Gary Ewer

Parental Leave 2011/2012

Aural Skills, Preparatory Theory, Choral

BMus (Dalhousie)

Email: Gary.Ewer@dal.ca
Phone: (902) 494-1826

Office: Room 511, Dalhousie Arts Centre

Biography: Gary Ewer is a Halifax-born composer/arranger and music teacher. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Dalhousie University in 1982. He continued studies in composition at McGill University under alcides lanza and John Rea. He returned to Halifax in late 1985 and taught trumpet, theory and history at the Maritime Conservatory of Music. In 1990 he began teaching in the public school system in Halifax, primarily at St. Patrick’s High School, conducting The St. Patrick’s High School Choir and the St. Pat’s Jazz Voices. He was the conductor of the Nova Scotia Youth Chamber Choir for 2002-03, as well as co-conductor of the Nova Scotia Youth Choir. He also directed the St. Patrick’s High School Concert Band and the Halifax Schools’ Symphony Orchestra. In March 2004 he was chorus master for Verdi's Falstaff, produced by the Nova Scotia Opera Association, conducted by Raffi Armenian.

As a composer Mr. Ewer has written for a variety of professional ensembles, and his music has been performed by various groups including Symphony Nova Scotia, the Elmer Isler Singers, Rhapsody Quintet,  the Cape Breton Chorale and the CBC. His choral composition Live in Friendship was commissioned by the Nova Scotia Choral Federation, and performed on Parliament Hill in Ottawa during Canada Day festivities in 2002. He recently completed a commission for the First Baptist Church, Halifax, commemorating the 175th anniversary of the church.

Presently, Mr. Ewer is a full-time instructor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, teaching aural perception and music theory. He is the conductor of the Dalhousie Coro Collegium and the Dalhousie Chamber Choir. He is the author of Gary Ewer’s Easy Music Theory, a CD-ROM course in music rudiments. His music is published primarily through Pantomime Music Publications.