2017-2018 SEASON

JOAQUIN VALDEPEÑAS DAVID HETHERINGTON SEROUJ KRADJIAN

AMICIENSEMBLE.COM MESSAGE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

Please join us in celebrating Amici’s legacy, 30 years of performing outstanding chamber music with our friends, our Amici! We invite you to experience our passion for innovative, evocative programming and the best chamber music and musicians as we share our inspiration with you this season! We are pleased to present our 30th anniversary season opener, Inspired by Friends at the beautiful home of the Kelk family. Stroll Joaquin Valdepeñas David Hetherington Serouj Kradjian through the gardens and relax by the koi pond while enjoying the most beautiful chamber music Amici has to offer and raising essential funds towards our new recording project! Amici celebrates the 150th anniversary of our great country, with The season ends in April, as Amici partners with the Royal Conservatory of Music to celebrate our 30th Anniversary Gala performance of an all-Canadian program, Inspired by Canada. The program will include some of our most loved commissions, will feature the winning A Legacy of Inspiration in Koerner Hall. We celebrate this auspicious composition from our Young Program, as well as new occasion with three B’s; Beethoven, Brahms and Bernstein. We arrangements of works by Canadian greats such as Leonard Cohen, celebrate our legacy at this performance by featuring some of our Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Claude Lavallé. This concert will also favourite music performing with dear friends such as Internationally renowned soprano , favourite instrumental feature the release of our recording Canadian Inspirations. colleagues and showcasing our longstanding teaching relationship In January we present Inspired by Strauss. While Richard Strauss was with RCM by featuring the award winning students from the Glenn mostly known for his operatic and orchestral masterpieces, Amici will Gould School. explore his masterful yet lesser known chamber music works, and Lieder favourites in new arrangements by Serouj. Amici has been making music for 30 wonderful years and it has always been our goal to produce inspiring programming combining the most In February, Amici presents the remount of our Juno Award winning revered classical compositions, many of which we have recorded, recording, Levant. Inspired by Levant focuses on the fascinating and with more adventurous music which we know our audiences will love mystifying sounds and colours of the “region of the rising sun”. We just as much. We can’t wait to celebrate and share with you our 30th will take you on a wonderful musical journey, starting in the cradle Anniversary season! of ancient civilizations and travelling through the Balkans; to Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and up to the Caucasus Mountains INSPIRED BY

A GARDEN PARTY AMONGST FRIENDS

Graciously hosted at the home of Margie and Peter Kelk

Amici is pleased to present our 30th anniversary season opener at the beautiful home of the Kelk family. Stroll through the gardens and relax by the koi pond while enjoying the best chamber music Amici has to offer featuring acclaimed violinist Yehonatan Berick and Amici favourite soprano Mireille Asselin. We look forward to welcoming our Amici family of supporters for our annual fundraising event raising essential money towards Amici’s next ambitious recording project, Canadian Inspirations.

SPECIAL GUESTS: MIREILLE ASSELIN YEHONATAN BERICK

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017 • 3PM CELEBRATING CANADA’S INSPIRED BY 150TH ANNIVERSARY!

Amici celebrates the 150th anniversary of our great country, with an all-Canadian program including two of the most loved compositions we have commissioned in the last 30 years: Chan Ka Nin’s Among Friends and Allan Gordon Bell’s Gravity and Grace. The second half will feature Canadian soprano Mireille Asselin in the best of the Canadian songbook, including Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Claude Lavallé, in new arrangements by Serouj Kradjian. This program will feature the winning composition from Amici’s Young Program. We will also celebrate the launch of Amici’s newest recording, Canadian Inspirations!

