The Aradia Ensemble
Kevin Mallon, Artistic Director

Soloists

• Joseph Schnurr, Tenor
• Marion Newman, Mezzo Soprano
• Sean Watson, Bass-baritone
• Catherine Rooney, lyric coloratura sopran

The Aradia Ensemble

According to Robert Graves, Aradia was the daughter of Apollo’s twin sisters, who was sent by the gods to teach humankind to order the music of the natural world into song.

The Aradia Ensemble is based on Toronto, Canada, and specializes in presenting an eclectic blend of orchestral, operatic and chamber music played on original instruments. While focusing on the repertoire of seventeenth-century French and English music, Aradia also performs works by the Italian and German masters of the baroque, as well as contemporary pieces commissioned by the group.

We have made two music videos and one film soundtrack. We have also collaborated with Isadora Duncan and Baroque dancers, co-produced an opera, and worked with Balinese Gamelin. In July 2000, Aradia was the featured ensemble in residence at the New Zealand Chamber Music Festival, and in July 2001, we performed at the Musica nel Chiostro in Italy.

Aradia regularly performs in Toronto, often at the Gladstone Hotel on Queen Street West. These concerts are special because we play chamber music as it was meant to be played: in an intimate, informal setting, and on period instruments. These concerts are often LCBO licensed, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the music with a glass of wine.

Aradia also regularly performs larger scale performances at the beautiful Blessed Sacrament Church on Yonge Street at Lawrence Avenue.

Recordings of our music are available on the Naxos Records label. We have performed at many festivals in Canada and the US and have toured internationally.

Kevin Mallon, Artistic Director

Originally from Ireland, Kevin Mallon, now resident in Canada, has quickly developed a world-wide reputation. With an impressive background that includes conducting studies with John Eliot Gardiner, composition with Peter Maxwell Davies, training at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and at Dartington College of Arts, he learnt his craft as a violinist with such orchestras as the Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic, and later as concertmaster with Le Concert Spirituel and Les Arts Florissants in Paris. With these groups, he has recorded extensively and toured the world. He has performed concerts all over Europe, including Vienna, London, Berlin, and Paris, with appearances in Russia, the Baltic States, China, Japan, New Zealand, the United States and Canada.

Before moving to Canada to take up positions with the University of Toronto and the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Kevin was active in both his native Ireland, including the Ulster Orchestra, Castleward Opera, and the National Chamber Choir.

In 1996, Kevin Mallon formed and became the Artistic and Music Director of the Aradia Ensemble.

Kevin Mallon is also in demand as a conductor with other orchestral groups in Toronto, including Toronto Chamber Orchestra (as Music Director), Opera Anonymous, and Opera In Concert. Other engagements as a guest conductor have taken him to Finland, Sweden, Poland and the United States. He has recently also taken up the position of Music Director of Opera 2005 in Cork, Ireland, conducting a series of operas as part of Cork’s tenure as European Capital of Culture. Also interested in Irish music, he is a member of the Toronto-based traditional group, Dulaman.

Joseph Schnurr, Tenor

"Schnurr had an engaging sense of animation, as well as supple vocal technique and expressive spice, making him most interesting to listen to." Messiah – Grand Philharmonic Choir Stephen Preece, Kitchener Waterloo Record

"Joseph Schnurr was an excellent Tamino. His tenor vocal was controlled and effortless. His acting was very good and he was an excellent foil for a very funny Papageno." Magic Flute – Orchestra London Brian Hay, norules-nolights.com

Joseph Schnurr is one of Canada’s most exciting young lyric tenors, establishing an impressive career on concert and operatic stages both here and in Europe.

A Graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, Joseph’s opera credits as a student at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin include Tom Rakewell (The Rake’s Progress) and the title role in Handel’s Xerxes. In 2007, he sang Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at Berlin’s Tempodrom. Berlin audiences also saw his portrayal of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte in der U-Bahn, and in 2008, Joseph sang Sándor Barinkay in J. Strauss’ Der Zigeunerbaron in Bodensee.

Joseph Schnurr was tenor soloist in Messiah with Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Evangelist in both St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion (Grand River Baroque Festival) and presented a recital of Schumann’s Dichterliebe for the Canadian German Festival in Toronto.

In 2009, Joseph joined the Pacific Opera Victoria’s Resident Artist program, singing First Priest/Armed Guard in Victoria, and Tamino in a co-production of Die Zauberflöte with Orchestra London.

Recent European performances for this versatile singer include Evangelist in St. John Passion at Canterbury Cathedral, England, Orpheus in the Berliner Symphoniker production of Haydn’s Orpheus und Eurydike, a Liederabend at Berlin’s Bode Museum, and Tamino in a co-production of Die Zauberflöte with Stuttgart Opera in Vladivostok, Russia.

In Canada during the 2009/10 season, Mr. Schnurr sings Haydn’s Creation with Chorus Niagara, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Schubert’s Mass in G with Karen Schuessler Singers (London), and Messiah with Grand Philharmonic Choir, the Bach Elgar Choir of Hamilton, Guelph Chamber Choir and Grand River Chorus.

