Ensemble Made in Canada is a Canadian classical piano quartet,[1] whose 2020 album Mosaïque won the Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Solo or Chamber Ensemble at the Juno Awards of 2021.[2]
The quartet was originally formed as an all-female ensemble in the 2000s, consisting of Angela Park on piano, Judy Kang on violin, Sharon Wei on viola and Rachel Mercer on cello.[3] The troupe won a Galaxie Rising Star Award in 2006.[4] Kang left the ensemble in 2010 and was replaced by Elissa Lee.[5] In the late 2010s Trey Lee Chui-yee sometimes filled in for Mercer,[6] and was named a permanent member in 2020.
Mosaïque
editMosaïque, a project inspired by Oscar Peterson's classic jazz album Canadiana Suite, saw the ensemble commission 14 short musical compositions, one representing each of Canada's 13 provinces or territories and one representing the indigenous peoples of Canada, which were performed by the quartet on a cross-Canada tour,[7] before being released as an album in 2020.[8]
The participating composers were David Braid, Barbara Croall, Julie Doiron, Andrew Downing, Vivian Fung, Nicolas Gilbert, Kevin Lau, Nicole Lizée, Richard Mascall, Samy Moussa, William Rowson, Darren Sigesmund, Sarah Slean and Ana Sokolović.
References
edit- ^ Brad Wheeler, "Ensemble Made in Canada to wrap up sprawling Mosaïque Project tour in St. Catharines, Ont.". The Globe and Mail, January 22, 2020.
- ^ Holly Gordon and Andrea Warner, "Here are the 2021 Juno Award winners". CBC Music, June 4, 2021.
- ^ Ronald Zajac, "For artist Sharon Wei and viola, it was a case of love at first sight". The Recorder and Times, November 1, 2008.
- ^ "Ensemble tour takes in Kamloops". Kamloops Daily News, March 8, 2012.
- ^ James Reaney, "Made in Canada fashions new look". London Free Press, April 1, 2011.
- ^ "BU pro series welcomes baroque choir". Brandon Sun, December 1, 2018.
- ^ Brad Wheeler, "The whole country on stage: The Ensemble Made in Canada's touring show features a song for every province and territory - and one Indigenous region"]. The Globe and Mail, August 3, 2019.
- ^ Robert Rowat, "10 upcoming Canadian classical albums to get excited about". CBC Music, January 15, 2020.