Ventus Machina

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About

Surprising and entertaining since 2011.

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Formed in 2011, the New Brunswick Canada-based woodwind quintet Ventus Machina quickly became a major player on Canada’s east coast classical music scene, and continues to be an inventive musical force. Their flexible and dynamic style of performance—often presenting themed programs that at once engage, entertain, and educate—continues to attract and delight increasingly diverse audiences. Classically based and uncompromising in artistic quality, Ventus Machina makes regular excursions into other genres including jazz, opera, Latin and pop; challenging themselves and surprising their audiences. 

Ventus Machina was honoured to be awarded Classical Artist of 2018 by Music NB. Their first album, In the Weeds, was nominated for an East Coast Music Award for Classical Album of the Year in May 2018. A work commissioned for Ventus Machina also received an ECMA nomination and was released in the form of an extended music video in early 2018. Many other video collaborations have followed, including an imaginative series with videographer Christopher Simpson. Most of these can be viewed on the Ventus Machina YouTube channel.

Ventus Machina has achieved a unique position in Canadian chamber music ensembles by breaking down stylistic and cultural barriers, partnering with musicians of all kinds as well as dancers, visual artists, authors, videographers. Now in their 11th season, their continued rise in national and international recognition, and their positive track record of attracting funding, point to the success of their artistic instincts. Their second CD, Roots, was recorded in the depths of the pandemic in 2020, and set a new course that featured original compositions and arrangements. Marcher à l’infini (2022) is yet a further broadening of reach—a visual album, featuring original arrangements of Acadian folk/pop songs by the legendary Denis Richard. 

In addition to their many performances Ventus Machina presents two summer workshops each year; the week-long Wind Masters’ Workshop, and the Chamber Music Retreat for adults. During the school year they are found actively engaging in community outreach through their own initiatives and through partnerships with Symphony New Brunswick and other arts institutions. Individually they teach students at all levels, including at Mount Allison University and the University of Moncton. 

The members of Ventus Machina are: 

• Karin Aurell, flute – originally from Sweden, she brings a wealth of orchestral and chamber music experience. She is the driving force behind the quintet and much of its imaginative artistic thinking; 

Daniella Tejada-Cortes, oboe and english horn—Daniella crossed over the continent from Colombia to Quebec, where she completed a Masters in Music at the Univeristé de Montréal. Now in New Brunswick, Daniella is establishing herself as the go-to oboist in the province while teaching oboe to everyone from third-graders to university students.

• James Kalyn, clarinet and saxophone—renowned woodwind doubler and a professor at Mount Allison University, Kalyn has toured internationally with the Cleveland Orchestra. He now spends much of his creative energy writing and arranging music for Ventus Machina;

• Jon Fisher, horn – a native of British Columbia, Jon has played his way ever-eastward, studying in Calgary and Toronto before accepting a position in Saint John, NB, where he has made his mark as a teacher, performer and conductor;

Neil Bishop, bassoon – originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland and now residing in Saint John, Neil is a dedicated bassoonist and teacher with Sistema NB and the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra faculty. He currently serves as Secretary for the Council of Canadian Bassoonists, a Canadian registered charity.

Former founding members:

• Christie Goodwin, oboe (2011-2023) – hailing from Alberta, this Prairie girl has played with orchestras and chamber music groups across the country. She was the manager and soul of the quintet. Christie is now Manager of the Peterborough Symphony.

• Patrick Bolduc, bassoon (2011-2023) – with a little Quebecois ‘joie de vivre’, a lot of humour, and wide-ranging performing experience, Patrick brought boundless energy to the quintet. He is now national sales manager for Shimano Canada, and is still an active performer.

Ulyses Aragon, horn (2011-2017) – originally from Venezuela, Ulyses studied in Germany and brought the best of the European traditions of high orchestral standards to the ensemble. His playing on the CD In the Weeds is unforgettable.

Jean-Guy Boisvert, clarinet (2011-2014) – Jean-Guy is professor of music at the University of Moncton. His deep knowledge and high standards were critical to forming the professional voice of the quintet.

 

Contact: info@ventusmachina.com /Tel: 1-506-536-8762

Karin Aurell

Karin Aurell

flute

James Kalyn

James Kalyn

clarinet, saxophone

Jon Fisher

Jon Fisher

Horn

Daniella Tejada-Cortes

Daniella Tejada-Cortes

Oboe, English Horn

Neil Bishop

Neil Bishop

Bassoon

Daniella Tejada-Cortes

Daniella Tejada-Cortes

Oboe, English Horn

Daniella crossed over the continent from Colombia to Quebec, where she completed a Masters in Music at the Univeristé de Montréal. Now in New Brunswick, Daniella is establishing herself as the go-to oboist in the province while teaching oboe to everyone from third-graders to university students.

