Fantasy Vignittes Erin James, Todd Yaniw, Mari Alice Conrad

• Étienne Nau (ca. 1596 - 1647): Fantasia Steffan Nau:
• 1 Nau: Fantasia Steffan Nau 05:51
• Nicola Matteis Jr. (ca. 1670 - 1737): Fantasia for Solo Violin in A Minor "Alia Fantasia":
• 2 Matteis Jr.: Fantasia for Solo Violin in A Minor "Alia Fantasia" 05:37
• Georg Philipp Telemann (1681 - 1767): Fantasia No. 9 for Solo Violin in B Minor, TWV 40:22:
• 3 Telemann: Fantasia No. 9 for Solo Violin in B Minor, TWV 40:22: I. Siciliana 02:30
• 4 Telemann: Fantasia No. 9 for Solo Violin in B Minor, TWV 40:22: II. Vivace 03:29
• 5 Telemann: Fantasia No. 9 for Solo Violin in B Minor, TWV 40:22: III. Allegro 01:31
• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Phantasie in C Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 131:
• 6 Schumann: Phantasie in C Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 131 17:36
• Florence Price (1887 - 1953): Fantasy No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor for Violin and Piano:
• 7 Price: Fantasy No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor for Violin and Piano 05:59
• Arnold Schoenberg (1874 - 1951): Phantasy for Violin and Piano, Op. 47:
• 8 Schönberg: Phantasy for Violin and Piano, Op. 47 09:56
• Mari Alice Conrad (b. 1981): Fabricated Fantasies for Violin, Piano & Amplified Objects:
• 9 Conrad: Fabricated Fantasies for Violin, Piano & Amplified Objects: I. The Machine Woman 05:28
• 10 Conrad: Fabricated Fantasies for Violin, Piano & Amplified Objects: II. The Wedding Gift 07:32
• 11 Conrad: Fabricated Fantasies for Violin, Piano & Amplified Objects: III. The Mistress of the Needle and Scissors 05:56
• 12 Conrad: Fabricated Fantasies for Violin, Piano & Amplified Objects: IV. A Tool for Making New Rules 03:15
• Erin James (b. 1985): Fantasy Vignettes Improvisations:
• 13 James: Fantasy Vignettes Improvisations: I. 02:01
• 14 James: Fantasy Vignettes Improvisations: II. 00:33
• 15 James: Fantasy Vignettes Improvisations: III. 00:51
• 16 James: Fantasy Vignettes Improvisations: IV. 00:40
• 17 James: Fantasy Vignettes Improvisations: V. 00:48
• 18 James: Fantasy Vignettes Improvisations: VI. 01:16
• Total Runtime 01:20:49

Info for Fantasy Vignittes

Fantasy Vignettes is a time-traveling journey through 400 years of violin fantasias, brought to life with evocative costumes constructed specifically for this concert. From the earliest notated violin fantasia by Étienne Nau to works by Telemann, Schumann, Florence Price, Schoenberg, and a new commission by Mari Alice Conrad that employs sewing machines and accessories as instruments, each piece explores improvisation, identity, and freedom.

Erin James’ dual artistry as violinist and textile designer is woven throughout the program, culminating in an original composition and costume that stitches together and reimagines concert material to create something entirely new. Fantasy Vignettes is both a sonic and visual exploration of history, imagination, and the power of reinvention.

Erin James, violin, concept, composition, costumes
Todd Yaniw, piano
Mari Alice Conrad, composition, narration, sewing machine + accessories

Please Note: We offer this album in its native sampling rate of 44.1kHz, 24-bit. The provided 88.2kHz version was up-sampled and offers no audible value!

Erin James
Born and bred in Newcastle, NSW, Erin is a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (Bachelor of Arts – Music Theatre). A respected actor, director and educator, Erin has worked in many facets of the Australian arts industry including music theatre, theatre, film, TV and cabaret.

Prior to studying at WAAPA she achieved her Associate of Trinity College London (ATCL) in Classical Voice (2002) and also graduated from the Talent Development Project (TDP). In 2007, after being awarded the TDP/ASCAP Bound for Broadway scholarship, Erin performed her cabaret in New York before bringing her solo show – Have You Met Miss James? – to the Statement Cabaret Lounge, Sydney.

