Brandon Chamber Players 13 Strings Concert The Mechanics of Bloom (World Premiere) by Luis Ramirez (2025) Performed at the Lorne Watson Recital Hall April 17th 2025 Brandon, MB, Canada

Help us Promote Canadian Art Music: https://www.composersorchestra.ca/contribute Learn More About The Canadian Composers Orchestra: https://www.composersorchestra.ca/history-of-the-cco COMPOSER: Luis Ramirez PERFORMERS: Michael Murphy, Hoi Tong Keung, Bevis Ng, and Andrew Rasmus PRODUCERS & DIRECTORS: Domenic Clark, Massimo Russo, Dhruval Patel ABOUT THE COMPOSER: Luis Ramirez (b. 1992, Aguascalientes, Mexico) is a Mexican-Canadian composer known for his vibrant, rhythmically intricate textures and evocative soundscapes, blending Mexican folklore with cinematic storytelling. Praised by Jocelyn Morlock for his "great talent and imaginative, unique voice," his works have been performed by major orchestras including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México. Based in Toronto, he is completing his doctorate under Randolph Peters at York University. A NextGen Composer with the Toronto Symphony and a Composer Fellow with the Hamilton Philharmonic, he has received awards like the Sir Ernest MacMillan Award and the CMC Prairie Region Emerging Composer Competition. His compositions have premiered at international festivals such as Festival Cervantino in Mexico, Chamberfest in Ottawa, Prisms Festival in Arizona, and Casalmaggiore Festival in Italy. Recent commissions include works for Duo Concertante, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Trio Kalysta.

Iridescence - Luis Ramirez (2024) Commissioned by Duo Concertante October 2024

Azure, for viola and piano - Luis Ramirez (2019) Ontario premiere performed by the Ezra Duo Jacob Clewell, viola Sasha Bult-Ito, piano Program notes: 1. Wheatfield 0:00 A serene and melancholic landscape of flowing wheat and dancing clouds filled with energy, that get prematurely subdued. 2. Whiteout 4:40 An impetuous blizzard drowns the landscape with massive flurries of snow, turning it into a gelid nightmare of commotion and uncertainty. 3. Borealis 10:01 The landscape is left in a bleak and sorrowful state, and as the snow continues to fall, iridescent snowflakes coalesce with the scintillating beauty of northern lights in the sky. 4. Sunglow 16:10 A slowly rising sun turns the landscape into a shifting gradient of light and warmth, constantly increasing in energy, brightness, and life. *This movement uses a version of the traditional Métis fiddle tune Red River Jig, recorded by Winnipeg fiddler Reg Bouvette. --- Azure is the color of the sky in one of its deepest forms of blue. In this work, the sky’s leitmotif is present throughout the movements in the shape of high-pitched harmonies and arpeggios on the piano and serves as the backdrop for the constantly morphing landscapes. This piece follows the traditional seasonal structure of a school year in Manitoba that similarly moves continuously on a cycle: painfully short autumn, terribly bitter winter, followed by a second winter, and a suddenly fiery summer. Azure is like a fast-paced road trip over the Manitoban prairies, driving swiftly through its seasons, colors, and scenery. --- December 10, 2024 Arts & Letters Club of Toronto Toronto, ON

Picante, para orquesta sinfónica compuesta por Luis Ramirez Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México Director, Ludwig Carrasco Palacio de Bellas Artes Octubre 27, 2024 Ciudad de México

Prompt - by Luis Ramirez (2022) performed during ASU PRISMS New Music Festival The last couple of years have seen an incredible acceleration in the development of Artificial Intelligence. One of the areas with the most impressive progress is that of image-generating algorithms, which has seen a huge increase in popularity. This surge has been mainly due to the release of Dalle-2, an AI system that generates very impressive and detailed images based on users’ text prompts, and it was recently made available to the public for the first time. Deciphering the key to obtaining the most accurate results has led to the emerging field of prompt engineering. This is the meticulous crafting and testing of different prompts in order to yield the best results from the generator, and it is precisely the focus of Prompt. The mission of the performers is to craft a compelling prompt for the generator. They test out these prompts by exchanging musical gestures, and refine them by adding small variations or complementing each other's lines. The question is - can a prompt be so detailed and well designed so that there is virtually no difference between the image generated and reality? This prompt exploration is accompanied by gradually-evolving speech-synthesis technology, representing both the improvement of the prompt and the accelerating development of Artificial Intelligence, or what is called the "Technological Singularity". This concept asks a much larger and critical question - What will happen after Artificial Intelligence surpasses Human Intelligence?

