Martha Guth, soprano

Tyler Duncan, baritone

Erika Switzer, piano

New Voices: Earthquakes and Islands
A newly commissioned work by esteemed Canadian composer Andrew Staniland on the brutally
honest, strange, and powerful poetry of Robin Richardson.

Earthquakes and Islands is a co-commission with Sparks & Wiry Cries and the Brooklyn Art Song Society. An ambitious song cycle, this piece melds the poetry of Robin Richardson, including poems from her forthcoming third volume of poetry “Sit how you want,” in combination with the lyrical, forceful, moving musical landscape of composer Andrew Staniland. Robin Richardson’s own artwork illustrates the score.

(Projections available but not required of the performance)

-Read more about the creative artists here-

PERFORMING ARTISTS:

Soprano Martha Guth’s recital performances include Wigmore Hall, the Leeds Lieder Festival and the Vancouver International Song Institute with Graham Johnson; the Liederkranz with Dalton Baldwin; recitals in NYC with Malcolm Martineau, and numerous appearances throughout North America and Europe with long-time collaborator, pianist Erika Switzer. Her recitals have been broadcast by the CBC Radio/Radio Canada, NPR, the BBC, and the WDR in Germany. Recent concert performances include The National Cathedral in Washington D.C., Sacred Music in a Sacred Space in NYC, The Flagstaff Symphony, the Newfoundland Symphony, the Columbus Symphony, and the Toledo Symphony. Recent recitals include performances in Berlin, Worms, Hannover, NYC, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Norfolk, Virgina. Her operatic credits include The Canadian Opera Company, The Santa Fe Opera, Opera Lyra, and the Grazer Oper. She has performed under Maestro’s Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano, Helmut Rilling, John Nelson, Richard Bradshaw, Alan Gilbert and others. Martha’s growing discography includes the Latin GRAMMY nominated recording of Roberto’s Sierra’s song cycle ‘Beyond the Silence of Sorrow’, recorded with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Puerto Rico for Naxos. She has also recorded a solo disc of Schubert songs with fortepianist Penelope Crawford for Musica Omnia, John Fitz-Roger’s ‘Magna Mysteria’ for the Innova label, and the Five Borough’s Song Book for GVR records.  She is a founding faculty member of the Vancouver International Song Institute and co-director of its Contemporary Performance Studies program.  Together with Erika Switzer, she is Co-Director of Sparks & Wiry Cries, a global platform for art song spanning dissemination, performance and commission of new works. Their first recording on the ‘Sparks & Co.’ label of the Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes is available for purchase on iTunes.  More information can be found www.marthaguth.com  &  www.sparksandwirycries.org

Canadian baritone Tyler Duncan recently performed at the Metropolitan Opera as Prince Yamadori in Puccini’s Madam Butterfly. At the Spoleto Festival he debuted as Mr. Friendly in the 18th-century ballad opera Flora, returning the next season as the Speaker in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Other appearances have included the role of the Journalist in Berg’s Lulu and Fiorello in Rossini’s Barber of Seville, both at the Metropolitan Opera, Raymondo in Handel’s Almira with the Boston Early Music Festival, Dandini in Rossini’s La cenerentola with Pacific Opera Victoria; and Demetrius in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Princeton Festival. Issued on the CPO label is his Boston Early Music Festival recording of the title role in John Blow’s Venus and Adonis. Mr. Duncan’s concerts include Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the American Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony, Berlioz L’enfance du Christ with the Montreal Symphony; both Bach and Mendessohn’s Magnificat with the New York Philharmonic; Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Munich Bach Choir, Montreal Symphony, and the Oregon Bach Festival; Haydn’s The Creation with the Québec, Montreal, and Winnipeg symphony orchestras; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Calgary Philharmonic and Philharmonie der Nationen in Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt; Haydn’s The Seasons with the Calgary Philharmonic; Handel’s Messiah with Tafelmusik, the Montreal and Toronto Symphony Orchestras, Handel and Haydn Society, San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque, and Portland Baroque; Mozart’s Requiem with the Montreal, Toronto, and Salt Lake City Symphony Orchestras. He has also performed at Germany’s Halle Händel Festival, Verbier Festival, Vancouver Early Music Festival, Montreal Bach Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Lanaudière Festival, Stratford Festival, Berkshire Choral Festival, and New York’s Carnegie Hall. Frequently paired with pianist Erika Switzer, Tyler Duncan has given acclaimed recitals in New York, Boston, and Paris, and throughout Canada, Germany, Sweden, France, and South Africa. Mr. Duncan has received prizes from the Naumburg, London’s Wigmore Hall, and Munich’s ARD competitions, and won the 2010 Joy in Singing competition, 2008 New York Oratorio Society Competition, 2007 Prix International Pro Musicis Award, and Bernard Diamant Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts. He holds music degrees from the University of British Columbia, Germany’s Hochschule für Musik (Augsburg), and Hochschule für Musik und Theater (Munich). He is a founding member on the faculty of the Vancouver International Song Institute. Mr. Duncan’s recordings include Bach’s St. John Passion with Portland Baroque and a DVD of Handel’s Messiah with Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony from CBC Television. On the ATMA label are works by Purcell and Carissimi’s Jepthe with Les Voix Baroque. www.tylerduncan.com

