Celebration of Small Ensembles - May 4

Music Toronto invites you to the Celebration of Small Ensembles – ancient, classic and 21st century music boldly curated and performed by small ensembles. A new space for social gathering and musical discovery. All curious listeners are welcome.

Celebration of Small Ensembles events will take place in the afternoon on Saturday April 6th, May 4th, and June 1st. Please note that this page is for tickets to the May 4th event only.

We are also offering a 3-Concert Pass for $90. If you would like to purchase the pass instead, please to visit that ticket purchase page.

Cristina Prats-Costa, violin
Julia Wedman, violin
Michael Unterman, violoncello
Charlotte Nediger, harpsichord

A program exploring the music of baroque homebodies and travellers. Composers Isabella Leonarda, Barbara Strozzi and Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre all created incredible music close to home. Antonio Caldara and Maddalena Laura Lombardini Sirmen began their careers in Strozzi’s hometown of Venice and travelled throughout Europe. Caldara spent time in Barcelona and Vienna, and Sirmen toured all over Europe, from London to Amsterdam, and from St Petersburg to Jaquet de la Guerre’s hometown of Paris.

Antonio Caldara (1670-1736) - Trio Sonata in E minor, Op.1 No. 5
Grave - Vivace - Grave - Vivace. Adagio
Maddalena Laura Lombardini Sirmen (1745-1818) - Duetto for Two Violins in C major, Op. 5 No. 6
Allegro - Allegro Brillante
Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704) - Sonata terza, op 16
Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) - “Mentita” arranged for 2 violins, Op. 3 No. 8
Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729) - Trio Sonata in D major
Grave, vivace e presto - Allegro - Allegro - Aria Affetuoso - Allegro

Daniel Dastoor, violin
David Liam Roberts, cello
Godwin Friesen, piano

"You have made a child of me," says the man in Richard Dehmel's poem "Transfigured Night" — "You have brought the shine into me." Another poet many centuries earlier had a similar experience: "I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother is my soul within me.” Both texts have been set to music. Each piece wordlessly evokes a transformation from carrying the weight of the world to the radiant contentment of childlikeness.

Godwin Friesen - Psalm 131 for Piano Trio (2024, world premiere)
I - My heart is not proud
II - Matters too lofty for me
III - Like a weaned child
IV - Put your hope in the Lord

Schoenberg (arr. Steuermann 1899) - Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night)

Described in The Strad magazine as a “quartet leader playing with uncommon sensitivity”, Spanish violinist Cristina Prats-Costa is a vibrant musician honoured to have been elected Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM), London, in 2019. She has performed with Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century (Amsterdam), Holland Baroque, Finnish Baroque, Brecon Baroque, The English Concert, Arcangelo Ensemble (London), L’Harmonie des Saisons (Montreal), Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Toronto Bach Festival (Toronto). Cristina is currently finishing a Master of Music in Historical Performance at The Juilliard School in NY, is a New Ensemblist with Arcangelo Ensemble (London) and is giving her Wigmore Hall debut in July. She previously studied at The Royal Academy of Music, The Guildhall and The Hague Conservatory. Co-founder and first violin of the Alauda Quartet, recorded the complete string quartets by Roffredo Caetani. Cristina is first prize and public prize winner at the International Chamber Music Competition “Massimiliano Antonelli” in Italy and at the Orlando International Competition.

Violinist Julia Wedman (juliawedman.com) grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and has been a member of the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in 2005. She quickly developed a reputation for her solo performances with the group, and in addition to being featured regularly on the group’s home series in Toronto, Julia has performed solos on tours in Canada, the US, Germany, France, Mexico, Puerto Rico, China, Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. She was a long-time member of I FURIOSI and is currently in the Eybler String Quartet. She is the concertmaster of L’Harmonie des Saisons (Montreal) and was recently named Principal Baroque Leader of Symphony Nova Scotia. Her new album of the Solo Sonatas and Partitas of J.S. Bach was released in November, 2023.

Michael Unterman, a cellist born and raised in Vancouver, BC, is a recent addition to Tafelmusik’s roster, joining the orchestra in January of 2023. He is also a core member of the string chamber orchestra A Far Cry and serves as principal cellist of Boston Baroque, earning Grammy nominations with both groups in 2019. Of late he has performed and recorded with ensembles including Arion Baroque Orchestra, the Cramer Quartet, Ensemble Caprice, the Knights, Ruckus, and the Thirteen, and has enjoyed past stints as a member of the Portland Baroque Orchestra and as Artistic Director of Five Boroughs Music Festival, where he worked to present chamber music in venues across New York City.

As a performer, Charlotte Nediger’s first love is playing continuo in an orchestral and/or choral setting, something she’s been delighted to do with Tafelmusik since joining the orchestra in 1980 at age 21. She also works being the scenes as Assistant to the Artistic Directors, Librarian, and Program Editor, and oversees Tafelmusik’s Artist Training programs, notably as Artistic Coordinator of the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute. A native of southwestern Ontario, Charlotte holds Bachelor and Master degrees from Western University in London and a Solo Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in the Netherlands. She teaches at the University of Toronto.

Brought together by their shared passion for chamber music and musical narrative, the Rilian Trio is composed of three of Canada’s leading young musicians—pianist Godwin Friesen, violinist Daniel Dastoor, and cellist David Liam Roberts—who joined forces in 2021 at the Glenn Gould School (GGS) of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. In September 2023, they were awarded the first prize, the audience prize, and the prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned piece at the 12th Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition.

Upcoming engagements include debuts in Oslo and Trømsø, Norway; Waterloo, Belgium; and Niagara, Canada. The 2024-25 season will also see the trio return to Trondheim as festival artists at the Trondheim Kammermusikkfestival.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Aperture Room, 340 Yonge Street, Toronto, Canada