RÊVE DOUX-AMER/BITTERSWEET DREAM
STACIE DUNLOP, soprano and KRISTA VINCENT, piano
Thursday  February 2 at 8 pm
All Tickets $20
 
Multi-media Baudelaire: Rêve Doux-Amer/Bittersweet Dream:
An Interview with Soprano Stacie Dunlop
- James Strecker Reviews the Arts

SEX, LOVE, LIFE & DEATH: Explore Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) with soprano Stacie Dunlop and pianist Krista Vincent as they journey through a lifetime of experiences.  Follow them as they recall the playfulness of childhood, the sexual excitement of youth and finally the chill of death while performing music of Claude Debussy, Jonathan Harvey, Sheila Silver and Elliott Carter, along with three new works by Canadian composers Clark Ross, Scott Godin and Tawnie Olson. Written in 1857, Les Fleurs du Mal was considered an insult to public decency, dealing with subjects of decadence and eroticism, yet also created a new thrill in literature that is still inspiring composers today. With stage direction by Roberta Barker and images from the era of Baudelaire, this multi-media theatrical event will be an evening to remember.

Bios

With a voice that has been described as a "powerful demonstration of musical artistry wed to superb technique" by the Halifax Chronicle Herald, soprano Stacie Dunlop is an avid performer of contemporary music who has appeared at Calgary Opera, the Banff Centre, Toronto Opera in Concert, Knoxville Opera, Patria Music Theatre, Toronto Philhamonia, Britten-Pears, Tanglewood and Mountainview International Song and Chamber Music Festival. She created the role of Emmy Hennings in the Banff Centre's world premiere of Zurich 1916 and performed role of Ariane in The Enchanted Forest with Patria Music Theatre. She toured England with the British Contemporary Ensemble "(rout)" where she premiered new works by British composers Sam Hayden, Paul Whitty and Andrew Hamilton, and was recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio. Stacie has also had numerous concerts recorded by CBC Radio Two for Two New Hours and The Signal. Recent performances include Anne Trulove with Opera Nova Scotia's production of The Rake's Progress, and Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire and Brettl-lieder and her self-produced show, Rê�ve doux-amer, at the Music Room in Halifax. Highly involved in the creation of new music, Stacie has commissioned works from Canadian composers R. Murray Schafer, Harry Freedman, Juhan Puhm, Clark Ross, Scott Godin and Tawnie Olson.

More information on Stacie Dunlop can be found at: www.staciedunlop.com

Krista Vincent is a dedicated specialist in the performance and interpretation of contemporary music, with a career spanning two continents as pianist, composer and actress.
 
Krista graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree, majoring in performance and with a minor in music technology from McGill University (Montreal). In 1999 Krista moved to the Netherlands to study Sonology (electronic music performance and composition) at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. In 2003 she graduated with a Master’s Degree, studying performance art and piano. Krista worked with leading composers while in the Netherlands and premiered many compositions from rising young composers. In Holland Krista quickly established herself as a respected performer, working with leading Dutch groups including o.a. Residentie Orkest, the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, Slagwerk Groep Den Haag, Leine Roebana, Suzy Blok, ZT Hollandia and VeenFabriek and was a founding member and former co-artistic director of the Amsterdam-based contemporary music theatre group Soil Ensemble.
 
Krista is active as pianist, teacher and accompanist and is frequently heard in guest performances at the MUN School of Music and on the CBC Radio program Musicraft. In 2008, Krista founded the contemporary music theatre group Ora Ensemble. With two full-length music theatre collaborations with Governor General’s award winner, writer/director Robert Chafe (Flight Songs, Night Songs, 2008 and Throwing Sound into Silence, 2010), Ora Ensemble has also recently performed Transformations, a program of chamber works which can currently be heard on the CBC Concerts on Demand website. Krista is currently based in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
 
More information about Krista Vincent is available at: www.kristavincent.com

WARHOL DERVISH
Friday Febuary 3 at 8pm
$20

Program

Brahms Horn trio
Mozart's Kegestat trio, in versions for violin, viola and piano, with duos by Martinu, Bartok, and Berio.

Pemi Paul

A versatile soloist and chamber musician, and a specialist in both new and early music, Pemi Paull is a true 21st century artist. He is the founder and artistic director of Warhol Dervish, an original and unorthodox chamber music collective based in Montreal. He appeared as soloist with the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec in the premiere of "Debacle", by Denis Dion, as well as the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, and was the recipient of the 2002 CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award for Chamber Music. Pemi has been invited as a regular participant at Prussia Cove Chamber Music Festival in Cornwall, England, and Domaine Forget International Chamber Music Festival.

Pemi's activities have brought him to the forefront of Montreal's contemporary music world. He is a member of three important new music ensembles in Montreal, Bradyworks, Ensemble Kore, and SMCQ. In addition, Pemi has premiered works for viola by composers including Scott Godin, Andre Ristic, Rose Bolton, Emily Hall, and Nicolas Gilbert, Michael Oesterle, and Tim Brady. He gave the Canadian premiere of "Prologue", for viola and electronic resonator, by French composer Gerard Grisey. Francois Tousignant, of Montreal's Le Devoir, wrote of the performance, "...Voila une maniere differente d'user de la 'monodie' d'autant plus convainquante que l'interprete, totalement engage, en fait resortir tout l'art inspire et inspirant". An avid recitalist, Pemi has been gaining a reputation as one of the few violists in the world to present, with growing frequency and critical acclaim, full programs of unaccompanied repertoire for viola, spanning three centuries, from Biber to works newly commissioned for him.

In the sphere of historical performance, Pemi is a member of Ensemble Caprice, with whom he has recorded four discs for Analekta, winning a Juno in the process. He also appears regularly with Ensemble Arion, and Daniel Taylor's Theatre of Early Music.

Previously a long term resident at The Banff Centre, during the 2008 and 2010 winter residencies, Pemi plays on a viola built in 1789 by the Parisian luthier and Jacobin revolutionary, Leopold Renaudin.

Katelyn Clarke

Canadian harpsichordist Katelyn Clark specialises in the performance of historical repertoire and experimental music on early keyboard instruments. As a soloist and ensemble musician, she has performed across Europe, the USA, and Canada, and has appeared at such diverse festivals as the Vancouver New Music Festival and the Festival Medieval d'Elx.? Katelyn is a founding member of both the Montréal-based Contemporary Keyboard Society, and of the period ensemble Les Amusements de la Chambre, which specialises in 18th- and 19th century repertoire for keyboard and strings. Originally from Victoria, British Columbia, Katelyn studied with Bob van Asperen at the Amsterdam Conservatory and holds a doctorate in performance studies from McGill University. Her artistic practice has been generously supported by Le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, The Banff Centre, the Early Music Society of the Islands, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

John Corban

Violinist, John Corban, is a musician committed to bringing music of all kinds, to a
wide variety of audiences and circumstances. This approach evolved out of his deep love of music but also reflects the musical diversity of his surroundings and collaborations.

He has performed with many ensembles throughout Montreal and abroad, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and plays regularly with Toronto's baroque ensemble, the Classical Music Consort, as well as performing in festivals such as Mutek, Pop Montreal, the Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance in New York, the Mozarteum Sommerakademie in Salzburg and the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra in Germany.

John has a keen interest in exploring and performing new works. A member of Ensemble KORE and la Societé de Musique Contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ), he is a founding member of the Warhol Dervish collective and has worked on many occasions with Montreal composer, Ben Shemie.

