Jacob Clewell  Viola & Violin

When violist/violinist Jacob Clewell and pianist Sasha Bult-Ito formed

The Ezra Duo at The Glenn Gould School in Toronto in 2016 — Sasha having already made her orchestral debut as a concerto soloist at six with the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, Jacob on his way to a Gold Medal at the Vancouver International Music Competition — they brought to their partnership credentials as remarkable as the ensemble they would build. Recognized by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner as "an iconic team," the duo has since established one of the more distinctive voices in contemporary chamber music.

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Their performing career has unfolded on some of the continent's most respected stages — Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, Toronto's Koerner Hall, and the Royal Ontario Museum, where as guests at a G7 Summit event they performed for world leaders and diplomatic delegations. They have performed Mendelssohn's Double Concerto with the Juno Award–winning Sinfonia Toronto, and toured widely across North America — from Halifax to Vancouver in Canada, and from Atlanta to Santa Fe in the United States. Their programs move fluidly between the established, the overlooked, and the unexpected — drawing on repertoire as varied as Rebecca Clarke and Pulitzer Prize–winning Jennifer Higdon, the jazz-inflected concert music of Nikolai Kapustin, and Joe Hisaishi's beloved film music. That commitment has earned the attention of the composing community: Order of Canada recipient David Jaeger, Vienna International Competition winner Ofer Ben-Amots, and Juno-nominated Mark Limacher have each composed works expressly for the duo, among others.

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Their debut album Mystic Journey released in August 2024 on Akashic Classics and distributed worldwide by Universal Music Group, is a collection of short sonic narratives — an intimate and carefully curated program that offers a concentrated view of the duo's interpretive range and the musical intimacy at the core of their partnership. They also served as the featured ensemble for the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto's new composition competition that year, premiering the winning works in concert. Their livestreamed series Ezra Electrified! — classical and crossover programs performed entirely on electric instruments, curated and produced by the duo and broadcast live on Twitch to a global audience — represents a parallel artistic practice: the same interpretive seriousness and collaborative instinct applied to a format entirely of their own invention.

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As co-Artistic Directors of the Emerald Coast Chamber Music Festival in Florida — a collaborative venture with violinist Nicholas Hatt and cellist Jordan Galvarino — they also lead the annual Chamber Music Institute for advanced conservatory students from such institutions as Indiana University, Cincinnati Conservatory, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, building a dedicated home for the values that define their performing life. Masterclasses at Berry College, the University of Tulsa, and the Albuquerque Youth Symphony, alongside outreach partnerships with the Toronto Public Library and Canada's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, reflect a sustained commitment to bringing chamber music into communities well beyond the concert hall.

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Equally distinguished as soloists, Jacob has appeared in concertos with orchestras across the United States and Canada — most notably performing the Elgar Cello Concerto in its viola transcription — and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Toronto on full fellowship, where he studied with Masumi Rostad and Annalee Patipatanakoon. A three-time first-place laureate of the Fairbanks Symphony Concerto Competition, Sasha holds degrees from The Glenn Gould School — where she studied with John Perry and David Louie — and has performed as concerto soloist with orchestras across Canada, the United States, and Europe, and appears on the Royal Conservatory of Music's definitive examination recording series.

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On the road the duo enjoys indulging in such hobbies as visiting local zoos and trying every specialty coffee shop they can find. At home in Toronto they can be found taking long walks around the city, playing video and tabletop games, or doting on their adorable calico cat, Akali, who frequently stars in their social media. Whether performing for world leaders at a G7 Summit or broadcasting live on electric instruments to a global online audience, The Ezra Duo brings the same interpretive conviction and collaborative depth to every room they enter.

 

Learn more about Ezra at www.theezraduo.com.