Dr. Kristin Flores

Biography

Canadian composer Kristin Flores is captivated by the beauty of sound. She loves the way that different intervals have an effect on the listener – the frustration that dissonance creates and the calm of consonance. She looks for melodies that will take root in the listener’s mind so that they will carry the melodies with them long after the piece is finished. She uses musical materials to explore the beauty of nature as well as her thoughts and emotions.

Kristin Flores was born in Camrose, Alberta. She began her musical studies on the piano at the age of 7 and started violin lessons a year later. At the age of 11 she added flute to her instruments of study as well as piccolo, percussion and guitar during her high school years. The violin soon became her dominant instrument and she studied violin at Augustana University College and the University of Alberta. She has performed with the University of Alberta Academy Strings, the University of Alberta Orchestra, the University of Alberta New Music Ensemble, the University of Calgary New Music Ensemble, Opera Nuova, Kensington Sinfonia, as a member of a quartet, and as a soloist. She has studied the violin with Jennifer Bustin, Thomas Schoen, and Martin Riseley, among others.  She currently performs with the Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra, the Bow Valley Chorus chamber orchestra, the Firebird Symphony and Chorus, and the Key 30 Orchestra.

Flores began studying composition formally at the University of Alberta in 1998 after completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Augustana University College. In 2001 she obtained a Bachelor of Music degree in music composition and theory from the University of Alberta and in 2004 graduated with a Master of Music degree in composition from the University of Alberta. In 2010 she graduated from the University of Calgary with a Ph.D. in music composition, under the supervision of Dr. Allan Gordon Bell. She has studied composition with Malcolm Forsyth, Laurie Radford, Howard Bashaw, Paul Steenhuisen, William Jordan, David Eagle and Allan Gordon Bell.

Flores’ pieces have been performed by ensembles such as the Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra, Kensington Sinfonia, Land’s End Ensemble, Ensemble Resonance, Lily String Quartet, Laurel Duet, WindRose Trio, as well as by outstanding performers such as Tanya Prochazka, Kathleen Corcoran, Beth Root Sandvoss, Tatiana Warszynski, Debra Fast, Yehonatan Berick, Rachel Mercer, Genevieve Micheletti and Jeremy Brown, among others. Her pieces have received public readings from the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal. Her Music for String Quartet was selected to be performed at a public workshop with the Quatuor Bozzini. Her compositions have received performances at the Festa del Paese di Massarosa, Garda Musik Week Festival, University of Calgary’s New Music Festival, Edmonton’s Nextfest and Tonus Vivus Festivals, and the Canadian Contemporary Showcase Festival. Her music has been presented by the National Arts Centre Orchestra ‘Lunch Break’ Series, Hamilton Ontario’s ‘5 at the First’, the Canadian Music Centre’s ‘New Music in New Places’, New Works Calgary, Open Streams, Rise Up, Arts Commons and Red Door Art Encounters. Her pieces have been performed across Canada, the United States and in Europe. Flores is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre, member of the Canadian New Music Network, an active member of the Association of Canadian Women Composers and a member of the Canadian Federation of Musicians. Flores’ music has been broadcast on Canadian radio and recorded on CD and for streaming. Her music creation is supported by SOCAN, Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Canada Council for the Arts.