Commission Michael Matthews: Collaborate on a New Work
If you are interested in commissioning a new composition, this page explains how to commission Michael Matthews to create a work tailored to your ensemble, organization, or solo performance. Whether for chamber ensemble, orchestra, or soloist, each commissioned piece is shaped through close collaboration with the commissioner. Read more about the composer’s background and creative approach. A sample list of works is available here. To request scores and/or performance materials click here.
Selected Commissioned Works
Many ensembles and institutions have chosen to commission Michael Matthews. These partnerships have resulted in music that ranges from delicate chamber textures to expansive orchestral scores. Past commissioners include GroundSwell, SOLI Chamber Ensemble, ensemble mosaik, The Harrington/Loewen Duo, Meduse, the Onix Ensemble, Agassiz Music Festival and Agassiz Chamber Music Series, the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet, BIT 20 Ensemble, the Mondriaan Quartet, the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, the Carlos Chavez Orchestra, the Kiev Camerata Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
More collaborative commissions
In addition, commissions have come from the Hilliard Ensemble, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the Molinari String Quartet, the Cuarteto Latinoamericano, Ensemble Resonance, the Thira Ensemble, Vancouver New Music Society, the Roseberry Orchestra (U.K.), Prairie Theatre Exchange, CBC Radio, Aurora Musicale, Music Inter Alia, and the Korean chapter of the International Society for Contemporary Music.
Soloists Who Have Commissioned New Works
Individual performers have also initiated commissions, creating unique works in close dialogue with the composer. These include Therese Costes, Alejandro Escuer, Lori Freedman, Corey Hamm, Beverly Johnston, Sarah Jo Kirsch, Sara Laimon, Paul Marleyn, Poul Rosenbaum, Shirley Sawatzky, Harry Sparnaay and Peter Vinograde. Michael
Funding and How to Begin
Organizations and individuals from any country may apply for grants—such as those offered by the Canada Council for the Arts—to commission Michael Matthews. As a result, many commissions have received full financial support. If the application is successful, funding typically covers the entire fee.
Michael is happy to assist with the application process and provide support throughout the development of the work.
If you’re ready to begin or have questions, please use the contact form to get in touch.
Thank you for your interest in my music.
—Michael Matthews
Commissions
| 2021 | it is raining gently with light – Commissioned by Madeline Hildebrand and GroundSwell (Canada Council) |
| 2019 | perishable light – Commissioned by Park Sounds (Canada Council) |
| 2016 | Septet – Commissioned by ensemble mosaik (Canada Council) |
| 2013 | Soló queda el desierto – Commissioned by L’Orchestre de chambre de Montréal |
| 2012 | and the sky caught – Commissioned by Trio “86 (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 2011 | String Quartet No. 4 – Commissioned by the Penderecki Quartet (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 2009 | Concerto for Flute and Orchestra – Commissioned by Alejandro Escuer and the San Luis Potosi Symphony Orchestra (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 2009 | from the bench of shadow – Commissioned by the Quasar Quartet (Canada Council) |
| 2007 | El Viento Helado – Commissioned by the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet |
| 2007 | De Reflejo a Fulgor – Commissioned by the Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras |
| 2007 | Night Music – Commissioned by John Racaru |
| 2005 | The Skin of Night – Commissioned by the Harrington/Loewen Duo (Canada Council) |
| 2005 | A Star of Solitude – Commissioned by the Meduse Ensemble (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 2005 | The Language of Water – Commissioned by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 2004 | Symphony No. 3 – Commissioned by the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra |
| 2004 | Prince Kaspar – Chamber Opera in 13 scenes |
| 2004 | Piano Quartet – Commissioned by the Agassiz Chamber Music Festival |
| 2003 | Away, Tear Away – Commissioned by the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 2003 | String Quartet No. 2 – Commissioned by the Mondriaan String Quartet |
| 2002 | Fire falls, ice falls – Commissioned by the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra |
| 2002 | . . . far off, toward forgetting . . – Commissioned by the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra |
| 2002 | Particles of One – Commissioned by the BIT20 Ensemble |
| 2002 | Prelude to Macbeth – Commissioned by the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra |
| 2002 | Hommage à György Kurtág – Commissioned by the Agassiz Chamber Music Festival |
| 2002 | Across the Glass – Commissioned by Therese Costes |
| 2002 | Wondering – Commissioned by the Canadian Music Centre |
| 2001 | Song Fragments – Commissioned by the Agassiz Chamber Players |
| 2000 | Las Blancas Sombras – Commissioned by Ian Hodges and Charlene Pauls (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 2000 | Miniatures – Commissioned by the Molinari String Quartet |