MUSIC:

CHAN KA NIN GILLES VIGNAULT AMONG FRIENDS MON PAYS ALAN GORDON BELL RALPH VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS TRAILS OF GRAVITY 49TH PARALLEL: PRELUDE AND GRACE GORDON LIGHTFOOT LEONARD COHEN CANADIAN RAILROAD HALLELUJAH TRILOGY JONI MITCHELL SCOTT JOPLIN A CASE OF YOU MAPLE LEAF RAG CLAUDE LÉVEILLÉE LES VIEUX PIANOS

SPECIAL GUEST: MIREILLE ASSELIN NOVEMBER 12, 2017 • 3PM A TRUE MELODIST INSPIRED BY

Richard Strauss was mostly known for his operatic and orchestral masterpieces. Amici explores his masterful yet lesser known chamber music works: his Piano Quartet, the Duett Concertino (in its new chamber version), and Lieder favourites like “Morgen” and “Zueignung”, in new arrangements, featuring Canadian soprano Sasha Djihanian and violinist Soovin Kim.

MUSIC:

DUETT CONCERTINO

PIANO QUARTET IN C MINOR, OP. 13

LIEDER DIE NACHT MORGEN TRAUM DURCH DIE DÄMMERUNG ZUEIGNUNG

SPECIAL GUESTS: SASHA DJIHANIAN SOOVIN KIM

SPECIAL GUEST PERFORMANCES SUPPORTED BY:

JANUARY 28, 2018 • 3PM A MUSICAL JOURNEY TO THE REGION OF THE RISING SUN

Amici presents the remount of our Juno Award winning recording, Levant. Take a musical journey with us through the Middle East as we explore the fascinating and mystifying sounds and colours of Levant, the “region of the rising sun”. This program features violinist Lara St. John in an eclectic selection of works by composers whose paths might not have crossed had it not been for their source of inspiration: the cradle of ancient civilizations.

MUSIC:

