Lara Deutsch
Named one of 2020’s “Rising Stars” by BBC Music Magazine, flutist Lara Deutsch is a versatile soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player known for her engaging warmth and ability to connect with audiences. Recipient of the $125,000 Prix Goyer for 2019-2020, Lara was also a first prize winner of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s 2014 Manulife Competition, at which she was awarded a total of seven prizes. Additionally, she was the Grand Prize Winner of both the National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary Competition (2014) and the Canadian Music Competition (2010), as well as a laureate of the Concours Prix d’Europe (2016).

An avid chamber musician, Lara’s recent performance highlights include recitals for the New Classical FM’s Zoomer Hall series, the National Arts Centre (NAC) & Facebook’s #CanadaPerforms initiative, Newport Classical (Rhode Island, USA), the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s Virée Classique, Ottawa’s Music & Beyond Festival, and the Allegra Chamber Music series, of which she was Artist-in-Residence for the 2019-2020 season. Among her favourite collaborators are pianists Philip Chiu and Frédéric Lacroix, guitarist Adam Cicchillitti, and harpist Emily Belvedere, with whom she founded Duo Kalysta. She has recorded two chamber music albums on the Leaf Music Label: Origins (2019, Duo Kalysta) and Night Light (2022, with Philip Chiu), both of which were named to Top 20 lists for their respective years by CBC Music.

Lara is currently based in the Ottawa-Montreal area, where she has performed extensively with the NAC Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (of which she acted as Assistant Principal Flute & Piccolo for the 2016-17 season), the symphony orchestras of Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Kingston, and the McGill Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Whenever possible, Lara enjoys performing for young audiences through educational outreach concerts, principally as a member of the NAC’s Ayorama Wind Quintet. She is similarly dedicated to sharing her transformative experiences working with Olympic mental performance coach Jean-François Ménard, having hosted workshops internationally for performers of all ages. In November of 2020, she joined the music faculty at Carleton University as a performance instructor.

Lara performs on a 14k gold Haynes flute, generously loaned by Canimex Inc. of Drummondville, Québec.

She is incredibly grateful for the support of Mécénat Musica, the Canada Council for the Arts, and FACTOR in her ongoing projects, as well as for the years of invaluable guidance from her principal teachers and mentors: Denis Bluteau, Tim Hutchins, Camille Churchfield, and Cathy Baerg. She is represented by Latitude 45 Arts.

Adam Cicchillitti
There were several media accolades in 2017 for Montreal-born guitarist Adam Cicchillitti. The renowned American magazine Classical Guitar called him “a superb Canadian guitarist” and CBC Music included him on its list of Canada’s top thirty most promising young musicians in classical music, describing him as an “ardent ambassador for classical guitar.” His debut album Canciones, which was financed by the Canada Council for the Arts and MusicAction, was released in early 2018 under the Analekta label. The CBC music flagship classical music program In Concert mentioned that "every note stands out, like the brilliant distinct colours of a masterpiece by Pablo Picasso" when describing Adam’s debut album.

Known as one of the most promising guitarists of his generation, Cicchillitti is an active performer, composer, teacher and arranger. His compositions and arrangements are published by renowned editor les Productions d’Oz. In 2016, he toured Eastern Canada with Jeunesses Musicales and baritone Philippe Courchesne-Leboeuf, showcasing his arrangements of German and Spanish song cycles for the intimate duo of voice and guitar. He has been a featured soloist at Angèle Dubeau’s Fête de la musique, Canada’s premier guitar festival Guitare Alla Grande, Place-des-Arts and Salle J.-Antonio Thompson. His critically-acclaimed video-recordings for Radio-Canada, featuring his arrangements of Schubert songs with Philippe Sly, have reached hundreds of thousands of people internationally through social media.

Adam is currently completing a doctorate in music performance at McGill University, studying with celebrated guitarist Jérôme Ducharme. Finalist, semifinalist and multiple prize-winner in several national and international competitions, Adam will tour with acclaimed guitarist Steve Cowan and Debut Atlantic in 2018. The duo will release a second album with Analekta, celebrating the music for two guitars by renowned Canadian composers, in October 2019. Adam is the founder of the guitar program at Ottawa Suzuki Strings and is a specialist in child pedagogy.