Azuline Duo features award-winning musicians Sara Traficante (flute) and Emma Rush (guitar). This ensemble pushes the boundaries of their instruments and conventional programming with unusual and rarely heard repertoire, and a dynamic onstage presence that engages the audience from the first note. They tour regularly throughout North America and have a mission to bring live classical music to rural Canada. Whether up north in the Yukon Territory or down south in Texas, Azuline Duo makes a lasting impression with their innovative performances on both traditional and unexpected stages.
Performance highlights include the Lonestar Guitar Festival in Texas, the Sauble Beach Guitar Festival, and Guitarfest West in Alberta. They have visited Vancouver Island, Whitehorse, Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Winnipeg, Brandon in Western Canada and have toured Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with stops in Halifax, Dartmouth, Musquodoboit Harbour, Wolffville, New Minas, Avanport, Truro, and Moncton. They perform regularly throughout Ontario and have been featured artists for the Ottawa Guitar Society, Caledon Chamber Music, Cinquefoil Hamilton, and Mississauga Chamber Music. They were livestreaming concerts during the COVID-19 pandemic, including performances for the Philadelphia Guitar Society and the Festival Cultural Lagos de Moreno in Mexico. In 2022 they researched and premiered a program that reimagined the 19th century salon concert through a more inclusive lens with works by Loïsa Puget, Pauline Duchambge, Justin Holland, Catharina Pratten, Daniel Esprit Auber, and others. In 2023 they commissioned Scandalous, an hommage to legendary Brazilian musician and activist Chiquinha Gonzaga, by Canadian Composer Kendra Harder. Azuline Duo has had their work supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, FACTOR, and Hamilton’s City Enrichment Fund.
Azuline Duo released Fandango in 2020. The album features music from around the world by Tadic, Garcia, Gonzaga, Pujol, and McFadden. Thisisclassicalguitar.com writes the album “is filled with beautiful textures, intense rhythmic grooves, and excellent performances.” Their debut recording “Romanza: Music of Spain and South America” was released in 2016 and showcases the rich history of the guitar and the brilliant voice of the flute in an exciting chamber music setting.
Emma Rush is “widely regarded as one of Canada’s premier classical guitarists” (Vivascene Magazine) and her career has commanded world recognition. Touring highlights include the Shanghai International Guitar Festival, Festival de Guitarras Lagos de Moreno (Mexico), Future Echoes Festival (Sweden), and the prestigious Internationales Gitarren Symposion Iserlohn (Germany). Rush is a favourite guest at Canadian guitar festivals including GuitarFest West (Calgary), Guitar Alla Grande (Ottawa), Sauble Beach Guitar Festival (ON), and the Montreal International Guitar Festival and she tours regularly across Canada and world-wide. She has released four solo albums. “Emma Rush has crafted a sound that transcends generations and speaks directly to the heart and soul.” (Too Much Love Magazine)
Sara Traficante is a versatile flutist who is in demand as a performer and recording artist for her expressive musicality, technical mastery, and creative approach across musical genres. She is a founding member of genre-bending trio Vox Metropolis and has a passion for presenting unique concert experiences. Recent solo performance highlights include concerto performances with Symphony on the Bay (Burlington, ON) and McMaster University Chamber Orchestra (Hamilton, ON). She is in demand as a clinician and collaborator on projects from traditional classical to film scores and indie rock and plays all flutes and whistles on the soundtrack to the new CBC/Netflix production, Anne with an E.. “Flutist Sara Traficante’s controlled vibrato and evocative changes of tone colour and sound are just right.” Whole Note