The National Arts Centre and the Canadian Music Centre co-present a tribute to Canadian JUNO Award nominees in classical categories with a special one-hour free concert on Friday March 30. Classical JUNOs in Concert takes place in the main foyer of the National Arts Centre at 3:30 p.m.; no tickets are required.

This concert will feature JUNO nominated performers Susan Hoeppner, Heather Schmidt, and the New Orford String Quartet, along with music by JUNO nominated composers Jacques Hétu, Ann Southam, Heather Schmidt, and Derek Charke. Christina Petrowska Quilico, who performed on the recordings of Heather Schmidt’s nominated piano concerto and Ann Southam’s nominated Glass Houses #5, will also perform on the program.

The concert features the following performances:
• Christina Petrowska Quilico, piano, performing Glass Houses #5 by Ann Southam and a piano reduction of Sepia Fragments by Derek Charke  – both pieces nominated for Classical Composition of the Year
• Susan Hoeppner, flute, and Heather Schmidt, piano, performing Sonatina for Flute and Piano by Eldin Burton – both Ms. Hoeppner and Ms. Schmidt are JUNO nominees
• Heather Schmidt, piano, performing her own composition Silver Tides
• The New Orford String Quartet (Jonathan Crow, violin; Andrew Wan, violin; Eric Nowlin, viola; and Brian Manker, cello) performing String Quartet No. 2 by Jacques Hétu – the New Orford String Quartet are JUNO nominees and Hétu’s String Quartet No. 2 is nominated for Classical Composition of the Year

A post-concert reception for invited guests is sponsored by The Bach Music Festival of Canada, NAXOS, ATMA Classique, Analekta, Centrediscs, Marquis Classics, and New Music in New Places.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

One of Canada’s leading interpreters of new music, pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico has performed on four continents, in solo and chamber recitals, and as soloist with orchestra. Her 26 CD releases include three solo piano cycles by Ann Southam (Rivers, Pond Life, Glass Houses Revisited), and eight Canadian piano concerti, along with other contemporary works and standard repertoire. She holds the 2007 Friends of Canadian Music Award and shared the 2010 Harry Freedman Recording Award.

La pianiste Christina Petrowska Quilico, qui figure parmi les interprètes de musique nouvelle les plus en vue au Canada, s’est produite sur quatre continents, seule ou avec d’autres chambristes en récitals, et comme soliste avec orchestre. Sur les 26 albums qu’elle a enregistrés, on trouve notamment trois cycles pour piano seul d’Ann Southam (Rivers, Pond Life, Glass Houses Revisited), huit concertos pour piano de compositeurs canadiens, ainsi que d’autres œuvres contemporaines et du répertoire classique. Elle a reçu en 2007 le Prix Amis de la musique canadienne et est cotitulaire du Harry Freedman Recording Award décerné en 2010.

Canadian flutist Susan Hoeppner is in great demand as a solo recitalist, chamber musician and master class instructor throughout Japan, the U.S., Portugal, France, Argentina and Mexico. She also performs at Canadian embassies worldwide, featuring repertoire by esteemed Canadian composers such as Srul Irving Glick, Christos Hatzis, and Chan Ka Nin. A graduate of The Juilliard School in New York,  Ms. Hoeppner is a faculty member at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music and the Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School. 

La flûtiste canadienne Susan Hoeppner est très en demande comme récitaliste solo, chambriste et pédagogue, donnant des classes de maître partout au Japon, aux États-Unis, au Portugal, en France, en Argentine et au Mexique. Elle se produit également dans des ambassades canadiennes à l’étranger, où elle interprète des œuvres de compositeurs canadiens estimés comme Srul Irving Glick, Christos Hatzis et Chan Ka Nin. Diplômée de la Juilliard School de New York, Mme Hoeppner est membre du corps professoral de la Faculté de musique de l’Université de Toronto et de l’École Glenn Gould du Conservatoire royal de Toronto.

Heather Schmidt, originally from Calgary, currently lives in Los Angeles. Equally known as a pianist and composer, she has written numerous works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and orchestra, including six Piano Concertos.  Also active as a composer of film scores, she recently completed the short film Midnight Violin through BravoFACT!, in which she was writer-director, as well as composer.  Her many accolades include two JUNO nominations, three consecutive BMI Awards, and two SOCAN Awards.  

Originaire de Calgary, Heather Schmidt est établie à Los Angeles. Connue tant comme pianiste que comme compositrice, elle a écrit de nombreuses œuvres pour instrument seul, pour ensembles de chambre et pour orchestre, dont six concertos pour piano. Elle compose aussi des trames sonores de films. Sous la bannière BravoFACT!, elle a signé le scénario et la réalisation du court métrage Midnight Violin, œuvre dont elle a également composé la musique. Elle a reçu de multiples distinctions, dont deux nominations aux prix JUNO, trois prix BMI remportés trois années consécutives, et deux prix de la SOCAN.

Hailed for their “ravishingly beautiful tone” as well as their “extraordinary technical skills and musicianship,” the members of the New Orford String Quartet are all principal players in the Montreal and Toronto Symphony Orchestras. In 2009, these like-minded musicians came together and have since seen astonishing success with their inaugural recording and concert tours. The Quartet is dedicated to promoting Canadian works, both new commissions and neglected repertoire from the previous century.

Salués pour leur « sonorité éblouissante » aussi bien que pour « leur technique et leur sens musical extraordinaire », les membres du Nouveau Quatuor Orford sont tous des musiciens solistes des orchestres symphoniques de Montréal et de Toronto. Formé en 2009, l’ensemble connaît beaucoup de succès avec son premier album et ses tournées de concerts. Il s’attache à promouvoir les œuvres canadiennes, tant les compositions nouvelles issues de commandes que le répertoire négligé du siècle dernier.

2012 JUNO NOMINATIONS IN CLASSICAL CATEGORIES

Classical Album of the Year: Solo or Chamber Ensemble
• Canadian Brass, Brahms on Brass
• Louis Lortie, Louis Lortie Plays Liszt
• Marc-André Hamelin, Liszt Piano Sonata
• New Orford String Quartet, Schubert & Beethoven
• Susan Hoeppner, American Flute Masterpieces

Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment
• Alexandre Da Costa, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Daugherty : Fire and Blood
• James Ehnes, Bartók Violin Concertos
• Jean-Guihen Queyras, Vivaldi Cello Concertos
• Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Orchestra Métropolitain, Bruckner 4
• Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Orchestra Métropolitain, Florent Schmidt – La tragédie de salomé

Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance
• Jane Archibald; Orchestre Symphonique Bienne; Thomas Rösner, Haydn Arias
• Karina Gauvin, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Handel : Streams of Pleasure
• Le Nouvel Opéra, Caldara: La Conversione di Clodoveo
• Marie-Josée Lord; Orchestre Métropolitain; Giuseppe Pietraroia, Marie-Josée Lord
• Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Daniel Taylor, J.S. Bach :Cantatas BWV 170 & 54;Concerto for oboe and violin, after BWV 1060; Suite for violin and strings, after BWV 1067

Classical Composition of the Year
• Ann Southam, Glass Houses #5
• Derek Charke, Sepia Fragments
• Heather Schmidt, Piano Concerto No. 2
• Jacques Hétu, String Quartet No. 2
• Jeffrey Ryan, Equilateral

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Information:  
Gerald Morris
Communications Officer, NAC Music
613-947-7000, ext. 335  
[e-mail]  gerald.morris@nac-cna.ca