ECMA Classical Showcase
Celebrate this year’s ECMA nominees for Classical Recording of the Year and Classical Composition of the Year. This event is presented in partnership with Debut Atlantic and is free to the public. ECMA award-nominated performers include duo Maureen Batt & Grej, pianist Jennifer King, the Saint John String Quartet, guitarist Adam Cicchillitti, cellis Catherine Little and pianist Greg Myra, plus works by composer Adam Clarke and other nominated composers. Join us!
Venue:
The Playhouse
686 Queen St.
Fredericton, NB
E3B 1C2
Amy Brandon*
Adam Vincent Clarke*
Clifford Crawley*
Grej
Monica Pearce*
*Denotes CMC Associate Composer
Daniel Cabena and Stephen Runge – A Sanctuary in Song
Mark Fewer – Rossini: 6 Sonate A Quattro
Maureen Batt & Grej – Lighthouse
Sarah Hagen – Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations
Steve Cowan and Adam Cicchillitti – Intimate Impressions
2022 ECMA Classical Showcase Performers
Maureen Batt, soprano
Maureen Batt focuses on celebrating new music by collaborating with composers to commission, première, and re-perform their works. Her discography includes JUNO-nominated Breathing in the Shadows; ECMA-nominated albums Lighthouse (with Grej), Aunt Helen, and Lady of the Lake; and Mirror, Mirror.
Celebrated for her “rich, warm sound and masterful acting” (Opera Canada), Maureen has created many Canadian opera roles. She is the co-artistic director of Essential Opera (founded in 2010). In 2015, Maureen founded Crossing Borders, a contemporary Western art music recital series which has toured the United States, Canada, and Colombia.
Her commissions, productions, and albums have received support from the SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, SSHRC, FACTOR, Music Nova Scotia, and Arts Nova Scotia. She is also on the national board for the Canadian Music Centre. Maureen has regularly been on faculty at the Halifax Summer Opera Festival, she is a frequent festival adjudicator, and she offers masterclasses and workshops on voice and movement. Maureen has an MMus from the University of Toronto, a BMus from Dalhousie University, and a BA from St. Thomas University. maureenbatt.com
Jennifer King, pianist
Energetic and insightful, Jennifer King is a versatile pianist who is equally at home as a soloist or a collaborator on the concert stage. With a career spanning almost three decades, she has established herself as a sought-after performer and recording artist in the region. She performs with many respected soloists and multidisciplinary artists throughout the Maritimes.
Jennifer’s recent album, O Mistress Moon: Canadian Edition, released January 2022 with funding from Factor and Music Nova Scotia, has been featured on eight Apple Music playlists and was the number one track for Piano Spheres on Tidal. Her debut album was nominated for an ECMA and Music Nova Scotia 2019 award for Classical Recording of the Year and her EP, Doolittle: Minute Etudes “Excerpts” (Live), from 2019, was nominated for Classical Composition of the Year for ECMA 2021.
In October 2020, Jennifer released an independent album, Twilight Hour: Collected Stories for Piano, with an animated film created by filmmaker/animator/ singer Katrina Westin. The video project was funded by a Digital Originals grant from the Canada Council of the Arts.
Adam Cicchillitti, guitar
There were several media accolades over the past years for Montreal-born guitarist Adam Cicchillitti. The renowned American magazine Classical Guitar called him “a virtuoso at the top of his game” and CBC Music describes him as an “ardent ambassador for classical guitar.” Adam has commissioned over two dozen new works since 2019 and recorded three albums with the Analekta record label. His album Focus, dedicated to new Canadian music for two guitars, was awarded “Classical Recording of the Year” at the East Coast Music Awards in 2021.His album Intimate Impressions was nominated in the same category the following year. Adam regularly collaborates with guitarist Steve Cowan, having performed across Canada with the Prairie Debut and Debut Atlantic touring agencies. In 2022, the duo will premiere six new concerti for two guitars and the Ottawa-based chamber orchestra Thirteen Strings. They were awarded 3rdprize as finalists at the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America International Ensemble Competition in 2021.Adamwill release his first guitar and flute album on the Leaf Mislabeling early-2023, this time with Canadian flautist Lara Deutsch. He is only the second guitarist to win the grand prize of the prestigious concerto competition Festival-concours de musique de Sherbrooke and has been a finalist and multiple-prize winner in over a dozen national and international competitions. He is a specialist in child pedagogy, is the founder of the guitar school at Ottawa Suzuki Strings, is a member of the ensemble Forestare, and is currently completing a doctorate in music performance at McGill University supported by les Fonds de recherche de Québec.
Grej, composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer
Toronto-based percussionist and Dora-nominated composer Gregory Harrison is emerging as one of Canada’s finest talents in contemporary music. His extensive resume spans artists and groups including Jeremy Dutcher, Cirque du Soleil, Video Games Live, R. Murray Schafer, and Fred Penner. He has performed extensively internationally at notable venues such as Massey Hall, NPR Tiny Desk Concerts, the JUNO’s, and The Kennedy Center. Described as a “percussion & electronics wizard” (Bob Boilen – NPR Music), Harrison’s performative and compositional style merge his classical music background with his passion for electronic music.
In recent years, Harrison’s commissions have been coveted by Kaeja d’Dance, ProArte Danza, Toronto Dance Theatre, Human Body Expression, Architek Percussion, Fifth Wind Quintet, CCDT, Dr. Morris Palter (University of Arizona), Popular Demand Pictures Inc., NB Tourism, and Division 85 Films. Harrison is also co-founder of his groups Mear and Taktus marimba duo. Grejmusic.com
Saint John String Quartet
For over 30 years the Saint John String Quartet [SJSQ] has stood among Canada’s leading chamber music ensembles. Renowned for its flexibility, SJSQ is equally comfortable collaborating with blues artists and rock superstars, and performing Classical masterworks on its own.
SJSQ performs over 125 concerts annually and serves as musicians-in-residence for both Symphony New Brunswick and the University of New Brunswick. It has performed for numerous heads of state and at prestigious venues the world over, including many countries in the Far East, Europe, and South America.
With many recordings to its credit, SJSQ has earned a Juno nomination [Classical Composition of the Year], and won an East Coast Music Award [Best Classical Album of the Year] and a Music NB award [Best Album of the Year]. Its albums feature new and innovative works and under-appreciated classical gems.
Recognized for many ground-breaking achievements, including its leadership and contributions to musical development in New Brunswick, SJSQ presented the first chamber music concert on the World Wide Web.
Catherline Little, cello
Greg Myra, piano
