Richard Covey (composer)

Canadian composer Richard Covey was born in Brockville, Ontario, Canada on May 28, 1979. Since 2006 he has resided in Prince Edward Island, where he teaches theory and composition in the Music Department at UPEI, and also performs as a pianist with the contemporary chamber music ensemble eklektikos and other musicians. As a professional composer, Covey has received several commissions, and his works have been performed by orchestras such as Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, PEI Symphony Orchestra; wind ensembles such as Charlottetown Rural High School Senior Concert Band, Queen Charlotte Intermediate School Band, UPEI Wind Symphony; chamber ensembles such as eklektikos and the Gryphon Trio; and choirs such as Sirens.[2] His Echoes was chosen as the required work for UBC’s 2012 Knigge Piano Competition.[3]

In 2017, Covey was one of four Atlantic Canadian composers commissioned by the PEI Symphony Orchestra to create a collaborative work, Cantata for Canada 150, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Each composer was asked to set their music to poetry written by one of four young PEI students chosen through a provincial poetry contest. The poem Covey set was titled 'As I Walk'. Created with partial funding from the Canadian federal government, the new work received its premiere on November 19, 2017.[4][5][6]

As an educator, Richard Covey's work extends beyond the university and into the community. In 2016, for example, Covey worked with the Grade 8 band students at Queen Charlotte Intermediate School, in Charlottetown, PEI, to create a new work based on the anti-bullying themes behind the school’s new motto, “Reflect, respect, connect”. The project, made possible through an ArtsSmarts grant, allowed Covey to guide the students through a musical exploration of the themes of their motto, which culminated in a public performance of their collaborative composition.[7]

Covey is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre.[2]

• B.Mus., Wilfrid Laurier University (Jamie Parker, piano; Glenn Buhr, composition)
• M.Mus., University of British Columbia (Stephen Chatman, composition)
• D.M.A., University of British Columbia (Dorothy Chang, Keith Hamel, composition)