Roger Admiral, DMus, University of Alberta
Pronouns: he, him, his
Contact
ATS Full Lecturer, Augustana - Fine Arts & Humanities
- radmiral@ualberta.ca
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Keyboard Performance
About
I teach applied and theory courses in music at the Augustana Campus. My area of specialization is piano performance.
Research
I perform solo and chamber music repertoire spanning the 17th through the 21st century. I have a particular interest in modernist music aesthetics, and the realization of new compositions. This often involves securing research funds for musical composition, spending months on detailed instrumental practice, engaging in nuanced dialogue with composers, and disseminating work through concert performance and through studio recordings. Recent performances include György Ligeti's Piano Concerto with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, the complete piano works of Iannis Xenakis for Vancouver New Music, a recital with baritone Nathan Berg at Lincoln Center's Great Performers series, with violinist Guillaume Tardif at Carnegie Hall, and recitals and composer workshops for Curto-Circuito de Música Contemporânea Brazil. CDs of my work can be found on the Arktos, Centrediscs, Redshift, and Wandelweiser labels. In October 2023 I will premiere Harvard University associate composer Steven Takasugi's Piano Concerto with the Südwestrundfunk Symphonieorchester for Donaueschingen Musiktage. This last work was generously supported by the President's Fund for Creative and Performing Arts at Augustana, with additional funds from Donaueschinger.
Other current research includes concert production with Edmonton's quartet UltraViolet Ensemble, and with Victoria's conducted Aventa Ensemble.
Teaching
Courses Taught at Augustana and Edmonton campuses
AUMUS 160 Theoretical and Analytical Study I
AUMUS 260 Theoretical and Analytical Study II
AUMUS 261 Theoretical and Analytical Study III
AUMUS 170 Tuning In
AUMUS 162 Aural and Sight Singing Skills I
AUMUS 262 Aural and Sight Singing Skills II
AUMUS 263 Aural and Sight Singing Skills III
AUMUS 347 Applied Chamber Music
AUMUS 361 Form, Analysis, and the Construction of Musical Meaning
AUMUS 369 Modernism to Postmodernism in Music: Re-theorizing the Modern
MUS 342 Tutorial in Improvisation and Composition
AUMUS 265 Introduction to Music Composition
MUS 260 Introduction to Music Composition II
MUS 225 Introduction to Musique Concrête Composition
MUS X92 contempo Contemporary Chamber Music
AUMUS 225 Baroque and Classical Music
AUMUS 227 Vocal Literature
MUS 581 Trends in the Avant-Garde
AUMUS 229 Piano Literature
Courses
AUMUS 160 - Theoretical and Analytical Studies I
Study of common-practice harmony: scales and modes, intervals, triads, figured bass, cadences, phrases, periods, sentences, nonharmonic tones, harmonic progression and rhythm, part-writing, seventh chords, diatonic modulation, playing simple harmonic progression formulae on piano. Prerequisites: AUMUS 100 or a score higher than 70% in the Music Theory Placement Examination (MTPE), and completion of the Keyboard Skills Interview (KSI).
AUMUS 191A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a half-hour weekly lesson over two terms.
AUMUS 191B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a half-hour weekly lesson over two terms.
AUMUS 193A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a three-quarter-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: Consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 193B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a three-quarter-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: Consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 195A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: Consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 195B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: Consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 196 - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson in the fall term for a student exhibiting advanced abilities in music performance. Participation in group master classes is required. Prerequisite: Consent of the Department. Notes: A student should consult the Department before registering. The following courses must be taken in consecutive fall/winter terms: AUMUS 196 and 197.
AUMUS 197 - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson in the winter term for a student exhibiting advanced abilities in music performance. Participation in group master classes is required. Prerequisite: Consent of the Department. Notes: A student should consult the Department before registering. The following courses must be taken in consecutive fall/winter terms: AUMUS 196 and 197.
