Richard Sacks – Percussionist /Composer/Multimedia Artist
Tel. 416-807-1980 email: rixax(at)rixax.com
Education: Bachelor of Fine Arts1974 / Master of Music 1976, State University of New York at Stony Brook
Performing as a child actor in NY summer stock theatre, Rick Sacks then went to high school where he received the best thespian award. He then moved into the role of musician in the summer stock theatre and in 1976 received his Masters in Music from S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook. He continues to merge theatrical elements and video with his musical compositions.
Rick has performed at Carnegie Recital Hall, The NY Shakespeare Theatre (Papp) and Alice Tully Hall as a percussionist. After teaching at Bennington College in Vermont Rick began traveling to Toronto to play in the art rock band KLO. He became a permanent resident in 1982. His work as a composer and sound designer in theatre for young people has resulted in continuous performances throughout Europe, the US. And Canada. He currently uses the MalletKat and V-Drums on tour with Red Sky Performance (Europe, Vancouver and Beijing Olympics, Shanghai Expo) and is scheduled to tour the US with TRACE in the Fall of 2021. His composition Water Music, commissioned by the Victoria Symphony, utilizes remote controlled flying fish and a deep-sea diver costume (which he constructed) complete with bubbles. From 2011 to 2015 Rick was Artistic Director of Arraymusic.n Rick designed and oversaw the implementation of a 3 camera live stream facility with rear projection and state of the art audio recording. In 2016 Rick became Array’s technical director and mentored Kelley Mitchell during that time to take on that position full time. Coincidentally, in early March, 2020, Rick began streaming as Soundpilot on Twitch.tv just before the Covid crisis shutdown in Toronto which turned most of the performing arts to online platforms. He continues to experiment with the overlapping lines of theatre, technology and music while he free-lances as a percussionist with such groups as Art of Time Ensemble, Array, New Music Concerts, Glass Orchestra, Evergreen Gamelan and more.
List of Original Work
- Soundpilot Ongoing streaming broadcasts. All original music and video.
- Sibsrevised for Tarragon Theatre 2020
- AFComposed with Eliot Briton For Red Sky. Winner of a DORA Award 2019.
- Andronicus solo MalletKat for the noon hour series at the COC Bradshaw Amphitheatre 2015
- Mistatim (Red Sky Performance) 2015 (DORA Award)
- Backbone (Red Sky Performance) 2014
- Watermusic commissioned by Victoria Symphony 2013
- Adventures of the Smoid Designed, directed and composed a Shadow Puppet Show for Evergreen Club (OAC commission) in Toronto and Ottawa Chamber Music Festival
- Never Ending Story premiere at Young People’s Theatre and the Skirball Theatre NY 2012
- The Incredible Speed of Jamie Cavenaugh (Roseneath)
- Dib and Dob and the Journey Home (Roseneath)
- Le Bateau premiered at La Chapelle, Montreal 2009
- Sample of Drums for Octopads – CBC commission
- Scaffold II Live music (Continuum) to film by Vera Frenkel Shift Festival Holland – Nov. 2008
- Tono (DORA Award best music) Red Sky at Shanghai Expo 2012, Beijing Olympics,
- Vancouver Olympics, touring Canada
- Rocket and the Queen of Dreams – Roseneath 2008
- Ten Planets CD of solo percussion music.
