April 10, 2024
Doors: 7:30pm
Show 8:00pm
$20 / PWYC
The Marbyllia duo with Margaret Maria (cello) & Bill Gilliam (piano) invite you to a double CD release event at Silence in Guelph on Wed April 10th. They will be releasing their new CD ‘Uncountable Spheres‘ and will perform some spontaneously created music in this same improvisational style. Margaret Maria will also present her 15th album, ‘Goddess of Edges‘ .
In the first set Emjay Wright (percussionist, objects) and violinist Andrew Finlay Stewart will create high energy spontaneous sounds and music.
“The “Goddess of Edges” is created on the wings of courage. Courage to be who she needs to be, courage to look deep within and see who she is and be radically honest with herself. She has the courage to give everything, knows she can create something out of nothing, is courageous in making choices but also choosing to leave when the environment becomes toxic and harmful. Choosing to be achingly alone to create, with the courage to follow her path against all odds. To live between things is like living in a paradox; a liminally intoxicating untethered state. This is the fate of The Goddess of Edges. She and I are one.’ – Margaret Maria”
Interview with Cellist and Composer Margaret Maria on Her Latest Album, Goddess of Edges – March 2024 interview in Medium by Jenny Poole.
“Marbyllia’s debut album “Uncountable Spheres” is a journey where our experimental cello and piano free improvisations imagine a passage through the ethereal nature of the different levels of our earth’s atmosphere sadly impacted by climate change. As we reach the very edge of the exosphere where atoms and molecules escape into space and satellites orbit the earth, we encounter the weightlessness of space and begin our search for unexplored worlds.”
MARBYLLIA’S “UNCOUNTABLE SPHERES” MEDIA QUOTES & REVIEWS (JAN, FEB 2024) “I don’t think you’re going to hear anything like Uncountable Spheres no matter how far and wide you scan the underground section of your local record store this month.” – Trace Whittaker, Popicon
“Simply put, this is top-notch listening for experimental fans of all stripes”. Heather Savage, Top Buzz Magazine
“This duo is the real article, which isn’t easy to come by anymore on either side of the pop music universe” – Mindy McCall, Indie Pulse Music
“For those of us who demand quality that’s a cut above in our ambient beats, this is a sound arriving at the perfect moment this late winter. I love what I hear in this album, and something tells me you will too.” – Garth Thomas, Hollywood Digest
“The two improvisors push the limits of each other: Gilliam’s extensive range of sounds from his piano and Maria’s extended cello technique and unusual sound makers. The track Stratosphere in Distress is a solid representation of this dynamic team”. – Cheryl Ockrant, TheWholenote
Margaret Maria’s creativity knows no bounds. Seamlessly drifting between genres and going where her spirit takes her, you will find a variety of music – some expected and some unexpected. Venturing into her creativity is a shapeshifting activity in itself, opening up to her sonic world and exploring all its dimensions is the fascination. Her music has been described as:‘mesmerizing’ ‘absolutely transporting’ – CBC Radio, ‘A brilliant display of virtuosity’ ‘I listened in awe’ – The WholeNote Magazine, ‘edgy, challenging and incredibly powerful’ – Bluewolf Reviews, ‘A magic in itself’ – Ottawa Life Magazine.
Initially a cellist with a traditional classical performance past, she has broken out of every mould to create something unique and always from the heart. As a graduate of the Curtis institute of Music and a professional cellist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, she soaked up the music of the past to enable her to create music of the future.
Margaret Maria is currently working on her Love Lesson series (which can be heard on her YouTube Channel and on SoundCloud) and completing her Rock Opera ‘The Lady Of the Moon’ with her co-writer in Argentina, Julian Garcia-Reig. She is also co-creating new Rage Angel Tracks with her co-writer, Craig McConnell and creating new songs with the great Canadian soprano Donna Brown. She teaches cello in Ottawa and conducts the kids of OrKidstra, a social change through music program that she co-founded in 2007!! In addition, her composition, improv and creativity retreat at BIIMA in Breno, Italy is being planned again for July 2024. Her 15’th studio album ‘Goddess of Edges’ and her 16’th album ‘Marbyllia’ – her spontaneous music making duo with pianist Bill Gilliam released ‘Uncountable Spheres’ in December 2023. Her newly formed creative singer/songwriting partnership with soul/reggae singer Tréson had its first pop single ‘Music Can Change the World’ released December 2023. Margaret Maria has her Bourgie Hall Chamber Music Series Debut as a composer confirmed for March 16, 2025.
Bill Gilliam, a Toronto-based composer/pianist, originally from London, studied jazz and film composition at Berklee College of Music. His diverse compositions, performances and recordings, with support from the Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council, have been showcased at Toronto venues as well as in London, UK and the USA. His recordings include: “Outside The Maze” (2023), “Light Through Dark” (2021), “Counterstasis – Refracted Voices” (2019), “Entangled Pathways” (2017), and more. The Gilliam, Milmine, Pottie trio was featured at the 2018 TD Toronto Jazz Festival and the 2019 & 2021 Something Else! Festivals in Hamilton. He is active in improvising trio collaborations with Bill McBirnie and Eugene Martynec and also with Kayla Milmine and Ambrose Pottie. In 2023, his collaborative trio “Counterstasis” with Glen Hall and Joe Sorbara performed at the Open Ears 23 Festival in Kitchener with special guest bass clarinettist Kathryn Ladano. His recent collaborations include Marbyllia, an improvising duo with cellist Margaret Maria. Marbyllia released their debut album “Uncountable Spheres” at Annette Studios in Toronto in December 2023. On April 28th, 2024 he will be co-hosting and playing with Eugene Martynec and Bill McBirnie at their “Art of Improv” series at Annette Studios in Toronto featuring the composer and sound artist Gayle Young.
Emjay Wright (they/she) is an improvising soundmaker, community builder, and event facilitator based on Treaty 3 territory. An autodidact drummer by habit, they can also often be found rubbing objects together and playing with radio static! Emjay is based out of Guelph and performs as percussionist and vocalist in experimental groups such as Doomsday Glitter Posse and Faggot Obsequy. She runs the improvisation series Audiopollination Guelph and ponyHAUS, where they focus on connecting artists of different mediums and building queer experimental arts communities. Under her alias Bodywaltz, Emjay can also be found DJing eclectic underground dance music all across Ontario.
Andrew Finlay Stewart is an artist and musician from the edge of the Niagara Escarpment. He has shown nationally and internationally, and curated art with the Artists’ Newsstand and as part of the Long Winter Toronto team. He has been improvising music in Southern Ontario in various capacities for almost 20 years.
