Canzona Chamber Players Benefit Concert for St. Michael’s

Posted by BK on August 6, 2020 in Charity Gala, Events, Gala Scene | Leave a comment

Canzona Chamber Players Presents Yosuke Kawasaki & Jessica Linnebach in a Violin Duet Concert Benefitting St. Michael’s Hospital COVID-19 Courage Fund

Sunday, August 9th @ 7:00 pm EST

In their ongoing initiative to #keepthemusicplaying, Canada’s Canzona Chamber Players are set to host a special live-streamed recital this Sunday, August 9th. The concert is in benefit of St. Michael’s Hospital’s COVID-19 Courage Fund, and in memory of Elizabeth Krehm.

Now celebrating their 17th year of hosting an annual live classical and jazz concert series, the Canzona Chamber Players’ benefit concert will feature Yosuke Kawasaki (Concertmaster, NACO,) and Jessica Linnebach (Associate Concertmaster, NACO); they will perform a program of violin duets which will include selections from Jean-Marie Leclair, Alfred Schnittke, György Ligeti, Maxime McKinley and Sergei Prokofiev.

Program — Sunday August 9th @ 7:00 pm EST
JEAN-MARIE LECLAIR — Sonata for 2 violins in e minor op. 3 no. 5
ALFRED SCHNITTKE — Moz-Art á la Haydn for solo violins
GYÖRGY LIGETI — Balada si joc
MAXIME MCKINLEY — Sept proximités 

INTERMISSION
SERGEI PROKOFIEV — Sonata for 2 violins op. 56

Since the onset of the pandemic, Canzona Chamber Players have been broadcasting solo and duo recitals, recorded to the highest standard. As part of this live-streamed solo recital series, Winona Zelenka (TSO), Marie Bérard (COC), Jessica Tong, Emily Rho (Pocket Concerts), 2020 JUNO Award recipient Angela Schwarzkopf, and Roslyn and Eric Abramovitz (TSO) have performed, to date raising over $30,000 for the St. Michael’s Hospital COVID-19 Courage Fund.

St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation’s COVID-19 Courage Fund will provide frontline staff, palliative care patients and the most vulnerable members of the community with the food, clothing, and tablet computers they need to keep going, keep connected and keep safe.

Donations to the St. Michael’s Hospital COVID-19 Courage Fund, in Memory of Elizabeth Krehm, can be made here: http://smh.convio.net/couragefund

ABOUT Yosuke Kawasaki, violin

Currently serves as Concertmaster of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra. His versatile musicianship allows him to pursue a career in orchestra, solo and chamber music. His orchestral career began with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and soon led to Mito Chamber Orchestra, Saito Kinen Orchestra and Japan Century Orchestra all of which he led as Concertmaster. His solo and chamber music career spans five continents, collaborating with artists such as Seiji Ozawa, Pinchas Zukerman and Yo-Yo Ma and appearing in the world’s most prestigious halls such as Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall and The Royal Concertgebouw.Kawasaki’s current regular ensembles are Trio Ink and the Arkas String Quartet. His passion for chamber music led to his appointment as Music Director to the Affinis Music Festival in Japan. He is also an artistic advisor to a brand new chamber music festival in Bulgaria called The Unbeaten Path.

As an educator Kawasaki has given masterclasses and performed side by side with students in schools across Canada. Well versed in the string quartet literature he was entrusted by Seiji Ozawa as the youngest faculty member of the Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy at the age of 26. He is currently an adjunct professor of violin at the University of Ottawa School of Music.  Mr. Kawasaki began his violin studies at the age of six with his father Masao Kawasaki and continued with Setsu Goto.  At the age of ten he was accepted into The Juilliard School Pre-College Division and further continued his education and graduated from The Juilliard School in 1998 under the tutorship of Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, Felix Galimir and Joel Smirnoff.

ABOUT Jessica Linnebach, violin

Since her soloist debut at the age of seven, Jessica has appeared with major orchestras throughout North America, Europe and Asia.  She has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 2003 and was named their Associate Concertmaster in April 2010.  She has also been invited to play as Guest Concertmaster with the Pittsburgh and Indianapolis Symphonies, as well as the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Acknowledging the importance of versatility in today’s world, Jessica has developed a reputation as one of those rare artists who has successfully built a multi-faceted career that encompasses solo, chamber and orchestral performances. A passionate chamber musician, Jessica was a founding member of the Zukerman ChamberPlayers, a highly acclaimed string quintet led by Pinchas Zukerman. During the 8 years they performed together, they toured internationally and their recording of the Mozart Viola Quintet in G minor was nominated for a Juno Award and its fifth release, Quintets by Mozart and Dvorak, is on the Altara Label.

Chamber music collaborations have included some of the most illustrious artists of a generation – Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, James Ehnes, Leon Fleisher, Lynn Harrell, Yo-Yo Ma, Jon Kimura Parker, Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham, and Michael Tree.In 2014, Jessica and three of her NACO colleagues formed the Ironwood String Quartet, and they are frequent performers at various chamber music series and festivals, including the WolfGANG and MFASA series, as well as the Pontiac Enchanté, Ritornello, and Classical Unbound festivals. As a solo artist, she has performed with numerous orchestras in Canada and the United States, and she is the Artistic Director of the ‘Classical Unbound Festival’, a chamber music festival in Prince Edward County. Accepted to the world-renowned Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at the age of ten, Jessica remains one of the youngest ever Bachelor of Music  graduates in the history of the school where she studied with Aaron Rosand, Jaime Laredo and Ida Kavafian. At eighteen, she received her Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec. Jessica Linnebach plays a circa 1840 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (Guarnerius del Gésu 1737) violin. Her bows are crafted by Ron Forrester and Michael Vann.

Thanks to Eric Alper for the media release.