RABIH ABOU-KHALIL SERGEY PROKOFIEV ARABIAN WALTZ OVERTURE ON HEBREW THEMES, ALEKSANDR GLAZUNOV FOR , STRING QUARTET RÊVERIE ORIENTALE & PIANO, OP. 34 OSVALDO GOLIJOV MARKO TAJCEVIC LEVANTE SEVEN BALKAN DANCES GEORGE GURDJIEFF GAYANE TCHEBODARIAN ARMENIAN SONG PIANO TRIO SAYYID SONG & DANCE NO. 29 SOLHI AL-WADI SAYYID SONG AND DANCE NO. 10 TRIO FOR PIANO, JOHN FARAH VIOLIN AND CELLO AH YA ZAYN SPECIAL GUEST: LARA ST. JOHN FEBRUARY 25, 2018 • 3PM James Sommerville Barry Shiffman Robert Schumann Leslie Mann, Franz Danzi Ludvig van Beethoven Lois Marshall Jacques Israelievitch Nora Shulman Joanne Kolomyec Max Reger Alexander Zemlinsky Oskar Morawetz Arnold Steinhardt Archduke Rudolph Mark DuBois Mi Hyon Kim Carl Maria von Weber Allan Vogel Michael Sweeney Frederick Rizner Francis Poulenc Glenn Buhr Edith Wiens Omar Daniel Rivka Golani Moshe Hammer Bernhard Crusell Raymond Ludeke Ernö von Dohnányi José Luis Garcia Beverley Johnston Johanne Sebastian Bach Shmuel Ashkenasi Alexander Mishnaevsky Joel Quarrington Richard Ranti John Cerminaro Catherine Robbin Jeanne Baxtresser CELEBRATING 30 YEARS Camille Saint-Saëns Chan Kan Nin César Franck Henri Duparc Mark Kaplan Paul Meyer Rennie Regher Brian Cherney Robert Muczynski Douglas Boyd David Jaeger Antonin OF INSPIRED PERFORMANCES, Dvorák Paul Kantor Paul Coletti Dmitri Shostakovich Jacques Hétu Robert Fuchs Cho-Liang Lin Annalee PatipatanikoonOF Toby HoffmanINSPIRATION Martin Beaver Max Bruch Kathleen McLean James COMMISSIONS, RECORDINGS Mason Joseph Orlowski Joan Watson Harcus Hennigar Carl Nielsen Mikhail Glinka Jaime Laredo Phyllis Tate Lakshmi Ranganathan Vasan Rajalingam Erika AND EDUCATION Raum Douglas McNabney Larry Weeks Vainika Ratna Henry Kucharzyk Bohuslav Martinu Yehonatan Berick John Greer David Amram Carl Czerny Lara St. John Robert McDuffie Béla Bartók Jean Stilwell Mayumi Seiler Susan Hoeppner Max Christie Giovanni Bottesini Dan Welcher Gabriel Fauré Peggy Baker Louise Farrenc Sergei Prokofiev Zoltán Kodály Marie Bérard Terence Helmer Scott St. John Gioachino Amici has been making music for 30 wonderful Rossini Frank Bridge Franz Berwald Aram Khachaturian Peter Tiefenbach Mark Fewer John years and we celebrate this auspicious occasion by Rudolph Arthur Honegger Geoff Nuttall Lesley Robertson Marina partnering with The Royal Conservatory of Music Hoover Rachel Mercer Max Mandel Aisslinn Nosky Julia Wedman André to present our final concert showcasing three B’s; Previn Philip Loosemore Jacques Ibert Lothar Klein Patricia O’Callaghan Phil Dwyer Andrew Downing Carl Frühling Edison Denisov Rebecca Clarke Patrick Cardy Victor Steinhardt Beethoven, Brahms and Bernstein, in Koerner Hall. We Dave Grusin Brett Polegato Edward Tait Malcolm Forsyth Violet Archer Vincent D’Indy Anton are joined by award- winning students from the Glenn Webern Richard Strauss Elliott Carter James Ehnes Niccolo Paganini Cynthia Stelges Linda Gould School, some of our favourite instrumental Ippolito Alban Berg James Rolfe Andrew StanilandTHIRTIETH Ida Kavafian Ernest Chausson Allan Gordon colleagues, dear friend Yehonatan Berick and Bell Measha Brueggergosman Joaquin TurinaANNIVERSARY Manuel de Falla Xavier Montsalvatge Arturo internationally renowned soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian. Márquez Daniel Phillips Todd Phillips Steven Tenenbom Timothy Eddy Luigi Boccherini Gerald Finzi Edvard Grieg Russell Braun Charles Loeffler Benjamin Bowman Shane Kim Sharon Wei Sydney Hodkinson Erwin Schulhof Leslie Kinton André Laplante Oliver Knussen Franz Berwald Teng Li Neil DelandWITH GaryISABEL Kulesha BAYRAKDARIAN Vladimir Feltsman Jonathan Crow MUSIC: Reinhold Gliére Galina Ustvolskaya Harry FreedmanAND ModestFRIENDS Moussorgsky Isabel Bayrakdarian Mieczyslaw Weinberg Anton Arensky Brian McDonagh Stephen Sitarski Winona Zelenka Dianne LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN LEONARD BERNSTEIN Werner Heather Schmidt Sarah Jeffrey Kathy Halvorson Wendy Limbertie Jeffrey Beecher Heitor RONDINO ARIAS AND BARCAROLLES Villa Lobos Murray Schafer Orli Shaham Franz Krommer Alexander Arutiunian JOHANNES BRAHMS CANDIDE Steven Page Alexander Sevastian Roberto Occhipinti Carlos Gardel Astor Piazzolla Kurt Weill CLARINET QUINTET WEST SIDE STORY Jacob Gade Arno Babadjanian Nino Rota Jin-shan Dai Eric Nowlin Sofia Gubaidulina, Darius Milhaud Gideon Klein Victor Ullmann Kyrylo Stetsenko Father Gomidas Franz Liszt Marko Tajcevic Gayaneh Chebotaryan Osvaldo Golijov Solhi Al Wadi Zdenek Fibich Aline Kutan SPECIAL GUESTS: Andrew McCandless Alex Feswick James Chatto Nikolai Kapustin Leonard Bernstein William ISABEL BAYRAKDARIAN Bolcom Edward Elgar Alice Ping Yee Ho Joseph Petric Rosemarie Umetsu Min-Jeong Ko Sarah YEHONATAN BERICK Nematallah Caitlin Boyle Rachel Desoer Leslie Newman Leoš Janáček Daniel Hass Gian Carlo Menotti Ryan Scott Heidi Van Hoesen Gorton Toru Takemitsu Henri Dutilleux MEMBERS OF THE TSO WIND SECTION John Adams John Corigliano Grisha Goryachev Isaac Albéniz Paco de Lucia Albert Guinovart Ernesto Lecuona Jamie Drake Rabih Abou-Khalil Andrew Wan Brian Mamker Kim Kashkashian Louis PapachristosAPRIL Timothy 27, Ying 2018 Tigran Mansurian • 8PM Mireille Asselin Paul Juon Otto Nicolai André Previn John Taverner Man Ray Guy Maddin Buster Keaton Samuel Banks Sarah Lewis Stéphane Grappelli Django Reinhardt Richard Mascall Bright Sheng Jesse Morrison Sergei Rachmaninoff Ilya Kaler Beste Kalender Aaron Durand Arvo Pärt Joni Mitchell Neil Young Claude Lavallée Soovin Kim Sasha Djihanian John Thrower

