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Adam Cicchillitti
Hailing from Montreal, Adam Cicchillitti holds a Master's Degree in performance guitar from the University of Ottawa. He has been the recipient of a plethora of academic and performance-based scholarships since he began focusing on his musical career. In 2010, he won the 3rd prize at the Kiwanis National Competition.In 2013, Adam was contracted by Radio-Canada and CBC to complete twenty arrangements of Schubert lieder for voice and guitar for part of their series of concerts Révélations, accompanying baritone Philippe Sly. In 2014, Adam records one of his own compositions for guitar and baritone, again working with Philippe Sly and with the label Analekta.Twitter
Adrianne Greenbaum
Adrianne Greenbaum is a nationally acclaimed klezmer and classical flutist. As a klezmer she is the founder and leader of "FleytMuzik," an ensemble with flute, violin, cimbalom and bass, and of "The Klezical Tradition" klezmer band where she performs on both flute and keyboard and leads Yiddish dance. She has been on the faculties of Living Traditions' KlezKamp, KlezKanada, and Boxwood, was a premier participant with FleytMuzik at the KlezMore Festival in Vienna, and presents master classes in the art of klezmer performance to classical flutists. She has also performed with "Kapelye", with Adrienne Cooper in performances at the International Jewish Festival in Amsterdam and NYC's Jewish Museum and as accompanying artist with numerous cantors in concert as both pianist and flutist. As a clinician interested in sharing klezmer music with young people of all ages and backgrounds she also presents school workshops and directs three student klezmer ensembles in Connecticut and Massachusetts. "The Klezical Tradition" has won many awards for its recording Family Portrait, including Top 10 CD's from both Moment Magazine and the NY Jewish Week. The band was also chosen to be included as a feature in the ABC-TV documentary A Sacred Noise: The New Jewish Music.
After receiving over 10,000 albums from 85 countries, FleytMuzik is was 1 of 8 albums nominated by Just Plain Folks indy awards for 2004 in the klezmer catagory for Best Album and, in 2009, FleytMuzik in Konsert! was again nominated.
Greenbaum's master classes are unique as flutists learn to bridge the gap between folk and classical as well as learning a new genre.Being a pioneer in reviving the art of klezmer flute performance has garnered invitations to be guest artist for many flute organizations in the US, in the UK, and, most recently, in France. In addition, her performances on the simple system flute offer a special look into historic performance practices of both classical and klezmer of the 19th century.
Adrianne's classical training and experience ranks with the finest in the flute scene. She received her Bachelors in Music from the Oberlin College Conservatory and her Masters degree from the Yale School of Music, studying with Robert Willoughby and Thomas Nyfenger respectively. She has performed as soloist and orchestral musician in all of New York's major concert halls and in many major cities of the U.S. She has appeared with such orchestras as New York's Mostly Mozart Festival (as soloist), the Berlin Ballet at the Met (as principal flutist), the Period Orchestra of the Fairfield Academy, and for many years performed with the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Currently she is Solo Flutist with the New Haven Symphony, the Wall Street Chamber Players, and Emeritus Principal of Orchestra New England. She has held faculty positions at Wesleyan and Yale Universities, at Smith College, and is currently Professor of Music (flute and klezmer ensemble) at Mount Holyoke College. She can be heard in recording on the Koch International, CBS Masterworks, Nonesuch, and EMC labels as well as on her independent albums "Sounds of America" and Klezical Tradition's "Family Portrait." "FleytMuzik" and "FleytMuzik In Konsert" are of course the featured albums on this website. Go to the album page to listen!
Adrianne lives in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Aeolian Singers
A 40-voice women's choir based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, The Aeolian Singers have enjoyed close to 30 years of music making. The choir has toured Europe twice, recorded radio and television programs, and performed many times as guest artists of Symphony Nova Scotia. The Aeolians' repertoire spans five centuries and a wide variety of styles, with a primary focus on music composed specifically for women's voices. The choir has commissioned many works by well-known Atlantic Canadian composers, including Scott Macmillan, Gary Ewer, Alisdair MacLean, Donna Rhodenizer, Laura Hoffman, Dennis Farrell and Lydia Adams. Much of the Aeolians' repertoire features other Canadian composers as well.Twitter
Afiara String Quartet
Profiled by CBC Q, The National, Discovery Channel, and the Toronto Star ("one of the most attention-grabbing concerts of the year"), the Afiara Quartet, an ensemble for the 21st century, is a string quartet defined by its pursuit of beauty, meaning, and growth as musicians and ambassadors for its genre.
Comprised of Valerie Li, first violin; Timothy Kantor, violin; Eric Wong, viola and Adrian Fung, cello, the Afiara Quartet is a dynamic and award-winning ensemble, described as "a revelation" (La Presse) with performances balancing "intensity and commitment" and "frequent moments of tenderness" (Montreal Gazette). After residencies at The Juilliard School and San Francisco State University, the Afiara are currently Fellowship Quartet at the Royal Conservatory of Music. The ensemble is winner of the Young Canadian Musicians Award, Concert Artist Guild, Munich ARD, and Banff International String Quartet Competitions, including the latter's Szekely Prize for the best interpretation of Beethoven. The Afiara has performed throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia, at such venues as Carnegie Hall's Zankel and Weill Halls, the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Library of Congress in DC, Sao Paulo's Museum of Modern Art, Pro Musica of San Miguel de Allende, London's Wigmore Hall, Austria's Esterhazy Palace, Munich's Prinz Regenten Theatre, Amsterdam's Muziekgebouw, and the Royal Library in Copenhagen. Their journey is documented in over 30 commissions of new music, new educational outreach initiatives for school children funded by the Ontario Arts Council, and projects with jazz virtuoso Uri Caine, Latin Grammy Award-winning producer Javier Limon, and innovative scratch DJ, Kid Koala.
As Executive Producers, the Afiara Quartet's latest project, "Spin Cycle", is a ground-breaking process that begins with four Canadian commissions by composers Kevin Lau, Laura Silberberg, Rob Teehan, and Dinuk Wijeratne, which is then remixed by renowned DJ Skratch Bastid. The composers then compose to the remixes by writing quartet parts in response, creating an authentic and fully collaborative dialogue, with all three stages stand-alone works in their own right. Classicaliszt writes: "Like a tornado cutting a swath of chaos across cornfields and farmlands, Spin Cycle (Centrediscs) is knocking down those musical silos that once contained and kept classical music and hip hop at more than arms length from each other, and allows conversations across a musical void that I never expected to hear filled in."Twitter
Allan Gaskin
Allan is the Outreach and Education Outreach Coordinator for Symphony Nova Scotia. He is a retired school principal of the Halifax Regional School Board and was a music educator for 18 years of his teaching career. Allan is also a percussionist and plays with the Halifax Concert Band, Chebucto Orchestra and Nova Sinfonia. He currently sings with the Coastal Voices Men's Choir and the "Musical Friends" Choir on the Eastern Shore. Other than his passion for music, his interests include small boat building, canoeing, kayaking, hiking and cycling.
Andrew Boudreau
Pianist Andrew Boudreau is quickly becoming an active part of the Canadian jazz scene. He completed an ARCT Diploma (Piano Performance) with First Class Honours with Distinction from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Then, he studied at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, where he was a designated Schulich Scholar. There, he received a Bachelor of Music (Jazz Performance) with Outstanding Achievement and Dean's Honour List standings. At McGill, Andrew was also the pianist for the critically acclaimed McGill Jazz Orchestra, which released an album and completed a tour of France and Switzerland. In 2013, Andrew was also awarded the Astral Artist Prize at the National Arts Centre, one of eight young Canadian musicians from a wide variety of genres. Andrew also attended the School for Improvisational Music Workshop in New York City in 2014.
Andrew performed in the OFF Festival de Jazz de Montreal, Festi-Jazz International de Rimoushi, Ottawa International Jazz Festival and the TD Halifax Jazz Festival. Having performed in a variety of settings from Paris to Geneva to New York via Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, Andrew has had the privilege to perform with a wide variety of musicians and ensembles, such as Kevin Dean, Remi Bolduc, Jan Jarczyk, Measha Brueggergosman, the Orchestre national de jazz de Montreal and the Altsys Jazz Orchestra among many others.
Andrew is currently based in Montreal, Quebec, where he maintains an active performing and teaching schedule.
Bogdan Dulu
Bogdan Dulu is an extraordinary musician able to open the world of music to even the most non-musical audience, combining mastery of the piano with the ability to educate and entertain with his engaging speaking style, intelligence, compassion, and humour. Dulu received a rigorous foundation in the fundamentals of music through specialized education in his native Romania. This led to his orchestral debut at age 12 in a concert broadcast nationally by the Romanian Radio Corporation. It was this institution that significantly contributed to making his name recognized across the country, through multiple live broadcasts of solo and orchestral performances, interviews, and several studio recordings. His recordings represented the Romanian Radio at the Concertino Prague (1997) and EURORADIO New Talent Bratislava (2006) competitions.
Bogdan Dulu received the Gold Medal at the 2011 Seattle International Piano Competition. He won the 2005 Yamaha Prize in Romania, followed by wins at the 2006 Liszt-Bartok Competition (Sofia, Bulgaria) and the 2007 William Garrison International Piano Competition (Baltimore, USA). He also participated in other international competitions, including Helsinki (Finland), New Orleans (USA, semifinalist), Honens (Canada, quarterfinalist), Sendai (Japan), Enescu (Bucharest), and e-Competition (USA), among others.
To date, Dulu has performed on four continents: Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. He is equally at home as a soloist as well as chamber musician, collaborative pianist, coach, or public speaker, with appearances on NHK Tokyo, YLE Finnish Broadcasting Corporation, and KING FM Seattle. Dulu's recent collaborations include performances with flutists Catherine Ransom-Karoly (Associate Principal, LA Phil) and Christie Reside (Principal Flute, Vancouver Symphony), trombonist Ralph Sauer (former Toronto Symphony, LA Phil), soprano Aline Kutan, and saxophonist extraordinaire Joe Lulloff.
Dulu received coachings from pianists Yefim Bronfman, Richard Goode, and Stephen Hough, and worked with soprano Dawn Upshaw at the Banff Centre. Of note is his association with Canadian composer-pianist Marc-André Hamelin, Dulu being the first pianist to write a doctoral dissertation on Hamelin's Études. His research involves the performance of these works under the personal guidance of the composer.
After studying privately with Ana Pitis in Bucharest while pursuing his Bachelor's degree, Dulu continued his training with Irina Morozova at Mannes College in New York City and with Jane Coop at University of British Columbia in Vancouver. While in New York, he was an active member of a select global community of graduate students at International House, where he developed a deeper understanding and appreciation for a multicultural environment, and where he received training in public speaking and leadership skills.
Bogdan Dulu will be touring Eastern Canada in October/November 2015 as a Debut Atlantic artist, after winning their national auditions. He is represented worldwide by MitBravour. He makes his home in Vancouver, where he becomes a little more Canadian by the day.
Capella Regalis
Capella Regalis Men and Boys Choir was founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, by Director Nick Halley in 2010. The choir comprises ten men and twelve boys (ages 7–14) and is modeled on the great Anglican tradition of men and boys church choirs. While Canada was once rich with such choirs, Capella Regalis is one of only a handful of men and boys choirs in Canada today.
The choir sings Choral Evensong every Tuesday of the academic term at 5:00 p.m. in the University of King's College Chapel, 6350 Coburg Road, Halifax. The choir also performs concerts throughout Nova Scotia and beyond in a busy September – July season. Past concerts range from Bach's St. Matthew Passion with the King's College Chapel Choir to Carmina Burana with the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra and King's Chorus to the ever-popular annual Christmas concert, To Bethlehem with Kings. In addition to services and concerts, the boys of Capella Regalis enjoy a summer choir camp in the last week of August and other musically- and socially-enriching outings and experiences. The choir is a free programme open to any boy who passes an audition.Twitter
The Chapel Choir of the University of King's College
Paul Halley
Paul Halley was made an associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto at 16 and was an organ scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge, from which he received his MA with prizes in composition and performance. He won first prize in the College examinations and was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists. Halley was the organist and choirmaster at The Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York City (1977-1989) while also acting as principal composer and keyboardist for The Paul Winter Consort, earning five Grammy Awards for his work with the Consort.
