ABOUT FREESOUND

Toronto-based collective, Freesound is one of a number of young groups of musicians representing the future of Canadian contemporary and experimental art music through innovative and compelling programming. Freesound operates as a non-hierarchical collective composed of nine members – eight performers and one administrative lead. 

Freesound is

Matthew Antal, viola Amahl Arulanandam, cello Michael Murphy, percussion

Émilie Fortin, trumpet Paolo Griffin, administration Aysel Taghi-Zada, violin

Matti Pulkki, accordion Wesley Shen, keyboards Tristan Durie, flute

The collective’s diverse cultural composition fosters a wide variety of musical interpretations, enabling Freesound to explore a wide array of contemporary and experimental chamber music. Freesound’s members are among Canada’s top musicians specializing in contemporary and experimental music, each bringing unique perspectives, collaborative approaches, and artistic strengths to the collective. Each member of Freesound actively participates in programming decisions, commissioning new works, and producing concerts.

Founded in its current format in 2021 through an agreement by its nine members, Freesound’s concerts combine commissions, performances of existing works, and revivals of landmark works from the 21st and late 20th centuries. Since 2021, commissions have included Laure M. Hiendl (DE), Martin Arnold (CA), Maria Eduarda Martins (CA/BZ), Alex Jang (CA), Haotian Yu (CA/CN), Christina Volpini (CA), Andrew Hulse (CA/US), Christopher Fox (UK), Wesley Shen (CA), and a growing list of composers from Canada and around the world.

Freesound has performed at festivals such as Suoni Il Popolo Festival (Montreal) and Women from Space (Toronto) and since 2023, has been ensemble-in-residence at the Arraymusic in Toronto. 

Freesound has appeared on albums of music by Georgia Denham (2024, Sawyer Editions) and Andrew Hulse (2024, Self-published).

Freesound, its commissions, and performances are generously funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Toronto Arts Council, the SOCAN Foundation, Lorna & Roger Smith, and the contributions of its various private donors.