Canadian composer Rodney Sharman has three new works debuting this month… First up is the world premiere of his new Violin Concerto on March 6 and 7 with soloist Jonathan Crow and the Victoria Symphony, conducted by music director Tania Miller. Then on March 26 and 27, the same orchestra with guest conductor Alain Trudel premieres “Romantic Ideals.” The pieces are the culmination of Sharman’s three-year residency with the orchestra. Yet another premiere, “Song without Words” for English horn and orchestra, took place last season.
Sharman’s third March premiere is “Notes on ‘Beautiful.’” Based on a song from “Sunday in the Park with George,” it’s a short piano work that’s part of Anthony de Mare‘s program of tributes to Stephen Sondheim. The premiere is March 5 at the Banff Center.
A resident of Vancouver, Sharman has also held residencies with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He’s collaborated extensively with choreographer James Kudelka, writing four different scores for his work at various U.S. and Canadian ballet companies.
Sharman, 52, says that there’s an occasional gay current in his works, such as the 1998 opera “Elsewhereless,” with a libretto by the filmmaker Atom Egoyan. And then there’s “gay humor” in cabaret songs, including “Wooden Shoes,” about his Dutch ex-husband, and “Crossing Over” about a straight cross dresser.