Halley founded the children's choir, Chorus Angelicus, and the chamber choir, Gaudeamus, in Connecticut and became director of music at Trinity Episcopal Church, Torrington, where he established a choral and organ scholars program with nearby Yale University.
Since 2007, Halley has served as the university musician at Atlantic School of Theology and as director of music for the University of King's College chapel. His compositions have been performed and licensed by many artists and groups, including the New Jersey Symphony, John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra, and professional choirs around the world. He is the recipient of many composer awards and is a guest artist throughout North America. His recordings and performances are frequently aired on National Public Radio and the CBC.
Modeled after the chapel choirs of Cambridge and Oxford, the choir at the University of King's College comprises 24 talented choristers and is directed by Grammy winning musician Paul Halley. The choir sings for the Chapel's weekly services of Evensong and Eucharist and gives concerts throughout Eastern Canada and the United States. This is the final concert of the second annual three-part concert series at the Cathedral Church of All Saints entitled "King's At The Cathedral." Next season, the choir will be performing the Rachmaninov Vespers on 6 November 2011, A King's Christmas, 9-11 December 2011, and Bach's B Minor Mass, 20 and 22 April 2012.The Chapel Choir of the University of King's College, modeled on the Chapel Choirs of Cambridge and Oxford, comprises twenty choristers selected through annual auditions held in September, which are open to all students at King's College and Dalhousie University. The choir's primary function is to sing at the weekly Evensongs and Eucharists, as well as other major services throughout the academic year. The choir had its beginnings in the early 1970s when Dr. Robert Crouse put together a group of singers to lead the worship at the Thursday Eucharists at King's. Since that time the choir has expanded its role, having sung under the direction of several notable conductors including Helen Roby, David Buley, and most recently Dr. Walter Kemp.
In July 2007, Paul Halley was appointed Director of Music of the Chapel and since then has built the group into a fine ensemble which now includes touring and recording amongst its activities. Halley says of the choir: "It is my hope that over time, prospective students will view the Chapel Choir as one of the reasons to attend university in Halifax. There's really nothing quite like the training a fine collegiate chapel choir can offer. You get through so much first-rate music, just in one week - all the anthems, motets, mass settings, canticles, psalms and hymns - that your musical literacy increases at a phenomenal rate."
Chester Brass
Founded in 1873 and incorporated in 1906, the Chester Brass Band is a British-style brass ensemble based in Chester, Nova Scotia. The band is a non-profit volunteer organization, funded wholly by its membership, concert series, and local patrons. The Chester Brass Band's repertoire includes classical works, marches, hymns, popular melodies and original works written or arranged specifically for brass band. The band also includes smaller subgroups: a Dixieland band, stage band and small brass ensembles. The band has performed around Nova Scotia and across the world, often accompanying guest choirs, vocalists and instrumental soloists of distinction. On five occasions, Chester Brass was a top-three finisher at the International Brass Band Championships. The Chester Brass Band is led by Commander (Ret.) George Morrison, B.Mus., CD. A musician and educator for more than forty years, Mr. Morrison has conducted the band since 2000.
George Morrison
Commander George Morrison was born in Toronto, Ontario, where he studied trumpet and piano before joining the Royal Canadian Navy as a Musician. In 1965 Commander Morrison attended the Royal Canadian Navy School of Music where he studied to become a director of Music. After his promotion to commissioned rank, he served as a training officer at the Canadian Forces School of Music in Victoria, British Columbia, as the Director of Music of the Stadacona Band of Maritime Command, as Assistant Supervisor of Music at National Defense Headquarters in Ottawa, and from 1984 until retirement in 1990, as Supervisor of Music for the Canadian Forces. He then served as the Atlantic Region Cadet Music Training Officer, responsible for cadet music in the four Atlantic Provinces until August of 2001.
During his career, Commander Morrison performed with many bands and orchestras, such as the Bolshoi Ballet, when it appeared in Wolfville, and other notable artists, including Bobby Vinton and Ann Murray. He has conducted with the Nova Scotia Tattoo, the Nova Scotia Youth Wind Ensemble, the National Film Board of Canada, the Stadacona Band of Maritime Command and many other Wind ensembles in Canada and abroad.
Commander Morrison, a graduate of Dalhousie University, has adjudicated at a number of music festivals in Canada and has conducted band and brass clinics throughout Nova Scotia. He continues to conduct and play in orchestras and ensembles in support of community endeavors.Twitter Website
Chris Norman
Hailed by The New Yorker as "a flute player of spectacular and imaginative virtuosity", Chris Norman's brilliant and warm-toned flute playing has contributed to groups as diverse as The Baltimore Consort, Skyedance, Helicon, Chatham Baroque, and Concerto Caledonia. His influential work for the past 30 years as performer, composer, recording artist, educator, and director of the Boxwood Festival & Workshop has played a significant role in reviving the flute in traditional Scottish and Canadian music. His playing has appeared on more than 40 award winning recordings, and can be heard featured on the Oscar winning soundtrack of Titanic and other Hollywood films including, Soldier, and Stone of Destiny. Norman also brings a wealth of technical knowledge in the craftsmanship of wooden flute making.
Coastal Voices Men's Choir
Coastal Voices Men's Choir came into existence in 2011 to support and promote male choral singing on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. As the men gained choral skills, the group became a permanent performing vocal ensemble. A name was chosen and the choir debuted at the Memory Lane Heritage Village in Lake Charlotte in the summer of 2012. In the 2014 season the choir premiered the song "Come with Me" composed by choir member and songwriter Jim Reid. Gary Ewer, well-known educator, conductor and composer arranged the work for the choir. The "Come with Me" project was supported by a grant from the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage. The 17 member choir has a six month season from January to June.
The choir is under the leadership of Music Director Janet Gaskin and accompanist John Plant.
Cynthia Myers
Cynthia Myers (Vocalist/Actor/Writer) has performed as a musical theatre actress on stages and in clubs with various jazz combos in both Canada and the U.S. Cynthia is a five time veteran of the fringe festival having worked both in the Victoria and the Seattle festivals.When not on stage with Swingology, the Cynthetics or Jazzette; Cynthia is writing musicals for children, and developing curriculum for the Chester Playhouse After School Program. An educator for the past 20years, Mrs. Myers is thrilled to be singing with dear friends Mary & Stacy.
David Braid
Hailed in the Canadian press as "A jazz genius to call our own" (Macleans Magazine), multi-Juno Award winner and Steinway Piano Artist David Braid has performed concerts of his original music and improvisations across The United States, Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, Australia, Brazil and Canada.
Combining harmonies fundamental to European classical music and the spontaneity of American jazz, Braid's fusion of art music engages audiences with a style that has been described as "refreshingly uncategorizable" (Paris Transatlantic), 'brilliant' (Montreal Gazette), "wide-ranging, exploratory" (South China Morning Post), "une force poétique" (Le Soleil) and "hauntingly beautiful" (The Globe & Mail.)
Recent coverage of Braid's work was profiled on The BBC with Sally Fairfax, ABC with Andrew Ford, CCTV (China Central Television), and at home in Canada on CBC's The Signal, and Q.
"Braid's tone, touch, chord voicings and imagination make him one of the most interesting new pianists I've encountered in a long time." - Doug Ramsey, recipient of Jazz Journalists Association's Lifetime achievement Award.
Recently awarded Jazz Pianist of the Year in Canada, Braid is also a recipient of SOCAN Composer of the Year, recognizing his output of over one hundred works including compositions for solo piano, jazz ensembles chamber groups, and symphony orchestras. He has released nine recordings, garnering six Juno nominations and two Juno awards; he is also a multi-National Jazz Award Winner and a recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts' "JazzID Award".
David Braid is an artist-in-residence at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music.
David Greenberg
David Greenberg's double career as both a baroque violinist and traditional fiddler began at an early age. He studied baroque violin with Stanley Ritchie at Indiana University's Early Music Institute, and moved to Canada in 1988 to join the Toronto-based baroque orchestra Tafelmusik. With Tafelmusik for ten years, David performed orchestral, chamber, and solo roles in North America, Europe, and the Far East, and on more than forty recordings. David also plays the vielle (medieval fiddle). He won first prize at the Erwin Bodky International Early Music Competition in 1988 with the Medieval Quintet, and recorded vielle soundtracks for Atom Egoyan's film The Sweet Hereafter. David has gained the reputation in Cape Breton music circles as being one of the few people from outside the Nova Scotia island to have achieved a fluent command of the Cape Breton music idiom. With his wife, Kate Dunlay, he published Traditional Celtic Violin Music of Cape Breton, The DunGreen Collection.
David Langstroth
David Langstroth was born in Halifax and was introduced to the double bass through the thriving Halifax schools music program in the mid 1970s. After being inspired by the teaching of Alexander Tilley, he went to Montreal to study at McGill University where he divided his time between classical and jazz performance. In 1986 he went to London to study with virtuoso Thomas Martin and won an audition for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in 1987. For the next 17 years David played for the orchestra on radio, television, film, CD recordings and toured extensively in the UK, Europe and the far east. He was also the bassist with the Contemporary Music Ensemble of Wales and performed on radio and television with the string quintet he founded, Opus5. David's other musical activities have included solo recitals, playing bass guitar and conducting, notably the Bridgend Choral Society and the Tromso Symphony Orchestra in Norway. While working for the BBC David became involved in the education and outreach activities in the orchestra, gaining a qualification from the University of Manchester in this work. Other degrees over the years include an MA in Education, an MBA and a Diploma in Computer Science. David completed these studies by using the spare time hanging around recording studios or sitting at the back of a tour bus. In 1987 David also met the Alexander Technique, having lessons with Tasha Miller in Cardiff. After several years he learned to teach the technique and he joined Tasha in running the highly successful Cardiff Consultancy for the Alexander Technique. David plays as an extra with Symphony Nova Scotia as a founding member of world music fusion group Talambra and a variety of classical and jazz collaborations. He and Tasha have also set up Alexander Technique Atlantic which attracts a growing interest from across the Maritime Provinces.
Dinuk Wijeratne
Described by the Toronto Star as 'an artist who reflects a positive vision of our cultural future', Sri Lankan-born Dinuk Wijeratne is one of Canada's most eclectic and distinctive musicians. A passionate educator, he is thrilled to return for his 8th season as Music Director of the NSYO.
Dinuk is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music (UK), Mannes college of Music (NYC), and from the Juilliard School as a student of Oscar-Winner John Corigliano. Dinuk made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2004 as a conductor, composer and pianist, performing with Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. Dinuk has also appeared at Places des Arts (Montreal), the Kennedy Center (Washington DC), L'Opéra Bastille (Paris), Lincoln Center (New York), Sri Lanka, across the Middle East, and at the Berlin Philharmonie.
Dinuk has composed specially for almost all of the artists and ensembles with whom he has performed; to name a few: Suzie LeBlanc, the Gryphon Trio, Kinan Azmeh, Tim Garland, John Dankworth, Victor Mendoza, Buck 65, Skratch Bastid, Joseph Petric, Ed Thigpen, Pandit Ramesh Misra, David Jalbert, Kevork Mourad, MIR, the Afiara & Cecelia String Quartets, the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, 4-Mality Percussion Quartet, TorQ, the NY Kathak Ensemble, the New Juilliard Ensemble, Onelight Theatre, and Symphony Nova Scotia.
Dinuk has lectured at the universities of Dalhousie and Acadia. He has conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Scotia Festival Orchestra, and appeared numerous times with Symphony Nova Scotia during his 3-year appointment as Conductor-in-Residence. He is the recipient of the Canada Council Jean-Marie Beaudet award for orchestral conducting; a NS Established Artist Award; a NS Masterworks nomination for his 2011 Tabla Concerto; double Merritt Award nominations; Juilliard and Mannes scholarships; two Countess of Munster composition grants; the Sema Jazz Improvisation Prize; the Soroptimist International Award for Composer-Conductors; and the Sir John Manduell Prize - the RNCM's highest student honor. His music and collaborative work embrace the great diversity of his international background and influences.
