Sun Oct 2, 7:30 pm
Lilian Piercey Concert Hall, Halifax
Jasper Wood, violin
David Riley piano

Program

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sonata for violin & piano in B flat major, K. 454
- Largo, Allegro
- Andante
- Allegretto

Claude Debussy
Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor
- Allegro vivo
- Intermède (Fantasque et léger)
- Finale (Très animé)

William Kroll - Banjo and Fiddle
George Gershwin - It Ain't Necessarily So
Claude Debussy - Beau Soir
Richard Strauss - Sonata for violin & piano in E flat major, Op. 18
- Allegro, ma non troppo
- Improvisation. Andante cantabile
- Finale. Andante – Allegro

Jasper Wood
"Wood's technical command is jaw-dropping." - Opus

Violinist Jasper Wood has established himself as one of Canada's top violinists. His "thrilling virtuosity" (The Strad) and "open luminous tones, seamless lines and impeccable technique" (Toronto Star) have charmed the ears and captured the hearts of music lovers everywhere.

Wood made his solo orchestral debut in 1987 with Symphony Nova Scotia under the baton of Georg Tintner. Since then he has established a flourishing reputation as a soloist through his frequent performances with many of North America's top orchestras including the Montreal, Toronto, Buffalo, Winnipeg, Victoria, Newfoundland, Bay Atlantic, and the Canadian Chamber Orchestra.

Wood has also garnered acclaim for his dazzling performances as a recitalist and chamber musician which have taken him to major cities all over the world.

Jasper Wood's debut album of 13 Canadian Caprices on the Analekta label was released in 1999 to much critical acclaim. Since then Wood has had a very diverse recording career which has included the music of Ives, Stravinsky, Bartok, MacDonald, Morawetz, Eckhardt-Gramatte, Berio and Saint-Saens under the Endeavour Classics, Analekta, Disques Pelleas, Centrediscs and Naxos labels.

An avid supporter of new music, Wood has dedicated much of his recording time to include world premieres and to promote music that he feels deserves attention. His most recent CD was released in November 2007 with pianist David Riley on the Centrediscs label and contains the violin/piano works of Oskar Morawetz.

Jasper Wood performs regularly with his dynamic piano trio Triple Forte (with pianist David Jalbert and cellist Yegor Dyachkov) which was formed to join the forces of Canada’s top young soloists. Wood can be heard frequently on National Public Radio in the United States and CBC/SRC Radio in Canada.

No stranger to television, he can be seen and heard regularly on the CBC, Bravo and the Knowledge Network. In 2007, Wood was featured in a one hour nationally broadcast documentary/performance film titled "the Maritime Violin of Jasper Wood" produced by Mozus Productions and DreamStreet Pictures.

Jasper Wood holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music. His main teachers have been David and Linda Cerone, Oleh Krysa, and Philippe Djokic. An acclaimed competition winner, Wood has won numerous prizes and awards in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

He has also been awarded both the Sylva Gelber Award and the Virginia Parker Prize, two of the most distinguished prizes awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts. Today he is in demand as an adjudicator for many prestigous competitions across the nation.

Currently residing in Vancouver with his wife Grace and son Ryan, Wood is Assistant Professor of violin and chamber music at the University of British Columbia. For more information on Jasper Wood, please visit his website at www.jasperwood.net

"Wood was in total command. He paired moments of glistening display with a sweet tunefulness edged in melancholy." - Washington Post

"Wood had complete mastery of the technical fireworks required... in a time when heaven storming young Turks dominate the violin scene. I’m so happy there's room for the refined art of Jasper Wood." - Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal

"As an added gift, violinist Jasper Wood played… with a gorgeous sound and brilliant control of his instrument. Wood sounded like an entire violin section unto himself." - Halifax Chronicle Herald

"Wood's technical command is jawdropping, and no combination of notes, no matter how complex or fiendishly contrived, eludes his dexterous fingers." - Opus

"Wood was well inside the work's (Panufnik Concerto for Violin & Strings) shifting moods and whose command was complete. Wood is a splendid player" - Winnipeg Free Press

"So what makes this caprice-server special? The same qualities that make his peers special: technical security founded on a rock steady bow arm and accurate intonation right into the stratosphere, together with an innate musicality. He is not just a fiddler. He is a musician." - Toronto Star

"Wood's violin playing certainly upheld his position as one of Canada's premiere virtuosos." - Hamilton Spectator

"...his fingers were a blur of motion as he coaxed achingly rich tones from his newly acquired Stradivarius violin." - Billings Gazette

David Riley
Pianist David Riley has received rave reviews throughout the U.S. and Canada, including "Absolutely exquisite technique" (New York Concert Review), "A soloist's dream, star quality, gifted and sensitive..." (Billings Gazette)

He has extensive experience as a professional recitalist, frequently performing at many of North America's most prestigious venues such as Merkin Hall with the New York Philharmonic Chamber Players, the National Art Gallery in Washington D.C. on multiple occasions, six times at Carnegie Hall, the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago, the Gardner Museum in Boston, the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., the 92nd St. Y in New York City, Bellas Artes in San Juan P.R., the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, and Salle de Concert Pollack in Montreal, among others.

In 2009 he performed at the Kammermusikfest Kloster Kamp in Linfort, Germany with principal string players from throughout Europe (Frankfurt Opera Concertmaster, NDR Symphony Orchestra Principal Cello (Hamburg), etc.) chamber music concerts at the Oregon Bach Festival (including legendary baritone Thomas Quasthoff), Lake Tahoe with Kronos Quartet cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, and was a guest artist at Stanford University as a member of the new music ensemble Beta Collide.

Dr. Riley has been featured on dozens of radio broadcasts including BBC Radio with renowned pianist Jeffrey Kahane (Mendelssohn 4-hands), NPR Performance Today & Morning Edition, CBC National Radio, and WQXR and WNYC in New York City.

Recent awards include the 2008 Canadian Independent Music Awards 'Favourite Classical CD' and 'Best Music' at the 2007 Silver Wave Film Festival for performances of Beethoven, Ives, and Kroll on CBC Television.

Along with violinist Jasper Wood, he received the 2004 East Coast Music Award 'Best Classical Recording' for a CD of works for violin and piano of Igor Stravinsky.

Other violinists with whom Mr. Riley has concertized include Juyoung Baek, Jennifer Frautschi, Ilya Gringolts, Phillipe Quint, and Giora Schmidt, along with cellists Denise Djokic and Jesus Morales, and clarinetists Carey Bell, Alex Fiterstein, and Ricardo Morales.

Dr. Riley is Professor and Director of Accompanying and Chamber Music at the University of Oregon and previously worked as a vocal coach at the Manhattan School of Music.

He holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music, studying with Anne Epperson and Jean Barr respectively.