McGregor-Verdejo Duo: Toward the Sea by Toru Takemitsu
About the Music
PERFORMERS
Mark Takeshi McGregor, alto flute
Adrian Verdejo, guitar
Toward the Sea was composed by Toru Takemitsu in 1981. Inspired by the Herman Melville novel “Moby Dick”, each of the three movements evokes a particular nautical scene: The Night, with its dark, sensuous alto flute writing and gently burbling guitar; Moby Dick, which presents a deceptively calm surface beneath which something threatening lays hidden; and Cape Cod, the composer’s vision of the sun dappled Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New England.
About the Artists
From Bach to Baca-Lobera, the McGregor-Verdejo Duo is committed to re-envisioning established classics, rediscovering forgotten and neglected works, and forging bonds with modern day composers by commissioning and performing new music for flute and guitar. Formed by flutist Mark Takeshi McGregor and guitarist Adrian Verdejo in 2016, the Duo has performed for the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra’s Global Soundscapes Festival, Music on Main, and Powell Street Festival, and throughout Western Canada for the HealthArts Society. Their dedication to fostering new music has resulted in the premieres of works by composers Jennifer Butler, Kara Gibbs, Rodney Sharman, and Hiroki Tsurumoto, as well as forthcoming commissions by Farshid Samandari, Mark Marinic, Alfredo Santa Ana, Ana Lara, and Diego Lozano. During the 2020/21 season, the McGregor-Verdejo Duo moved their activities online; their video performances of music by Jocelyn Morlock and Celso Machado have since reached thousands of viewers. Visit the McGregor-Verdejo Duo online: www.fluteguitarduo.com
Video Production Credits
Videography – Alistair Eagle
Audio Engineering & Editing – Adrian Verdejo
Mastering – Piotr Wieczorek
Filmed on June 9, 2021 in the Historic Theatre at The Cultch, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
For the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra:
Artistic Director & Producer – Mark Armanini
Composer-in-Residence & Senior Project Manager – Farshid Samandari
Production Manager & Communications – Melanie Thompson
Marketing & Production Assistant – Gina Hernandez Sanchez
Operations Manager – Devni De Silva
View the whole Global Soundscapes Festival: Digital Edition 2021 programme.
A Note to Our Viewers/Listeners: You Can Help Make the Music Happen!
If you enjoyed our 2021 Festival series, we would be so grateful if you would consider supporting the project (and others to come in our 20th anniversary season) by making a donation to the VICO. We are a registered charity, and if you donate online via CanadaHelps (click here), a tax receipt will be automatically issued and e-mailed to you right away.
If a financial contribution is not possible, there is another way that you can help if you wish: tell people about the VICO! Share our videos with anyone you think might find them interesting, and/or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube and help us spread the word by sharing our posts on those platforms. Every view, comment, or “like” helps!
Thank you for your support.
