Biography

Described as “a composer worth studying” (Ernst Schneider, BCRMTA), Nicholas Fairbank’s music has been praised as “melodic and attractive, as well as skillfully constructed … carefully crafted, … consistently elegant, and devoted to beauty as a vehicle for text.” (Christopher Dawes, Organ Canada). His works have been programmed across Canada as well as internationally, with recent performances by Ensemble Laude and Vox Humana (Victoria), the St. Andrews Chamber Choir (Scotland), the Quatour Molinari (Montreal), and organist Martin Stacey (UK). Recent commissions have come from Victoria’s Ensemble Laude, the Unitarian-Universalist Church (Victoria and USA), Christ Church Cathedral (Victoria), the High Notes Flute Choir, and Sing The North Virtual Choir.

Currently, his compositional focus has been on writing music within an environmental context. Recent choral works, in particular, use contemporary texts which speak of changes in the biosphere due to pollution and global warming: wildfires and floods, extinction of species, extreme weather events, and so on.

Nicholas Fairbank was born and raised on Canada’s west coast, and now lives and works in Victoria, BC. After early studies in Vancouver, he pursued advanced musical training in London, England and Paris, France, studying organ with Christopher Herrick, Richard Popplewell and Naji Hakim. He earned Master’s degrees from the Université de Paris (Musicology & French literature), the University of California at Santa Barbara (French language and pedagogy), and the University of Victoria (Composition), as well as Associateship diplomas from the Royal Conservatory of Music (gold medal winner for pipe organ, 1981), and the Royal Canadian College of Organists (Willan and Barker prizes 1998). His composition teachers have included Stephen Chatman and John Celona. In 2007 he was appointed an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre.

During his career, residencies at such locations as the Banff Centre (Alberta), Centro Selva (Pucallpa, Peru), and The Arctic Expedition (Svalbard, Norway) have provided opportunities for in-depth focus on major compositions such as Gare de Montréal (2005), Isbjørn! (2013), Canción amazónica (2016) and Orion Vespers (2017). In 2023 he was invited to be part of the international PlanetWoman project which has led to premieres by top-level choirs in St. Andrews (Scotland) and Victoria, BC. Most recently, an invitation to University College Dublin led to a collaboration with Irish writer Eoin Mc Evoy to create a new choral work in Irish entitled Éileamh na Talún (The Plea of the Land), to be premiered in 2026.

For 40 years an active teacher, keyboard performer and choral conductor, Mr. Fairbank is currently Chorus Master and a Conductor of the Sooke Philharmonic Society. He is a past member of the College of Examiners of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto and a past National President of the Royal Canadian College of Organists. As an organ recitalist he has performed across Canada, in Europe, and in Mexico.

His catalogue of compositions now includes over 100 works for voice, piano and organ solo, and for various choral and instrumental ensembles. Some works are published by Cypress Choral Music, Harbridge & Wanless Music, and the RCCO, while others are available through the Canadian Music Centre or directly from this website. His pedagogical compositions for piano and organ are listed in syllabi of Conservatory Canada, the Canadian National Conservatory of Music, and the Royal Conservatory of Music.