| 2000 | Vertical Garden – Commissioned by Flautist Alejandro Escuer |
| 2000 | expecting/the sun – Commissioned by Ensemble Resonance (Canada Council) |
| 2000 | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra – Commissioned by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (Canada Council) |
| 2000 | The Deeper Sky – Commissioned by the University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1999 | String Quartet No. 1 – Commissioned by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano |
| 1999 | . . . of the rolling worlds – Commissioned by Harry Sparnaay |
| 1998 | Partita – Images/Fragments – Commissioned by the Winnipeg Chamber Music Society (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1998 | Fantasy/Nocturne – Commissioned by Corey Hamm (Canada Council) |
| 1998 | Into the Page of Night – Commissioned by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1997 | Concerto for Piano and Orchestra – Commissioned by the Carlos Chavez Orchestra of Mexico City (Canada Council) |
| 1997 | Ernst Toller: Requiem for an Idea – Written with the assistance of a Composer Development Grant (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1996 | Concerto for Percussion and Wind Ensemble – Commissioned by the University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1996 | Lorca Sketches – Commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |
| 1996 | Concerto Grosso – Commissioned by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1995 | Deux chansons d’amour – Commissioned by the Eckhardt–Gramatté Foundation (Canada Council, Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1994 | Symphony No. 1 – Commissioned by the Kiev Camerata Orchestra (Canada Council) |
| 1994 | Matrix – Commissioned by the John Henderson Junior High School Wind Ensemble (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1993 | In Emptiness, Over Emptiness – Commissioned by the International Computer Music Association |
| 1993 | Two Night Pieces – Commissioned by the Hilliard Ensemble (Canada Council) |
| 1993 | Scattered Mirrors – Commissioned by pianist Shirley Sawatzky for a 1993 tour of Atlantic Canada (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1992 | Out of the Earth – Commissioned by Owen Underhill and the Vancouver New Music Society for their 1992-93 season (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1992 | Dog and Crow – A play by Michael Springate – incidental music commissioned by Prairie Theatre Exchange for the world premier production |
| 1992 | The North Revisited – Commissioned by CBC Radio as part of a special series of programs dedicated to Glenn Gould |
| 1992 | Music for Ancient Spaces – Commissioned by the St. Norbert Arts and Cultural Centre for a festival celebrating their official opening (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1991 | Between the Wings of the Earth – Commissioned by Simon Streatfeild and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra for their 1992-93 season (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1991 | Rooms of Light – Commissioned by the Winnipeg Singers (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1991 | The Raft – A play by Patrick Friesen – incidental music commissioned by Prairie Theatre Exchange for the world premier production |
| 1990 | Layerings – vibraphone and tape – Commissioned by percussionist Beverly Johnston (Canada Council) |
| 1990 | Four Songs of Japan – Commissioned by pianist Delores Keahey for the 1990-91 season of Ivory Echoes (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1990 | Three Echoes – Commissioned by the University of Manitoba Suzuki Orchestra |
| 1990 | Landscape – Commissioned by pianist Margaret Bruce and the Roseberry Orchestra (U.K.) (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1990 | Songs of the Masked Dancers – Commissioned by Thira for their 1989-90 season |
| 1989 | Of Time and Sky – Commissioned by Danish pianist Poul Rosenbaum (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1988 | The First Sea – Commissioned by bass clarinettist Lori Freedman for a performance at the Music Gallery in Toronto |
| 1987 | Wind Sketches – Commissioned by Aurora Musicale for their 10th-anniversary concert season (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1987 | The Far Field – Commissioned by Kazuhiro Koizumi and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for their 1987-88 season (Canada Council) |
| 1986 | Castilla – Commissioned by Music Plus (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1986 | Piano Trio – Commissioned by The Manitoba Trio (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1985 | Into a Long Moment – Commissioned by Music Inter Alia (Manitoba Arts Council) |
| 1984 | Prelude – Commissioned by the Taejon Wind Ensemble (Korea) |
| 1984 | Stone and Silence – Commissioned by the Mokwon University Orchestra (Korea) |
| 1984 | Five Poems of Walt Whitman – Commissioned by the International Society for Contemporary Music, Korea Chapter |
| 1984 | Folk Songs – Commissioned by soprano Therese Costes |
| 1983 | Elegy – Commissioned by pianist Charles Horton |
| 1982 | Mosaic – Commissioned by the chamber ensemble BL Lacerta |
| 1981 | Woman – Commissioned by filmmaker S.D. Cassidy |
| 1979 | if there are any heavens – Commissioned by soprano Therese Costes |