Dewi Minden

“To top it off, the whole shebang is soundtracked by a brilliant, live piano, which reacts in real time to the hijinks unfolding onstage. Music director Dewi Minden transitions seamlessly from underscoring to sound effects from behind her keyboard, and the effect is magic.” ~ Aisling Murphy, TORONTO STAR, July 8, 2022

Dewi Minden grew up in a musical family on the West Coast of Canada. By age 12, she was performing trumpet professionally. She received a Bachelor of Music from UBC, a Master of Music from Laval University (Quebec), and pursued further graduate studies in composition at U of T.

She launched her career as a member of the Robert Minden Ensemble (RME) during Expo ’86 in Vancouver. The RME, a quartet acclaimed for their unusual compositions involving found-objects and sonic inventions, toured internationally for 10 years playing prestigious halls and festivals across North America and the UK including the Lincoln Centre in New York City; the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC; the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland; and, every major children’s festival across Canada and the United States. With the RME, Dewi wrote ten music videos for Sesame Street and co-composed numerous recordings: The Boy Who Wanted to Talk to Whales (Juno nominee), Long Journey Home and Whisper in My Ear (all available on Apple Music).

In 2006, Canada's premiere presenter of contemporary and experimental music, the CCMC Music Gallery in Toronto, appointed Dewi as Executive Director. She became involved with the experimental music improvisation scene, and also eventually turned her compositional focus to music for film.

Dewi’s musical language ranges from experimental avant-garde work for found objects to lush, neo-romantic diatonic orchestral works. Her musical score and sound design was featured in Touchstone Theatre’s award-winning production of The Trigger by best-selling novelist and playwright Carmen Aguirre. Her chamber music has been performed by acclaimed cellist Shauna Rolston, violinist Scott St. John, and the Talisker Players chamber ensemble, amongst others.

Since 2016, Minden acts as in-house film score composer and audio engineer with The Animation Playground, an independent animation studio.

Dewi Minden also performs and teaches musical improv comedy live and online as a Musical Director with The Second City, which helps her to keep laughter flowing, whatever life may bring!