Barrie Concerts & Georgian Music

Born out of one of the most acclaimed and appreciated chamber music festivals in the world, Festival of the Sound, Spirit ’20 brings masterful musicianship to some of the most popular music ever to emerge from the United States and Europe. Though just outside living memory for most of us, the roaring twenties nevertheless remain a favorite sound, transporting us to a mysterious and lively time of change, innovation and musical rebellion. As celebrated master composer Dr. Allan Gilliland says of the group, “[T]he depth of their knowledge and experience is staggering and together they form one of the most unique chamber groups I have ever heard. They captivate audiences wherever they go …[T]he reception and enthusiasm for the group has been overwhelming…”

Drawing on classical backgrounds and a deep and professional knowledge of jazz, Spirit ’20 was launched at Festival of the Sound in 2010 to great effect. The ensemble is a sextet consisting of piano, violin, cello, clarinet, bassoon, and trumpet/voice, featuring the very best of each member. Experts in improvisation and complex musical stylings, Spirit ’20 brings rare skill to a vast repertoire of highly technical and nuanced music. Their programs (and attire) draw on 'the roaring twenties' theme, leaving the ensemble a vast range of repertoire to draw from: Gershwin (Rhapsody in Blue), Duke Ellington (songs and instrumentals), jazz influenced works by composers Martinu (Revue de Cuisine), Milhaud (Scaramouche), Ravel (Blues), and contemporary numbers in the '20s style featuring Canadian composer Allan Gilliland (Spirit '20) and American composer David Baker (Heritage).

Having emerged out of such an event as Festival of the Sound positions Spirit ’20 as uniquely worldly and international, as not only are its members both American and Canadian, but the festival itself is a rich gathering of international musicians, students, and fans. Located in Parry Sound, Ontario, the festival has blossomed into a three week, nearly one million dollar event. Hundreds of Canadian and international musicians have performed at the Festival over its 35 seasons, among them string quartets of the stature of the Tokyo, St. Lawrence, New Zealand and Penderecki quartets, the Gryphon and Beaux Arts Trios; singers Jean Stilwell, Russell Braun, Mark DuBois and Kevin McMillan; pianists André Laplante, Jane Coop, Menahem Pressler and Angela Hewitt; violinists Pinchas Zukerman, Corey Cerovsek, Martin Beaver and James Ehnes; cellists Janos Starker, Yo‐Yo Ma, Denis Brott, Shauna Rolston and Denise Djokic. Orchestras appearing at the Festival of the Sound have included the Toronto Symphony and the World and National Youth Orchestras. Composers‐inresidence such as Srul Irving Glick and Robert Rosen have written works on site during the Festival and several premieres of works by Canadian composers are featured each year.

The Festival of the Sound also has an education mandate, offering master classes for developing musicians, open rehearsals, workshops for local children and lectures by musicians and composers, all designed to improve the musical understanding and appreciation of audience members. Family concerts on Saturdays introduce young audience members to the joys of making and hearing music. In this spirit, Spirit ’20 brings laughter, education, and engaging dialogue to their performances, enriching audiences with historical knowledge and cultural understanding of the eras and styles of music they perform.

Spirit ‘20’s members include James Campbell (clarinet), Guy Few (trumpet, vocals), Chloe Dominguez (cello), Christian Sharp (bassoon), John Novacek (piano), and Mark Fewer (violin). All of Spirit ‘20’s musicians are at the top of the chamber music field in skill and experience.

The players are amazingly versatile: James Campbell (Indiana University), one of the great classical clarinet soloists, is also a spectacular improviser in dixie, swing, and bebop; virtuoso violinist Mark Fewer (McGill University) is adept at many styles of improvisation, including baroque, folk and jazz; Guy Few on trumpet, jazz vocals, and piano (with some 4‐hand stunts) is a triple threat; pianist John Novacek displays intensity and dynamism with his toe‐tapping rags; and Chloe Dominguez' contemporary music experience is matched by Christian Sharp's virtuoso technique on bassoon.

Adding charisma to their high caliber performance, the ensemble engages in humorous banter with the audience, making for a lively, authentic experience harkening back to an older age while keeping us right here in our seats today.

