Jacob Clewell, viola
Sasha Bult-Ito, piano
Formed at the Glenn Gould School in 2016, The Ezra Duo (Jacob Clewell, viola and Sasha Bult-Ito, piano) quickly established itself as a performing ensemble of the highest caliber. The duo found themselves racking up a string of early performances, including Britten’s Lachrymae in a masterclass for violist Hsin-Yun Huang, and Hindemith’s rhapsodic Sonata Op. 11 no. 4 for the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto and in Mazzoleni Hall at the Royal Conservatory. Ezra gave their first performance in Koerner Hall in Toronto with the same sonata in the spring of 2017, performing in a prelude concert for the Royal Conservatory Orchestra.
Together, they have played for Leon Fleisher, James Ehnes, Richard O'Neill, James Dunham, David Louie, and John Perry. They’ve represented the Glenn Gould School in outreach recitals for members of Baycrest Hospital, and were featured in a Koerner Hall postlude recital for Nicola Benedetti and the Venice Baroque Orchestra. In summer of 2017 Ezra appeared at the Scotia Festival of Music in Halifax, Nova Scotia, performing on the Young Artist recital series, and receiving acclaim from festival faculty for their interpretation of Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata. In November 2017 they made their first appearance in New York City’s esteemed Carnegie Hall, performing in Weill Recital Hall.
Most recently, Ezra were the first prize winners of the Golden Classical Music Awards, Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition, IMKA Music Competition, and the Art of Chamber Music Competition, earning invitations to perform in New York, Vienna, and Sarajevo. In March 2018 they will travel to Turin, Italy to compete in the Città di Pinerolo e Torino – Città Metropolitana International Chamber Music Competition.
Upcoming concerts feature programs of varied works: sonatas from Clarke, Brahms, Hindemith, and Vieuxtemps, as well as Britten’s moody Lachrymae, in a return to Baycrest Hospital, a reengagement at the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, and on recitals in Toronto, Atlanta, and Santa Fe. www.theezraduo.com
