Noon Hour Concert: Hidden Gems by Women Composers

Described as a violinist with 'chops to burn, and rock solid musicianship' (The Whole Note), Canadian violinist Véronique Mathieu enjoys an exciting career as a soloist, chamber musician, and music educator. An avid contemporary music performer, she has commissioned and premiered numerous works by American, Brazilian, and Canadian composers, and has worked with composers such as Pierre Boulez, Heinz Holliger, and Krzysztof Penderecki.

Current projects include the commission of a large-scale solo violin work by Odawa First Nations composer Barbara Croall and a set of 12 pedagogical pieces written in collaboration with 12 internationally renowned composers with the support of the SSHRC and the Canada Council for the Arts. Dr. Mathieu has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, Shenyang Symphony Orchestra, Saskatoon Symphony, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Montreal Contemporary Ensemble, and the Orquestra Sinfonica de Indaiatuba (Brazil). She recorded for the labels of Radio-Canada, Parma, Centrediscs, Naxos, Pheromone, and the CD series New Music at Indiana University. Her recordings are frequently heard on the radio, and she was recently featured on a BBC series dedicated to the composer Witold Lutoslawski. Following the release of her 3rd solo CD (Cortège), Dr. Mathieu was a finalist in the Classical Artist/Ensemble of the Year category at the 2021 Western Canadian Music Awards.

Véronique Mathieu holds the David L. Kaplan Chair in Music at the University of Saskatchewan where she serves as an Associate Professor of Violin. She previously served on the faculty at State University of New York (SUNY) in Buffalo, and the University of Kansas. In addition, she is the co-founder and artistic director of NAVO Inc., a non-for-profit arts organization based in Kansas City. Dr. Mathieu has served on the jury of several national and international violin and strings competitions, and is a member of the jury for the 2022 Chicago International Music Competition and Festival. Dr. Mathieu is a graduate of the Québec Conservatory, McGill University, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and the Glenn Gould School in Toronto.

Website: www.veroniquemathieu.net

Stephanie Chua is an expressive and versatile Canadian pianist devoted to presenting and performing  contemporary works through musical insight and innovative programming. She has been broadcast across Canada on CBC Radio 2 and in Europe on Rondo Classic FM and has performed in solo and chamber recitals across Canada, Europe, and Asia.

Recent highlights include being a featured performer in Soundstreams’ sold-out 2018 season opener ‘Six Pianos’ at Koerner Hall (Toronto), solo recitals at SOUL Live Music Project in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) in partnership with Saigon Classical, New Music Edmonton, and Music Toronto’s Discovery Series; along with performances at Shanghai New Music Festival, Impuls Contemporary Music Festival (Graz, Austria), and Sound Symposium (St.John’s, NFLD). As a much sought-after collaborative pianist, Stephanie has performed in some of Canada's most important contemporary ensembles including Continuum Contemporary Music, Esprit Orchestra, Trio Fibonacci, and Toca Loca. In 2009, Stephanie co-founded junctQín keyboard collective with Elaine Lau and Joseph Ferretti. junctQín is a trio of pianists committed to performances of contemporary music and commissioning new works for their unique instrumentation. Since its inception, the group has commissioned and premiered over 40 new works from emerging to internationally established living composers. junctQín released their debut recording ‘reTHiNK’ on Redshift Records in 2020. Musicworks Magazine noted that their “. . . unfaltering, polished performance is a testament to years of work as a unit”.

Stephanie also performs regularly as a duo with violinist, Véronique Mathieu. The duo released their debut recording 'True North' on the Centrediscs label in 2017. Stephanie completed her Master of Music from the University of Toronto and her Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music. She was also Artist-in-Residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts and earned her Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria. Her main teachers were Robin Wood and Marietta Orlov. Stephanie has also pursued private studies with pianist/musicologist Ian Pace in London, England.
Upcoming projects include a recording with cello duo VC2, a second recording with violinist Véronique Mathieu (to be released on Navona Records), and a large-scale creation and recording collaboration with the Bozzini String Quartet and Canadian composers Rebecca Bruton and Jason Doell.

Website: https://www.stephaniechua.com/