FINDING HER VOICE is a journey through sound, history, and identity. The recording brings together works by Julie Spencer, Christos Hatzis, Samuel Kerr, Frederic Rzewski, David Jaeger, and Johnston herself, whose two structured improvisations frame the album with personal reflection.

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The JUNO Award-winning Elmer Iseler Singers (EIS), conducted by artistic director Lydia Adams since 1998, is singing its 47th Concert Season in 2025/26. This 20-voice professional choral ensemble, founded by the late Dr. Elmer Iseler in 1979, has thrilled audiences internationally, and led the way in developing exciting new choral works and experiences, building a stellar reputation in Canada, the United States and abroad, performing a wide range of repertoire with a focus on Canadian composers.

Mark Wigmore, Program Director of The New Classical FM discussed The Earth Sings with Lydia Adams and David Jaeger on Thursday, April 8, 2026 at 1:45pm. Click below to listen to the interview:

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Julius Schepansky is a Montréal based concert artist and is currently enrolled in the U de Montréal Doctoral Performance program mentored by Joseph Petric.

Spirit Cloud was co-composed by David Jaeger and Joseph Petric.

The live video was made by Jean-Paul Desjardins.

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Steven Vieria notes that, ” Much of my earlier work was composition with a purpose—songs and arrangements for schools, institutions, and music editing. These projects were often shaped by external needs, but they also laid the groundwork for my evolving voice as a composer. In recent years, my focus has shifted toward writing piano music, with an emphasis on creating pieces that can be performed live.

Experiments with Tape and Piano (2026) explores our relationship with electroacoustic music. The performance blends live acoustic piano and electronic music. This series utilizes elements of ambient music, live electronic music, as well as elements of Musique Concrète and recorded music in order to investigate their compositional techniques and sound.”

Alan Torok writes, “My piece, Biography, for piano-trio, is a musical narrative—a kind of instrumental opera. 

In five movements, it evokes aspects and important scenes from the life of the black American soul singer and songwriter, James Brown.

It is well known that Brown lived an epic life of grand social and musical achievement… and great sin.

My music tries to paint such a larger than life picture.” We will hear two of the five movements.

David Jaeger notes that, “Last month Club members were introduced to soprano Karen Usha when she sang four of my songs. Karen’s remarkable singing provoked several listeners to immediately ask for her to return. I have composed dozens of settings of poetry for her, and as a result there is no shortage of works to showcase in bringing her back. Karen has selected several of her favourites from my canon, including a new setting of the poem, An Invitation by the Sri Lankan-Canadian author, Sudharshana Rajasingam. Tonight’s performance will be the Premiere of this work.”

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David Jaeger’s Two Tigers for flute and marimba was performed by  Katie Kirkpatrack (alto flute) and Bevis Ng (marimba) on April 26th at the Hamilton International Contemporary Music Festival.

Notes from the composer – This work is a short set of double variations. The theme is made up of 2 phrases, one chromatic and one diatonic. The variations are alternatively based on these contrasting phrases. This process parallels an image by the late Toronto artist, Milton Jewell. In Jewell’s painting, two tigers are resting on a proscenium, their gazes distant and self-absorbed, as if lost in reflection. In musical terms, I think of each variation as a depiction of the private musings of the two creatures, which often turn out to be less than ferocious.

HICMF was founded in 2024 to support an active contemporary music scene in Hamilton.

This coming spring concert features three finalist’s works from an international Call for Scores.

The finalists were chosen by an esteemed panel of judges based on their submitted scores solely.

At this concert you will experience excellent music performed by fabulous musicians! Further information at HICMF’s website.

Ensemble members:

Katie Kirkpatrick (Flute), Kailan Fournier (Clarinet), Christopher Jones (Saxphone), Diane Dahyeon Kim (Violin)

Veronica Zupanic (Violin), Marlena Pellegrino (Viola), Chole Liang (Cello), Nikki Hung (Percussion), Bevis Ng (Percussion)

-Program-

• Weaving by Chikage Iamai
• Verde Malachite by Chikako Iversen
• Dark Night Above the Woods by Michael Blazek
• Sequenza Vii b by Luciano Berio
• Two Tigers by David Jaeger
• The Machine, The Heart by Boya Liu
• Turbulence by Tianci Lu
• A Vertical Dream by Mehrdad Jafari Raad

Call for Score judges:

Gary Kulesha, Joe Lio, Stephen Morris, Chikako Iversen

Producer Chikako Iversen, Co-Producer Stephen Morris, Artistic Adviser David Jaeger, Music Adviser Bob Becker

Gasworks 141 Park Street N, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8R2N4

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The Imagined brings together four evocative solo piano works by Alice Ping Yee Ho, performed with nuance, brilliance, and emotional depth by Christina Petrowska Quilico. This recording was produced by David Jaeger.

