James Ehnes
September 18 @ 7:30 pm
James Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after musicians on the international stage. Gifted with a rare combination of stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism and unfaltering musicality, Ehnes is a favourite guest at the world’s most celebrated concert halls.
Ehnes has an extensive discography and has won many awards for his recordings, including two Grammy Awards, three Gramophone Awards and twelve Juno Awards, the most of any classical musician in history. In 2021, Ehnes was announced as the recipient of the coveted Artist of the Year award at the 2021 Gramophone Awards which celebrated his recent contributions to the recording industry, including the launch of a new online recital series entitled ‘Recitals from Home’ which was released in June 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent closure of concert halls.
Ehnes began violin studies at the age of five, became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin aged nine, and made his orchestral debut with L’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal aged 13. He continued his studies with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and The Juilliard School, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation in 1997.
He is a Member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and an honorary fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, where he is a Visiting Professor. Since 2024, he has been Professor of Violin at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.
Ehnes will embark on his 50th birthday recital tour in his native Canada, with performances in every province and territory. The setlist of his 50th birthday recital tour features an original composition by the NWT’s own Carmen Braden. This composition was commissioned by the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre in support of the creation of new work in the NWT and local artists.
Carmen Braden is a creator and performer of new, beautiful and sometimes weird music. She is a two-time Juno Award nominated force in the world of new music, hailing proudly from the Northwest Territories. Moving smoothly between genres of composing and songwriting, Carmen is recognized as a “brilliant, young Yellowknife-based composer” (Ottawa Citizen) an “acoustic ambassador of the Canadian Subarctic” (Musicworks).
Carmen’s work in music, theatre, songwriting and dance has been performed across Canada and beyond, from Atlin BC to Helsinki, Finland. Her work has a special focus on northern themes as well as the influences of play and parenthood.
Carmen has released four albums to national acclaim. Her contemporary classical compositions are regularly commissioned and performed across Canada and are being increasingly recorded across Canada and beyond.
Carmen is an Associate Composer with the Canadian Music Centre, and is signed to Truant Artist Management for representing her compositional work. She is actively engaged as a contemporary classical composer as well as a performer of her original quirky songs throughout Canada.
quirky and clever… à la Joni Mitchell
THE WHOLENOTE
about Carmen Braden’s songwriting
