28 Jan (Saturday)
2:30 p.m. | Walter Hall
*This concert presented as part of a joint creative research project between the University of Toronto and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Free admission
Bedford Trio
Alessia Disimino, Violin
Andrew Ascenzo, Cello
Jialiang Zhu, Piano
Tripping In the Horror Vacui for piano trio and electronics
Nolan Hildebrand
Compression Cycles for Modular Synthesizer and Live Electronics
Eliot Britton
Performer: Chris Wiens
My Journal for cello, percussion, and electronics
Fish Yu
Cello: Andrew Ascenzo
Percussion: Nikki Huang
Do you believe in spring? for piano trio and live electronics
Kenneth Li
Vita Brevis for voice, violin, guitar, harpsichord/synthesizer
Norbert Palej
Voice: Maeve Palmer
Violin: Alessia Disimino
Guitar: Rob MacDonald
Harpsichord and synthesizer: Hye Won Cecilia Lee
The Not-yet for piano trio
Yuhan Zhou
* The winning prize of the 2022 Piano Trio Composition Competition led by the Bedford Trio is made possible by Alexandrina and Jeffrey Canto-Thaler.
GUEST PERFORMERS
BEDFORD TRIO
Founded in 2016 by award-winning instrumentalists Alessia Disimino (violin), Andrew Ascenzo (cello), and Jialiang Zhu (piano), the Bedford Trio is the inaugural piano trio for the Irene R. Miller Piano Trio Residency at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. Since 2020, the Trio has hosted and adjudicated the first editions of the University of Toronto Piano Trio Composition Competition and gave premieres of the winning pieces as part of the Faculty’s New Music Festival. The Bedford Trio has performed in Canada, the United States, and Europe: they were finalists in the 2018 Anton Rubinstein International Chamber Music in Germany and semi-finalists in the 2019 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in the US, and participated in the Career Development Residency at Ottawa Chamberfest under the mentorship of Gryphon Trio. The Bedford Trio is committed to commissioning and championing Canadian compositions. Their current 2022/2023 Concert Season highlights the group’s commitment to the piano trio canon alongside their devotion to collaboration: music of cinematic classics (Silver Screen – November 6, 2022); chamber masterpieces including Brahms’s Piano Quartet No. 3 with violist Maxime Despax, Dohnanyi’s Serenade for String Trio, selections of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for String Trio, and Canadian composer Saman Shahi’s “Elegy for the Falling Leaves” (Bedford Trio & Friends – January 29, 2023); their highly anticipated second edition of IMMERSED, an immense collaborative project featuring compositions by new-generation Canadian composers and immersive art work and this year’s winning piece of the UofT Piano Trio Composition Competition (IMMERSED 2.0 – April 2, 2023); and Ravel’s iconic Piano Trio and other songs (1914 – June 25, 2023). The Bedford Trio is grateful to the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council for their support of their 2022/2023 Season. The Trio just released their first live-concert digital album “Silver Screen” on Spotify, Youtube, and all streaming platforms, showcasing the music of cinematic classics for piano trio.
The Bedford Trio is committed to commissioning and performing contemporary repertoire by both established and emerging composers. Since 2018, the Trio has been working with grade 11 composition students at Earl Haig Secondary School, workshopping their compositions throughout the academic year and performing them as part of the year-end showcase. The Trio is dedicated to bringing live music performance to a diverse audience and has given recitals in senior residences, community centres, hospices, and hospitals across Ontario. To learn about the Bedford Trio’s latest events and for concert tickets, please visit www.bedfordtrio.com/concerts and follow them on Instagram @bedford_trio.
NIKKI HUANG
Taiwanese percussionist Nikki Huang is currently completing a Master’s degree in Percussion Performance at the University of Toronto. She is a research assistant in Technology and Performance Integration Research Lab. Her teachers include Prof. Aiyun Huang, Prof. Charles Settle and Prof. Beverley Johnston. As a percussionist, she is passionate about exploring the realm of story-telling and attempts to portray different characters through her performance. Nikki is also thrilled to collaborate with different art forms. She has been involved in diverse performance settings, including original music, children musical theater, and interdisciplinary workshops. Besides percussion music, Nikki’s musical influences include jazz singing. As a self-taught jazz vocalist, she has learned improvisation techniques and how to interact with other musicians through jamming sessions and performances.
HYE WON CECILIA LEE
Dr. Hye Won Cecilia Lee is an inquisitive collaborative artist on all three major keyboard forms: piano, harpsichord and organ.
Cecilia participated in numerous international festivals with scholarships as a soloist/chamber musician/collaborative pianist, including Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance at Mannes College (USA), Juilliard – Leipzig Summer Academy (USA-Germany), Casalmaggiore International Music Festival (Italy), Pablo Casals Music Festival (France), Banff Centre of Arts Strings/Winds Masterclasses, Winter and Fall residency (Canada).
