Born in 1972 in Ottawa, he studied composition with Bengt Hambreaus and John Rea at McGill University in Montreal. In 2001 he received the top marks in the under-30s category at the International Composers Rostrum in Paris and awards from ascap, the Canadian Council for the Arts, the socan Young Composers Competition (1997, 1998, 2000) and the International Forum for Young Composers in Adelaide (2000). He also won the Grand Prize at a competition for young composers organised by cbc (the highest Canadian distinction for a composer under 30s). His music has been performed by such ensembles as the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, the Winnipeg Symphony, the cbc Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Oakland Symphony and ÔEsprit Orchestra. It has been broadcast in over 35 countries.
Brian Current lives in Toronto. Right now he is working on the chamber opera Airline Icarus for the Opera Breve in Vancouver, and on a symphony.Selected works: Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano, Op. 1 (1994), Day #8036 for flute and piano, Op. 2 (1994), Tannu Tuva for male voices, overtone singing, bassoon and piano, Op. 3 (1995), Circus Songs, quintet for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, Op. 5 (1996), you are for string quartet and lights, with childrens audience participation (1997), This Isnt Silence for symphony orchestra (1998, new version 2001), Piano Music for Two for two pianos, four hands (1999), For the Time Being for symphony orchestra (1999), Music By Way of You for flute and harp, with childrens audience participation (2000), Concerto for Recorder and Strings (2002).
For the Time Being was composed for the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne during the fall of 1999 with support from the Canadian Council for the Arts. At the time I was interested in creating a piece that was very textural and goal-oriented, music that was always going somewhere.
There are three sections of roughly equal lengths. The first slows down, the second speeds up and the third remains steady. At the end of each of these, there is a climactic area where a wash of ensemble-wide gestures lurch and drift in and out of major chords. Overall there is a general tendency for gestures to go from being more human to being more mechanical. Major triads are not there so much as functional harmony (although this inevitably occurs) but rather as familiar or comforting sonorities, causing the ear to relax slightly as if finding an old friend amidst a sea of changing textures and clusters.
For the Time Being seemed an appropriate title as it speaks of time and of being and of the present moment.
Brian Current
At the 2001 International Composers Rostrum in Paris For the Time Being received the top marks in the under-30s category and a nomination in the general category.