AUMUS 238 - Piano Pedagogy I
Principles, methods, and techniques for teaching piano with a survey of various pedagogical schools of thought. Prerequisite: AUMUS 160 or consent of the instructor.
AUMUS 291A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a half-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 191 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 291B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a half-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 191 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 293A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a three-quarter-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 193 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 293B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a three-quarter-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 193 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 295A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 195 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 295B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 195 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 296 - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson in the fall term for a student exhibiting advanced abilities in music performance. Participation in group master classes is required. Prerequisite: Consent of the Department. Notes: A student should consult the Department before registering. The following courses must be taken in consecutive fall/winter terms: AUMUS 296 and 297.
AUMUS 297 - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson in the winter term for a student exhibiting advanced abilities in music performance. Participation in group master classes is required. Prerequisite: Consent of the Department. Notes: A student should consult the Department before registering. The following courses must be taken in consecutive fall/winter terms: AUMUS 296 and 297.
AUMUS 329 - History of Piano Literature
Survey of piano literature from the seventeenth century to the present.
AUMUS 338 - Piano Pedagogy II
A study of the performance needs of advanced concert repertoire for the piano, and how they can be taught. Prerequisite: AUMUS 238 or consent of the instructor. Corequisite: Applied Piano.
AUMUS 347B - Chamber Ensemble
Varies in constitution (e.g., voice and piano, woodwind trio, brass quartet) from year to year. The repertoire to be performed is decided by the students and instructor. The ensemble prepares and performs under the guidance of the instructor. Prerequisite: Consent of the Division. Note: A *3 course over the full year.
AUMUS 360 - Theoretical and Analytical Studies III
Advanced study of common-practice harmony, including third relation harmony; polychords, extended chromaticism, atonal analysis, integral serialism and short compositions using post-1945 techniques. Prerequisite: AUMUS 260 and 262. Note: Credit may be obtained for only one of AUMUS 360 and AUMUS 261 (2023).
AUMUS 362 - Aural, Sight Singing, and Keyboard Skills III
Development of listening and reading skills integral to the internalization of concepts covered in AUMUS 360. Prerequisites: AUMUS 260 and 262. Note: Credit may be obtained for only one of AUMUS 362 and AUMUS 263 (2023).
AUMUS 391A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a half-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 291 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 391B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a half-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 291 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 393A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a three-quarter-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 293 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 393B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a three-quarter-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 293 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 395A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 295 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 395B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 295 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 397A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson in the fall and winter terms for a student exhibiting advanced abilities in music performance. Participation in group master classes is required. Prerequisite: Consent of the Department. Note: This course is restricted to majors in the Bachelor of Music program.
AUMUS 397B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson in the fall and winter terms for a student exhibiting advanced abilities in music performance. Participation in group master classes is required. Prerequisite: Consent of the Department. Note: This course is restricted to majors in the Bachelor of Music program.
AUMUS 491A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a half-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 391 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 491B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a half-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 391 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 493A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a three-quarter-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 393 or consent of the Department. Notes: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 493B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a three-quarter-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 393 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 495A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 395 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 495B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 395 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 497A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice and the presentation of a formal recital (minimum duration: 60 minutes) prepared under the guidance of the instructor and marked by a jury. Participation in group master classes is required. Prerequisite: Consent of the Department. Note: This course is restricted to majors in the Bachelor of Music program.
AUMUS 497B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice and the presentation of a formal recital (minimum duration: 60 minutes) prepared under the guidance of the instructor and marked by a jury. Participation in group master classes is required. Prerequisite: Consent of the Department. Note: This course is restricted to majors in the Bachelor of Music program.
AUMUS 593B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a three-quarter-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 493 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 595A - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 495 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.
AUMUS 595B - Applied Music
Private lessons in instrument or voice; a one-hour weekly lesson over two terms. Prerequisite: AUMUS 495 or consent of the Department. Note: A student should consult the Department before registering.