here. - sylvi macCormac

Sylvi MacCormac
& Horizon
Sylvi macCormac sings with a hushed intimacy not unlike one of
her primary influences, Joni Mitchell, but she also evokes her
Irish heritage and a love of nature. She has become
internationally recognized for her soundscapes ... “As I was
composing soundscapes, I thought, I have to put a band
together. Seeing the audience enjoying it. It’s really lovely to go
back to the old songs. It’s really lovely to go out there again. It
wasn’t about me. I was part of the horizon”.
Tom Harrison, The Garage, The Province, Tuesday, June 03,
2014
The Band
“As I was composing soundscapes, I thought, I have to put a band together.
Seeing the audience enjoying it. It’s really lovely to go back to the old songs.
It’s really lovely to go out there again. It wasn’t about me. I was part of the
horizon”.
Sylvi macCormac, quoted by Tom Harrison, The Garage, The Province,
Tuesday, June 03, 2014
CONCERT VIDEO :
Can be seen here
Sylvi macCormac’s music runs from folk-rock to cinema-for-the-ears
soundscapes.
Her songs have a particular depth, her voice a rich and moving nature
with the band, Sylvi returns to her roots in live performance with the added
tapestry of experience as an internationally recognized soundscape composer,
and musician with disability (multiple sclerosis).
Her powerful singing blends songwriting that resonates with the Canadian
natural and cultural landscape, weaving elements of her rich Celtic heritage
with inspiration being born and living in Coast Salish Territory, British
Columbia, Canada.
Horizon explores the edges of folk-rock with currents of jazz and blues,
performing songs that stand out on Sylvi macCormac’s albums.
The Feather
STUDIO VIDEO : Available here
sylvi macCormac recording The Feather at Vancouver Adapted Music
Society’s fully-accessible recording studio - Director: Caspar Ryan www.vams.org
“Sylvi macCormac has her video on YouTube. Confined to a wheelchair due to
her multiple sclerosis, macCormac recorded The Feather with Blaine Dunaway
at the Vancouver Adapted Music Society’s studio at G.F. Strong. The vid
poignantly interpolates a younger, standing macCormac singing her song.”
Tom Harrison, The Province, July 2013
Aural Shadows
SOLO CONCERT VIDEO : Available here
Sylvi macCormac performing Aural Shadows with vocals, harmonica
Recorded Live by Rod Matheson at the Roundhouse Community Centre during
Project Everybody on Sept.10, 2014
Video #897 of 1000 - For DAY897 of EveryDayMusic on Sept. 14, 2014
Soundscape Workshop
SOUNDSCAPE is For the Birds, aka Field of Sound : is Stochastic a Dirty
Word ?
Participants will explore the theory and praxis of soundscape composition
visiting diverse regions of acoustic ecology, environmental sound, music,
language, communication, composing with computer and electro-acoustics. We
will go on a short Soundwalk listening to our environment as music.
The Soundscape workshop is available on youtube, click here for the clip.
The Soundwalk is also available, here.
Bios
Sylvi MacCormac
Vocals
People describe sylvi’s voice as having a rich and moving
nature. Weaving elements of soundscape with music and
voice her work resonates along the lines of Canada and
Ireland. She began performing music in the early 80’s while
working in children’s theatre, taking up songwriting, playing
Vancouver’s folk circuit and composing soundscapes. She
published four albums and an online ebook about WB Yeats
and Japanese Nõ Theatre.
Sylvi was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1982, when she was 21 years old.
Aware that she would soon lose the ability to tour and play guitar, she took up studies at
Simon Fraser University where she was introduced to computer music, soundscape and
composition. In 1999, Waves of Kokoro, one of sylvi’s soundscapes, garnered
international acclaim by receiving an Honourable Mention at Concours International de
Musique Electroacoustique, held in Bourges, France.
Her production credits include the 2004 CD, Uts’am/Witness that includes artists Buffy
Sainte-Marie, Bruce Cockburn and the Squamish Eagle Song Dancers. She is also the
creator of WHEELS Soundscapes: Voices of People with Dis Abilities, at the Vancouver
Adapted Music Society. Sylvi volunteered with the Vancouver Folk Music Festival for
30 years, and composed VFMF Soundscapes 1999-2002: Festival Quartet for Solitude, a
labour of love in honour of the Festival.