SPECIAL GUEST: LARA ST. JOHN ABOUT AMICI CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

Amici Chamber Ensemble celebrates 30 years as one of Canada’s finest and most distinguished chamber music ensembles. Co-Artistic Directors clarinetist Joaquin Valdepeñas, cellist David Hetherington and pianist Serouj Kradjian invite some of the finest musicians to join them in innovative and eclectic programming, celebrating friendship through music.

Amici Chamber Ensemble’s annual concert series has featured world-renowned musicians as frequent guests and the ensemble has commissioned and premiered over thirty works by Canadian composers. Alongside numerous broadcasts of their concerts on national radio, Amici Chamber Ensemble’s recordings have placed them firmly among the world’s best chamber musicians and garnered the ensemble two JUNO awards and several JUNO nominations over the years.

1986 1993 1998 2007 First performances at U of T Juno Award for “Among Recording #5 “In Brahms’ First concert with Serouj with Pat Joaquin and David Friends”, Summit Records. Apartment”, Summit Records 2010 1988 1995 2001 Recording #10 “Armenian First concert series of the Recording #2 “Quartet Recording #6 “Quartet for Chamber Music”, ATMA Amici Chamber ensemble for the End of Time”, the End of Time”, Naxos Classique Summit Records 1989 2003 2012 Tour to Atlantic Provinces 1995 Recording #7 “Amici and Recording #11 “Levant”, featuring our first com- Tour to Mexico Jean Stilwell”, CBC Records missioned work “Among 2012 Friends” by Chan Ka Nin 1996 2005 Juno Award for “Levant” Recording #3 “Beethoven”, Recording #8 “D’Indy, 1990 Summit Records Bruch”, Naxos 2013 Tour to Europe 25th Anniversary concert 1997 2005 1993 Recording #4 “Contrasts”, Recording #9 “Majestic Flair”, Recording #1 “Amici” Summit Records CBC Records JOAQUIN DAVID VALDEPEÑAS HETHERINGTON