Erika Switzer is an internationally active pianist, teacher, and arts administrator. She performs regularly in vocal and chamber music recitals with a great variety of artists and also enjoys long-term partnerships with several notable singers, including soprano Martha Guth, mezzo-soprano Hai-Ting Chinn, tenor Colin Balzer, and baritone Tyler Duncan. Erika Switzer has been heard on the stages of New York’s Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie), Rockefeller University, Frick Collection, and Bargemusic, at the Kennedy Center, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the Spoleto Festival (Charleston, SC), the Bard Music Festival, Stanford Live, as well as all across Canada at festivals including Toronto’s Canadian Voices, Montreal’s André Turp Society and Ottawa’s ChamberFest. Her commitment to new music speaks through premiers of works for the 5 Boroughs Music Festival (Matthew Aucoin, Evan Fein, Whitney George, Missy Mazzoli, Paola Prestini), the Brooklyn Art Song Society (Andrew Staniland), and Vancouver’s Music on Main (Jocelyn Morlock, Caroline Shaw). During her seven-year sojourn to Germany, she presented recitals at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and the Winners & Masters series in Munich, and she won numerous awards, including pianist prizes at the Robert Schumann, Hugo Wolf, and Wigmore Hall International Song Competitions.  Erika Switzer is on the music faculty at Bard College and the Vocal Arts Programs of the Bard Conservatory of Music. She also has been on the faculty of several summer programs, including the Vancouver International Song Institute, the CoOPERAtive Program at Westminster Choir College, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar at Stanford. She received her doctorate from The Juilliard School. As co-creator of Sparks & Wiry Cries (sparksandwirycries.org), Erika Switzer contributes to the future of art song performance through publication of The Art Song Magazine, presentation of recitals in New York City (Casement Fund Song Series), and the commission of new works (Sparks Commission). erikaswitzer.com

– VISIT NEW VOICES’ EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT PAGE –

Pianist Wayne Weng’s playing has been described as “bold, vibrant, and immensely musical,” and as having “delicacy amounting to almost reverence […] through gossamer touch” (Wiltshire Gazette & Herald).  His “ability to modulate the piano’s sound […] coupled with his great ear easily gave him an edge” (Sioux City Journal) to capture the first prize at the 2013 Iowa Piano Competition.

Mr. Weng has also won prizes at the Washington International Competition for Piano, Tunbridge Wells International Young Artists Competition, Haverhill Sinfonia Soloists Competition, Pacific Piano Competition, CBC Debut Concert Artists Auditions, and Kingsville International Young Performers Competition.  He has been a recipient of the Solti Foundation Grant and the British Columbia Arts Council Senior Scholarship.

As a soloist as well as a chamber musician, Wayne Weng has performed in Canada, the United States, England, Italy, France, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Serbia, Egypt, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.  These venues include the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Chicago Cultural Center, Bargemusic in New York, Bösendorfer Hall at the Mozarthaus in Vienna, Teatro Pavone in Perugia, the Fitzwilliam Museum at the Cambridge University, the National Music Museum in South Dakota, the 92^nd St. Y in New York, Steinway Hall in New York, Brooklyn Public Library, the 100 Club in London, the Palace of Fontainebleau, the Brahms Museum in Mürzzuschlag, the Polish Consulate in New York, the Bulgarian Consulate in New York, Cairo Opera House, the Chan Centre in Vancouver, Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver, the Vancouver Playhouse, and the British Columbia Governor House, among others.

He has performed concerti with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra, West Coast Symphony, Philharmonic Orchestra of the University of Alicante, Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Seattle, and the Avanti Orchestra.  He has also been heard on radio stations such as the WFMT Chicago, WQXR New York, CBC Radio and Seattle King FM.