Edmund Brownless
The English tenor, Edmund Philip Brownless, sang as chorister in the choir of Hereford Cathedral. After emigrating to Nova Scotia he studied music at McGill University in Montréal, where he received B. Mus. and M. Mus. degrees in voice. Later, he studied at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland and had lessons with Cornelius L. Reid in New York.
As a soloist Edmund Brownless has performed throughout Europe and North America and sings on many recordings, notably with the Bach Ensemble (Joshua Rifkin), Sequentia Köln, Ensemble Gilles Binchois (Dominique Vellard), and the Clemencic Consort (René Clemencic).
Ensemble Polaris
Ensemble Polaris was founded to create a multifaceted Canadian voice for the 'idea of North' in music. Their innovative and genre-bending artistry has won them international rave reviews of all kinds, from an Amazon.com customer's "I dare you not to love this music!" to selection as the Best New Disc of 2012 from KMUW-FM's award-winning show Global Village.
Comprised of eight expert performers from a variety of musical traditions and backgrounds, Polaris incorporates an eclectic palette of influences in their music, and performs on traditional instruments from Scandinavia, percussion from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and other instruments from the folk, classical and early music worlds. Accompanied song makes up about one-quarter of their programming, and their repertoire is created by a mixture of individual and collaborative arrangement, improvisation, and composition.
The band members are Marco Cera (guitar, banjo, mandolin); Margaret Gay (cello); Kirk Elliott (violin, accordion, mandolin, Swedish pipes, bouzouki and more); Katherine Hill (nyckelharpa, voice); Colin Savage (clarinet, bass clarinet, recorders); Debashis Sinha (percussion); Alison Melville (traverso, recorders, seljefløyte); and Jeff Wilson (percussion, musical saw).
Since their first performance at the 1997 Northern Encounters Festival, Ensemble Polaris has performed at the Salle Pierre Mercure, Luminato Festival, Music at Sharon, River Run Centre, Barrie Colours of Music, Chamber Music Mississauga, Gallery Players of Niagara and others, and on tour to audiences in Western and Atlantic Canada. They present occasional evening and school concerts in their home base of Toronto, and perform in conjunction with silent film, traditional dance and other art forms. Polaris has worked collaboratively with diverse groups including the Canadian Children's Dance Theatre, Viva! Youth Choir, the University of Toronto's Jackman Series and the Association for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies. Upcoming shows include a collaborative venture with Ryerson University's Image Arts Department (May 16/15), and with the Toronto Silent Film Festival in 2016.
Polaris's five CDs have received national and international rave reviews from critics and public alike, including a 'Disc of the Month' selection from Classic CD (UK) magazine (for Midnight Sun). Their latest CD Nutcracker Nouveau was supported by a grant from FACTOR and released in October 2013 to critical acclaim from Canadian, Swedish, American and other writers. Regularly heard on radio in North America, Europe (BBC, NRK, RUV), Australia and New Zealand, Polaris's music has also been included in compilations and film/TV soundtracks in Turkey, Canada and Germany.
Ensemble Polaris is grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council for their generous support of the band's musical adventures.
Epoque Quartet
The Prague string quartet Epoque Quartet was founded at the beginning of the year 1999. Four excellent soloists and chamber musicians with abundant stage experiences brang not only their unanimity in musical opinions and the relationship in their artistic nature together, but even their extraordinary interest in musical genres, which do not belong under the title "classical music" – jazz, rock and funk. As compositions of the classical quartet literature stay an integral part of the programmes of this ensemble, the sensitive approach to unconventional arrangements brings him new possibilities in using the string instruments and at the same time it enables them to widen the repertoire, which on our and on stages abroad is unique.
The members of the quartet are laureates of several international competitions (for two times the first place in the competition of Liezen in Austria, the first price in the international competition Ludwig van Beethoven for string quartets, the price Jeunesse Musicale) and the ensemble took part in some other competitions (for example the competition Paolo Borciani), too. Abroad the quartet gave among others concerts in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, England, Israel, Japan, Greece, in the Netherlands, Poland, Bosnia and so on. Regularly the Epoque Quartet performs in the subscription cycles of the Symphonic Orchestra of the Czech Broadcasting, the Czech Nonet, plays for the association for chamber music, cooperates with the Czech television and the Czech Broadcasting and is guest on prestigious music festivals for example the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival, Concentus Moraviae, the Music Festival of České Krumlov, Chamber music Cycle of the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Metamorphoses (Switzerland), Music Festival Ludwig van Beethoven, Moravský podzim (Moravian autumn) an so on.
In the year 2000 the members of the Epoque Quartet led a master class in jazz interpretation at the Music Academy of Jerusalem.
In the field of jazz the Epoque quartet came together with personalities like George Mraz, Benny Beailey, Yoshiko Kishino.
Digestedly the ensemble works together with the Trio Robert Balzar.
Vladimír Klánský – violin
He is a graduate from the Prague conservatory in the class of prof. N. Grumlíková and in the years 1998/99 he studied at the conservatory of Luzern (G. Larsens). Like a member of chamber music ensembles he took part in master classes of S. Givens (Canada), W. Levin, H.W. Meyer (LaSalle Quartet) and H. Beyerle (A. Berg Quartet). As a soloist he performs in the Czech Republic and abroad. From the year 2005 he is a member of the Symphonic Orchestra of the Czech Broadcasting. Like a member of orchestras and chamber music ensembles he performed with Mischa Majsky (České Krumlov 2005) or Herbie Hancock (Prague Spring 2005).
Vladimír Kroupa – viola
Vladimír Kroupa finished The Prague Conservatory with J Ruis (Dvořák Quartet), then read viola with L Malý at The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He was a member of the Talich Chamber Orchestra and of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (for two years). From 1991, he played in the Apollon String Quartet, who won the first prize at the L van Beethoven international competition. In 1996, he participated in master classes with the Alban Berg Quartet, and in 2000 with H.W.Meyer (LaSalle Quartet).In 1999 he was one of the founding members of the Epoque String Quartet which performed in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Britain, Israel, Japan, Greece, the Netherlands etc, and which was successful at many competitions (e.g. the Paolo Borciani Competition) and festivals (e.g. Schleswig-Holstein Festival (Germany), Stuttgarter Philharmoniker Zyklus, Metamorphosen (Switzerland), České sny (the Czech Republic)). In 2000 he led master classes at The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Since 2003, he has been a member of The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (SOČR) where he is leading viola player at present. He has been a member of the Czech Nonet since 2007.
Vít Petrášek– violoncello
He studied at the conservatory of Prague in the class of prof. F. Pišinger. In the year 2005 he finished his studies at the Musikhochschule Luzern (prof. M. Jerie) and received the pretigious evaluation Edwin Fischer Preis. He is for two times winner of the violoncello competition in the Austrian Liezen (1994, 1996). In the year 1995 he played a recital in the cycle of the Czech Philharmonic and like a soloists he cooperates with the Luzerner Sinfonie Orchester, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Czech Broadcasting, the Philharmonic Zlín and the State Philharmonic Košice. Like a member of chamber music ensembles he took part in the International Kyoto Music Festival 1997 and worked together with H.W. Meyer, W. Levin and H. Beyerle.
Erin Donovan
Mahone Bay percussionist, pianist, educator and composer Erin Donovan has performed as a freelance percussionist with the Calgary Philharmonic, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Canadian Opera Company, Continuum New Music, The Banff Centre, Gamelan Toronto, Evergreen Club Gamelan, the Glass Orchestra and Array Music. She presents multi-media events for alternative spaces with her organization, Hear Here Productions. Her most recent production was Burnwater, a site-specific work in East Dover with Mocean Dance and the iron sound-sculptures of blacksmith John Little in Sept 2013. In a co-production with the Banff Centre and Parks Canada, Hear Here presented Two Jack Wish at Two Jack Lake in Banff and The Bankhead Project, a large-scale site-specific event at Lower Bankhead, a ghost town just outside of Banff. Erin is also a private teacher in piano, percussion, guitar and singing and loves working with children and young people.
Fifth Wind
Jack Chen Having shared the stage and camera with Amy Grant, Sir James Galway, Michael Giacchino, Bobby McFerrin and Doc Severinsen, Canadian flutist Jack Chen appeared in 13 PBS television music specials and toured with Tim Janis, Finnouala Gill, EMI artist Giorgia Fumanti, Ryland Angel and "Siren." Having earned his masters degree in flute and early music performance from Indiana University, Jack has studied with flutists Jeanne Baxtresser, William Bennet, Robert Dick, Patrick Gallois, Sarah Jackson, Bart Kuijken, Robert Langevin and Emmanuel Pahud. Jack can be heard on the recent orchestral and cinematic albums "Horizons," "Awakening" and "Unconditional." Appointed Instructor of Flute and Flute Methods at Acadia University, Jack also coaches several high-energy flute ensembles and teaches flute throughout the Maritime.
Suzanne Lemieux became Principal Oboe of Symphony Nova Scotia in 1986, following three years in the same capacity with the Victoria Symphony. She has performed as soloist with SNS on more than twenty programmes. She has premiered and commissioned works by many Canadian composers including Christos Hatzis, Marjan Mozetich, Steve Tittle, Bob Bauer, Dennis Farrell, Jerome Blais. She also performed the Canadian premieres of pieces for oboe by British composers H.Birtwhistle, S. North and O.Knusssen among others. Suzanne has recorded Hatzis' Telluric Dances for Oboe and Orchestra for CBC records and gave the US premiere of this work at Avery Fisher Hall. Suzanne returns to Scotia Festival of Music annually, and has been invited to most of the Atlantic Canada summer festivals where she has played with the Penderecki Quartet and the Quatuor Arthur Leblanc. She has performed chamber music at the National Arts Centre's Salon and Fourth Stage and was a guest at the Picton County Chamber Music Festival. (photo by Perry Jackson)
Clarinetist Eileen Walsh has been Second Clarinet and Bass Clarinet with Symphony Nova Scotia since October 2007. Formerly the Associate Principal and E-flat Clarinet with the South Bend Symphony, Eileen earned her master of music degree and performer diploma from Indiana University in the studio of Eli Eban. Eileen completed her Bachelor's degree in Vancouver, Canada at UBC in the studio of Wesley Foster, and she was the recipient of the Aspen Music Scholarship and Mathilda Heck Woodwind Award at the WAMSO Young Artist Competition in 2006. She has been a semifinalist at the International Clarinet Association's Young Artist Competition twice. Eileen has attended many festivals and masterclasses, including summers at the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Aspen Music Festival, National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Orford Arts Centre, and Domaine Forget Academy of Music and Dance. Her solo performances with orchestra include the Nielsen and Copland Clarinet Concertos. (photo by Perry Jackson)
Ivor Rothwell is a Canadian bassoonist. For the last 28 years, he has been Principal Bassoonist of Symphony Nova Scotia. Before this, he had been a member of the Calgary Philharmonic, the KW Symphony. He is an active teacher and chamber musician in Nova Scotia, founding member, recorder player and baroque bassoonist of the period-instrument early music ensemble Rejouissance and Fifth Wind quintet.
Hornist Mary Lee is originally from Toronto, and completed her musical training at the University of Toronto, and the Utrecht Conservatory in the Netherlands. During her undergraduate years she spent two summers at the Banff Centre and participated in masterclasses in Freiburg, Germany. Mary's first orchestral job took her to Israel to play with the Israel Sinfonietta. Shortly after that, in 1989, she won the position of second horn with Symphony Nova Scotia, and has been there ever since. Mary is active as a chamber musician, horn instructor, coach and adjudicator and is on the faculty at Acadia University and the Maritime Conservatory of the Performing Arts. She greatly enjoys her work with horn students of all ages and abilities and continues her learning through teaching.
Gaspard Tanguay‐Labrosse
The young pianist Gaspard Tanguay ‐ Labrosse holds a Master in Music Performance from the University of Montreal, where he studied with Jean Saulnier and Marc Durand. In the fall of 2004, he won Third Prize at the Julia Crane International Piano Competition at SUNY Potsdam. Over the years, He has distinguished himself at several competitions across Canada. In the spring of 2009, Gaspard recorded a demo CD for Radio ‐ Canada with his brother Hubert, who is a clarinettist. Together, they have given recitals in Orford, Yellowknife and Toronto. In December 2010, Gaspard was guest soloist with the Philharmonie Jeunesse de Montréal.
