PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES
The Ezra Duo - Formed while students at The Glenn Gould School in 2016, The Ezra Duo (Jacob Clewell, viola/violin and Sasha Bult-Ito, piano) has since evolved into the classical music equivalent of a powerhouse pop-punk act. Known for their warm stage demeanor and inventive, relatable programming, Ezra challenges the possibilities of classical performance without losing sight of their roots.
The duo has garnered an impressive list of accomplishments, including recital tours of their Women in Music, Art of the Duo, and Colorfully Contemporary programs in the US and Canada, an appearance in Carnegie Hall, and a performance as guests at a G7 Summit event held at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Jacob and Sasha are top prizewinners of numerous international competitions both individually and together, are frequent guests with ensembles and series across North America, and are increasingly involved with premiers of new music written specifically for Ezra. The duo also hosts an online recital series called Ezra Electrified! on Twitch, where they present themed classical and crossover programming while performing on electric instruments. Their first album, titled Mystic Journey, releases August 2024 on Akashic Classics and will be distributed digitally by Universal Music Group worldwide.
As dedicated educators, they have given masterclasses at Berry College, the University of Tulsa, and the Albuquerque Youth Symphony, and provided workshops as guest instructors at Harding Fine Arts Academy in Oklahoma since 2018. Jacob and Sasha are co-Artistic Directors of the Emerald Coast Chamber Music Festival in Florida and serve as Artist Faculty at the annual Chamber Music Institute for advanced conservatory students, where they often co-coach student ensembles. Ezra is also frequently involved in outreach efforts, presenting talks and performances in partnership with organizations like the Toronto Public Library, Canada's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and in schools, youth programs, and retirement communities wherever they visit.
On the road the duo enjoys indulging in such hobbies as visiting local zoos and trying every specialty coffee shop they can find. At home they can be found taking aimlessly long walks around the city, playing video and tabletop games, or doting on their adorable calico cat, Akali, who frequently stars in their social media.
Sinfonia Toronto now in its 26th season, has toured twice in Europe, in the US, South America and China, receiving glowing reviews. It has released six CD’s, including a JUNO Award winner, and performs in many Ontario cities. Its extensive repertoire includes all the major string orchestra works of the 18th through 21st centuries, and it has premiered many new works. Under the baton of Nurhan Arman the orchestra’s performances present outstanding international guest artists and prominent Canadian musicians.
Maestro Nurhan Arman has conducted throughout Europe, Asia, South America, Canada and the US, returning regularly to many orchestras in Europe. Among the orchestras Maestro Arman has conducted are the Moscow Philharmonic, Deutsches Kammerorchester Frankfurt, Filarmonica Italiana, St. Petersburg State Hermitage Orchestra, Orchestre Regional d’Ile de France, Hungarian Symphony, Arpeggione Kammerorchester, Milano Classica and Belgrade Philharmonic.
PROGRAM NOTES
Concerto for Violin and Piano in D Minor by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy began piano lessons with his mother, but when he showed precocious talent his parents hired Berlin’s leading teachers to guide him. He made his piano debut at nine and was composing near-professional pieces by 11. He made spectacular progress during the next several years and created a true catalogue of works by his thirteenth birthday, including six symphonies for strings and his Piano Sonata in G minor. His output in his teens included the Concerto for Piano and Strings, two concertos for two pianos, three piano quartets and the first of his extensive series of Songs without Words.
Acclaimed as the greatest prodigy since Mozart, by the age of 20 he was established as a major composer. Just a year later he was offered the position of Chair of Music at the University of Berlin. He was in demand as a virtuoso pianist and conductor as well, travelling to England and Italy. At 26 he was named conductor of the famous Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and became the leading musician of the city, promoting many others’ works as well as his own. When his beloved sister Fanny died it was a severe shock for Felix, helping to cause his own death a few months later at only 38. He left an oeuvre of 121 published works and more than 130 unpublished works.
The Concerto for Piano and Violin was written when Mendelssohn was 14, but like so many other of his works, it displays maturity and subtlety far beyond his years. The very different sonorities and technical characters of the violin and piano are balanced with great mastery, as is the soloists’ relationship with the orchestra. The orchestra is featured for its own sake in passages of brilliant beauty; though not consigned to a role of passive accompaniment, the orchestra never overshadows the solo instruments’ prominence.
Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 8, “Christmas Concerto” by Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
The set of 12 concertos in Corelli’s Opus 6 are the height of the Italian concerto grosso style that features a solo group rather than one solo part. Handel modeled his own famous set on Corelli’s Opus 6.
