Ritornello 2014

This past weekend, the 6th Annual Ritornello Chamber Music Festival took place in Saskatoon.  Ritornello Fest is the annual festival that my co-director Jacqueline Woods and I founded, which showcases exciting, Canadian musicians who are currently pursuing professional careers across the country and around the globe.  This year's Fest featured the Cecilia String Quartet, pianist Philip Chiu, and cellist Scott McKnight performing alongside the two directors.  Saturday's concert also featured a Saskatoon poet, Brendan Flaherty.  Here are a few photos of the festival, taken by Michael Morien.  To see all the high-res photos, check out our Flickr.com Slideshow.

Australian Adventures, 2.0

I've landed once again in Sydney to work for a time with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.  I've taken a few days to myself to get reacquainted with the city, the weather (a change of 50 degrees - not easy for the violin!), and the time zone.  Rehearsals begin tomorrow; we're working with American soprano Dawn Upshaw.  

Here's the Program:

JOHN ADAMS Selections from John's Book of Alleged Dances
GRIEG Holberg Suite
GRIEG Solveig's Song
EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA Die Liebenden: Liebes Lied
MARIA SCHNEIDER Winter Morning Walks [AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE]
ELGAR Introduction and Allegro

You may have read about Maria Schneider's work recently - the album (recorded with the ACO last year) won awards for Best Classical Vocal Solo, Best Contemporary Composition and the award for Best Engineered Album, Classical. 

If you're in Australia, you can find all the concert dates here.

Looking forward to getting started!

Debut Atlantic Tour: Educational Outreach

As I explained in the last blog post, a major focus of this Debut Atlantic tour is education - and good thing - as some of these experiences are becoming the most memorable for me. For example, Phil and I drove from Halifax to New Ross, NS, to play for a group of about 100 students between the ages of 4 and 14, where much to our surprise, we were greeted by name in the parking lot by a group of students! Their teachers had prepared them well with the educational materials provided by Debut Atlantic. In addition, they listened to the tracks on my website where Phil and I play together - and they even listened to some music by my Ukrainian band Тут і Там. Phil and I performed our program which included music of Prokofiev, Janacek, Debussy, and Brahms. We spoke to them about these pieces, and took questions from the audience. We also asked for their impressions of the pieces, and were pleased at the insightfulness of their comments. We then got to sign a couple autographs, which always feels nice/strange, and took a picture together with the older kids (the "littles," as they are called, had to go eat lunch):

After that great experience, Phil and I experienced one of the touring life's greatest treasures: traveling through scenic landscapes... and enjoying food. To get to Yarmouth, our next destination, we had to drive past the exit to Lunenburg, a UNESCO world heritage site. So we stopped in for lunch! We had heard that there was a great place to eat there called the Salt Shaker Deli. We (once again) had an exorbitant amount of seafood, this time featuring muscles, chowder, and lobster mac & cheese:

We then saw some of the sites of Lunenburg (see top photo), grabbed a coffee, and continued on our way to Yarmouth. In Yarmouth (where it is generally very, very windy, we performed for two groups of school children. Again, great questions and emotional responses to our music and questions!

Yarmouth boasts a lovely Main Street and very cleverly named free wifi (pictured below):

From Yarmouth, we drove back to Halifax, where we would share in some real Haligonian hospitality and eat lobster. They were delicious!!!

Our last tour duty was to coach the students of Dalhousie Univeristy's collaborative piano class. We listened to some very talented and hard-working students perform, and did our best to help their already impressive performances develop further. We capped off the end of the class by performing a couple movements of the Prokofiev sonata we had been performing on tour. It was a lovely way to finish the week.

I'd like to thank everyone at Debut Atlantic, all of the concert presenters, the students and our audience members across the maritimes for such a wonderful experience. It was lovely to perform and to get acquainted with so many wonderful people, and I hope to visit and perform in the region again soon.

Debut Atlantic Tour: Moncton, Antigonish, Halifax

Greetings from the road! Phil Chiu and I are currently in Halifax, having performed recitals this past weekend in Moncton, NB and Antigonish, NS. We were treated to really wonderful, attentive crowds with whom we really enjoyed visiting after the concerts (sometimes over a glass or two). Phil and I also have enjoyed some great cuisine, especially at the Tide and Boar in Moncton!