Working with the Australian Theatre of the Deaf’s national touring company for a year inspired Erin to learn Auslan (Australian Sign Language). Erin is also a qualified high school music teacher (Grad Dip Ed) and is studying a post graduate Law degree. Erin was nominated for an AACTA Award and a FCCA Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the feature film The Little Death, written and directed by Josh Lawson. The film premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in 2014, was screened at the Toronto Film Festival, SXSW Festival and has since been released in numerous countries around the world.

Erin was the Dance Captain on Opera Australia’s production of South Pacific, Staging Supervisor for My Fair Lady (directed by Dame Julie Andrews) and the Resident Director for the recent Australian production of Phantom Of The Opera. She has directed shows for Hayes Theatre Co (She Loves Me), The Very Popular Theatre Company (Mamma Mia!, Chess), Elder Conservatorium Music Theatre (Les Miserables, Cabaret, On The Town, Shrek! Little Women) and Stoddart Entertainment Group (Superstars – A Musical Celebration).

She also stars in Closer Productions’ latest short film My Best Friend is Stuck on the Ceiling, opposite Please Like Me’s Tom Ward.

Todd Yaniw
is a Canadian pianist praised for his “atmospheric contrast of poetry and power…a hair-raising performance”. Since his debut with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at age 13, Mr. Yaniw has performed across Canada; at festivals and venues including CBC Vancouver, Banff Centre, Edmonton’s Winspear Centre for Music, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, and Koerner Hall. Mr. Yaniw has performed concerti with several Canadian orchestras, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and has performed with the Afiara Quartet, Rolston String Quartet, Trio Arkel and the ARC Ensemble (Artists of the Royal Conservatory). He is the pianist of Trio d'Argento, a group which has performed across Canada. Todd has been interviewed and broadcast on many occasions on CBC Radio, and was featured in CBC's "30 under 30" list.

Internationally, Todd has performed in Bulgaria, China, Italy, Jamaica, Monaco, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Mr. Yaniw has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, and twice was a recipient of the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Awards. He currently works as a pianist at The Glenn Gould School, and is on faculty at The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists.

Todd Yaniw was born in Edmonton, Alberta and his teachers include Michael Massey, Dr. James Parker, Professor James Anagnoson (The Glenn Gould School), and Dr. Jon Kimura Parker (Rice University). Mr. Yaniw completed his doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked with Dr. Anton Nel.

Mari Alice Conrad
is an award-winning composer and arranger based in Edmonton, Alberta. She is in high demand as a composer featuring performances with various ensembles across Canada, USA, and Europe most notably at Ottawa Chamberfest, Vancouver’s Allegra Chamber Orchestra FestivELLE, Été musical de Barachois in New Brunswick, in the Žofín Palace for the World Wind Music Festival and WASBE Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, the Banff Centre for the Arts, New Music Edmonton, Manitoba GroundSwell New Music Series, Vancouver Modulus Festival, the Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival in Newfoundland, the Toronto New Music Concert Series, and the Sweetwater and NUMUS Festivals (Ontario).

Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2022, Mari Alice travelled to the Canadian High Arctic and Greenland in the creation of a large-scale composition project for musical youth exploring the effects of climate change. Her current research creation projects examine the perception and expression of place, personal history, and geography by exploring the sonic potential of objects and materials alongside acoustic instruments to create new timbres and sonic colours. She currently teaches as a sessional instructor at MacEwan University in the Department of Music and is a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Alberta while she completes her Doctorate degree in music composition.

Mari Alice's most recent and current projects include an artist residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and has had her works performed by the Canadian Chamber Choir, the BBC Singers (UK), the University of Alberta Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble ArtChoral (formerly Ensemble Vocal Arts-Québec), Pro Coro Canada (Edmonton), Luminous Voices (Calgary), Babɛl Choir (Toronto), Exultate Chamber Singers (Toronto), The University of Alberta Madrigal Singers, Allegra Chamber Orchestra (Vancouver), SHHH!! Ensemble (Ottawa), Edmonton Winds, the Edmonton Saxophone Quartet, The University of Lethbridge Wind Ensemble, and Standing Wave Ensemble (Vancouver). Her choral music is published by Hinshaw Music (USA), musica printima (Canada), and Cypress Choral Music (Canada) with upcoming recording projects with the MacEwan University Generations Big Band, Edmonton Winds Ensemble, Exultate Chamber Singers and Ensemble ArtChoral (formerly Ensemble Vocal Arts-Québec).

Booklet for Fantasy Vignittes