2025 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Tuckamore Festival. To celebrate this landmark in a special way, we are presenting 25 concerts in 25 venues across the provinces.
Three chamber ensembles will tour Newfoundland and Labrador: an alumni group will go to Labrador in mid June, a 2025 Young Artist trio will perform in the Avalon and Trinity areas, and the Tuckamore faculty trio will perform from Bonavista through the West Coast. Together these three ensembles will reach 25 regional and remote communities, presenting works by Tuckamore Young Artist composers (current or former) alongside some of the great chamber music repertoire by Dvorak, Schumann, Grieg, Haydn, Beethoven and others.
The festivals gratefully acknowledges the generosity of PAL airlines and the Perlin Family Trust in making these tours possible.
This expansive Labrador tour program presents larger-than-life explorations of nature, youthful exuberance, and cultural cross-pollination. Haydn’s playful “Hungarian” piano trio is showcased alongside evocative pieces by Tuckamore Young Composer alumni, with a dash of Edvard Grieg and Canadian composer Beverly McKiver for good measure. Curated and performed by Tuckamore Young Artist alumni Arlan Vriens (violin), Emma Schmiedecke (cello), and Esmée Gilbert (piano). In Hopedale, Sivolilaurit, a piece for choir, string trio and organ, bring together local musicians and the touring trio. In Makkovik, the program will include performances by the school drum group as well as songs with throat-singing lead by teacher Natalie Jacque. In addition, Makkovik-based violinist and fiddler Kendra Jacque will join Arlan Vriens to play Bela Bartok duos and the Adagio in E major by Mozart with Esmée Gilbert.
Joseph Haydn – Piano Trio No. 39 in G major, Hob. XV/25 (1795) – I. Andante
Hsiu Ping Patrick Wu – L’Etranger (2018)
Jess Ozon – Burning the Rhododendron (2024)
Bekah Simms – Salvation, or what was needed most (2017)
Edvard Grieg – Andante con moto, EG 116 (1878)
Intermission
Joseph Haydn – Piano Trio No. 39 in G major, Hob. XV/25 (1795) – II. Poco adagio, cantabile
Robert Humber – Riverspeak (2019)
Beverley McKiver – Seeking Light (2023)
Joseph Haydn – Piano Trio No. 39 in G major, Hob. XV/25 (1795) – III. Rondo all’Ongarese: Presto
Itinerary:
June 10/11: Labrador City/Wabush (J.R. Smallwood Middle School, Menihek High School, Carol United Church)
June 13/14: Goose Bay and Northwest River (Queen of Peace Middle School, Labrador Interpretation Centre, O’Brien Arts Centre)
June 15: Hopedale (Tomgasok Cultural Centre)
June 16: Makkovik (Moravian Church)
Arlan Vriens is a violinist, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, and adjunct professor at OCAD University. Recognized as a sought-after curator and performer of contemporary and early music, he has appeared as concertmaster of Opera on the Avalon, Theatre of Early Music, and Tapestry Opera, performed as a chamber musician at Toronto Summer Music, Biglake, Stratford Summer Music, and Ottawa Chamberfest, and appeared on a significant slate of chamber music recordings. Dr. Vriens is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal and 2022 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award, and his artistic work has been further supported by SSHRC, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council. His ongoing performance research concerns intersections between historically informed performance, new music, and issues of technological obsolescence, including commissioning new Canadian chamber works as testbeds for the integration of analog visual technology.
Praised for her “huge musicality, depth of interpretation, and technical expertise” (Manhattan International Music Competition), cellist Emma Schmiedecke has established herself as a vibrant interpreter of both the classical and contemporary cello repertoire. As guest soloist, Emma has performed with the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic, and Bravura Philharmonic, and performed in masterclasses for Steven Isserlis, Colin Carr, Raphael Wallfisch, David Geringas, Leon Fleisher, and Arnold Steinhardt, among others. As a chamber musician, she has been mentored by artists including Ida Kavafian, Levon Chilingirian, Daniel Phillips, Scott St. John, Duo Concertante, the Gryphon Trio, and the Shanghai Quartet and has appeared at Ottawa Chamberfest, Big Lake Chamber Music Festival, The Banff Centre, the Centre d’Arts Orford, the Toronto Summer Music Festival, Domaine Forget de Charlevoix Chamber Music Festival, Vermont Mozart Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, the Heifetz Institute, the Round Top Festival Institute, the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, the NYU Steinhardt String Quartet Seminar, and the Oxford Cello School in Oxford, England. Select awards and prizes include a Silver Medal in the Professional Category of the 4th Manhattan International Music Competition, the Temerty Family Foundation Scholarship, the Mai Why and Peter Levitt Graduate Scholarship, the Clive Allen Fellowship, the Denise Ireland & Harry Underwood Fellowship, the Ingeborg and Angela Kramer Award, a McGill University Graduate Dean’s Award, and first prize in the Bravura Philharmonic and Bergen Philharmonic Young Artist Competitions. A strong advocate for contemporary music, she has worked closely with composers Joan Tower, John Corigliano, George Tsontakis, Ana Sokolovic, Susan Botti, Stacy Garrop, Linda Catlin-Smith, and Kevin Lau, and has performed with the Da Capo Chamber Players, the American Composers Orchestra, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, 21C New Music Festival, the Ligeti String Quartet, the Canadian Composers Orchestra Digital Generations Project, Fifth House Ensemble, Against the Grain Theatre Company, Novarumori Ensemble, and the Contemporaneous New Music Ensemble in multiple world premieres.
Esmée Gilbert is a pianist, teacher and collaborator from St. John’s, NL. She holds a BMus in joint Piano Performance and Musicology (Honours) from Memorial University, a MMus in Piano Performance from uOttawa, and an Artist Diploma (DEPA in collaborative piano) from The University of Montreal. Her primary teachers include Timothy Steeves, Leopoldo Erice, Peter Allen, Francis Perron, & Liz Upchurch. She has performed in masterclasses for celebrated pianists Enrico Pace, Jane Coop, Janina Fiawlkowska, and Charles Richard-Hamelin, among others. She has performed at festivals including Tuckamore, Scotiafestival, Quartetfest and has held two residencies at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance. In addition to working with string players, Esmée has a wide range of collaborative experience including accompanying Art Song classes at both uOttawa and UdeM, Opera Workshop at Memorial University, as well as working with ballet classes, choirs, and musical theatre. Esmée enjoys working closely with composers and has commissioned and premiered several new works for solo piano and chamber ensembles. She has received funding from both ArtsNS and ArtsNL for various commissioning and creative projects, including a full recital of solo piano music by composer Isabelle Riche in 2022. Esmée has performed in LAMP’s “NOW” new music concert series and was formerly a core member of Ottawa-based contemporary music collective Ensemble Allure. Currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Esmée holds an active private teaching studio. She is on faculty at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts where she teaches and works as a collaborative pianist.