Situated in Hamilton Ontario, Stelco Steel was founded in 1900 by the amalgamation of the Hamilton Steel and Iron Company with the Canada Screw Company, Montreal Rolling Mills, the Dominion Wire Manufacturing Company and the Canada Bolt and Nut Company. Their employees formed a union under the umbrella of the United Steelworkers of America in 1946. Stelco Steel was sold to U.S. Steel in 2007, and in 2013 steel was no longer being produced at the Hamilton Works location.
The seduction of the sound of industry has inspired many composers (Verdi, Wagner, Antheil, Varese, Ruttmann, Andriessen). But, one of the great ‘instruments’ of urban life is now getting harder and harder to experience first-hand. It has been years since I first experienced the sound of a steam locomotive (Tallinn, Estonia), Hydro-Electric Generator (Niagara Falls) and steel forge (Hamilton), but I remember each of them vividly. To celebrate Canada’s 150th year, my piece is be a homage to these places and the people in Canada who risk life and limb to manipulate and assemble the heavy materials that have created our urban world.
Omar Daniel received his DMA in composition from the University of Toronto in 1995, and before coming to Western University in 2000, he taught at Wilfrid Laurier University. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in composition, electronic music, analysis and orchestration.
He is an active composer, and has composed extensively in solo, chamber, electronic, orchestral and operatic idioms, having received commissions from many of Canada’s leading ensembles and performing organizations. As well, his composition prizes include the CBC Young Composer’s Competition, the SOCAN Composer’s Competition, the K.M. Hunter Arts Award, and he was the 1997 recipient of the Jules Lèger Award for New Chamber Music.
Omar Daniel’s current research interests explore the inclusion of ancient Estonian folksong material in his original compositions: Metsa Maasikad (Wild Strawberries), Violin Concerto, Mehetapja (Husband Killer) and Üheksa Eesti Regilaulud (Nine Estonian Runo Songs) all explore this relationship.
Daniel’s analytical interests are broad, but have a particular focus on composers from northern and eastern Europe including Kurtág, Schnittke, Ustvolskaya, Pärt, Gubaidulina and Rehnqvist.
All of Daniel’s publications are available through the Canadian Music Centre.
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