Les AMIS Concert: Matti Pulkki, Accordion and Wesley Shen, Pianist

Les AMIS Concert - Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 3:00 pm

• at TRINITY UNITED CHURCH

Live performance by: Matti Pulkki, Accordion and Wesley Shen, Pianist

Program:

Béla Bartók (1881-1945): Seven Pieces from Mikrokosmos op. BB120 (1926-1937)

1. Bulgarian Rhythm

2. Chord and Trill Study

3. New Hungarian Folk Song

4. Ostinato

Ann Southam (1937-2010): Glass Houses no. 9 (1981)

Uroš Rojko (1954-): Bagatellen I & II for piano and accordion (1994)

Sofia Gubaidulina (1931-): De profundis (1978)

INTERMISSION

Hyōjō no Choshi (traditional)

Toshio Hosokawa (1955): Cloudscapes - Moon Night, for shō and accordion (1998)

Heikki Valpola (1946): Marilina for piano and accordion (1986)

I Preludio

II Energico

III Teneramente

IV Misterioso - Con brio

Finnish accordionist Matti Pulkki performs frequently with different ensembles and as a soloist around the world. Although his artistic practice often involves classical contemporary repertoire and creative collaborations with composers, Pulkki arranges, transcribes, and performs music from a wide range of styles and genres. He also frequently engages in diverse projects, ranging from interdisciplinary productions to music theatre and opera. His currently active chamber music projects include an eclectic voice and accordion duo Sawtooth with Montreal-based vocalist Sarah Albu, classical-contemporary Freesound Performance Collective in Toronto, and internationally acclaimed Canadian classical crossover ensemble Quartetto Gelato. Pulkki holds a Master’s degree from the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Toronto, where he studied with the renowned Canadian accordionist Joseph Macerollo.

Wesley Shen is a Toronto-based keyboardist, specializing in contemporary music on piano and harpsichord. He has played regularly with many Toronto ensembles including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, New Music Concerts, Esprit Orchestra and Continuum Contemporary Music. He also is a core member of the Freesound Performance Collective, and is a member of Ugly Pug, an Amsterdam-based trio playing new music on early instruments. He has recently finished a Masters cum laude at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in contemporary harpsichord with Goska Isphording. He has received generous funding from the Canada Council of the Arts in order to commission a number of new solo works for harpsichord and piano. An ongoing goal of his is to help expand the harpsichord as a contemporary music medium.

Tickets are $35 plus service fee and available at the Victoria Hall Box Office: 855-372-2210