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Bekah Simms
Simms in 2022
Born1990 (age 33–34)
Mount Pearl, Canada
Alma mater

Bekah Simms (born 1990) is a Canadian composer of contemporary classical music.[1]

Education

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Simms was born and raised in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, where she studied at the nearby Memorial University of Newfoundland with composer Andrew Staniland.[2] At Memorial University, she received a Bachelor of Music in music theory and composition in addition to a Bachelor of Music Education.[3] She also holds Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Toronto[4] where her teachers included Gary Kulesha, Christos Hatzis, and Norbert Palej.[3] Her thesis work, Foreverdark, was subsequently performed by Esprit Orchestra.[5] Additional studies with acousmatic composer Martin Bédard in Montreal were facilitated through the PIVOT mentorship program, jointly run by the Canadian Music Centre, Canadian League of Composers, and Continuum Contemporary Music.[6]

Career

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Simms has received over 30 composition awards, prizes, and competitive selections.[1] This includes the 2019 Barlow Prize,[7] the 2017 Toronto Emerging Composer Award,[8] the 2018 Karen Kieser Prize in Canadian Music,[9] and the inclusion of her work in the official Canadian Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music's World Music Days in 2016, 2019, and 2021.[10] She was a nominee for the 2022 Gaudeamus Award.[11]

Simms released her debut album, impurity chains, in September 2018 to positive reviews.[12][13] The composition Granitic was subsequently nominated for a 2019 Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year,[14] and her composition Everything Is... Distorted was nominated for a 2020 Juno Award for Classical Composition of the year.[15][16] Her second full-length album, Bestiaries (2022), received critical acclaim including inclusion on several year-end best-of lists.[17][18][19][20][21] In 2023, she received her third Juno nomination in the same category for "Bestiary I & II," which she won.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Bekah Simms". Canadian Music Centre. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  2. ^ Wall, Lukas (2019-02-02). "N.L. composer Bekah Simms nominated for classical Juno Award". CBC News. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  3. ^ a b "Bekah Simms, Composer". bekahsimms.com. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  4. ^ Sweet, Barb (2019-01-31). "Mount Pearl native gains Juno nod". SaltWire. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  5. ^ The Musical Mind #25: Bekah Simms and Amahl Arulanandam, 2019-03-29, retrieved 2019-07-14
  6. ^ "PIVOT showcase concert to be presented by Continuum Contemporary Music". Canadian League of Composers. 2017-02-28. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  7. ^ "Prize Recipients". Brigham Young University College of Fine Arts and Communications. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
  8. ^ "Bekah Simms wins the 2017 CMC Toronto Emerging Composer Award". Canadian Music Centre. 2017-02-03. Archived from the original on 2019-09-08.
  9. ^ "Karen Kieser Prize Concert Programme" (PDF). University of Toronto Faculty of Music. January 22, 2019.
  10. ^ "Simms, Bekah". ISCM Catalogue. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  11. ^ "Gaudeamus Award 2022 nominees". Gaudeamus Muziekweek. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  12. ^ Gray, Scott A. (2018-09-07). "Bekah Simms: Impurity Chains". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  13. ^ Pearce, Monica (Winter 2018). "Bekah Simms. Impurity Chains". Musicworks. No. 132. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  14. ^ "2019 Classical Composition of the Year | Bekah Simms". The Juno Awards. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  15. ^ "2020 Juno Award Nominees (Full List)". The Juno Awards. Archived from the original on 2020-04-08. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  16. ^ "Past Nominees + Winners". The JUNO Awards. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  17. ^ "Best Albums of 2022 (Part 2)". 5:4. 2022-12-31. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  18. ^ "ACL 2022 ~ Top Ten Experimental". a closer listen. 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  19. ^ "Best Albums of 2022 (According to Trinket Trance)". Irregular Dreams. 2022-12-31. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  20. ^ "The Best Contemporary Classical on Bandcamp: October 2022". Bandcamp Daily. 2022-10-26. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  21. ^ "textura". www.textura.org. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  22. ^ "2023 Classical Composition of the Year | Bekah Simms |". The JUNO Awards. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
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