Brenda Baird
Keys, Musical Director
Multi instrumentalist Brenda Baird has been known to wear
many hats in any given week. You might find her strumming a
guitar and singing on the back of a wagon at the Pumpkin Patch,
hurrying home to inspire and cultivate private students (or her
garden!), glued to her computer whilst transcribing other
people’s music or composing/arranging her own, or answering
phones as a volunteer at the Vancouver Crisis Centre. Holding a
Bachelor of Music degree (UBC), Brenda’ s musical endeavors
have taken her in almost every musical direction: from theatre,
film and television work, to chamber music ensembles, concert reviewing, and 14 years
with the well-known all women Vancouver jazz quartet, Mother of Pearl. She’s member
of the swingin’ Hoppin’ Mad Orchestra, and the soul jazz group, Woolysock. Brenda’s
toured with a variety of ensembles in Africa, France, Japan and throughout North
America.
Ross Barrett
Saxophone
Music is an art which heightens humanity: it should be played with
a continuing spirit of exploration and growth.
Ross Barrett is a West Coast Canadian Tenor Saxaphonist and
multi-disciplinary artist: his career spans more than thirty years
continuing to apply a fresh and exciting dimension. Ross has
travelled across Canada and internationally as a composer of songs,
instrumental music and as a producer and band leader. Beyond a
foundation of classical music, his transition through jazz,
psychedelic, rock, blues and funk brings this playerwith a broad
perspective and a bright spirit.
Thomas Beckman
Viola
Known as the 'Viola Voice of Vancouver' Thomas Beckman
combines his formal classical training with looping
technology to create atmospheric and evocative
performances. Having returned from his first international
appearance in the Albany, US, last year, Thomas has now
been booked to perform at the Mexican film academy
awards in May. He is currently working with Derek Mason to produce his second solo
recording.
Wendy Solloway
Acoustic & Bass
With her electric and acoustic bass, Wendy Solloway has been
holding down the bottom end for over twenty years. Her experience
as a bassist includes performances in dozens of bands encompassing
a wide variety of styles as well as theatre, performance art and video.
Her work in the women’s jazz group, Mother of Pearl took her across
Canada to Festivals, Concerts, Clubs and Schools. Wendy also works
as a Music Therapist, bringing the joy of music to the elderly and
those facing end of life challenges.
Dave Symington
Electronic Drums
Dave has had a disability (C5-6 quadriplegic) since a diving
accident in 1975. He has been involved in disability advocacy,
program and service development, and community integration for
almost 40 years. He has worked extensively in the post secondary
education system as a special education coordinator, service
provider, policy driver, and awareness and team builder. Dave cofounded the Vancouver Adapted Music Society with Sam Sullivan
some 25 years ago. He is well connected to a number of bands and
musicians and performs with numerous groups as a drummer (using
electronic pads). Dave began acting about two years ago and has delivered a number of
performances of a one hour monologue called Recalculating (written by Lucas A Foss).
He sits on numerous boards and committees and is very active in music, sailing, acting,
and travel.
The Music
Horizon:
A song which explores the quality and
stages of life. Love carries on throughout
our lives. The music is fluid, slow, and
uplifting.
Carving Canoes:
Written by Sylvi after attending the Ut’sam witness ceremony. The song is both modern
and connected to ancient musical traditions of the First Nations groups of our region. The
song tells a story of broken relationships personally and in history; leading up to the
difficult path to healing we face.
Why:
An upbeat exploration of love, life, and the eventual meaning of our brief time here.
Aural Shadows:
This song is partly spoken poetry, painting a remarkable and poignant portrait of a lost
relationship and unrequited love. The tune rises and falls in pitch and tempo as the song
and the relationship progress.
Phoenix:
This song looks at the loss of those who choose to end their own lives and the forces
which drive them to desperation.
The Feather:
A tribute to the loss of loved ones and the love we carry for them long after their passing.
The song is melodic, poetic, and eventually triumphant.
Coastal chants:
This song has a strong beat and powerful melodies The song is both modern and inspired
by ancient musical traditions of the First Nations. Many of the lyrics to this song affirm
the connections we have with one another and with nature.
Press
Songs create a communal soundscape
Folk Rock: MacCormac’s only concession to MS was trading guitar for harmonica
Tom Harrison,The Garage, The Province, Published: Tuesday, June 03, 2014
A remarkable thing happened to sylvi macCormac on her way to becoming a folksinger.
Remarkable because you can’t call being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis funny.
Remarkable because, even though she gets around in a wheelchair, macCormac has become a folksinger.
Remarkable because she hasn’t let the perceived disabilities hold her back. She has become internationally
recognized for her soundscapes, contributed tracks to two Vancouver Adapted Music Society comps and two
videos sponsored by Shore FM.
