Michael Dias

Courses taught at UVic

MUS 201 Language of Music
MUS 270 Basic Musicianship II
MUS 301 Language of Music
MUS 120 History of Music

I completed a Bachelor of Music in my hometown of Calgary under Jacob Salomons and a Masters of Music with Dr. Alexander Dunn at the University of Victoria. In 2019, I earned my PhD in musicology at the University of Victoria School of Music with a doctoral dissertation on the manuscript sketches of the Canadian composer, Jacques Hétu (1938-2010). I have published book chapters and journal articles on topics from Wagnerian opera to the study of the creative process and presented research at international conferences in North America and Europe. As a guitarist, I regularly perform with prominent ensembles in Victoria such as the Tsilumos Ensemble, Aventa and the Victoria Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, I recorded the album Concentric Rings with the Victoria Guitar Trio (Redshift Records) featuring new works by Canadian composers (available on iTunes and Spotify). The Victoria Guitar Trio earned a nomination for Classical Artist/Ensemble of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards in 2018. I also teach guitar at the Victoria Conservatory of Music.

Selected publications and recordings

• “Jacques Hétu’s ‘Unfinished’ Prelude for Guitar.” In Texts and Beyond: The Process of Music Composition from the 19th to 20th century. Jonathan Goldman (Bologna: Ut Orpheus Edizioni 2016), pp. 99-124.

• “‘You Ancient, Solemn Tune’: Narrative Levels of Wagner’s Hirtenreigen.’” Musicological Explorations 14 (2015): 75-113.

• Concentric Rings: Music from Canada’s West Coast (Redshift Records, 2017), Victoria Guitar Trio