Sadie Fields (violin) & Ken Gee (piano) at Grace United Church, Thornbury

Event Description

Violinist Sadie Fields returns to Canada from Belgium to join friend/pianist/Musicfest director Ken Gee for another Musicfest ENCORE recital as Guelph Musicfest 2025 continues its musical journey Around the World! East to West—a Musical Journey presents music from Japan to Canada. The concert at Grace United Church, Thornbury, includes Takemitsu, Distance de Fée; Bartók, Romanian Folk Dances; Brahms, Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major; Weinberg, Two Songs without Words; Raminsh, Aria (1987); Enman, Imagined Shapes (2022). This concert is the first of Guelph Musicfest’s Encore series, which includes a concert by the Zemlinsky String Quartet (from Prague) on Saturday October 25 at the GYMC. More information at https://www.guelphmusicfest.ca/encore2025.html

Violinist Sadie Fields returns to Canada from Belgium to join friend/pianist/Musicfest director Ken Gee for another Musicfest ENCORE recital as Guelph Musicfest 2025 continues its musical journey Around the World!

East to West—a Musical Journey presents music from Japan to Canada. This repeat performance at Grace United Church in Thornbury, Ontario, includes Takemitsu, Distance de Fée; Bartók, Romanian Folk Dances; Brahms, Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major; Weinberg, Two Songs without Words; Raminsh, Aria (1987); Enman, Imagined Shapes (2022)

Sadie and Ken have been performing together as a duo and in the Festival Trio for many years. During that time, they have built on a common sense of musicality and close friendship that makes for wonderful performances. 

Sadie enjoys a richly varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, curator, and artistic director. Her love affair with the violin began at the age of seven when her primary school visited the renowned Axelrod collection of Stradivarius violins. Mesmerized by the sound, she convinced her mother to let her start lessons, leading to a lifelong dedication to the instrument.

Performing regularly across Europe and North America, Sadie's concerts also take her to destinations further afield, including Asia, the Middle East, and New Zealand. A passionate advocate for chamber music, she was the founding leader of the Castalian String Quartet and violinist of Trio Khnopff. She also founded the Belgium-based Flash Ensemble, a flexible chamber group centred around a string trio, and is a member of the Festival Trio in Canada. In addition to her ensemble work, Sadie collaborates with a range of distinguished pianists and recently formed a duo with Italian accordionist Luca Piovesan. Most recently, Sadie has been appointed leader of the acclaimed Edinburgh Quartet, an ensemble with a rich history spanning over more than 60 years.

As a recording artist, Sadie’s most recent recording features Flash Ensemble’s pioneering interpretation of the complete string trios by Hungarian composer László Lajtha (Pavane Records, 2023), and was awarded 5 stars in Diapason. Another recording, ‘Weinberg – 1945’, by Trio Khnopff, was celebrated by critics in both Europe and North America and was selected as BBC Music Magazine’s ‘Chamber Disc of the Month’ for January 2020. Sadie’s discography also includes several recordings for BIS Records with Camerata Nordica (Sweden), and two highly acclaimed albums with Champs Hill Records. Her Mendelssohn chamber music disc earned BBC Music Magazine’s Editor’s Choice and ‘Chamber Disc of the Month’ honours, as well as the German Record Critics’ Award for ‘Chamber Music Disc of the Quarter.’ Her second Champs Hill release, featuring the complete Brahms Sonatas with pianist Jeremy Young, also received widespread critical acclaim.

Sadie is the founder and director of the Mini Concerts series in Brussels, and has recently taken up the role of artistic director of the Music in Rannoch concert series in the Highlands of Scotland.

Sadie holds a PhD from the Royal Academy of Music in London, where her practice-led doctoral research explored practical and philosophical ideas surrounding the concepts of learning and tradition, with a focus on her engagement with Bartók’s violin works. She has been awarded prizes and scholarships from over twenty UK and international organizations, and she has held prestigious fellowships, including the Leverhulme Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music and the Edison Visiting Fellowship at the British Library.

Guided by principal teachers György Pauk, Yair Kless, and Atis Bankas, Sadie has also benefited from the mentorship of Ivry Gitlis, Ida Haendel, and Ferenc Rados. As an educator, she teaches violin and chamber music, has taught at King's College London, and offers masterclasses at conservatories and universities in China, Canada, and the UK.

Sadie plays on a very fine Italian violin made by Gioffredo Cappa in 1687.

More information at https://www.guelphmusicfest.ca/encore2025.html

Location of the Grace United Church event