Étoiles montantes / Rising Stars

Par/by Danielle Dubois / March 16, 2005

La Scena Musicale a une tradition de présentation des jeunes musiciens canadiens, tels que Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Marie-Nicole Lemieux et James Ehnes, alors que leur talent est en pleine ascension. Pour cette première édition de notre dossier annuel Étoiles montantes, nous avons demandé aux principales écoles de musique du Canada de nous présenter leurs étudiants les plus prometteurs. Voici nos choix parmi les réponses que nous avons reçues.

La Scena Musicale has had a tradition of featuring young Canadian musicians, such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Marie-Nicole Lemieux and James Ehnes, at the ascent of their talents. In our first annual Rising Stars feature, we contacted Canada's major music schools to recommend their most promising students, from which we find an ecletic cast.

Sean Rice, clarinetist
age: 21
hometown: St. John's, NL
school: Memorial University
teacher: Paul Bendozsa
favourite performers: Kimball Sykes, James Campbell, Richard Stoltzman

Sean Rice likes to perform music that pushes his limits. "Beethoven and Mozart are greats but I like to present balanced programs with a variety of pieces," says the lover of contemporary music, whose favourite piece is Aaron Copland's Concerto for Clarinet and Strings.

"Work ethics are key," adds Rice. Having set his sights on a solo career, the two-time National Music Festival winner certainly does not lack performance experience. In 2003, he performed with Symphony Nova Scotia at the National Arts Centre and was invited to give his own concert in the Canadian capital. "The audience was great," recalls Rice, who finds auditions much more nerve-racking than performances. His immediate plans are to complete his Bachelor in Music Performance, after which he intends to pursue a Master's and a Doctorate degree in Music. "I'm expanding my technique and I still have a lot to learn," says Rice, who tries to practice between 4 and 5 hours a day.

Nicolas Bernier, compositeur (musique électroacoustique)
âge : 27
ville : Hull, QC
école : Université de Montréal
professeurs : Robert Normandeau, Jean Piché

compositeurs préférés : Maurizio Martusciello (Italie), Robert Normandeau, Louis Dufort, Gilles Gobeil, Francis Dhomont, Stéphane Roy, Martin Bédard (d'Amours métal), Luc Ferrari, Serge Gainsbourg

« À chaque fois que je gagne un prix ou qu'une de mes pièces est sélectionnée pour un festival, je suis bouche bée », raconte Nicolas Bernier, qui a d'abord essayé d'approfondir ses connaissances sur la musique électroacoustique en lisant des traités. Moins de cinq ans plus tard, il ne cesse de décrocher prix et stages un peu partout.

Son approche de la composition est simple : « Je crois que le meilleur sort quand la composition se fait rapidement et intensément. » Il affirme fonctionner d'abord avec ses oreilles; le travail intellectuel vient plus tard.

Nicolas est reconnaissant envers ses amis, qui lui font découvrir des musiques qui ne sont pas étudiées à l'université. Bien que certains d'entre eux considèrent sa musique abstraite, ils sont capables de l'apprécier.

De l'enthousiasme, Nicolas en a en réserve, pour une carrière qu'il entrevoit comme hétéroclite. « Je veux toucher à tout tout tout ! Musique acousmatique, musique électro plus populaire, installation, vidéo, développement d'outils, etc. » À plus long terme, Nicolas souhaite développer la scène culturelle dans sa région natale de l'Outaouais. Son prochain projet: une installation avec haut-parleurs et vidéo sous l'eau, dans une piscine. « Un projet très excitant, qui nous permettra de renouveler nos maillots de bain ! », affirme-t-il.

Marie-Ève Poupart, violoniste
âge : 17 ans
ville : Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC
école : Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal
professeurs : Angèle Dubeau, Anne Robert, Johanne Arel
interprètes préférés : David Oistrakh, Jascha Heifetz, Midori
répertoire préféré : Romantique, baroque, moderne

Bien que plusieurs juges lui aient fait le commentaire qu'une belle carrière s'ouvrait devant elle, ce n'est que cette année que Marie-Ève Poupart a commencé à les prendre au sérieux.

Elle ne manque pourtant pas d'expérience. Marie-Ève s'est déjà produite comme soliste avec l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM), l'Orchestre symphonique de Longueil et l'Ensemble Amati, entre autres. « J'adore aller sur scène. Quand on sent le public réagir, c'est vraiment agréable », raconte la violoniste qui remportait récemment la bourse « Paul Merkelo » à la 65e édition du concours de l'OSM.

