The Art of Lent Series — Concert: Hark Ensemble

Maria Case is a dynamic and highly regarded artist and educator in Toronto’s music community. She is an accomplished pianist and vocal recitalist, choral conductor, and composer. She maintains a busy private studio and is active as an examiner, adjudicator and lecturer on piano, theory and musicianship pedagogy at the Royal Conservatory of Music, where she served as Chief Examiner of Theoretical Subjects from 2006 to 2013. Maria has been the Artistic Director of The Annex Singers since 2005, leading this group with dynamic and imaginative programming. She is also the Music Director of Glebe Road United Church in Toronto. The majority of Maria’s compositions celebrate the voice, and are inspired by texts from a wide range of texts and traditions. Her most recent choral works are In Winter, O Living Flame, The World’s Desire, and the song cycles Empty Wake, Nightsongs, Into Flight, and Gallery. Her vocal works are published by Plangere. Maria holds ARCT Performance Diplomas in Piano and Voice as well as a Bachelor of Music in Composition from the University of Toronto. Other studies include graduate studies in English literature, choral and orchestral conducting, and jazz at the Berklee College of Music.

Lauded for her “passion and charm” (Now Magazine) and “sweet voice delivery” (Toronto Star), soprano Melanie Conly is acclaimed for her distinctive voice and musical understanding.  An experienced chamber musician and recitalist, she often solos with choirs and orchestras and is frequently sought out for her compelling performances of new music. She has performed in many series and festivals across Canada and creates and performs unique themed concerts in a wide range of musical styles. Alongside performing, Melanie maintains a voice and piano studio in Toronto. She was the singer for the Frederick Harris Music recordings for the Royal Conservatory Vocal Series 2012 and 2019 editions. In 2019, she was a presenter and adjudicator at the Royal Conservatory of Music Summit in Toronto, and in 2020 became a member of the Royal Conservatory College of Examiners. She is a choral clinician, certified yoga instructor, and is currently cultivating workshops that explore tools for performance, creativity and life — a synthesis of her passions as a teacher, performer, yogi, and meditation practitioner.

Jason Fowler is a Toronto guitarist/singer/songwriter and producer. He has released seven solo albums and has played on over 100 other recordings. 
Jason has toured as guitarist and musical director with renowned Irish tenor John McDermott since 2001. During the pandemic Jason and his wife Melanie Conly spent many quiet evenings singing and playing together at home. The culmination of that musical alchemy is a uncommon mixture of modern, folk and classical music, and since the world re-opened they’ve been performing as a duo.

Jason’s most recent album, Forelsket (released March 2024) is an evocative assemblage of 13 instrumental guitar pieces, ranging in style from folk to classical to jazz to Hawaiian slack-key. It features accordion (Mark Lalama on The Earl of Merle), violin (Drew Jurecka on L’Esprit De L’Escalier) and clarinet (Drew Jurecka on The Earl of Merle). It includes brand new recordings of 3 previously released compositions (Solaris, Midwestern Lament and Lumens of Light), which Jason felt belonged on this album as they have become richer and deeper in the intervening years.