In addition to performing, he regularly judges competitions across North America; he has adjudicated at the Festival on the Lake and the North Shore Music Festival in Vancouver, the International Chopin Youth Competition in Houston, and Connecticut State Music Teachers Association Competition.

He has participated at such summer festivals as the International Holland Music Sessions, International Keyboard Institute and Festival, TCU/Cliburn Piano Institute, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Habitat4Music, and Ecole d’Art Americaines in Fontainebleau, where he was awarded the Piano Prix.

Wayne Weng is a Doctoral candidate at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center, where he is a fellowship recipient and studies with Ursula Oppens.  He has previously studied with Donna Fishwick, Sasha Starcevich, Natalya Antonova, Pavlina Dokovska, Joan Havill and Peter Frankl.  He holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (Bachelor of Music and Performer’s Certificate), Mannes College of Music (Master of Music), Guildhall School of Music and Drama (Master with distinction), and Yale University (Artist Diploma).

As a member of the Phoenix Ensemble, his first commercial recording was released in 2017.  Mr. Weng is represented by Classics Alive Artists management.

– VISIT WAYNE WENG’S EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT PAGE – 

Pouya Hamidi – piano

Beth Silver – cello

Michael Bridge – accordion

Adam Campbell – hand percussion

Ladom Ensemble combines piano, cello, accordion, and percussion in a unique blend of acoustic chamber music that is passionate, sophisticated, and wild. The group met and formed in 2007 while studying music at the University of Toronto. Individual members hail from Alberta (Michael Bridge – accordion), Toronto (Beth Silver – cello), Prince Edward Island (Adam Campbell – percussion), and Ontario by way of Tehran, Iran (Pouya Hamidi – piano). The in-house composer, Pouya, writes original music for the group. The Canadian spread of the group also reaches across the world and across genres as their all-original repertoire incorporates inspirations from Argentinean tango, Serbian folk and dance traditions, Persian classical repertoire, as well as music from the Classical (Bach, Prokofiev) and progressive rock worlds (Radiohead). Ladom doesn’t pretend to represent any one tradition, but rather expresses an authentically Canadian experience. Ladom’s musical identity is combined from many sources and reflects a beautiful new world with a Western classical toolset. They also commission original music by local, Canadian composers such as Elisha Denburg, Igor Correia, Maziar Heidari, Keyan Emami, Saman Shahi, and Afarin Mansouri.

Accordionist Michael Bridge (MMus) brings his whole heart and ballooning talent to the Ensemble, despite being extremely active performing around the world, from orchestras to solo recitals. He has been named one of CBC’s “30 Hot Classical Musicians Under 30” and does over 100 concerts per year… on top of pursuing a doctorate in performance. Sock-foot on stage, Adam Campbell (Mmus) passes around a twinkle-in-the-eye during performances, and always brings the bottles… as part of his hand percussion toolkit! Cellist Beth Silver (MMus) starts spontaneous jams in between takes, with playful sounds that can only be called ‘fiddling around’. Pouya Hamidi (MMus) usually emerges from rehearsals declaring, “They’re such sweethearts!” In performance and composition, the pianist has a deep love for the music, and a profound humbleness that makes bragging impossible, although warranted. All are active, professional musicians in various contexts.

To date, Ladom has toured and enthralled audiences across the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Recently, they completed a 38-day tour of Ontario and Quebec with Jeunesses Musicales Canada (Fall 2017). They have been awarded 3 other major tours, with Debut Atlantic (Spring 2018), Prairie Debut (Winter 2019), and Jeunesses Musicales Canada (March 2019). They have also been presented by Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. CBC, Radio-Canada, the Whole-Note magazine, and the BBC have featured Ladom in print and video media. A postlude performance marked their debut at the prestigious Koerner Hall in Toronto. Ladom has been selected to showcase at festivals such as CAPACOA in Ottawa and at OSAC conferences. The group has been receiving wide acclaim for their imaginative arrangement and performance of Radiohead’s Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (video released to YouTube, January 2017).

The words of Ladom’s reviewers couldn’t be clearer. CBC’s Errol Nazareth gave a glowing review of Ladom’s first, self-titled album: “I can honestly say that this is the first time I have heard such a fascinating mix and it really works well. The music can be very elegant and contemplative and it can also be rocking and fiery… there is no denying the passion of the four musicians investing in their playing.” Of Ladom’s 2014 CD release concert, renowned Canadian publicist Jane Harbury wrote, “The joy was universal and the standing ovation totally spontaneous!” Grant agencies are in agreement with the press! Both Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts have awarded Ladom Ensemble grants for their upcoming album and concert productions.

