Composition . . .
Notable Commissions/Performances
Vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Vancouver Opera Festival, New Works Project
Fickle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vancouver Opera Festival, New Works Project
Composer - Selected to participate in the 2018 New Works Project, creating two short operas in collaboration with chosen librettists and singers, performed as part of the Vancouver Opera Festival.
The Fox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . University of Manitoba Contemporary Opera Lab
Composer, Producer – A full-scale workshop of a new opera for 3 singers, piano, violin and cello. Composed in 2019-2021, premiered in a workshop in May 2021, sponsored by the University of Manitoba
The Woman Who Borrowed Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Girl In Boots Productions
Composer, Producer, Director, Performer – A new opera for 3 singers, violin and cello. Composed and workshopped in 2018 at Roy Barnett Hall. Premiered as part of the 2019 Vancouver Fringe Festival
The Woman Who Borrowed Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Degree Theatre
Composer – Mounted by 23 Degree Theatre, a Montreal based opera company, in their 2019 season.
House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Genesis Trio
Composer - A composition for viola, piano and clarinet. Performed as part of a concert series in 2019.
The Wound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opera Unbound
Composer - A composition for solo soprano voice, performed as part of a 2019 concert series.
Untitled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opera Unbound
Composer - Commissioned to compose a song cycle for 3 female voices for an upcoming 2020 recital.
Flowers on the Train . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sonic Boom New Music Festival
Composer - Trio for violin, piano and clarinet. Performed as part of the 2019 new music festival.
Watery Grave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vancouver Indie Opera Week
The Flower Aria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vancouver Indie Opera Week
Poor Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vancouver Indie Opera Week
Composer, Producer, Director, performer – 3 Arias for bass, lyric baritone, and mezzo soprano, respectively. Performed as part of the 2019 Vancouver Indie Opera Week.
Vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Vancouver Opera Festival, New Works Project
Fickle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vancouver Opera Festival, New Works Project
Composer - Selected to participate in the 2018 New Works Project, creating two short operas in collaboration with chosen librettists and singers, performed as part of the Vancouver Opera Festival.
The Fox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . University of Manitoba Contemporary Opera Lab
Composer, Producer – A full-scale workshop of a new opera for 3 singers, piano, violin and cello. Composed in 2019-2021, premiered in a workshop in May 2021, sponsored by the University of Manitoba
The Woman Who Borrowed Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Girl In Boots Productions
Composer, Producer, Director, Performer – A new opera for 3 singers, violin and cello. Composed and workshopped in 2018 at Roy Barnett Hall. Premiered as part of the 2019 Vancouver Fringe Festival
The Woman Who Borrowed Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Degree Theatre
Composer – Mounted by 23 Degree Theatre, a Montreal based opera company, in their 2019 season.
House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Genesis Trio
Composer - A composition for viola, piano and clarinet. Performed as part of a concert series in 2019.
The Wound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opera Unbound
Composer - A composition for solo soprano voice, performed as part of a 2019 concert series.
Untitled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opera Unbound
Composer - Commissioned to compose a song cycle for 3 female voices for an upcoming 2020 recital.
Flowers on the Train . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sonic Boom New Music Festival
Composer - Trio for violin, piano and clarinet. Performed as part of the 2019 new music festival.
Watery Grave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vancouver Indie Opera Week
The Flower Aria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vancouver Indie Opera Week
Poor Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vancouver Indie Opera Week
Composer, Producer, Director, performer – 3 Arias for bass, lyric baritone, and mezzo soprano, respectively. Performed as part of the 2019 Vancouver Indie Opera Week.
Composition Performances
U29 - The Temple
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This is a short excerpt from my new opera "U29 - The Temple". It is based upon the 1920 short story, "The Temple" written by H. P. Lovecraft. It concerns Karl Heinrich, a submarine lieutenant-commander in the Imperial Navy during World War I.
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This performance by Roan Shankaruk, Taryn Plater and accompanied by Perri Lo was at the November 2023 Indie Artist Cabaret, hosted by re:Naissance Opera and Vancouver Opera.
The Woman Who Borrowed Memories
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This is my one-act chamber opera, with music I composed in 2018 while at UBC and the libretto based upon the short story by the great Finnish author, Tove Jansson, (kvinnan som lånade minnen). This performance was at the PAL Theatre in Vancouver, as part of the 2019 Vancouver Fringe Festival .
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The opera is written for a soprano, two mezzo sopranos, violin and cello. In the Vancouver Fringe Festival performances, the singers are accompanied by piano only. This recording is from closing night, on September 14, 2019.
It is the story of an artist (Stella) who left her city and went away to become famous. After a fifteen year absence she returns to her old apartment and the landlady (Mrs. Lundblad) tells her that her room is inhabited by an old acquaintance (Wanda) from her youth. Stella decides to see Wanda but as she visits with her, she feels that their shared reminiscences are not quite the way that she remembers them. It seems that Wanda has taken both the apartment and so too her memories.
It is the story of an artist (Stella) who left her city and went away to become famous. After a fifteen year absence she returns to her old apartment and the landlady (Mrs. Lundblad) tells her that her room is inhabited by an old acquaintance (Wanda) from her youth. Stella decides to see Wanda but as she visits with her, she feels that their shared reminiscences are not quite the way that she remembers them. It seems that Wanda has taken both the apartment and so too her memories.
The Fox - a new opera
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This is The Fox, a new opera based on a short story by D.H. Lawrence and presented by the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music. Lawrence’s story is a tense exploration of gender, sexuality, femininity, and war.
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The opera is written for a soprano, a mezzo soprano and a tenor, accompanied by violin and cello and piano. This recording is from its first performance, as part of the Desautels School of Music Contemporary Opera Lab in May 2021.
