Luke Ertman

Luke Ertman has been composing/recording/performing music for over 10 years. He has composed for Television, Theatre, and Live Ensembles. Lukes theatre credits alone span over 50 shows across Western Canada. He has written for orchestras, jazz and rock fusion groups, choirs, solo instruments, small ensembles, computers, -you name it he can write for it. Luke prides himself in his unique ability to morph different styles and genres of music together, always pursuing a sound that is unique and at the same time familiar enough to make the listener feel at home. He is rooted in world music and often finds himself bending it to fit into the western ear. He was recently nominated for a Rosie award for Best Music for a short film he scored entitled "Carls Way." Much of the music Luke has written has been for Theatre. For the Canadian Badlands Passion Play Luke was responsible for building a sound system that was the size of two football fields so that music could be intimately related to the action on stage. He was nominated for a Jesse Awards (best music) for Pacific Theatre's productions of My Name Is Asher Lev and The Seafarer. Luke recently wrote the music for a production of "She Has A Name," that toured North America, and wrote the music for "I Never Saw Another Butterfly," which toured to Ireland. Luke obtained a Bachelor of Music with Distinction from the University of Alberta in July 2008 with a specialization in Composition and Theory as well as in Classical Singing. He has studied composition with Howard Bashaw, Paul Steenhuisen, Laury Radford, Andriy Talpash and Mark Hannesson; and has studied voice with Jolaine Kerley, Maura Sharkey and Eva Bostrand. Luke has received numerous musical and academic scholarships and won praise from his professors in regards to his compositions and theoretical papers. He sang with the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers under the direction of Leonard Ratslaff (recipient of the Order of Canada), for three years and sat on their executive board for one year. Luke runs a recording studio from his home just outside of Edmonton Alberta. He has recorded and mixed many projects from films, to voice-overs, to scores, to 7 piece bands. His mixes have made their way onto radio both nationally and internationally. Lukes involvement with popular music is primarily with the group Fools Tongue whose sound has been compared to Sting, Peter Gabriel, and others. Luke composes, sings, and plays Chapman Stick for this group. He has been playing Chapman Stick for over ten years now - after graduating from the piano, the guitar, and trumpet. Fools Tongue just finished recording "New World," their latest studio album. It's an epic journey into the heart of a trapped man who's only chance of escape comes in the form of a young woman throwing pebbles at his window and beckoning him to come with her into a New World. It has received air time across Canada including stations such as CBC Radio 1 and CKUA. Alan Cross has written about it as well as many other parers and magazines. The live show contains a percussion section bigger than a symphony orchestra and is reminiscent of Blue Man Group and Pink Floyd live shows. Plans for the next album are already underway.