Marion Newman, Mezzo-soprano

First Nations mezzo-soprano Marion Newman "has a distinctive, dusky voice that suggests drama with every note" (Toronto Star) and has been noted as "a show stealer" (BBC Music Magazine). In her debut with Cork’s Opera 2005 in the title role of Carmen, she was widely praised for her “superbly sinuous sexuality” and as “a very exciting new talent” by the Irish Examiner. She returned to Cork to appear as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and has appeared as Margret in Wozzeck and Juno in The Tempest with Pacific Opera Victoria, Meg Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, the White Cat, the Dragonfly and the Squirrel in L’Enfant et les Sortilège, both for Edmonton’s Opera Nuova.

The 2008-2009 season will feature performances as Cherubino and Cinderella for Opera Lyra Ottawa and Hansel for Opera Hamilton, as well as Ms Newman’s debut with the National Ballet of Canada, singing Vivaldi's Dixit Dominus as part of a new work by Sabrina Matthews, and the release of a new recording with the Aradia Ensemble.

Highlights of Marion's 2007-2008 season include Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte with Vancouver Opera, and the roles of Flora in La Traviata and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro in Sulmona, Italy as part of the C.O.S.I. programme. International appearances include performances in the Czech Republic and Germany as Don Ramiro in Mozart’s Die Gärtnerin Aus Liebe and Ericlea in Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno di Ulisse. Marion also sang the roles of Zita and La Zia Principessa in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Suor Angelica in Italy. As part of the Banff Centre new music programme, she toured France with Richard Dubelski’s What’s Goin’ On and in 2004 she traveled to Lithuania with the ERGO ensemble to perform at the Is Arti New Music Festival.

On the concert stage, Marion has performed with the Victoria Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Portland Baroque Orchestra, CapriCCio Vocal Ensemble, San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra, Kingston Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, Elora Festival Singers, Talisker Players, Bell’Arte Singers, Aradia Ensemble, Toronto Philharmonia, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, St Lawrence Choir, Fanshawe Chorus London and the Sooke Philharmonic. Her extensive repertoire includes Handel’s Messiah, the Mozart Requiem, Coronation Mass and Davidde Penitente, Copland’s In The Beginning, Bach’s St. John Passion, Magnificat, and Cantata no. 4.

Marion has also demonstrated her "luscious mezzo soprano voice and captivating vivacity" on television, having been featured four times as a soloist on CBC’s National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, and opening the 2002 Royal Golden Jubilee Gala at Roy Thomson Hall, where she performed the National Anthem with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Marion’s discography includes three discs with the Aradia Ensemble for Naxos: Vivaldi’s Sacred Music and Griselda, Handel’s Rinaldo and Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit pour Noel and Te Deum. As well, she recorded Sea Change featured in the contemporary work Brush Strokes by Linda C. Smith, with Continuum Contemporary Music and Handel’s Dixit Dominus and Bach’s Cantata no. 4 with the CapriCCio Ensemble for Virga Recordings.

Marion made her orchestral debut at the age of sixteen with the Victoria Symphony, not as a singer, but as a pianist, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto K. 488 in A Major. She holds a Bachelor of Music in piano performance from the University of Victoria and a Master of Music with Distinction in vocal performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is the recipient of a Career Development Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Sean Watson, Bass-baritone

With a career that encompasses both opera and oratorio, bass-baritone Sean Watson has sung throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East.

Recent performances included The Bonze in Madama Butterfly with Opera Hamilton, the title role in The Mikado with Toronto Operetta Theatre, and John Estacio's The Houses Stand Not Far Apart with Chorus Niagara and the Orpheus Choir.

Mr Watson has also performed many times with Opera in Concert in such works as Donizetti's Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda, as well as Handel`s Rinaldo, which was later recorded for the Naxos label. He has also appeared with Opera Ontario as Dr Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, and Masetto in Don Giovanni, as well as with Toronto Operetta Theatre as Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow, and Prince Ypsheim in Wiener Blut.

In addition, Mr Watson has appeared with the Ottawa Choral Society, Kingston Symphony, Elora Festival Singers, Early Music Vancouver, Windsor Symphony, and the Carmel Bach Festival in California. Mr Watson is also a former Les Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyrique Grand Prize Winner, which led to appearances at L'Opera d'Avignon in France and Teatro di Livorno in Italy.

Last year Mr Watson also appeared in the BRAVO TV series called Broadway Melodies. This six-part half-hour series explores the surprisingly varied and dynamic history of the musical, and the men and women who created them.

Most recent engagements included the role of Frank in Die Fledermaus with Opera Hamilton, Handel`s Messiah with Symphony Nova Scotia, and Haydn's Creation with Chorus Niagara.

In early 2010, Mr Watson will sing J.S. Bach`s St Matthew Passion with the Ottawa Choral Society, and the Mozart Requiem and BWV Cantata 4 with Howard Dyck and the Bach Elgar Choir.

Catherine Rooney, lyric coloratura soprano

Lyric Coloratura soprano Catherine Rooney has been praised for her acting skills, warmth and clarity of tone and spectacular vocal agility. She recently was named runner up at the Ontario Provincial Music Festival Association competition in London Ontario, and was a winner of the Grand Opera class as well as several other classes at last year’s Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival. This year Ms. Rooney makes her debut with two Toronto opera companies, Toronto Opera Repertoire (as Gilda in Rigoletto) and Opera York (as Annina in La Traviata). Ms. Rooney is in her second year of the undergraduate programme at The Glenn Gould School under the tutelage of Donna Sherman. This year at The GGS will also have her playing the role of The Nightingale in the North American premier of La bella dormente nel bosco by Respighi.

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