$35
Flute and guitar duo, Duo Beija-Flor, presents a dynamic and accessible repertoire of classical works inspired by the many diverse cultures found around the world. This fresh and modern style they call ethno-classical highlights the emotions and experiences we all share, expressing them through the lens of music.
The duo has performed across Canada, the United States, Argentina, and Costa Rica. To date, they have released three critically acclaimed albums: Envol (2011), Muzica (2013), and Costas (2018). The duo’s latest album, Costas, was released in September 2018 with the American label Big Round Records/NAXOS of America and garnered rave reviews (4.5/5 Winnipeg Free Press, 4/4 Cinemusical (USA), McNally Robinson Booksellers/Classic 107FM (Manitoba) album of the month for November 2018). Their unique approach to their repertoire has led to invitations on many TV and radio programs (Radio-Canada, Global TV, CIBL, TVCK, Cogeco TV, etc.).
Since their creation, the duo have been recipients of many awards and grants from several organizations, including the Canadian Arts Council, the Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Québec, laureates for Mon Accès à la Scène, le fond de promotion from the GMMQ, the Leo Brouwer endowment from the Banff Arts Centre, residency grant from the National Arts Centre and a residency grant from Orford Music. They were selected to tour under the auspicious of Prairie Debut for the 2020-22 seasons. More recently, they were featured in the digital concert series from Debut Atlantic in February 2022.
Hailed by San Francisco’s Flute View magazine as “…an incredibly dynamic and creative team“, the duo is known for their “masterful arrangements” (Flute Quarterly, USA), which helps them create a more personal style, something outside of the established flute and guitar repertoire. To lend credence and to better understand the cultures represented in their arrangements, the duo takes care whenever possible to meet and learn from the people and musicians that make up the culture that inspired these works. In 2015, they travelled to Buenos Aires to create and refine their arrangements of Astor Piazzolla’s “Escualo” and “Oblivion,” which premiered at the Museo Fernandez Blanco in Buenos Aires. They also worked with cimbalomist Nicolae Margineanu and flutist Mircea Gheorghescu to better understand the Romanian musical language for their arrangement of Bartok’s “Romanian Folk Dances.”
Constantly searching for new works, Duo Beija-Flor has collaborated with several Canadian composers to expand their repertoire. These composers include Roddy Ellias’s “Havana Street Parade” (premiered at Concordia University, October 2013), Carmen Braden’s “The Culture of IsolaKon, aka No Rehearsal” (premiered simultaneously online and on the radio in partnership with the University of Calgary’s campus radio CSJW in November 2020, grant from SOCAN and Prairie Debut), and “Petite Nation, Suite Rustique Riponaise” by Sylvain Picard, premiered in June 2022 in St-Placide, Québec. The duo is currently in discussion with the legendary Cuban composer and guitarist Leo Brouwer for a newly commissioned work for flute and guitar based on the Cuban contradanza. The piece, which will be only the third flute and guitar piece he has written, is set to be finished in November 2023.
In early 2023, the duo spent 12 days residency at Orford Music in Quebec to work on an all-new program, Musings from Elsewhere. This program pairs pieces from different composers worldwide that share a common inspiration. This ode to creativity sees Boccherini meet Rossini, Piazzolla visiting Patrick Roux, Debussy inspired by Miyagi, Ravel by Cuba and Leo Brouwer and Purcell trading ideas with Villa-Lobos.