Jeff Reilly, bass clarinet
“Reilly’s performance (in the ECM recording of the Lamenations of Jeremiah) is gripping: his use of extended techniques add moments of sudden rawness to a beautifully full tone that masterfully conveys the image of the lone prophet Jeremiah”. The Classical Review, UK
“Jeff Reilly is an undisputed master of the Bass Clarinet who has gone to the end to explore its sonic universe.” Halifax Chronicle Herald
“The virtuoso clarinettist Jeff Reilly extends his cadenzas across the history of sound, from monotony to modernism, in a performance that is dominant and often hypnotic” Norman Lebrecht
Jeff Reilly leads a multifaceted life as a bass clarinettist, composer, conductor, a CBC radio music producer, and as a radio documentary maker.
The pure emotional accessibility of his rich, lyrical performance and compositional style reminds us that extended techniques, avant-garde sonorities and complex forms of notation can be executed within the service of musicality and sensitivity. His approach to music blurs any simple distinctions between improvisation and composition, and does so with a musicality and sensitivity that reminds us that such distinctions are moot.
As an ECM recording artist he has an international reputation as an innovative master of the bass clarinet. He has performed with choirs, orchestras and chamber groups, in music festivals, cathedrals and concert halls around the world – Shanghai, Paris, London, New York, St Petersburg, Moscow, Riga, Toronto, Montreal and more.
Jeff Reilly is the resident conductor of the Halifax based Upstream Orchestra. His trio Sanctuary (with organist Peter Togni, and cellist Christoph Both) has received international praise for its transcendental performances of an entirely unique form of contemporary music. Jeff Reilly also composes, records, tours and performs with the jazz drummer Jerry Granelli, and in the Halifax based ensemble subText. As an improvising soloist, he has performed with I Musici de Montreal, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Elmer Iseler Singers, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and in various other groups across Canada, the United States and in the U.K.
Recent performances of his compositions include “Meditations on Innocence” with the Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan Orchestra, “Chiaroscuro” for Symphony Nova Scotia, and “Internal Combustion” with the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra and Mark Duggan, soloist.
He has recorded with Warner Classics and his first CD with ECM records as a soloist with the Elmer Iseler singers was released internationally in the spring of 2010. His next two major projects, an independent release with the trio SANCTUARY, and an international release of a new work for 4 voices and solo bass clarinet called RESPONSIO, are scheduled for release in the spring and fall of 2014.
As a CBC producer he has produced over 6,000 hours of radio programming, including 4 multi-episode documentaries on issues in contemporary music for the program IDEAS, he has also produced over 300 concert recordings of classical, jazz, world and contemporary music, over 70 studio sessions and 20 CD’s of Canadian Jazz and Classical music, including releases on CBC records, Tafelmusik Media (Messiah, 2012) Warner Classics UK, Centrediscs and NAXOS.
Jeff Reilly lives in Halifax with his wife and twin daughters, and is the CBC senior producer of music production for the Atlantic Region.
Keith Hamm, viola
A native of Rosebud, Alberta, Keith Hamm is the Principal Violist of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra.
Keith received his training at The Glenn Gould School of Music under the instruction of Steven Dann, and at the Mount Royal Conservatory under Nicholas Pulos. Other influences include Pinchas Zukerman, Mark Fewer, the London Haydn Quartet, and formative summers at the Chamber Music Programme at Le Domaine Forget.
Keith is an alumnus of the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove, the Sarasota Music Festival, and Masterclasses at The Banff Centre. He has been featured on CBC Radio, Classical 96.3 and has been named one of Canada’s Hottest 30 Classical Musicians Under 30 by CBC.
A dedicated chamber musician, Keith has performed at the Ravinia Festival as guest violist with The Royal Conservatory’s ARC Ensemble and the Amici Ensemble. Festival appearences include the SweetWater Music Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, Music & Beyond, Westben Concerts, and Chatter in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Keith is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Rosebud Chamber Music Festival in Rosebud, Alberta, Canada. He performs on a viola made by in 2001 by Joseph Curtin and a bow by James Tubbs.
Beverley Johnston, vibraphone/percussion
Beverley Johnston is one of Canada’s leading percussionists. Over the years, she has commissioned and performed many works by leading Canadian composers some of which have become a staple of the standard percussion repertory around the world. In honour of her exemplary commitment to the performance of the music of Canadian composers, she has been awarded the distinction of “Canadian Music Centre Ambassador”.
Her exceptional stage presence, her remarkable virtuosity and musicianship have established her reputation beyond the border of her native Canada, where she tours and performs frequently as a soloist and chamber musician. She has been invited to numerous internationally renowned marimba and percussion festivals over the years. She has recorded six solo CD’s and can be heard as soloist and chamber musician on many other recordings. Her recordings are available from the Canadian Music Centre and iTunes.
Beverley teaches at the University of Toronto and is a MARIMBA ONE and PAISTE artist.