Spirit ‘20 shows are always a tremendous hit!

https://www.gamisimonds.com/spirit20

Guy Few’s instrumental versatility and fearless interpretations have been noted by the international press, “outrageous...simply phenomenal" (Le Devoir, Montreal) and “sheer brilliance” (LA Times). He has performed with many Canadian and US orchestras as both trumpet and piano soloist, remains a committed chamber artist in ensembles “Few Mara Duo”, “Bellows and Brass”, “Few and Fewer”, “Spirit ‘20”, “Sounding Thunder” and “Project Aria”, and has been a guest at many festivals including The Festival of the Sound, Tanglewood, Takefu International Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Sweetwater, Elora Festival and Ottawa Chamber MusicFest. A prolific recording artist, Guy has released CDs on numerous labels including S.N.E., Arsis Classics, CBC SM5000, Naxos, Hänssler Classics and MSR Classics labels. Recording awards include a JUNO nomination, (CCP/g27/Paetkau/MSR), a Grammy as orchestra member for Penderecki CREDO (OBF principal trumpet/Rilling/Hänssler), and Best Classical Orchestral Album from Just Plain Folks Music Awards (Bacchanale/TCO/Kevin Mallon/MSR). Guy has appeared on CBC‐TV, CTV, BRAVO, TV5 and European television broadcasts and is heard regularly on CBC Radio, and NPR. He is a sessional lecturer at Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada, where he coaches chamber music and teaches trumpet. Guy Few is a Yamaha artist.

https://www.guyfew.com/

Violinist Mark Fewer leads a multi‐disciplined life in music. Violin soloist, chamber musician, orchestral leader, artistic director, conductor, arranger, teacher, jazz violinist, recording artist and occasional radio host, he has performed worldwide to great critical acclaim. Described as “intrepid” (The Globe and Mail), “genre‐bending” (National Post), “profound” (The WholeNote), and “freaky good”(The Gazette), he has performed around the world in halls such as Carnegie, Wigmore and Salle Pleyel, and is equally at home in recital venues such as Bartok House (Budapest) to Le Poisson Rouge (NYC) to The Forum (Taipei). As a soloist, he has performed with the symphonies of Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Quebec, San Francisco and Melbourne, as well as with groups such as the Fodens‐Richardson Brass Band (UK), the Zapp Quartet (Amsterdam), the McGill Percussion Ensemble, and as a featured guest with Stevie Wonder and his band. As a chamber musician he was a founding member of the Duke Piano Trio, has been a member of the Smithsonian Chamber Players for over 15 years, and was violinist with the St. Lawrence String Quartet at Stanford University, where he was Artist‐in‐Residence. As a conductor he has directed I Musici de Montreal, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, the Newfoundland Sinfonia, the McGill Baroque Orchestra, the Guelph Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony and the choir Capella Antica. Mr. Fewer has been Artistic Director of the SweetWater Music Festival for 16 years, and in 2019 begins a new appointment as Artistic Director of Stratford Summer Music. He is currently Associat Professor of Violin and the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. He is a Juno and Prix Opus winner.

https://www.markfewer.com/

Juno winner and recipient of the Order of Canada, James Campbell, has been called "Canada's pre-eminent clarinetist and wind soloist" by the Toronto Star and "one of the top half dozen clarinetists in the world" by Fanfare Magazine. He has also been named Canada's Artist of the Year, awarded the Queen's Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medal, inducted into the CBC Classical Music Hall of Fame, and awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws. James Campbell has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in over 35 countries with over 65 orchestras, including the Boston Pops, Montreal Symphony, and the London Symphony. He has collaborated with Glenn Gould and Aaron Copland. James Campbell has been the Artistic Director of the Festival of the Sound since 1985 and continues to give concerts and masterclasses worldwide.

