User:Rhannah

Ron Hannah, composer

Ron Hannah, 2009

Born in 1945, in Saskatchewan, Canada, Ron Hannah's catalogue includes works in nearly all "classical" genres - vocal and choral, solo instrumental, chamber music, orchestral, operatic and theatrical. His style is eclectic and melodic, having its roots in Romanticism, and influenced by many styles including jazz, minimalism, Stravinsky, the Avant-garde and world music. His works can range from strictly diatonic to aleatoric, being most often what he calls "dissonant pan-tonality", moving freely among tonal centres and creating music of great expressive capability.

He obtained a B.Sc. degree in Chemistry at the University of Alberta in 1969, then studied musical composition with Violet Archer, Manus Sasonkin and Malcolm Forsyth, receiving a B.Mus. in 1973 and an M.Mus degree in 1975. In 1980 he also obtained an after-degree teaching certificate and taught music in public schools for several years, a position he disliked and finally left. Despite this, he is a natural teacher who accepts selected students at little or no fee from time to time.

His works have been performed internationally by such artists as the Penderecki String Quartet, organist Marnie Giesbrecht, and the Da Camera Singers. Among his commissioned works are those from the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, for his "Suite of Orchestral Dances" (1996); the Alberta Choral Federation, for "Alleluia" (1989); from Vineyard Theatre for "A Sea Liturgy" (1986); and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for "Lady from the Past", a documentary filmscore (1986). Most recently (April 2017) his opera, "The Illuminator", was premiered in Yerevan, Armenia. In addition, he is a member of SOCAN, an affiliate composer of the Canadian Music Centre , formerly acted as webmaster for The Living Composers Project, and was the founding president of the Edmonton Composers' Concert Society (now called New Music Edmonton).

Below is a partial list of Ron Hannah's musical works. Visit his website for a complete listing (nearly 100 highly varied pieces), as well as lively essays and reviews. As well, through his website you can obtain many of his scores and listening files.

Choral Works

• Two Early Songs, for SATB and piano - 1971
• Songs from the Sanskrit, for SATB a cappella - l976
• Four Canons for Three Voices, for mixed chorus and piano - l983
• Deep River (arr.), for SSAATTBB & piano - 1993
• Three Pastoral Songs, for 2-part treble voices and piano - 2005
• Roses and Silk, for women's voices and orchestra - 2011
• Madonna of the Evening Flowers, for SATB and orchestra - 2011
• Missa Brevis, for SAB and organ - 2012
• Burning Seraph Eyes, for SATB a cappella - 2015
• Ruri Ruri, Armenian lullably for SATB a cappella - 2016

Vocal Works

• The Dinner Party - Song Cycle for soprano, clarinet, and piano - 1973
• Three African Songs - for tenor and piano - 1974
• Songs of Myself - Song Cycle for diverse voices and instruments - new works added from time to time
• Three Songs on Poems of Robert Graves, for voice and tape - l984
• Morning's Minion, Song Cycle for soprano and piano - 1985/8
• Touched by an Angel, Concert Aria for soprano and orchestra - 2012
• Three Inevitable Songs, for mezzo-soprano, flute, harp and viola - 2014
• Two Songs after Christine de Pisan (1364 - c.1430), for mezzo-soprano and harp - 2015
• Lost Fairylands, song set for mezzo-soprano, flute and alto flute - 2015
• Arrangement of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, for soprano, alto, harp, flute and viola - 2016
• A Few Figs from Thistles - Song Cycle for mezzo-soprano and piano - 2019
• Star Songs - Song Cycle for mezzo-soprano and string quartet - 2020

Instrumental & Chamber Works

• String Quartet #1 - 1973
• Baroque Variants, Suite for viola, alto flute, & harpsichord - l974
• Five Variations on a Theme of Violet Archer, for piano solo - l975
• Sonata for French Horn and Piano - l976
• Five Preludes for Organ - l978
• Suite for Elan, for piano solo - 1980
• Piano Trio #1 - 1982
• Pastoral Suite, for guitar solo - 1993
• Ballade, for piano solo - 1994-2001
• LYS: Theme and Variations for piano, flute and cello - 2001
• Holland Point Music, for soprano saxophone and marimba - 2002
• Chinese Impressions: Theme and Variations for erhu and guzheng - 2003
• Saxophone Quartet #1 - 2006/7
• Introduction and Dance of Qualified Joy, for Harp, Flute and Viola - 2012
• Dances for Camille, suite for two pianos - 2013
• Suite of Antique Dances, for flute, harp and viola - 2015
• Primavera II, for Two Violins - 2015
• 5-Part Re-Invention, for recorder quartet and harpsichord - 2015
• Six Improvisations, for organ solo - 2016
• Fugitive Horizons, for clarinet solo - 2016
• Sonata #1, for Violin and Piano - 2016
• Piano Trio #2 - 2016
• Domestic Dialogues, for piano 4-hands - 2020

Orchestral & Theatre Works

• The Shrine of Kotje, for SATB and orchestra - l975 (rev. 2010)
• Divertimento for Strings - 1991
• Symphony #1 - "Jasmine" 2004/5 (rev. 2014)
• Mademoiselle Fifi - chamber opera in 2 scenes - l983 (rev. 2010)
• Hundreds and Thousands, chamber opera for mezzo-soprano solo - 2001
• The Dawn Comes Up Like Thunder, poem for orchestra - 2002/4
• Cantata for a Beloved Planet, for large orchestra, SATB chorus, soprano, alto, tenor and baritone soloists - 2005/18
• Mayan Opera ("The Weapons of the Weak"), grand opera - 2007/08
• Concerto for flute and small orchestra - 2011
• Roses and Silk - for women's voices and chamber orchestra 2011
• Madonna of the Evening Flowers - for SATB and small orchestra 2011
• Touched by an Angel - Concert Aria for Soprano and Orchestra 2012
• Moments of Glad Grace, for Oboe (also version for soprano sax) and String Orchestra - 2014
• The Illuminator - opera on the life of St. Gregory of Armenia - 2015
• Adagio for String Orchestra 2017
• Fantasia on Interesting Times, for piano, marimba and orchestra - 2018
• Concerto for Violin and Orchestra 2020 (in progress)