BY JUN-LONG LEE
Whether dashing through Paganini as a soloist, making rapid adjustments to a piece for a theatre production, or orchestrating the music for a video game speedrun, Calgary Philharmonic Assistant Concertmaster Donovan Seidle has learned to work (and play) fast.
Equally comfortable behind his violin as he is in front of his digital audio workstation, the violinist-composer has always nourished a fascination with the meeting place between music and technology.
“I’m doing experiments all the time and figuring out how to bring that into my orchestra world,” says Seidle.
It all started when a five-year-old Seidle saw an orchestra on TV.
“I loved the camera closeups on the violin sections,” he reminisces. “I started to really identify with wanting to be that sound.”
It wasn’t long before he got a hold of his first violin, beginning a lifelong passion that would take him from early beginnings with The Calgary Fiddlers to composing and performing for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
It wasn’t always easy for Seidle to juggle his many interests. At the University of Calgary, he struggled to balance a double degree in computer science and music.
“It was just impossible to manage both degrees at the same time. So, I put my entire focus on music, and even then I split it between composition and performance,” says Seidle. “I’ve always had a tough time narrowing in my focus because I’m so interested in a lot of things.”
But that curiosity has blossomed into a rich career spanning performance and composition for film, theatre, video games, VR and AR, and other interactive mediums.
In 2010, Seidle landed the job as Associate Music Director for the Vancouver Winter Olympics, working alongside long-time mentor and collaborator Dave Pierce. Not only did he have the opportunity to conduct one of the rehearsals in the stadium itself and perform as a violinist in the orchestra, but some of his original compositions made it into the ceremonies.
“That was such an eye-opener… all of these cylinders firing at once,” Seidle says, “these different aspects of my creating and performing life, [found their] confluence during the Olympics.”
He would go on to work with Pierce at Expo 2020 in Dubai, putting together the music for one of the evenings celebrating UAE National Day.
“We were collaborating with local artists and putting it altogether into a gorgeous soundscape, honouring all their traditions,” Seidle explains, adding, “and also bringing our own voice to it.”
Back on home turf, Seidle has held his seat as Assistant Concertmaster with the Calgary Philharmonic since 2003. His highlights: the opportunities he’s had to play as a soloist, tackling works by Paganini and William Jordan, whose Violin Concerto was written for him personally (Jordan was one of Seidle’s composition professors during his undergrad).
He’s also flexed his compositional and arranging talents at the Calgary Phil, putting together orchestral arrangements for artists such as dance-pop star Kiesza, and delivered several symphonic commissions.
Outside of his orchestral duties, you won’t catch Seidle slacking off at home; he has a studio of students and runs his own music production company.
An avid gamer himself, he’s fascinated by the possibilities and the challenging decisions one needs to make when composing for video games.
“You have to account for different weather, different times of day; how does the music serve to enhance that experience of a rainstorm, a snowstorm, midnight, the northern lights, or something like that” he says. “When you write [for video games] you have to think about layers.”
After a long day of rehearsing, performing, teaching, and composing you might find Donovan at the gym, socializing with friends, or just relaxing with his headphones on: “Sometimes I’ll have a little too much music in my life, so I’ll listen in my free time to comedy podcasts… The Greatest Generation is a real favourite of mine. I’m a Star Trek nerd!”