Joaquin Valdepeñas, considered one of the most distinguished For many years the Assistant Principal cellist of the Symphony clarinetists of his generation. He was recently appointed Resident Orchestra, David Hetherington received his musical training at the Conductor at The Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glenn Gould School Royal Conservatory of Music and the , and and has conducted the Toronto Symphony Orchestra on many furthered his cello studies in New York, Italy and Germany with Claus occasions. A prolific recording artist, he has won two Juno Awards, Adam, André Navarra and Paul Tortelier. As soloist, he has performed for his recording of Jacque Hetu’s clarinet concerto and most recently with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Saskatoon Symphony with Amici Chamber Ensemble’s Levant. His latest CD with the Orchestra, the Niagara Symphony, the Symphony Orchestra of Canada, ARC Ensemble on the Chandos Label was released last season and New Music Concerts and Soundstreams Canada as well as recitals at features the Clarinet Quintet of Paul Ben-Haim. Another Chandos the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music. He disc has just been recorded for release in 2016. Mr. Valdepeñas was currently teaches at the Glenn Gould School and is Music Director of a Grammy Award nominee three consecutive years in the chamber the Interprovincial Music Camp. music category. In addition to the Amici Chamber Ensemble, Mr. Hetherington is Mr. Valdepeñas was appointed principal clarinet of the Toronto also a founding member of the string quartet Accordes, which Symphony Orchestra upon graduation from Yale University and performs regularly for New Music Concerts, Soundstreams Canada appears as soloist, chamber musician, and conductor. He has and other contemporary music organizations. In 2001, the Canadian performed at international festivals including Banff, Casals, Curitiba Music Centre, through Centrediscs, released Accordes’ recording of Brazil, Marlboro, Nagano Japan, and Korea’s Great Mountains Music Harry Somers’ String Quartets, for which it received a Juno Award Festival and has collaborated with the American, Calder, Emerson, nomination. Accordes has also recorded works by several other Muir, Orion, St. Lawrence, Takács, Ying, and Zemlinsky string Canadian composers such as , David Eagle, Harry quartets, as well as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Freedman, Hope Lee, Alexina Louie and Jean Papineau-Couture. International Sejong Soloists and the Kalichstein Laredo Robinson Trio. Mr. Valdepeñas made his European debut with the BBC Welsh Mr. Hetherington has appeared on several recordings for the CBC and Symphony which was televised on the BBC and has recorded the for Centrediscs with whom he made the Canadian première recording Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the English Chamber Orchestra. He has of Talivaldis Kenins’ prize-winning cello sonata. Mr. Hetherington plays a been a member of the artist/faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and cello made in 1695 by Giovanni Battista Grancino. School for many years. AMICI MEMORIES SEROUJ We have collected many cherished memories over the last thirty years. Here’s a little peak at each of KRADJIAN our favourites. Please be sure to share your special memories and Amici inspirations with us!

“Grano has always been special to Amici and I am so pleased we went back for our gala this year. I have many fond memories of afternoons spent playing music and visiting with friends in the warmth of Grano’s environment, with sun shinning in the windows and enjoying good Canadian pianist and composer Serouj Kradjian has established food. We have been longtime friends with Roberto and his family and himself as a versatile artist whose readiness to break new boundaries have watched out kids grow up together. I am very thankful for our and explore different styles has made him an exciting voice on longtime friendship and his support of our work over the years.” the international music scene. Mr. Kradjian has appeared as soloist Joaquin Valdepeñas with the Vancouver, Edmonton, Madrid, and Göttingen symphony orchestras, Russian National Orchestra, Armenian Philharmonic, and Thailand Philharmonic. Solo, chamber music recitals, and premières “Our first tour to the Maritimes for Debut Atlantic in 1989 featured of his compositions have taken Mr. Kradjian from all major cities in our first and possibly most successful commission “Among Friends” Canada and the US to European concert halls, in addition to China by Chan Ka Nin. Ka Nin missed his deadline by about a month and we and Japan. were rehearsing his piece as he wrote it. Twice we thought we had come to the end and Pat’s doorbell would ring and Ka Nin would walk Serouj Kradjian’s discography includes the acclaimed Transcendental in with a sheaf of papers. The last ones arrived the day before we left Études and piano concertos of Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann’s on the trip and we had to rehearse in Labrador the day before our first three Sonatas for Violin and Piano (with ). With Isabel concert. The work was and still is very popular with our audiences.” Bayrakdarian he recorded songs by Pauline Viardot- Garcia, which David Hetherington brought the two artists international accolades and a 2006 JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year. With the Amici Chamber Ensemble, of which he is Co-Artistic Director, he has recorded “Since my first concert as a core member of the Amici Chamber Armenian chamber music and Levant, which won the JUNO for Best Ensemble, there have been many beautiful memories. But the one Classical Recording in 2013. which stands out, is receiving news, that “Levant” has won the Juno for Classical Album of the Year. The idea of the recording, which started off Works composed or arranged by Serouj Kradjian have been as a labor of love, and a tribute to my origins, developed into a treasure performed by the Toronto,Vancouver, Madrid Symphony, Fresno & discovery of relatively unknown repertoire, all from or inspired by the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestras, I Musici de Montreal, the Elmer Middle East, a region which unfortunately is more known nowadays for Iseler Singers,Elektra Women’s Choir & the St Lawrence String depressing news about violence and war, rather than the rich cultural Quartet. His orchestral arrangements of folk songs by Gomidas, heritage it offers. And for it to win the Juno for Classical Album of the Armenia’s national composer, featured in the Nonesuch release Year in such a distinguished field of nominees was an honor unlike any Gomidas Songs, earned him a GRAMMY®-Award nomination. other, and a memory I shall forever cherish.” Serouj Kradjian CREATIVE HEIGHTS AMICI’S SUPPORTERS

