Abigail Richardson-Schulte’s bio, November 2022

Composer Abigail Richardson-Schulte was born in Oxford, England, and moved to Canada as a child.  Ironically, she was diagnosed incurably deaf at 5, but, upon moving to Canada her hearing was fully intact within months.  Her music has been commissioned and performed by major orchestras, presenters, music festivals and broadcasters including the Festival Présences of Paris.  Abigail won first at the prestigious UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers and had her music broadcast in 35 countries. She won the CBC Karen Kieser Prize, the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best New Opera, the Quenten Doolittle Award from New Works Calgary, the City of Hamilton Arts Award and the Prairie Region Emerging Composer Award. Abigail has been Affiliate Composer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and curated for their New Creations Festival.  In 2012, she wrote a piece on the classic Canadian story, “The Hockey Sweater” by Roch Carrier, in the country’s first triple co-commission by the TSO, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.  This orchestral “hit” has had over 160 performances in Canada, frequent repeat performances, and a dozen performances in France. A recording of the work has been released on the Centrediscs label in both French and English with Roch Carrier and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.  Other notable orchestral works include: a WWI memorial piece, “Song of the Poets”, with choir and orchestra for NACO’s UK tour, co-commissioned by the NACO, The World Remembers, CPO, and TBSO; multiple works for the HPO; and a complete children’s orchestra concert for the CPO and the TSO using Dennis Lee’s “Alligator Pie”. Abigail has a busy schedule as a composer, teaches composition at the University of Toronto, and is in her tenth year as Composer-in-Residence with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.  Recent commissions include the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Russell Braun with the Magisterra Soloists, and the Lafayette String Quartet.