Halifax Camerata Singers
The Halifax Camerata Singers is Atlantic Canada's premier chamber choir. Founded in 1986 by Artistic Director Jeff Joudrey, the Nova Scotia ensemble has distinguished itself by performing exciting choral repertoire that covers all periods and styles, with special attention to Canadian music.The auditioned choir is known for its high performance standards, claiming national recognition and the Healy Willan Grand Prize in the 2010 National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs. Members of the Halifax Camerata Singers come from many communities for the opportunity to perform demanding choral repertoire.
The choir often appears in collaboration with chamber ensembles, Symphony Nova Scotia, other musicians, and since 2001 has been the core choir of the Symphony Nova Scotia Chorus. The ensemble performs in regional concert series such as Music at the Three Churches, Musique Royale, Music at Trinity, Dartmouth Community Concert Series, and Indian River Festival, P.E.I.
The Halifax Camerata Singers organization has an active program of commissioning choral music from Canadian and international composers and is proud to encourage young singers through its Youth Mentoring Program, bursaries for the Nova Scotia Youth Choir, and a Young Composer's Competition. The organization was also instrumental in the success of Xara, a choral theatre ensemble for young women aged 18–30 years, which was founded as a youth initiative of the Halifax Camerata Singers in 2008.
The Halifax Camerata Singers is a not-for-profit society managed by a volunteer board of directors. Funding comes from performances, donations, and fundraising, with supporting grants from the Canada Council for the Arts; Nova Scotia Communities, Culture and Heritage; and the Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation.
Hank Knox
Hailed internationally for his "colorful, kinetic performances" (All Music Guide) which "abound in vitality" (Early Music America), Hank Knox performs on harpsichord in concert halls, churches, museums, galleries and homes around the globe. A founding member of Montreal's Arion Baroque Orchestra, with whom he has toured North and South America, Europe and Japan, Knox also regularly performs, records and tours with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, le Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, and l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, among numerous other ensembles. As one of today's busiest musicians in the field of Early Music, Knox's musical collaborators have included violinists Elizabeth Wallfisch, Monica Huggett, and Stefano Montanari, lutenist Steven Stubbs, baritone Max van Egmond, and conductors Christopher Hogwood, Trevor Pinnock, Sir Roger Norrington, and Andrew Parrott.
Dedicated to sharing the unique sounds of antique harpsichords, as well as fine copies of historical instruments, Knox has released a number of acclaimed recordings on rare instruments. He has released two collections of Frescobaldi keyboard works, on a 1677 Italian harpsichord, for the ATMA Classique and early-music.com labels, along with works by D'Anglebert performed on a copy of one of the few upright harpsichords in existence, made by Montreal builder Yves Beaupré. A recording of Handel opera arias and overtures in transcriptions by William Babell was recorded on three different exceptional antique instruments from the treasured Benton Fletcher collection at Fenton House in London. Knox's most recent recording features transcriptions of music by Francesco Geminiani, performed on a 1772 Kirkman harpsichord. A solo recording of works by J.S. Bach, performed on a copy of an 18th-century Flemish instrument, will be released in 2013. Hank Knox can also be heard on numerous recordings with Arion and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestras for early-music.com, ATMA, Analekta, CBC, Titanic and Collegium labels, as well as on national broadcasts for Radio-Canada and CBC.
Hank Knox teaches harpsichord and continuo in the Early Music program at McGill University in Montreal, where he also conducts various instrumental and chamber music ensembles including the McGill Baroque Orchestra. A William Dawson Scholar in recognition of his achievements in Early Music, Knox held the post of Director of McGill's Early Music program for over 20 years and was awarded the Thomas Binkley prize for an outstanding university collegium director by Early Music America in 2008. Knox continues to direct a series of Baroque operas for Opera McGill, which have included Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Lully's Thésée, Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppeaand Il ritorno d'Ulisse, and Handel's Agrippina, Giulio Cesare, Alcina, Semele, Imeneo, Radamisto and, most recently, Rinaldo.
Hank Knox earned a Master of Music in harpsichord performance from McGill University, where he studied with John Grew, which he followed by studies in the Netherlands, in Italy and with Kenneth Gilbert in Paris. When he is not playing or conducting, Knox may be found hurtling down a ski hill not too far from his home in Montreal.Website
Holly Carr
Holly has gained national acclaim for her unique style of silk painting and public instillations. Holly has exhibited her work throughout Canada and designed for theatre. In recent years Holly has branched out in to performance art, working with numerous musicians and performers including a cross Canada tour with Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Café, as well as performances with world renowned violinist Min Lee in Singapore, The National Art Center Orchestra in Ottawa, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as well as her own production with Symphony Nova Scotia where she produced a 32 foot live painting during the performance. Holly has recently performed with the TSYO at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto and the Orchestre symphonique de Laval.
In the fall of 2013 Holly had a large installation on view at the Acadia University Art Gallery, entitled "A Light in the Forest"; and is presently working on a book related to the installation. She is looking forward to an upcoming artist in residence posting in Hong Kong.
Holly's work can be found in numerous public and private collections.
Jean-Luc Therrien
Jean-Luc Therrien, a young pianist in his early twenties and third-prize winner at the Canadian Music Competition's Stepping St one 2014, will present audiences with a diverse array of preludes. With a range of styles and sounds – from preludes of bygone days, such as those of Rameau and Debussy, to those of more contemporary composers, such as Nino Rota – these brief pieces are sure to delight. Perfor med with skill and sensitivity by one of Canada's most promising young pianists, this concert presents a cavalcade of concise yet expres sive works.
2014 was a successful year for pianist Jean-Luc Therrien. In March 2013, he was one of the finalists of the Maria Canals International Piano Com-petition, in Spain. In April, he won the grand prize of the 52 nd Festival-Concours de musique de Lanaudière as well as the special jury prize at the 29 th OSTR Competition. Over the years, Jean-Luc Therrien has distin-guished himself on various provincial, national and international competitions. At the Cana-dian Music Competition, where he has always reached the national final, he won the 2nd prize in 2007 and 2011. He also won the Soloists Com-petition of the Trois-Rivières' Music Conservatory three times. He also stood as finalist in major competitions such as the OSM Standard Life Competition, the Julia Crane International Piano Competition, the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition, the Hélène-Roberge Compe-tition and the Trois-Rivières' Symphony Orchestra Competition. Furthermore, in 2011 and 2013, he went to the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and the Orford Arts Center in order to follow trainings with renowned professors. For the 2013-2014 season, Jean-Luc Therrien will play with the Symphony Orchestra of the Trois-Rivières and Saguenay's Music Conservatories and with the String Quartet Claudel-Canimex.
Jeff Reilly
"Reilly's performance is gripping: his use of extended techniques add moments of sudden rawness to a beautifully full tone that masterfully conveys the image of the lone prophet Jeremiah". The Classical Review, UK (re: ECM release of Lamentations of Jeremiah)
"Jeff Reilly is an undisputed master of the Bass Clarinet who has gone to the end to explore its sonic universe." Halifax Chronicle Herald
"The virtuoso clarinetist Jeff Reilly extends his cadenzas across the history of sound, from monotony to modernism, in a performance that is dominant and often hypnotic." Norman Lebrecht
Jeff Reilly leads a multifaceted life as a bass clarinetist, composer, conductor, a CBC radio music producer, and as a radio documentary maker. A recording artist for the prestigious German label ECM, he has performed with choirs, orchestras and chamber groups, in music festivals, cathedrals and concert halls around the world – with his trio Sanctuary he has performed in Shanghai, Paris, London, New York, St Petersburg, Moscow, Riga, Sochi, Toronto, Montreal and more.
The pure emotional accessibility of his rich, lyrical performance and compositional style reminds us that extended techniques, avant-guard sonorities and complex forms of notation can be executed within the service of musicality and sensitivity. Receiving 4 Juno nominations, an ECMA award as well as 4 ECMA nominations, his approach to music blurs any simple distinctions between improvisation and composition, and does so with a musicality and sensitivity that reminds us that such distinctions are moot. Jeff has commissioned many large-scale works that feature bass clarinet, including Eriks Esenvalds, Christos Hatzis, David Mott, Peter-Anthony Togni, and Barry Guy.
Jeff Reilly lives in Halifax with his wife and twin daughters, and is the CBC senior producer of music production for the Atlantic Region.
Jennifer King
Energetic and insightful, Jennifer King is a versatile pianist who is equally at home on the concert stage, and in the classroom. Also in high demand as an adjudicator, coach, and clinician, she has firmly established herself as a sought-after talent across Atlantic Canada.
A faculty pianist at Acadia University's School of Music since 2003, Ms. King has performed in hundreds of recitals and concerts at the respected institution as a collaborative pianist, and as a solo artist. Outside the walls of academia, Jennifer has been heard in concert alongside some of Canada's leading singers such as Measha Bruggergosman, Richard Margison, Isabel Bayrakdarian, and Mary Lou Fallis. She can also be heard on CBC Radio, and seen on a variety of television programs, including the hit Bathroom Divas on Bravo.
Jennifer is a strong believer in community, and in reaching out to the next generation of artists, and educators. She was the founder, and an executive council member of the Prince Edward Island Registered Music Teachers' Association, and she is currently the Vice-President and Registrar of the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers' Association. Other volunteer activities include sitting on concert committees, fundraising teams, and creating performance and education opportunities for emerging artists.
Ms. King holds a Masters of Music degree in solo piano performance from McGill University, and has completed postgraduate diplomas at the University of Reading in the UK as well as the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London England. Other highlights from her musical background and education include a scholarship to the Kneisal Hall Chamber Music School, and a grant for contemporary music studies from the Britten Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies.
Her accolades include two scholarships from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, various Alumni awards and a full entrance scholarship to Acadia University, and an Award of Appreciation from the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia in recognition of her contributions to musical life in the province.
Outside of her multi-faceted career, Jennifer enjoys activities such as cycling, skiing, and boogie boarding. She also loves spending quality time with her husband, a veterinarian, and their two children, Maddie and Evan.
Kiya Tabassian
Kiya Tabassian was born in 1976, in Tehran, Iran, immigrating to Montreal in 1990. He trained in Persian music under Reza Ghasemi and Kayhan Kalhor and studied musical composition at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal with Gilles Tremblay.
In 1998, he co-founded Constantinople, a Montreal based ensemble, which has earned an international reputation for its unique juxtaposition of early musical sources and the living traditions of the Middle East. He has recorded 11 CDs for the Atma and Analekta labels and has created with Constantinople over 35 original programs performing them at some of the most prestigious festivals and venues such as Salle Pleyel (Paris), Festival d'Aix-en-Provence (France), Festival de Musiques Sacrées de Fès (Morocco), Festival d'Ile de France (Paris), Festival Stimmen (Germany), Festival de Mexico en el Centro historico (Mexico), Schwetzinger SWR Festival (Germany) and Orford Music Festival (Canada). Over the past decade, he has staged nearly 400 concerts in 95 cities in 20 different countries.
From 2002 to 2005, he was involved in the international MediMuses research project on the history and repertoire of Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern music lands in several publishing and recording projects. As part of MediMuses, he published several articles on the music of Iran during the Safavid court and recorded a CD compiling the work of Abolhassan Saba together with Hossein Omoumi. Numerous musical groups and institutions have called upon his talents as a composer, including the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and the Union Européenne de Radio-Télévision. He has also composed music for documentary and feature films, including Jabaroot and Voices of the Unheard.
From 2005 to 2011, he was a member of the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Chairman of the Music Committee for three years. His artistic research and creations receive the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.
La Tour Baroque Duo
Based in the province of New Brunswick on the east coast of Canada, the La Tour Baroque Duo has received accolades such as "exquisitely played" and "spellbinding" from critics and audiences alike. Their three CDs Les caractères de la danse (2011), The Last Time I Came O'er the Moor (2012) and Music at the Time of Louisbourg (2013) have been broadcast throughout Canada and in the USA and were all nominated for East Coast Music Awards. The Duo has performed throughout eastern Canada and in major centres such as Toronto, Montreal, New York, Paris and London. In 2013 the members of the La Tour Baroque Duo were Musicians-in-Residence at the Fortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia as part of the special activities for the 300th anniversary of its foundation.