His growing interest for improvisation, folk and pop music have led him to participate with various outfits and musicians, such as Sevens Project, Zeroes (SUUNS), Ohbijou, Mark Berube and Erin Lang . He is a member Olivier Alary's Ensemble as well as the newly formed Toronto- based band, Del Bel.

John can also be heard on several albums and film scores including those of Polaris Prize Winner Patrick Watson and the 2009 documentary Reel Injun.

www.katelynclark.com/
www.pemipaull.com
violalotus.tumblr.com
www.youtube.com/pemipaull

TOKAI STRING QUARTET
Amanda Goodburn, violin, Csaba Koczo, violin,
Emmanuelle Beaulieu Bergeron, cello, Yosef Tamir-Smirnoff, viola
Monday February 6 at 8 pm
All Tickets $20

The Tokai  will perform  Mendelsohn’s last String Quartet which he wrote in memory of his beloved sister Fanny.  The highly emotional piece is accompanied by Mozart’s last quartet which he wrote for the Prince of Prussia who was an avid amateur cellist. Of the second movement A Einstein said: “It seems to mingle the bliss and sorrow of a farewell to life. How beautiful life has been! How sad! How brief!” And on that note we have Shostakovich’s shortest quartet which was also written in memory of a beloved. He dedicated this work to his first wife Nina. It is a compact work, lasting a mere thirteen minutes, but it covers a much broader expanse than its brevity might initially suggest.

Program:
Mozart String Quartet in F major ‘Prussian’ K.590
Shostakovich 7th Quartet in F-sharp minor
Mendelssohn String Quartet in F minor Op 80

TOKAI STRING QUARTET
Praised for their “emotional investment” and “decisive” interpretations (Toronto Star) and “intense” and “hot-blooded” performances (Globe and Mail), the Tokai Quartet is one of Canada’s leading string quartets. In September 2007, the quartet became prizewinners at the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the first Canadian group to do so since 1992. The vibrancy that this exciting young ensemble brings to their performances is gaining them enthusiastic audiences across Canada, and has earned the Tokai Quartet a growing demand for performances at concert series across the country.

The Tokai Quartet had its beginnings in 2002 at the University of Toronto where the Quartet benefited from the guidance of the late Lorand Fenyves. The members of the St. Lawrence Quartet have also been significant mentors to the Tokai Quartet, their Summer Music Seminars at Stanford University being a source of inspiration and instruction. The Tokai Quartet has also studied with the Emerson, Ying, Orion, and Leipzig Quartets, with Scott St. John and with Henk Guittart of the Schoenberg Quartet, Mayumi Seiler, Terence Helmer, Ian Swensen, and Roberto Diaz.

The commitment and generosity of their teachers is passed on by the Tokai Quartet in their own flourishing teaching career, which began at the University of Toronto when the Quartet was invited back to give masterclasses. The Tokai Quartet has been ensemble-in-residence at Queen’s University in Kingston, the Southern Ontario Chamber Music Institute, and Music at Port Milford, where intensive schedules saw them coaching numerous ensembles, giving masterclasses and performing. In 2010 they participated in the SLSQ Emerging String Quartet Program performing and teaching at the Stanford University as well as participating in outreach activities at numerous schools and other venues.

Audiences have seen the Tokai Quartet perform across Canada at various music festivals including The Toronto Summer Music Festival the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, The Concerts aux Îles du Bic Chamber Music Festival in Quebec. They also performed an extensive concert tour of Atlantic Canada in March 2007 awarded by Debut Atlantic.

The accomplishments of this gifted ensemble have earned the Tokai Quartet some impressive accolades. In 2003 they were recipients of the Felix Galimir Award and the following year the Tokai Quartet went on to receive the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Award, which has facilitated their participation in residencies at the Banff Centre for the Arts and at the Stanford Summer Music Festival. They were further distinguished by the award of a Debut concert presented by the Frederick Gaviller Music Foundation, which took place in April 2005.  The Quartet was a recipient of an Ontario Arts Council grant in support of their multimedia children’s production of the Snow Queen, with award winning actor Alon Nashman. This production was nominated for a Dora award, and has been presented in Banff and also in Toronto for three consecutive years.

EDGES: COMPROVISED
EDGES in concert
Saturday February 11, 2012 – Concert at 8:00PM
$20; $15 – Seniors; $10 – Students

PROGRAMME
Allison Cameron (CA), D.I.Y Fly
Peter Wiegold (UK), towards that sea-lit sky - North American Premiere
Ann Southam (CA), Thruways
Sandro Manzon (CA), Tangram - World Premiere
Christian Wolff (UK), Edges

Band info:

Edges specializes in performing music composed using unconventional methods of notation. Most of these unconventional alternatives leave room for improvisation and creative realization of pre-composed musical material. This concert, COMPROVISED, will feature vastly different constructs of new musical aesthetics including works by international and Canadian composers like Ann Southam, Allison Cameron, Peter Wiegold, Sandro Manzon, and more. There will two premieres in this concert.

Allison Cameron

Allison Cameron is a composer of mostly chamber works that have been performed throughout Europe and North America; she is also active as an experimental performer. Ms. Cameron studied with Louis Andriessen, Gilius van Bergeijk, Per Nørgård, Frederic Rzewski and Walter Zimmerman in Europe, and Rudolf Komorous, Michael Longton, David Mott and James Tenney in Canada. Her works have been performed at numerous festivals, including Bang on a Can (New York), Emerging Voices (San Diego), Evenings of New Music (Bratislava), the Festival SuperMicMac (Montréal), the Newfoundland Sound Symposium, New Music across America, and the Rumori Dagen (Amsterdam) as well as several in Toronto. Allison is also a member of the Association of Improvising Musicians of Toronto (AIMT) and since 2000 has been performing on small amplified objects in collaboration with Eric Chenaux, Rob Clutton, Ryan Driver, Stephen Parkinson, Gert Jan Prins, Mike Hansen, Mauro Savo, Ken Aldcroft, Joe Sorbara, Wilbert de Joode, and Doug Tielli among others.

Joe Sorbara

Joe is a highly inventive drummer and percussionist with a penchant for coaxing music out of practically anything. Joe's drumkit is regularly augmented with found and prepared material that ensures that the sounds at his ready disposal are practically orchestral in scope. He combines these skills with an extraordinary time-feel that makes him one of the most swinging drummers in Canada when the music demands it of him. Joe leads Other Foot First, a 'seven-or-more-tet' that is the primary outlet for his inventive compositions. Elsewhere, Joe plays in the Remnants Trio, Ken Aldcroft's Convergence Ensemble, and the AIMToronto Orchestra. He is also a stalwart creative music organizer, a founding Board member of AIMToronto, a member of the Somewhere There collective, and has been the director of the weekly Leftover Daylight Series since its inception in 2003.

Sandro Manzon

Sandro Manzon is a young composer/pianist/improviser currently living in Southern Ontario. His compositions are generally contemporary chamber/ensemble music. He has a particular interest in alternative methods of music notation and controlled improvisation. Recently, his orchestral music reflects idioms of both contemporary and popular music styles. He is also currently practicing composing music for turntables as an orchestral instrument or used in an orchestral setting. He has studied composition with some notable composers such as Allison Cameron (CA), Peter Wiegold (UK), Peter Hatch (CA), Graham Flett (UK), James Harley (CA). He has attended composition lectures by Krzysztof Penderecki. Sandro is currently the pianist/composer for Gerard Yun’s Dark Horse Ensemble. He is also the founding member of the ensemble ‘Edges’ who plays new works using unconventional methods of notating music and made their debut at the Guelph Jazz Festival.

