Photo: Mark Mushet

Jocelyn Morlock

Remembered for music that is at once lyrical, quirky, and deeply rooted in emotion, Jocelyn Morlock (1969 – 2023) was one of Canada’s leading composers. Morlock served as the inaugural composer-in-residence for Vancouver’s Music on Main Society (2012 – 14), co-host of ISCM World New Music Days 2017, and composer-in-residence of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (2014 – 19) — the first woman to be appointed to this position. In 2015 the National Arts Centre Orchestra commissioned Morlock to compose the orchestral work My Name is Amanda Todd, a tribute to the teen from Port Coquitlam, BC, who took her own life due to cyberbullying. This work would subsequently win the 2018 JUNO Award for Classical Composition for the Year. 

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In addition to her symphonic output, Morlock was a prolific composer of vocal, choral and chamber music. Her substantial body of vocal music highlights important relationships she nurtured with many Canadian writers and poets, while her chamber music was often written for longtime friends and colleagues. Morlock’s Exaudi (2004), commissioned by the vocal ensemble musica intima for a premiere performance with cellist Stephen Isserlis, remains one of her most beloved and performed works. In addition to numerous recordings by various artists and ensembles, Morlock’s music can be heard on two full-length albums on the Centrediscs label: Cobalt (2014) and Halcyon (2017).

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Jocelyn Morlock died suddenly on March 27, 2023. Her memory and legacy are carried on by a team of friends, musicians, and composers who were strongly connected to her life and work.