Archytas Ensemble
Biography Archytas Ensemble
Archytas Ensemble
Inspired by friendship and their innate musical chemistry, The Archytas Ensemble officially formed in 2016 as an international roster of world class chamber musicians. Some members have known each other since childhood and have since gone on to win such accolades as the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal for contribution to the arts in Canada, the Sir John Barbirolli Award at the Lionel Turtis International Viola Competition, and 1st Prize in the 24th International Johannes Brahms Competition. As seasoned chamber musicians and soloists, Archytas members have appeared in concert halls throughout the world including the Berlin Philharmonie, Tokyo Opera City, Taiwan National Concert Hall, and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, while collaborations with artists such as James Ehnes, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Johannes Moser, Atar Arad, Jane Coop, the Dover String Quartet, and the Zodiac Trio speak to their artistic temperment. With bases in Europe, North America and Australia, the Ensemble collects in various parts of the world on a project to project basis.
Supported by a private patron with the desire to commission a new quartet, Archytas was able to indulge in their love of creating contemporary music from the very inception of their ensemble, with their initial project including two great historic works from the literature and a new work from American-Canadian Composer Marcus Goddard. Immediately following the World Premier of Goddard’s second string quartet, “Three Wings”, the Ensemble was invited by Grammy and Juno Award winning Producer Denise Ball to air the new work on CBC Radio 2’s “In Performance”. Following this premier broadcast, host Paolo Petropaulo declared Archytas’ style as “gripping…soulful playing”.
Spring 2019 will see the Ensemble’s debut recording released internationally by Paladino Media GmbH in Vienna, Austria. This recording features the chamber music of Marcus Goddard in a Tryptich of works written for strings.
The Archytas Ensemble takes it’s name after the great Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Astronomer, Statesman and Strategist, Archytas, who has been attributed with being the first to quantify the distance between a semi-tone in music.