Kathryn Ladano

Kathryn Ladano MMus is one of Canada’s premiere bass clarinetists. She is a specialist of contemporary music and free improvisation and has performed as a soloist and chamber musician across Canada and abroad.  Several works have been composed for her and her ensembles from some of Canada’s most distinguished composers. Kathryn holds a masters degree in bass clarinet performance from the University of Calgary and an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the University of Waterloo. Her performance instructors have included Stan Climie, Tilly Kooyman and world renowned bass clarinetist and improviser, Lori Freedman. In 2004, Kathryn was a recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts grant which allowed her to study with Lori Freedman in Montréal. Kathryn has participated in workshops and masterclass from world renowned musicians such as bass clarinetist Harry Sparnaay and improviser and percussionist, Eddie Prevost. Kathryn has also studied Electroacoustic Composition with Richard Windeyer.

Kourosh Ghamsari-Esfahani

Kourosh Ghamsari-Esfahani was born in Iran and immigrated with his family to Canada in 2000, eventually settling down in Waterloo, Ontario. He started playing the violin at the age of 11: first in a public school strings program, then in private lessons with Tatiana Kostour. He is now in his fourth year of the music program at Wilfrid Laurier University, majoring in Performance and Composition/Improvisation. He has studied with members of the Penderecki String Quartet, primarily Jerzy Kaplanek. His composition teachers include Glenn Buhr, Peter Hatch and Linda Catlin Smith.

LES AMIS CONCERTS: SOLO PIANO, DUO PIANO, FLUTE
Tuesday February 14 at 8 pm
$20; $15 Seniors; $10 Students

Marianna Humetska, Piano Erika Crinó, Piano Kaili Maimets, Flute

PROGRAMME

Chan Ka Nin (Canada) - Majestic Flair (1987) for piano solo
Vast
Phantasmagoria
Paolo Rotili (Italia) - ...e nel tempo si disperdre for flute solo*
Laura Manolache (Romania) - Irizari (Irisations) for piano four hands*
Ivana Stefanovic (Serbia) - For Left Hand Only (1998) - Clocks, Time (2003) for piano solo*
Doina Rotaru (Romania) - Mithya I for flute solo*
Carmen Maria Cârneci (Romania) - «Lichtung2» (2011) for two pianos*
Volodymyr Runchak (Ukraine) - Homo Ludens for piano solo*
Michael Pepa (Canada) - duello per venti dita (2010) for two pianos
arioso-cantabile
duello-variacione
tan-go

* Canadian Premiere

Pianist Marianna Humetska www.myspace.com/mariannahumetska is a winner of numerous prizes and diplomas in international competitions, among which include the Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians and Diaghilev Competition in Moscow, “Virtuosos of the Year 2000” Competition in St. Petersburg, Dvarionas Competition in Vilnius, and the Honens Competition in Calgary. Ms. Humetska is also a winner of the “Galaxie” Rising Stars Award of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the “Debut” Young Artists Auditions, and the Marusia Yaworska Award from the University of Ottawa.

Born in Lviv, Ukraine, Ms. Humetska holds a Diploma with Honours from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto, and a Masters Degree from the Lviv Music Academy. Marianna Humetska regularly concertizes in some of the world’s prestigious music festivals, which have included the Kuhmo Festival (Finland), Rheingau Festival (Germany), Tibor Varga Festival (Switzerland), Music at the Institute in New York (USA), Music Biennale Zagreb (Croatia), Niagara International Music Festival (Canada), Szymanowski Quartet and Friends, Kyiv Music Fest, Festival of Contemporary Music “Contrasts”, “Virtuosos”, Chamber Music Sessions, and Bach-Fest (Ukraine).

Ms. Humetska has also performed in some of the world’s most celebrated concert halls: the Great Hall and Rachmaninov Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Steinway Hall and St. Martin-in-the-Field Church in London, Kasinosaal in Wiesbaden, George Enescu Hall in Bucharest, Kolarac Hall in Belgrade, Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Chapelle Historique in Montreal, Ukrainian Institute in New York and Chicago.

Her performances with orchestras have included concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, London Soloists, Russian National Orchestra, Festival Orchestra of the Banff Art Center, Orchestra of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto (Canada), Banatul Filarmonica Timisoara (Romania), Geminiani Orchestra (Italy), Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Lugansk Philharmonic Orchestra (Ukraine).

In addition to her solo and orchestra performances, Ms. Humetska is also very much in demand as a chamber musician and collaborative artist. Marianna Humetska has collaborated with artists such as Victoria Loukianetz, Jovan Kolundjia, Jeffrey Solow, Thomas Sanderling, Gary Kulesha, Volodymyr Sirenko, Simon Streatfield, Shauna Rolston, Lynn Kuo, Rachel Mercer, Lori Freedman, Martin Owen, Joseph Macerollo, Miriam Konzen, Joaquin Valdepenas, Mark Skazinetsky, Aviv String Quartet, Tokai String Quartet, and Penderecki Quartet, among others.

Italian pianist Erika Crinó www.stregamusic.com/ is very active both as a chamber musician and a soloist. Several of her performances have been featured on CBC Radio both as a soloist, as winner of the Debut Series, and in chamber music settings, collaborating with percussionist Salvador Ferreras, clarinetist Francois Houle, pianist Brett Kingsbury, and, more recently, in a performance of Jocelyn Morlock's "Involuntary Love Songs", with soprano Vania Chan, winner of the special prize at the Eckhard-Gramatté Competition.

Since her move to Toronto, Erika has been regularly heard in several important venues, among which, the Glenn Gould Studio, where she performed and recorded Bach's Triple Concerto with pianists Robert Silverman and Brett Kingsbury, and the Koffler Chamber Orchestra directed by Jacques Israelievitch, the historical Massey Hall directed by William Shookoff, Heliconian Hall, Gallery 345, and the University of Toronto. In 2006 she co-founded Trio sTREga, a Trio dedicated to contemporary music with whom she toured western Canada and made several concerts in Italy. Erika is currently faculty at the Kingsway Conservatory and at the Koffler Centre for the Arts where she is also music coordinator.

After obtaining the Diploma in Piano at the conservatory of her own town, Trieste, and the Diploma in Chamber Music with the Trio di Trieste, Erika studied with M. Bruno Canino in Milan. Shortly after, she moved to Canada where she completed her Doctorate in Piano Performance with Dr. Robert Silverman at the University of British Columbia.

Flutist Kaili Maimets www.kailimaimets.com has been described as “a consummate professional and an inspiring musician” by Canadian conductor Alain Trudel. Kaili’s performances have taken her across Canada from Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, to Banff, Alberta. She performed with Youth Orchestra of the Americas in the summer of 2010, which toured South America, performing in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil, as well as a separate tour to the Dominican Republic in October 2010. She has also performed with orchestras such as National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Scotia Festival Orchestra, and Banff Festival Orchestra. Many of her orchestral performances have been recorded and broadcast on CBC Radio, including the Scotia Festival of Music’s 30th Anniversary Gala Concert in June 2009.

