“I’m driven by music. It’s the one thing that always made sense to me.”
Rashaan Allwood’s enduring passion for music keeps propelling him to new heights of musical exploration and achievement – even years after emerging as a teenage piano phenom.
While a student of the Royal Conservatory of Music, Allwood won competitions at every level. Then he did the unfathomable. He scored an exceedingly rare 100 per cent on his final exam at the renowned institution. After completing his undergraduate degree in piano, he became “obsessed with the works of Bach,” inspiring him to focus on the organ for his master’s degree. That piqued his interest in writing music and led him to Western’s Faculty of Music to pursue a doctorate.
“I’m always throwing myself into something new and running with it. Fresh and changing projects keep me energized,” Allwood said.
Now a PhD candidate in composition, Allwood is also the newly hired composer-in-residence at New Music Concerts (NMC) in Toronto, a performing arts organization that celebrates cutting-edge music from Canadian and international composers.
“I feel so privileged to have this composer-in-residence opportunity,” Allwood said. “NMC promotes adventurous music that asks questions and pushes boundaries. That’s what I like to do.”
Composer-in-residence creates unique soundscape
The first piece of his two-year residency launched in February with the premiere of his experimental composition Black Ice. The soundscape uses instruments in unconventional ways to metaphorically depict invisibly embedded discrimination as the concealed hazard of black ice. The score calls for improvisation, vocalizing and even shouting.
Rashaan Allwood, a PhD candidate in Western’s Faculty of Music, is bringing the legacy, stories and perspectives of Black musicians past and present to new audiences. (Dahlia Katz/New Music Concerts)
“The yells of ‘black ice’ transform into ‘Black guys’ to convey the idea of danger and scapegoating. I’m finding more ways to use music for dark narratives we’re uncomfortable talking about. This piece makes us ask, ‘Do we perceive more danger from a group of Black guys than from black ice?’”
Allwood said his exuberance for avant-garde musical language carries into the composition to immerse audiences in the same energy.
“I don’t want to write a piece that sounds like Wagner, Schoenberg or Boulez. I want to write music that people just have to experience as much as hear,” he said.
That doesn’t mean Allwood forgoes his background in classical music – quite the opposite.
“Some of the most exciting music I can create uses classical instruments to pull out new sounds.”
Historical instruments and composers draw new audiences
Allwood’s appreciation for the classical tradition extends to his collection of historical instruments, including a keyboard played with the feet called a pedalboard, and a stringed keyboard first used in the Middle Ages known as a clavichord. They inspired the unique social media content he started producing last summer.
He pays tribute to bygone musical luminaries by performing their songs, often with historical instruments. The music of centuries past is in vogue again on Allwood’s Instagram reels. In under eight months, he’s attracted more than 34,000 followers, and growing.
“I just love history, and I love people and their stories and their art, so I enjoy opportunities to tell interesting stories about composers who were often marginalized,” he said.
“I’ve found two Black composers from the 18th century: Joseph Bologne and Ignatius Sancho. They couldn’t focus solely on music because they had to hold day jobs like shopkeeper and soldier. It’s interesting to show how the times they lived in shaped their musical evolution and opportunities,” Allwood said.
What began as a few posts aimed at an audience of friends soon evolved into “a little side passion” that influenced Allwood’s most recent project.
Concert celebrates Black classical music
Vintage instruments and Black composers took the spotlight at his show in early March at the Canadian Music Centre in Toronto. Art Song and Storytelling of the Afro-Caribbean Diaspora featured Black classical music on historical instruments to celebrate their legacy from past to present.
“Black music and stories deserve celebration year-round, not just in February,” Allwood said, referring to Black History Month.
The show included the screening of a film about Allwood’s parents’ immigration from Jamaica and how it influenced his musical journey.
“It starts with a dark story of how the slave trade affected my family history, but it ends with an uplifting message of unity through self-discovery, where my parents embrace both Jamaican and Canadian culture as part of their identity,” he said.
The film forms part of his PhD dissertation. Allwood credits Western music professor Paul Frehner with helping him overcome hurdles to incorporate the film into a cohesive musical project.
“I really appreciate how he took the time to help me integrate all the elements so it makes sense from an academic perspective. I hope the film and concert inspired people to think about their own stories and lineages and how they come together to create one,” Allwood said.
He hopes to explore new paths this summer after graduating with his PhD.
“I have so many projects I want to pursue: more writing and concerts, plus collaborations with other artists and an entrepreneurial venture. And I’d like to start a community organization to spark the passion for music in even more people.”
Allwood said he believes passion is essential to elevate technical proficiency, a lesson he learned from his longtime piano teacher Anna Fomina.
“She was like a grandma who nurtured my music. I really wasn’t a prodigy like some people said. That early success came from how she taught me to bring passion to the music. I want to do that for others.”
