Performers

Barry Guy (UK), Maya Homburger (Switzerland) & Jeff Reilly (Nova Scotia)

Among the musicians who were formative parts of the scene of British free improvisation in the late 1960s and early 1970s, bassist Barry Guy is a standout figure. He collaborated with the likes of Evan Parker, Derek Bailey and Paul Rutherford, helping them to forge new forms of music-making based on improvisation. Simultaneously, though, he was deeply involved in early and Baroque music in ensembles like Christopher Hogwood’s Ancient Music Society. Furthermore, he has done pivotal work as a composer and orchestra leader to synthesize composed and improvised music-making in a large-group context.

Maya Homburger is a Swiss-born player of baroque violin, and is an acclaimed improviser and interpreter of both period and contemporary repertoire. Guy and Homburger, having met during a tour of the Ancient Music Society, have since been personal and creative partners, managing Maya Records, and performing together and separately in innumerable contexts.

In Guelph, they will be joined by Halifax bass clarinetist Jeff Reilly, with whom Guy and Homburger have forged creative ties during visits to Halifax for projects under the auspices of Upstream Music.

Each musician plays with the precision of gesture and clarity of focus that blur any simple distinctions between improvisation and composition. They do so with musicality and sensitivity that remind us that such distinctions, for all intents and purposes, are moot. Theirs is world-class chamber music, and is as contemporary and vital as it gets.

Websites:

www.barryguy.com

www.barryguy.com/biographies/maya/index.html

www.sanctuarymusic.ca