Richard Covey (composer)


Richard Covey is a Canadian composer who is currently a sessional instructor in the Department of Music at the University of Prince Edward Island.
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Biography

Canadian composer Richard Covey was born in Brockville, Ontario, Canada on May 28, 1979. Since 2006 he has resided in Prince Edward Island, where he teaches theory and composition in the Music Department at the University of Prince Edward Island, and also performs as a pianist with the contemporary chamber music ensemble eklektikos and other musicians. As a professional composer, Covey has received several commissions, and his works have been performed by orchestras such as Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra; wind ensembles such as Charlottetown Rural High School Senior Concert Band, Queen Charlotte Intermediate School Band, UPEI Wind Symphony; chamber ensembles such as eklektikos and the Gryphon Trio; and choirs such as Sirens. His Echoes was chosen as the required work for UBC's 2012 Knigge Piano Competition.
In 2017, Covey was one of four Atlantic Canadian composers commissioned by the Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra to create a collaborative work, Cantata for Canada 150, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Each composer was asked to set their music to poetry written by one of four young Prince Edward Island students chosen through a provincial poetry contest. The poem Covey set was titled 'As I Walk'. Created with partial funding from the Canadian federal government, the new work received its premiere on November 19, 2017.
As an educator, Richard Covey's work extends beyond the university and into the community. In 2016, for example, Covey worked with the Grade 8 band students at Queen Charlotte Intermediate School, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to create a new work based on the anti-bullying themes behind the school's new motto, "Reflect, respect, connect". The project, made possible through an ArtsSmarts grant, allowed Covey to guide the students through a musical exploration of the themes of their motto, which culminated in a public performance of their collaborative composition.
Covey is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre.

Education

Compositions

Solo works

  • In the Groove 2016
  • Over the Sand Dunes 2016
  • The Moment When 2013
  • Echoes 2012
  • Echoes I: Of Time and Tone 2011
  • Discord 2005 - Premiered by eklektikos on April 9, 2005.
  • Wedding March
  • Wedding March No. 2 2012
  • Piano Sonata No. 1
  • Berceuse

Chamber works

  • Through Fire and Water 2017
  • Give Voice 2015
  • Dance of the Summer Wind 2015
  • This Broken Chain 2014
  • Brevis Lux 2013
  • Improvvisando 2010 - Premiered by eklektikos on September 27, 2010.
  • Te Deum 2010 - Premiered by eklektikos on September 27, 2010.
  • Songs on the Waves 2007 - Premiered by eklektikos on July 15, 2007.
  • Come Ye Washed 2007
  • Homage 2007
  • Four Snapshots
  • Six Miniatures for Brass Quintet
  • Three Hymns
  • Piano Trio No. 1
  • Fantasia
  • Fugue No. 1
  • Fugue No. 2

Vocal works

Works for large ensemble

  • As I Walk 2017 - Commissioned by the PEI Symphony Orchestra. Premiered on February 1, 2015.
  • Respect, Reflect, Connect 2016 - Premiered by Queen Charlotte Intermediate School Band.
  • Blue Waves, Yellow Sun 2016
  • Black Night and Dreams of White 2015
  • Abegweit, Symphony for an Island 2014 - Commissioned by the PEI Symphony Orchestra. Premiered on February 1, 2015.
  • The Place We Call Home 2014
  • Canadian Soundscape 2014
  • The Red Island Awakes 2014 - Premiered by Charlottetown Rural High School Senior Concert Band on May 22, 2014.
  • ARISE 2013 - Premiered by the PEI Symphony on February 10, 2013.
  • Maestoso 2012
  • In Three 2007
  • Symphonic Poem