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The four new COC Ensemble Studio artists

Newswire | Four Artists Join COC’s Ensemble Studio for the 2022-23 Season

By Newswire on 16 June 2022 Classical Music, Newswire, Opera

Toronto, June 16, 2022 – The COC Ensemble Studio welcomes four new artists for the company’s 2022/2023 season: soprano Ariane Cossette, mezzo-sopranos Queen Hezumuryango and Alex Hetherington, and pianist Brian Cho. The four officially join the highly specialized development program for Canadian opera professionals this August, alongside returning sopranos Charlotte Siegel and Midori Marsh, baritone Jonah Spungin, bass-baritone Alex Halliday, and pianist Vladimir Soloviev. In addition to gaining invaluable performance experience on the mainstage, which always has been a foundational pillar of the Ensemble Studio, artists will also work directly with COC General Director Perryn Leech, COC Music Director Johannes Debus, and…

Screening of “An Evening With Kenny Brauberg” during the Finals festival (Photo by Ralph Lauer)

The Cliburn Competition June 15 Report | And Now We Have Heard Them All – But Wait! There’s More

By Paul E. Robinson on 16 June 2022 Music Competition, Piano

The Cliburn Competition Final Round continued last night (June 15) with each of the last three finalists getting a chance to play a concerto with the Ft. Worth Symphony. There was music by Rachmaninov, Beethoven and Prokofiev and the performance quality was just remarkable. Let’s face it, these guys are good. Very good. In fact, they are very, very good. If it were up to me I’d be handing out awards to everyone I heard last night. But how would I rank them? That is a different matter. Each of the six finalists has now been heard playing a concerto…

Arseniy Gusev from Russia performs during a Piano Lunch in the McDavid Studio during The Cliburn (Photo by Ralph Lauer)

The Cliburn Competition June 15 Report | And Then There Were Six

By Paul E. Robinson on 15 June 2022 Music Competition, Piano

The Sixteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition “The Cliburn” has now entered its final week. The original 72 competitors accepted for a screening audition were reduced to 30 who went through a Preliminary, Quarterfinal and Semifinal Round. And then there were six. Each of the six remaining competitors will play two concertos with the Ft. Worth Symphony and the winners will be announced on Saturday. A broadcast of the first set of June 15 performances The six pianists in the finals are Dmytro Choni, 28 (Ukraine), Anna Geniushene, 31 (Russia), Uladzislau Khandohi, 20 (Belarus), Yunchan Lim, 18 (South Korea), Ilya…

Simone McIntosh

Interviews with CMIM 2022 Laureates Simone McIntosh, Meredith Wohlgemuth and Other Competitors

By Shirley Wu on 15 June 2022 Art Song, Classical Music, Interviews, Music Competition, Vocal

La Scena Musicale presents a series of interviews with the laureates, competitors, and the Jury President of the 2022 Concours musical international de Montreal (CMIM). Interviews conducted by Shirley Wu, filmed by Norman Woo of MCCRTV. Simone McIntosh, Aria First Prize Winner About Simone McIntosh (from her CMIM profile): Canadian mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh takes full advantage of her place in the opera world. She is at home in pants roles like Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro and Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, in addition to roles such as Dorabella in Così fan tutte and the title role of La…

Geneviève Leclair (left) and Alain Trudel (right) (images from the OCM)

Newswire | OCM Season 83 to Feature Guest Conductors Geneviève Leclair, Alain Trudel

By Newswire on 14 June 2022 Classical Music, Newswire

Monteal, June 14, 2022 – Following an emotionally charged spring, the Orchestre Classique de Montréal (OCM) is proud to announce its 83rd season and introduce its two new principal guest conductors: Geneviève Leclair and Alain Trudel! With BMO as its Season Presenter, the OCM will be back in residence at Salle Pierre-Mercure for the majority of its performances. This Lyrical and Eclectic season will shine a spotlight on the vocal arts, with the kind of diverse programming that the OCM has become known for. Ranging from Bach to Britten, with major new works by David Bontemps and Maxime Goulet, the season will also feature Anishinaabe composer Barbara Assiginaak and…