Kaili completed her Masters of Music in Orchestral Performance from McGill University in December 2009, under the mentorship of the Associate Principal Flute of Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Denis Bluteau. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from the University of Toronto in June 2008, where she studied with Nora Shulman, Principal Flutist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. She also received her A.R.C.T. from the Royal Conservatory of Music of Canada earning the top honour, the Gold Medal for Woodwinds in November 2007.

Kaili has participated in many summer music festivals and masterclass programs across Canada and Britain. She has studied with flutists William Bennett, Jeanne Baxtresser, Peter Lloyd, Paul Edmund-Davies, Robert Langevin, Emmanuel Pahud, Mathieu Dufour, Tara Helen O’connor, and Carol Wincenc.

Kaili performs regularly in Toronto with various ensembles and orchestras, at Roy Thompson Hall, Gallery 345, Heliconian Club, Christ Church Deer Park, and University of Toronto’s Walter Hall. She has also performed in Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, and Montreal’s Place des Arts.

Kaili is dedicated to performing new music. She has premiered and recorded works of Toronto composers. Two of her own compositions, Wind, and Silence of the Birds, have been performed in Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre and Glenn Gould Studio respectively. Wind was broadcast on CBC Radio, performed by the prestigious chamber ensemble, the Gryphon Trio.

Teaching flute is an important part in Kaili’s life. She is currently teaching at the Bishop Strachan School for Girls, Toronto French School, and has previously coached the flute choir at University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. She also has a private studio.

OUTRE-MANCHE
CARLA HUHTANEN, soprano and ADAM SHERKIN, piano
Sunday February 19 at 8 pm
Tickets $25; students $15

Soprano Carla Huhtanen joins forces with pianist Adam Sherkin in a programme of new songs and solos from modern-day France and Britain. OUTRE-MANCHE, ”across the channel,” explores the current musical trends and creative personalities of both countries: each radically different and yet oddly akin to one another. This concert presents music by English composers Thomas Adès, Oliver Knussen and Martin Butler. French composers here include Pascal Dusapin, Christophe Bertrand and Bruno Mantovani. Anthony Thompson (clarinet) will also perform.

Biography - Carla Huhtanen, soprano

From early to modern repertoire, Carla has performed with Grand Teatro La Fenice, BBC Concert Orchestra, festival d’Aix, Opera Atelier and Garsington Opera in roles such as Fairy Queen (Purcell), Susanna and Blonde (Mozart), Angelica (Handel), Tytania (Britten), and Cunegonde (Bernstein). She has been praised for her “vivid, fine-toned, accurately placed coloratura” (Independent), and her “clarity of tone and smoothness of line…matched only by her exquisite acting” (Opera Now).  Much in demand as an interpreter of contemporary music, she has performed the work of Saariaho, Salonen, Leroux Scelsi and Crumb, and numerous premieres of Canadian and American works (most recently Omar Daniel’s Mehetapja with New Music Concerts, and Sokolovic’s opera Svadba with Queen of Puddings). Upcoming engagements include Lully’sArmide at the Royal Theatre of Versailles, and a new cycle by Brian Harman and David Brock with Canadian Art Song Projects on March 6.

Biography - Adam Sherkin

Composer and pianist Adam Sherkin is a dynamic and versatile musician who commands a multi-dimensional approach to performance and composition.  A native of Toronto, Adam graduated from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory and the Royal College of Music, London. His works have been premiered at the Glenn Gould Studio, The Luminato Festival, the Spotlight Festival (Waterloo), the King’s Lynn Festival (Norfolk), The Bridgewater Hall (Manchester), The Warehouse and the National Portrait Gallery in London. Adam has appeared in performance at the Four Seasons Centre, the Toronto Centre for the Arts, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Covent Garden and the Royal Albert Hall. Adam is an associate of the CMC and is to release his debut recording on the Centrediscs label in 2012.

www.adamsherkin.com 

ADVENTURES: TORONTO
Saturday February 25 at 8 pm
$25; $15 Students

Marta Herman, mezzo soprano; The Ton Beau String Quartet (Alex McLeod, viola; Linnea Thacker, violin; Alexa Wilks, violin; Sarah Steeves, cello); Maika'i Nash, pianist

Adventures is an exciting new collaboration between "utterly winning" (Opera Canada) mezzo soprano Marta Herman, the up-and-coming Ton Beau String Quartet and award-winning pianist Maika'i Nash. These fearless, compelling artists have created a program featuring works by Canadian composers with strong ties to Toronto. Adventures: Toronto features Christos Hatzis' Sappho Songs for voice and chamber ensemble, a string quartet by Kevin Lau, and works by other local composers. Adventures: Toronto showcases the lyrical side of contemporary, while not shying away from the adventurous and surprising.

Marta Herman:

Called “engrossing, utterly winning and stylish” by Opera Canada magazine, mezzo soprano Marta Herman is a recent young artist graduate of the University of Toronto’s Opera School with an already notable list of accomplishments in the performance of new music and opera. In 2011/12, Marta will appear in a principal role in the Luminato Festival's new opera The Legend of Laura Secord, give concerts and recitals with renowned contemporary music centre The Music Gallery, Tapestry New Opera, The Hart House Sunday Concert Series, Nocturnes in the City, Kindred Spirits Orchestra, and the Toy Piano Composers' Collective. Marta will also perform as a soloist with the Orpheus Choir of Toronto as a Sidgwick Young Artist. Marta's operatic roles include Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Hansel (Hansel und Gretel), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro). Marta has performed with the Aldeburgh Connection, Guelph Symphony, Israeli Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Concert Orchestra, gamUT New Music Ensemble, and Harbourfront Summer Music, among others. Marta is the recipient of awards from the Riccardo Zandonai International Competition, Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques, and the Canadian Operatic Volunteers Committee.  More information at martaherman.com

The Ton Beau Quartet:

Founded in 2010, the Ton Beau Quartet has presented music throughout the University of Toronto community through performances at the Art Centre, Multi-Faith Centre, and the Faculty of Music’s own New Music Festival. Beyond the university, the Ton Beau Quartet has performed at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, the Merriam School of Music and as part of the Health Arts Society of Ontario’s ArtsWay series.  They have worked with members of the Ebène, Miami, Orford, Prazak, St. Lawrence, and Ying String Quartets. During the 2011 summer season, they performed at Wilfrid Laurier University’s QuartetFest, the St. Lawrence String Quartet Chamber Music Seminar at Stanford University and the Harbourfront Centre’s Summer Music in the Garden series. In February 2012, they have been invited to undertake a residency program at the prestigious Banff Centre for the Arts. More at www.tonbeauquartet.com

Maika'i Nash:

Hawaiian pianist Maika’i Nash is quickly establishing himself in the world of voice and opera. Previously a vocal coach and accompanist at McGill University, he now coaches at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music and collaborates with a number of young singers throughout Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Maika’i has also performed in a number of renowned masterclass series with artists such as: Barbara Bonney, Elly Ameling, Julius Drake, Wolfram Rieger, Robert Holl, Helmut Deutsch, Rudolf Jansen, Wolfgang Holzmair, Wendy Nielsen, Laura Claycomb & Denise Massé.

Since arriving in Montréal in 2005, Maika’i has performed, directed & coached with a number of groups. He is a graduate of the Schubert Institute in Austria concentrating on Lieder and the art of the musical duo and has recently performed in Italy as a part of the COSI Opera Festival in Sulmona. He was the touring musical director for a 20-city tour with Jeunesses Musicales’ opera , L’elisir d’amore in the Fall of 2010. Maika’i has also worked as a vocal coach and pianist for shows at the Saidye Bronfman Theatre and has collaborated with the Savoy Society of McGill as a music director, coach and accompanist. He is frequently engaged with other organizations throughout the city and has collaborated & recorded with renowned singers such as Quinn Kelsey, Marjorie Owens, Julie Daoust, Philippe Sly, & Dion Mazerolle.

