Program notes: Frank Horvat was inspired to create music during this COVID pandemic: "As a composer, I felt helpless at home during this COVID-19 pandemic. Then I thought, I could at least provide my musical friends with new compositions while they are spending time in self-isolation. So since late March, I composed 31 new short pieces of music for an unaccompanied solo instrument or voice, or for a duo of musicians self-isolating together”. Selections from his Music for Self Isolation will include those for violin, piano, harp (arranged by Mariette Stephenson) and guitar.
Francesca Caccini was an Italian composer, singer, lutenist, poet, and music teacher of the early Baroque era. Music for this concert includes works from her collection Il Primo libro delle musiche (1618) arranged for solo guitar by Mariette Stephenson.
Francis Poulenc, a member of the group of French composers called Les Six and renown for for his many chamber and orchestral music, wrote Sarabande for solo guitar in 1960 that he dedicated to the French guitarist Ida Presti.
Biography
Mariette Stephenson is a Canadian classical guitarist who has performed in numerous recitals as a soloist and chamber musician. She has premiered works by Canadian composers William Beauvais, Patrick Power, Boyd McDonald, Glenn Buhr, Ivana Quehl (Jokic), Alfred Kunz, Andrzej Tereszkowski, and Brazilian composer Jonatas Batista-Neto. Performances include recitals for the Guitar Society of Brantford, Guitar Society of Toronto and the Organix Festival.
Chamber music collaborations include performances with soprano Brooke Dufton, Stephanie Pesant (flute), Bonchiku Hoshi (shakuhachi), Tom Fitches (organ), Katalin Puscas (soprano). Mariette is a member of Duo Calixa with flutist Kelly Williamson, which has released a CD featuring South American music (Caminos). She is also a member of Ekleipsis Guitar Trio (with Lukas Bouda and Andrew Laughton).
Mariette Stephenson studied with Dr. Jeffrey McFadden, having received her B.Mus from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario and her ARCT from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She also earned a Masters of Music (performance) from the University of Toronto. She is the recipient of the Eli Kassner Guitar Scholarship, a University of Toronto Fellowship, and a Bernice Adams Memorial Bursary. Mariette has arrangements for guitar available exclusively at Strings By Mail and is Music Director for the Kitchener-Waterloo Guitar Orchestra. Photo: Jan Volkers
This Noon Hour Concert series is proudly sponsored by