– VISIT LADOM ENSEMBLE’S EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT PAGE – 

Christina Bouey, violin

Pierre-André Doucet, piano

Two extraordinary Atlantic Canadians join forces to bring their musical gifts back home! Debut Atlantic has teamed up Prince Edward Island violinist Christina Bouey and New Brunswick pianist Pierre-André Doucet for a special program sure to lift your spirits. Two musical powerhouses, this duo is sure to ignite the stage!

Christina Bouey, violin

Canadian violinist, Christina Bouey, is hailed by the New York Times for playing “beautifully,” by the New York Post, “When violinist Christina Bouey spun out that shimmering tune, I thought I died and went to heaven,” and by Opera News, for playing “with exquisite, quivering beauty.” Among her awards and prizes include the Grand Prize at the Fischoff Competition, Osaka International Chamber Competition, Hugo Kortchak Award for outstanding achievement in chamber music, Heida Hermann International, Canadian National Music Festival, Queens Concerto Competition, and the Balsam Duo Competition.

Christina has performed as soloist with the Greenwich Symphony, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, River Cities Symphony, Tonkünstler Ensemble, Metro Chamber Orchestra, Bergen Symphony, Prince Edward Island Symphony, Banff Orchestra, Shattered Glass and the Hemenway Strings. Her solo and chamber credits include Carnegie Hall, Esterházy Palace, Yamaha Center Auditorium, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Schneider Series, the Dame Myra Hess series, La Jolla Summer Fest, Emilia Romagna Festival, Harvard Club of New York, Montreal Chamber Festival, Kansas International Music Festival and the Indian River Festival. She has also been featured on WQXR New York. Christina has collaborated with artists such as Jeremy Denk, Paul Coletti, Lynn Chang, Steven Doane, Rosemary Elliott, David Geber, Clive Greensmith, Joji Hattori, Nicholas Mann, Irina Muresanu, and Bright Sheng.

Christina graduated from Manhattan School of Music (2013) with a Professional Studies Certificate in Orchestral Performance, studying with Glenn Dicterow and Lisa Kim as a full scholarship student, (2012) with a Professional Studies Certificate, studying with Laurie Smukler, and in 2011 she received a Master of Music, while studying with Nicholas Mann. Her Bachelor of Music (Magnum cum laude) is from The Boston Conservatory; where she studied with Irina Muresanu as a full-scholarship student.

In June 2014, as part of the 150 year celebrations on PEI, professional dancers from Ballet Jazz de Montreal performed a modern dance to her first compositional commission for solo violin, with Christina playing it on the violin. Christina is currently serving as concertmaster of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and is a member/founder of the Ulysses String Quartet. She plays a 1900 Scarampella on generous loan from the Canada Council Instrument Bank.

Pierre-André Doucet, piano

Praised for his colourful playing and fascinating writing, pianist and author Pierre-André Doucet is one of Canada’s most captivating young artists. Mr. Doucet premiered with Symphony New Brunswick in 2007, under maestro Airat Ichmouratov, and has since performed with several orchestras in Quebec and South Africa. An engaging chamber musician and collaborative pianist, he recently won a position in the inaugural Lincoln Center Stage piano quintet aboard the MS Koningsdam, a collaboration between the Lincoln Center of New York and Holland America Line.

In addition to having been heard on Radio-Canada, Espace musique, and CBC Radio’s Next! series, Mr. Doucet has also been featured on CBC Radio 2’s list of 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30. Furthermore, recent musical projects have seen him perform across Canada, as well as to Austria, France, Germany, South Africa, Spain and the United States.

Winner of the prestigious Knigge Piano Competition, the Auditions Jeunes Artistes de Radio-Canada and the Atlantic Young Artist Competition, Mr. Doucet has also been a prize-winner at the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto Career Development Award Competition, the National Music Festival, the Canadian Music Competition, and the CFMTA National Piano Competition. His evocative and compelling readings of contemporary scores also make him a refreshing and vital musician, and have seen him awarded the Best Performance of Contemporary Music Prize at the Ibiza International Piano Competition, the Best Performance of a Canadian Work Prize at the Prix d’Europe, as well as the Dorothy Buckley Prize for the Interpretation of Canadian Music. In fact, his ardent work in disseminating new music have led him to premiere works by Canadian composers J. Mitchell Burke, Richard Gibson, Pierre Michaud and Jared Miller, Cuban composer Evelin Ramon, American composers Mark Carlson and Libby Larsen, and South African composer Hendrik Hofmeyr.