Maika’i was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, made his solo debut with the Honolulu Symphony at the age of 11 and performed with them on numerous other occasions. He has been a regular guest on Honolulu’s National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate and was a representative for the United States in a Japan/China/U.S. performance tour.

After spending his younger years in piano performance at the University of Hawaii, he moved to Seattle and opened a highly successful music school with well over 400 students and 11 teachers at its zenith. He continued to perform throughout the Puget Sound region before finally choosing to move to Montréal to pursue further work in vocal coaching and performance at McGill University with Michael McMahon.

Maika’i has been an award, scholarship & prize winner for many organizations and competitions including: McGill University, Honolulu Symphony Orchestra Competition, Orford Centre for the Arts, Canada Millennium Scholarship, Explore Bursary, Honolulu Community Arts Council, Morning Music Club, University of Hawaii, Exchange Club of Hawaii Scholarship, among others. He is a grant recipient from the Canada Council of the Arts and the Quebec Conseil des Arts et des lettres.

Pendulum Ensemble
February 26, 3pm
$20

Jane Wood, piano, Kimberley Pritchard, accordion, Ilana Waniuk, violin, Adam Scime, double bass, Wesley Shen, piano, eldritch Priest, electric guitar, Katherine Watson, flute, Hiroki Tsurumoto, clarinet.

Program:

autonomic pulchritude for electric guitar and exteriorized nervous system by Engram Knots
Allemain, for solo piano by Anna Höstman
Sessile Blurs for keyboard and electronics by David Cecchetto
Zwölftonspiele for violin, accordion, 2 pianos and bass by Josef Matthias Hauer (arr. Höstman)
Code Thumbnails 5 for clarinet, violin, accordion, piano and bass by Hiroki Tsurumoto
after the rioT for flute, piano and bass by Adam Scime
Pastorale for violin, accordion, piano and bass by Christopher Butterfield
I. Overture
II. Passage 1
III. Breathless, very rapid, almost out of control
IV. Bravely
V. Passage 2
VI. Conversation 1
VII. Thoughtfully
VIII. Passage 3
IX. Dance 1
X. Interlude
XI. Passage 4
XII. Conversation 2
XIII. Thoughtfully
XIV. Dance 2
XVa. Poem
XVb.
XVc.
XVI. Passage 5
XVII. like clockwork
XVIII. Song: en dehors

Biographies

Fiona Jane Wood is a Toronto-based pianist who is in demand both as a solo and collaborative artist. Ms. Wood champions both the standard and contemporary repertoire and enjoys collaborating with new and exciting composers. She holds degrees from McGill University, University of Toronto and the Glenn Gould School and is also an examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music. She has recently given solo recitals at the McMichael Gallery of Ontario as well as the Arts and Letters club of Toronto. Ms. Wood has performed at the Four Seasons Centre for the Arts here in Toronto in addition to numerous recital halls across North America. She combines her love of performing with teaching and maintains a private studio. She lives with her husband, her baby son and her English springer spaniel in the Beach.

Violinist Ilana Waniuk received a Performers Certificate from Northern Illinois University where she studied with Blaise Magniere, and Marie Wang of the Avalon String Quartet. She completed her Masters degree in performance at the University of Ottawa studying with David Stewart, and received her undergraduate degree in performance and a diploma in chamber music from Wilfrid Laurier University where she studied with Jeremy Bell and Jerzy Kaplanek of the Penderecki String Quartet. In addition, Ilana has attended several summer workshops and festivals in Canada, the USA, and Italy which have provided her with the opportunity to study with members of the Vermeer, Tokyo, Cavani, and Orford string quartets.

In 2002 as a participant in the NUMUS Pan-Am Chamber Competition Ilana’s chamber ensemble the TEDUWA piano trio was the recipient of the Audience Award sponsored by the Kitchener Waterloo Chamber Music Society, and the Canadian Music Center Award for best performance of a Canadian work. Ilana is passionate about contemporary chamber music which has led her to co-found The Thin Edge New Music Collective with pianist Cheryl Duvall. She has also performed with Ensemble Dal Niente in Chicago and has freelanced with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Gatineau Symphony, and Ottawa Symphony Orchestras.

Canadian concert accordionist Kimberley Pritchard has graced the stages through North America and Europe with her "virtuoso performance" (Exclaim! Magazine). Kimberley studied under the great Joseph Macerollo and has now carved out her own distinguished career as a solo and chamber instrumentalist. Recent performances include Remembrance - Music Concert, Toronto Music Garden, Continuum New Music, Queen of Puddings Musical Theatre, indie-pop-rock band The Lollipop People, "Blind Date" by Rebecca Northan at Harbourfront Centre for World Stage. Kimberley can regularly be heard celebrating the accordion in all it can do; from the wild to the wonderful; from Bach to Queen, and anything and everything in between.

Eldritch Priest is a composer and musician. He also writes about contemporary culture, experimental art, and nonsense.   

Katherine Watson is currently completing her Artist’s Diploma Program at the The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory for flute, studying with Leslie Newman. She performs with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, many chamber music groups, and is high in demand to perform in student composer concerts at U of T and also with composer collective The Toy Piano Composers. Just recently, Katherine and fellow GGS flautist Alheli Pimienta have begun a free concert series at the RCM, their most recent concert featuring the flute music of American composers. In the past four years, Katherine has performed with the U of T Symphony Orchestra, Contemporary Music Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, and the Sir Ernest McMillian Chainsaw Gang. She has recorded for local filmmakers Andrew Cividio and J. Adam Brown, musician Emilie Mover and funk band Jay Spectre. Katherine teaches both flute and piano privately in the Toronto area. She is the recipient of the 2011 Bobcaygeon Music Council Bursary.

Wesley Shen

Born in Vancouver, composer Christopher Butterfield received his earliest musical training as a chorister in King’s College Choir, Cambridge (UK). He studied composition with Rudolf Komorous at the University of Victoria, and with Bülent Arel at SUNY Stony Brook. He lived in Toronto from 1977 to 1992, where he played in the rock band Klo, made performance art, conducted and sang.

His most recent work includes Bosquet, a spatial work for 22 flutes and ‘cello commissioned by Montreal’s Ensemble Alizé; Stall, a site-specific work for public washrooms commissioned by improvising singers DB Boyko and Christine Duncan; Trip, a string quartet written for the Quatuor Bozzini; settings of Jacques Prévert’s 1947 childrens’ stories Contes pour enfants pas sages, for Toronto’s Continuum Ensemble; Madame Wu said…, a projected three-day piece for piano trio; Triple Expansion for orchestra, commissioned by the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra; and Les Paradis Perdus, music for voice and tape to accompany a choreography by Laurence Lemieux.        

He has written an opera, Zurich 1916, which was produced at the Banff Festival in 1998; Convoy PQ17, a ballet score for chorus and orchestra that premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2001, and many chamber works. In 1996/97 he performed Kurt Schwitters’ sound poem Ursonata many times on tour in Europe and the United States with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.