Tim Blackmore is a graduate of the Montreal Conservatoire, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the Guildhall School of Music in London. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the Early Music Studio of Saint John and the Saint John Early Music Festival.
Michel Cardin has gained international recognition as a teacher, performer, musicologist and producer and has received numerous awards for his artistic accomplishments. A graduate of the Montreal Conservatoire, he is Professor of Guitar and Lute at the University of Moncton.
Laura Smith
In Laura Smith's music, real emotions ebb and flow. Your heart is in her capable hands, and likewise, she has entrusted you with hers. As she sings, her strong, melodious voice waves and catches, snagging on a scar here and there, surfing on a wonder, staring down a riddle… As you listen, the two of you go along together; brave and surfacing; calm and inquisitive.
Smith's music is direct and honest. Sometimes, fiddles and guitars gently lift and carry her spirited vocals, while her melodies and careful poetry dig deep. "My work is all very simple, earth-based," says the Maritime-based singer/songwriter. Her work is not so much written, as painstakingly designed, cut and stitched together. "Like quilt craft," she explains. "I make it body and soul, with everything I have available - my sensibilities, my ability to play. So many things come into the making of a song. When I say write, it limits what I bring to bear."
Maeve Gilchrist
Maeve Gilchrist is a phenomenal harp player who can make her instrument ring with unparalleled purity" (Dirty Linen)
Maeve Gilchrist was born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland. Daughter to an Irish mother and Scottish father she grew up immersed in traditional folk music. At an early age Maeve was accepted into the City of Edinburgh Music School where she spent seven years studying classical piano, clarsach (Celtic harp) and vocals. From her early teens, Maeve was an in-demand member on the traditional music scene in Scotland where she performed at events such as the opening of the Scottish Parliament, the Celtic Connections Festival and the International Edinburgh Harp Festival. At seventeen Maeve received a full scholarship from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA where she studied jazz and world music, alongside a colorful career as a professional musician and teacher.
Recent performance highlights include the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, the World Harp Congress, Celtic Connections Festival, the Edinburgh International Jazz Festival and the ICONS Irish Festival. She has collaborated with some of the most celebrated contemporary musicians on the scene today such as Darol Anger, Vardan Ovsepian, Kathy Mattea, Tony Trischka and Esperanza Spalding. Maeve released her album 'Song of Delight' on the Adventure Music Label in 2010 and is preparing for labels second release of '20 Chandler st' this coming April. Last January she self-released her debut solo harp album called 'The Ostinato Project'. Written as a celebration and exploration of the harp, this series of compositions focuses on utilizing both hands as separate instruments.
Maeve is based in Brooklyn NY. She tours internationally as a soloist and with various collaborations including a duo project with the percussive dancer Nic Gareiss in which Maeve and Nic explore the soundscape possibilities of fingers, feet, electronics and sand. Maeve also plays with the legendary fiddler Darol Anger's new All-Star Band, the furies and has a solo project called 'THE OSTINATO PROJECT', a constantly evolving exploration of the harp incorporating voice and electronics to various degrees.
She is the first lever harpist to be employed as an instructor by the Berklee College of Music's string department and has written a folk harp method book, published by Hal Leonard Music.
Maritime Brass Quintet
The Maritime Brass Quintet brings the highest caliber chamber music to concert halls, churches, festivals and schools across the Maritimes. The group is comprised of five of Canada's finest brass players: Curtis Dietz and Richard Simoneau (trumpet), Gina Patterson (horn), Eric Mathis (trombone) and Bob Nicholson (tuba & bass trombone).
Maritime Brass Quintet members have studied throughout North America and performed or held positions with many of the world's leading ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony, Toronto Symphony, l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Honolulu Symphony and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. They also have experience playing in numerous smaller groups and ensembles, including Foothills Brass, Northumberland Brass, Honolulu Brass Quintet, the Jive Kings and the Canadian Brass.
Since forming in the spring of 2011, the Maritime Brass Quintet embarked on a busy concert schedule and have been featured guests at many of the regions' well-known concert series and performance venues: including the Scotia Festival of Music, the Music Room, Acadia University, University of Prince Edward Island, Universite de Moncton, and First Baptist Church, Halifax. They frequently collaborate with some of the regions finest musicians including Paul Halley and the King's College Choir, Nick Halley and Capella Regalis, Jeff Joudrey and the Halifax Camerata, and in recital with Mark Duggan at the Scotia Festival of Music.
Recent performances include concerts with the Musique Royale Concert Series, Music at Three Churches, Mahone Bay, collaborations with Kings Chapel Choir and Capella Regalis and recent tour with jazz pianist/composer David Braid.
All MBQ members are dedicated educators as well as players, and are committed to working with brass players of all ages.
Mary Knickle
Mary Knickle (Singer, actor, composer) has performed on stage in folk venues, theatres and folk festivals across Canada. Recently she has found a new passion in composing large works. Her Opera Morgan Le Fay received a rave review in Opera Canada Magasine, and her Seafarers' Requiem received national coverage on CBC radio. She is currently working on a new Opera and several choral works. She is thrilled to be singing one of her favourite styles, celtic music with Cynthia and Stacy.
Maxim Bernard
Maxim Bernard discovered his passion at the age of 13. His development has been phenomenal; by age 18 he was invited to perform Beethoven's magnificent Fourth Piano Concerto with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra!
In 2004, he met the legendary pianist Menahem Pressler at the Orford Arts Centre and the chemistry between them was immediate. After hearing Maxim play, Pressler declared "I believe in your future!" A few months later, Maxim was on his way to the University of Indiana to study with his new mentor, where he earned both his Master's and Doctoral degrees in Piano Performance. He developed his unique style, and music has become for him a spiritual experience. His sensitivity, his personal touch, and the contagious spontaneity he brings to his interpretations combine to make him an exceptional pianist.
He has been a prize winner at the CBC Young Artists Competition, the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition and at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Concerto Competition. In 2006, his career was launched after he won the prestigious International Stepping Stone of the Canadian Music Competition.
He taught for five years at Indiana University and his qualifications led him to serve on juries of many music competitions throughout Canada.
Maxim Bernard is a polyvalent musician who adores challenges. That is probably why conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin asked him to learn Ginastera's challenging Second Piano Concerto in order to perform the Canadian premiere of the work with the Orchestre Métropolitain of Montreal at the Maison Symphonique de Montréal. The critic Claude Gingras from La Presse wrote: "The pianist was entirely up to the onerous task, both in power and in introspection. The conductor and orchestra were in perfect synchronisation with him and the spectacular result inspired a long and enthusiastic ovation from the hall."
He looks forward to his debut in Brussels in 2016 where he will perform a recital in the great hall of the Centre for Fine Arts.
Montreal Guitar Trio
Described by the CBC as the "hottest" guitar ensemble in Canada, MG3 has quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with, as well as an interactive force in various musical forms. For over 15 years, the trio's virtuosity, rigour, creativity and impressive stage presence – where humour and interacting with the public go hand in hand – have been winning over audiences around the world. The trio, composed of guitarists Marc Morin, Sébastien Dufour and Glenn Lévesque, has given hundreds of concerts in some of the most prestigious venues across North America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia, including the BB King Blues Club in New York, the Rundetårnet in Copenhagen, and the legendary Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Throughout the years, the trio has collaborated and shared the stage with world-renowned ensembles and artists, such as the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Jorane et Solorazaf. Their most memorable collaboration to date was, without a doubt, with the California Guitar Trio (CGT), when both ensembles joined forces to give an unforgettable concert, brilliantly performing some of the greatest rock classics from Queen, The Beatles, a few "spaghetti western" themes by Ennio Morricone, as well as some of their original compositions. Starting in the fall of 2010, the sextet has toured across Canada and the United States, performing in over 100 cities.
Winner of the 2011 Opus Award for "concert of the year" in the Jazz / World Music category, MG3 has released six albums. Der Prinz, under the Analekta label, has been launched in February 2014, during the 15th edition of the MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE Festival.
What the media says…
"The Montreal Trio's guitars know no limits. They journey along with brio from jazz to classical music, from India to Canada. The Ussac Church has been swept away on the thunder of their strings!"
- La Montagne Newspaper - France
"… They delivered loads of infectious good humour and some solid ensemble playing that skirted the four corners of the musical world."
- Bill Rankin, Edmonton Journal – Canada
"… Their debut in Germany was one of the most unforgettable events in the festival's history, both artistically and programme-wise. […] The audience applauded and didn't quieten down until the event organiser had promised to engage the Montreal Guitar Trio again next year…"
- Klauss Ross, Bergsträßer Anzeiger - Germany
Naming the Twins
Naming the Twins is the Nova Scotia based, harmony rich guy-gal duo of Robbie Smith and Kath Glauser whose vocal blendings sound a bit like Simon & Garfunkel, if Art was a girl, a bit like Peter, Paul & Mary, if one of the boys was taking the night off. Their original material maintains the tradition of Ian & Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot and Stan Rogers.
Their energy, casual banter, wide variety of song styles and remarkably well matched voices captivate audiences wherever they perform. Their presentations are well balanced with thoughtful ballads and toe-tappin' numbers, transporting the listener with lyrical imagery and sweet harmonies.
"Naming the Twin is bright, breezy and delightful. Their sound is wonderful…reminiscent of the best folk duos of the 60's and 70's." Bob Sherman, host of the long-running " WOODYS CHILDREN, now in its 45th consecutive year on the air, heard on WFUV (in NYC) and via the internet
Robbie Smith grew up in a very musical family. His first instrument was the violin but he soon began honing his craft as a songwriter at an early age. He is now the songwriter and arranger for the duo, plays guitars and other stringed instruments with a style all his own. Kathleen Glauser discovered her voice later in life, along with a natural ability to harmonize. She is the organizer, the manager, the "gig-getter" of the duo with a very busy day job running her own restaurant. Robbie and Kath together form a surprisingly tight vocal match to the delight of all their followers.
Newman/Few/Mackie-Jackson Trio
THREE is an innovative chamber group born through the collaboration of renowned soloists and good friends Guy Few, Nadina Mackie-Jackson and Leslie Newman. With a combined mastery of flute, trumpet, corno, bassoon, and piano, THREE's programming is versatile and eclectic, ranging from the masterpieces of Western Europe to Argentinean tangos to newly commissioned works by Canada's own great composers. The Huntsville Forester quotes: "THREE's eclectic concert…was breathtaking. Whether playing superbly in solo pieces or performing with amazing synchronism as a trio,…left the audience totally enraptured after such a brilliant and exquisite musical evening." "(THREE) absolutely mesmerised the audience. Thanks to all of you for a wonderful evening." says Michael Rosen; Vice-President, Performing Arts Lakefield.
Nic Gareiss
Michigan-born dancer, musician, and dance researcher Nic Gareiss has studied a broad variety of percussive movement forms from around the world. At the age of eight he began taking tap lessons with Sam and Lisa Williams at Vision Studio of Performing Arts in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Soon after, he was exposed to fiddle music and traditional dance at the Wheatland Music Organization's annual Traditional Arts Weekend. It was there that he had his first instruction in Appalachian clogging with Michigan dance mentor, Sheila Graziano. As a teenager, Nic also studied Irish step dance with John Heinzman, T.C.R.G., Appalachian flat-footing with Ira Bernstein, Québécois step dance with Benoit Bourque, and improvisation and composition with Sandy Silva.
In 2001, Nic began an educational relationship with the internationally-renowned company, Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble. After meeting Footworks' director, NEA Choreography Fellow Eileen Carson at the Augusta Heritage Center dance camp, Nic was invited to spend nine weeks apprenticing with the company in Annapolis, Maryland. While working with Footworks, Gareiss danced in their evening-length theater show, Incredible Feets as well as two new collaborative works: SoleMates, with StepAfrika and The Crossing, with Grammy-winning recording artist Tim O'Brien.
In 2007, Nic spent a year studying traditional Irish music and dance performance at the Irish World Academy at the University of Limerick, Ireland. There he studied Cape Breton step dance with Mats Melin as well as Irish dance and choreography with Orfhlaith Ni Bhriain, T.C.R.G, A.D.C.R.G. He also studied privately with contemporary dance artist and Irish dancer Colin Dunne and sean-nós dancer Seosamh Ó Néachtain.
