Composition Seminar with David Braid
The sixth Canadian Jazz Composers Workshop
will be on August 10, 11 and 9 or 12, 2025
featuring David Braid and writing for strings.
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July, 2024 featured in-person all-day sessions with David Braid.
September 16, 2023 Featuring David Braid "From Screenplay to Music: The Essentials of Writing for Film"
February 12, 2022 Sessions by Jeff Presslaff "Randomness is Your Friend: Rolling the Dice in Jazz Composition" and David Braid "Setting Limits to Enable Music Creativity and Originality".
September 18, 2021 Sessions by Paul Read: "THE PROCESS: Getting Started, Keeping it Going and Finishing” and Marianne Trudel: "Writing for large and small ensembles: creating the space for music to happen”
May 1, 2021 Featuring Christine Jensen, Fred Stride, Philippe Cote and John MacLeod
ABOUT DAVID BRAID
Acclaimed in the Canadian Press as "one of Canada's true Renaissance men,” David Braid is a distinguished composer, improviser, and pianist. He is a ten-time nominee and four-time recipient of Canada’s highest music honour, the Juno Award.
A Steinway Artist, Braid serves as Composer-in-Residence for the Sinfonia UK Collective. He is also a Guest Artist at the Danish National Music Conservatory and an Affiliate Artist at the University of Liverpool’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Composition and Technology.
Braid first emerged as an "Ace Jazz Pianist," according to The New York Observer, before transitioning into composing chamber music. His work is characterized by its narrative quality, vibrant colours, rhythmic complexity, spontaneity, and the integration of diverse musical languages, a result of over twenty years of international cross-cultural collaboration.
He has performed extensively across the UK, Scandinavia, Europe, Russia, Central Asia, the Far East, Australia, Brazil, and Canada. His original music has been described as "brilliant" by the Montreal Gazette, "full of substance" by Pizzicato Magazine, "enchanting" by The Age in Australia, and "hauntingly beautiful" by The Globe & Mail.
Braid's first instrumental chamber music album, FLOW, released under the Steinway & Sons label in collaboration with the Epoque Quartet (Prague), was praised by the Los Angeles Examiner as “an exceptional work... created with patience, love, and an understanding of the human condition, form, and structure.” His first choral composition, “Corona Divinae Misericordiae,” was nominated for Classical Album of the Year in Canada. Additionally, his first film score won two Canadian Screen Awards for “Best Original Score” and “Best Original Song.”
Braid's brief foray into dramatic music includes arrangements and compositions for the Chet Baker-inspired biopic, Born to Be Blue, starring Ethan Hawke, which The Telegraph (UK) places as one of the top jazz films of all time. His jazz score received acclaim for its "contemporary patina without sacrificing period authenticity,” as noted by The Times (UK). He also received a Screen Award nomination for his orchestral score for the 2022 film Delia’s Gone, featuring Stephan James and Marisa Tomei.
In recognition of his exceptional contributions to music, David Braid received the prestigious Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award for Keyboard Artistry from the Ontario Foundation for the Arts. Throughout his career, he has distinguished himself as one of a few creative artists capable of engaging audiences in both classical and jazz communities. His chamber music compositions for notable ensembles resonate with diverse audiences, transcending traditional genre boundaries without compromising the integrity of classical music.
Beyond his performances, Braid supports emerging musicians by leading innovative workshops and masterclasses designed to empower students, reinforce their musical fundamentals, and encourage authentic innovation over superficial creativity.
Acclaimed in the Canadian Press as "one of Canada's true Renaissance men,” David Braid is a distinguished composer, improviser, and pianist. He is a ten-time nominee and four-time recipient of Canada’s highest music honour, the Juno Award.
A Steinway Artist, Braid serves as Composer-in-Residence for the Sinfonia UK Collective. He is also a Guest Artist at the Danish National Music Conservatory and an Affiliate Artist at the University of Liverpool’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Composition and Technology.
Braid first emerged as an "Ace Jazz Pianist," according to The New York Observer, before transitioning into composing chamber music. His work is characterized by its narrative quality, vibrant colours, rhythmic complexity, spontaneity, and the integration of diverse musical languages, a result of over twenty years of international cross-cultural collaboration.
He has performed extensively across the UK, Scandinavia, Europe, Russia, Central Asia, the Far East, Australia, Brazil, and Canada. His original music has been described as "brilliant" by the Montreal Gazette, "full of substance" by Pizzicato Magazine, "enchanting" by The Age in Australia, and "hauntingly beautiful" by The Globe & Mail.
Braid's first instrumental chamber music album, FLOW, released under the Steinway & Sons label in collaboration with the Epoque Quartet (Prague), was praised by the Los Angeles Examiner as “an exceptional work... created with patience, love, and an understanding of the human condition, form, and structure.” His first choral composition, “Corona Divinae Misericordiae,” was nominated for Classical Album of the Year in Canada. Additionally, his first film score won two Canadian Screen Awards for “Best Original Score” and “Best Original Song.”
Braid's brief foray into dramatic music includes arrangements and compositions for the Chet Baker-inspired biopic, Born to Be Blue, starring Ethan Hawke, which The Telegraph (UK) places as one of the top jazz films of all time. His jazz score received acclaim for its "contemporary patina without sacrificing period authenticity,” as noted by The Times (UK). He also received a Screen Award nomination for his orchestral score for the 2022 film Delia’s Gone, featuring Stephan James and Marisa Tomei.
In recognition of his exceptional contributions to music, David Braid received the prestigious Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award for Keyboard Artistry from the Ontario Foundation for the Arts. Throughout his career, he has distinguished himself as one of a few creative artists capable of engaging audiences in both classical and jazz communities. His chamber music compositions for notable ensembles resonate with diverse audiences, transcending traditional genre boundaries without compromising the integrity of classical music.
Beyond his performances, Braid supports emerging musicians by leading innovative workshops and masterclasses designed to empower students, reinforce their musical fundamentals, and encourage authentic innovation over superficial creativity.
Some kind comments by an attendee of the workshop:
The composition workshop with David Braid, organized and hosted by Richard Gillis and the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, was a wonderful week of learning, connecting with colleagues, and meeting creative music makers from around the country. The opportunity to work with Mr. Braid and learn about his compositions, his unique composing processes, and his views on the fundamentals of music were invaluable. I can already say that the information I gained will inform my musical outlook and compositional practice for the foreseeable future. I am extremely grateful to Prof. Gillis, Mrs. Gillis and the WJO for providing this opportunity, for the openness to host this workshop at their home, and for all their other efforts that went into this amazing opportunity for musicians in the community and beyond.
Derek Frykas
B. Mus, B. Ed., PBD Jazz Performance
Music Educator, Winnipeg School Division
The composition workshop with David Braid, organized and hosted by Richard Gillis and the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, was a wonderful week of learning, connecting with colleagues, and meeting creative music makers from around the country. The opportunity to work with Mr. Braid and learn about his compositions, his unique composing processes, and his views on the fundamentals of music were invaluable. I can already say that the information I gained will inform my musical outlook and compositional practice for the foreseeable future. I am extremely grateful to Prof. Gillis, Mrs. Gillis and the WJO for providing this opportunity, for the openness to host this workshop at their home, and for all their other efforts that went into this amazing opportunity for musicians in the community and beyond.
Derek Frykas
B. Mus, B. Ed., PBD Jazz Performance
Music Educator, Winnipeg School Division
Education project support by:
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