It is with extraordinary sadness that everyone at the Canadian Music Centre acknowledges the passing of our dear friend and Associate Composer of the CMC, Jocelyn Morlock.
”Jocelyn was a national treasure, an inspiration, someone whose laugh lifted the spirits of everyone near, and whose deep and profound commitment to enlightened values was exemplary. She made an invaluable contribution to Canadian music, to this nation’s cultural and social fabric, to our collective love of birds, to the countless friends who loved her, to the students she inspired, and the colleagues she influenced and with whom she explored the boundaries of the world.” (Sean Bickerton, BC Director, Canadian Music Centre.)
Jocelyn taught music composition at the UBC School of Music for many years. She was a dedicated music educator and cared deeply for her students and the community. Her composition My Name is Amanda Todd, commissioned and premiered by the National Arts Centre Orchestra, won the 2018 Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year. She was also the Composer-in-Residence for Music on Main (2012-2014) and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (2014-2019).
“Jocelyn’s loss is such a complete tragedy. She was a wonderful person and of course a superb musician and composer.” (Glenn Hodgins, President & CEO, Canadian Music Centre.)
She received her Bachelor of Music in piano performance at Brandon University, and both a Master’s degree and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of British Columbia. “With its shimmering sheets of harmonics” (Georgia Straight) and an approach that is “deftly idiomatic” (Vancouver Sun), Morlock’s music has received numerous national and international accolades, including Top 10 at the 2002 International Rostrum of Composers, the Mayor’s Arts Award for Music in Vancouver (2016) and the JUNO award for Classical Composition of the Year (My Name Is Amanda Todd, 2018).
Jocelyn was also presented with a Barbara Pentland Award of Excellence for Outstanding Contribution to Canadian Music by the Canadian Music Centre in BC on December 4, 2018, after winning the Trifecta of a Jan V. Matejcek New Classical Music Award, a Western Canadian Music Award, and a JUNO award, all in one year.
She is survived by her longtime partner and love, John Korsrud, family, and the many, many friends who loved her.
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‘There was music in her’: Vancouver music community remembers Jocelyn Morlock
“Members of Canada’s music community are mourning the death of beloved musician Jocelyn Morlock, a Juno award-winning composer who spent years as the composer-in-residence at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
The 53-year-old’s death was acknowledged by the symphony, the UBC School of Music, where she taught, and the Canadian Music Centre on Tuesday.
Morlock was known for her complex compositions that were inspired by birds and nature. One of her most notable works was a piece based on the Port Coquitlam teen Amanda Todd, who took her own life in 2012.
The composition, titled My Name is Amanda Todd, won the 2018 Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year.
“Jocelyn was asked to do this work that really addressed the horrors a young person can go through,” said T. Patrick Carrabré, the director of the UBC School of Music.
“Jocelyn really dove in and created a piece that really helps people to connect with that story…”
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CBC Radio Special
The classical music community is mourning the loss of Vancouver-based composer and teacher Jocelyn Morlock. About Time with Tom Allen dedicates an hour to her music and memory.
