Duo Beija-Flor epk 2023

"The Duo Beija-Flor is an incredibly dynamic and creative team. The flutist (Marie-Noëlle Choquette) has a beautifully warm sound which is dynamic and supremely expressive. The guitarist (Charles Hobson) is absolutely fantastic and provides a perfect bed for the flutist to soar on" -Viviana Guzman, The Flute View Magazine, San Francisco

"With each instrument, they change timbres and ornaments, tempi and rhythmical interplay, with harmonies that reach the sounds of rock, all while staying classical. A great discovery from Montreal" -Yves Bernard, Le Devoir, Montreal

Artistic Statement

Duo Beija-Flor is a classical flute and guitar duo that is as multi-layered as their home base of Montreal. They take listeners on a musical journey around the world by focusing on the commonality of the human experience expressed through the lens of culture. Their repertoire consists uniquely of music by composers who have used either traditional dances, stories, or songs in order to create their works. With this type of repertoire, they seek to increase the understanding of the diverse populations and cultures that make up modern-day Canada through music, anecdotes and outreach performances.

Biography

Comprised of guitarist Charles Hobson and flutist Marie-Noëlle Choquette, Duo Beija-Flor 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 has garnered rave reviews from around the world (4.5/5 Winnipeg Free Press, 4/4 Cinemusical (USA), McNally Robinson Booksellers/ Classic 107FM (Manitoba) album of the month for November 2018, etc). 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 the creation of the duo in 2013, they have received numerous grants and awards from several organizations including the Canadian Arts Council, le Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Québec, laureates for the competition "Mon Accès à la Scène”, the "Fonds de promotion de la GMMQ" from Québec's chapter of the AFM, the Leo Brouwer endowment from the Banff Centre, SOCAN, the National Arts Centre, and a residency grant from Orford Music. They were selected to tour under the auspicious of Prairie Debut for 2020-22 seasons and were featured as part of the first digital concert series from Debut Atlantic in February 2022. The duo was recently selected as touring artists for Debut Atlantic's 24-25 season.

Hailed by San Francisco's Flute View magazine as “...an incredibly dynamic and creative team”, the duo is known for their "masterful arrangments" (Flute Quarterly, USA) which help them to create a personal style, something outside of the established 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 has inspired their many works. In 2015 they travelled to Buenos Aires, to create and refine their arrangements of Astor Piazzolla's, "Escualo" and "Oblivion", which they premiered at the Museo Fernandez Blanco in Buenos Aires. They also worked with cimbalomist Nicolae Margineau and flutist Mircea Gheorghescu to better understand the Romanian musical language for their arrangement of Bartok's famed "Romanian Folk Dances".

Constantly searching for new works, Duo Beija-Flor has collaborated with several Canadian composers such as Roddy Ellias, "Havana Street Parade" (premiered at Concordia University 2013), Carmen Braden, "The Culture of Isolation, aka No Rehearsal" (premiered online and on the radio in partnership with the University of Calgary's campus radio CSJW 2020) and Sylvain Picard "Petit Nation, Suite Rustique Riponaise" (premiered in St-Placide Québec 2022).

What the critics are saying!