2017 - 2018 Our 61st Season!   

Friday, Mar. 23, 2018 at 7:30 PM

Brogue Saxophone Quartet

James Kalyn (soprano)
Tristan De Borba (alto)
Brad Reid (tenor)
Catherine Hatt (baritone)

Atlantic Canada is known for its Celtic roots. The Scottish "brogue" can be heard all throughout the region. This, when combined with the French Acadian tradition and flavoured by the influences of the many other peoples that have walked our shores, create something unique-our vibrant and living culture!  

Similarly, The Brogue Quartet - based in the port city of Halifax, Nova Scotia - fuses the styles and backgrounds of its four members to create an ensemble that is lively, engaging, cohesive, and dynamic! Their performances are highly polished, reflecting a respect for their audience, and always include an element of entertainment while maintaining a high level of musicianship. Going well beyond the boundaries of the traditional saxophone quartet, the players bring to the group their skills on other instruments and in diverse musical styles. You never know what you might hear! Formed in 2013, and having played stages in Halifax, Truro, Antigonish, Wolfville, Berwick (NS), and Sackville (NB), the Brogue are in full stride in 2017! They have feverishly prepared exciting and fun new programs for the 2017-18 season, and are adding new repertoire all the time. For their Fall 2016 tour they premiered a new work written just for them by American composer Mike Titlebaum. Brogue performances are always engaging and full of surprises. Be sure to catch the show and tune in to The Brogue!   Learn more at www.broguequartet.ca

Scroll down to see performers’ biographies.

James Kalyn - soprano saxophone

(also flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, guitar)

James Kalyn has built an international career over the past twenty-five years as a soloist and orchestral musician of the highest calibre on both clarinet and saxophone. He plays saxophone in the Cleveland Orchestra and has made a number of solo and chamber music recordings. Kalyn is Professor of Single Reeds and Conducting at Mount Allison University.

Tristan De Borba - alto saxophone

(also clarinet, soprano/tenor sax, penny whistle)

Tristan De Borba is one of Canada's preeminent classical and contemporary saxophonists and wind ensemble conductors and is quickly gaining a reputation as an innovative and engaging musician, with versatility and a sensitive musicianship. Tristan has performed as a saxophone soloist, chamber musician, orchestral saxophonist and pedagogue across Canada.Tristan is also a founding member of the Brogue Saxophone Quartet (broguequartet.ca). Tristan has a strong interest in the music of our time. His recording of Derek Charke's Wired and Wound can be found on the ECMA nominated recording Live Wired (Centrediscs, 2015).  Tristan also appears as saxophone soloist on "In the Wide Awe of Wisdom" (Pelagos, 2017), the recently released album by Grammy award-winning composer Paul Halley. As a pedagogue, Tristan is on faculty at Acadia University where he runs an ever-expanding saxophone class and conducts the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band. Tristan is finishing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Dr. Wallace Halladay.

Brad Reid - tenor saxophone

(also flute, clarinet, bassoon, fiddle)

Brad Reid has become known as a surprisingly versatile and capable musician. After studying jazz saxophone at St. Francis University, he spent 7 years as a musician and bandmaster on luxury cruise lines, and now performs locally doing pit orchestra work at Neptune Theatre, Charlottetown Confederation Centre of the Arts, and freelancing with other ensembles and artists like Canadian rock legend Myles Goodwyn, plus Daniel Matto, the Back Alley Big Band, Ryan Cook, Baroque N' Fiddle String Quartet, and Jigs Start Here.

Catherine Hatt - baritone saxophone

(also flute, clarinet, spoons)

Catherine is an alumna of the Mount Allison University Music Program, and the Band of the Ceremonial Guard, performing the Changing of the Guard on Parliament Hill, as well as performing in the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo. She has been a guest performer with New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and enjoys playing for musical theatre, where she has been able to develop her doubling skills. Catherine is currently residing in Halifax, NS where she plays as a reservist with the 36 Canadian Brigade Group Band.​

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