Denise Djokic @ 7PM POSTPONED

Instantly recognized by her “arrestingly beautiful tone colour” (The Strad), cellist Denise Djokic captivates audiences with her naturally instinctive playing and a remarkable combination of strength and sensitivity. Acclaim for her powerful interpretations and bold command of her instrument has earned her world-wide recognition and appearances in some of the most venerable halls. Denise burst onto the international music scene when millions of television viewers watched her performance of Bach at the 2002 Grammy Awards following the lauded release of her self-titled debut recording on SONY Classical.

Since then, Denise has accrued numerous distinctions and accolades: she has been named one of the top “25 Canadians Who Are Changing Our World” by Maclean’s Magazine, one of “Canada’s Most Powerful Women” by Elle Magazine, and won first prize at the Irving M. Klein International String Competition. A natural leader and advocate for classical music, Denise is equally at home on the podium as a keynote speaker, having presented at forums such as IdeaCity in Toronto and the Women In Leadership Conference at Queen’s University.

Denise’s recent performance highlights include performances of the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto with l’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and Emilia Hoving, Martinu’s 1st Cello Concerto with the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra and Victor Yampolsky, as well as a multi-city tour with Symphony New Brunswick and Janna Sailor, performing Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. Other highlights include performances with the Charlottesville Symphony Orchestra, Victoria Symphony (Texas), Thunder Bay Symphony, Regina Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony Nova Scotia.

Denise has been fortunate to work with many living composers; she performed Augusta Read Thomas’ Cantos for Slava at the 2022 Bowdoin International Music Festival, and in 2019 she performed Steven Mackey’s Through Your Fingers, also at Bowdoin. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Denise recorded a video performance of the first movement of composer Robert Rival’s Sonata for Cello and Piano with pianist David Jalbert, which was funded by the Canada Council through a “Digital Originals” grant awarded to Rival.

Denise’s Carnegie Hall debut with the Edmonton Symphony and conductor William Eddins featured a performance of John Estacio’s Triple Concerto with pianist Angela Cheng and violinist Juliette Kang. Other career highlights include her acclaimed Lincoln Center performance of Arturo Marquez’s “Espejos en la Arena” with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas and Alondra de la Parra conducting, appearances with the Academic Orchestra of Zurich in Quebec City, and Strauss’s Don Quixote with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain.

Denise enjoys multi-disciplinary work and has worked frequently with dancers. In 2010, she performed all of Benjamin Britten’s Cello Suites in Seattle with Seattle’s Spectrum Dance in a production of Donald Byrd’s LOVE. The Seattle Times commended her playing, declaring that her performance itself was “reason enough to go”. She performed a segment of LOVE again in 2021 with the University of Illinois Department of Dance at the Krannert Center in Urbana, IL. Denise has collaborated with Ballet Victoria and the Atlantic Ballet Theatre, and has made several performance videos for Mécénat Musica, featuring projects with dancers and visual artists.

Denise’s award-winning discography features the a disc of Chopin and Rachmaninoff sonatas with her long-time recital partner, pianist David Jalbert (ATMA), the complete Britten Solo Suites for Cello also for ATMA which has received consistent accolades:  “young Canadian cellist Denise Djokic does them proud here with breathtaking technique and a wide dynamic sweep” (Toronto Star) and “Djokic has a hugely impressive technique, and her projection of singing melodic lines without exaggerated vibrato can be very touching. (BBC Music Magazine), her  highly acclaimed CD, entitled Denise Djokic featuring works by Barber, Martinu and Britten received the 2002 East Coast Music Award and  Folklore (Allegro/Endeavor) received a JUNO nomination as well as an East Coast Music Award, hit the Billboard Chart’s top 15 Classical CD’s and was featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered”.

Denise was recently appointed to the faculty of music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has been a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa and enjoys teaching and coaching chamber music at festivals and institutes such as the Emerald Coast Chamber Music Festival, Scotia Festival of Music, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and Bowdoin International Festival of Music.

Denise comes from a large musical family and began her early training in her hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia with Olive Shaw and Shimon Walt. She moved to Cleveland, Ohio, during her high school years to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Richard Aaron and is a graduate of its Young Artist Program. Denise furthered her training at the New England Conservatory, where she completed her Undergraduate Diploma with Laurence Lesser and Paul Katz.