York student composes music for Young Artist Overture

On Tuesday, April 18, music by Graham Boyes, a fourth-year York University music student, will be featured in Soundstreams Canada’s Young Artist Overture. Boyes’ piece, based on Swiss artist Paul Klee’s painting titled Ancient Sound, will be performed as a part of Soundstreams’ Education Project.


Right: Ancient Sound by Paul Klee


This project gives undergraduate music composition students from universities in Ontario and Quebec the opportunity to write piano pieces based on paintings by Klee. These pieces will be performed during Young Artist Overture by the students themselves or by a pianist of their choice.


The Young Artist Overture program is a pre-concert performance by student musicians in which they perform compositions both by the students and Soundstreams’ participating professional composers. The program is part of Soundstreams’ Education/Outreach programing, where Soundstreams pairs professional musicians or composers with Toronto-area schools and community groups. Its goal is to engage students in the creation and performance of music as well as enhance art education curriculums.


As part of the Education/Outreach program, students may be invited to attend a rehearsal in the studio or have the opportunity to work one-on-one with a professional composer or musician. The program also includes in-school visits by composers, conductors or professional musicians as well as composition projects where a composer works with the students to develop pieces of music.


The Young Artist Overture will be followed by Sonic Poetry, a concert featuring music by award-winning Canadian composers Abigail Richardson and Victoria Borisova-Ollas. The concert will take place Tuesday, April 18, at the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio (250 Front St. West) in Toronto. The Young Artist Overture begins at 7pm and Sonic Poetry at 8pm. Tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for seniors and $5 for students with valid identification. Tickets can be purchased from the Glenn Gould Studio Box Office by calling 416-205-5555.