(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the distribution from Montreal’s acclaimed VB8 vocal ensemble. This recording are all being released on December 1.
VB8 (vocesboreales.org) has recorded its first CD, Winter Magic: A 21st Century Christmas (Magie d’hiver).Founded in 2006 and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Andrew Gray, Voces Boreales chamber choir has carved out an enviable position in the classical music world. In 2019, they created a new vocal octet, VB8, who’ve collaborated with artists like Quatuor Bozzini, BradyWorks and Karen Young. Their first album of songs for the festive season features almost all works written in the last 35 years, apart from two traditional French carols. The disc starts and ends with a favourite composer of the group, Arvo Part, and includes three Canadian composers: Elizabeth Ekholm, Louis Desjarlais and Benjamin Sigerson. The deliberate omission (for the most part) of traditional Christmas carols allows for year-round listening, yet is perfect for holiday traditions, a perfect backdrop to tree trimming or basking in the quietude of a Christmas morning.
Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt, peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).
(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Pianist Christine Vanderkooy presents a new album, Schubert: Late Piano Works, distributed by Leaf Music Distribution. Recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio during Toronto’s lockdown in December of 2020 on “Bertha” the nine-foot New York Steinway, the recording comprises two works composed by Schubert in the twilight of his life: Sonata in C-minor, D. 958 – the first from his late sonata trilogy – and Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946. While these works were long passed over following their creation in 1828, these deeply human compositions have been establishing their place as inimitable masterworks amongst pianists and audiences alike.
Written just a year following the death of his admired Beethoven, Schubert completed “some of his most sophisticated, poetic, and deeply felt works for the piano…permeating the deepest layers of the soul…moving us, sometimes with the masterful shift of just one note or rest, from the desolate to the sublime,” Christine writes in the liner notes.
Praised for her “sensitive and passionate artistic interpretation,” Christine Vanderkooy has performed as a soloist across Canada, the US and Europe. Her previous recording, Schubert and Schumann, enjoyed critical acclaim including a cover story for Tempo magazine. As well as radio play on CBC Radio and stations across the continent. Christine has been frequently invited to adjudicate festivals and competitions and has twice been invited to judge the Canadian JUNO Awards. Her national reputation as a piano pedagogue has led to workshops and masterclasses across the country.
Christine studied and taught at McGill University where she earned a Doctor of Music in Piano Performance. Her major teachers included David McIntyre, Boyd McDonald, Tom Plaunt, Sara Laimon and Marc Durand. She joined the University of Windsor in 2017 as Associate Professor of Music and Education.
The recording was made possible by funding from the University of Windsor, including a research start-up grant and the Research Stimulus Fund Grant from the Faculty of Education, as well as an SSHRC Exchange Grant.
Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt, peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).
Halifax, NS – Leaf Music Distribution announces the release of the cross Canada collaborative album, Shanties! LIVE, on May 6, 2022. Featuring the acclaimed La Nef (Montreal, QC), shanty master Seán Dagher, and the voices of Juno-nominated Chor Leoni (Vancouver, BC) under the direction of Erick Lichte, the high-energy album contains rollicking sea shanties, haunting laments, and exhilarating sea songs.
Shanties! LIVE was recorded live at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts in February 2020 at a performance presented by Early Music Vancouver. Originally conceived when members of La Nef were hired to sing sea shanties for Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, the program features songs of travel, adventure, and missing loved ones who are far away. The songs proved so addictive that La Nef presented them in concert in 2014, and its album, Sea Songs & Shanties, was released in 2017. La Nef has been touring this program ever since.
“Chor Leoni was the perfect instrument to bolster and complement our original crew,” says Seán Dagher, Musical and Artistic Co-Director of La Nef. “Our collaboration gave La Nef the opportunity to take the music even farther than we have on our voyage so far.” Seán is one of the most popular shanty experts and receives thousands of weekly views on his series Shanty of the Week.
“These songs are buoyant, driving and devilishly catchy, and the collaboration between the two ensembles takes them to a really grand scale,” says Erick Lichte, Artistic Director of Chor Leoni. “The concert recording does an excellent job of conveying the excitement of the program and the enthusiasm of the audience. We hope this album leaves you humming the tunes and thinking of adventures on the high seas.”
