Ensemble Made In Canada is making a name for itself as one of Canada’s most exciting touring ensembles. The group is comprised of four leading young Canadian musicians: violinist Elissa Lee, violist Sharon Wei, cellist Rachel Mercer, and pianist Angela Park. Each member of the group has been forging outstanding individual careers and they come together with a wealth of experience and a shared love of chamber music. After performing with each other in various other formations over the past ten years the four members have combined forces to explore the chamber music repertoire, creating varied programs drawn from the sonata, duo, trio, and piano quartet literature. The players' chamber music backgrounds include performances at prestigious festivals such as Marlboro, Ravinia, Banff, Orford, Musique de Chambre a Normandie, Verbier, Prussia Cove, Pablo Casals, Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Festival of the Sound, and Evian.  They have collaborated with celebrated musicians such as Joseph Silverstein, Claude Frank, Gary Hoffman, Lawrence Lesser, Lorand Fenvyes, David Soyer, Gil Shaham, James Levine, Felix Galimir, Scott St. John, Rivka Golani and Lynne Harrell.  Performances include appearances at Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center, Steinway Society of Chicago, Glenn Gould Studio's OnStage and Music Around us Series, Phillips Collection, Montreal Debut Series, Dame Myra Hess Series, New York Viola Society, Mooredale Chamber Music Series, Syrinx Series, and Bargemusic.  Many of their performances have been broadcast by CBC radio. All four members of Ensemble Made in Canada have won major awards and prizes. Elissa captured the Grand Prize at the Eckhardt-Gramatte Competition and the Caltanisetta International Chamber Music Competition, Sharon has been a prizewinner at the Washington International Competition for Strings and was a National and Canadian Merit Scholar,  Rachel won the grand prize of the Vriendenkrans Competition of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and Angela was a grand prize winner of the Grace Welsh International Piano Competition in Chicago and received awards  of recognition at the World Piano Competition, the Honens International Piano Competition, and the Maria Canals International Competition. They have pursued their studies on grants from the Canada Council, Alberta Council for the Arts, Winspear Foundation, and the Ontario Arts Council‘s Chalmers Foundation. Ensemble Made in Canada was awarded a 2006 CBC Galaxie Rising Stars Award from the Banff Centre for the Arts where they made their debut concert.  Last season, Made In Canada performed for sold-out audiences in such venues including Winnipeg’s Virtuosi series, London’s Jeffery Series, Lindsay Concert Productions, University of Waterloo Series, Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Series, Syrinx Series in Toronto, and Hart House Sunday Concert Series. They will be performing this season for the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Brockville Concert Association, Shingwauk Series in Sault Ste. Marie, and Almonte in Concert. Ensemble Made in Canada strongly believes in promoting the education of future classical music audiences through outreach programs, and has enjoyed working with music students of all ages. Last season included masterclasses, chamber music coachings and talks at the University of Western Ontario, Laurier University, University of Manitoba, and Brandon University. Sharon performs on a viola generously on loan to her from the Banff Centre and Rachel performs on the 1824 McConnell Nicolaus Gagliano cello also generously awarded by the Canada Council.  For bookings and other enquiries, please email ensemblemadeincanada@gmail.com Further promotional materials are available upon request.  “…the quartet’s unforced tone, confidence and energy were noteworthy.  All splendid individual players, as a quartet they performed as one, always supportive, never assertive, united in their devotion to the music." - Peter Milner, The Lindsay Post, October 2007 All content © 2011mailto:ensemblemadeincanada@gmail.comshapeimage_2_link_0

Ensemble Made in Canada

Angela Park, piano

Elissa Lee, violin

Sharon Wei, viola

Rachel Mercer, cello

Ensemble website

Contact

click on the contact link to send email to ensemblemadeincanada@gmail.com

BIOGRAPHY

“What do you get when you take four young and extremely talented female Canadian musicians who: studied across the United States and Canada; have each won several prestigious awards; developed into stellar soloists in their own right; and joined together to form a piano quartet?

You get Ensemble Made in Canada, this country's newest up-and-coming chamber group, quickly making its mark on the Canadian music scene.”    - Gwenda Nemerofsky,  Winnipeg Free Press, 2007 

Brahms Piano quartet in g- mvt 4

             (live performance)

photo by Jinwon Kim