https://www.gamisimonds.com/spirit20

Chloé Dominguez is an exceptionally versatile cellist and passionate chamber musician. A regular participant of numerous international festivals such as the Festival International de Lanaudière, Festival of the Sound, and the Ottawa Chamberfest, she has shared the stage with, among others, Axel Strauss, Charles‐Richard Hamelin, Andrew Wan and Stéphane Tétreault. Solo cellist of the McGill Chamber Orchestra and the Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal (ECM+), Chloé Dominguez is an ardent performer of contemporary music and, as soloist, has premiered many new works. She has recorded on the ATMA, Oxingale Records, and the Espace 21 labels. As a winner of the Instrument Bank Competition of the Canada Council for the Arts, she has been loaned the McConnell Nicolaus Gagliano cello. She has also won the Schulich School of Music’s 2009 Golden Violin award. Chloé Dominguez completed a doctorate in music performance under the tutelage of Matt Haimovitz at McGill University, where she now teaches chamber music. As well, she taught at the Domaine Forget International Music and Dance Academy since 2016. She plays a 1745 Lorenzo Carcassi cello.

https://www.chloedominguez.info/index.php/en/welcome

Grammy‐nominated pianist JOHN NOVACEK regularly tours the Americas, Europe and Asia as both soloist and chamber musician. The current season includes concerto performances with the Mexico City Philharmonic, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Springfield (MA) Symphony Orchestra, National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Traverse Symphony Orchestra, and the orchestras of Festival Mozaic and the Mendocino Music Festival. Frequent performance venues include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s David Geffen and Alice Tully Halls, Kennedy Center, Chicago’s Symphony Center, Hollywood Bowl, Paris’s Théâtre des Champs‐Élysées, London’s Wigmore Hall and Barbican, and Tokyo’s Suntory, Opera City, and Bunkamura Halls. Novacek is a frequent guest artist at festivals, having participated in Mostly Mozart, Aspen, Great Lakes, SummerFest La Jolla, Cape Cod, Caramoor, Colorado College, Mimir, San Luis Obispo Mozaic, Ravinia, Seattle, Wolf Trap; Scotia, Toronto Summer Music, Ottawa Chamberfest, SweetWater and Festival of the Sound (Canada); BBC Proms (England); Braunschweig (Germany); Lucerne, Menuhin Gstaad, and Verbier (Switzerland); Sorrento (Italy); Serenates d’Estiu (Mallorca, Spain); and Stavanger (Norway). A frequent presence on radio, Novacek is regularly showcased on NPR’s Performance Today, St. Paul Sunday and (as featured composer/performer) A Prairie Home Companion; television appearances include CNN International, Entertainment Tonight, and The Tonight Show. A highly sought‐after chamber musician and collaborator, Novacek performs with Leila Josefowicz, Lynn Harrell, Yo‐Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Cho‐Liang Lin, Emmanuel Pahud, Jeremy Denk, Renaud Capuçon, Truls Mørk, Matt Haimovitz, and Elmar Oliveira, as well as with the members of the Emerson, Ying, St. Lawrence, Miro and Tokyo String Quartets. He is also a member of the versatile piano trio Intersection, with violinist Laura Frautschi and cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper. An active composer, Novacek’s works have been taken up by many prominent international musicians; commissioning bodies include the 5 Browns, Ying Quartet, Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo, Eastman School, Scotia Festival, Concertante, Pacific Symphony, Millennium, Seattle Commissioning Club, Three Tenors, Kiri Te Kanawa, and pop diva Diana Ross. Novacek is an active recording artist whose over many CDs have garnered numerous international awards (Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, Grammy nomination for “Best Chamber Music Performance"); labels include Philips, Nonesuch, Naxos, Arabesque, Warner Classics, Sony/BMG, Koch International, New World, Universal Classics, Ambassador, Azica, Marquis, Arkay, Neuma, IBS Classical, Pony Canyon, Four Winds, and EMI Classics.

http://parkerartists.com/John-Novacek.html

Christian Sharpe is a sought after and in demand orchestral and chamber musician and solo bassoonist. A member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony from 1992 to 2009, he has also performed with the Toronto Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, the National Ballet Orchestra, and on one memorable occasion, the Mariinsky Orchestra under the direction of Valery Gergiev, as well as all the orchestras of Southern Ontario. He is a regular performer at the Festival of the Sound, the Westben Festival, the Elora Festival, and others. Christian is a member of the chamber ensemble Spirit 20 and can be heard on recordings by artists such as Patricia O’Callahan and Amy Sky, and as a soloist with the Mozart Effect Orchestra, as well as on YouTube as part of Anthony St. Pierre’s Folia Project.

https://oakvillesymphony.com/staff-member/christian-sharpe/