The 14-song tracklist of Shanties! LIVE includes pieces specifically re-arranged for the collaboration between La Nef and the men’s choir, with new sections and new textures to fully exploit the possibilities offered by the combined ensemble. Soloists featured on the album include: Seán Dagher,voice/cittern; Nils Brown,tenor; Michiel Schrey,tenor; Clayton Kennedy,baritone; David Gossage,flutes/percussion/voice; Nelson Carter,violin/voice/percussion; and Bill Gossage,double bass/voice.
The album will be available for purchase and streaming online, and through Chor Leoni and La Nef beginning on May 6.
Known internationally and loved locally, JUNO-nominated Chor Leoni is recognized as one of the vanguard male vocal ensembles in North America. Founded by the late choral luminary Diane Loomer and now led by Artistic Director Erick Lichte, Vancouver’s Singing Lions have enriched and transformed people’s lives through singing for 30 years. With stylistic grace and an adventurous spirit, Chor Leoni performs in many languages, styles and genres, always aiming to communicate, engage, and entertain.
La Nef is an ensemble that creates and produces music ranging from early music and ancient oral traditions to contemporary world music. Their creative approach to an array of distinctive styles has given them a unique musical signature. Their Musical Director and Artistic Co-director, Seán Dagher, is a composer and musical director also well-known for his “Shanty of the Week” video series.
MEDIA CONTACT: Catherine Little | catherine@leaf-music.ca |902-579-9474
Halifax-based Leaf Music Distribution is excited to announce SHANTIES! LIVE from La Nef and Chor Leoni. This high-energy album features sea songs and shanties of all kinds from a one-night-only collaboration of these two choirs. Performed at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts in Vancouver, this program features arrangements and vocal orchestrations by Seán Dagher. These catchy sea songs speak of travel, adventure and missing loved ones who are far away.
The Bombadils release their single “Losing Track of Time” from upcoming album Dear Friend.
For Immediate Release…January 21, 2022
Leaf Music Distribution is pleased to announce the single release, “Losing Track of Time” by The Bombadils.
“Losing Track of Time” transports us to the moment when stars align, guards come down, and we connect more deeply with someone than we ever knew we could. The moment is fleeting and we want to hang onto it before it slips away… we want to cherish the warmth, vulnerability, and gentle attentiveness between two strangers.
“Losing Track of Time” is the first single off The Bombadils’ forthcoming full-length album, Dear Friend, set for release in the spring of 2022. It will be The Bombadils’ first full-length album release since their move to Atlantic Canada and launch into new parenthood, a new city, and a global pandemic. Recorded in North End Halifax with engineer Graeme Campbell between lockdowns and daycare pick-ups, Dear Friendis a series of love letters to family and friends, to strangers and neighbours, to cities and landscapes, and to each other.
Canadian Folk Music Award nominees The Bombadils bring together bluegrass, Celtic, and singer-songwriter traditions with front-porch style and classical grace. Canadian arts journalist Bob Mersereau describes their music as “folk tunes done with musical adventure and sophistication” and Elmore Magazine calls it “an enchanting folk romp.”
The Bombadils met in 2009 while studying music at McGill University in Montreal, Québec. In the years to follow, they began recording and touring throughout Canada, and internationally. Tour highlights include Koerner Hall in Toronto, ON, Tivoli Gardens in Denmark, and Wintergrass music festival outside Seattle, WA. In 2015 they released a full-length album, “Grassy Roads, Wandering Feet,” quickly followed by “New Shoes” in 2016 which was nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards and won Folk Music Ontario’s Album of the Year award.
The Bombadils: Losing Tracks of Time Release date: January 21, 2022 Physical/Digital Release Stream/Purchase HERE
Accomplished Nova Scotian Cellist Catherine Little is pleased to present: Taking Five, released through Halifax-based Leaf Music Distribution. Little is on a mission to build a bridge to classical music with the debut release.The pieces she chose to record have relatable melodies, harmonies and emotional language that is sure to resonate with audiences; they have hooks, are ‘singable’, and an inviting warmth. The entire project is a friendly and enticing invitation into the world of classical music, with the hope of leaving audiences asking for more.
A release event for Taking Five will be taking place at the Cole Harbour Woodside United Church, Cole Harbour, Sunday November 28, at 3PM. Catherine will be joined by album collaborator Gregory Myra, performing all five tracks from the album, as well as some additional pieces. Tickets are available on Catherine’s website, www.catherinelittle.com/tickets
(Album Art by Lisa at Scribble and Script Calligraphy and designed by Rebecca at Paper Chain Stationery)
Cellist Catherine Little is on a mission to build a bridge to classical music. She is no stranger to other genres- she’s played with the likes of rocker Rod Stewart and has recorded pop, folk, blues and rap. Born and raised in Nova Scotia, she’s had the advantage of living in a rich song and celtic culture too. This varied exposure has given her a unique perspective on music and audiences.