« Après mes prestations, les gens me remercient souvent pour les beaux après-midi ou les belles soirées que je leur fais passer », ajoute Marie-Ève qui dit s'efforcer que chaque note soit belle.

Une fois ses études au Conservatoire terminées, Marie-Ève compte se rendre aux États-Unis ou en Europe afin de se perfectionner avec de grands maîtres. Et pour la suite ? « Des voyages à travers le monde et des concerts dans le plus de pays possible. »

Jessica Muirhead, soprano
age: 23
hometown: Aurora, ON
school: McGill

teachers: Lucile Evans (voice teacher), Robert K. Evans and Michael McMahon (coaches) favourite composers: Mozart, Strauss

For Jessica Muirhead, performing is in large part about being honest. "I only want to perform music that I love because otherwise I feel like such a fraud!" says the soprano, who makes a point of analyzing music and researching the prose before she chooses her repertoire. "In the long run, my main objective is to stay true to myself and to the music," adds Muirhead. Her main obstacle is being objective about her own performances.

A fan of Renée Fleming and Joan Sutherland, Muirhead is determined to have an international career. "Twenty years from now I would still like to be performing but I could also see myself starting up my own voice studio," she says. Muirhead will be beginning her Master's degree in the fall. Coming up is a performance of Beethoven's Mass in C Major and Dvorak's Te Deum with Cantabile in Lachine. Muirhead will also be busy learning Pamina for her European operatic debut in Vienna with the Volksoper Wien set for next December.

Mark Laver, jazz saxophonist
age: 22
hometown: Scarborough, ON
school: University of Toronto
teachers: Kirk MacDonald, Alex Dean, Mike Murley, Len McCarthy, Phil Nimmons
favourite composers: Debussy, Ravel, Benjamin Britten, Steve Reich, Thad Jones, Gil Evans, Phil Nimmons
favourite jazz players: Lee Konitz, Paul Desmond, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Frisell, Ed Bickert

Mark Laver appreciates the flexibility of jazz. "I played the first Bach Cello Suite on alto in a concert in Cookstown, and we did a group improvisation based on the theme from Bach's The Art of the Fugue," he says. A member of the See Through Trio and the Toronto Jazz Orchestra, Laver still gets the jitters before getting up on stage. "I think I usually perform best if I'm a little bit on edge, at least initially."

Although he loves performing, Laver thinks his future has other things in store for him. "I'd like to be able to balance an academic and a performance career. I think that I would feel very unfulfilled and unhappy if I were to give up either one." Teaching during the year, touring during the summer, and a little composing in between – why not? "I've recently written a piece for saxophone quartet based on the fourth movement of T.S. Eliot's 'The Wasteland,' and a setting of Eliot's 'Marina,'" says the self-professed avid reader. And after all, in jazz, anything is possible.

Sasa Gerzelj, pianist
age: 28
hometown: Maribor, Slovenia

school: Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto

main Teachers: Walter Kamper (Vienna), John Perry (Toronto)

favorite composers: Schumann, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Stravinsky

favorite interpreters: Vladimir Horowitz, Alfrel Brendel, Claudio Arrau

Sasa Gerzelj finds inspiration everywhere. "I just try to have my ears, eyes and soul as open as possible. Life itself is like a huge encyclopedia; you can find almost everything if you look hard enough," she says. Gerzelj, a concert pianist in training, made her debut with an orchestra in Slovenia in 1992. This paved the way for solo recitals, recordings for RTV Slovenia, ORF (Austria), RNE (Spain), as well as solo performances in festivals around the world.

And the pace isn't letting up. This year Gerzelj played Strauss' Burleske with the Rotterdam Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Conrad von Alphen. She also recently recorded a CD produced by RNE, Music for two Pianos, with duo partner Regulo Martinez, also a student at the Glenn Gould School.

"The main thing is to prepare myself really well so that I feel confident. But when I play, I just let the music take hold and I try to be honest. And when I do that, the public appreciates it."

Gerzelj has followed master classes with teachers John Perry, Leon Fleisher, Marc Durand, Jacob Lateiner and S.I. Gadzijev, among others. Although her focus is her performing career, she has given teaching some thought. "I think it is something I will enjoy."

