Late last week, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra announced that Fugitive Colours, its new recording of the orchestral music of Jeffrey Ryan, would inaugurate Naxos Records’ new Naxos Canadian Classics – Classiques Canadiens imprint. The CD celebrates Dr. Ryan’s 5 years as composer in residence with the VSO, and all works on the disc are conducted by VSO music director Bramwell Tovey. The Gryphon Trio is also featured.

Naxos Canadian Classics is modeled on Naxos American Classics, an acclaimed series featuring music by American composers. Naxos’s plan is to release 6 to 8 new CDs per year including composers from across Canada and covering the major areas of classical music: orchestra, large ensemble, vocal, chamber, solo instrumental and wind band music.

The three works on the new disc are Dr. Ryan’s Symphony #1, Fugitive Colours; Equilateral for orchestra and piano trio; and The Linearity of Light.

Speaking about the project, Jeffrey Ryan said, “this project is a thrill for me in so many ways. It is a record, literally, of my long and rewarding collaboration with Bramwell Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony. It is the first CD devoted exclusively to my orchestral music. If that weren’t enough, it inaugurates the new Naxos Canadian Classics series, a visionary undertaking which promises to show the world the depth and richness of the work of Canadian composers throughout our history.”