ARTISTS
Marc Djokic, violin
A native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Marc Djokic is known for his powerful and virtuosic performances. From his Jeunesses Musicales tour to Debut Atlantic, Marc has toured several times throughout Canada. Praised for his “rhythmic sense and natural phrasing” by La Presse, Marc is able to reach out to a diverse audience through his range of repertoire, new concert formats and collaborations.
Marc first studied violin with his father, violinist Philippe Djokic, one of Canada’s great soloists and a pupil of the master Ivan Galamian. Marc continued his studies in the United States under the tutelage of David Russell at Cleveland Institute of Music’s Young Artist Program, Donald Weilerstein at the New England Conservatory, and Jaime Laredo at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Marc made his first orchestra debut at 14, won the Governor General’s Millennium Award at 20, and at 23 was featured on Bravo! television series, The Classical Now.
With the support of Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and Mécénat Musica, Marc has commissioned Canadian compositions for solo violin, string trio, marimba and violin and two guitars and violin.
Past winner of Quebec’s Prix Opus and Canada Council’s Instrument Bank among numerous other prizes, Marc performs frequently as soloist with Canada’s top orchestras and in chamber music festivals across North America. He has performed as soloist with orchestras such as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra and The National Arts Centre Orchestra. He performed with the Calgary Philharmonic as part of his Bowfire debut, and is guest concertmaster for the McGill Chamber Orchestra in Montreal. His concerts have been frequently broadcast by CBC Radio and Espace Musique.
From the Jeunesses Highlights of the coming 2017-2018 seasons see Marc performing the Philip Glass ‘Four Seasons’ violin concerto with the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra, the Shostakovich No.1 violin concerto with the Kindred Spirits Symphony and Tartini’s ‘Devil’s Trill’ Sonata with the Nova Scotia Youth Symphony.
From 2015 to 2017 the classical music channel NONCERTO produced more than 45 music videos featuring Marc and his collaborations, reaching viewers from over 100 countries. This multi-year project aims to promote classical music through new media in Canada and beyonD. These videos can be watched on his Youtube channel, Marc Djokic|Canadian Violinist.
Always enthusiastic to share insights on violin performance and technique, Marc also teaches masterclasses at universities and summer music festivals; he has recently taught at Toronto University, Concordia University, Scotia Festival of Music and CAMMAC.
Samantha Louis-Jean, soprano
The Canadian and French soprano Samantha Louis-Jean received her vocal training at the Maîtrise de Radio-France, the university of the Montreal then with Marie Daveluy and Yolande Parent.
She made her professional debut singing Euridice (Monteverdi, L’Orfeo) with the Montreal Baroque Festival and Lauretta (Puccini, Gianni Schicchi) with the Montreal Symphony orchestra. Since then, she performed with the Portland Trinity Consort (Bach, Christmas Oratorio), the Orford Festival (Mozart, Requiem), the ensemble Caprice (Bach, Magnificat), the ensemble Masques or Les Violons du Roy, at prestigious events such as the Lamèque international Baroque Festival, Clavecin en Concert, and the Quebec opera Festival.
Her operatic roles include Zerlina (Mozart, Don Giovanni), Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro), Belinda (Purcell, Dido and Aeneas), Euridice (L’Orfeo), Poppea (L’incoronazione di Poppea), the Dew Fairy (Humperdinck, Hänsel und Gretel), Altisidore and une Japonaise (Boismortier, Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse) and Colette (Rousseau, Le Devin du Village).
In 2014, her performance as Vagaus in Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans (ensemble Caprice) was praised by critics. The production received the opus Prize for Concert of the Year – medieval, Renaissance, baroque and classical music.
In 2015, she was selected for the handel Residency at the Aix-en-Provence Festival conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm. In 2015-2016, she performed at the Montpellier opera, the Festival des Lumières de Sorèze and the Nuits musicales d’Uzès in all-Handel concerts with ensemble Les Ombres. She later performed the role of Elvira (Rossini, L’Italiana in Algeri) conducted by Jean-Claude Malgoire at the Tourcoing Lyric atelier and the Champs-Élysées Theatre. In Fall 2016, she went on tour with the Jeunesses musicales Canada performing works by Handel and Scarlatti with ensemble Les Songes. She then portrayed the role of Angelica in Vivaldi’s Orlando Furioso at the Tourcoing Lyric atelier and the Champs-Élysées Theatre (April 2017).
Her next engagements include La Statue in Rameau’s Pygmalion with Les Talens Lyriques and Christophe Rousset (Innsbruck Festival), Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Vichy opera), the four female roles in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann in a specifically modified version at the Dijon opera conducted by Nicolas Chesneau and directed by Mikaël Serre, as well as Céphise in Rameau’s Pygmalion and Vénus in Mondoville’s L’Amour et Psyché with Le Concert d’Astrée conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm and Robyn Orlin as stage director (Dijon opéra, Lille opera, Luxemburg Grand Théâtre, Théâtre de Caen).