Nic has performed many of the luminaries of traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, and North America, including The Chieftains, Dervish, Gráda, Beoga, Téada, FIDIL, Le Vent du Nord, Genticorum, Dr. Anthony Barrand, Buille, Liz Carroll, Frankie Gavin, Martin Hayes, Bruce Molsky, Darol Anger and Alasdair Fraser. His dancing has been seen on CMT in Uncle Earl's music video, Streak O' Lean, Steak O' Fat, and also on Ireland's RTÉ 2 in the film Unsung, commissioned by the Irish Arts Council, which premiered during the 2008 Dublin Dance Festival. He has performed for the Irish head of state, An Taoiseach Brian Cowen and American Energy Secretary Steven Chu. In 2011, Nic received two commissions from the Cork Opera House to create new solo percussive dance works for Reich's pieces Six Marimbas and Clapping Music in honor of the composer's 75th birthday. The commissions were hailed by the Irish Times as "a leftfield tour-de-force with irresistible wow factor."
Nic continues to study, seeking out new forms of floor-music and shoe rhythms, recently studying flamenco with Felipe de Algeciras in Dublin and American percussive dance with Rhythm in Shoes founder and artistic director Sharon Leahy of Dayton, Ohio.
Nic has taught workshops in percussive dance technique, American clogging, musicality and improvisation internationally. He has had the pleasure of teaching at Alasdair Fraser's Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle Camp in northern California, as well as for Scottish Culture & Traditions Organization, The University of Limerick, Michigan State University, Alma College, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention in Derry, Northern Ireland. Through workshops for both movers and musicians, Nic seeks to remind students of the crucial, intrinsic, and historic place that percussive dance has held in the formation and development of many world music traditions as well as encourage dancers with the innately sonic capabilities of movement.
Nic holds degrees in anthropology and music from Central Michigan University. In 2011, he earned a distinction from the Norwegian University for Science and Technology's IPEDAM Erasmus Intensive for Ethnochoreologists. Nic completed post-graduate work in 2012, earning a MA in ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick. He continues to tour internationally, working with dance communities and presenting solo percussive dance choreography and dance research.
Nick Halley
Nick Halley is the founder and Artistic Director of the Capella Regalis Men and Boys Choir. He is the founder and Director of The King's Chorus, a choir for members of the King's and Dalhousie University communities in Halifax. Nick is also the Assistant Director of the acclaimed University of King's College Chapel Choir directed by his father, Paul Halley. He is Cantor and Director for the King's College Chapel male Compline choir. Nick was for one year (2013-14) the Host of CBC's Choral Concert, a national, weekly radio show exploring all facets of choral music. In 2012, Nick was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contribution to Canada and Nova Scotia through the arts, particularly for his work with Capella Regalis Men and Boys Choir. In 2011, Nick was awarded a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to study in England with some of the world's finest directors of men and boys choirs.
As a jazz drummer and world percussionist, Nick performs and records internationally with a wide range of musicians, including James Taylor, Oscar Castro-Neves, Maucha Adnet, David McGuinness, Revenge of the Folk Singers, Concerto Caledonia, Jefferson Hamer, the Chris Norman Ensemble, various Paul Halley ensembles, Suzie LeBlanc, Theresa Thomason, Diomira with Dinuk Wijeratne and Joseph Petric, and occasionally the Nick Halley Band. The recording Barnum Hill features Nick and his ensemble playing some of his original compositions.
Nova Scotia Youth Choir
A project of the Nova Scotia Choral Federation, the Nova Scotia Youth Choir is now in its 25th year. The objective of the choir is to provide talented singers aged 16 to 25 with a challenging opportunity to work, develop and perform choral music together under the leadership of talented local educators and accomplished Canadian conductors. 30 to 40 auditioned singers from around the province have been chosen to work with a team of fine musicians.
Guest Conductor Kellie Walsh: A native of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, Kellie Walsh is the Artistic Director of Shallaway: Newfoundland and Labrador Youth in Chorus, Founder and Artistic Director of Lady Cove Women's Choir, and Artistic Director Emeritus of Newman Sound Men's Choir.
Shallaway is an internationally award winning and celebrated youth choir. Most recently, the senior ensemble won the title of "Children's Choir of the World" at the Llangollen Eisteddfodd in Wales. They have also received highest marks in the treble youth choir category at the Béla Bartók International Competition, Hungry, and the more than 250-members performed with the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa. Lady Cove Women's Choir is a two-time winner of the CBC Radio National Competition for Amateur Choirs, in 2008 won first place in the prestigious Béla Bartók Contemporary Choir Competition, in Debrecen, Hungary, and was one of 25 choirs chosen to participate in the 9th World Symposium on Choral Music in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. In 2014 the choir won two gold medals at the World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia.
Kellie also enjoys a busy schedule as a workshop clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator, regularly traveling to work with choirs of all genres. Kellie holds Bachelor degrees in both Music and Music Education from Memorial University, in addition to a Masters degree in conducting. In 2013 Kellie received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, an award honouring significant contributions and achievements by Canadians. Most recently she has been invited to work as a choral specialist at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario.
Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra
The Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1977. For thirty-two years, the NSYO has provided students with educational opportunities not available at any university, public school, or conservatory in the province. The Orchestra has been described by renowned professional conductors and musicians as one of the finest in Canada. 85% of our alumni have gone on to jobs in music-related fields. The NSYO now boasts nearly 1000 alumni. Past Music Directors include: Robert Raines, Stan Fisher, Georg Tintner, Gregory Burton, and our present Music Director is Dinuk Wijeratne.
The NSYO's season runs from the end of August until the end of April, and includes a 10-day Summer Workshop. The Orchestra usually performs 6 - 8 concerts in a typical season.
Olivier Hébert ‐ Bouchard
Originally from Trois Rivières, pianist Olivier Hébert ‐ Bouchard has a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music. A winner of a number of national and international competitions (Julia Crane International Piano Competition, New York State; Gian Battista Viotti International Piano Competition; OSM Standard Life Competition; Toronto Symphony National Piano Competition), Mr. Hébert ‐ Bouchard has performed as soloist and chamber musician with a number of North American orchestras. He has appeared in Several festivals, including Tanglewood on Parade, the Montreal/New Music International Festival, the New York Flute Fair and Nice's Nuits Magiques.
Ottawa Cathedral Choir
Formed in 1891, the Choir of Men and Boys is one of the few remaining choirs of men and boys in North America, and the only such resident choir in a Canadian Anglican cathedral.
The Choir is made up of twenty boys between the ages of eight and fourteen. Very few of the boys join the Choir with any previous knowledge of choral music. It is by virtue of their regular attendance and willingness to learn that they are exposed to different languages and benefit from a high-standard of musical training and vocal technique. In addition to regularly singing at Cathedral and Diocesan liturgies, the Choir offers concerts of sacred and secular works. Most recently:
In 2009, the Choir made its first visit to England, where it sang in Cambridge University colleges, took up a one-week residency at Ely Cathedral, and also sang at Great St Mary's Church (Cambridge) and St Paul's Cathedral (London). In 2010, the Choir visited New York City, where it sang at St Thomas Fifth Avenue, the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, and the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin. In 2011, the Choir visited France and England, where it sang at Vimy Ridge, église Saint Pierre (Barlin, France), Notre-Dame Cathedrals in Paris and Chartres, Salisbury Cathedral, Bath Abbey, and St Paul's Cathedral (London). In 2012, the Choir visited the Boston area, where it sang at Trinity Church (Boston) and at St Peter's by-the-Sea (Cape Neddick, Maine). In the summer of 2013, the Choir returned to the United Kingdom, where it sang at St. Mary's and St. Giles' Cathedrals in Edinburgh, and St. Bride's Church, Fleet Street and St. Paul's Cathedral, London. In June 2014, the Choir returned to New York City to sing at St. Thomas' Fifth Avenue, St. Patrick's Cathedral, St. Mary the Virgin and Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. On June 21, 2015, the Choir sang "A Sacred Concert" at Christ Church Cathedral Ottawa to mark National Aboriginal Day and the transition period following the Indian Residential School's Truth & Reconciliation Commission. In July 2015, the Choir sang services at Washington National Cathedral, St. Paul's Church on K Street, and offered recitals in Alexandria VA, Annapolis MD, and St. Michael's MD.
Peter-Anthony Togni
Composition. Piano. Broadcasting
Peter-Anthony's music is spiritually rooted and contemplative, ranging from the ethereally quiet to the explosive outer limits of contemplation. One of Canada's busiest contemporary composers, Juno nominated Togni has toured internationally and his music is regularly broadcast worldwide. Togni's works have been released on XXI Records, CBC Records, Hänssler Classics, Warner Classics UK and ECM. He is also a well-known Canadian broadcaster. Recent recordings include Lamentatio Jeremiah Prophetae, (bass clarinettist Jeff Reilly and the Elmer Iseler Singers – 2010), Spatium (Togni Trio – 2012), and Piano Alone (solo piano – 2013). Responsio (premiered 2013) won the 2014 Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award, and was released on ATMA classique (2015). Warrior Songs, for percussionist Jerry Granelli and choir, premiered in Boulder Colorado (2014), with its Canadian premiere in Toronto (2015). Peter-Anthony played at the 53rd Magadino International Organ Festival (Switzerland – 2015), co-founded by his father the late Victor Togni. Isis and Osiris, Gods of Egypt, a new Canadian opera, will be part of Opera in Concert's 2016 season. Originally from Pembroke, Ontario, he currently resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he composes and teaches at Acadia and Dalhousie Universities.
Philippe Courchesne Leboeuf
Philippe Courchesne Lebœuf is a young baritone from Trois-Rivières, Québec, described as "uniformly excellent'' by the National Capital Opera Society. He camped with force several operatic roles such as Guglielmo ( Cosi Fan Tutte), Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) and Escamillo (Carmen) under the direction of Sandra Graham, as well as Silvio (Pagliacci), with Ottawa Pocket Opera. As a soloist, he sang in Fauré's Requiem (2010) and performed Five Mystical Songs by R. Vaughan Williams (2011), with The Choir Orchestra of St. John the Evangelist. In 2013-2014, Philippe sang again the Fauré's Requiem with the University of Ottawa Choir and Orchestra, as well as Mozart's Requiem with the Choir and Orchestra of the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.
Quartetto Gelato
Colin Maier
Born and raised in Calgary (Go Flames Go!), Colin graduated from the University of Calgary in 1997 with a Bachelor's degree in oboe performance studying with David Sussman. Colin achieved a lifelong dream by joining Quartetto Gelato in 2009. "It is the greatest honor to follow in Cynthia's footsteps and to share a stage (and while on tour, a carpool and hotel room) with these world class musicians". In addition to being a musician, Colin has also worked for over 20 years as a dancer, actor, stuntman, singer, choreographer, acrobat and martial-artist. This combination of high level music and theatre is quite unique and he continues to find new, exciting and ground breaking ways to combine his two passions. For more information on Colin, please visit his website at www.colinmaier.com
Colin's two solo albums, "Advice From a Misguided Man" in 2012 and "The Fabulist – Oboe and Other Things" in 2014 have been heard on radio stations in 17 countries and received fantastic reviews from Wholenote, Fanfare and American Record Guide. The albums feature the oboe and Colin's multi-instrumentalism and are comprised of original Canadian commissions, Canadian arrangements, Canadian/World premieres and virtuosic showpieces that span many musical genres.
As an oboist he has played with groups such as; The Calgary very diverse Philharmonic, National Ballet, Symphony of the Kootenays, Soundstreams, Toronto Concert Orchestra, Scarborough Philharmonic, Niagara International Chamber Music Festival, The Jive Mommas, High Strung, The Fabulous Doo-Wop Boy and The Plaid Tongued Devils. In 2002, he was a featured Jazz oboist at the International Double Reed Festival where he performed and conducted a jazz master class with legendary jazz bassoonist Michael Rabinowitz.
In addition to oboe, Colin also plays clarinet, english horn, violin, 5-string banjo, acoustic/electric bass, piano, saxophone, flute, guitar, mandolin and musical saw. He has yet to master the kitchen sink despite years of training…much respect to the members of STOMP.
