Toronto-based junctQín (pronounced ‘junction’) consists of pianists Elaine Lau, Joseph Ferretti, and Stephanie Chua. The name of the collective is taken from junctio – the Latin word meaning to join, and from Qín – the Chinese character for keyboard instrument. Elaine and Joseph began duo piano performances in 2003; Stephanie and Elaine met the same year as graduate students. The three discovered a mutual love of contemporary music for all kinds of keyboards, so when the trio united for a gig in the spring of 2009, junctQín was born.
Self-proclaimed “keyboard geeks,” the members of junctQín consider the group a vehicle to introduce audiences to contemporary keyboard repertoire. Through collaborations with living composers, innovative programming, interactive performances and outreach programs, junctQín’s goal is to break down the barriers of new music with one of the most accessible instruments – the piano. Many of junctQín’s concerts feature a grand piano, toy piano, or will include electro-acoustics with toy piano, music box, acoustic tables, iDogs (yes – a robot dog), laptop, and other instrumentalists. Repertoire can be anything from Baroque keyboard pieces, Beatles tunes, Philip Glass, the melody of an ice cream truck, you name it – as well as works written collaboratively. Multimedia projects featuring contemporary art are part of a typical concert, too. junctQín believes that new/contemporary classical music should be accessible, fun, and entertaining.
In its inaugural year, junctQín was featured at the 2009 spOtlight Festival (produced by Ontario Arts Council, and co-sponsored by North American toy piano manufacturer Schoenhut). The group also gave a well-received recital at the Canadian Opera Company’s Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, performed at the Cambridge Galleries as part of March Break outreach activities and gave the Canadian première of Invention in Three Parts, composed by American composer Douglas C. Wadle at Artsweek Peterborough. The latter work was selected to be performed at Toronto’s 2010 Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, an all-night contemporary art festival.
With a keen interest in multimedia and multi-arts presentations, junctQín has also collaborated with Canadian artist Kenneth Doren in his digital opera Rule Britannia: A low opera in grand shite style and with Toronto conceptual artist Derek Liddington for his Springsteen-inspired, piano-duel installation Coup de grâce. Projects and concerts during 2011 include commission of works by Canadian composers Aaron Gervais, Alex Eddington and Susan Griesdale, as well as a collaboration with the Toy Piano Composers Collective (www.thetoypianocomposers.com), whose manifesto is “eight mischievous composers unleash their collective creative musical genius on Toronto.” In the 2011-2012 season, junctQín will perform in the Colours of Music Festival (Barrie, ON), Hart House Sunday Concerts (Toronto, ON), as well as première a new collaboration with Austrian composer Karlheinz Essl (University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna) presented by Toronto’s Music Gallery.
The versatility of Elaine, Joseph, and Stephanie has resulted in their involvement in many performances that extend beyond traditional settings, such as a garden concert at the outdoor Raff Pavilion, an outdoor trail concert at Eramosa River Park, and a sound installation at Artspace Gallery. They have each appeared as soloists and collaborative pianists throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe, in numerous concert series, venues and ensembles. Dedicated to working with living composers, these musicians have premiered dozens of Canadian and international compositions – most recently, works by Toronto composer Linda Catlin Smith, UK composer/installation artist Hywel Davies, and German composer Moritz Eggert.
junctQín wishes to acknowledge the generous support of the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council and the Austrian Cultural Forum.
