Composer, Arranger, Musician
Michelle Lorimer
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This suite for orchestra is an exploration of the various stages of grief...It was the culminating project of my time at Humber, and also a personal journey.
*full orchestral scores are available for all of these.
1. Denial (3:03)
2. Bargaining (2:48)
3. Anger & Depression (6:20)
4. Acceptance (6:00)
This piece was commissioned by the Sonority Sisters, Toronto flute & violin duo made up of Clare Semes & Kelly Zimba-Lukić. It tries to capture what it was like commuting by subway in Toronto, when I was younger! Video included! Premiered in Toronto, November 2023.
03
This recording, with the FAMES Recording Orchestra in Macedonia, was made possible by the AWFC (Alliance for Women Film Composers) Recording Initiative program, which I was honoured to be a part of. This piece for string orchestra tells the story of Igor Gouzenko, Canadian-Russian cyber clerk whose daring admission to the Canadian government made him a man wanted abroad and a man suspect "at home"...full score available.
04
Flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon.
Someone asked me if I'd ever written a woodwind quintet. I hadn't! In doing so, I fell in love with the combination of these woodwind voices! I'm grateful to Toronto's Quintageous Quintet for musician feedback!
05
This piece for concert band/wind ensemble, was commissioned by the Peterborough Concert Band as part of their 2024 Emerging Composers Competition. Score available for purchase.
06
Jazz fusion: bass, percussion, 2 flutes, piano,
keyboard & string trio
A little play in the Dorian mode, with Bach's
Gavotte in C minor as an inspiration!
07
Jazz song, female vocal + piano, bass, drums
details. this little song is in the vein of an American songbook (32 bar) number...a modern twist though, on a universal theme...
08
for string quintet and harp
composed for Allegra Chamber Orchestra's Composers Incubator, and performed by the Allegra Chamber Ensemble
May 2024, Vancouver BC.
Score available for purchase.
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For chamber orchestra & vocal
So fun to hear the voices of the orchestra colour this colourful hit. An excerpt of my arrangement (with vocal mock-up)...
Jazz fusion, chill - for piano & percussion
details. sometimes it's just 3 chords, and endless variety...
Based on a poem by Malcolm Guite, this piece for percussion and violin was commissioned for a concert series at Saint Matthew's Anglican in Toronto, and premiered by Duo Holz - violinist Aysel Taghi-Zada and percussionist Michael Murphy.
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Jazz trio - piano, bass, drums
details. this little tune is something that invites improvisation, inspired by the letting go and the return home that fall, one of my favourite seasons, signals...
14
Jazz fusion: tabla + drums; bass, sitar; piano, organ, tenor sax, trombone & trumpet.
It's an experiment (and was an assignment) -- total reverence for the original masterpiece though.
15
Small orchestral ensemble: violin, cello, flute, clarinet, piano
Shostsakovich's 24 Preludes & Fugues for piano are diverse in mood & development...this one in D seemed beautiful for the voices of a Pierrot ensemble! The piano begins the prelude, preserving Shostakovich's original intent and introducing the key motif & pattern...before the voices of the ensemble join in. In this arrangement, I kept rather strictly to his voicings -- distributing the lines among the instruments in this ensemble, doubling for effect where needed.
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string quartet
Theme from "The Castle of Cagliostro" - Yuji Ohno, 1979
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This poem by 20th century American poet, Marianne Moore, evokes the transient, the ephemeral, the ever-changing nature of the moment -- especially a moment we're trying to hold on to. Here's the complete text: Jelly-Fish.
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loops/dance mix
This one was an experiment in combining bass ostinato,
odd time signature & counterpoint writing!