Silver Birch String Quartet hopes to change people's ideas about chamber music.
Meet Sudbury's Fab 4 UPDATE
Fall 2011 |
For Immediate Release:
Silver Birch Concerts is thrilled to announce the first concert in its 2011-2012 concert season which will take place Saturday, Oct. 15 at 8 pm.
Northern Voices
featuring Laurentian University pianist Professor Yoko Hirota
with Sudbury's JUNO-nominated Silver Birch String Quartet
and visual art by Sudbury artist Heather Topp
Saturday October 15th, 8:00pm
St. Peter's United Church, 203 York Stt, Sudbury ON
Tickets $20 adult / $15 student, available at Black Cat downtown Sudbury and at the door the night of the concert
The first concert of the 11-12 season for SBC is a celebration of music by Northern composers from around the world. The concert will feature works by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, including his famous String Quartet Op. 56, which he subtitled "Voces Intimae" (Intimate Voices). Also featured will be the music of the Danish composer Carl Nielsen, whose piece "At the Bier of a Young Artist" for string quartet will be performed by the SBSQ. The piece is a moving musical tribute by Carl Nielsen inspired by the untimely death of his young friend, the Danish painter Oluf Hartmann. The concert will also feature a premiere performance of a new work for Piano Quintet "Territoires intérieurs", written by acclaimed Sudbury-based composer Robert Lemay. Composed specifically for the SBSQ and pianist Yoko Hirota through a grant from the Ontario Arts Council, the piece is a tribute to the Canadian film director Bernard Emond. This concert also marks an exciting collaboration between the SBSQ and Sudbury-based visual artist Heather Topp; based on the selections being performed, Heather Topp has selected works of her art to be displayed both on-stage and in the lobby the evening of the concert. This is sure to be an exciting evening of music and art that culture lovers of Sudbury will not want to miss!
More information on all of Silver Birch Concert's 2011-2012 line-up can be found at:
www.silverbirchconcerts.com . Subscriptions for all 6 SBC concerts will also be available the night of the concert for $80.00.
About the Artists:
Having been praised by the press as "precise and keenly projective" and demonstrating "the highest level of proficiency," Japanese-Canadian pianist Yoko Hirota is considered one of the leading interpreters of contemporary piano repertory of her generation. After undergraduate and graduate studies at the State University of New York in Buffalo, Ms. Hirota obtained her doctoral degree in piano performance at McGill University (1999) where she pursued her commitment to contemporary piano literature with the prominent Canadian pianist and pedagogue, Louis-Philippe Pelletier. Ms. Hirota is a strong advocate of contemporary music, in particular music by Canadian composers. She has performed in solo and chamber recitals across North America and has been the guest soloist with orchestras including the world premiere of "Oiseau de Givre" a concerto written for her by Canadian composer, Robert Lemay. Her excellence in contemporary music interpretation is reflected in the many awards she has received and the many broadcasts of her performances on Société Radio-Canada. Ms. Hirota’s professional activities also include recordings. Her first CD, "The Piano Music of Arnold Schoenberg with 17 Fragments," was released to critical acclaim and was listed as one of Essential Tracks by The Globe and Mail. Her latest CD "Small is Beautiful: Miniature Piano Pieces", made possible through funding from the Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Arts Council, was released in 2009. Yoko Hirota is Professor of Piano and Chair of the Music Department at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, and co-founder and co-artistic director of 5-Penny New Music Concerts.
Named after the trees inhabiting the area around their home, Sudbury's JUNO-nominated Silver Birch String Quartet is one of Canada's most exciting and innovative young quartets, earning the admiration of audiences and critics for their vibrant performances. In addition to extensive activities throughout Northern Ontario, the SBSQ has been featured in concerts and given masterclasses at QuartetFest at Wilfrid Laurier University, the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society, Laurentian University, the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and the Stanford University Summer Chamber Music Festival. The quartet has collaborated in concert with some of Canada's finest chamber musicians, including octets with the Penderecki String Quartet, quintets with renowned Canadian virtuoso Scott St. John, pianist Peter Longworth, and conductor Joel Sachs (Julliard School), as well as receiving prestigious grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. Strongly committed to Canadian music of our time, the quartet's extensive repertoire includes music by numerous contemporary Canadian composers, both established and emerging. The quartet particularly prides itself on its innovative programming, presenting interdisciplinary concerts bridging the gap between traditional classical chamber music and other genres in an effort to introduce new audiences to the world of chamber music. Past projects include tango collaborations with such artists as Argentine Tango dancers Roxanna and Fabian Belmonte, and Quartetto Gelato accordionist Alexander Sevastian, as well as narration projects involving CBC Radio host Dan Lessard. Their debut album "Silverbirch" on Montreal's EFFENDI record label, earned them a 2010 JUNO nomination, as well as 2 Felix award nominations in the province of Quebec, and has receivedfrequent airplay on CBC Radio 2 and Espace Musique.
