Our March through May concerts have been cancelled, so we wanted to bring some good cheer to you – virtually – in these shared and dark times. We loved performing for the Crescent City Chamber Music Festival in New Orleans last October – today, we join forces once again to bring you this live-streamed performance (our first)!

We just performed for a couple-thousand audience members at the Florida Music Education Association’s Annual Conference and, as luck would have it, we found a camera crew willing to fly down the aisles alongside us! We are so grateful to them for capturing this immersive experience as it’s never been captured before… and to FMEA and Canada Council for the Arts for making this performance and video possible. (Watch us all dance at 9:25.)

Humanity is Maria’s response to hearing the cries of children separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border. She chose the violin & flute to tell the story of a mother and her young son – of hope for a shared future that compels them to run, desperately trying to keep a hold of each other in the face of a world that pulls them apart. Thank you to the Ontario Arts Council for making this composition possible.

Check out Maria’s solo for live + pre-recorded violin inspired by tango great Astor Piazzolla! If you want to try playing one of Maria’s solos, Sakura was just published in a first-run printing of 12,400 copies for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM)! Taught in over 90 countries, you can get your own copy here: ABRSM Violin Exam Pieces, Grade 8 Fun fact: Maria is the only living composer featured in the publication!

Since 2009, Sonic Escape has crisscrossed North America again and again – want to see where?  Check out our interactive map of past and upcoming tours.

We are thrilled at long last to bring you our Guide to Performing – an in-depth romp through all things performance-related.  Tips, hacks and stories from the road that might just provide a nugget or two for aspiring musicians.  New episodes every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

We LOVE hearing from people who play our compositions!  Since we started offering our sheet music a couple of years ago, we’ve sold hundreds of copies in 30+ countries – Azerbaijan to Malta, South Africa to Japan.  Check out our store to see if there’s a piece for you!

We have discovered the perfect live music photographer – Ashlee Wilcox!  She must’ve been as sweaty as we were, contorting to capture shots from every angle of our show for the National Association for Music Education.  Click the photo for our favorite picks.

We often get asked, “How often do you practise,” to which Maria answers, “I don’t.”  In Maria’s new entry for her series, Play Harder, she explains why…

The expert pen of Jeremy D. Bonfiglio proves that the art of storytelling is alive and well!  Check out this beautifully written piece about Maria and Shawn’s fateful trip to Ireland, and the music and relationship that ensued: Classical, Irish traditions merge in Sonic Escape.

We’ve experienced a lot of winter storms on the East Coast of late and, rather than grumble about it, decided to pack our skis, flute & camera and head to Vermont!  A few tips:

1. Downhill speed ≠ getting a sound
2. Stick to the top octave (preferably with one hand to get in some dance moves)
3. Below freezing temperatures might get you stuck to your flute
4. Stop playing and throw the flute if you’re going to crash!

Hope you enjoy the video 🙂