Our scheduled Sunday house concert had to be rescheduled (sadly, even presenters get the flu!); however, Phil and I, intent on playing, found ourselves another venue - a friendly house concert in Halifax with many Symphony Nova Scotia players in attendance. It was a great time, where we got to reacquaint with old friends and meet some new ones.

Our tour features a really strong educational component. Today, we performed for 400 great kids at Elmsdale elementary school, just outside of Halifax (seen above). The students there were truly great listeners, and asked some really insightful questions afterwards. We're slightly biased towards this school now, because they gave us each a great new mug!

We also participated in a really great educational venture through Newfoundland’s Department of Education’s Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation (CDLI) and Memorial University, where we performed a program over a live internet stream to hundreds of students in Newfoundland and across Canada. In the remaining few days of the tour, we will perform an additional three school concerts in New Ross and Yarmouth - we hear there's great lobster there - and then come back to Dalhousie University to coach the collaborative piano class in some duo and trio chamber music.

Atlantic Tour, Nov. 15-21, 2013

Well, back at it again! Phil Chiu and I are hitting the road for a tour of the Maritime provinces, presented by Debut Atlantic. You can check out all of the concert info on their website. The concert dates and locations are listed on carissaklopoushak.com. Here's our program and a bit about us:

Carissa Klopoushak and Philip Chiu have performed extensively together over the last five years. Their musical partnership has taken them across the country, beginning with a 17-city Canadian tour for the Eckhardt-Grammatté competition in 2009. Since that time, they have performed together at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, for the Regina Musical Club, and in many recitals and chamber music collaborations in and around Montreal. Their chemistry on stage together is easily felt by audience members; they look forward to presenting this program in Atlantic Canada.

LEOŠ JANÁČEK (1854-1928) Violin Sonata (1914)

1. Con moto 2. Ballada: Con moto 3. Allegretto 4. Adagio

"...In the 1914 Sonata for violin and piano I could just about hear the sound of the steel clashing in my troubled head..." Janáček began work on his Violin Sonata with the clash of WWI all around. Despite calling this work a sonata, he avoided traditional forms, writing in the manner of a stream of consciousness.

The violin opens the piece adamantly and alone, followed by a theme accompanied by dramatic tremolando in the piano. The Ballada features an enchanting melody and a true dialogue between violin and piano. The third movement alternates between anger and regret. The finale pits the violin and the piano against one another in a series of interruptions and abrupt changes of mood – but the two resolve, or dissolve, together into nothingness.

OSKAR MORAWETZ (1917-2007) Duo for Violin and Piano (1947, rev. 1956)

This work by the beloved Canadian composer Oskar Morawetz is in rondo form. The recurring opening theme is both mysterious and playful; the contrastic sections of the work incorporate elements of lyricism and drama.

SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Sonata No. 1 in F minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 80 (1946)

1. Andante assai 2. Allegro brusco 3. Andante 4. Allegrissimo - Andante assai, come prima

Prokofiev began work on his first Violin Sonata in 1938, but completed the work in 1946. It is one of the darkest and most profound works in the repertoire, conceived during one of the more dreadful periods of human history.

The first movement begins in an unstable manner with a meandering melody in the low range of the piano. The movement evokes a sense of turmoil and uncertainty. A chilling passage of muted scales upon bell-like piano chords ends the movement, which according to the composer, mimics the sound of wind in a graveyard.

The second movement is in a bright C major, often aggressive and fragmented. The “heroic” second theme received high praise from Soviet commentators at the time of performance.

The third movement is idyllic, featuring the Lydian scale. It is perhaps the one movement of unadulterated beauty within the work. One senses deep sentiments of love and longing.

The finale attempts joyousness, following a conventional I-IV-V-I progression in F major; however, the unstable metrical ground on which this generic progression appears thwarts its ability to be joyful or celebratory. The movement culminates in heartbreak and sorrow.

CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Sonata for Violin and Piano (1916)

1. Allegro vivo 2. Intermède, fantasque et léger 3. Finale: Très animé

In three short movements, Debussy expresses more character than one would think imaginable. The sonata opens in a meloncholic manner, and travels through various sections of excitement, nostalgia, uncertainty, and bravado. The work culminates joyfully. This sonata allows the performers to experiment with sound worlds and colours in a very freeing way.

MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937) Tzigane Rhapsodie de Concert (1922)

Ravel masterfully captures the spirit of the gypsy in Tzigane, showcasing the virtuosity of both pianist and violinist.

China Adventure with NACO

Greetings from China! We started by visiting Hong Kong (where we performed a joint concert with the Honk Kong Sinfonietta) - an amazing place that I would gladly revisit. Hong Kong is a very worldly, open city proud of its Chinese culture and heritage and of its appeal to the world at large.

Before our performance, we had three days to rest up and acclimatize to the new time zone. I sampled some delicious dim sum, investigated many different areas (by ferry) and went to The Peak - a high point with an unbeatable view. Here are some shots :

From there, we crossed into mainland China, to the city of Guangzhou. Mainland China is completely different from Hong Kong in every way, which led many of us to experience some culture shock. A few small groups went to see the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, which was a very beautiful, peaceful, and green space. The scent of incense was everywhere. The Great Hall within the temple was the highlight for me:

A friend and I investigated the neighbourhoods further, which was really interesting. We performed that night with the view of the Canton Tower in sight.

We are now in Chongqing, a rather large city at 33 million people which I had never heard of. This area is known for its Szechwan cuisine, and we have been sampling many of the finest regional specialties - the best of which is hot pot:

We did a run-out concert in Fuling (a "small" city of 1 million) last night, and tonight we perform in Chongqing.

After spending a couple of days in Tianjin, a city known for its sections of European-style architecture, we moved on to Beijing.  Most of the orchestra spent their free time in the Silk Market, buying scarves, pearls, and having specific items of clothing made for them.  Another Beijing highlight was the roast duck (Peking Duck), which I got to sample two nights in a row.

(The trick is to dip the skin into sugar...)

We also visited the wall, which was a major highlight of the trip!

Our final few days in Beijing and Shanghai were quite amazing, with some really moving and inspiring performances. What an amazing trip!

July 2013 - Ukrainian Adventures

In July, I had the opportunity to tour to Ukraine to perform a series of concerts with the Lastiwka Ukrainian Orthodox Choir and Orchestra and the Pavlychenko Dancers, both from Saskatoon.  The choir was founded and is directed by my father, Larry Klopoushak, and I have sung and played with this group for decades now...  (a scary thought.)

The concert tour, called  "Спадщина - Witness the Legacy," took us through six Ukrainian cities, performing the three-hour vocal-choreographic concert to sold out crowds across the country.  We also had the opportunity to work with renown Ukrainian ensembles such as Holos in Chernivtsi, Cherkassy Ukrainian Folk Choir, and the inimitable Veryovka Choir in Kyiv.

June 2013 - Australian Adventures

This past June, I had the incredible opportunity to work with the much talked about Australian Chamber Orchestra.  (If you aren't familiar with their work, check out their site and their many videos - you'll thank me!)

By some stroke of cosmic intervention, my Ukrainian band was approached to perform at the 65th Anniversary celebrations of Ukrainian Immigration to Australia celebrations the weekend preceding my work with the ACO.  We were well hosted by the Aussie Ukes, and were fortunate enough to perform in the Sydney Town Hall, a truly marvellous venue:

After an incredible weekend, the rest of the band returned to Canada as I began rehearsing with the ACO2, a group comprised of members of the ACO as well as former and current participants of the ACO's Emerging Artists program.

We prepared a unique and well-compiled program of Rautavaara, Vivaldi, Stravinsky, Handel, and Bartok for a six-city National tour.  I was fortunate enough to see nearly all major Australian cities, drank (too much) coffee, and worked with some truly creative and inspired musicians.

I look forward to working with the ACO again for three months in 2014.

The ACO rehearses inside the tall buildings on the right.  What a view...

Canada Council Instruments at the Montreal Chamber Music Festival

Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank laureates performing Bach's Brandenburg Concerti at the Montreal Chamber Music Festival.

PBS Video Feature on the Montreal Chamber Music Festival

I was recently featured in a PBS special on the Montreal Chamber Music Festival and the Canada Council Instrument Bank. The festival runs May 9 - June 1; I'll be participating in events on May 22 and 23 as part of "Bach Week."