Cecilia enjoys playing solo and chamber music, and specializes in accompanying, full-score readings and new music projects; community-service projects, especially choirs, are also a special interest for her.
In addition to playing, Cecilia is an active recording engineer/producer, translator (Korean-English) for refugee-related matters, and writes for the Ludwig van Toronto, a web-based classical music site. In her spare time, an avid traveller, Cecilia is likely to be plotting her next escape.
ROB MACDONALD
While he plays the most ubiquitous instrument in the world, guitarist Rob MacDonald digs incessantly to find some of the least known repertoire. This focus comes from a keen interest in composers who generally risk taking things too far – and occasionally offer listeners a glimpse into new worlds of sound. He teaches at the University of Toronto.
MAEVE PALMER
“Virtuoso singer” (WholeNote), and “triple-threat … talented coloratura” (OperaCanada) Maeve Palmer has performed with Tapestry Opera, New Music Concerts, Continuum Contemporary Music, Opera Atelier, and Off-Centre Music Salon among other companies. Recent operatic roles include Jean MacDonald and Daisy Fairchild in The Bells of Baddeck (Burry/MacDonald), Susanna (Marriage of Figaro, UofT Opera), Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos, Highland Opera Studio), and Mary Crawford (Mansfield Park, UofT Opera). Maeve is the 2021 recipient of the Jim and Charlotte Norcop Prize in Song, and is a 2022 Dora Mavor Moore Award winner for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble for RUR A Torrent of Light (Lizée, Tapestry Opera). Currently, Maeve is Junior Fellow at Massey College UofT, pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts under the supervision of Prof. Lorna MacDonald.
CHRIS WIENS
Chris Wiens is a music technologist, drummer, and improviser based in Toronto, Canada, whose work spans from electroacoustic, jazz, and other contemporary styles. Currently he is working under the moniker None, on an EP fusing modern jazz with realtime electroacoustic improvisation. In addition, he also works as an audio engineer, collaborating with a wide array of musicians to capture their musical ideations. Chris is currently completing an MMus in music technology from the University of Toronto.
COMPOSERS
NOLAN HILDEBRAND
Nolan Hildebrand is a composer, researcher, and noise artist based in Toronto, Canada. Nolan’s musical journey began with playing drums to his favorite metal and math-rock albums has grown to encompass composition for classical ensembles, electroacoustic music, and performance in his solo noise project, BLACK GALAXIE. His music explores noise, density, amplitude, improvisation through graphic notation, and kinetic physicality.
KENNETH LI
Kenneth Li – violinist, composer, Hongkonger. Out of boredom, he studied jazz, samba percussion and composition in the UK, where he opened doors to shadow masters like Barak Schmool, Mark Lockheart and Trish Clowes, and took ample stages including London Jazz Festival, Vortex, Kansas Smitty’s, Barbican Centre and more all over the UK. With his return to Hong Kong, Kenneth has brought with him his psychedelic, genre-blending modern music, his EP written during his UK-bound days – <Hey.>, his commitment to joining local neochamber ensemble Sea Island and Ferry and establishing the only jazz string quartet in Hong Kong Korvi Quartet, and went on to pursue a doctoral degree in composition at CUHK under supervision of Prof. Wendy Lee to extend his adventure in the musical world.
FISH YU
Fish Yu is a Toronto-based young composer from Hong Kong. Yu completed his Bachelor of Music (honours) with first-class honours, majoring in Composition & Electronic Music under the guidance of Ms Poly Ng at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He is now pursuing his Master of Music degree at the University of Toronto with a full scholarship supported by The Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme, majoring in Music Technology & Digital Media. Yu composed a wide range of music, including solo, chamber, Chinese music, orchestral work, electroacoustic music, and opera. Yu’s works have been premiered and broadcast worldwide like Hong Kong Contemporary Music Festival: Asian Delight, Lithuanian national radio, etc. Yu has also worked with artists worldwide, like Wind Kamerata, Cong Quartet, Nova Ensemble, Dawning Quartet, New Morse Code Duo, Dr Reiko Manabe, Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble, etc. Furthermore, his work—’Please Don’t Open’ for Trombone and Electronics—was nominated to the 67th International Rostrum of Composers (IRC) in 2021 and chosen as Recommended Works by Composers Under 30 Category. Yu was the winner of Hong Kong Composers’ Guild’s Music New Generation 2020. His other work—’Torrent’ for Flute and Electronics—received the third prize in The Young Composers Competition of Isidora Žebeljan International Festival 2021.
YUHAN ZHOU
Yuhan is a Chinese-born, Toronto-based composer for film, media and concert. She has composed and produced music for a variety of projects; she is also a former music director at Bytedance, TIKTOK Beijing. Yuhan began her musical training in piano performance at age 4. Her family raised her in a musical environment where she commenced to admire the work of many classical music at a very young age. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Composition and Music Production from National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing, China, as well as a Master of Music degree in Music Technology & Digital Media from University of Toronto. Yuhan is currently a DMA in composition student at the University of Toronto.