Victoria concert features work of rising composer

Earthquakes and Islands, a new work by Juno-nominated Canadian composer Andrew Staniland, will be performed at the University of Victoria tonight.

The 7:30 p.m. concert at the Phillip T. Young Recital Hall is part of the Victoria Summer Music Festival, a series of chamber music concerts continuing to Aug. 9.

Set to the poetry of Robin Richardson, Earthquakes and Islands had its première in New York in May last year. It will be sung by soprano Martha Guth and baritone Tyler Duncan with pianist Erika Switzer. The trio will also perform Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe.

Staniland is considered a rising star in Canadian composition. His work Dark Star Requiem was nominated for a Juno award. The New Yorker magazine described his music as “alternately beautiful and terrifying.”

The festival continues on Tuesday with Schumann’s Violin Sonata in A Minor, Suite for Two Violins and Piano by Moritz Moszkowski and Brahms’ B Major Trio. The works will be performed by violinist William Preucil, violinist Alexandra Preucil, pianist Arthur Rowe and cellist Cameron Crozman.

The Preucils, Crozman and Rowe join violist Yariv Aloni on Aug. 3 to play Mozart’s Violin Sonata in B Flat Major, Dvorak’s Piano Quartet in E Flat Major and short works by Reinhold Glière.

The Dover Quartet, winners of the 2013 Banff International String Competition, will play two concerts at the festival. The first, on Aug. 8, features three string quartets by Schumann.

The program for the second concert on Aug. 9 includes Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1 and Simon Lak’s Quartet No. 3. Violist David Harding will then join the Dover Quartet for Dvorak’s Violin Quintet Op. 97.

All concerts are at the Phillip T. Young Recital Hall. Tickets and further information are available at vsmf.org.