These musicians leave us breathless with admiration! If woodwinds and brass are your passion, we have a wide range of offerings to tempt you.
James Campbell (clarinet) with the Lafayette String Quartet
Sunday July 30, 19:00
With more than a dozen albums and a thousand appearances worldwide behind them, this milestone concert marks the final touring season for the Lafayette String Quartet. As Canada’s original all-female quartet, the ground-breaking foursome’s concerts are hailed as “passionate, riveting, and with flawless ensemble.” James Campbell (clarinet), an exceptionally fêted musician who received the Order of Canada in 1997, will join the Lafayettes for their last performance at Chamberfest. Works include Haydn Op. 20 No. 2, a new commission by Ottawa’s Kelly-Marie Murphy entitled For Fragile Personalities in Anxious Times, and Brahms’ beloved Clarinet Quintet.
Lara Deutsch (flute) and Adam Cicchillitti
Thursday August 3, 12:00
Known for their onstage charisma and camaraderie, Ottawa’s Lara Deutsch (flute) and Adam Cicchillitti (guitar) began performing together in 2019 after discovering their mutual love for the music of Piazzolla. With an established discography as individual artists on the Analekta and Leaf Music labels, as well as numerous accolades in their respective fields, one of the primary focuses of the duo is to perform and promote the works of their Canadian friends and colleagues internationally.
Evoking musical portraits of 20th-century life around the world, their Wanderlust programme conjures images of natural landscapes, historical events, and folklore across the continents. This performance will include works from across Europe, Central and South America, returning firmly home with John Armstrong’s “Vistas.” Watch for Wanderlust, the duo’s debut album, to be released August 25, 2023!
Charles Hamann (oboe) & Joanna G’froerer (flute), soloists with James Ehnes and NACO
Thursday July 20, 19:00
Grammy Award-winning violinist and long-time Chamberfriend James Ehnes opens Chamberfest with a blockbuster, leading the NAC orchestra’s final concert of the season with a program of Bach’s violin concertos. Hot off the heels of recording, Ehnes and the orchestra are ready to bring you an intimate performance at its peak. These beloved works, delivered by some of Canada’s favourite musicians, are sure to inspire with James, a musician with “stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism and unfaltering musicality,” at the helm. Besides Ehnes, soloists include Luc Beauséjour (harpsichord), Joanna G’froerer (flute), and Chip Hamann (oboe).
Canadian National Brass Project
Monday July 24, 19:00
The Canadian National Brass Project is true Canadiana. Drawing from the title chairs of fifteen North American orchestras and under the artistic leadership of Canada’s premiere horn soloist James Sommerville, this special collaboration shines a light on Canada’s foremost players and composers. The project returns to Chamberfest with a cleverly curated program bolstered by impeccable technique. Featuring both humorous and powerful interpretations of well-loved classics, work by contemporary composers, and some choral music reimagined for horns, the performance includes Canadian composer Nicole Lizée’s skittishly evocative How to Fake Your Own Death (2015) and Canadian Kevin Lau’s cinematically adventurous CAGE (2016). Like a playfully energizing wind, this all-star brass ensemble promises to deliver a lively and refreshing blast of a concert!
The Westerlies
Friday July 21, 21:30
The Westerlies, “an arty quartet…mixing ideas from jazz, new classical, and Appalachian folk” (New York Times), are a New York-based brass quartet comprised of childhood friends Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands (trumpet) and Andy Clausen and Willem de Koch (trombone). From Carnegie Hall to Coachella, The Westerlies navigate a wide array of venues and projects with the precision of a string quartet, the audacity of a rock band, and the charm of a family sing-along. Formed in 2011, the self-described “accidental brass quartet” explore jazz, roots, and chamber music influences to create that rarest of hybrids: music that is both “folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous” (NPR Music).
For their Chamberfest debut, The Westerlies will present music from their new album Move (available for purchase in your favourite format), a bold and ferociously unique vision of brass that exclusively features the music of living composers. Traditional expectations of brass repertoire are overturned as works originally written for string quartet, solo piano, and the human voice are reinvented through The Westerlies’ kaleidoscopic lens.
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