2018 Fall Cycle: October 2 - November 13, 2018

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October 2, 2018
Ensemble Celandine: Laurel Swinden, Flute; Kristen Day, Bassoon; Talisa Blackman, Piano
October 9, 2018
Sarah Fraser Raff, Violin and Jeewon Kim, Violin and Viola
October 16, 2018
Ton Beau Quartet with Talisa Blackman
Programme Notes:Johannes Brahms “Piano Quintet in F minor for Strings and Piano"
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Performers' Biographies:Since its inception in 2010 at the University of Toronto, the Ton Beau String Quartet has been committed to engaging and challenging audiences by presenting a mix of classical quartet gems along with music that is being composed today. With a special focus on contemporary music, the quartet aims to highlight voices of young composers, particularly women composers and composers from under-represented communities.
Each member of the TBSQ is dedicated to inspiring people of all ages through music education. They can be found coaching and teaching several times a week, privately and as part of the Sistema Toronto Academy. As a quartet, they have presented workshops and masterclasses at Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Toronto, the Westport Chamber Music Festival, Vanderbilt University, and many schools in the Greater Toronto Area. The quartet was founded by four graduate students at the University of Toronto, which proved to be an ideal environment for its development as an ensemble. While at the university, the TBSQ received coachings and lessons from such string quartet luminaries as Terry Helmer, Timothy Ying, Eric Nowlin, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. The Ton Beau took a leadership role developing outreach opportunities for the faculty of music, and ran a successful concert series at the University of Toronto Art Centre. In their roles as teaching assistants, the quartet also coached and taught undergraduate students and ensembles. http://www.tonbeauquartet.com/ |
October 23, 2018
Pieces for Piano, Violin and Cello
October 30, 2018
Hog Town Brass Quintet
Programme Notes:McKee - Escape
Crespo - Vals Peruano Bach - Contrapunctus IX Piazzolla - Oblivion Gershwin - Summertime Bernstein - Selections from West Side Story Lecounha - Malaguena Michel - Trois Pastels sur la Belle Epoque The Ink Spots - I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire Maschwitz/Sherman - A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square The Beach Boys - God Only Knows HBQ - Stray Goat |
Performers' Biographies:The Hogtown Brass Quintet is a Toronto-based chamber ensemble dedicated to pushing the boundaries of the traditional brass ensemble. Formed in 2013, HBQ is a collaboration among five accomplished and diverse musicians from a variety of musical backgrounds, ranging from Classical to pop to jazz. Already gaining attention with their unique arrangements, collaborations with vocalists and instrumentalists, along with their affinity for non-traditional performance spaces, the mandate of the HBQ is to bring brass chamber music to new audiences and to reinvigorate the classic brass ensemble.
HBQ is committed to presenting unique concert experiences, as well as entertaining and informative educational programs. Equally dedicated to performance and education, HBQ is experienced in presenting music to people of all ages in a variety of settings including workshops, masterclasses, and residencies. In June 2017, HBQ was a featured performer at the TD Toronto Jazz Festival and in October 2017, they released "A Holiday Album, Vol. 1" featuring arrangements by an all-Canadian roster of composers including RJ Satchithananthan, Christian Overton, and Terry Promane. In October 2016, they released their debut recording, "Introducing...", featuring brand new arrangements and original compositions for brass quintet in a variety of styles and genres - from Baroque to Latin dance to funk - just a little taste of what HBQ is all about. "Introducing..." was nominated for a 2017 Toronto Independent Music Award. www.hogtownbrass.com |
November 6, 2018
Trio Moyer
Programme Notes:Music of Central Europe
Trio works for Clarinet, Viola and Piano Alfred Uhl Kleines Konzert (1937)
György Kurtág Hommage à Robert Schumann, op. 15/d
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Trio in Eb Major, KV. 498 “Kegelstatt”
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Performers' Biographies:![]() London-based chamber music ensemble Trio Moyen is the brainchild of Nova Scotian clarinettist and conductor Scott A. MacDonald. In the summer of 2017, MacDonald invited fellow Don Wright Faculty of Music alumni Jeffrey Komar (viola) and Ethan Lacey (piano) to form the group. They gave their inaugural performance in September 2017 at Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church. Trio Moyen has since performed several times in the London region, and they were even featured as part of Aeolian Hall’s “Emerging Classical Artist Series” this past May. All three musicians are heavily involved in the London classical music scene, collaborating with such groups as Magisterra Soloists, Little London Community Opera, London Community Orchestra, and the Forest City Wind Quintet. Through Trio Moyen, they aim to shed light on some hidden gems of the chamber music repertoire that were written for their particular instrumental combination.
www.facebook.com/TrioMoyen/ |
November 13, 2018
Madawaska String Quartet
Programme Notes:Quartets by Haydn and Shostakovich
Haydn - String Quartet in F minor, Op 20 No 5 Shostakovich - String Quartet no. 3 in F major op 73 |
Performers' Biographies:Madawaska Quartet:
Sarah Fraser Raff and Jeewon Kim, violins Anna Redekop, viola Amber Ghent, cello Hailed for their “astonishing talent” (Musicworks Magazine), the Madawaska Quartet performs pieces from the mainstream to performance art, and from the Baroque to the present-day. After eleven years of experience as an internationally performing string quartet, in 2012 the MSQ expanded to become the Madawaska Ensemble as a result of collaborations over several years with two fabulous pianists in Leslie Kinton and Brett Kingsbury. The Ensemble adds to the string quartet repertory works for strings and piano, along with featured guest Artists including clarinetist Guy Yehuda in 2013. With a roster of collaborators as diverse as their repertoire, the Madawaska Quartet has appeared with artists such as Sopranos Adrianne Pieczonka and Measha Brueggergosman, pianists Jan Lisiecki, Arthur Rowe and Leslie Kinton, singer/songwriter Bob Wiseman, and dancer/choreographer Julia Aplin. They have performed in such major international festivals as the Festival Iberoamericano in Puerto Rico, the Festival of the Sound, The Elora Festival, the Toronto International Chamber Music Festival, New Music North, and the “Music at Port Milford” International Chamber Music Festival. The Madawaska Quartet has worked as chamber music faculty at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, also performing as part of its “Great Artist Series,” and has given workshops for students and emerging composers at the University of Toronto, York University, the Array New Music Centre, the Composers’ Guild of Canada, and the Canadian Contemporary Music Workshop. As champions of Canadian composers and their works, the MSQ has premiered more than thirty new pieces. They have acted as ensemble in residence at both the Array New Music Centre and the Music Gallery in Toronto. Recent recordings include the Quartet’s debut cd Prefab, which includes Scnittke’s String Quartet no. 3 among other works, and a recording with guitarist Rob MacDonald featuring works by Omar Daniel, Peter Sculthorpe and Christopher William Pierce. http://www.madawaskaquartet.com/ |