Tim Brady with the NEM: Cultural Dialogue

By Justin Bernard on 14 June 2022 Contemporary, Indigenous

Tim Brady loves a good challenge. His latest: setting poems in an Indigenous language to music. To do this, the composer-guitarist chose a poem collection entitled Uiesh (“Somewhere”) written by famous Innu poet Joséphine Bacon. “I really loved Joséphine Bacon’s work,” he said. “I thought it would be quite a challenge to compose music a singer would perform in an Indigenous language. The linguistic, grammatical, and syllable structures are very different from European languages. Joséphine helped me a lot, and I concluded that my music needed to use a simpler rhythmic language, more clear-cut to help each syllable stand out.…

Cliburn Finalists from left: Anna Geniushene, Ilya Shmukler, Uladzislau Khandohi, Yunchan Lim, Clayton Stephenson and Dmytro Choni (image taken by Ralph Lauer)

Newswire | Finalists Announced for 2022 Cliburn Competition

By Newswire on 13 June 2022 Music Competition, Newswire, Piano

Fort Worth, Texas (June 12, 2022) — Marin Alsop, Jury Chair for the Sixteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (taking place June 2–18, 2022, at Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU and Bass Performance Hall) tonight announced the six pianists advancing to the Final Round. 2022 CLIBURN FINALISTS Dmytro Choni, Ukraine, 28 Anna Geniushene, Russia, 31 Uladzislau Khandohi, Belarus, 20 Yunchan Lim, South Korea, 18 Ilya Shmukler, Russia, 27 Clayton Stephenson, United States, 23 Click for biographies. Click for Competition Photos. FINAL ROUND SCHEDULE TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 2022 Final Round Concert 1 7:30 p.m. Yunchan Lim, South Korea, 18 – BEETHOVEN Piano…

Photo: Tam Photography

Newswire | Meredith Wohlgemuth and Simone McIntosh Win CMIM 2022

By Newswire on 10 June 2022 Music Competition, Newswire, Opera

Montreal, June 10, 2022 – Earlier at Maison symphonique, the audience and the international jury of Voice 2022 attended the Aria Grand Finale of the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM). After the performance, the jury members met one final time to deliberate and determine the winners of the Art Song and Aria divisions of Voice 2022. CMIM – VOICE 2022 Over $220,000 CDN for the winners ARIA DIVISION FIRST PRIZE Simone McIntosh, mezzo-soprano (Canada) Grand cash prize of $30,000 offered by la Ville de Montréal PIERRE PÉLADEAU AND RAYMONDE CHOPIN SECOND PRIZE Sarah Dufresne, soprano (Canada) $15,000 offered by…

Image provided by I Musici de Montreal

Newswire | I Musici Challenge 2nd Edition to Feature 15 Young Musicians

By Newswire on 9 June 2022 Classical Music, Music Competition, Newswire

Montreal, June 9, 2022 – I Musici de Montreal is proud to present its 2nd edition of the I Musici Challenge, on Sunday, June 19, at 2 p.m., at the Pierre-Mercure Hall of the Pierre-Péladeau Center, in Montreal. Fifteen young musicians coming from several regions in Quebec will have the opportunity to play their instruments during the concert. For the past few months, I Musici de Montreal has been inviting young Quebec musicians aged 5 to 25 to go above and beyond individually, regardless of their instrument, by recording a short presentation video and a musical piece (or an excerpt)…

Pauline Vaillancourt (left) and Marie-Annick Béliveau (right) (image taken by Jerome Bertrand)

Newswire | Marie-Annick Béliveau Takes Over for Pauline Vaillancourt as Artistic Director of Chants Libres

By Newswire on 9 June 2022 Classical Music, Newswire, Opera

Montreal, June 9, 2022 – The Chants Libres board of directors announces today the nomination of Marie-Annick Béliveau to the post of artistic director. The mezzo-soprano will take over for Pauline Vaillancourt, the major figure of contemporary opera who founded this lyric creation company 31 years ago. This nomination is a natural choice for the company as Ms. Béliveau had already participated in numerous creations with Chants Libres before becoming assistant artistic director in 2013. She has thus been entrusted the mission to carry on the company’s mandate dedicated to creating operatic works and to exploring new vocal writing. A…