Department of Music Graduate composer Colin Labadie's recent composition, INEO, will be performed by local Edmonton ensemble the? Strathcona String Quartet ?on Saturday, December 4, at 8pm at the Edmonon Morovian Church (9540 83 Avenue).
"This is a fantastic opportunity," said Labadie regarding the Quartet's decision to play the piece. "As a student, I think it's extremely important to branch out of the University and find ways to connect with the local community."
The title of the piece, INEO, is Latin for ?I enter,? or ?I go into.?
"At the outset of writing INEO, I made a conscious decision to use a narrow palette of techniques drawn from a set of extremes: quiet, high, and slow," explained Labadie.?"For me, working this way required a certain amount of grit and self-discipline since I was constantly fighting the urge to do more. The writing process was thus personally challenging and unnerving, despite the austere surface of the piece. At many points, I had to force myself to simply dive in and push forward. For this reason,I felt that INEO was an appropriate title."
Regarding breaking ground?a modern composer, Labadie said: "While it's important to keep the music of the past alive, unfortunately it often comes at the expense of allowing living composers to have their work played. As a composer, it's really exciting to see local musicians committed to playing new music as well as the old," explained Labadie.?"That can't happen unless we have performers who are committed to playing new music, like the Strathcona String Quartet."