Juno Award winner Ethan Ardelli performs free concert for Music students and Pro Series subscribers

BRANDON – A Juno Award winner and rising star on the Canadian jazz scene will bring his distinctive drumming style to the Brandon University (BU) School of Music’s pro series.

On Monday, Nov. 5, Ethan Ardelli will perform his newly released compositions with his Toronto-based quartet, which includes alto saxophonist Luis Deniz, pianist Chris Donnelly, and bassist Devon Henderson. The concert will take place at a special pro series venue, the intimate and acoustically outstanding Music Studio in downtown Brandon. Due to limited seating in The Music Studio, the free concert is limited to BU Music students and pro series subscribers.

“To have this top-notch group of musicians stop here and play for us is an excellent opportunity,” said Greg Gatien, Dean of the School of Music. “To fit into the ensemble’s cross-country tour we had look outside of the pro series’ normal schedule and venue, but it I think it will be worth it to bring our regular pro series audience a great concert in a setting that might be new for many of them.”

This concert’s programme will feature many of the tracks on the quartet’s freshly minted debut recording entitled “The Island of Form,” as well as some of Ardelli’s just-composed works.

“This will be my first cross-Canada tour as a band leader,” said Ardelli, adding that the quartet recorded the album last October with lauded recording engineer James Farber at Sear Sound in New York City.

The drummer on two Juno Award winning recordings — Jane Bunnett’s “Radio Guantanamo” and Mike Downes’ “Ripple Effect” — Ardelli was nominated for the 2018 Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Jazz Artist Award. A graduate of the University of Toronto, he previously did a teaching stint in Manitoba, and is currently on faculty at Humber College. Along with leading his own ensemble, he is also a member of the Darren Sigesmund Quintet, Nancy Walker Quintet, Alexander Brown Sextet, Brian Dickinson Trio, and the Harley Card Quintet.

Originally from Cuba, Deniz is a Grammy nominated and Juno Award winning musician who has made Toronto his home base since 2004. He is also on faculty at Humber College. Donnelly, who has received Juno nods as well, teaches at the University of Toronto and also leads his own band, Myriad 3. Busy performing in his adopted hometown of Toronto, Henderson has also collaborated with David Virelles Quintet, Denzal Sinclaire and Royal Wood, among others.

“These outstanding musicians are setting a high standard on today’s jazz landscape,” said Gatien.

“It will surely be a memorable performance.”

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m., at The Music Studio, located at 940 Rosser Ave.

Next in the pro series season will be a recital presenting the 2018 Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition winner, violinist Amy Hillis, with collaborative pianist Katherine Dowling. That recital is slated for Tuesday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m., in BU’s Lorne Watson Recital Hall. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students, seniors and alumni, and will be available at the door or in advance in the Main Office in the School of Music.

The School of Music gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of Manitoba, through a Consolidated Arts Programming Grant through Culture, Heritage and Tourism.

Please note that seating in the Music Studio and the Lorne Watson Recital Hall is limited, and that programmes are subject to change. For up-to-date listing of pro series and student performances, please visit Events.BrandonU.ca/Events/Category/Music.

So that pro series events may be enjoyed by all, please contact Joyce Burba in advance with any accessibility considerations at 204-727-9631 or Burba@BrandonU.ca.

Contact