Wednesday, she and her group, Horizon (Dave Symington, Wendy Solloway, Brenda Baird, Ross Barrett), will
perform songs from her forthcoming The Feather at the Kickstart Disability Arts and Culture Festival.
The Feather, which is being recorded at the VAMS studio at G.F. Strong, will be her fourth album. MacCormac no
longer plays guitar, but flashes about a harmonica, which has become part of her sound.
“It had got to the point where I couldn’t play guitar, that folk-rock,” she recalls. “So the MS pushed me to it.
“I was a picture framer and I was a folk-rock singer,” macCormac continues. “I wanted to tour Canada. That was
my vision. Now, I’ve returned to folk-rock. It was kind of returning to my first love.”
The Feather will be re-recordings of songs that have stood out on her three previous albums. macCormac sings
with a hushed intimacy not unlike one of her primary influences, Joni Mitchell, but she also evokes her Irish
heritage and a love of nature.
“I think they’ve summarized the feeling I originally had,” she says of the songs chosen for The Feather. “As I was
doing the soundscapes, I thought, ‘I have to do this. I have to put a band together.’ Seeing the audience enjoying
it. It’s really lovely to go back to the old songs. “It’s really lovely to go out there again.”
The soundscapes have become an important adjunct to her identity.
They are found sounds, a collage of bird songs, waves hitting the beach, insects buzzing, tea kettles whistling,
conversations overheard. They are not merely ambient abstractions.
“I think there are different philosophies,” macCormac says. “It can be about the awareness of sound around us. It
can be about what is healthy or unhealthy and how it affects us.”
She got into making soundscapes by studying SFU’s Barry Truax, a modern classical composer, but her guide was
Hildegard Westerkamp’s Voices Of The Place. She made her first soundscape not long after she was diagnosed
with M.S. and still able to walk in on her own to the VAMS studio.
In 1999, one of her soundscapes received an honourable mention from the International Electro-Acoustic
Foundation and she’s been recognized for another, Voices And Wheels.
She was appearing as a clown at the Children’s Festival when she realized something was wrong. macCormac
was tired, numb, losing her vision. She’d be fine one day and then she’d be sick the next. She was told she had
multiple sclerosis in 1982.
Since then, macCormac has endeavoured to live by her belief in respect, understanding, compassion and came to
a conclusion. “It wasn’t about me,” she says. “I was part of the horizon. It’s about community and being supported
by the community. I didn’t have an image of myself. I just wanted to be a folksinger.
“MS teaches you in a way,” she observes. “You don’t know what you’ve got until you lose it.”
© The Province 2014
DESPITE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, SYLVI KEEPS ON PLAYING
JANUARY 29, 2014 JENNY PENG 彭執瑄
Musician sylvi macCormac sings on stage at launch party of The Strong Session, a
CD featuring artists with severe physical disabilities (Nov. 30, 2013).
Electronic soundscape composition was foreign to sylvi macCormac until she was
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1982. Although she was hooked on playing
guitar, knowing that she would eventually lose the ability to play, she turned to
studying computer music at Simon Fraser University. She sang one of the surprise
ballads of the night dedicated to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines
in their native tongue. She also prides herself for being able to sing in Cantonese,
Mandarin, Kurdish, French and some Italian. The international flavor and
environmental themes of her music are inspired by her Celtic past and present
awareness of immigrant communities in Vancouver. The result was a renewed
passion from letting go of guitar playing, and immersing herself in soundscape
composition and singing. “When one door closed, another opened . . . we do that
as people—we keep growing and adapting,” said macCormac.
http://jennypeng08.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/despite-multiple-sclerosis-sylvi- keepson-playing/
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http://thelasource.com/fr/2014/05/26/kickstart-un-coup-de-pouce-aux-artisteshandicapes/
Contact Us
[email protected]
Formoreinformation,pleaseseethesesites:
cbc/music : http://music.cbc.ca/#/bands/sylvi-macCormac
cdbaby : http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/SylviMaccormac
iTunes : https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sylvi-maccormac/id287904131
myspace : https://myspace.com/sylvimaccormac
revernation : http://www.reverbnation.com/sylvimaccormac
soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/sylvi_maccormac
twitter : https://twitter.com/sylvimacCormac
Oremailusat:
[email protected] Sylvi macCormac is able to perform and present
• Solo with voice, harmonica and backing tracks
• With the band, Horizon, including 3-6 musicians playing keys,
saxophone, flute, viola, bass, electronic drums
• Electroacoustic and Soundscape Compositions
• Workshops exploring theory & practice of Soundscape Composition
Venue must be access-able for musicians in wheel chairs.
“Itwasn’taboutme,Iwaspartofthehorizon”