Jâca
clarinet & guitar | clarinette et guitare
PHOTO | Machmer Media
Jâca
Wesley Ferreira | clarinet/clarinette
Jaxon Williams | guitar/guitare
Cross vivid, folk-inspired melodies with two well-travelled jesters and you’ll find Jâca (ZHĀ-ka), a guitar and clarinet duo with exuberant energy, charm and wit. Clarinetist Wesley Ferreira and guitarist Jaxon Williams define their style as world music fused with personality, and are unafraid to experiment with that which captures their fancy – fresh takes on classics as well as composition from emerging artists. They invite you to wander with them through a program ranging from the flirtatious tangos of Piazzolla to a striking Romanian-influenced new work by Canadian composer Candace Bouchard.
Highly skilled musicians and educators, both Wesley and Jaxon hold doctorates in music. Wesley is a gifted expressionist whose engaging personality connects audiences with his beloved works. He performs worldwide as soloist, orchestral and chamber musician. International award-winning guitarist Jaxon is a former Fulbright scholar and master of the Spanish guitar repertoire.
From the moment the duo step foot on the stage to the final round of applause, audiences members will find themselves engaged, entertained and enthralled. An evening with Jâca is an encounter with virtuosic performance, cheeky banter, and rhythms that coax you to play along.
Croisez des mélodies expressives, d’inspiration folk, avec deux plaisantins qui ont beaucoup voyagé et vous obtiendrez Jâca (ZHĀ-ka), un duo de guitare et clarinette à l’énergie, au charme et à l’esprit exubérants. Le clarinettiste Wesley Ferreira et le guitariste Jaxon Williams définissent leur style comme de la musique du monde empreinte de caractère et ils n’ont pas peur d’expérimenter avec ce qui suscite leur intérêt – de nouvelles versions de classiques de même que des compositions d’artistes émergents. Ils vous invitent à déambuler avec eux à travers un programme allant des tangos enjôleurs de Piazzolla à une nouvelle oeuvre saisissante, d’influence roumaine, de la compositrice canadienne Candace Bouchard.
Musiciens et professeurs hautement qualifiés, Wesley et Jaxon sont tous deux titulaires d’un doctorat en musique. Wesley est un expressionniste doué dont la personnalité attachante connecte le public avec ses oeuvres préférées. Il se produit dans le monde entier en tant que soliste, musicien d’orchestre et chambriste. Guitariste primé au niveau international, Jaxon est un ancien boursier Fulbright et un maître du répertoire de la guitare espagnole.
Dès l’instant où le duo met le pied sur scène jusqu’à la dernière ronde d’applaudissements, les membres du public se sentiront impliqués, divertis et captivés. Une soirée avec Jâca est une rencontre entre une prestation virtuose, des plaisanteries insolentes et des rythmes qui vous incitent à entrer dans le jeu.
CONCERTS
2024
Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC)
Saturday October 19, 2024 | Showcase
Saskatoon, SK | OSAC
“WAY too much fun for Classical music!”
– Cris Inguanti, former assistant principal clarinetist, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
BIOGRAPHY
Jâca is an international award-winning clarinet and guitar duo that combines classical and world music to bring an adventurous, passionate, and completely original musical style to the stage. Jâca breathes new life into the traditional concert experience, ignoring convention and consistently leaving their audiences buzzing.
Since 2018, Jâca has delighted audiences in concert halls at arts series and music festivals worldwide, including in North America, South America, and Europe. The press described the duo as being “at the forefront of an exciting new wave of classical chamber music groups” (Sneak Preview, OR) and praises Jâca for “pushing classical music forward” (Culturs: Global Multicultural Magazine).
Dividing their time between the USA, Canada, Spain, and Portugal, this 21st-century duo represents the limitless potential of an interconnected world.
BIOGRAPHIE
Jâca est un duo de clarinette et de guitare primé à l’international qui combine musique classique et du monde pour offrir sur scène un style musical aventureux, passionné et absolument original. Jâca insuffle une nouvelle vie à l’expérience de concert traditionnelle, ignorant les conventions et laissant constamment son public en liesse.
Depuis 2018, Jâca ravi le public dans les salles de concert, lors de rencontres artistiques et de festivals de musique du monde entier, notamment en Amérique du Nord, en Amérique du Sud et en Europe. La presse a décrit le duo comme étant “à l’avant-garde d’une nouvelle vague passionnante de groupes de musique de chambre classique” (Sneak Preview, OR) et loue Jâca pour “faire progresser la musique classique” (Culturs: Global Multicultural Magazine).
