Peter Togni

Peter Anthony Togni
Peter Anthony Togni
Background information
Born (1959-09-12) September 12, 1959
Pembroke, Ontario, Canada
Origin Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Genres Classical, Jazz
Occupation(s) Composer, improvisation, organist, broadcaster, writer, conductor
Instruments Organ, Piano
Associated acts Sanctuary
Website www.petertogni.com/

Peter Anthony Togni (born September 12, 1959) is a freelance Canadian composer and broadcaster based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. "Togni's music is deeply felt, simply put, well-crafted and irradiated by a personal sense of the divine."[1]

Biography

Togni's music is spiritually rooted and contemplative. It ranges from the ethereally quiet to the explosive outer limits of contemplation. Togni has been heard everywhere from Toronto's Roy Thompson Hall, the Moscow Conservatory, the Oriental Arts Centre in Shanghai, to the Vatican in Rome for His Holiness Pope John Paul II. His music is broadcast regularly in Canada on the CBC, as well as internationally, including on the BBC, Classic FM, Deutsche Welle and Radio France.

Togni's works have been released on XXI Records, CBC Records, Hänssler Classics, Warner Classics UK. In 2010 his Lamentatio Jeremiah Prophetae, a concerto for bass clarinet and choir, was recorded by bass clarinettist Jeff Reilly and the Elmer Iseler Singers and released on the ECM label, produced by Manfred Eicher.[2] In October 2012 the Togni Trio's latest recording Spatium was released, and in 2013 Togni's latest solo CD, Piano Alone, came out.

In 2006, Togni's Illuminations (a concerto for bass clarinet and string orchestra) was nominated for a Juno award in the category Classical Composition of the Year. 2011 brought two nominations for Togni's Lamentations of Jeremiah, for an East Coast Music Award in the Classical Music category, and for a Juno award in the category Classical Composition of the Year. The work was also a finalist in 2010 for the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award. In 2012, Togni's new work Missa Liberationis, the result of a project with the Latvian Youth Choir BALSIS was published by Musica Baltica, and was premiered in Canada by Pro Coro Canada. Also in 2012, Togni was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal in honour of contributions made to Canadian community life. The Responsio project for bass clarinettist Jeff Reilly and vocal quartet premiered in July 2013 and the recording was released in 2015 on ATMA Classique, to critical acclaim.[3] The work is also the grand prize winner of the 2014 Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award. Warrior Songs, a work for percussionist Jerry Granelli and choir premiered in Bolder Colorado in 2014, with its Canadian premiere taking place in March 2015 with the Elmer Iseler Singers in Toronto. Work on Isis and Osiris, Gods of Egypt, an opera based on the libretto of Sharon Singer and in collaboration with Opera in Concert is underway, with a planned premiere for April 2016.

Togni is also a pianist, improviser and organist. He has given many solo recitals across Canada and in Europe. In July 2015, Togni took part in the 53rd Magadino International Organ Festival in Switzerland, which was co-founded by his late father, Victor Togni. He has also worked extensively in Canada as a church musician. He was music director at St. Mary's Cathedral in Calgary, an organist at St. Michael's Cathedral in Toronto and organist and choir master at St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in Halifax. He was the organist in the world-renowned trio Sanctuary alongside bass clarinettist Jeff Reilly and cellist Christoph Both. Sanctuary, which was based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was formed in 1999, and performed across Canada and around the world, at venues such as St. John's, Smith Square in London, Saint- Séverin in Paris and the Dome Cathedral in Riga, Latvia. In 2008 they were the first Canadians since Glenn Gould to play at Philharmonic Hall, in St. Petersburg Russia. They have also made several recordings including their acclaimed CD The heart has its reasons for Warner Classics UK, and their most recent CD Estuary, was released in 2015. The Togni Trio, a jazz ensemble with drummer Malcolm Gould and bassist George Koeller, performs throughout Canada and the United States, and has two released recordings. Togni also regularly collaborates with artists such as jazz saxophonist Mike Murley and cellist Jeffrey Ziegler.

Togni was born in Pembroke, Ontario in 1959, and is the son of organ master Victor Togni.[4] He spent his early years in Toronto where he attended St. Michael's Choir School. He later went on to study at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, studying organ with Frederick Geoghegan and composition with Stephen Chatman. He went on to study organ and improvisation in Paris France with the great French organist Jean Langlais. Togni also studied composition with Allain Gaussin at the Schola Cantorum in Paris where he was awarded first prize in composition.

For over twenty years, Togni has also been a broadcaster, hosting radio programs for CBC Radio 2, including That Time of the Night, the award winning Stereo Morning, Weekender and Choral Concert.[5] He currently resides in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Nominations and awards

Selected works

Choral

Instrumental

Albums

References

  1. ↑ Pedersen, Steven (2005). Chronicle Herald. Halifax. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ "Prestigious CD Label Features Canadian Composer". Retrieved October 26, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Responsio; Peter-Anthony Togni". The Whole Note. 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  4. ↑ "VICTOR TOGNI (1935–1965) FROM TANGANYIKA TO TORONTO". The American Organist. 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Tom Allen, Jurgen Gothe returning to CBC Radio". Retrieved October 4, 2009.
  6. ↑ http://ecma.com/news/ecma-2016-awards-nominees-and-more-news-announced Retrieved January 27, 2016
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