ECHO NORTH

Echo North is a voice-piano duo consisting of soprano Michaela Chiste and pianist Theodore Chow. Both Michaela and Theodore grew up and began their musical education in the Canadian prairies, hailing from Alberta (Okotoks and Edmonton, respectively.) Coincidentally, it was not until they both began pursuing a Masters of Music degree at Western University that they met and began collaborating together. 

 

In 2022, Echo North made their debut performing excerpts from Samuel Barber’s Hermit Songs and Handel’s Alcina in a masterclass with Russell Braun and Carolyn Maule. As a duo, Michaela and Theodore enjoy performing music that is unique and not often heard. Though there is very little music that the two of them do not enjoy performing, Echo North takes every opportunity to dig up and present unusual, hidden gems in the art song repertoire. Their debut EP, La Solitaire, features Xavier Leroux’s rarely performed song cycle of the same name, and Echo North is the first ensemble to record two of the three songs in the set despite its existence for over 130 years. Echo North is currently planning a concert tour that includes exclusively Canadian art songs in an effort to bring these underperformed and underappreciated pieces of music into the public eye. 

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Michaela and Theodore are not only collaborators, but also the closest of friends. They share a love of pumpkin spice lattes and enjoy playing Pokémon Go together.