Praising Alexina Louie, one of our most exceptional musicians

Key takeaways: 

• Longtime partner David Jaeger pays praise to the boundary-pushing composer. 
• Alexina Louie will accept the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award at this year’s Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. 

‘A talented, creative and productive producer:’ 

The report that my friend and colleague, musician Alexina Louie, would be a 2021 Governor General’s Performing Arts Award winner made me tender hearts. 

The citation for her Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award in Classical Music states, “A clever, creative and productive producer, she has written for all musical genres, from piano, voice and orchestra to opera and film; her orchestral works have been performed by leading international ensembles, and her music has been selected for productions by the National Ballet of Canada. Her unique style — a combination of Asian and Western attractions — draws from a wide spectrum of sources, from her Chinese heritage to her theoretical and performance studies. Though she is a thoroughly Canadian composer, her musical voice is heard, recognized and acclaimed around the world.” Source – cbc.ca

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Louie and I gathered shortly after her choice in 1980 to respond to Canada after a decade used in California in chase of music work. Her project to produce a book and teaching workshop in Los Angeles had not advanced as promptly as she had expected. 

Beginning that year, a generator colleague of mine at CBC Vancouver, Norman Newton, informed me that he had just heard a beautiful performance by this gifted young musician who was responding to Canada. Newton recommended I might want to select new work from her for my new radio network set, Two New Hours, as a typical way of embracing her house.