Butterfield’s music has been played across Canada, as well as in Finland, Slovakia, Poland, and France, and is recorded on the Artifact and CBC labels. He teaches in the School of Music and the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Victoria, BC.

Adam Scime (b.1982) is a young composer living in Toronto. Adam has received several performances by Canadian and International professional soloists and ensembles. Recently, Adam was selected to participate in the Chrysalis Composers Workshop with the Continuum Contemporary Ensemble, during which his piece Fixity was performed under the baton of Christopher Butterfield. In the summer of 2010, it was announced that Adam’s piece Vagues, a Prelude for Piano and Electronics was selected as the winning composition for the Electro-Acoustic Composers Competition hosted by acclaimed American pianist Keith Kirchoff. Subsequently Mr. Kirchoff performed Vagues as part of his 2011 North American Tour. In January of 2011, renowned Canadian soloist Nadina Mackie Jackson premiered Adam’s Concerto for Bassoon, Electronics, and Chamber Orchestra. In the summer of 2011, Adam participated in the National Arts Centre Composer Training Program with Colin Mathews. Adam was also appointed Composer in residence with the GamUT contemporary ensemble for the 2010/2011 concert season, a residency that saw the commissioning of two new works, and one new installation.

In March of 2011, New Music Concerts premiered Adam’s new trio, After the rioT, for Flute, Double Bass, and Piano for a concert celebrating the music of Jonathan Harvey. In the spring of 2011, Adam was selected by The Canadian Contemporary Music Workshop to write a piece for a concert commemorating the passing of Canadian composer Ann Southam. Future projects include a commission from The Jumblies Theatre Company for Soprano, Cello, Choir, and Electronics, and a large chamber work commissioned by New Music Concerts for the 2011/2012 concert season.

Adam is continually seeking new ways to become involved in the local new music community. He recently created his own concert series in Toronto as a vehicle to promote the creation and performance of new Canadian electro-acoustic works. In addition to his activities as a composer, Adam also performs as a pianist and double bassist. Interesting performance projects have included Toronto's 2009 Nuit Blanche Arts Festival, during which Adam performed under music director Brian Current for a performance of James Tenney's installation piece In a Large Open Space. In December of 2011, Adam performed double bass in Juliet Palmer’s massive theatre creation, Like an Old Tale. This January, Adam will travel to China with the Ontario Festival Orchestra on a tour of six cities over a two week period.

Adam is currently studying with Gary Kulesha at the University of Toronto where he has been awarded a full fellowship to study as a Doctoral student in composition. Previous to his current position at U of T, Adam studied composition at The University of Western Ontario, where his teachers included Peter Paul Koprowski and Paul Frehner. Adam has also received private lessons with renowned composers Vinko Globokar, Osvaldo Golijov, Chen Yi, and Cornelius Schwehr.

David Cecchetto is a practicing non-musician. Persistently wagging dogs, Cecchetto's musical tails have been described as "obstinate and translated." Less generous critics might remark that his music has been performed in Canada, Russia, Mexico, the UK, and the USA, but no such critics have yet perched themselves on his tenebrous creative output. When not not-practicing, Cecchetto adds and removes quotation marks to the terms (")teaching,(") (")writing,(") and (")researching(") in the context of his employment at OCAD University.

In addition to his vocation as a composer, Engram Knots writes fiction and essays concerning such topics as black market chess, Forteana, and Magic 8-Ball theory. Currently Knots is exploring how certain occult practices can be realized in musical terms (and vice versa of course).  

Toronto-based composer, Hiroki Tsurumoto studied Economics at Chuo University in Tokyo and Music Composition at the City University of New York and University of Toronto.  His composition teachers include Amnon Wolman, Tania Leon, Ka Nin Chan, and James Rolfe. He has participated in music festivals and workshops including Acanthes-IRCAM (France), Aventa Composers Workshop (Victoria), Continuum Workshop (Toronto), International Workshop for Young Composers (Latvia), ISCM World New Music Days (Australia), and Ostrava Days (Czech Republic).

Anna Höstman’s works have been performed across Canada and in Italy, the U.S., England, Mexico, China and Russia. Recent performances include: Emily’s Piece, a 25-minute work for the Victoria Symphony Orchestra based on a quartet of mid-1930’s paintings by Emily Carr, Slanted Birds for string quartet (Quatuor Bozzini, Montréal), Vertical Studies for flute, piano, violin and video (Pendulum Ensemble, Toronto), and Pine Trees & Blue Sky for small ensemble (Beijing, and Victoria, BC). This latter piece has been chosen as one of six works representing Canada in World Music Days taking place in 2013 in Košice, Bratislava and Vienna.

From 2005-8, Anna was the resident composer of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra during which time five new pieces for orchestra were premiered as well as her opera What Time is it Now? with a libretto by the late poet and painter P.K. Page.

Currently, Anna is in the doctoral program at the University of Toronto where she is writing on the chamber works of Toronto-based composer Martin Arnold. She has studied composition with Christopher Butterfield, James Rolfe, Gary Kulesha, Gordon Mumma and John Celona.

Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt on an encounter with Josef Matthias Hauer in his old age: The impression was bizarre enough. The inner balcony, the ‘Pawlatsche’ – as it is called in Vienna – continued around the courtyard of an old Josefstadt house. Chickens were making noise below, dry wash was fluttering in the June breeze. I knocked at a white door. It opened, and before me there stood an old Chinese sage in his long nightshirt. It was Hauer. He had a white Vandyke beard. ‘I’ve already been waiting quite a while for you’, he said without any surprise. Then he asked me in, got back into bed, and spoke with deep bitterness about Thomas Mann, Darmstadt and Theodor Adorno. With every word it became clearer to me that here the excess pressure of a volcano brought to the point of eruption by increasing isolation was venting itself. But the strangeness of this man had traces of prophecy about it… The compositions that he showed me were very similar. They all began with the major 7th chord, usually with b flat-d-f-a, and also concluded with it. Most of the pieces were piano duets or string quartets. ‘Do take it with you if you want to read it’, Hauer said. I did not want to take the responsibility upon myself. ‘What do you mean?’, he wanted to know. ‘When you’ve read it, just throw it away. I write something new every day.’ So I took the little bundle of these curious scores along with me.

Starting 1939 Hauer titled all his works “Zwölftonspiele”. There was a famous dispute between Arnold Schönberg and Hauer on the origin of twelve-tone music, which both claimed to have invented. In the beginning Hauer numbered his compositions, but later just attached a date to them.

Hauer claimed to have nothing to say. He wanted to keep personal influences away from his compositions. He used chance operations to get a material to start working with, and had friends suggest a row to him, which he submitted to his unchanging laws. — Ingvar Loco Nordin

THE ZAGREB PIANO TRIO
Tuesday February 28 at 8 pm
$20; $15 Seniors; $10 Students

Martin Draušnik, Violin, Pavle Zajcev, Cello, Danijel Detoni, Piano

PROGRAMME

Michael Pepa: Falstaff Variations
Maurice Ravel: Trio in A minor
Modéré
Pantoum. Assez vite
Passacaille. Très large
Final. Animé
Berislav Šipuš: Gonars trio
Dmitri Shostakovich: Trio Nr, 2 in E minor Op. 67
Andante - Moderato
Allegro con brio
Largo
Allegretto

Zagreb Piano Trio was founded in 1997. In 1998, the Trio won the Darko Luki? Competition in Zagreb, Croatia and was awarded second prize at the Charles Hennen Competition in Holland. In 2000, the Zagreb Piano Trio won the 1st Trondheim Competition in Norway. ZPT worked with the Borodin Quartet, Sándor Devich, Milan Škampa and participated in the Jerusalem Chamber Music Encounters (2000), where they worked with Isaac Stern, Leon Fleischer, Joel Krosnick, Samuel Rhodes, Philip Setzer, David Finckel and Wu Han. The trio performed at festivals in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Israel, Serbia, Norway, Holland and Croatia.

