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Matthew Van Driel

Matthew Van Driel is a Canadian composer, orchestrator, arranger and conductor. As a film composer, he has written scores for numerous short films from countries worldwide including Canada, the USA, Vietnam and India. He has also been composing and arranging chamber and concert works which have had premiers in both Canada and Hong Kong.

Matthew began his musical training on the clarinet in the seventh grade, and continued in the following years with the bass clarinet, piano, and Chinese dizi. Matthew developed a love for composing music during high school and would later attend York University from 2008 to 2013 where he earned a B.F.A Specialized Honours in Music. While there, he studied composition under both Mike Cado and David Lidov. It was also during this time when Matthew became acquainted with the Toronto Chinese Orchestra and his interest in Chinese music started to form.

Works of his have been performed by ensembles including the Toronto Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Juvenile & Youth Chinese Classical Orchestra, Canadian Sinfonietta Youth Orchestra, Dim Sum Ensemble, Windago, and Spire.

Program Note:

‘Whiteout 飄白’ takes direct inspiration from the winter storm during which it was composed. The repeating elements in the piece reflect the continuous dense falling snow, and the absolute whiteness covering everything causing a blur between ground and sky. The cyclical form is also used as a way to infer a feeling of getting lost in the storm, unable to find a way out, and returning back to where you started. Yet the piece is not meant to be hopeless, rather, there is a sense of beauty in the uniformity, scope and power of the storm, and the seclusion one encounters while being in one.