Partageant leur temps entre les Etats-Unis, le Canada, l’Espagne et le Portugal, ce duo du XXIe siècle représente le potentiel illimité d’un monde interconnecté.
WESLEY FERREIRA
With a charismatic blend of technical flair, polish, and grace, Portuguese-Canadian clarinetist Wesley Ferreira draws in audiences with his unabashed joy and passion for storytelling through music.Equally at ease performing the masterworks as well as contemporary repertoire, he has been praised by critics for his “beautiful tone” and “technical prowess” (The Clarinet Journal) as well as his “remarkable sensitivity” (CAML Review). Fanfare Magazine notes, Ferreira is “clearly a major talent.” As a recital clarinetist, his performances continually engage.
Wesley leads an active and diverse career performing worldwide as soloist, orchestral and chamber musician, and as an engaging adjudicator, and clinician. Recent performances have taken him to Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, and Spain. Additionally, he has been broadcast nationally on RTP television in Portugal and on radio with the CBC in Canada and ABC in Australia. Currently based in the United States, he is part of the renowned faculty of Colorado State University’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance where he maintains a thriving clarinet studio. Additionally, he is co-founder and artistic director of the Lift Clarinet Academy, a summer music festival and training institute which attracts students from around the world.
Wesley continues to be deeply impacted by his heritage and unique upbringing. Born in Canada, Wesley grew up in an immigrant family within a tightly-knit Portuguese community, participating fully in the musical and traditional customs of the diaspora. He has released three Portuguese-themed recordings including the 2019 solo album Arrival (on Centaur Records) which features works from prominent Portuguese composers.
As a recording artist with nine albums to his credit including the 2013 East Coast Music Awards winner – Classical Recording of the Year, and 2015 International Portuguese Music Awards winner in the Instrumental Category, he continues what he describes as his “fruitful exploration of the recording art form.”
Wesley received his advanced musical training at the University of Western Ontario (B.M) and Arizona State University (M.M. and D.M.A) studying with Robert Riseling and Robert Spring, respectively. His industry endorsements include positions on the performing artist rosters of Selmer Paris and Vandoren. Wesley performs exclusively on Selmer Muse clarinets, and Vandoren BD4 mouthpiece, V21 reeds, and gold M/O ligature.
“ … a potent synthesis of serious musicianship, technical ferocity, and bravery of programming …. a consummate showman capable of presenting even the most challenging works with the ease and fluency of a world-class player.”
– Concert Series Artistic Director
JAXON WILLIAMS
Hailed as a “Rising Star in the Guitar World” (Corvallis Arts Review), Jaxon Williams is an acclaimed classical guitarist and pedagogue. He has won prizes in various international competitions, including the OSAA Classical Guitar Competition, Sierra Nevada International Classical Guitar Competition, San Francisco Classical Guitar Competition, Pacific Guitar Competition, and Beverly Hills National Auditions. Jaxon is praised as “a player of rare power and grace” (William Kanengiser, GRAMMY award winning LAGQ), having “a refined musicianship, solid technique, and an engaging stage presence” (Frank Koonce, guitar scholar and publisher), and is a sought after performer of the classical guitar. He is also a former Fulbright scholar, having studied in Spain, where he mastered the Spanish guitar repertoire and learned Flamenco guitar with maestros Paco Cortés and Adam del Monte.
Currently based in Seville, Spain and dividing time with Los Angeles, CA, Jaxon has served as California Regional Director for the non-profit Lead Guitar (www.leadguitar.org), where he was crucial in implementing classical guitar programs in low-income schools, trains new teachers, and supervising existing programs. An innovator at heart, Jaxon is also working with Lead Guitar to pilot and develop an online learning program to be able to reach rural schools with less access to top quality guitar instruction.
In addition to his work as a solo artist, Jaxon collaborates frequently with ensembles and actively performs on the concert stage worldwide and also gives masterclasses and lectures at Universities around the USA. Jaxon has also performed extensively with soprano and voice educator Laurel Irene, and together they work to take new classical music to the concert stage.
“a Rising Star in the Guitar World”
– Corvallis Arts Review, on Jaxon Williams
PHOTOS | Machmer Media
“At a Jâca concert you’re not just a bystander, you feel a part of it.”
– Humans of Chamber Music
“it’s classical music, but you wouldn’t believe it.”
– The Coffeehouse Classical
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