Named for the salt water that surrounds our province, Alkali Collective is a dynamic, artist-led contemporary music ensemble dedicated to the creation, performance, documentation, and educational outreach of 21st-century music. Launched in 2019, we work with top contemporary music performers and interdisciplinary artists to advance new music creation and performance in an inclusive and equitable way. We provide a professional platform for all composers and musicians from all backgrounds and identities, with a strong emphasis on Canadian new music from a range of different voices and compositional styles. Our programming is often centered around music with social, political, and environmental themes, to illustrate that music can be used as a vehicle for sparking discussion and creating meaningful change. We continuously work to show the broad range of voices and experiences that reflect our greater community.
Alkali Collective’s Mandate:
- To be an equitable, artist-led collective.
- To produce, present, and record contemporary concerts and events.
- To connect our city and province to the greater arts community.
- To commission new music as a driving force in the creation of new art and a platform for the voices of emerging composers to be heard.
- To offer community and educational outreach initiatives that generate interest and support for the arts.
Our concerts feature guest artists from across the country in a multitude of artistic mediums. We regularly commission and premiere new work from both early-career and established composers. Our ongoing Cross-Canada Commissioning Project generates new compositions and developed working relationships with established composers from across the country. In addition, our annual Call for Scores program invites emerging and early-career composers connected to the Atlantic Canadian provinces to submit their chamber works to the ensemble, fostering new and lasting local relationships. These partnerships help to form and strengthen new music connections for both the ensemble and our audiences, and provide us with key knowledge and experience as we continue to explore the many facets of music creation and interdisciplinary performance.
In addition to our regular concert season, Alkali Collective frequently engages with projects and activities throughout our community, working with artists, composers, and presenters in a multitude of ways. We are also passionate about educational outreach, evident in both our informative concert presentation style as well as through our partnerships and involvement with our local university programs.