Alexina Louie

About

The artist

Alexina Louie is a Toronto-based composer whose concert, opera, ballet, film, and television music has become a major part of Canada's contemporary classical repertoire. Born in Vancouver, she studied at the University of British Columbia and the University of California San Diego, then taught in California before settling in Toronto in 1980. Her musical language combines exploratory contemporary techniques with influences from Chinese and other Asian arts and philosophies. Her works include Scenes from a Jade Terrace, O Magnum Mysterium: In Memoriam Glenn Gould, Take the Dog Sled, The Scarlet Princess, and the Triple Concerto for Three Violins and Orchestra. Louie has received two Juno Awards for classical composition, the Jules Léger Prize, the Order of Ontario, and appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada. A 2025 recording of Small Beautiful Things and a National Arts Centre biography updated in 2026 confirm her continuing presence in Canadian concert music.