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COMPOSER PROFILE
Oliver MunarOliver Munar (he/him/his) is a Calgary-based composer and arranger. A first-generation Filipino-Canadian, he began arranging music while a member of the award-winning Calgary Boys' Choir. His arrangements and original works have been performed by Pro Coro Canada, Choeur St Laurent, the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers, Cantilon Choirs, and Mount Royal Kantorei, among others.
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Featured works
PERUSAL SCORES
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RECORDINGS
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About Oliver
A veteran ensemble singer, tenor Oliver Munar (he/him/his) is in increasing demand as a concert and operatic soloist and composer.
Oliver was celebrated in an unexpected, ‘remarkable’ debut as the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, ‘sight reading the score live, on stage, and without rehearsal’. The Calgary Herald lauded him for his ‘substantial ability’ and ‘considerable vocal gifts’ in a 2019 production of Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine with Early Music Voices (Calgary) and Rosa Barocca. Also at home on the operatic stage, roles include Giuseppe in Verdi’s La traviata (Calgary Opera), the Abbé de Chazeuil in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur (Calgary Concert Opera Company), Gastone in La traviata (Mercury Opera and Calgary Concert Opera Company), and the title role of Britten’s Albert Herring (University of Alberta Opera). He also performed the role of Abel in the Alberta premiere (2016) of the oratorio Caïn by Canadian composer Alexis Contant. He was a guest ensemble singer with the world-renowned Elora Festival Singers as a member of its inaugural vocal academy, and recently debuted as tenor soloist with the Okanagan Festival Singers (2022) and the Yellowknife Choral Society (2023) in productions of Handel's Messiah.
Oliver completed a Master of Music performance degree with tenor John Tessier, vocal coach Shannon Hiebert, and studied composition with Dr. Howard Bashaw. He also studied at the prestigious Franz-Schubert-Institut (Baden-bei-Wien, Austria) where he worked with some of the world's leading interpreters of German art song including Elly Ameling, Helmut Deutsch, Robert Holl, Julius Drake, Andreas Schmidt, Roger Vignoles, Birgid Steinberger, and the late Deen Larsen. He continues to train with both Tessier and Hiebert, as well as tenor Thomas Cooley on the works of JS Bach and other Baroque composers.
In addition to singing, Oliver is a collaborative pianist, vocal coach, conductor, clinician, and composer/arranger. His Missa Brevis in E-flat, which he composed for his parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary, had its world premiere by Pro Coro Canada in May 2023. His Card Game in No Man's Land, an original composition that braids the poetry of two Canadian WWI soldiers into a new narrative, was premiered at his senior recital in March 2017. He continues to participate in select choral and ensemble projects, including Pro Coro Canada, Calgary Concert Opera Company, the Calgary Opera Chorus, and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. He is a featured soloist on several recordings, including Christ Is Born: Hymns and Carols of the Nativity (Axios Men’s Ensemble), Resurrectional Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Axios Men's Ensemble); James MacMillan - Seven Last Words from the Cross (Spiritus Chamber Choir); Mendelssohn’s Te Deum (Luminous Voices) and Artem Vedel’ - Twelve Sacred Choral Concerti (Luminous Voices).
Oliver was celebrated in an unexpected, ‘remarkable’ debut as the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, ‘sight reading the score live, on stage, and without rehearsal’. The Calgary Herald lauded him for his ‘substantial ability’ and ‘considerable vocal gifts’ in a 2019 production of Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine with Early Music Voices (Calgary) and Rosa Barocca. Also at home on the operatic stage, roles include Giuseppe in Verdi’s La traviata (Calgary Opera), the Abbé de Chazeuil in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur (Calgary Concert Opera Company), Gastone in La traviata (Mercury Opera and Calgary Concert Opera Company), and the title role of Britten’s Albert Herring (University of Alberta Opera). He also performed the role of Abel in the Alberta premiere (2016) of the oratorio Caïn by Canadian composer Alexis Contant. He was a guest ensemble singer with the world-renowned Elora Festival Singers as a member of its inaugural vocal academy, and recently debuted as tenor soloist with the Okanagan Festival Singers (2022) and the Yellowknife Choral Society (2023) in productions of Handel's Messiah.
Oliver completed a Master of Music performance degree with tenor John Tessier, vocal coach Shannon Hiebert, and studied composition with Dr. Howard Bashaw. He also studied at the prestigious Franz-Schubert-Institut (Baden-bei-Wien, Austria) where he worked with some of the world's leading interpreters of German art song including Elly Ameling, Helmut Deutsch, Robert Holl, Julius Drake, Andreas Schmidt, Roger Vignoles, Birgid Steinberger, and the late Deen Larsen. He continues to train with both Tessier and Hiebert, as well as tenor Thomas Cooley on the works of JS Bach and other Baroque composers.
In addition to singing, Oliver is a collaborative pianist, vocal coach, conductor, clinician, and composer/arranger. His Missa Brevis in E-flat, which he composed for his parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary, had its world premiere by Pro Coro Canada in May 2023. His Card Game in No Man's Land, an original composition that braids the poetry of two Canadian WWI soldiers into a new narrative, was premiered at his senior recital in March 2017. He continues to participate in select choral and ensemble projects, including Pro Coro Canada, Calgary Concert Opera Company, the Calgary Opera Chorus, and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. He is a featured soloist on several recordings, including Christ Is Born: Hymns and Carols of the Nativity (Axios Men’s Ensemble), Resurrectional Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Axios Men's Ensemble); James MacMillan - Seven Last Words from the Cross (Spiritus Chamber Choir); Mendelssohn’s Te Deum (Luminous Voices) and Artem Vedel’ - Twelve Sacred Choral Concerti (Luminous Voices).
Connect!
For a complete catalogue, to preview more of Oliver's music, or to chat about a commission, visit his website at http://olivermunar.ca. He can be contacted through his website or through Choir Alberta at info [at] choiralberta.ca.