Samantha Louis-Jean is a winner of the Froville international Baroque Competition, the Prix d’europe Competition, the Lyndon-Woodside oratorio Society of New York Competition and the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation. She is a grant recipient of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Jeunesses musicales du Canada.
Beverley Johnston, percussionist
Canadian percussionist Beverley Johnston is internationally recognized for her dynamic performances on a wide range of percussion instruments. Her performances have been distinguished as unconventional, effectively combining classical transcriptions, contemporary music, and a touch of theatre. She is also a leader in commissioning and premiering new works for percussion and her performances and recordings have been broadcast on radio networks all over the world. Her six solo CDs are Woman Runs with Wolves (2013, Centrediscs), Ming (2009, Centrediscs); Garden of Delights (2004, independent release); Alternate Currents (1992, Centrediscs); Marimbach (1989, CBC Records Musica Viva); and Impact (1986, Centrediscs, JUNO nominee). She can also be heard as soloist or chamber musician on numerous other recordings.
Since the millennium Beverley has performed all over the world as a soloist and as a chamber musician with flautist Susan Hoeppner, violinist Marc Djokic, and the European percussion group Joint Venture Percussion Duo.
Beverley has been a guest performer at several marimba/percussion festivals recently including the International Katarzyna Mycka Marimba Academy in Europe (2013, 2015), the Shenyang International Percussion festival in China (2010), The International Marimba Festival and Conference in Minneapolis, USA (2010), The Zeltsman Marimba Festival in USA (2005, 2009, 2013) and Nebojsa Zivkovic’s International Marimba Academy in Germany (2008). In October, 2016 she was invited to be a faculty member at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. She has been an inspiration to many percussion students all over the world because of her unique expression as a percussionist.
In 2009 she was given the distinction of becoming an Ambassador of the Canadian Music Centre in honour of her exemplary commitment to the performance of the music of Canadian composers.
Beverley Johnston currently teaches at the University of Toronto and lives in rural Ontario with her husband, composer Christos Hatzis. Beverley is a Marimba One and Paiste Artist.
For more information, please visit her on Facebook or at her website at www.beverleyjohnston.com
Ensemble Caprice
Ensemble Caprice has been hailed by the New York Times as “an ensemble, that encourages the listener to rehear the world”.
Founded by acclaimed conductor, composer and recorder soloist Matthias Maute, Caprice has become known for its innovative and adventuresome approach to an increasingly expanding musical repertoire on period instruments.
In addition to its series of concerts in Montreal, the group tours extensively, giving dozens of concerts in Quebec, Canada, the USA, Europe, and even Asia.
The Ensemble’s recording activity is every bit as impressive: Their CDs have gained many honors and much critical acclaim. The CD Gloria! Vivaldi and his Angels received a JUNO Award and three prestigious Prix Opus awards. In 2015 and 2016 the ensemble went twice to China and represented Canada at the festival Meet in Beijing. In 2017 the Ensemble has been touring in Central America, South America and again in China.
In the USA the CD Chaconne-Voices of Eternity has been selected CD of the year 2016 by Radio WBRB in Boston.
Matthias Maute
JUNO Award winning conductor, composer, recorder and flute soloist Matthias Maute has achieved an international reputation. In 2016 he was named artistic director of the Bach Society of Minnesota. Impressed by his artistic approach, The New York Times described the orchestra he conducts in Montreal, Ensemble Caprice, as being “an ensemble that encourages the listener to rehear the world.”
Maute’s recording of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos juxtaposed with Maute’s own arrangements of Preludes from Shostakovich's Op. 87 was hailed by The New Yorker’s Alex Ross as standing out “for its fleet, characterful approach” and “its fresh, vibrant colors”.
Matthias Maute’s compositions are published by Breitkopf & Härtel, Amadeus, Moeck and Carus. In 2014 and 2015, Maute’s 1st violin concerto was performed by soloist Mark Fewer with the St. John’s Symphony and with I Musici de Montréal. Forty-nine movements of Matthias Maute’s compositions are featured in 49 videos on noncerto.com.
Matthias Maute has made some twenty recordings on the Analekta, Vanguard Classics, Bella Musica, Dorian, Bridge and ATMA Classique labels. He is regularly invited to perform at major international festivals. Matthias Maute is co-artistic director of the Montreal Baroque Festival and artistic director of Concerts noncerto. He currently teaches at Université de Montréal and McGill University.