Catherine has an Honours Bachelor of Music degree from Wilfrid Laurier University (2007), and a Master’s in Music Performance from the Université de Montréal (2010)..Little has performed with the cello sections of The National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Montreal’s Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia under conductors Yoav Talmi, Lorraine Vaillancourt, Bernhard Gueller, and Baldur Brönnimann.
Catherine was the solo “pit” cellist for seven musicals at Halifax’s Neptune Theatre and has played on stage with pop acts like Jenn Grant and Il Divo. Between 2012 and 2020, she gave numerous classical string duo, quartet and piano trio concerts. Other projects of note include performing as a cello duo for Phin Dance’s The Grand Hotel in 2013, and in 2016, The Bells of Baddeck, A Music Drama, and Handel’s baroque opera, Rodelinda (Halifax Opera Festival).
November 19, 2021 (Halifax) – Leaf Music Distribution is pleased to present Canadian viola soloist Pemi Paull’s debut album, Musicum Umbrarum. The album features five solo works by 20th and 21st century composers Mahler / Ljova, Ligeti, Finnissy, Godin, and Enescu. Musicum Umbrarum will be available on all streaming platforms November 19, 2021.
Musicum Umbrarum represents a unique collection of music for solo viola, featuring works adapted to the instrument (Enescu, Mahler), a recently commissioned piece for the viola by the Canadian composer Scott Godin, and two late- 20th century masterpieces: Obrecht Motetten III by Michael Finnissy, and, perhaps the most challenging and monumental work for the viola, the sonata for solo viola by György Ligeti.
The Whole Note writes: “The central work on the CD is the towering Sonata for Viola Solo by György Ligeti. A relatively late work from 1991-94 it has a fascinating and original construction: a first movement played entirely on the low C string; a second of frantic double stops; a third movement of torment and struggle; a muted perpetual motion fourth; a fifth mostly in parallel seconds and sevenths; and a Chaconne chromatique to finish.Paull meets every challenge with ease and authority.”
Pemi Paull has been performing extensively as a soloist and chamber musician, nationally and internationally, for more than 20 years, cultivating deep roots in Canada’s contemporary, historical, chamber music and improvised music communities, as well as Montreal’s indie community. Pemi’s activities have brought him to the forefront of Canada’s contemporary music world, as artistic director of Montreal-based Warhol Dervish, a genre bending chamber music collective, and he collaborates frequently with two important new music ensembles, Bradyworks and SMCQ, and was previously a member of the pioneering KORE ensemble, led by Michael Oesterle and Marc Couroux.
In the sphere of historical performance, Pemi is a member of Ensemble Caprice, with whom he has recorded nine albums, winning one Juno (Canadian Grammy) in the process, as well as recordings with Arion, Theatre of Early Music, and Notturna, among others.
“I’m thrilled that Leaf Music is launching ‘Leaf Music Distribution,’ our new distribution service. This platform will help broaden the number of artists we can serve and, notably, support emerging artists, composers, and ensembles to reach new audiences.
Leaf Music is pleased to announce the company’s new distribution service: Leaf Music Distribution. The new service is a Naxos of America distributed label, and assists clients in delivering their music through major digital retailers and streaming platforms.
Leaf Music has offered marketing and publicity services to artists working with other labels and distributors for many years. Sometimes, we encountered distribution problems outside our control that led to costly delays. We hope to put those days behind us. Offering access to the same high-quality and reliable content services as the artists on our roster through Leaf Music Distribution increases the value we can provide to all our clients.”-– Jeremy VanSlyke, owner – Leaf Music
November 19, 2021, marks the first two releases under Leaf Music Distribution.
Pemi Paull, Montreal based violist, releases his debut album Musicum Umbrarum. The album features five solo works by 20th and 21st century composers Mahler / Ljova, Ligeti, Finnissy, Godin, and Enescu. Musicum Umbrarum will be available on all streaming platforms November 19, 2021. Paull’s release announcement can be found HERE
Catherine Little, Halifax based Cellist, releases her debut EP Taking Fivewith pianist Gregory Myra. Little is on a mission to build a bridge to classical music with the debut release.The pieces she chose to record have relatable melodies, harmonies and emotional language that is sure to resonate with audiences. Little’s announcement can be found HERE
