Genus Trilogy, the composition work of Carleton University music students Graydon Campbell, Andrew Burn, and John Dapaah was featured at the National Arts Centre’s sold-out Light and Line integrated-arts performance on May 15, 2009.
Genus Trilogy arose from a partnership between Carleton and The School of Dance when the School approached assistant professor James Wright in hopes the university would help celebrate the tremendous gift artist David Galbraith donated to the organization – his painting Genus. Wright choose the musicians from 18 student composers who were asked to write a programmatic piece (a single movement for string quartet) that would convey extra-musical ideas, images, narratives, or sentiments inspired by Genus. The piece was to be understood as a work that would be set to modern dance choreography.
Genus was the centrepiece of Light and Line, a spring project produced by The School of Dance exploring the creative process of Galbraith along with performance interpretations of the painting by young dancers, composers, and musicians.
Listen to composer Graydon Campbell, artist David Galbraith, and choreographer Sylvie Desrosiers speak on CBC’s All in a Day here.