OPUS x Citadel+Cie: Friday Night Out [exclusive event]

*LIMITED AVAILABILITY & RSVP req. / few seats remain!

Join OPUS Chamber Music for an *exclusive event: a sensational ‘Friday-night-out’ at Citadel+Compagnie, one of Toronto’s premiere artistic incubators.

Violinist (2022 Indianapolis Int’l Competition winner), cellist (2018 Paulo Int’l Competition winner, 2017 Queen Elisabeth Int’l Competition), soprano , and OPUS Artistic Director share an intimate evening of music & storytelling among friends, curating a personal setlist of Ravel, Strauss, Ysaÿe, Dvorak, and more.

Witness world-class artists at the height of their craft, up-close-and-personal.

Join the Q&A panel & drinks with the artists following the music.

, piano | , violin | , cello | , soprano

Praised by The Baltimore Sun for her “impeccable technique…deeply expressive phrasing…and poetic weight," Sirena Huang is one of her generation’s most celebrated violinists. She brings not only technical brilliance and powerful artistry to the stage, but also a profound sense of connection to her audience.

Sirena has been the recipient of numerous accolades and awards. She is the Gold Medalist of the 11th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and was also awarded eight of the eleven special prizes.

Motivated by a deep wish to inspire peace and harmony with her music, Sirena has performed before world leaders, thinkers and humanitarians. She has appeared at the World Peace Conference held in Petra and at the Opening Ceremony of the “Forum 2000 World Conference” in Prague, among others. In addition to her TED Talk in 2006, Sirena has been featured on numerous radio and television broadcasts, including WQXR’s McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase, and NPR’s “From the Top" as well as several interviews with WNPR, CNBC, WTNH, WTIC, WB20 and Beethoven Radio.

Praised for his “burnished tone, spellbinding technique, and probing musical mind” (Boston Classical Review), cellist Brannon Cho has emerged as an outstanding artist of his generation. He is the First Prize winner of the prestigious 6th International Paulo Cello Competition, and is also a top prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth, Naumburg, and Cassadó International Cello Competitions.

Brannon Cho has appeared as a soloist with many of the top orchestras around the world, including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Belgian National Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, and Orchestre Philharmonique Royale Liège, under world-renowned conductors such as Susanna Mälkki, Stéphane Denève, Christian Arming, and Hugh Wolff.

As a lover of chamber music, Brannon Cho has shared the stage with artists such as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Christian Tetzlaff, Gidon Kremer, and Joshua Bell. Upcoming performances include Schubert’s Octet with Isabelle Faust and Tabea Zimmermann, and the debut recital of Trio Seoul.

An artist that “leaves no question about his riveting presentation and technical finesse” (Seattle Times), Canadian pianist KEVIN AHFAT is acclaimed to be “poised to become one of the young heirs of the classical piano realm, with a bold, boundary-pushing, millennial style matched by refined execution” (Vanguard Seattle). Possessing “a balanced mix of expressiveness and virtuosity” (Musical America), he “summons plenty of thunderpower in the big moments, but clearly values musicianship over mere showmanship” (American Record Guide).

Ahfat continues performances and recordings as the newest core member of the three-time Grammy-nominated ARC Ensemble, one of Canada’s preeminent chamber ensembles and foremost cultural forces. Their latest releases on Chandos Records have been nominated for a 2022 Juno Award, 2022 OPUS Klassik Award, as well as being named one of the “Top 10 classical musical albums of 2020” by The Boston Globe and one of WQXR’s “Best Classical Albums of 2020”.

Named one of CBC Music’s 30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30, Ahfat has had the privilege of sharing the stage with renowned artists across many genres, including Jean-Yves Thibaudet, SO Percussion, David Finckel, Derek Bermel, and Sonia Rodriguez. Festival appearances include the Bowdoin, Music@Menlo, Rockport, Fall for Dance North, Zhuhai, and Kyoto International Music Festivals. He has been broadcast locally and abroad several times on CBC Music’s In Concert program and WFMT’s Dame Myra Hess Series, and contributed his playing to Yamaha Canada’s recent Dear Glenn AI Project.

Multifaceted artist Danika Lorèn has not only made a name as a vocalist, but also as a composer. Having obtained a masters degree in opera at the University of Toronto, Danika continued training as a vocalist with the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Program from 2016-18. Some of Danika’s signature roles include: Gilda (Rigoletto), Musetta (La Bohème), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Ginevra/Dalinda (Ariodante), Despina (Così fan Tutte) and Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro).

From 2014-2019, Danika produced and directed five original shows with an ensemble that she founded called Collectìf. In addition to their self-produced work, Collectìf has been featured across Canada with performances with the Toronto Summer Music Festival, Festival Pontiac Enchanté, Canadian Opera Company and Saskatoon Opera Company. Earlier this year, Danika created and directed "Mozart ReReimagined": a digital concert pastiche in collaboration with Saskatoon Opera, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and Free Flow Dance Theatre.

As a composer, Danika’s work has been presented across Canada by the CBC, the Canadian Art Song Project, Canadian Opera Company, Pacific Opera Victoria and Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. Internationally, Danika’s work has been performed at the National Sawdust Theatre, at the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, at the Leeds Lieder Festival and at Wigmore Hall. Danika has recently joined Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists, and continues to build a unique career as a composer and vocalist.

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