Instruments of Happiness

Composer / guitarist Tim Brady simply defies categorization - an electric guitar virtuoso who writes operas, plays concertos and feels as comfortable 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 30 years. The guitar as orchestra - from intimate solos to massive multiple guitar loops and samples, the music is a highly personal synthesis of new music, jazz, rock and electronics.

For the past 25 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 as Composer of the Year by the Conseil québécois de la musique, and in 2007 he was awarded the Jan. V. Matecjek award by SOCAN. He has performed at many national and international festivals and events, 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, and in 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. One of his most recent 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.

His orchestral music has been commissioned or performed by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Winnipeg Symphony, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the Esprit Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Thunder Bay Symphony, the Orcehstre symphonique de Laval, and the Regina Symphony.

His innovative electric guitar project “Instruments of Happiness” creates site-specific works for multiple guitars, in an imaginative collaboration between professional and community musicians. Since 2015 the project has played to large crowds in Montréal, Vancouver and Stratford, and videos of the project have had thousands of views on YouTube.

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 founding artistic director of Innovations en concert, one of Montréal’s most important new music producers. He is currently on the board of Le Groupe Le Vivier, Montréal’s new music coalition, as well as being past president of the Canadian New Music Network.

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. 22 CDs, 4 operas, 8 symphonies, and dozens of international tours later, his music continues to engage listeners around the world.

Doane Uschool is a charitable organization committed to offering highest quality music education to children regardless of their financial circumstances. Founded by recording artist Melanie Doane and Timothy Luginbuhl, Uschool is now serving over 750 students city-wide in 38 weekly classes.

Uschool students have performed with Sarah McLachlan, Chris Hadfield (International Space Station), the Writer’s Trust (Margaret Atwood’s Birthday Celebration), Emilie-Claire Barlow (Koerner Hall) and the PanAm Games (Nathan Phillips Square). 

For further information visit www.uschool.ca.