Rebecca and Richelle Kruisselbrink, pianists
age: 20 and 19 years old
hometown: Tara, ON
school: Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo
teacher: Anya Alexeyev
favourite interpreters: piano duo James Anagnoson and Leslie Kinton
favourite repertoire: Romantic

Rebecca and Richelle Kruisselbrink might be proof that talent has something to do with genes. Respectively in their fourth and third year of the Honours Music Program, the two share almost everything, including concerts. They made their orchestral debut performing Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos with the Georgian Bay Symphony (GBS) in February 2003, as well as Victor Davies' Mennonite Piano Concerto. In October 2004, their sister Renee joined them in a performance of Mozart's Three-piano Concerto, again with the GBS.

Although Rebecca and Richelle are very committed to music, the chemistry and physics lab partners hope to study medicine. The way they see it, a medical career, although demanding, does not rule out a musical one. Already experienced soloists, the pair has played a number of concerts, often benefit ones, in Canada and the Unites States. They are sometimes joined by the other four Kruisselbrink sisters, also musicians and singers. Their secret? "We set goals, manage our time well and get up early," say the sisters, who are very thankful they have such a supportive family.

Heather Hindman, composer
age: 28
hometown: Edmonton
school: University of Alberta
teachers: Howard Bashaw and Laurie Radford
favourite composers: Ligeti, R. Murray, Beethoven, Liszt, Messiaen

"The sounds we hear each day, the mass media we are bombarded with, the actions and reactions of individuals in our society, the effects of technology and capitalistic greed" – it is from these phenomena that Heather Hindman draws inspiration for her works. Composing is for her both a personal and difficult experience. "I need to have a clear idea of a piece before I write a note, aesthetically, musically, and formally," says the winner of a 2004 SOCAN award.

It is by exploring different artistic environments that Hindman sees new music developing its social and cultural understanding of contemporary society, something she deems essential. She herself would like to explore as many of these environments as possible, composing for dance, theater, installations, in addition to concert music. As she searches for a style that is uniquely hers, she continues to reflect on the education needed for people to value new music. For the moment, she is busy writing a collection of pieces for solo saxophone, and tackling her first choral composition before she begins a Master's degree in composition in the fall.

Amir Koushkani, Performer (Tar) and Composer
age: 35 ans
hometown: Teheran, Iran
school: Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC
teacher: Owen Underhill
favourite composers: Stravinsky, Bartók, Berlioz, Beethoven

Why would a man, a master of the tar with years of musical study behind him, return to university to study music?

"I wanted to learn about classical music," says Amir Koushkani, who is finishing up a BA in music composition.

Classes in harmony and orchestration gave him the tools he needed to write his Concerto no. 1 for Tar and Orchestra, which the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performed last March.

"When people were crying after the performance, I knew I transferred some of the feeling."

Although he's the first to admit his performing abilities far surpass his composing ones – he has played in a number of ensembles and has already recorded four CDs of persian music – Koushkani has some definite goals with respect to his newly acquired knowledge. "I want to compose for orchestras and play in them," he says. Koushkani, who also plays the sitar and sings, draws inspiration from his past, spirituality and poetry. "It has to be unique, I never use another person's music."

Coming up: two concerts with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, which commissioned a piece with him as soloist for the occasion.

Victoria Medeiros, soprano
age: 19
hometown: 100 Mile House
school: Victoria Conservatory of Music (VCM)
teacher: Joanne Hounsell
favourite repertoire: French art song

"Music is my goal and I will pursue it any way that I can," says Victoria Meideros, who is just finishing up her diploma at the VCM. The first step will be obtaining a Bachelor in Performance from either McGill or the University of Toronto and then doing a Master's degree. When asked where she'll be in ten years, Meideros doesn't hesitate long: "Probably studying." A fan of Renée Fleming, she sees herself eventually migrating to Europe or the US in order to perfect her voice.

For inspiration, she looks to teacher Joanne Hounsell, who has helped define the route she wants her singing to take. Meideros's predilection at the moment is for the songs of Poulenc, Debussy and Satie. "I love the textures and the atmosphere in the music as well as the symbolism in the poetry," declares the soprano of Portuguese descent. "Singing keeps the rest of my life in balance."

Meideros has placed on different occasions at the Provincial Festival of the Arts.