Colin had the honor of playing the devil fiddler in the flying blue canoe for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Opening Ceremonies." Some highlights from Colin's theatre career where he appeared as an actor include; "Lord of the Rings" (Mirvish), Fire (CanStage), "Forbidden Phoenix" (LKTYP), "KA" (Cirque du Soleil), "Amadeus" (Alberta Theatre Projects), "That Dance Show" (Saltance Productions), "Cats" (Neptune Theatre), Joseph's Dreamcoat (StageWest/Drayton), "A Chorus Line" (StageWest), Sarah Brightman's World Tour, and TV's "Honey I Shrunk the Kids!".
Lydia Munchinsky
Cellist Lydia Munchinsky, nee Helsdon, is a freelance performer and teacher currently residing in Toronto. Originally from Aylmer Ontario, she came to Toronto in 2000 to study cello with Simon Fryer and piano with Peter Longworth at The Glenn Gould School. Since completing the Performance Diploma Program, Lydia has enjoyed many of the diverse musical opportunities this city has to offer. Some of those include playing for music theatre companies Stage West and Theatre Aquarius, the new music ensemble Array, electric violinist Dr. Draw, and chamber folk group Ozere. She has premiered solo cello and chamber music works by a number of Toronto and Austrian composers and gives recitals regularly, some of which have been recorded by CBC and CIUT radio. Before having a baby in July 2013, (born the same day as Prince George), Lydia also taught for Sistema Toronto in Parkdale.
Before moving to Toronto, Lydia studied piano with Dorothy Jones and Karen Rowell, and cello with Tim Halliday, Amanda Keesmaat and Julia MacGregor. She performed in Australia, Korea and Chicago at the ages of ten, twelve and fourteen and completed her ARCT (Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto) in performance for both piano and cello before attending her post secondary studies. The year after she finished high school she also traveled to Europe for five months. While there she spent one term at l'Abri, an International Christian Study and Philosophy Centre, and backpacked across Europe for two months with her cello. While in Switzerland, she also met her husband, Marty. Since January of 2014, Lydia has toured the continent with Quartetto Gelato, an experience for which she is extremely grateful. After all, her daughter Arya, who often joins them on tour, is their biggest fan!
Peter De Sotto
Peter is a remarkable talent who's chameleon like abilities allow him to perform on the violin not only as a seasoned classical violinist but also as a dazzling gypsy virtuoso. If that is not enough the real surprise is his fabulous tenor voice, which ranges from South America, to authentic Irish folk, to the great romantic Italian songs and arias including Turandots "Nessun Dorma". DeSotto has been referred to as "a credible Pavarotti stand-in (Stereo Review). Peter has appeared in leading roles in numerous opera and theatre productions and was a member of The Toronto Symphony Orchestra for 11 years, and was voted Musician Of The Year in 1999 by the Toronto Musicians Association.
"Whenever Peter De Sotto (tenor, violin, mandolin) released his natural, Italianate tenor – usually in Sicilian and Neapolitan folk Songs – I found tears springing to my eyes. It hardly seems fair that he's also a violin wiz who tossed off a gypsy number at dizzying speed." (National Post)
Not only is Peter "an amazing violinist capable of playing any style of music convincingly" but he has "one of the most gorgeous voices I have ever heard. I couldn't believe any one person could possess that much talent." (Glenn Dicterow, concert master, New York Philharmonic)
Alexander Sevastian
Alexander Sevastian joined Quartetto Gelato in 2002. Alex (accordion, piano, bandoneon) has won four International Accordion Competitions including the Oslofjord in Norway (1998), The Cup of the North in Russia (2000), the Anthony Galla-Rini Accordion Competition in the U.S.A. (2001) and The Coupe Mondiale in the U.S.A. (2007).
Alex was born in Minsk, Belarus and began his studies on the accordion at the age of seven. In 1991 he attended the Glinka Musical College in Minsk. His advanced studies took him to the Gnessin Academy of Music in Moscow where he received his Masters in Performance degree in 2002, studying with renowned performer and pedagogue, Friedrich Lips.
Alex began his professional career in Moscow in 1996, performing with the Russian Radio Orchestra, which he toured with as a soloist throughout Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, and Japan. Alex also was a very active recitalist and chamber musician. Highlights of his career include appearances in the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Glinka Capella Hall (St.Petersburg), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Minato Mirai Hall (Yokohama), Roy Thomson Hall (Toronto), Jack Singer Hall (Calgary) and Metropolitan Museum (New York). Recent solo engagements include recitals in Mexico, Italy, Portugal, Serbia, U.S.A. and Canada as well as appearances with several symphony orchestras.
Alex and his family moved to Canada in April 2001. In May 2003 he completed the Advanced Certificate in Performance program at the University of Toronto where he studied with Joseph Macerollo.
Alex made his debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under a baton of Peter Oundjian in April 2008 playing the Malcolm Forsyth Accordion Concerto at the New Creations Festival and toured with the orchestra on their Atlantic tour in Eastern Canada in 2009.
Alex lives in Toronto with his wife Anna and son Vladimir. In the fall of 2005 he became a Canadian Citizen.
Ragged Robin
Erin Dempsey has been immersed in Irish Traditional music since childhood when she learned Tin Whistle from her father. She was also trained in Irish Traditional dancing, traveling across Canada competing in dance, whistle and Irish song. She began playing wooden flute after her first trip to Ireland in 2003, and now plays flutes constructed by her father, Sean Dempsey. In 2009 she moved to Ireland to refine her flute playing skills. She attended and hosted musical sessions across Ireland, studying with celebrated local performers in Cork, where she lived for four years. Her "piping style" flute playing is reminiscent of the traditional flute and fiddle players of Counties Clare, Galway, and Roscommon.
Ellen Gibling is a classically-trained harpist with a bachelor's degree in Harp Performance from McGill University. She is the harp instructor at Acadia University and has performed with Symphony Nova Scotia and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. She is a also member of the pop band The Heavy Blinkers, and has performed and recorded with Jenn Grant. Irish music has been very important to Ellen since her first lessons on the harp, and she has continued to seek it out alongside her work in the classical and pop worlds. Ellen's interest in Irish music has led her to sessions and festivals in Quebec, Newfoundland, Scotland, and Ireland, as well as at home in Nova Scotia.
Rebecca Caine
Rebecca Caine is equally comfortable singing musical theatre, opera, oratorio, and cabaret. Although born in Toronto, Ms Caine has divided her musical career between the UK and Canada when she is not performing as invited artist elsewhere. She created the role of Cosette in Les Miserables and was part of the original cast for Phantom of the Opera in BOTH London and Toronto. She has been the principal soprano in numerous operas throughout the world, is frequently heard in the UK on Radio 3, and recently performed in The Mikado (Katisha) at the Charing Cross Theatre to rave reviews.
Rhapsody Quintet
For more than 20 years Nova Scotia's Rhapsody Quintet has thrilled and delighted audiences with its sparkling renditions of a wide range of music, including light classical, salon, musical theatre, jazz, tango, klezmer, movie music and more. Through their performances and recordings they have reached out across Canada and the world, performed for royalty, worked with school children and helped to raise funds for many deserving causes. Rhapsody has released six CDs to date. The members of Rhapsody Quintet are: Dominic Desautels, clarinet; Jennifer Jones, violin; David Langstroth, bass; Diana Torbert, piano and Shimon Walt, cello; all important members of Nova Scotia's professional musical scene.
Robert Kortgaard
Pianist Robert Kortgaard was born in Regina, Saskatchewan and grew up in Calgary, Alberta. He completed his Bachelor and Master's degrees at the Juilliard School in New York City. As a recipient of arts awards from the Canada Council, he furthered his musical studies in Italy and England.
Mr. Kortgaard has performed as a soloist with major Canadian orchestras and has given recitals throughout Canada and the United States, as well as in England, Finland, Portugal, Italy, Indonesia, the Czech Republic, China and Japan. He is a favorite collaborator of many of Canada's finest instrumental soloists, vocalists and chamber groups. His performances are frequently heard on CBC Radio, and he has recorded for the Centrediscs, Marquis Classics/EMI, CBC Records, Teldec and ATMA Classique labels.
Mr. Kortgaard is Artistic Director of the Indian River Festival on Prince Edward Island (recently nominated "Event of the Year" by the East Coast Music Awards), and the Leith Summer Music Festival in Ontario. He was musician-in-residence at the University of New Brunswick from l993-l998, and has given piano masterclasses at Universities and festivals in Canada, Indonesia and China. He is pleased to act as a board member of Debut Atlantic, Canada's unique and distinguished provider of classical music concerts and educational opportunities.
Mr. Kortgaard has performed with sopranos Isabel Bayrakdarian, Sumi Jo, Jane Archibald, Adrianne Pieczonka and Measha Brueggergosman, mezzo soprano Susan Platts, violinist Joshua Bell, and with Peter Tiefenbach and prima ballerina Veronica Tennant on a production entitled "Invitation to the Dance". He has recorded French and German Cabaret programmes with mezzo-soprano Jean Stilwell for CBC Records. His CD with soprano Wendy Nielsen was nominated for both Juno and East Coast Music Awards. Recent engagements include tours with flutist Susan Hoeppner, cabaret artist Patricia O'Callaghan. baritone Brett Polegato, renowned music theatre actress/singer Rebecca Caine and several performances of duo piano repertoire with Peter Tiefenbach. A CD of the music of Olivier Messiaen, recorded with soprano Suzie LeBlanc, was released on the ATMA Classiques label and has received an Opus Award for best recording of contemporary music.
Robert Quinney
Robert Quinney is Director of Music at Peterborough Cathedral. In September this year he takes up the dual post of Organist and Tutorial Fellow in Music at New College, Oxford and Associate Professor at the University Faculty of Music, succeeding Professor Edward Higginbottom, who retires after a 38-year tenure.
Robert Quinney was Organ Scholar of King's College, Cambridge from 1995 to 1998, and subsequently a postgraduate student under John Butt. Since embarking on a full-time performing career in 2000 he has maintained a keen interest in academic music, with a particular research interest in J. S. Bach. This has combined with his performing work in a series of Bach recordings on the Coro label, of which Gramophone wrote 'Quinney's Bach gets to the heart of the music with refreshing clarity and a communication born of genuine understanding'.
Before moving to Peterborough in April 2013, Robert was for almost nine years Sub-Organist of Westminster Abbey, following four years as Assistant Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral. He accompanied those famous choirs in daily choral liturgies and on many recordings, international tours, and broadcasts on radio and television. In April 2011 he played for the Marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, to an estimated television audience of two billion worldwide; the following year he was featured in the BBC2 documentary Westminster Abbey.
In addition to his Bach series, Robert Quinney has made critically acclaimed solo recordings of music by Elgar, Wagner, Brahms and Dupré, and appears as accompanist on a wide variety of choral CDs, principally with the choirs of Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral and The Sixteen.
Sarah Yunji Moon
One of Canada's emerging young artists, Flutist Sarah Yunji Moon is in high demand as a recitalist, chamber and orchestra musician. Ms. Moon is an enthusiastic ambassador of new music and she enjoys commissioning works of young composer's of her generation and finding rarely performed Flute repertoire. Until now, Sarah played with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Nova Scotia Symphony Orchestra, in addition to having given recitals, among others, at CAMI Hall in New York.
Schumann Quartet
"The Schumann Quartet impresses with almost effortless, world-class virtuosity. Together, they create a very sqpecial force, and they inspire each other as well as the audience. I am convinced that this ensemble's future is bright, and that they will continue to delight their audiences," writes Harald Eggebrecht, the music critic of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, about the Schumann Quartet..
The ensemble, consisting of the brothers Erik, Ken and Mark Schumann along with Estonian violist Liisa Randalu, has impressed audiences worldwide ever since winning the renowned Concours de Bordeaux in May 2013. Critics have praised their "high emotional intelligence" and "supreme technical accomplishment," declaring: "the future belongs to them."
Founded 2007 in Cologne and in its current formation since 2012, the Schumann Quartet attracted much attention early on. The ensemble is prize winner of international competitions such as the Premio Paolo Borciani in Italy and the Osaka International Music Competition in Japan, and winner of the Schubert and Modern Music Competition in Graz, Austria in 2012 and of the Premier Prix de Quatuor à Bordeaux in 2013.