Violinist Martin Draušnik was born in Zagreb, Croatia (1981). He commenced his studies at the Music Academy in Zagreb with Maja Dešpalj-Begovi? (Degree in 2002). He continues his studies in Germany. First with Latica Honda-Rosenberg at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg (Degree in 2004). Afterwards he pursued the "Solistenstudium" with Ingolf Turban at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart (Degree in 2007). In 2010 he finished his viola studies at the Music Academy in Zagreb with Aleksandar Milošev. He attended Masterclasses with Maja Dešpalj-Begovi?, Latica Honda-Rosenberg, Klaus Maetzel, Gorjan Košuta and Zakhar Bron.

During his studies in Germany he had several annual contracts with the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg. As member of the Orchestra he played one of 6 Solo Violins in Messiaen's Chronocromie at the concert in the Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic. He won the 1st prize at the Croatian Violin Competition twice, as pupil (1998) and student (2002). In 2000 he won the 3rd und Special prize at the International Competition Alfredo Marcosig in Gorizia (Italy). At the International Violin Competition Vaclav Huml 2009 in Zagreb he won a diploma. In May 2010 he won both the Darko Luki? Prize and Prize of the Concert Hall Vatroslav Lisinski in Zagreb for the recital played at the Darko Luki? Young Artists Competition in Zagreb. In January 2011 he was awarded with the Stjepan Šulek prize for the best violin performance in the years 2009 and 2010.

Draušnik is founder of the Porin Quartet. The Quartet won many prizes in Croatia (Radio Podium 2000., Darko Luki? 2002., Ivo Vuljevi? 2002.). He was member of the Quartet from 1998 until 2002. From 2002. he is member of the Zagreb piano trio. He played recitals in Croatia, Austria, Germany and Italy. He has appeared as soloist with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and Cantus Ensemble. In January 2011. Draušnik performed the Croatian Premiere of the Violin Concerto by Ligeti in Zagreb (Lisinski Hall).

From 2006. he is Concertmaster of the Ensemble I Virtuosi di Paganini led by Ingolf Turban. As a member of the Ensemble he took part at the first recording of the octet Exil of Eugene Ysaÿe published on the CD Hommage a Eugene Ysaÿe by Ingolf Turban in 2008. From 2007-2011 he played as Deputy Concertmaster of the Zagreb Philharmonic. In October 2011 he becomes Concertmaster of the Zagreb Philharmonic. (www.zgf.hr) He teaches at the Music Academy in Zagreb.

Cellist Pavle Zajcev was born in Zagreb (1976) and commenced his studies in the class of Valter Dešpalj at the Music Academy in Zagreb and continued studying for a year as a student of Ivan Monighetti at the Music Academy in Basel. He attended masterclasses and lessons given by M. Flaksman, S. Soundeckione, D. Grigorian, V. Messermann, J. Chuchro, E. Schoenfeld, A. Meneses and P. Muller.

He won the Prize of the Zagreb Philharmonic as the best young musician in season 1995/96. Zajcev was finalist of the 2nd International Cello Competition Antonio Janigro 2000 in Zagreb, Croatia. In 2001 he premiered and recorded Pavle Dešpalj's Cello Concerto for which he received the Porin discographic award for the best performance.

As chamber musician he played in many ensembles. He is a founding member of the Zagreb Piano Trio which won many prizes and critical acclaims. As soloist he performed with the Zagreb Philharmonic, Zagreb Soloists, Croatian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Croatian Chamber Orchestra and Varaždin Chamber Orchestra.

In 2002 he has become the Principal cellist of the Croatian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He regularly makes recordings for Croatian radio. Since 2005 he teaches Chamber Music at the Music Academy in Zagreb. In 1995/96, as a member of the World Youth Orchestra, he toured the Philipines, Malaysia, Korea, Germany and Denmark.

Pianist Danijel Detoni was born in Zagreb in 1983 won his BA and MA degrees in the class of Lászlo Baranyay and Balázs Kecskés at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest and for a year as a student of Itamar Golan at the Paris Conservatory. He attended masterclasses and lessons given by artists as Pnina Salzman, Hamsa al-Wadi, Emanuel Krasovsky, Felix Gottlieb, Pál Éder and Dénes Várjon.

Beeing a dedicated chamber musician since his early age he won the first prize in duo with Márta Deák at the Leó Weiner State Competition for Chamber Music in Budapest in April 2003, and in August 2006 he received the Award of the Israeli Isman Foundation for his extraordinary interpretation of Ligeti's music.

He performed as soloist and chamber musician in various concert halls and at music festivals in Belgrade, Sarajevo, Budapest, Vienna, Paris, Rouen, Bruxelles, Warsaw, Beijing, Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem.

Danijel appeared as soloist with the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Croatian and Slovenian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Belgrade Philharmonic, the String Orchestra Dušan Skovran , the Budapest Strings, the Beijing Symphony Orchestra. He played under the baton of Oliver von Dohnányi, Lior Shambadal, Tan Lihua, Patrick Fournillier, Zoltán Rácz, Pavle Dešpalj, Carlo Tenan and others.

He regularly makes recordings for Croatian radio. Danijel was awarded as the best young musician in 2008 by the Croatian Jeunesses Musicales.

Since 2009 he teaches at the Zagreb Music Academy.

RIVKA GOLANI AND STEPHAN SYLVESTRE
Tuesday March 13 at 8 pm
$20; $15 Seniors; $10 Students

PROGRAMME

Max Bruch: Kol Nidre
(1838-1920)
Franz Schubert: Arpeggione
(1797-1828)
Edvard Grieg: Sonata Op. 36 (Cello) in A minor for viola and piano
(1843-1907)
Allegro molto e marcato
Allegro agitato
Andante molto tranquillo

Rivka Golani is recognized as one of the great virtuoso violists of modern times. Her contributions to the advancement of viola technique have already given her a place in the history of the instrument and have been a source of inspiration not only to other players but also many composers who have been motivated by her mastery to write specially for the viola. More than 200 pieces have been written for her including over 60 concertos to date. Ms. Golani's awesome technique, riveting stage presence, and superbly sensitive musicianship have made her a favourite with music-lovers and critics alike.

Leading orchestras with which Rivka Golani has performed as soloist include the Boston Symphony, BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw, Israel Philharmonic, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony and many others. Her on-stage charisma unfailingly adds excitement to her appearances, and her reputation as a teacher draws students from all over the world to her master classes.

What do the critics think of Rivka Golani? James North of Fanfare Magazine best summarized her stature in the music world in suggesting she is " . . . carving out a place of her own that no other performer on the instrument can reach." And here is what the Financial Times in Britain had to say recently after one of her performances: Rivka Golani is ". . . at the head of today's supreme viola virtuosi - white-hot in delivery, kaleidoscopic in tone colours, electrifying in rhythmic attack." The Boston Herald is if anything more effusive: ". . . riveting, intensely physical stage presence . . . hurtling momentum, constant risk-taking, complete technical assurance."

