T. Patrick Carrabré has been active as a composer, administrator, educator, radio host and conductor. For well over a decade, he worked closely with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, including six seasons as composer-in-residence and co-curator of the orchestra’s New Music Festival. Also active in the media, Carrabré served two seasons as the weekend host of CBC Radio 2’s contemporary music show The Signal.

Carrabré’s best known compositions include Inuit Games, for throat singers (katajjak) and orchestra, Sonata No. 1, The Penitent, for violin and piano, From the Dark Reaches, and A Hammer For Your Thoughts…. Together these works have earned two Juno nominations, a recommendation at the International Rostrum of Composers (2003), a Western Canadian Music Award (Best Classical Composition) and two other WCMA nominations.

Carrabré’s primary focus as an artist-researcher is in the area of research-creation, and he has been involved with community-engaged research. Construction of identity is a long-term theme, manifesting in his compositions, concert and radio programming, and administrative activities. The creation of shared musical spaces with indigenous and non-western musicians has also been a significant theme of his work and since the dawn of the Truth and Reconciliation era. This has led to a number of works confronting issues of decolonization, frequently using deconstructionist techniques. Carrabré’s other interests have included the exploration of his Métis heritage, use of interactive electronics, and editorial work.