Each piece opens a distinct imaginative world — shaped by visual art, theatre, mythology, and personal memory — yet together they form a cohesive exhibition of sound and narrative. Across these works, the piano becomes both storyteller and canvas, guiding listeners through landscapes that exist only in the mind.

In this collection, the piano is more than an instrument; it is a vehicle for storytelling, a medium of translation between the visual, the mythical, and the remembered. The Imagined celebrates the transformative power of creativity, the dialogue between East and West, and the enduring capacity of music to evoke worlds both real and imagined.

Programme:

• Pictures from an Imagined Exhibition:
  1. Free Strokes
  2. Distant Drums
  3. Mystical Mountains
  4. Dancing Colours
• Hong Kong Nostalgia
  1. Connaught Mansion
  2. Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas
  3. Night Markets
• A Manic Ride through Lollipop Hell
  1. The Labyrinth
  2. A Sad Lullaby
  3. The Great Escape

This performance will be at The Canadian Music Centre, Chalmers Performance Space , 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON M4Y 1J9, on April 21, 2026 at 7:30pm

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The concert will feature pieces from her latest album Finding Her Voice. (Navona) with works by Jodi Contin, Christos Hatzis, Norbert Palej, Julie Spencer, Holly Winter, David Jaeger, Frederic Rzewski.

The performance will take place at the KW Little Theatre, 9 Princess Street East, Waterloo ON on Saturday April 18, 2026 at 7:00pm.

Tickets are available here.

Beverley Johnston is one of Canada’s most celebrated percussionists, internationally acclaimed for her electrifying performances on marimba and percussion. Known for her unconventional and theatrical style, she seamlessly blends classical transcriptions, contemporary works, and dramatic flair to captivate audiences across North America and around the globe. In 2024, Johnston was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame, and received The Toronto Musicians’ Association Lifetime Achievement Award — honors that reflect her profound impact on the musical landscape. In 2025 she was awarded the Oskar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance.

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The complete four sonatas of David Jaeger for viola and piano, including the premiere of the newly completed latest one. The Ezra Duo (Jacob Clewell, viola and pianist Sasha Bult-Ito) will be in residence at the CMC and present these works in concert.

The performance will take place and The Canadian Music Centre, 20 St. Joseph St., Toronto, ON. on April 22, 2026 at 7:30 pm.

For tickets and more information, please visit the CMC website.

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The concert took place at Micromega Arte e Cultura in Venice, Italy on Friday March 27, 2026 at 6:00pm.

The concert was introduced by Stefano Pelagatti on the theme “Proust and music”.

The program included:

1. Serge Arcuri: Soliloque
2. David Jaeger: Dolce e agitato – Presto Moto perpetuo, Siciliano
3. Marco Giommoni: Poligonale Alfa
4. Stefano Pelagatti: Shadows and shoves
5. Marino Baratello: Notturno

Silvia Mandolini was born in Montreal in 1970. She studied at the Conservatoire National de Musique et d’Art dramatique du Québec and at McGill University. Having moved to Italy in 1994, she studied at the G. Verdi conservatory in Milan. He worked in the orchestras of the Arena di Verona, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Teatro San Carlo, Teatro Comunale di Bologna. He founded the Ensemble Zipangu, a string orchestra dedicated to 20th century and contemporary repertoire. She was invited to the Milano Musica and Biennale Musica festivals and was an invited soloist on CBC radio for the Sound Symposium Festival. He has been a permanent violinist since 2008 in the orchestra of the Teatro Comunale of Bologna. She is the violinist of the soundtrack of “Pane e Tulipani” (music by Giovanni Venosta), a film by Silvio Soldini shot in Venice.

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The program included a performance of David Jaeger’s Night Music for clarinet, viola, and piano featuring performers Peter Stoll, clarinet, Anahit Matevosyan, viola, Michael Esch, piano.

Beverley Johnston, one of Canada’s most celebrated percussionists, collaborator, and friend of David Jaeger, is the recipient of the 2025 Oskar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance. This award is presented biennially to an outstanding Canadian performer or conductor in the field of classical music who has elevated their craft and been met with widespread acclaim.

Beverley received the award at the Prize Winners’ Concert. During her acceptance of the Morawetz award, Beverley named David as one of those who had supported her career, from her emergence as a professional soloist, and also as one of the composers who had created solo vehicles for her throughout her career.

From the OAC press release – “The assessors were unanimous in selecting Beverley Johnston as the laureate of the 2025 Oskar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music. They said, “Beverley’s artistry represents pure excellence. We were moved by her commitment to commissioning and premiering new works, which has expanded the Canadian repertoire and inspired future generations of percussionists. She is a visionary collaborator leading to the creation of unique interdisciplinary projects. Beverley has placed percussion and Canadian music at the forefront of today’s concert stage.”

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