NADINA MACKIE JACKSON

• Bacchanale

1st Prize - "Best Classical Orchestral CD"
 
3rd Prize - "Best Contemporary Classical Song" (Lussier: Bassango)
2009 JUST PLAIN FOLKS
Independent Music Awards.
"Perhaps most striking is Few's trumpet playing, which manages to be strong, confident, very secure in the high register, and yet does not overpower the softer-voiced bassoon...The Dance from Jazz Suite 2 is a witty ditty that shows Few and Jackson's remarkable virtuosity...Guy Few is a versatile musician whose work as a trumpeter and pianist have earned my praise more than once. I am more impressed than ever, and I hope he continues to record. Ms. Mackie Jackson has a dark, burnished tone and a sensuous way of playing that makes the bassoon seem like a more modern instrument than is often the case. Fine support by Kevin Mallon and the Toronto Chamber Orchestra; excellent sound."
American Record Guide - March / April 2007
"...in a performance as fine as the one recorded here [the Hindemith is] worth a listen... The rhythmic quirkiness and witty lightheartedness of [Bacchanale's] second section make it a fun piece that deserves wider exposure... The disc is filled out with arrangements of two short Shostakovich character pieces that are the highlights of the album. Few and Jackson play with polished tone, immaculate intonation, and infectious high spirits; it's obvious they're having a blast."
All Music Guide - November 2007
"...stunningly beautiful in every way...pure virtuosity by both
instruments...gorgeously together and breathtakingly in tune..."
April 2007, The Double Reed - Rating = 4 (!) Crows Two of today's most charismatic wind soloists, trumpeter Guy Few and bassoonist Nadina Mackie Jackson, have joined forces to commission and record new art music that expands the repertoire for the unusual and brilliant combination of trumpet, bassoon and orchestra.  The refreshing flare and energy of these musicians has inspired listeners worldwide and is now available on this ground-breaking disc featuring  works written for Guy and Nadina in company with the grand Double Concerto by Paul Hindemith.
GUY FEW is a virtuoso. As a pianist, trumpeter, cornist and singer, he delights audiences with his intensity and charm. Montreal's Le Devoir called him "outrageously gifted" and "quite simply phenomenal". It is no wonder that he is in demand as a soloist, performing with many orchestras and festivals in Canada and the United States. Guy is equally at home in classical or contemporary genres. Through the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council, he has debuted new works by Canadian composers including Glen Buhr, Peter Hatch, Alain Trudel, Melissa Hui, Boyd McDonald and Jacques Hétu, among others. Jacques Hétu’s concerto, written for Guy, is available on Canadian Trumpet Concerti with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony conducted by Raffi Armenian (CBC SM5000). He has also recorded for S.N.E., Arsis Classics, Musica Viva, ibs, Naxos and Hänssler Classics labels. Hänssler recordings include the Grammy Award winning CREDO of Penderecki with the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra under Helmuth Rilling. Guy has been invited as a professor, adjudicator, soloist, principal and recitalist to many festivals including the Festival of the Sound, Scotiafest, Kiwanis National Music Festival, Ottawa Chamber Festival, Vancouver Chamber Festival, Tanglewood, Takefu International Music Festival and Oregon Bach Festival. Clinics and master classes have been presented internationally at institutions such as the Montreal Conservatory, University of Toronto, Memorial University, New York State University at Fredonia and Sonoma State University. Guy is a gold medal graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario and holds a Fellowship Diploma from Trinity College, London, England. He performs and records on a regular basis with Bellows and Brass, Nadina Mackie Jackson and Stephanie Mara. Guy has appeared on CBC-TV, CTV, BRAVO, TV5 and European television broadcasts and is heard regularly on CBC Radio and NPR. Guy is a part time faculty member at Wilfrid Laurier University where he conducts the Wilfrid Laurier Brass Ensemble and teaches trumpet and duo piano. He is a Yamaha Artist and performs on XENO and Custom trumpets.
www.greatconcerts.com
Combining a virtuosic technique with an exuberant artistic flair, NADINA MACKIE JACKSON has gained a world wide following through her many solo recordings and recitals. One of today’s most exciting and articulate performers she brings a creative spark to her performances and has appeared with orchestras in Canada and the United States. Many new works have been written for Nadina alone and in connection with distinguished collaborators, including Guy Few, Patrick Gallois and David Swan. An active chamber musician, Nadina has formed many chamber groups in Toronto and Montreal, the most well known being the Caliban Quartet of Bassoonists. Her baroque chamber group, Musica Franca, released two CDs on MSR Classics in 2006, and was described by Gramophone Magazine as "refined, quicksilver & swashbuckling." Nadina is equally at home as an orchestral musician; for two years, she was the principal bassoonist of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and can also be heard on more than 50 of the Montreal Symphony recordings. She continues to perform and record with such groups as Les Violons du Roy, Aradia Ensemble and Toronto Chamber Orchestra. As a baroque bassoonist, she has appeared with such groups as the Handel & Haydn Society of Boston, Tafelmusik, Ensemble Caprice and the Theatre of Early Music. A founding member of the Council of Canadian Bassoonists, Nadina is also on the Advisory Board for the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition. Nadina is currently on faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario and the State University of New York at Fredonia along with the University of Toronto and the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music.
www.nadina.ca
The Irish musician KEVIN MALLON, now residing in Canada, is quickly developing a worldwide reputation. With an impressive background that includes conducting studies with John Eliot Gardiner and composition with Peter Maxwell Davies, he was for some years concertmaster with Le Concert Spirituel and Les Arts Florissants in Paris. In 1996 he founded and became the Music Director of the Aradia Ensemble and has made 25 recordings for Naxos. Since 2003, Kevin has extended his activities to include the Toronto Chamber Orchestra. Kevin is also the Artistic Director of Opera 2005 in Cork, Ireland, set up as part of Cork’s tenure as European Capital of Culture. The company has received two nominations for Best Opera Production, from the Irish Times Theatre Awards, for Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro (2005) and Rossini’s Barber of Seville (2006). In addition to frequent guest conducting appearances, Kevin is also Artistic Director of Ontario’s Grand River Baroque Festival.
The TORONTO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA draws its players from the best orchestras in Toronto, with principal players from the Toronto Symphony, Canadian Opera, Canadian Ballet Orchestra, Tafelmusik and Aradia Ensemble. Most of the players also play baroque instruments and all are well versed in stylistic issues from the 18th century to the modern day. MATHIEU LUSSIER (b.1973)
Double Concerto for trumpet, bassoon and strings
Spring Lullaby for bassoon and strings
Bassango for bassoon and strings
Bacchanale for trumpet, bassoon and strings

PAUL HINDEMITH (1895-1963)
Double Concerto for trumpet, bassoon and strings

VINCENT PERSICHETTI (1915-1987)
The Hollow Men, Op.25 for trumpet and strings

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906 -1975)
Waltz from Jazz Suite No.1 for violin, trumpet, bassoon and strings and percussion
Dance from Jazz Suite No.2 for trumpet, bassoon & strings
 



MSR Classics