In addition to being named an ambassador of Canadian music by the Canadian Music Centre for commissioning and performing works by Canadian composers, Ms Golani was recently awarded the Medal Pro Artibus by the board of Artisjus in Budapest for her representation of works by Hungarian composers worldwide, and is a member of the Club of Budapest.

Several of Golani’s many CD recordings have achieved landmark status, among them the Elgar Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic, the Bartok Concerto with the Budapest Symphony, Martinu’s Rhapsody Concerto with the Bern Symphony, Chaconne by U.S. Pulitzer prize-winner Michael Colgrass with the Toronto Symphony, and a 3-CD set of solo works by Johann Sebastian Bach. A CD entitled “Dancing in the Light”, featuring Rivka Golani performing a new work written for her and percussionist Beverley Johnston for viola, percussion and orchestra, “Pyricchean Dances”, on CBC Records. Recent releases include a CD of virtuoso encores, “Viola Encores” (HCD 32645) in 2009 by Hungaroton with American pianist Michele Levin.

Rivka Golani is also a painter of distinction, and has worked closely with composers as a visual artist in presenting multi-media performances of works for viola and orchestra. Exhibitions of her paintings have been held in Britain, Germany, Austria, Israel and North America. Ms Golani is a citizen of Israel, Canada and Britain, where she currently resides.

Stéphan Sylvestre ranks among the most sought-after and brilliant Canadian pianists of the new generation and enjoys an active performing career as a recitalist, orchestra soloist, chamber musician and recording artist. Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have bestowed lavish praise on his performances: “…his natural talent reminds one of the great Artur Rubinstein…” (La Presse, Montreal), “…somewhat reminiscent of the young Kempff” (La Scena Musicale, Canada), “…masterly brilliant virtuosity and monumentality,” (Flovo Cultury,Czech Republic). His numerous concert tours and performances have taken place in major concert halls, universities and concert organizations throughout Canada, United States, Brazil, the Middle East, France, Italy, Scotland, Ireland, England, Czech Republic, Russia and the Netherlands. Notable venues include the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), St. Martin-in-the-Fields (London), the St-Petersburg Conservatory (Russia), Place des Arts (Montreal), the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), the Four Seasons Centre (Toronto) and Massey Hall (Toronto). He has appeared with several Canadian orchestras and he has performed in the major international festivals in Canada, including Ottawa, Parry Sound, Lanaudière, Domaine Forget and Orford. Mr. Sylvestre is heard regularly on both networks of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Suisse Romande and the BBC in the United Kingdom.
He has collaborated with internationally renowned artists such as James Campbell, James Sommerville, Ransom Wilson, Martin Beaver, Rivka Golani, Susan Hoeppner, the Penderecki String Quartet, the New Zealand Quartet, Quartuor Arthur-Leblanc, Quatuor Alcan and members of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra among many others and was a member of Trio Contrastes until 2002. His numerous recordings on the ATMA, SRC, Marquis and Prod. XXI:21 labels where acclaimed by critics. Stéphan Sylvestre is invited regularly to give master classes and conferences abroad and he has been a member of several national and international juries, including the Canadian Music Competition, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition, the Glenn Gould School and the Montreal International Piano Competition. In addition to his active performing and recording schedule, Mr. Sylvestre is also Assistant Professor of Piano and head of keyboard studies at The University of Western Ontario. He is presently working on recording the works for violin and piano by Karol Szymanovski with violinist Jerzy Kaplanek, which has been supported by a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts.

JODA CLEMENT - THE NARROWS
Saturday March 31 at 8 pm
$20; $10 Students

Album release concert: an audio/visual presentation of new Canadian electro-acoustic work

Program:

Chris Strickland - The Kingdom of Ends (for prepared piano, field recordings and double bass, performed by Chandan Narayan)

Joda Clément – The Narrows (audio/visual soundscape presentation with exclusive video accompaniment by Jubal Brown) (available on CD from Unfathomless: http://unfathomless.wordpress.com/releases/u09-joda-clement/ )
 
To celebrate the release of his first CD since 2005, The Narrows (on the Belgian Unfathomless label), Joda Clément has put together and an audio/visual soundscape presentation of the piece.This Canadian premiere features exclusive video accompaniment by acclaimed Toronto artist Jubal Brown. To start the evening off, Joda has invited young Montreal composer (and collaborator) Christopher Strickland to present the premiere of his electro-acoustic piece entitled Kingdom of Ends, an “homage to Toronto” scored for various field recordings of Toronto (recordedby Clément),  prepared grand piano and double bass, played by Chandan Narayan.

Joda Clément

Toronto based artist Joda Clément has been performing and composing experimental music in Canada for over 10 years, developing a unique repertoire of methods for working creatively with sound. His work utilizes analog and acoustic instruments, microphones, found objects and noises recorded from natural and urban environments, investigating hidden properties of sound, space and recording techniques that transcend a distinction between audio and source.
 
Joda has performed compositions, improvisation and/or exhibited audio/visual installations in numerous Canadian cities and festivals, New York and recently in Europe including appearances at The Music Gallery, MOCCA, Issue Project Room (NY), Reheat (Austria), Suoni Per Il Popolo, Extermination Music Night, Electric Eclectics, MUTEK and Oboro New Media lab as well as live collaborations with Magali Babin, Michael Northam, Hitoshi Kojo, Olivia Block, Bhob Rainey, Bonnie Jones, Kai Fagaschinski, Chris Cogburn, Tomasz Krakowiak and Freida Abtan.  

website: http://jodaclement.wordpress.com/
 
About Joda Clément: Tobias Fischer, Tokafi online interview: http://www.tokafi.com/15questions/15-questions-joda-clement/
 
Jubal Brown 
 
Jubal Brown is a video maker, multi-media artist, organizer, and writer based in Toronto. He has shown extensively in Europe and North America. His projects consistently challenge boundaries of culture regardless of the medium, pushing limits of spectatorship, often manifesting an amoral barrage of mindless directionless energy, often a tragic and beautiful collision of despair and longing. Co-founder of the PO-PO seditionary action team responsible for Toronto's legendary WASTELAND event series. Co-founder of the ART SYSTEM Cultural Center in Toronto. Co-founder of the multimedia label FAMEFAME, notorious for producing, programming and promoting experimental cutting edge audio/visual culture. Other projects include the live event UNKNOWN UNKNOWN, the interactive social sculpture series The Land of the Lost, and the live video event series VIDEODROME.
 
Chris Strickland

Christopher Strickland is a Montreal based composer and improviser who is interested in the examination of thresholds of perception and the co-existence of the incidental with artifice. In his compositional work he endeavours to illuminate the unheard aural peculiarities of the performance venue while placing them in a dialogue with classical music instruments.  By delving into the multitude of shades in-between musical banality and richness, intensity and quietude, he hopes to show the interdependence of these conflicting oppositions and approximate the fluidity of form and structure that occurs in nature.

Strickland has collaborated with many local and international musicians such as Joda Clément (Toronto), Erin Sexton (MTL), Emilie Mouchous (MTL),  Tomasz Krakowiack (Toronto), Greg Kelley (Boston), Christian Weber ( Switzerland), Bryan Eubanks (Baltimore)  and Peter Kutin (Vienna). He is also involved with two long-standing projects with turntablist Steve MacFarland and with Montreal electronics/percussion musician Jon Boles as BlackSoul.   

Past concerts >