Last updated: April 29, 2022
Repertoire
Suite en trio for flute, violin, and piano, Op. 59
I. Sérénade. Allegretto
II. Pastorale. Andantino
III. Scherzo
Mélanie Bonis (1858–1937) wrote Suite en trio for flute, violin, and piano in 1899, four years after she became active as a composer in Paris. It became her first successful piece for chamber ensemble. She eventually created over 300 works in many genres, most of which were published under the gender-neutral pseudonym Mel Bonis. Several of them won prizes and many were praised by other French composers such as Camille Saint-Saëns and Gabriel Pierné.
“Mon Petit Trio”, as Bonis fondly called it, exhibits her distinctive use of traditional forms and tonality combined with an original sense of harmony and rhythm that lend its movements a certain sensuality and vitality. The opening Sérénade is sweet and tender, with a touch of melancholy; the flute plays the melody first, with the piano’s chords and arpeggios imitating guitar accompaniment. A brief impassioned duet between flute and violin follows, after which the violin takes up the song. True to its title, the Pastorale evokes—with the flute and violin’s meandering melodies over sustained “drones” on the piano—the languid quality of an idyllic afternoon outdoors. The lively Scherzo jolts us out of the reverie, as the ensemble’s instruments playfully trade themes and motifs, by turns sparkling and warm.
Program notes by Dr. Hannah Chan-Hartley
Le Merle noir for flute and piano
Since his student days, French composer Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) had developed a deep interest in ornithology and later incorporated birdsong into many of his works. Le merle noir (The Blackbird), composed in 1951, was the first piece he created based on the songs and calls of a particular species that he had heard in nature, transcribed, and adapted for instruments. It was commissioned as an examination piece for the Paris Conservatoire, as part of its then-director Claude Delvincourt’s policy to reinvigorate the program with modern works that tested students’ technique and their openness to avant-garde musical ideas. This work’s sophisticated subtleties make it a favourite among flute players.
In Le merle noir, Messiaen used several rigorous compositional techniques, though the final effect to the ear seems to be of improvised spontaneity. Its large-scale structure is AA’B form (or Bar form), with the A section consisting of six distinctive segments. The piano first provides an atmospheric introduction; it’s followed by a flute cadenza, for which Messiaen established melodic motifs and employed Greek poetic metres to convey the blackbird’s song. Here, the flutist is also required to “flutter-tongue”, a then-novel technique, to mimic the bird’s alarm rattle. Afterward, flute and piano perform a combined song, in canon; there’s a series of stacked octaves, then “colour” chords alternating with brief silences, and lastly, a rapid flurry of notes, including trills. The segments are repeated, with the musical material undergoing further intensification. Finally, the tension is released in the B section, in which Messiaen employs strict 12-note technique in the piano part, while the flute’s bird figuration is pushed to the limits of the instrument’s range.
Program notes by Dr. Hannah Chan-Hartley
Danza de la Mariposa for solo flute
African American composer Valerie Coleman (b. 1970) is also a renowned flutist with diverse experiences performing as a soloist and chamber musician. She is the founder and a past member of Imani Winds, and currently plays in the performer-composer trio Umama Womama, with violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama and harpist Hannah Lash. Her works, which have been performed by notable orchestral and chamber ensembles throughout North America, frequently fuse elements from Black music and themes drawn from her Black heritage and experience with aspects of European classical music. She also draws inspiration from various other cultures for her compositions, as she does for this piece written for solo flute.
Danza de la Mariposa, composed in 2011, is described as a “rhythmic, melodic tone poem, giving the listener a tour of South America. Inspired by the various species of butterflies inhabiting the continent, this work is full of rich colour, with butterflies dancing and weaving in syncopated rhythms while alternating between the feel of three-over-four throughout. Its slower sections pay homage to the beautiful and sorrowful sounds in the style of Yaravi, a Peruvian lament song. The melodies and rhythm eventually evolve into the spirit and syncopation of Argentinean concert tango, and the conclusion returns to the feel of Yaravi.”
