Parsons and Latitude 49
listen on Spotify

Flay (2016)
soprano, piano, percussion
8’00
text by Duncan McFarlane
for Soundstreams

Strange Flesh (2016)
soprano/mezzo, violin, cello, percussion
10’00
text by Duncan McFarlane, on the art of Alberto Burri
for Thin Edge New Music Collective

Mercy (2015)
soprano/mezzo, viola, cello, piano
5’45
text by Duncan McFarlane
(originally for soprano/mezzo and piano, see below)

Troy (2014)
four vibraphones
7’00
for Bang On a Can's Summer Music Festival, on the art of Anselm Kiefer

Light (2014)
violin, vibraphone, piano
3’30
for Bang On a Can's Summer Music Festival

Two Dreams (2013)
soprano and string quartet
(also arr. for soprano, vla, vc, pno)
10’00
for Alexandra Smither
SOCAN Foundation Award

Garden (2012)
vibraphone and harp
12’00
for Angela Schwarzkopf and Michelle Colton
detach on Redshift Records: listen on Bandcamp
JUNO Award, Classical Album of the Year, 2020

Lullabies (2011)
soprano/mezzo/countertenor/tenor and marimba
(also arr. for soprano/mezzo/countertenor, vla, vc, pno)
5’30
texts by Walter de la Mare (d. 1956)
for Michelle Colton
listen on Spotify, with mezzo Emily D’Angelo (arr. for voice, piano, guitar)
JUNO Award, Classical Album of the Year, 2024

Moon (2011)
solo piano
3’30
for Wesley Shen

Three Memories for Piano (2008)
solo piano
9’00
for Wesley Shen

mark (2023)
viola, baritone, SATB choir, percussion, and celeste
40’00
text by Duncan McFarlane, on the art of Mark Rothko and the Rothko Chapel
for Soundstreams

Capture (2022)
SATB with cello solo
20’00
text by Duncan McFarlane, a retelling of the Unicorn Tapestries
for Dalhousie University’s Fountain School of the Performing Arts

ex remedia amoris (2020)
SSAA a cappella choir
5’00
text by Duncan McFarlane
for Hillary LaBonte

Kiss Goodnight (2012, rev. 2016)
a cappella men's choir and countertenor soloist
6’00
text by Cecilia Livingston
Pro Coro Canada Choral Series at Leading Note

Dear Illusion (2015)
a cappella men's choir
5’00
text by E. J. Pratt

Three Songs For Sara (2011)
SSAA choir with piano (also arr. with piano quintet)
9’00
texts by Sara Teasdale

Dona Nobis Pacem (2011)
SAA a cappella choir
2’40

Bright Wings (2011)
SATB a cappella choir
6’00
text by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Listen to the Chorus (2017)
7’00, looping
immersive outdoor video installation
for Nuit Blanche Toronto
spoken-word poet Nasim Asgari and Madeleine Co.
watch on Vimeo or on Score Follower

Nothing Can End (2025)
song cycle for baritone and piano
17’00
text by Anne Michaels
for the Brooklyn Art Song Society

luna premit (2023)
song cycle for high voice and piano
20’00
text by Anne Michaels and Duncan McFarlane
for the Canadian Art Song Project

hyacinth: songs of the Minotaur (2023)
song cycle for soprano/mezzo and piano
15’00
text by Duncan McFarlane, on the art of Matisse
for SongFest
listen on YouTube

Breath Alone (2023)
song cycle for soprano/mezzo and piano
25’00
text by Anne Michaels, on the lives of artists Eva Hesse, Nelly Sachs, and Paula Modersohn-Becker

Salt Air
song cycle for soprano and piano
18’00
texts by Duncan McFarlane and Cecilia Livingston, on Homer's Odyssey

• Kalypso, 6’00 (2015, for American Opera Projects)

• Circe, 3’30 (2025, for Laura Strickling)

• Penelope, 8’00 (2014, for Alexandra Smither); also for mezzo and piano

Homesung: Four Songs by Wade Hemsworth (2019)
song cycle for high voice and piano
15’00
for the Canadian Art Song Project

The Dismantled Ship (2016)
high voice and piano
4’00
text by Walt Whitman
for American Opera Projects

The Wisdom of Yogi Berra (2016)
baritone and piano
2’00
text by Duncan McFarlane (on quotations from Yogi Berra)
for American Opera Projects

Who Has Seen the Wind? (2016)
bass-baritone and piano
7’00
text by Duncan McFarlane
for American Opera Projects

Give Me Your Hand (2015)
mezzo and piano
7’00
text by Duncan McFarlane (on Shakespeare's Macbeth)
for American Opera Projects

Mercy (2015)
soprano/mezzo and piano
5’45
text by Duncan McFarlane
for American Opera Projects

Parting (2012)
soprano and piano
5’00
text by Jane Lew
for the Vancouver International Song Institute's 2012 Art Song Lab

please inquire about other art song, including songs for young voices