Sudbury's Silver Birch String Quartet nominated for a JUNO Award

 3/3/2010
 Silver Birch Concerts is thrilled to announce that the Silver Birch String Quartet's CD SILVERBIRCH (with Montreal-based pianist John Roney) on Montreal's Effendi Records has been nominated for a prestigious JUNO Award! Recorded at Acrobat Studios in Toronto, and produced by John Roney and Sudbury Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Christian Robinson, the CD was also recently nominated for a prestigious Felix Award in the province of Quebec. The album and their live performances have drawn extensive praise from critics from the Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen, and the Vancouver Sun.

The Silver Birch String Quartet is:
Christian Robinson and Geoff McCausland, violins
Jane Russell, viola
Alexandra Lee, 'cello

About the quartet:
Named after the trees inhabiting the area around their home, Sudbury's Silver Birch String Quartet is one of Canada's most exciting and innovative young quartets, earning the admiration of audiences and critics alike for their vibrant performances. In addition to extensive activities throughout Northern Ontario, the SBSQ has been featured in concerts and given masterclasses at QuartetFest at Wilfrid Laurier University, the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society, Laurentian University, the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. The quartet has collaborated in concert with some of Canada's finest chamber musicians, including octets with the Penderecki String Quartet, quintets with renowned Canadian virtuoso Scott St. John, pianist Peter Longworth, and conductor Joel Sachs (Julliard School).

2009 saw the SBSQ undertake a multi-city cycle of the complete string quartets of Felix Mendelssohn (in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the composer), as well as receive a prestigious career development residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Strongly committed to Canadian music of our time, the quartet's extensive repertoire includes music by John Weinzweig, R. Murray Schafer, Linda Bouchard, Robert Lemay, along with the young composer Alex Eddington. The quartet particularly prides itself on its innovative programming, presenting interdisciplinary concerts bridging the gap between traditional classical chamber music and other genres in an effort to introduce new audiences to the world of chamber music. Past projects include tango collaborations with such artists as Argentine Tango dancers Roxanna and Fabian Belmonte, and Quartetto Gelato accordionist Alexander Sevastian, as well as narration projects involving CBC Radio host Dan Lessard. The quartet's long association with Montreal-based jazz pianist John Roney resulted in their first album "SILVERBIRCH" on Montreal's Effendi record label, which is rapidly gaining critical acclaim, including a 5-star review in both the Montreal Gazette and the Vancouver Sun, praising the album's "…transcendent ease" and "…joyous and energetic" performances. SILVERBIRCH was also named one of the Top 10 Albums of the year by the Montreal Gazette, has received frequent airplay on CBC Radio 2 and Espace Musique, and was nominated for a prestigious Félix Award in the province of Quebec. 

"... played with effortless precision, unequivical virtuosity, and refined elegance. All-in-all a stunning performance that, by completely avoiding the potential for saccharine often inherent in "jazz meets classical" ventures, suggests new possibilities for merging the two genres with greater success." - allaboutjazz.com