Sirius Piano Duo, formed by Pei-Chen Chen and Mengjie Xiong, brings together Canadian and Chinese musical perspectives through collaborative performance. Known for their versatility, they present repertoire ranging from classical works to innovative cross-genre arrangements. The duo has received the Orford Music Scholarship and has appeared at major events, including the NCKP Opening Concert and University of Toronto New Music Festival, and at international conferences such as CFMTA and APPC.

Program 

Sound and Space: Canadian Women in Piano Duet

In Sound and Space: Canadian Women in Piano Duet, we celebrate the voices of Canadian women composers through a journey across contemporary piano duet repertoire. The program explores deeply personal sound worlds shaped by immigration, cultural identity, and the realities of a world marked by conflict and uncertainty. Woven through these musical narratives are feelings of nostalgia and the search for belonging that often accompany migration. Reflecting Canada’s multicultural society and its tradition of welcoming diverse voices, these works reveal a rich spectrum of musical imagination and artistic expression, highlighting the diversity and depth of women’s contributions to Canadian music.

Parisa Sabet: Chakameh (2011) (7'10'')

Dr. Parisa Sabet is an Iranian-Canadian composer, artistic director, and educator whose work is shaped by imagination, innovation, and socially engaged storytelling. Drawing from her cultural heritage and musical background, her creative practice often explores themes of identity, resilience, and the amplification of overlooked voices, particularly the experiences of women.

Her piano duet Chakameh grew from a deeply personal musical memory. As a young pianist, Sabet often played four-hand repertoire with a close friend, and those collaborations remain among her most cherished musical experiences. At the time, she never imagined that she would one day compose a work for piano four hands herself. The idea emerged years later while she was taking a piano ensemble class in 2010, and the piece was completed in 2011 through a pianist–composer collaboration. Unlike many of Sabet’s programmatic works, Chakameh centers on the intimate dialogue between two pianists, inviting performers to create a shared and collaborative musical sound world.

Alice Ho: Under The Shattered Skies for one piano, four hands (2022) (11'00'')

Chinese Canadian composer Alice Ping Yee Ho (何水頤) is known for her vivid musical storytelling and distinctive cross-cultural voice. Her work often blends diverse musical traditions with expressive and dramatic sound worlds.

Under the Shattered Skies was written in response to the war in Ukraine. Although Ho has never experienced war firsthand, the devastation faced by innocent civilians deeply moved her. The piece becomes a personal threnody, reflecting both the tragedy of lives disrupted by violence and the resilience of the human spirit.

Inspired by Ukrainian folk melodies, Ho transforms fragments of traditional tunes through new harmonies, dramatic rhythmic energy, and colorful piano textures. Written for one piano, four hands, the work unfolds as a single-movement tone poem. Its shifting dynamics and layered textures evoke a powerful emotional landscape, capturing both the sorrow of displacement and the enduring strength of those who persevere.

Christine Donkin: Bay of Rainbows (2010) (3'23" )

After the emotional soundscapes of Sabet and Ho, the program turns toward a more luminous and imaginative horizon with Christine Donkin’s Bay of Rainbows. Named after a mysterious region on the Moon’s surface, the work invites listeners into an enchanting sound world of wonder and possibility. A Canadian composer, Donkin has collaborated with poets, composers, and Indigenous artists on numerous commissioned projects supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the SOCAN Foundation. Her imaginative writing evokes a whimsical vision of an unknown lunar landscape, where sparkling textures and undulating waves of sound reflect shifting light and shadow. In this way, the piece opens the concert outward, offering a sense of curiosity, spaciousness, and renewal as the journey draws to a close.