Mr. Doucet recently completed doctoral studies in piano performance at l’Université de Montréal, where he studied with Maneli Pirzadeh . Previously, he studied with Richard Boulanger at l’Université de Moncton. He has received financial support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Joseph-Armand Bombardier Graduate Scholarship), the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the New Brunswick Arts Council.

Mr. Doucet has also perfected his craft and performed at the Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, the Franz-Schubert-Institut, the Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival, the Orford Festival, the Gijòn International Piano Festival, the Internationaler Klaviersommer Bad Bertrich, Opera on the Avalon, the Vancouver International Song Institute and as recipient of a Stern Fellowship at Songfest. Through these experiences, he has benefited from masterclasses with such eminent artists as Marc Durand, David Jalbert, Robert Koenig, Robert MacDonald, John Perry and Paul Stewart (piano), and Elly Ameling, John Churchwell, Helmut Deutsch, Julius Drake, Margo Garrett, Kenneth Griffiths, Linda Hall, Andrew Harley, Robert Holl, Marilyn Horne, Kayo Iwama, Rudolf Jansen, Graham Johnson, Warren Jones, Kiri Te Kanawa, Martin Katz, Jonathan Kelly, Laura Loewen, Christa Ludwig, Carrie-Ann Matheson, Michael McMahon, Francis Perron, Rena Sharon, Alan L. Smith, Cameron Stowe, Sanford Sylvan, Liz Upchurch, Dawn Upshaw, Roger Vignoles, Howard Watkins and Robin Wheeler (vocal piano).

As a writer, Pierre-André Doucet has been awarded the Antonine Maillet-Acadie Vie Literary Award for Kilométrage (Prix Volet jeunesse Richelieu). His first collection of poetry and short stories, Sorta comme si on était déjà là (Éditions Prise de parole), was shortlisted for the Prix littéraire Émie-Ollivier, and earned him the Discovery of the Year award at the Gala des Prix Éloizes.

-VISIT BOUEY-DOUCET DUO’S EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT PAGE – 

VC2 is an innovative cello duo able to captivate audiences through their performances of classical masterworks, unknown gems and boundary pushing music. Comprised of cellists Amahl Arulanandam​ and Bryan Holt,​ the Toronto-based duo presents artistically challenging, yet accessible programs and has performed in venues ranging from intimate pubs to Roy Thomson Hall.

Both Mr. Holt and Mr. Arulanandam wear many musical hats as orchestral, chamber and session musicians in the Greater Toronto Area. They have performed as part of leading arts organizations including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, National Ballet of Canada Orchestra Soundstreams, Art of Time Ensemble, Continuum Contemporary Music, Pocket Concerts, New Music Concerts, Music in the Barns, Thin Edge New Music Collective, Contact Contemporary Music and Tapestry Opera. They are also both members of Matt Haimovitz’s ensemble, Uccello, and were semi-finalists in the 2015 Eckhardt-Gramatte competition. As a duo, they have been featured at Ottawa Chamberfest, Ottawa New Music Creators, 21C Music Festival, Ritornello Festival, and the Prairie Cello Institute.

Formed in 2015, the pair met in 2008 while at the University of Toronto where they both studied under Shauna Rolston. They chose to continue their studies at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University where they completed their Master’s Degrees with Matt Haimovitz. As luck would have it, following their studies, they both found themselves back in Toronto and a musical partnership was born.

The music of our time is an art form close to the heart of VC2. They strongly believe in the support and creation of new works by living composers, especially those from their home country of Canada. To this end, VC2 was pleased to embark on their most recent commissioning project where they would work with five Canadian composers to create works based on the Beethoven Cello Sonatas.

VC2 seeks to take a place at the forefront of the Canadian chamber music world, bringing their unique brand of cello-fueled music coast-to-coast. The duo recently returned from the soundSCAPE performance and composition exchange in Maccagno, Italy bringing home with them a number of new works by emerging international composers. In February 2018, VC2 will embark on a tour of Atlantic Canada, presented by Debut Atlantic.

For their Debut Atlantic tour, the duo’s unique, concept program is focused on the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven, but with an unusual twist! This program will showcase five new commissions, by five young Canadian cellists, all based on Beethoven’s own sonatas. In addition, the duo will bring to light some influential yet mysterious works tied to Beethoven’s life. A musically and historically rich presentation and a truly Canadian experience! One might even be tempted to say that if Be-Eh-thoven had been a Canadian he might have sounded like this!

-VISIT VC2’s EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT PAGE –