- Wrecked 2007 Theatre Direct
- Lion in the Streets 2007 by Judith Thomson. Richard Greenblatt director
- Caribou Song Text by Tomson Highway for Red Sky Performance 2004-07 artistic director Sandra Laronde
- Dream in the Park at High Park – Canstage – new music for Midsummer Night’s Dream 2007
- The Ventriloquist 2006 Factory Theatre (text by Larry Tremblay, director Keith Turnbull)
- Trout Stanley by Claudia Dey at Factory Theatre 2005
- Flux by Bill James in collaboration with Robert Stevenson Page 2 or 3
- Midsummer Night’s Dream Theatre Passe Muraille 2002
- Sibs Tarragon and Marquis production (written by Diane Flacks and Richard Greenblatt)
- Toy Weather – original full length multi media production
- Not Wanted on the Voyage, Canadian Stage, Necessary Angel and M.T.C. Music by John Millard, additional music and sound by Rick Sacks
- Big Face by Marion deVries Factory Theatre
- Mirror Game by Dennis Foon YPT
- Pinnochio YPT adaptation by Maristella Roca (DORA nominee)
- Mad For Bliss Vera Frenkel multimedia work /Music Gallery
- Hans Christmas Anderson w/ Vanessa Harwood,William Orlowski, Helen Porter
- Micro/M.I.D.I./Macro C E E series/Quayworks festival premier of solo multimedia work
- Goddess Tales Royal Ontario Museum, Story teller Helen Porter
- Ballerina Dancemakers Sunday Salon Series
- Punk Drums for Noel Harding; AGO exhibit
- The Phoenix Variations (a suite of 12 solo multimedia works) 1991, Music Gallery
12.Prelude to the Final Trilogy performed with Batterie Park
- Global Village Sex Car’
- Sunday Ice cream Sundae
- Life in the Factory
- power tool (unfinished)
- ‘Micro/Midi/Macro’ (CEE production performed February 1988 Du Maurier Theatre)
- Butterfly
- Visitstations
- ‘Society of the Spectacle’
- Society of the Spectacle (York University 1983/Western Front,Vancouver 1984, Music Gallery 1990)
- Tightrope (Mercer Union 5 Solo Concerts Series 1982, NuMus Kitchener 1990 Music Gallery 1991)
- Ballerina (Dancemakers Sunday Salon Series 1987, Music Gallery 1991 )
- ‘Alien Landing Party’ (Mercer Union 5 Solo Concerts 1982 / Western Front 1984, Du Maurier 1988 )
- Matrix
- Proof
1 Interception
Teaching and Related Experience:
– Mentor Audio/Video engineer for Metcalf Foundation Intern Program
– Mentor Array/Evergreen Community Gamelan
– Q and As for Rosneath Theatre, RED SKY (NAC), New Music Concerts
– Making Music For Stories (2014-15) Children’s workshops
– Percussion Workshop Instructor
– Goose Bay Theatre Festival workshops for all ages
– Conductor/coach Young Composers Workshop – Arraymusic
– Teaching troubled youth – Other Voices Outreach – Bill James director page 3 of 3
– Gail Fricker in school projects
– Soundstreams in the schools as part of the production of Zoroaster (Murray Schafer)
– National Ballet of Canada, Creative Dances in the Schools 1994 – 1997
– Guest speaker, York University
– Faculty of Music, Bennington College, Vermont 1979/80
– Co-founder of percussion Quartet ABACUS and co-director of Batterie Park Percussion Quartet
– Lecture Demonstrations and Concerts in school systems
– Workshops with the Glass Orchestra in Malaysia and Singapore.
– Question and Answer periods for Horror High, Theatre Direct
Recordings (as percussionist): *denotes original material
Migiis Red Sky Performance
*Tono Red Sky Performance (composition in collaboration with Bat Minh, Bat Orshikh and Tuvshin Jargal from Mongolia) Winner of a DORA award
Life of Pi Soundtrack by Mychael Danna (Evergreen Gamelan)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Art of Time Ensemble Andrew Burashko director
*Ten Planets Rick Sacks solo cd
Legacy Arraymusic Ensemble
*Glass Orchestra – Two CD set of 25 years of performances
Girl Interrupted soundtrack by Mychael Danna (Glass Orchestra)
ARRAYLIVE Arraymusic
Evergreen Gamelan – Four Cds including one for NAXOS
25 Miniatures Arraymusic
Big Pictures Arraymusic
Arraymusic new work by Ann Southam for James Kudelka Choreography
New Music Concerts Lutoslavksi CD
Colin Mcphee, Esprit Orchestra 1997
Jerry and Tom X Soundtrack by Daviod Buchbinder (Rubinek film) 1997
Palestrina on Devil’s Staircase by Udo Kasemets for CBC 1993
Time Trip To Big Bang and Back by Udo Kasemets, 1993
New World, Arraymusic , 1993
Music for Klein and Beuys by Christopher Butterfield 1991
CHROMA, Arraymusic, released Sept. 1991
O Bali for Esprit Orchestra CBC 1991
Strange Companions Music for Baroque flute and Percussion 1991
SPAZIO by Claudio Pompili 1990, Australia
*HUMAN Glass Orchestra CD released spring ’89
Percussion Symphony Charles Wuorinen for Nonesuch Records
Unfinished Business by Michael Baker for the Arraymusic 1988
*So Baby Toronto Rock Band, KLO, I/O PORT Records, 1985
The Abongo, by John J. Becker, Recorded Anthology of American Music 1979
Of note: 1986 Mr. Sacks revised and Edited, for COLFRANC Music Publishing Corp., Edgard Varèse’s Hyperprism available through Boosey and Hawkes.