Program notes by Dr. Hannah Chan-Hartley
Concert-Paraphrase on Schubert's Die Verschworenen for two flutes and piano, Op. 18
Allegro – Andantino – Allegro vivace
Albert Franz Doppler (1821–1883) was one of the 19th century’s great flutists. Born in Lemberg (now L’viv, Ukraine), he was principal flutist in Pest’s German Town Theatre and Hungarian National Theatre, and later at Vienna’s Hofoper, where he later became the chief conductor of the ballet. As a composer, he found notable success writing music for the stage, completing six operas (five in Hungarian, one in German), as well as 15 ballets that were widely popular. In addition to these activities, he embarked on concert tours with his younger brother Karl (1825–1900), also a flutist, composer, and conductor. Performances featuring them both frequently included works they created together, highlighting their mastery of the instrument—in tone, expression, and virtuosity—as well as their ensemble playing, for which they became famous.
It was a fairly common practice in Doppler’s day for composers to take tunes from popular operatic works and create virtuoso pieces—that is, paraphrases—with them. The one on this program uses themes from Franz Schubert’s comic opera “The Conspirators” (also known as Der hausliche Krieg, or “The Domestic War”); though performed only privately during the composer’s lifetime, it found posthumous success in the 1860s. Doppler was no doubt inspired by its attractive melodies, and probably found the opera’s comic plot about sparring spouses an amusing context for a piece for two flutes and piano accompaniment. The Concert-Paraphrase spans three main sections. In the first, the two flutes give a straightforward presentation of one of the opera’s tunes. It’s followed by a slower middle section; here, the two flutes trade off florid motifs of another melody, as if in conversation, which alternate with moments of coming together again. The final section is highly dramatic, and features a cadenza for both flutes, after which the piece closes with good cheer.
Program notes by Dr. Hannah Chan-Hartley
Liguria for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano
American composer Elizabeth Brown (b. 1953) plays the flute, shakuhachi (a type of Japanese and ancient Chinese bamboo flute), and the theremin. Her works have been performed worldwide—in Asia, Europe, Australia, South America, and in South Africa. Playing the shakuhachi and studying the instrument’s music has significantly influenced her own musical language, with many of her compositions combining eastern and western sensibilities. Along with writing music for European classical instruments, she composes extensively for Japanese traditional instruments.
Brown’s chamber music is particularly shaped by her experiences with the unique group of instruments she plays, the distinctive characteristics of which often give these pieces a “luminous, dreamlike, and hallucinatory” quality. Liguria, completed in January 1999 while Brown was in residency at the MacDowell Colony certainly embodies this aesthetic. As Brown describes the piece:
“Liguria was commissioned by the Fromm Foundation for the New York New Music Ensemble, who premiered it on May 18, 1999, at Hunter College in New York City. The music, constructed of layers, echoes, and shadows of a few themes set in a resonant, pulsing sound world, reflects a certain lyrical melancholy I felt during an Italian residency in 1998. Above the Liguria Study Center, steep narrow walkways twisted through ancient olive groves and between walled houses and small farms, with the Mediterranean spread below. In nearby Genoa, centuries of history were revealed in layers of beautiful decay in the dark old quarter. Even the food and wine had accumulated ages of rich flavour, and I always had a sensation of falling backward through time.”
Program notes by Dr. Hannah Chan-Hartley
Trio for flute, cello, and piano
I. Poco allegretto
II. Adagio
III. Andante – Allegretto scherzando
Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959) was one of the 20th century’s significant Czech composers. He wrote music in a singularly distinctive style, characterized by colourful harmonies and propulsive rhythmic drive that was expanded by elements of jazz music and early music. In 1940, Martinů fled Paris just before the Nazis invaded the city, and, via Portugal, ended up in the United States, where he lived for over a decade. During the war years, he was mostly in New York City; in 1942, he received his first major American commission, his first symphony, from Serge Koussevitsky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. With Koussevitsky’s help, Martinů also secured a post to teach composition at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts, and it was during the summer of 1944, while in New England, that the composer wrote this trio for flute, cello, and piano.
