"Elegy, Rhapsody, and Fantasy"
TAG Duo is back in town! Joined by cellist Zach Reff, the Trio will be showcasing a vibrant matchmaking concert exploring each possible instrument combination – violin/piano, cello/piano, violin/cello, and finally all three together the harmonious-discordant trio formation. The program will journey not only from East to West and back again, but traverse across the physical and spiritual realms. Starting with the Rachmaninoff’s lamenting Elegiaque Trio and Shostakovich’s haunting Cello Sonata, we are then taken to the virtuosic rhapsody of Ravel’s Tzigane. From there, we enter the mystical world of Japanese Gods and Spirits with Alice Ho’s Kagura Fantasy and Hisaishi/Chu’s Princess Mononoke.
Program
Rachmaninoff - Trio Elégiaque No. 1 in G minor
Shostakovich - Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor, Op. 40
-intermission-
Ravel - Tzigane
Alice Ho - Kagura Fantasy
Hisaishi/Chu - “Legend of Ashitaka” from Princess Mononoke
Violinist Teresa Wang is a passionate musician who loves sharing her art and ideas with the world, believing in music’s power to connect, educate, and affect change. She enjoys performing in solo, chamber, and orchestral settings, and has been the concertmaster of the Academy Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, McGill Symphony Orchestra, and National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Teresa has performed as a soloist with the Academy Chamber Orchestra and Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, and was named the winner of Jeunesses Musicales Canada’s 2018 Peter Mendell Award. She was also a finalist at the 2019 Shean Competition and 2019 Prix d’Europe, winning prizes for artistry as well as best interpretation of any work at Prix d’Europe. In 2020, she was featured as an Emerging Young Artist at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance. As an avid chamber musician, Teresa has collaborated with artists such as Martin Beaver, Stéphane Lemelin, Douglas McNabney, John Novacek, Eric Nowlin, and Scott St. John. She has appeared as a fellow at the Toronto Summer Music Festival, Manchester Music Festival, Kneisel Chamber Music Festival, and National Youth Orchestra of Canada. After winning McGill’s 2018 Chamber Music Competition with the Z4 Quartet, her ensemble pursued residencies at Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music and the Lunenburg Academy. Teresa is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at Rice University studying with Paul Kantor.
Zachariah Reff is currently pursuing a Masters in cello performance at the Schulich School at McGill University under the tutelage of Brian Manker, having previously attended the Oberlin Conservatory as a student of Amir Eldan. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Zachariah began playing cello when he was five. He later joined the Chamber Music Connection, and was given the opportunity to participate in several chamber music competitions, including the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition. He has performed across North America and Europe as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player in halls including the Ohio Theatre, Chicago’s Symphony Center, the Southern Theatre, Severance Hall, Cincinnati Music Hall, and La Maison Symphonique. He has also performed at music festivals including Bowdoin International Music Festival, Zodiac Music Festival, Domaine Forget International Music Academy, and Center Stage Strings. Zachariah has had the pleasure of working with musicians such as Robert deMaine, Pamela Frank, Yo-Yo Ma, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Colin Carr, and Richard Aaron. He has also worked with chamber groups including the Pacifica Quartet, Cavani Quartet, Calidore Quartet, Emerson Quartet, and Guarneri Quartet.
Canadian pianist, writer, and interdisciplinary artist Tong Wang explores a variety of genres and mediums to bring new creative initiatives to the community. As a soloist, Tong has performed with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and Red Deer Symphony Orchestra. She is the recipient of awards including the International Chopin Golden Ring Competition, the Canadian Music Competition, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal of Performing Arts, and the Canada Graduate Scholarship. Tong’s essays, fiction, poetry, artwork, and photography have been published in literary project “carte blanche”, newspaper “Penguin”, and academic journal “Hear Here!”. Among her projects are the performance tours “Song of Praise” and “Ghiblilane”, musicology research on the aesthetic of “cuteness”, and the interactive sound novel “The [blank] Journal”. As Co-Executive Director of the arts initiative, “Zenkora Studios”, she leads artists across North America to produce multimedia orchestra concerts and innovative projects that illustrate the stories of an original fantasy universe. Tong is a member of the TAG Duo, UTAU2, Lincoln Center Stage, and the Global Leaders Cohort. She received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Piano Performance from the New England Conservatory and the McGill University, where she is currently a Doctorate Fellow. As a winner of the Nordic Strings Academy "China Tours" International Competition, Tong will perform her solo recital program "Homecoming" across China. Tong is the recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and Fonds de Recherche du Québec for the creation of a new multi-genre operetta, “Labyrinth of Tears”.