Wolf Edwards (born Montréal, 1972) taught himself electric guitar in 1986. He then began writing musical and lyrical compositions for underground political punk rock groups; an activity he began in 1987 and continues to this day. Edwards has been involved in many longstanding underground groups including Contempt (1986-1991), Black Kronstadt (1992-1996), and Iskra (2003-present). These bands have toured extensively, collectively performing over 300 dates in all the major cities of Canada and the United States of America, as well as many in Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Mexico. Most of Edwards’s original compositions for this medium have been released on a number of anarchist punk/crust records which are currently still in circulation.
In 1994 he began formal musical training at the Victoria Conservatory of Music before transferring to the University of Victoria (1996-2000) where he studied composition and theory with Christopher Butterfield, John Celona, Michael Longton, and Harold Krebs. To further his education Edwards relocated to Montréal, where he attended private lessons in compositional theory and analysis with composer Gilles Tremblay. In 2002 he was granted the two year University of Victoria Fellowship enabling him to complete the degree of Master of Music.
Edwards has been the recipient of many awards and prizes including the 2004 Canada Council for the Arts/Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Jules Leger Competition for New Chamber Music (third place), the 2002-2003 Molinari Quartet International (third place), the 2001 Strings of the Future International Composition Competition (first place), as well as the Murray Adaskin Prize in Composition in 1997.
From 1999 to 2006 Edwards has participated, lectured, and had his music performed in many international festivals and events throughout North America and Continental Europe. His works have been performed and/or commissioned by the Arditti String Quartet (London), the Molinari Quartet (Montréal), the Victoria Symphony (Victoria), the Aventa Ensemble (Victoria), the Sofia Soloists (Sofia, Bulgaria), Quasar Quatuor de Saxophones (Montréal), l’Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal, l’Ensemble Chorum (Montréal), and Quatuor Bozzini (Montréal).