Together with the support of our generous donors, Amici Chamber Ensemble reaches new creative heights season after season. Your help delivers innovative programming, educational outreach programs, and the Nazli Dewji Serouj Kradjian best chamber music in Toronto. HEIGHTS $1000+ David Hetherington George Lovrics Marcia & Patricia Martin Paul Kavanagh Samuel Stern Peter & Margie Kelk Joaquin Valdepeñas Adom Knadjian WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PROSPER Douglas Bodley Lois Weir ONGOING SUPPORT! $500 - $999 Kaija & Alex Corlazzoli The George Antonio Signoroni Wyhovsky Charitable Foundation Please consider making a donation to Amici today. There are 3 easy ways to donate: Cheque made payable to Julie Bertoia Wendy Sanford “Amici Chamber Ensemble”, by credit card or online at AMORE Susan Elliott Ted Sharp www.canadahelps.org. $250 - $499 Ross L. Kennedy Alan Torok Registered charity # 129714770RR0001 Edward & Jocy Lee Nancy Westcott Lois McDonald Sandy Wiseman Susanne Palmer & Wayne Drewry

Amici Chamber Ensemble gratefully PATRONS Norma Anderson C. Schuh & M. Horn acknowledges the support of: $100 - $249 Luba Andrews Jennifer & John Snell Janet Douglas Molly Weaver Eva Gerber SUBSCRIBE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Get inspired by creating your extraordinary experience today by becoming a 2017-18 season subscriber! Enjoy all & STAFF the Amici Chamber Ensemble concerts at reduced rates, with preferred seating and advance purchase options.

Board Staff FULL SERIES Enjoy all five concerts and save up to 20%* Adom Knadjian Joaquin Valdepeñas Adult $285 • Senior $265 President David Hetherington FLEX 4 Enjoy all four concerts in the Amici season.* Julie Bertoia Serouj Kradjian Treasurer Co-Artistic Directors Adult $160 • Senior $140 Antonio Signoroni Kaija Corlazzoli Executive Director FLEX 3 Select your choice of three concerts.* Sandy Wiseman Adult $120 • Senior $105 Laila Zakzook th Marketing Coordinator *excludes Gala Concert, September 17 .

Included in your subscription choice for April 27th A Legacy of Inspiration concert is a Level 3 ticket in Koerner Hall, discounted to CONTACT: Amici ticket prices. If you would like to be closer to the stage, there are 3 additional seating upgrade options available at an additional [email protected] cost - Price level 2: $24, Price level 1: $33 and Premium seats: $42. (416) 871-4275 TO PURCHASE YOUR www.amiciensemble.com SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGE TODAY: Online: amiciensemble.com By Phone: 416-408-0208 In Person: Weston Family Box Office, 273 Bloor St W, Toronto By Mail: 23 Ashgrove Place, Toronto ON M3B 2Y9