The last movement of No. 8 is a Pastorale, giving the work its title “Christmas Concerto.” Pastorale is derived from the Italian word pastori, shephers, and refers to the shepherds who gathered at the manger in Bethlehem. It was an Italian tradition for shepherds to appear in towns on Christmas Eve and play their pipes in front of nativity scenes. The music most often associated with this tradition was a gentle, lilting siciliano in 12/8 meter. Corelli may have been the first composer to use this style to show the nativity scene in a concert work, but he was certainly not the last: Handel did the same in his Pastoral Sinfonia in his oratorio Messiah, as did Bach, in the opening Sinfonia of the second cantata in his Christmas Oratorio.
L’incoronazione di Dario, RV 719 by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Vivaldi’s opera L’incoronazione di Dario, “The Coronation of Darius,” premiered at the Teatro Sant’Angelo in Venice in January 1717 during the earliest part of Vivaldi’s operatic career, which lasted from 1713 to 1739. In this and other pieces of the period, Vivaldi skillfully balanced vocal and instrumental elements, creating rich and expressive music. The opera is set in the 5th century BC at the Persian court, dramatizing the struggle for the throne after the death of King Cyrus. Three men compete for power: Darius, who eventually prevails, is backed by governors and officials; Oronte, a rival, is supported by the common people; and Arpago, another rival and military captain, has the army’s support.
The opera opens with a three-movement Italian sinfonia, a common overture style in the early 18th century consisting of an Allegro, a lively and energetic opening with bright, fast-paced music; an Andante, a slower, more expressive movement that provides contrast; and a Presto, a fast and spirited finale leading into the opera’s first act.
The opera’s central figure, Darius, is based on Darius I of Persia, who ruled from 522 to 486 BC. During his time, Darius faced multiple rebellions but successfully reestablished control, expanding the Achaemenid Empire to include Thrace, Macedonia, and parts of Greece. He organized the empire into provinces ruled by governors (satraps), introduced a standardized monetary system, made Aramaic an official language alongside Persiana and built cities such as Susa, Persepolis, and Babylon. His reign was also marked by his failed attempt to conquer Greece, ending in defeat at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC.
Lament for Souls of Sauteurs by Larry Strachan (1970) Ontario premiere
In 1651 after a series of violent confrontations with French forces the Kalinago people who had been living on Grenada for centuries were cornered and facing inevitable defeat. With the French colonizers closing in and the threat of enslavement or forced assimilation, the Kalinago made the heart-wrenching decision to jump off a cliff. This powerful act of resistance highlighted their determination to preserve their freedom and dignity.
Leapers' Hill, the site of their heroic act, symbolizes resistance to colonialism. Today the site is a significant landmark in Grenada and a reminder of Indigenous courage and loss. The work we hear tonight memorializes the tragic event. Its composer Larry Strachan is a versatile musician from Winnipeg with Grenadian heritage. A pianist, teacher, adjudicator, lecturer, composer and conductor, Strachan founded and directs the Chamber Orchestra Without Borders.
Lament for the Souls of Sauteurs is one of Strachan’s most powerful compositions. It was premiered on April 26, 2008, at the Shaw Performing Arts Centre in Winnipeg by the Winnipeg Chamber Orchestra and conducted by the composer. It is a lyrical, neo-romantic work, perhaps somewhat reminiscent of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Reflective and sombre, the work carries the emotional weight of the 1651 tragedy. Through mournful melodies, rich harmonies and dramatic contrasts it conveys a deep sense of sorrow and remembrance.
Messiah: Overture and Pifa by Georg Frederic Handel (1685-1759)
Handel was the most cosmopolitan composer of the Baroque period. He grew up in Germany, mastered musical forms in Italy, and then settled in England for almost 50 years. He drew on the best features of all three nations’ styles in his operas and oratorios. Most of his oratorios are based on Biblical or religious stories, like the most famous of all, Messiah, but some such as Semele and Hercules are secular, and all share musical characteristics with his operas. The two orchestra-only movements from the Messiah are considered some of Handel’s finest instrumental compositions.
Palladio by Karl Jenkins (1944)
Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins has been shown in surveys to be one of the most-performed living composers in the world. He is recorded output has resulted in seventeen gold and platinum awards. Born in Wales, he studied at Cardiff University and the university of London, and transitioned back to classical composition after highly successful careers in jazz, rock and winning nine Clio Awards for ad scores.
Jenkins writes, “Palladio was inspired by the 16th-century Italian architect Andrea Palladio, whose work embodies the Renaissance celebration of harmony and order. Two of Palladio’s hallmarks are mathematical harmony and architectural elements borrowed from classical antiquity, a philosophy which I feel reflects my own approach to composition. The first movement I adapted and used for the A Diamond is Forever television commercial for a worldwide campaign.”
