The Debut Album from Duo Kalysta BWW News Desk

Leaf Music Proudly Presents 'Origins' The Debut Album from Duo Kalysta BWW News Desk

Leaf Music is proud to present Origins, the debut album from Duo Kalysta, the acclaimed flute and harp duo comprised of Lara Deutsch and Emily Belvedere. Origins, featuring entrancing music - both familiar and new - by Canadian and French composers, released on September 6, 2019.

Belvedere, praised for her "crystalline technique" (MusicWeb International) and Deutsch, who reveals "new worlds of colour and meaning in every single note" (CBC Music) met at McGill University in Montreal, where they performed Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp under the baton of Alexis Hauser. "Origins" refers to their return to Montreal to record the album and to their beginnings as a chamber ensemble. Given the album's Canadian and French repertoire, the title also alludes to the musicians' Canadian heritage, as well as the heritage of their instruments, which were greatly impacted by French musical traditions. Gaining attention nationwide as a young duo with an exceptional musical connection, Duo Kalysta's recording projects include a series of music videos for Mécénat Musica Vidéoclips. Following a recent performance by Duo Kalysta in Montreal, Les ArtsZé commented that that the audience enjoyed "the technical breadth of the two virtuosos ... revealing a great richness."

Origins features Claude Debussy's beloved Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, with its famous, dreamy flute solo, in an intimate arrangement by harpist Judy Loman. Jocelyn Morlock's Vespertine (2005) utilizes extended techniques to conjure night-blossoming plants and nocturnally-active creatures. Violist Marina Thibeault joins the duo for R. Murray Schafer's impressionistic Trio for Flute, Viola, and Harp (2011), in which the grounding nature of the viola, the willowy harmonies of the harp, and the fluid motion of the flute combine in an enthralling harmonic atmosphere. Finally, Duo Kalysta is joined by Thibeault, as well violinist Alexander Read and cellist Carmen Bruno, for André Jolivet's Chant de Linos (1944), evoking Greek timbres in this visceral, spiritual work, dedicated to Linus, the musician son of Apollo.

Named one of 2015's "Hot 30 Under 30 Canadian Classical Musicians" by CBC Music, flutist Lara Deutsch is a versatile soloist, orchestral, and chamber musician with a passion for connecting with audiences. Lara was a first prize winner of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal's 2014 Manulife Competition, at which she was awarded a total of seven prizes, including the Stingray Music Audience Award. She was the Grand Prize Winner of both the National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary Competition (2014) and the Canadian Music Competition (2010), as well as a laureate of the Concours Prix d'Europe (2016). Lara also offers Performance Psychology Workshops, sharing the skills in optimizing performance that she has learned from her work with renowned Olympic performance psychologist, Jean-François Ménard.

Announced on September 9, it was announced that Canadian flutist Lara Deutsch is the winner of the $125,000 Mécénat Musica Prix Goyer 2019- 2020 for Collaborative Emerging Artist. Mécénat Musica Prix Goyer is the biggest prize in Canada and one of the largest in the world for a collaborative emerging artist in classical music. Presented biennially,Mécénat Musica Prix Goyer honours Jean-Pierre Goyer and his contributions to music, arts and culture in Montréal, Québec and Canada, and as chairman of the Conseil des arts de Montréal and chairman of the Orchestre Métropolitain where he hired Yannick Nézet-Séguin as conductor at the age of 26 years old.

Recipient of the Hnatyshyn Foundation Classical Music Grant for Orchestral Instruments, harpist Emily Belvedere has been praised for her "ease in merging lyrical and dissonant sounds" (MusicWeb International). Emily's many awards include third prize at the American Harp Society's 18th National Competition in Salt Lake City, Utah. Emily won the 2013 McGill Classical Concerto Competition as well as the prize for best performance of a Canadian work in the 2013 OSM Standard Life Competition in Montreal. An avid chamber musician, Emily was also a prizewinner in the Glenn Gould School Chamber Music Competition at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

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