Among the ensemble's formative experiences were their studies with the Alban Berg Quartet in Cologne and with Günther Pichler at the Escuela Superior de Reina Sofia in Madrid. Chamber music instruction by the Cherubini Quartet's Harald Schoneweg was an important source of inspiration during the quartet's early days, as was the artistic collaboration with Eberhard Feltz. Among the ensemble's chamber music partners are renowned artists such as Menahem Pressler, Henri Sigfridsson, Sabine Meyer, Nils Mönkemeyer, Diemut Poppen, Nicolas Altstaedt and David Orlowsky.
An encounter of a different kind with Hyung-ki Joo of the duo Igudesman & Joo inspired the quartet to take to the stage this season with a humoresque programme. Beginning with the 2009/10 season, the Schumann Quartet has been artist in residence at the "Erstklassik" concert series at the Robert Schumann-Saal in Düsseldorf.
The Schumann Quartet has made numerous live recordings with broadcasters such as WDR, SWR and Radio France; their debut recording with works by Beethoven, Bartók and Brahms was released in April 2013 to great critical acclaim. The second CD with works by Mozart, Ives and Verdi was released in January 2015 and has gained fantastic reviews among the media and press. The Schumann Quartet is supported by the Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz Foundation and by the Irene Steels-Wilsing Foundation.
In February 2014, the Jürgen Ponto Foundation awarded its Music Prize for String Quartet to the Schumann Quartet. This season 2015/16, the ensemble will hold a residency at the Schloss Esterhazy, which includes concerts and a commissioned work for the Quartet, which will be world premiered in 2016.
Scott Macmillan
Scott Macmillan was recently awarded Nova Scotia's most prestigious Arts Prize, The Portia White Prize at the Creative Nova Scotia Awards which celebrates Nova Scotia's Artistic community. This award recognizes the recipient's commitment to artistic growth, community engagement and life time achievement. Former bassist for the Rankin Family Band, and now a jazz vocalist, John Chiasson draws on styles including latin, swing, and blues. John Cuming has performed with a long list of musicians including Ray Charles, Dion Warwick, The Spinners, Victor Borge, Chantal Kreviazuk, Rosemary Clooney, Ernie Watts, Kenny Wheeler, and many Maritime artists.
Seph Peters
From picturesque Margaree, Cape Breton Island, Seph Peters is one of the most sought-after tenor banjo and guitar players in Canada. His unique and innovative style of playing has graced festival stages and theatres across Canada, USA, and Europe.
These days, you'll find Seph on the road with acclaimed Cape Breton Gaelic singer Mary Jane Lamond and fiddler Wendy MacIsaac, the Irish touring show Celtic Crossroads, Ashley MacIsaac…and the list goes on, and on, and on. Seph is also a highly regarded teacher, studio session player, and is increasingly appearing on recordings."
Shimon Walt
Shimon Walt is the Assistant Principal Cellist of Symphony Nova Scotia. Since his arrival to Nova Scotia in 1976 he has been an integral part of the province's musical life. Whether on concert stages with Symphony Nova Scotia, in solo recitals or in chamber music concerts, or teaching in the classrooms of Dalhousie University, he is totally dedicated to the art of music. Shimon is also one of the founding members of Symphony Nova Scotia.
After the demise of the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, he was appointed by the Nova Scotia government to a steering committee entrusted with rebuilding symphonic life in Nova Scotia. Shimon was Symphony Nova Scotia's first Personnel Manager, a position he held for six years. Mr. Walt was educated in Tel Aviv and Boston, where his principal teachers were Uzi Wiezel and George Neikrug. He has performed with major orchestras under such noted conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta and Pablo Casals. Today he shares his time between Symphony Nova Scotia, Dalhousie University and operating Walt Music.
Shimon Walt is known as a dedicated teacher, and many of his students have gone on to professional musical careers. He has been a provincial adjudicator for the Kiwanis Music Festivals in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and served on national juries for FACTOR (the Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Record) and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Stacy Chadwell
Nova Scotia newbie Stacy Chadwell is a vocalist and pianist originally from St. Louis, Missouri. She brings her classical training to each performance, with a background in opera fueling a love for foreign, cultured music. From the Bal-musette of France - to Portugal's Fado - to Norse minimalism - this wide variety of genres combine for a stunning repertoire sure to delight.
Stanislav Pronin
Violinist and composer Stanislav Pronin was born in Moscow, Russia and began his violin studies upon his immigration to Israel at the age of 8. His first teacher was his grandfather, Veniamin Pronin, a student of Pyotr Stoliarskiy and former Professor at the Odessa Conservatoire. Stanislav continued his studies at Indiana University with Nelli Shkolnikova and Jaime Laredo, and later at the Hochschule für Musik Köln, Germany, with Professor Zakhar Bron. Stanislav's professional career began following his solo debut in Israel at the age of 10. He has performed as soloist and chamber musician at many festivals including Verbier Festival and Interlaken Classics in Switzerland, Banff Festival and Stratford Festival in Canada, Kronberg Festival in Germany, etc. He performs regularly in USA, Canada, Europe and Scandinavia, and in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Miller Theatre, Musikhuset Aarhus, National Arts Centre Ottawa, Perlman Theatre in Philadelphia, and so on. He has collaborated with numerous conductors including Leonard Slatkin, Herbert Blomstedt, Antonio Mendez, Sigiswald Kuijken, Andrew Constantine and Joshua Weilerstein. As chamber musician, he has collaborated with Jan Lisiecki, Jaime Laredo, James Campbell, Mark Kaplan, Bion Tsang, Orion String Quartet, Victor Danchenko, Julian Milkis, Anton Nel, Emille Naoumoff and Lera Auerbach. An avid performer of new music, Stanislav has worked with and premiered works of such composers as John Adams, Fabian Panisello, Ned Rorem, Toivo Tulev, Hans Abrahamsen and Lera Auerbach.
Stanislav's recordings, including his solo CD debut on Naxos/Sono Luminus labels, have been broadcast on numerous radio and television channels including WDR Köln, RTS-1 Belgrade, CBC Canada, Radio Klassisk Denmark, Interlochen Public Radio, WFMT Chicago Classical, etc.
Stanislav is a recipient of multiple awards from such organization as the American String Teachers Association, America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts and Classical Artists Development Foundation. He performs on a Nicola Bergonzi violin from 1785, and the ex-Ysaye, ex-Flesch Voirin bow, generously on loan from a private donor.
Steve Normandin
Fans of Steve Normandin know to expect riveting renditions of traditional chansons from France and Québec, enlivened by touches of jazz and swing and performed with a uniquely theatrical flair. Audiences discovering Normadin for the first time will find themselves in the hands of a true master: an artist who can make you laugh, cry, and dance in the space of one set of music. Equally accomplished as an instrumentalist and as a songwriter, Normandin has appeared as a soloist with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, and toured internationally with a host of musical projects and theatrical productions.
Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal
"Unforgettable" – Claude Gingras, La Presse
"Pure beauty" – François Houde, Le Nouvelliste, 2012
Praised for its "rich-textured, vibrant sound" and "hypnotic beauty", the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal has established a reputation as Montréal's finest early music vocal ensemble. Composed of 10 to 13 singers chosen for the remarkable clarity and purity of their voices, the Studio was founded in 1974 by the organist and harpsichordist Christopher Jackson, whose inspired leadership continues to this day.
Delighting audiences for close to four decades, the Studio has brought more than 800 Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces before the public, and continues to reveal and share the vitality, sensuality, and emotional depth of early music. The ensemble's concert series is a highlight of Montréal's cultural and ranks as an integral part of the city's lively baroque scene. Flowering from Montreal's fertile early music scene in the early 1970s, the Studio was a pioneer ensemble in the North American period music movement. The choir partners with period instrument ensembles to perform Renaissance and Baroque choral masterpieces.
The Studio has toured Mexico, France, Spain and Luxembourg and has often appeared at the Festival International de Sarrebourg. Through frequent concert collaborations with many well-known early music instrumental ensembles—including Skip Sempé's Cappriccio Stravagante Renaissance Orchestra — the Studio has partnered with many renowned artists, such as Jordi Savall, Ton Koopman, Dame Emma Kirkby, Guillemette Laurens, Suzie LeBlanc and Daniel Taylor.
The Studio has made 15 widely acclaimed recordings, several of which are on the ATMA label, including Arvo Pärt/Stabat Mater, which earned the Toronto Star's CD Pick of the Week, and Rise, O my soul, which Classics Today singled out for the "ardent, deeply-felt expression of the singers". The Studio's CBC recording, Heavenly Spheres, won a Félix (ADISQ) Award, and its Palestrina recording won the Prix Choc du Monde de la Musique. In January 2012, the Conseil québécois de la musique awarded an Opus Prize to the Studio's Lagrime di San Pietro recording.
On the eve of its 40th anniversary season, the Studio de musique ancienne was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in March 2013.
Suzie Lablanc
Born in Acadia, Suzie LeBlanc fell in love with the Baroque early in life. Now an international star, the charismatic soprano provides convincing evidence for the popularity of Early Music while exploring French mélodies, lieder, Acadian folk music, contemporary music and, with Ensemble Mélosphère, the art of improvisation.
Recently appointed to the Order of Canada for her contribution to Acadian culture and to the performance of Early Music, she has also earned four honorary doctorates and a career grant from the Conseil des Arts du Québec.
Suzie's recordings have recieved several prestigious awards, including a Grammy award for a recording of Lully's Thésée with the Boston Early Music Festival, an Opus awards for best world music recording - "Tempi con Variazioni" - and best contemporary album, for a disc of early songs by Olivier Messiaen. In 2014, she was awarded ECMA's Best Classical Album (2014) for "I am in need of music", which was also a finalist for the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Award.
2015 is a busy year for Suzie, including the songs on poems by Elizabeth Bishop from her CD "I am in need of Music" with the Victoria, P.E.I. and New-Brunswick symphony orchestras, Mozart arias with Symphony New-Brunswick, a duet concert with Emma Kirkby and Les Idées Heureuses and multiple appearances at the Montreal Baroque Festival. She also teaches at the Orford Arts Centre Academy in June and at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (LAMP) in the fall.
Suzie is the founder and artistic director of Montreal's Le Nouvel Opéra and the honorary patron of the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia.
Born in Acadia, Suzie LeBlanc fell in love with the Baroque early in life. Now an international star, the charismatic soprano provides convincing evidence for the popularity of Early Music while exploring French mélodies, lieder, Acadian folk music, contemporary music and, with Ensemble Mélosphère, the art of improvisation.
Recently appointed to the Order of Canada for her contribution to Acadian culture and to the performance of Early Music, she has also earned four honorary doctorates and a career grant from the Conseil des Arts du Québec.
Suzie's recordings have recieved several prestigious awards, including a Grammy award for a recording of Lully's Thésée with the Boston Early Music Festival, an Opus awards for best world music recording - "Tempi con Variazioni" - and best contemporary album, for a disc of early songs by Olivier Messiaen. In 2014, she was awarded ECMA's Best Classical Album (2014) for "I am in need of music", which was also a finalist for the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Award.
2015 is a busy year for Suzie, including the songs on poems by Elizabeth Bishop from her CD "I am in need of Music" with the Victoria, P.E.I. and New-Brunswick symphony orchestras, Mozart arias with Symphony New-Brunswick, a duet concert with Emma Kirkby and Les Idées Heureuses and multiple appearances at the Montreal Baroque Festival. She also teaches at the Orford Arts Centre Academy in June and at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (LAMP) in the fall.
Suzie is the founder and artistic director of Montreal's Le Nouvel Opéra and the honorary patron of the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia.
Vincent Boilard
Vincent Boilard holds a Master of Arts in Performance from the Geneva University of Music (HEM Haute école de musique), where he studied with several of the great oboe masters. In 2010, he was appointed to the Orchestre symphonique du Jura, and, in 2011, he became second oboe for the Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke. He was part of the Verbier Festival Orchestra, Switzerland, in 2011–12, and he is currently a member of the Festival Chamber Orchestra. Vincent performs regularly with major Canadian orchestras and ensembles, including the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the Opéra de Québec, Les Violons du Roy and the Ensemble contemporain de Montréal.Website