The American composer and critic Virgil Thomson loved this Trio, which he called “a gem of bright sound and cheerful sentiment. It is tonally perfect, it sounds well, it feels good, it is clearly the work of a fine jewelry maker, and it does not sound like any other music.” It is, indeed, a finely wrought work of transparent textures and appealing themes, consisting of two lively outer movements book-ending a reflective centre. The Allegretto is sunny and carefree, opening with the flute playing a sprightly melody with bird-like trills. A series of other attractive tunes are presented and developed within the dialogue of the instruments, infused with Martinů’s signature syncopations. The second movement has a meditative quality, with motifs lyrical and expressive on which the instruments muse. At times, the music intensifies to a passionate yearning. A pensive flute solo of pastoral mood introduces the finale, which then launches into the energetic Allegretto scherzando (listen for the jazzy rhythms). An eloquent middle episode of striking delicacy and rich harmonies offers a respite from the bustle, which later resumes with renewed vigour to ultimately bring the piece to a satisfying close.
Program notes by Dr. Hannah Chan-Hartley
Artists
Praised by critics for the beauty, clarity, and fluidity of her sound, impeccable phrasing, and consummate musicality, Joanna G’froerer enjoys an exciting career as an orchestral player, chamber musician, soloist, and educator. Principal Flute of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1992, she was appointed to that position at the age of 20, one of the youngest musicians ever to be hired by the NAC Orchestra.
A native of Vancouver, Joanna G’froerer comes from a family of professional musicians. She performs regularly as a soloist with the NAC Orchestra, having appeared as soloist in over 30 different programs since joining the orchestra. She has also performed concertos with many of Canada’s other fine ensembles, including the symphony orchestras of Vancouver, Victoria, and Quebec City. Joanna G’froerer is a past first-prize winner of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Competition.
Among her acclaimed recordings are a CBC disc of Mozart’s Flute Quartets with Pinchas Zukerman, Martin Beaver, and Amanda Forsyth, named Best Canadian Chamber Music Recording of 2002 by Opus Magazine. A recording of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, with Jens Lindemann, James Ehnes, Jon Kimura Parker, and Charles Hamann, was nominated for a Juno Award in 2021.
Joanna G’froerer has been featured in the chamber music festivals of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa, Halifax’s Scotia Festival, the Campos do Jordao Festival in Brazil, and the Affinis Festival in Japan. As an educator, she has taught flute at the NAC Summer Music Institute, at Domaine Forget, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. She is presently on faculty at the University of Ottawa and at McGill University in Montreal.
Joanna G’froerer is a Wm. S. Haynes Artist, playing a custom 19.5 K gold Haynes flute with lightweight silver mechanism and headjoints in 19.5K and 14K gold.
Stephanie Morin joined the NAC Orchestra as Second Flute and Piccolo in 2020 and is currently on faculty at the University of Ottawa. In addition to her teaching at uOttawa, Stephanie has been a guest speaker and teacher at programs such as OAcademy, Fluture Music Studio and Flute On The Edge. She is also an active chamber musician, and has performed in NAC chamber music concerts and for Ottawa Chamberfest.
Prior to her tenure at the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Stephanie held positions as Assistant Principal Flute with the Edmonton Symphony, and Principal Flute of the Laval and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean orchestras. She has also performed with ensembles such as Les Violons du Roy, the Orchestre Métropolitain, and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.
Stephanie pursued her music studies in Montreal, first at Marianopolis College with Carolyn Christie, then at McGill University with Denis Bluteau, and finally at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal where she completed a Masters in Flute Performance with Marie-Andrée Benny. Stephanie is a prize-winner at the OSM Competition, the Canadian Music Competition, the Prix d’Europe, and the Orchestra Toronto Concerto Competition.
Originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Sean Rice has performed extensively throughout North America and around the world. His broadcasts include recitals with CBC National Radio, performances for Swiss Radio DRS, and Lucerne Festival live streams for the 2016 New York Philharmonic Biennial and 2019 Lucerne Festival Alumni Orchestra.
Recognized as an exciting interpreter of contemporary music, The New York Times has described Sean as a “technically precise, exuberant protagonist” in performance. Sean has performed at festivals such as Lucerne Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, New York City’s Museum of Modern Art Summergarden Series, Toronto Summer Music Festival, and Banff Music Festival. In addition to numerous New York Times reviews, Sean’s performances have received high praise from the Ottawa Citizen, Musical Toronto, and Artsfile. For a recent performance of Golijov’s Ayre at Ottawa Chamberfest, Musical Toronto wrote: “The performers were strong, especially NACO clarinetist Sean Rice, who unloaded a wailing solo that rivalled even the best Klezmer effort by Giora Feidman.”
At an early age, Rice was invited to perform a concert with the National Arts Centre Orchestra during their 2002 Atlantic Tour and subsequently, he has appeared as a soloist with ensembles including the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Axiom, The New Juilliard Ensemble, and Symphony Nova Scotia. The recipient of numerous awards, Sean received first prize at the 2006 Canadian Concerto Competition hosted by the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. Following his 2007 Montréal debut at Jeunesses Musicales, La Presse wrote: “…clarinettiste canadien Sean Rice y révéla une technique impeccable, une authentique musicalité, une sonorité tour à tour éclatante et chaleureuse, et un vrai talent de chambriste.” Continuing the 2007–2008 season, Sean performed his first national tour with pianist Jean-Philippe Sylvestre for Jeunesses Musicales’ touring series. Since then, he has toured frequently throughout major cities across the United States, Europe, Malaysia, Brazil, and Japan.
As an educator, Rice has served as Visiting Professor at Memorial University (2017–2018) and Director of the Contemporary Music Ensemble at the University of Ottawa (2012–2017). He has been invited to give masterclasses at institutions such as the Royal College of Music, Beijing Central Conservatory, University of British Columbia, and the University of West England. Additionally, Sean has adjudicated numerous competitions, including the National Music Festival Competition held by the Canadian Association of Music Festivals. In the fall of 2021, Rice joined the clarinet faculty at the University of Ottawa.
As a conductor, Rice made his debut in 2012 as the Director of the Contemporary Music Ensemble at the University of Ottawa. In 2017, he led an ensemble of musicians from the National Arts Centre Orchestra and made his international conducting debut at the International Society for Contemporary Music Festival in Vancouver. Recently, Sean conducted the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra for their 2021–2022 season opener—their first performance since the pandemic.
Outside the concert hall, Rice has developed a significant profile as a classical music podcaster and host. Under his tenure, the National Arts Centre NACOcast has enjoyed great success and international recognition, with Classic FM continuing to list his podcasts among the Top 10 in the world for classical music. Sean also hosts the NAC Wolfgang Sessions—a contemporary music series that he helped design and curate for the National Arts Centre.
Sean Rice is a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland, where he received his Bachelor of Music while studying with Paul Bendzsa. Continuing his studies under the tutelage of Charles Neidich, Rice graduated with both a Master of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts from The Juilliard School. Currently residing in Ottawa, audiences can hear him perform regularly as a recitalist and chamber musician and as Second Clarinet / Bass Clarinet of the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
A dedicated champion of contemporary music, Montreal-born violinist Noémi Racine Gaudreault is renowned for the virtuosity and sensitivity of her playing. She has performed as a soloist in orchestras across Canada, in the United States, France, and Turkey. In addition to her career as a soloist, she is a much sought-after chamber musician, playing regularly in contemporary and chamber music festivals. She has been principal second violin of the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal and solo violin of the SMCQ, the ECM, and Quartango Ensemble. She holds a First Prize with Great Distinction from the Montreal Music Conservatory and an Artist Diploma from McGill University. Noémi currently lives in the National Capital Region. She is assistant concertmaster of the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
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Mintje van Lier (1982) is Principal Second violin with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra.
