Winnipeg’s GroundSwell is set to celebrate the fearless creativity of late composer Diana McIntosh with Knee Deep in Clouds, a tribute concert showcasing her bold, witty, and boundary-pushing music.
On Tuesday, February 11, at 7:30 p.m. at Westworth United Church, Winnipeg’s GroundSwell will present a concert called Knee Deep in Clouds.
This concert is a tribute to a Manitoba composer who was a singular personality and a truly original musician on the Canadian music scene.
Composer Diana McIntosh was a fearless innovator in contemporary music. She explored diverse sounds and textures with an offbeat, often hilarious sense of humour, constantly pushing boundaries. Her bold compositions and adventurous spirit made her a true icon in the field.
She was an outstanding pianist who collaborated with some of the finest musicians, performing compositions written by herself and by other contemporary composers.
Sadly, Diana McIntosh passed away in 2022, but her legacy lives on. She was a founding member of GroundSwell, an organization that continues to push boundaries while entertaining and engaging audiences with innovative and inspiring programming. McIntosh also inspired the next generation of musicians to continue her work, exploring new and interesting sound worlds through music.
One of the musicians she influenced is Brazilian-Canadian pianist Luciane Cardassi. Based in Banff, Cardassi met McIntosh on many occasions, as Banff was one of McIntosh’s favourite places to visit.
Cardassi is the curator for this concert, which will spotlight McIntosh’s incredibly creative output.
Photo Credit: Rita Taylor
Cardassi has very fond memories of McIntosh and her performances. “If you ever saw her playing, you will remember—she was such a performer... She had so much energy and was such a creative person, and I am very, very fortunate to have met her and to be playing a tribute concert,” says Cardassi.
The various compositional aspects of McIntosh’s works also drew Cardassi in. As she explains, “Her music has specific characteristics such as humour, contrast, surprise, and a lyrical aspect. It was always so fun to be at her concerts, which is not always true about contemporary music performances.” Cardassi adds, “She was so careful about the colours of each sound—certainly about rhythm, but the colours, I think, had a special place in her heart.”
The idea of coming to Winnipeg to present a McIntosh tribute concert—including Winnipeg musicians who knew her well—was something Cardassi felt was crucial. “Diana was such a community builder. I couldn’t just go from Banff to Winnipeg and play a concert in her hometown without engaging with local musicians who knew her better than I did.”
The two musicians she contacted were percussionist Ben Reimer and flutist Laurel Ridd. Both had compositions written for them by McIntosh.
The concert will feature a mix of music for flute and piano, solo piano, and percussion, with some works inspired by the Rocky Mountains. “I’ll play Whapta Ice, a piece for piano and recitation inspired by the Rockies. Diana loved the mountains. This poem is by Monica Meneghetti, and the music is by Diana. Then Ben and Laurel will play a short piece called On a Glacier, also related to the mountains.”
Other compositions on the program include works written for the specific performers or not yet published. These unpublished scores were discovered by Cardassi in the University of Manitoba Archives. As she explains, “I am playing A Rose Is a Rose, which I only had access to at the special collections at the university. It involves digital delay, which she used to create with a machine next to her. I'm going to play it with a Max patch, simulating her sounds... Ben [Reimer] will perform his beautiful solo Just Add Water, a piece Diana wrote for him a few years ago.”
The concert will conclude with one of McIntosh’s signature works, Aiby-Aicy-Aidyai, which she composed for toy piano and mouth sounds. This delightful and humorous piece is full of rhythmic intricacies and is sure to be an audience favourite.
This remarkable concert will be filled with wonderful sound textures and music, but most importantly for Cardassi, it will be a celebration of a Canadian compositional legend. “She contributed so much to the Canadian music scene and to generations of Canadian artists, so let's celebrate that.”
Knee Deep in Clouds takes place on Tuesday, February 11, at 7:30 p.m. at Westworth United Church.