07:30 PM
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Event Details
Harpsichordist and NWC Artistic Co-Director Louise Hung has long explored the questions of how and why music by 18th-century European composers reached audiences in China. Following last season's focus on the French Baroque, she continues the journey this season with music from Rome. Ephemera: Corelli in China features Italian sonatas and trio sonatas performed and composed in the Chinese Imperial Court of Emperor Kangxi, exploring this period of musical cultural exchange through the accounts of Lazarist missionary Teodorico Pedrini. Projected visuals and soundscapes will further enfold the audience in the experience.
As though invited to a gathering of Rome’s Accademia dell'Arcadia under the auspices of the Cardinal Ottoboni, the audience will first hear the chamber music of Corelli, Bononcini and Pasquini in the lavish gardens of the Palazzo della Cancelleria. They then follow fellow Accademia dell’Arcadia member Teoderico Pedrini to China, as he brings this Italian Baroque repertory into the heart of the Forbidden City. The music chosen includes Corelli’s celebrated Op. 5 sonatas for violin and b.c. and his Op. 4 trio sonatas, as well as Pedrini’s own violin sonatas (Op. 3). The audience is taken to the private sphere of the palace, where we listen in on Pedrini’s musical lessons with the Emperor Kangxi and the third, fifteenth and sixteenth princes.
The musicians bringing this all to life are Cristina Zacharias, violin; Jin Cho, flute; Margaret Jordan Gay, ‘cello; Louise Hung, harpsichord, with Matthew Antal, projected visuals and soundscapes.
Flutist Jin Cho specializes in historical and contemporary performance on baroque flute, modern flute and Korean daegeum. Born and raised in South Korea, Jin started learning flute under his father’s influence who was a singer and a music teacher at junior high school. Jin has studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University where he received a Master’s degree and Artist Diploma in modern flute performance. He studied historical performance at the master’s level at the University of Toronto. In between his studies, Jin was a recipient of Rebanks International Fellowship at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Jin is currently based in Toronto, where he performs as a soloist and ensemble musician. Jin has performed with the Toronto Bach Festival, Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Georgetown Bach Chorale, 21C Festival, L’Orchestre de la Francophonie, Baltimore Baroque Band, Symphony Number One, Bel Cantati Opera, Aspen New Music Ensemble and Lucerne Festival Alumni Ensemble in addition to solo and chamber music performances in South Korea, Canada, United States, Austria, South Africa, India, China, Switzerland, Germany, France and Italy.
Toronto based cellist Margaret Gay leads a very active freelance career performing on both modern and period instruments. Margaret performs regularly with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, Opera Atelier, the Eybler Quartet (www.eyblerquartet.com), and Ensemble Polaris (www.ensemblepolaris.com), a group exploring the traditional music of various Nordic countries. She is the administrative and artistic director of the Gallery Players of Niagara (www.galleryplayers.ca), an organization presenting chamber music since 1995. From 2020-2023 she helped produce Evolution: Quartet an international programme at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Louise Hung’s first introduction to western classical music was hearing a rendition of Für Elise playing through the speakers of garbage trucks in Taiwan as a baby. She has a BMus in Piano Performance at the University of Victoria and her MMus in Piano Performance and Pedagogy program at the University of Toronto. She completed an ACP and MMus in Harpsichord Performance at UofT under the tutelage of Charlotte Nediger. Past engagements include North Wind Concerts, Hammer Baroque, Musicians in Ordinary, Stratford Summer Music Festival, Kingston Road Village concert series, Cor Unum ensemble, Opera Q, Corde del Coure, Theatre of Early Music, and Tafelmusik Winter Institute.
Canadian violinist Cristina Zacharias has been a core member of the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra since 2004. Frequently featured in solo and chamber music repertoire, she has performed extensively across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Cristina also appears annually at the Carmel Bach Festival, and can be heard on over 25 recordings for the ATMA, Analekta, CBC, BIS, Naxos and Tafelmusik Media labels. As an educator, Cristina is active in Tafelmusik’s training institutes as well as at the University of Toronto. Equally passionate about baroque, classical and modern repertoire, Cristina is a frequent collaborator, guest soloist and director with a diverse group of ensembles, including the Toronto Bach Festival, Theatre of Early Music, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, the Brandon Chamber Players. Cristina holds a Master's degree in music from McGill University.
Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Matthew Antal attended Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts where he began playing viola at age 12 because he was told “you look like a violist”. He holds a bachelor’s degree in viola performance from the University of Toronto under Katharine Rapoport and a master’s degree in viola performance from the University of Victoria under Joanna Hood. Matthew is a regular performer with several music ensembles including Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra/Opera Atelier, Theatre of Early Music, Elixir Ensemble, and Odin Quartet. He also holds an advanced certificate in early music performance from the University of Toronto where he studied with Patrick Jordan and Stefano Marcocchi.
Featured Program
Sonatas from op. 5 of Arcangelo Corelli and op. 3 of Teoderico Pedrini, trio sonatas from Corelli’s op.4, and works by Bononcini and Pasquini.