Double-Double Duo is about much more than coffee; each duo member is a ‘double threat’ on two instruments.
Kornel Wolak plays clarinet and piano while Michael Bridge plays accordion and piano. They’ll be performing at TOSH (The Old School House Arts Centre at 122 Fern Rd. West in Qualicum Beach) on Sunday, Feb. 25 as part of the Music on Sunday program.
Classically trained international soloists, they use comedy, virtuosity, and musical sensitivity to bring their broad repertoire to life.
Actively touring in Poland, France, Ecuador and across Canada, DDD performs their all-original arrangements of classical showpieces, sensitive jazz ballads, and fiery folk music from around the globe.
Of Polish origin, Wolak performs on clarinet and piano. He is currently pioneering collaborative research in oral articulators with the department of Speech Language Pathology, University of Toronto. He is an internationally renowned soloist, teacher and touring chamber musician.
Originally from Alberta, Bridge was named one of CBC’s “30 Hot Classical Musicians Under 30” in 2016, and is a winner of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Medal and the Canadian Digital Accordion Championships.
Active in new music, he has more than 30 world premieres to his credit. He is a graduate student in accordion performance at the University of Toronto studying with Joseph Macerollo.
Wolak and Bridge began their collaboration in 2011. They have since performed across Canada for arts organizations as diverse as the music they play – from the Ontario Philharmonic to the Calgary Stampede.
On the occasion of an international music festival in Loja, Ecuador, they met their future collaborator, professor Guillaume Tardif (violin) from the University of Alberta, with whom they toured Europe in summer 2016 as a trio.
Cementing an international reputation, DDD returned to Poland in January 2017, for their second bi-annual tour.
The performance at TOSH takes place Sunday, Feb. 25, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $18 for members and $15 for non-members.
The program for the concert includes Summer by Vivaldi, 1812 OVerture by Tchaikovsky, Ennio Morricone’s love theme from the film Cinema Paradiso and more.
— Submitted by Ron Hadley