Mr. Tim Brady

Tim Brady - biography

"One of the 30most important guitarists in the world for the future of the electricguitar" - Guitar Player Magazine (USA)

Composer / guitarist Tim Brady simply defies categorization - an electric guitar virtuoso who writes operas, plays concertos and feels ascomfortable with a laptop electronic improvisation or jazz group as with a string quartet. His solo concerts concentrate on the multi-textured music he has been creating for solo guitar and electronics for the past 35 years.  The guitar as orchestra - from intimate solos to massive multiple guitar loops and samples, the music is a highly personalsynthesis of new music, jazz, rock and electronics.

For the past 30 years he has toured Canada, the United States,Australia and Europe both as a soloist and with his group Bradyworks.  In 2004 he was awarded the Prix Opus asComposer of the Year by the Conseil québécois de la musique, and in 2007 he wasawarded the Jan. V. Matecjek award by SOCAN. He has performed at many national and international festivals andevents, including the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Festival Présence in Paris, The South Bank Centre (London, UK), the Darwin Guitar Festival in Australia, the Festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville, andin 2010 he was distinguished guest composer at the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s international New Music Festival. From 2008 to 2013 he was composer in residence with the Orchestre symphonique de Laval.  His 2013 CD, “Atacama: Symphony #3”, was named “Création de l’année” for 2012 at the Prix Opus, and was nominated for a JUNO award in 2014, in the category, Best Classical Composition.

In 2015-2016 he released three CDs: the orchestral CD "The How and the Why of Memory" (with Symphony Nova Scotia), "Instruments of Happiness" electric guitar quartet, and "Of Sound, Mind and Body" - an improvisational quartet CD.

In 2017 he released two CDs with a guitar focus: a 2nd CD with his electric guitar quartet Instruments of Happiness, and a CD of his electric guitar chamber concerto "Désir".  Both CDs were well-reviewed in the international media, and were awarded USA Global Music Awards.  The CDs are on the American Starkland Records label

His innovative new works for 100 electric guitars have played to sold out performances in Montréal, at the 2016 Modulus Festival in Vancouver, at the 2017 Stratford Summer Music Festival, and the 2018 Luminato Festival in Toronto and at the 2019 MNM Festival in Montreal.  His chamber opera "Ghost Tango" was premiered in Halifax in September 2015 to glowing reviews, and the "Instruments of Happiness" guitar collective was featured at the 2016 Sound Symposium Festival in St. John's, Newfoundland, and on an 8-concert Canadian tour in March and April 2017.

As artistic director of one of Montreal’s best-known new music groups, Bradyworks, he has commissioned and performed dozens of new pieces by Quebec, Canadian and international artists. From 1994 - 2004 he was the founding artistic director of Innovations enconcert, one of Montréal’s most important new music producers.  He is a past president (2005-2014) of the Canadian New Music Network, and serves on their Digital Content committee.

His chamber and orchestral music is often influenced by strong jazz and rock rhythms, combined with a subtle sense of harmony and texture, and a flair for dramatic forms and structures. Delicate melodies inhabit the same world as dense, jagged, syncopated chords, giving the music a sense of openness, surprise and intrigue.  23 CDs, 4 operas, 10 symphonies, and dozens of tours later, his music continues to engage listeners around the world.

www.timbrady.ca

Tim Brady - teaching

Began teaching electric guitar part-time at Concordia in Sept. 2014. His focus is on exploring and expanding guitarists technical and aesthetic horizons and materials include Bach, contemporary chamber music, free improvisation, jazz, blues and rock techniques, digital technology and guitar pedals, and musical literacy.  The goal is to give the guitarist a very wide range of musical tools in order to express themselves and to be well equipped to work in a broad range of musical environments.

Major Festival + Performances