Lawrence’s The Fox tells the story of two unmarried women, Nelly March and Jill Banford, who are trying to cobble together a living on a farm during World War I. While the two labour tirelessly, a fox sneaks onto the farm and begins to pick off their chickens, one by one, slowly destroying their livelihood and ability to survive independently.
When an unexpected visitor, Henry Grenfell, arrives to help save the failing farm, he also threatens to tear Nelly and Jill apart.
(The online opera was filmed in accordance with provincial public health guidelines, observing all social distancing and health measure.)
Lawrence’s The Fox tells the story of two unmarried women, Nelly March and Jill Banford, who are trying to cobble together a living on a farm during World War I. While the two labour tirelessly, a fox sneaks onto the farm and begins to pick off their chickens, one by one, slowly destroying their livelihood and ability to survive independently.
When an unexpected visitor, Henry Grenfell, arrives to help save the failing farm, he also threatens to tear Nelly and Jill apart.
(The online opera was filmed in accordance with provincial public health guidelines, observing all social distancing and health measure.)
Vancouver Opera - New Works Project
In 2018 Vancouver Opera mounted "The New Works Project", in partnership with the University of British Columbia Music School, Opera Program and Creative Writing Program. The New Works Project is modeled on Tapestry Opera’s Lib Lab, a creative intensive which focuses on emerging librettists and composers. With the aim of building careers in opera creation.
The New Works Project combined six UBC students: two from Composition, two from Creative Writing and two from Opera Performance, to create four new works in three weeks, to be performed at the 2018 Vancouver Opera Festival. These are my two compositions, which were performed at the Vancouver Opera Festival.
In 2018 Vancouver Opera mounted "The New Works Project", in partnership with the University of British Columbia Music School, Opera Program and Creative Writing Program. The New Works Project is modeled on Tapestry Opera’s Lib Lab, a creative intensive which focuses on emerging librettists and composers. With the aim of building careers in opera creation.
The New Works Project combined six UBC students: two from Composition, two from Creative Writing and two from Opera Performance, to create four new works in three weeks, to be performed at the 2018 Vancouver Opera Festival. These are my two compositions, which were performed at the Vancouver Opera Festival.
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"Fickle" is a dramatic work that I composed, with the libretto by Sebastian Ochoa Mendoza and sung by Alireza Mojibian and AmandaYi-Wen Na.
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"Vegetables" is an excerpt of a much more comedic work that I composed, with the libretto by Tze Liew and sung by Alireza Mojibian and Amanda Yi-Wen Na.
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UBC compositions
I am a UBC School of Music graduate, having completed a Bachelor of Music degree in both Composition and Opera Performance. These are a number of my works that I composed during my third and fourth years at UBC.
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"The Nixie" is a solo piece for flute that I composed in 2017 at UBC. This composition is based upon "The Nixie of the Mill-Pond", which is a German fairy tale. The Brothers Grimm collected the story in their Grimm's Fairy Tales, as tale number 181. It is about a miller who trades his first born to a water sprite. In the story the miller's wife has to play a song on a flute, in order to get the sprite to release him back to her. This is my interpretation of her song.
"A Boat Comes In" is a choral work for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone that I composed in 2017 at UBC.
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This is my composition "Flowers On The Train", which was selected by the 2019 Vancouver Sonic Boom Festival. This piece is inspired by one of my favourite novels, Albert Camus's "The Plague". As the plague victims mount, trains take the dead out of the town, where heart broken relatives stand by the tracks throwing flowers into the open train windows.
"House" is one of my UBC compositions from the 2018 UBC Composers Concert. This piece is a work for three instruments (clarinet, piano and violin), called "House". It is inspired by a silent comic also called "House". It is about three students who explore a labyrinthine, abandoned mansion. Through music, genre and motifs you can hear them walk through the hall, the ballroom, the parlor and the attic - before finally seeing the ominous portrait of the former owner.
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UBC Collaborative Composition project
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As part of my studies at UBC, I took the Collaborative Composition course, in which a Music major and an English major create an interdisciplinary work. This year the project was inspired by the Beaty Biodiversity Museum (with its giant whale skeleton).
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This song is written in four parts, based upon series of letters from a student back to her home. The music composed and performed by Roan Shankaruk and the lyrics written by Alison Braid.
Music videos that I created of my original songs . . .
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The Compromise
I created the film "The Compromise" at the Gulf Islands Film and Television school in 2011, along with Mark MacDonald, as part of winning the CBC On The Coast "Best Singer Songwriter in the Lower Mainland" competition. |
The song and the film are based upon a graphic novel that I was working on. It shows the aftermath of a battle between two sides, as witnessed and recorded by an outsider who comes upon the scene, out in the forest.
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O Sinking Ship
I created my animated video, "O Sinking Ship" on an Arts Umbrella/Electronic Arts scholarship that I won in 2012. I painted hundreds of watercolour paintings for it, and it is based upon my song of the same name. |
It is the story of a woman lighthouse keeper, who sees the tragic break up and sinking of a ship in a terrible storm. A young sailor reaches out for help, and she runs to his rescue, but there are more than dangerous rocks in these waves.
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Johnny Goes To Fight The Great Lake Monster
My video is not so much a music video, as it is an animated video based upon one of my songs. In the year after I made "O Sinking Ship" above, I won another scholarship at AU/EA in 2013. |
This time I decided to try "shadow puppet" animation, and took nearly 7000 photgraphs to make it! It is a tale of a town upon a hill, near to a lake, that suddenly has to face great adversity. The town requires a hero to come to their aid - an unlikely hero named Johnny.
