Leaf Music and ICOT (formerly known as The Iranian-Canadian Composers of Toronto) are delighted to announce their forthcoming album Recurrence, to be recorded in May at Humbercrest United Church in Toronto.
Recurrence had its genesis at the beginning of the pandemic, when the notion of repetition assumed a novel and unsettling meaning for many people. The album explores the idea of repetition through different iterations in the natural and artificial worlds. Over the course of five new, far-reaching compositions, the concept of repetition and its consequences are teased apart in myriad ways through the unique lens of each composer, each of whom was tasked with examining an aspect of repetition and finding ways to express its manifestations musically. The result is five exceptional artistic works, each unique in its aesthetic and sonic exploration into the vortex of repetition.
Speaking about the album, ICOT executive director Saman Shahi says, “This album is one of ICOT’s most ambitious projects both in scale and concept. Some of Canada’s best and brightest composers and performers are paired with a powerful core concept that truly elevates our artistic practice as a group and also as individual composers and musicians. This project gave us total creative freedom to pursue what repetition meant to each of us as individual creators, in turn creating a set of fresh and compelling works.”
Recurrence features the compositions of renowned composers Maziar Heidari (also a conductor), Saman Shahi (also a pianist), Keyan Emami, Jordan Nobles, and Nicole Lizée and will be available everywhere on October 13.
Pre-Save here – https://leaf-music.lnk.to/lm256
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ICOT is a non-profit arts organization founded in 2011 by five Toronto-based composers and musicians with the mission of creating new works that bridge Canadian and Iranian culture through music and art. ICOT’s current members are Saman Shahi (executive director), Keyan Emami (artistic director), and Maziar Heidari (music director). ICOT has produced two operas, two ballets, twelve orchestral works, dozens of chamber and vocal works, as well as three calls for scores that allowed ICOT to collaborate with over twenty composers from eight different countries. ICOT’s music has been performed by Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra, Symphony on the Bay, Soundstreams, and Ton Beau String Quartet and has taken part in Toronto Symphony’s 2022 Open House, Tirgan Festival, 2017 Ottawa Chamberfest, and Hamilton Philharmonic’s 2014 “What Next” Festival. ICOT’s first commercial recording, Persian Piano Night, was released in 2018 by Pardis Records, and their second commercial album, Recurrence, is slated for release in fall of 2023.
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ICOT
Release Date: October 13, 2023
Digital Release
MEDIA CONTACT: Andrew Brown | andrew@leaf-music.ca
