VC2
CELLO DUO
“VC2 is a tight unit, with excellent intonation and expression, and the recorded sound [on Beethoven’s Cellists] is first-rate.”
- CBC MUSIC
BIOGRAPHY
AMAHL ARULANANDAM
BRYAN HOLT
VC2 Cello Duo is an innovative cello duo ensemble that captivates audiences through their performances of classical masterworks, unknown gems and boundary pushing music. Comprised of cellists Amahl Arulanandam and Bryan Holt, CBC Music says VC2 is “a tight unit, with excellent intonation and expression.” They present artistically challenging, yet accessible programs in venues ranging from intimate cabarets to Roy Thomson Hall.
As respected cellists, they have performed as part of leading music organizations including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, Soundstreams, Art of Time Ensemble, Continuum Contemporary Music, New Music Concerts, Music in the Barns, Thin Edge New Music Collective, and others. The duo has been featured artists at Ottawa Chamberfest, Indian River Festival, Ottawa New Music Creators, 21C Music Festival, Ritornello Festival, and the Prairie Cello Institute.
Committed to the creation of new works by living composers, especially those from their home country of Canada, VC2 commissioned five Canadian composers to create works based on the Beethoven Cello Sonatas project. In addition to their performances, VC2, with the generous support of the Ontario Arts Council, recorded these works and in fall 2018, released the album Beethoven's Cellists which CBC Radio calls a “first-rate” recording.
In February 2018, VC2 embarked on a tour of the East Coast of Canada, presented by Debut Atlantic. The duo also spent time summer 2018 at the soundSCAPE performance and composition exchange in Maccagno, Italy and brought home a number of new works by emerging international composers. VC2 is thrilled to be one of Prairie Debut's 2019-20 Touring Artists. This summer, they premiered a work by Canadian Kelly Marie Murphy, titled Final Glimpse, commissioned by the Toronto Music Garden/Harbourfront.
January 2023
REVIEWS
“VC2 is a tight unit, with excellent intonation and expression, and the recorded sound [on Beethoven’s Cellists] is first-rate.”
– CBC MUSIC
“…then came VC2 Cello Duo (Amahl Arulanandam and Bryan Holt) playing ‘Triumvirate’ written for them by Raphael Weinroth-Browne…It was busy, exciting with intricate rather Eastern sounding melodies with seamless swaps of lead, & support between the instruments. It demonstrated the instrument plus its capabilities that was expertly played. It was the stand-out piece of the day. Earning a well-deserved standing ovation.”
– ONTARIO ARTS REVIEW
“Despite the purely classical repertoire, the young pair gave off a modern, streetwise energy, playing from sleek iPads, instead of paper scores, like a couple of badasses.”
– OTTAWA CITIZEN
“Earlier, the cello duo VC2 flabbergasted (yes, that still happens to people) the audience with stunning work and some Guns N’ Roses and Foo Fighters in the mix of tunes they played. One piece written by Matt Brubeck…distributed phrases and melody lines between the players, Amahl Arulanandam and Bryan Holt.”
– ORILLIA PACKET
“It’s a testament to the type of eagerness – the kind of warmth and energy – that they bring to their music…They also clearly care, in a very earnest way, about what they do. And it’s an enthusiasm that’s catching.”
– THE WHOLENOTE MAGAZINE
“The Toronto-based VC2 duo, two violoncello players, quickly won the audience’s hearts Sunday afternoon not only with their virtuosic playing skills, but their warm, witty and humorous patter about their music and experiences, which drew many chuckles and smiles… In their well-received recital, they did individually and collectively almost everything one can do with a cello in one brief concert. They explored the most resonant rumblings of the bass range and the highest levels of the instrument, well into the violin range, from the softest whispers to the most bombastic full-throated chords.”
-THE INTELLIGENCER (Belleville, ON)
DISCOGRAPHY
Beethoven’s Cellists
Independent
Faster Still (4. Duet for Cellos, performed by VC2)
Centrediscs CD1735
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