JUNO-nominated Land's End Ensemble (John Lowry, violin; Beth Root Sandvoss, cello; Susanne Ruberg-Gordon, piano; Vincent Ho, artistic director) is dedicated to introducing audiences to new music by Canadian and international composers, and to performing landmark chamber works of the 20th and 21st centuries. With a history of successful recordings and several award nominations, Land's End Ensemble's second recording celebrating their 20th anniversary features new works by four award-winning Canadian composers: Vincent Ho, Omar Daniel, Analia Llugdar, and Derek Charke. Guest performers include JUNO-nominated percussionist Ben Reimer and conductor Karl Hirzer.

Since it's premiere in 2012, "The Hockey Sweater" has resonated with audiences of all ages. Abigail Richardon-Schulte's orchestral reimagining of this Canadian tale has drawn in listeners through an evocative and creative approach to musical storytelling, making it the most performed Canadian orchestral work each year since it's creation. Roch Carrier's iconic 1979 short story The Hockey Sweater is read in schools by children across the country and offers a rich narrative that encapsulates a moment in Canadian history. Carrier's story is a nostalgic look at Canada's favorite winter sport, the cross-country catalogue retailer -"Mr. Eaton", the competition of francophones and anglophones, and national hero of the day - Rocket Richard. In this context, he gives us a very human story of aspirations, growing pains, trial and perspective. Richardson-Schulte uses expressive writing and innovative techniques to bring each scene to life through music, sound effects, physicality and vocalizations. The Hockey Sweater has been presented to approximately 150 000 audience members in the seven years since it's premiere and has been performed by just about every professional orchestra in Canada. It is also becoming popular in France. The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra first performed "The Hockey Sweater" in December 2014 and is proud to capture the first commercial recording of both the French and English versions of this work, further sharing this fantastic work that bridges Canadian literature, culture, languages, and music.

Istvan Anhalt was a leading figure in avant-garde composition during the second half of the 20th Century in Canada. Born into an assimilated Jewish family in Budapest in 1919, he emigrated to France in 1946, then settled in Canada in 1949. The present recording of Anhalt's last two orchestral works, launched on the occasion of the centennial of the composer's birth, marks the beginning of an ongoing project by the conductor Ajtony Csaba to create professional commercial recordings of recent Canadian orchestral repertoire. Anhalt's stature as "the heavyweight among Canadian composers" (as Udo Kasemets wrote in 1975), the high quality of his mature compositions, and a significant and growing body of scholarly work on his music, all suggest that he will retain his place as an important voice in Canadian composition of his era.

Jim and Paul play Glenn and Ludwig is a jazz album inspired by Glenn Gould's favorite Beethoven music, with the support of the Glenn Gould Estate, and performed by the Jim Gelcer / Paul Hoffert Trio. It features themes from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Symphony No. 5, Piano Concerto No. 5, and Pathetique Sonata integrated into carefully crafted new arrangements. The new and old are seamlessly woven together into virtuoso jazz trio performances with frequent improvisations and occasional supportive orchestration. Jazz and classical music fans alike will play these tracks over and over, mining more of their musical gold with each listen. The Jim Gelcer / Paul Hoffert Trio features Jim Gelcer, Paul Hoffert, along with George Koller, and guest appearances by jazz flutist Bill McBirnie. Previous collaborations by Jim Gelcer and Paul Hoffert have enthralled audiences and listeners at jazz festivals and clubs and on their inaugural jazz album "How High The Bird". Their separate musical excursions include award-winning rock, Kirtan (Indian), orchestral, and soundtrack recordings and performances.

Christos Hatzis' ballet score transcends and shatters the idea of genre and cultural boundaries by joining the searing and internationally renowned Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq who has collaborated with artists as varied as Bjork, the Kronos Quartet among others with haunting Cree songs of Steve Wood along with the Northern Cree Singers and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra led by Tadeusz Biernacki. Based on a story by Joseph Boyden the subject of the ballet is the history of the infamous Indian Residential Schools of Canada but clearly speaks to the universal issues of cultural identity. Going Home Star was described by CBC Television as "the most important dance mounted by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in it's illustrious 75 year history." With this double CD, Hatzis's score containing elements of traditional ballet, swing era jazz, disco dance music, dub-stpe and scratch dj mixes and beyond help re-imagine a unique 21st Century music that aims for the kind of reconciliation and cultural awakening that is the deeper goal of this multifaceted dance project.

So You Want To Write A Fugue? (A Celebration of Glenn Gould)

The Music of Allan Gilliland

The Mysterious Boot

Tremblay, G.: Le Signe du lion

Composer Ann Southam (1937–2010) was exhilarated by sound. She had an open mind for all forms of artistic expression, especially music and sound. An innately curious person, she enjoyed experimenting with sound and making musical discoveries. She was equally fascinated by a single ringing piano note as by a cycling sequencer in the electronic music studio. Southam spent much of her creative life at home with her Beckstein grand piano, constantly trying out the stream of ideas that would spring to her fertile imagination. In an interview she gave in 1997 she said, “I always knew I wanted to be an artist. Art is magic.” From her New York orchestral debut at age 14 (“promethean talent” – New York Times) to the present day as one of Canada’s leading artists, pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico continues to astound audiences and critics with her dazzling command of the keyboard. CBC Music named her one of 20 Can’t-Miss Classical Pianists of 2014, and one of Canada’s 25 best classical pianists in 2015.

Orchestre Metropolitain

Canadian pianist Janelle Fung has performed in concert from coast to coast in Canada, including tours with Prairie Debut and Jeunesses Musicales du Canada. Winner of the "Artist of the Year" award from the BC Touring Council in 2014, her international concerts have taken her to over twenty countries on five continents. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Fung has appeared in concert with the Ying Quartet, New York Woodwind Quintet, Mark Fewer and Matt Haimovitz. "aubade" is her debut full length recording on Centrediscs, featuring Canadian composer Auguste Descarries (1896-1958) whose works are only starting to be discovered once again after falling into obscurity.

Canadian songstress Sarah Slean first joined forces with Symphony Nova Scotia in April 2012, in an electrifying, groundbreaking collaboration that earned rave reviews and three standing ovations, and was broadcast nationwide by CBC. One of the highlights of the performance was "Lamento", a new work by Canadian star composer Christos Hatzis that was praised as “marvelously colorful and dramatic” (Chronicle Herald, Halifax). In 2018, Symphony Nova Scotia jumped at the chance to work with Sarah again, this time as part of Bernhard Gueller’s "Bucket List”, celebrating his final season as Symphony Nova Scotia’s Music Director (2002-2018). For this new collaboration, Symphony Nova Scotia and the Thunder Bay Symphony co-commissioned another work for Sarah from Christos Hatzis – this time titled "Ecstasy", a counterpoint to "Lamento". Audience reviews called the project “magical” and “a match made in heaven.” Now, Symphony Nova Scotia, Bernhard Gueller, Sarah Slean, Christos Hatzis, and producer Jeff Reilly are proud to release both recordings on one album.

Pianist Elaine Keillor continues her international career as a soloist and chamber musician through her highly praised performances and recordings. Well-known for her wide-ranging repertoire, she champions works of Canadian composers, often in premieres, those by women, and the musical traditions of First Peoples. These previously unrecorded piano pieces, all initially inspired by words or poetic imagery, include the last major completed works for piano, the set of Poetic Sketches and Netscapes, by two of Canada's most esteemed composers, Oskar Morawetz and John Weinzweig.

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