Allan Gilliland

Who is Allan Gilliland?

Allan Gilliland is a contemporary Canadian composer.

Gilliland moved to Canada in 1972 and settled in Edmonton, Alberta. He received a diploma in Jazz Studies from Humber College, and degrees in performance and composition from the University of Alberta. His teachers were Violet Archer, Malcolm Forsyth and Howard Bashaw.

He has written music for solo instruments, orchestra, chorus, brass quintet, wind ensemble, big band, film, television and theatre.

His works have been performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, ProCoro Canada, the Canadian Brass, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the New York Pops, the Hammerhead Consort, and the brass section of the New York Philharmonic.

From 1999 to 2004, Gilliland was Composer in Residence with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, composing nine major works, including concerti for violin, and two harps. Dreaming of the Masters I, a jazz concerto written for clarinet soloist James Campbell, is perhaps his most popular work, and received its American premiere by the Boston Pops in 2004.