madeincanada

Ensemble Made in Canada

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Judy Kang – violin
Sharon Wei St. John – violin
Rachel Mercer – cello
Angela Park - piano

Made in Canada is rapidly gaining recognition as one of Canada's most exciting touring ensembles. Awarded the 2006 CBC Galaxie Stars Award from the Banff Centre for the Arts, the quartet was also featured in 2008 Chatelaine Magazine's 80 women to watch as an ensemble that is leading the next generation of classical musicians.

The members of the group, violinist Judy Kang, violist Sharon Wei, cellist Rachel Mercer and pianist Angela Park, have been forging outstanding individual careers and bring together a shared love of chamber music and a wealth of experience having already appeared at prestigious festivals such as Marlboro, Ravinia, Orford, Verbier, Prussia Cove, Pablo Casals and Evian. Made in Canada's highlights of past seasons include acclaimed performances for Winnipeg's Virtuosi series, the London's Jefferey Chamber Music Series, Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Lindsay Concert Productions, Mooredale Concerts in Toronto, Brockville Concert Association, Shingwauk Series in Sault-Ste Marie, and Almonte in Concert. They will be performing next season for Montreal's Pro Musica Series, Toronto Syrinx Series, Stratford Summer Music Festival, Haliburton and Brantford Concert Series among others. Made in Canada has given master classes, chamber music coachings, and talks at universities across Canada and this year will begin a residency at State University of New York in New Paltz.

Judy Kang- violin
Since her critically acclaimed performance with the National Arts Centre Orchestra at age ten, award-winning Judy Kang has been establishing herself internationally as a soloist. She has performed with major orchestras and ensembles in Canada and abroad and in recital throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. She made her debut in Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall to critical acclaim. An avid chamber musician, she has participated in major festivals, such as Marlboro, Ravinia, Pablo Casals, Manchester, and the Focus Festival in New York, and has performed and given master classes in Barbados and Canada. Her collaborations with esteemed artists include Leon Fleisher, the late Felix Galimir, and members of the Mendelssohn, Guarneri and Juilliard string quartets. She has worked with leading composers and Canadian composer Michael Matthews has written a concerto for her. She is a founding member of the piano quartet Made in Canada. She plays the 1689 Baumgartner Stradivari violin on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Sharon Wei- viola
Violist Sharon Wei was a National and a Canadian Merit Scholar at the University of Western Ontario with the late Lorand Fenvyes. She completed her studies at the Curtis Institute with Roberto Diaz and Karen Tuttle and with Jesse Levine at Yale, graduating with the Viola Prize. Other honours include prizes at the London Music Competition, the Washington International Competition, Sinfonia Toronto Concerto competition and Elora Festival competition. In November, Sharon will embark on a Debut Atlantic tour with pianist Angela Park.
Sharon has appeared as soloist with orchestra and in recital throughout North America. She has performed with orchestras including the Stratford Civic Orchestra, New Haven Chamber Orchestra, Kitchener Waterloo Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra of Southern Utah. Past highlights include appearances at the International Viola congress, Ravinia, Norfolk, Verbier, Scotiafest and Musique de Chambre a Normandie. As chamber musician Sharon has performed with artists such as James Levine, Lynn Harrell, Joseph Silverstein, Claude Frank and the St. Lawrence Quartet. She is a founding member of the award-winning ensemble "Made in Canada". Sharon pursued her studies on grants from the Canada Council and Chalmers Foundation. Sharon has taught in Yale University's undergraduate department, given masterclasses throughout Canada and is currently on faculty at Stanford University. Sharon plays on a viola kindly on loan to her from the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Rachel Mercer- cello
After winning the Grand Prize at the 2001 Vriendenkrans Competition in Amsterdam, Canadian cellist Rachel Mercer made her European recital debut at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. She has performed around the world as soloist and chamber musician. As cellist of the Aviv String Quartet since 2002, she regularly tours in North America, Europe and Israel, performing in major concert halls and venues including London's Wigmore Hall, the Zurich Tonhalle, Toronto's St. Lawrence Centre, the Library of Congress in Washington DC, and the Louvre in Paris. Currently based in Toronto, Rachel Mercer is principal cello for the Via Salzburg chamber music concert series and the Group of Twenty-Seven chamber orchestra. She joined the Made in Canada piano quartet in 2008. She has recorded with the Aviv String Quartet and recently released her debut solo CD. She plays the Bonjour Strad cello on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Angela Park- piano
Angela Park's many awards and competition prizes include the International Grace Welsh Prize for Piano (Chicago), World Piano Competition (Cincinnati), Canadian National Music Festival, and Ontario Arts Council's Chalmers Professional Development Grant. She was a semifi nalist and the only Canadian participant in the 2006 Honens International Piano Competition (Calgary), and a medal recipient at the 2007 Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Barcelona. Recent performances include solo appearances with Sinfonia Toronto, Orchestra London Canada, and Canadian Sinfonietta. She has worked with conductors Raffi Armenian, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Mark Skazinetsky, among others. She has performed in CBC Radio OnStage, in concert series at the University of Illinois and Steinway Society of Chicago, and at the Mostly Mozart Festival in Maine and Northern Lights Music Festival in Mexico. She holds a master's degree from the University of Toronto where she studied with William Aide and is completing a doctorate at the Université de Montréal under the guidance of Paul Stewart.

Programme:

Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26 - Johannes Brahms
      Allegro non troppo
      Poco Adagio
      Scherzo - Poco Allegro
      Finale - Allegro

Intermission

Sketches from a Mediaeval Town (1956) - Jean Coulthard
      Arabesque
      Mediaeval Procession
      Conversation of The Gargoyle and the Saint
      Country Dance

Piano Quartet No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 87 - Antonin Dvorak
      Allegro con fuoco
      Lento
      Allegro moderato, grazioso
      Finale - Allegro ma non troppo

Concert Series 2009-2010

Ensemble Made in Canada

Programme:

Concert Series
2009-2010