At the age of five, Mintje started studying the violin under Anneke Schilt-Plate and continued with Hans Scheepers, Joyce Tan, Mimi Zweig, Chris Duindam and Lex Korff de Gidts. In 2006 she received her Bachelor of Music at the Amsterdam Conservatory. She continued her studies in the class of Ilan Gronich at the Universität der Künste, Berlin, receiving the Diplom in 2009.
From 2004-2006, Mintje performed as a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra under the direction of Bernard Haitink, Sir Colin Davis, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Paavo Järvi and Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
In 2007, Mintje studied in the Academy of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, after which, she was awarded a scholarship from the Bernard Haitink Fund for Young Talent. In 2008, Mintje won the position as assistent principal 2nd Violin with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Filharmonic. In the five years leading up to the closing of this orchestra, Mintje enjoyed playing under the frequent guest conductor’s Philippe Herreweghe and Frans Brüggen. Mintje freelances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. From 2014—2021 Mintje was the assistant principal 2nd violin of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as a member of the Jenufa String Quartet.
She has taken part in the Zermatt Festival with the Scharoun Ensemble of the Berliner Philharmoniker. In Berlin, Mintje played with Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop.
Mintje plays a Theo Marks violin (2018).
Described as a “pure chamber musician” (The Globe and Mail) creating “moments of pure magic” (Toronto Star), Canadian cellist Rachel Mercer has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician across five continents.
Grand prize winner of the 2001 Vriendenkrans Competition in Amsterdam, Rachel is Principal Cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and Artistic Director of the “5 at the First” Chamber Music Series in Hamilton. Rachel regularly collaborates with her longtime duo partner, pianist Angela Park, and was cellist of Juno Award–winning piano quartet Ensemble Made In Canada (2008–2020), AYR Trio (2010–2020), and the Aviv Quartet (2002–2010). Rachel has given masterclasses across North America, South Africa, and in Israel and has given talks on performance, careers, and the music business. An advocate for new Canadian music, Rachel has commissioned and premiered over 25 solo and chamber works, including cello concertos by Stewart Goodyear and Kevin Lau.
She can be heard on the Naxos, Naxos Canadian Classics, Centrediscs, Analekta, Atma, Dalia Classics, and EnT-T record labels, and released a critically acclaimed album of the Bach Suites on Pipistrelle in March 2014, recorded on the 1696 Bonjour Stradivarius Cello from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank. Rachel plays a 17th-century cello from Northern Italy.
www.rachelmercercellist.com
Frédéric Lacroix has performed in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia as a soloist, chamber musician and collaborative pianist. He is a frequent collaborator with members of the NAC Orchestra both in chamber music and recitals, having first performed in the Music for a Sunday Afternoon concert series in 2015. This past September, he curated, as fortepianist (and composer), the late-night concerts of the NAC Orchestra’s Beethoven Festival.
Following the University of Ottawa’s purchase of a fortepiano, he has devoted part of his time to the study and performance of music on period keyboard instruments, for which he was recognized as the Westfield Center Performing Scholar for 2008–2009. He has presented numerous concerts in Canada and the United States as harpsichordist and fortepianist.
Intrigued by the seemingly infinite diversity of new music, Lacroix has enjoyed collaborating with composers and performers in the premiere of a number of Canadian and American works. Also active as a composer, his song cycle, Nova Scotia Tartan (2004), is featured on Hail, a disc dedicated to Canadian Art Song.
Frédéric Lacroix teaches piano and composition at the University of Ottawa. He recently completed his doctorate degree in keyboard performance practice with Malcolm Bilson at Cornell University.