Erato Ensemble is an art-song chamber collective formed in 2006 by tenor and composer William George and soprano Catherine Laub. Dedicated to music of our time, with an emphasis on Canadian works, Erato’s mission is to preserve the art song tradition while creating new works in the genre. The ensemble includes some of the top musicians in the Vancouver area, and fills a necessary role in the local artistic life of the city. Reflecting our intention to bring the music of B.C. composers to the community, our successful innaugural concert featured area composers Denis Bedard, Leila Lustig, Wallace Berry, Imant Raminsh, Larry Nickel, and William George. The season was rounded out by two more varied and insightful programs: Rule Britannia: Folk Songs of the Commonwealth and Colonies featured arrangements of folk tunes by Haydn, Corigliano, Grainger, Britten, Vaughan Williams, Tippett, Dougherty, Niles, Copland, and George; and Mystics & Misfits: an exploration of mysticism in contemporary chamber music, with offerings by Messiaen, Morawetz, Rorem, Barber, and Praiulx Rainier and was capped by William George’s Pulitzer- nominated The Virtues/Karitas Habundat. Erato's second season began with Woods & Water, the second annual Local Composers concert featuring new commissions and existing pieces from Larry Nickel, Dorothy Chang, Stephen Chatman, Bruce Sled, and Alain Mayrand. The season continued with New Strings, an entertaining cross-genre mix of classical and alternative, featuring music for string quartet, guitar and voice; a solo recital with William George, Sandra Joy and Michael Strutt titled Letters Home featuring musical settings of letters from composers, soldiers and indigenous peoples; Songs of the Earth, a celebration of music inspired by our earth home, including world premieres by Mark Armanini and William George; and Carnival of the Animals, featuring music about the animal kingdom, including the world premiere of West End Menagerie by Catherine Laub. In addition to our regular season, we performed at Fort Langley Winery and inaugurated the Whistler Library as part of the New Music In New Places series, sponsored by the Canadian Music Centre and the Vancouver Cultural Olympiad. Our third season explores the music of different countries and cultures. It begins with The Great Sea, the third annual Vancouver Composers Concert. This program features music representing many of the various cultures that make up Vancouver's population, featuring music by Mark Armanini, Denis Bedard, Lloyd Burritt, Timothy Corliss, Farshid Samandari, Rodney Sharman, Leslie Uyeda, and Russell Wallace.  The international them is continued with The Black Forest, featuring Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes and songs by Franz Schubert and Kurt Weill; An Evening with Erik Satie features songs and piano music by the eccentric French composer and includes a rare performance of his cantata Socrate, accompanied by dancers; the season ends with Tangos, Ballads y Boleros, a music trip through classical and popular music of Latin America. In addition to our season concerts, we will also present a variety of other performances. September 20 is a solo concert by flutist Tanya Kliefoth, featuring birdsong-inspired compositions from the Renaissance to the present, at St Andrews-Wesley; January 10 is a program of songs and duets by Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann and Weill at the Roedde House Museum. March 17  is a special St. Patrick's Day performance of folksongs at the Silk Purse in West Vancouver. Click here for more info. All season concerts take place at Saint Andrews-Wesley in downtown Vancouver. Tickets can be purchased by clicking on the Ticket's Tonight logo on the concerts page, or over the phone by calling Tickets Tonight at 604.231.7535. To contact us, please call (604) 986-0724 or send us an email from the CONTACT page. You can also check out our My Space page at myspace.com/eratoensemble2 William George & Catherine Laub Co-Directors