La pasión de toda la vida de mi padre por la panadería siempre me ha cautivado, especialmente con su noción de la "muerte de la levadura" refiriéndose al momento en que el pan está listo. Esta idea me pareció profundamente poética y es la principal fuente de inspiración para este trabajo. Levadura es una odisea musical que sumerge a los oyentes en los microprocesos de la preparación del pan desde la perspectiva de la levadura, animándolos a contemplar el profundo viaje de la levadura y la belleza inherente en los procesos ordinarios que nos sostienen. El viaje comienza con una introducción etérea, visualizando ingredientes convergiendo lentamente en una sola masa de masa. Dentro de esta atmósfera etérea, la levadura emerge gradualmente como una colonia de microorganismos altamente activos. A medida que la música se transforma en una sección animada y similar a un baile, encarna la coreografía alegre de amasar la masa, con ritmos que reflejan el golpe de la masa en la mesa. La levadura despierta, se estira y se prepara para su transformación principal. La música adopta un tono pegajoso, reflejando el estado "ebrio" de la levadura durante el levado. Simula el proceso de fermentación mientras la levadura consume azúcares y la masa continúa aumentando. Con cada instrumento contribuyendo a un tapiz contrapuntístico armonioso, la elaboración del pan toma forma. La música se intensifica para reflejar el proceso de horneado, utilizando efectos percusivos y gestos dramáticos para representar el aumento de la temperatura y la expansión de miles de millones de células de levadura. En los últimos momentos, la composición cambia a una marcha fúnebre solemne para la levadura. Hay una inquietante anticipación mientras las células de levadura encuentran su destino. Sin embargo, en medio de la solemnidad, hay una dulce reflexión que honra el sacrificio de la levadura, proporcionando cuerpo, aroma y sabor al pan, y en última instancia, sacrificando su vida para darnos sustento a nosotros.

In Mexican slang, the word "chido" [chee-doh] is used to describe when something is cool, awesome, beautiful, interesting, attractive, or exciting. This is the story of a man who had everything figured out. He was chido in every definition of the word. He strolled the city with obvious swagger. His words were magnetic. People flocked to hear him speak because he knew everything. His confidence radiated, and no person could even imagine being as interesting and amazing as him. He had the kind of appeal that commanded the attention and admiration of everyone around him. His life was perfect and he didn’t have a worry in the world. There wasn’t a thing he would change. And then he woke up. -- Chido, for Symphony Orchestra, by Luis Ramirez Premiered during the Winnipeg New Music Festival 2018 by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra January 30th, 2018 Centennial Concert Hall Winnipeg, MB, Canada https://www.cutza.xyz

Mi Piñata, by Luis Ramirez World premiere performed by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with Gustavo Gimeno conducting. Roy Thomson Hall, April 27th, 2022. Toronto ON Program Notes This piece is about the empowerment, jubilance, and catharsis in meticulously crafting something whose ultimate purpose is to be destroyed ferociously. There is something viscerally powerful in the destruction of a beautiful, meticulously crafted creation. While the history and symbolism of the piñata are interesting, this piece is not about that. This piece is about its deeply meaningful presence to a child, focusing on the excitement and anticipation of breaking "Mi Piñata". In the Mexican tradition, the breaking of the piñata is the highlight of any major communal celebration. During the celebration, all the children line up and take turns to strike the piñata, and the moment you receive the stick you are immediately empowered. The anticipation of landing the final blow can feel more meaningful and enjoyable than the delectable reward inside. The moment of destruction is a glorious one - a cathartic experience and an incredible way to release deeply-rooted emotions we otherwise might not know how to address. Piñatas are a certainty in any party or celebration, and this ritual of physical and psychological release leaves an indelible imprint on those who grow up experiencing it. "Mi Piñata" captures this powerful sensory and emotional experience from the perspective of a child, for whom it constitutes a kind of focused excitement and exhilaration like no other. The piñata artisans put painstaking work and immense craftsmanship into their products, transforming scraps of cardboard and paper into an exciting shape to be destroyed. I represent this in the music by constructing the entire piece around a single idea, a tiny melodic fragment evoking the folk songs chanted during the breaking of the piñata. The small fragments build up one after another, as the full piñata gradually emerges accompanied by a childlike spirit of anticipation and excitement. Once assembled, the music is festive and jubilant up until the first strike of the stick. Each “hit” that lands increasingly distorts the musical content, morphing into joyous cacophony until there is nothing left but a kaleidoscopic display of colour, candy, and cheers. The premise of creating something beautiful only to destroy it is counter to the human instinct to preserve and cherish. At the same time, it is an empowering and liberating act akin to what occurs in nature and life: the certainty of the impermanence in all things, even the most beautifully and meticulously crafted. What matters in the end is the community and the joy of being with each other. Mi Piñata was commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra to celebrate their 100th season. The piñata is an icon of Mexican folklore and, for me, a most fitting way to celebrate this incredible achievement.