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Alexina Louie (born 30 July 1949) is a Canadian composer of Chinese descent who has written many pieces for orchestra, as well as pieces for solo piano.

Biography

Louie was born in Vancouver, and began studying piano at age seven. At age seventeen she became an Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Piano Performance. In 1970 she graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor's degree in Music history. In 1974 she completed a Master's degree in Composition at the University of California, San Diego, where she studied under Robert Erickson and Pauline Oliveros. Louie then taught piano, music theory, and electronic music at Pasadena City College from 1974-80, and at Los Angeles City College from 1976-80. Since 1980 she has lived in Toronto, Ontario. In 1996, she became composer-in-residence for the Canadian Opera Company. As of 2006, Louie is a composer-in-residence at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

Works

Alexina Louie's music represents the mixture of Eastern and Western music. Louie's inspirations include Debussy, Mozart, and Bach. In Louie's music, she combines traditional structures with contemporary language.

Louie first attained national and international recognition in 1982 with her O Magnum Mysterium: In Memoriam Glenn Gould. Louie also composed the opening music for Expo 86 in Vancouver, The Ringing Earth. Some of her other compositions include Three Fanfares from the Ringing Earth, which opened the new National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and Scenes from a Jade Terrace, which opened the new Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. Her most recent composition, a National Arts Centre commission entitled Infinite Sky With Birds, debuted on February 22, 2006.

Recognition

Louie has received numerous awards. In 1986, Louie was named Composer of the Year, and in both 1988 and 1998, she won Juno Awards. In 1990 and 1992 she won the SOCAN music award. In 1997, Louie received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary. In 2005 she became an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2006, she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. ^[1]

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