SACKVILLE, N.B. – The Mount Allison Performing Arts Series invites you to attend an evening of sensational strings with the award-winning Tokai Quartet. The members of this cosmopolitan ensemble – South African Amanda Goodburn (first violin), Hungarian-born Csaba Koczó (second violin), Russian native Yosef Tamir-Smirnoff (viola), and Québécoise Emmanuelle Beaulieu Bergeron (cello) – will take the stage at Brunton Auditorium, 134 Main Street, on Saturday, March 9, at 8 p.m., as part of a Debut Atlantic Tour of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The recital will be recorded for later broadcast by Radio-Canada’s Espace musique.
One of Canada’s most vibrant chamber groups, the Tokai String Quartet been praised by critics for their “decisive” interpretations (Toronto Star) and “intense” and “hot-blooded” performances (Globe and Mail). Prizewinners at the 2007 Banff International String Quartet Competition, the ensemble has earned accolades at home and abroad. As individuals, the quartet members have flourishing orchestral careers; together, as the Tokai Quartet, they have performed across Canada, with engagements in major concert series such as the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and the Toronto Summer Music Festival. Teaching is also an important activity: the Tokai Quartet has been ensemble-in-residence at Queen’s University and the Southern Ontario Chamber Music Institute. In 2010, they participated in the SLSQ Emerging String Quartet Program, performing and teaching at Stanford University while leading outreach activities in community schools.
In their Sackville concert, the Tokai String Quartet will perform works from the classical, romantic, and contemporary repertoire, including String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59 “Razumovsky,” No. 1 (Beethoven), Italian Serenade in G Major (Wolf), and String Quartet in F Major (Ravel). A concert highlight is "The World on a String," a new work by Canadian composer Katarina Curcin which pays homage to the multicultural backgrounds of the quartet members.
For more information, phone 506-364-2662, email performarts@mta.ca or visit the Performing Arts Series website at www.mta.ca/departments/PerformingArts/.