James Kalyn

James Kalyn

clarinet, saxophone

James Kalyn is a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician on both clarinet and saxophone. An Associate Professor at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada (www.mta.ca), Kalyn can be heard performing regularly in the region as clarinetist with Ventus Machina, on saxophone with the Brogue Quartet, and in recitals. James Kalyn is also a conductor of band, orchestra, and jazz ensemble. In recent years he has become very active as an arranger of music, bringing a lifetime of experience to the craft. He has over 40 arrangements and original compositions in a rapidly growing output. His love of the mechanical has also led him to train as an instrument repairman. 

Kalyn has been a clarinetist with numerous professional orchestras. As a concert saxophonist he has performed throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Argentina, China and Japan. He has played and toured extensively with The Cleveland Orchestra and is heard on solo, ensemble and chamber music recordings. His solo recordings include 6 Standard Saxophone Sonatas, Brillance and Glazunov Concerto. Chamber music recordings include Ventus Machina’sIn the Weeds (2017) and Folklore (2021).

 

 

 

Jon Fisher

Jon Fisher

Horn

Vancouver native Jonathan Fisher has been slowly working his way across the country, first by completing his studies at the University of Calgary, the University of Toronto, and the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music, and now by situating himself in the music community of Saint John, New Brunswick. Jon's diverse interests in music, both old and new, have taken him to a variety of performance settings, making him equally at home performing from the middle of a lake or in an old parking garage as he is on stage at a concert hall. He has performed with a number of orchestras, including the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, the Calgary Philharmonic, and can currently be found performing regularly with Symphony New Brunswick. Jon is also active as a teacher, both privately and with the Sistema New Brunswick program, and is very proud of his many devoted students and their achievements.

Karin Aurell

Karin Aurell

flute

Flutist Karin Aurell is originally from Sweden, where she spent close to 20 years as a full time symphony orchestra musician, playing for the most part in the Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra. She moved to Sackville NB in 2001, and has enjoyed life as a freelancing musician in the Maritimes ever since. She loves recording, and her latest Trio Arkaede CD, Tour de France, was released on Leaf Music in June 2014. She has two previous solo and chamber CD’s to her name—Nightingales for Katy, for solo flute, and Trio Arkaede's first self-titled album (released in June 2008).

Since her arrival in Atlantic Canada, Karin has played regularly with Symphony Nova Scotia and in the Charlottetown Festival Orchestra each summer. She is an active chamber music performer, mainly as a member of Ventus Machina, but also with NB new music group Motion Ensemble and Trio Arkaede together with Isabelle Fournier and Julien LeBlanc. She has collaborated in several projects with her sister Gerd Aurell, a visual artist based in Sweden, and the sisters' work has toured in Sweden and Canada. Karin teaches flute at Université de Moncton and Mount Allison University, and is the coach for the flute section of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra. An avid traveller, Karin occasionally takes time away from Ventus Machina to visit the far reaches of the planet.

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Karin Aurell, flûtiste, est originaire de Suède, où elle a travaillé pendant près de 20 ans comme musicienne d’orchestre, principalement avec le Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra. Depuis 2001, elle réside à Sackville, où  elle a pu vivre les joies et les frustrations de la vie de musicienne pigiste dans les maritimes. Karin adore travailler en studio et son dernier album, avec le trio Arkaède, intitulé Tour de France, a été lancé par Leaf Music en juin 2014. On peut également l’entendre sur deux albums précédents, Nightingales for Katy, pour flûte solo, et le premier album du Trio Arkaède.

Depuis son arrivée au Canada, madame Aurell a joué avec Symphony Nova Scotia et le Charlottetown Festival Orchestra ainsi que comme musicienne de chambre notamment avec le groupe de musique nouvelle néo-brunswickois Motion Ensemble ainsi qu’avec Isabelle Fournier et Julien LeBlanc avec qui elle a formé le Trio Arkaède. Elle a également collaboré à plusieurs projets avec sa sœur, Gerd Aurell, artiste visuelle. Karin Aurell enseigne la flûte à l'Université de Moncton et à Mount Allison University et supervise la section de flûtes de  l'OJNB. Une avide voyageuse, Karyn prend parfois un répit de Ventus Machina en visitant les endroits les plus éloignés de la planète.

Neil Bishop

Neil Bishop

Bassoon

Originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland and now residing in Saint John, Neil is a dedicated bassoonist and teacher with Sistema NB and the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra faculty. He currently serves as Secretary for the Council of Canadian Bassoonists, a Canadian registered charity.