DENISE DJOKIC

Cellist Denise Djokic has been praised worldwide for her sincere, powerful interpretations and her bold command of the instrument. Instantly recognized by her “arrestingly beautiful tone colour” (THE STRAD), she moves audiences with her natural musical instinct and her remarkable combination of strength and sensitivity.

An acclaimed soloist, she appears frequently with every leading orchestra in Canada including the orchestras of Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and the National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa as well as with those in the USA and abroad. This past season, Denise made her New York City Concerto debut at Lincoln Centre with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas and Alondra de la Parra conducting Arturo Marquez’s ‘Espejos en la Arena’. She also made her European orchestra debut performance at the Kurpark-Classix Festival in Aachen with the Aachen Symphony Orchestra under their Music Director Marcus R. Bosch. Other recent engagements featured appearances with the North Carolina Symphony, Portland Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, as well as performances of both Haydn Concerti with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria in Mexico City, in celebration of the 2009 Haydn anniversary year.

Upcoming performances in the 2010/11 season include a return engagement with the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, where she will perform Strauss’ ‘Don Quixote’, and a tour with Symphony Nova Scotia and Bernhard Gueller conducting.

As a recitalist, Denise performs frequently with her long-time musical partner, pianist David Jalbert. Recent performances have brought them to Washington D.C., San Francisco, Mexico City, Vancouver, Chicago, Tucson, and New York’s Bargemusic. Denise and David also tour with Piano Plus, an organization which brings performances to Canadian communities in which the opportunities to hear live concerts are limited. In addition, Denise’s love of chamber music has brought her to the festivals of Ottawa, Caramoor, Park City, Ravinia, San Miguel de Allende, and Vancouver. Last season, she gave the world premiere of Christos Hatzis’ ‘In the Fire of Conflict’, with percussionist Ryan Scott and dancer Peggy Baker at the Toronto Summer Music Festival. Denise also appears frequently with New York’s Jupiter Chamber Players.

Denise Djokic was featured as the subject of the documentary film ‘Seven Days, Seven Nights’, which was aired on Bravo TV and screened at the Atlantic Film Festival. She was also named by MacLean’s magazine as one of ‘25 Young Canadians who are changing our World’, and by ELLE magazine as one of ‘Canada’s 30 most Powerful Women’.

Denise’s debut recording was released in 2002 on the SONY CLASSICAL label to great critical acclaim, and won her an East Coast Music Award for ‘Best Classical Recording of the Year’. During the same year, Denise was a featured performer at the 2002 Grammy Awards. In 2005 she released her second recording ‘Folklore’ on the ALLEGRO/ENDEAVOR CLASSICS label, which was featured on NPR’s renowned ‘All Things Considered’ program. The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) has nominated ‘Folklore’ in the category ‘Classical Album of the year’ for a 2006 Juno Award, the Canadian counterpart of the United States Grammy Awards. In May 2006 this album reached the ‘Billboard Charts Top 15’ joining artists such as Maurizio Pollini, Lang Lang, Dawn Upshaw, Yo-Yo Ma, Placido Domingo, Ben Heppner, Renee Fleming and Mitsuko Uchida and showed surprising staying power in the ‘Top 200 of all genre sales’ on Amazon.

Denise has now signed a contract with the ATMA CLASSSIQUE record label. In November 2008 an album was released featuring the Suites for Solo Cello op. 72, 80 and 87 by Benjamin Britten. Her further recording projects include a CD together with the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal with Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting and another album to be recorded with David Jalbert.

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, into a large musical family, Denise began her studies with Olive Shaw and Shimon Walt. She is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music’s ‘Young Artist Program’, where she was a student of Richard Aaron, and later continued her studies in Boston with Paul Katz and Laurence Lesser. Denise has been a recipient of several grants and prizes from the Canada Council for the Arts, and is grateful for their generous and continuing support.

“Surprisingly few cellists have recorded these three suites, perhaps because of the demands placed on the performer or perhaps because of their abstract nature. Cellist Denise Djokic…sets out to conquer these works on this ATMA album. Listeners may be surprised at the exceptional prowess of this young artist. Her technique is nearly flawless, even in the most challenging of passages. Of high significance for these works is the issue of intonation, which Djokic also meets with ease. Britten’s continuous use of wide, open intervals is met with clarity and sparkling purity. Her tone is varied, as is her musical approach to the different characters presented in the contrasting suites. Easily able to stand alongside the great recordings of Rostropovich and Wispelwey, this album is very likely to please.”
Mike Brownell
WWW.ALLMUSIC.COM

“Denise and her Instrument make an exceptional partnership and one that is demonstrated by her rapidly growing reputation. She plays with seemingly natural ease and her glowing warm tone and honest musical interpretations draw the listener into her complete commitment to the music.”
THE STRAD

“Djokic had a lot to say, and she said it with poise and power.”
THE WASHINGTON POST

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