ECSQ Plays Guitar Quintets
Hello everyone!
Happy spring! Our next tour is coming up in a couple weeks — our very last run of concerts for the season! As always, we like to make our season closer a special one. We are absolutely thrilled to close out 2025-26 with special guest Adam Cicchillitti, who this past weekend won an ECMA for Instrumental Release of the Year!
Concert 5: Guitar Quintets with Adam Cicchillitti
Tickets are now on sale for our last show of the season: ECSQ Play Guitar Quintets with Adam Cicchillitti! Mark went to university with Adam way back in the day — he’s done a lot since then - like winning numerous ECMAs, commissioning 30 works for solo guitar, and collaborating with major Canadian ensembles including the Orchestre classique de Montréal, Thirteen Strings, and collectif9. We’re so excited to be able to reconnect and to share the stage with him!
We’ll be playing a fun collection of Guitar Quintets, featuring works by Boccherini, Susani, and Pujol. More on these pieces later in our next newsletter!
A little about Adam
JUNO-nominated Montreal-born guitarist Adam Cicchillitti has earned widespread acclaim as a soloist, chamber musician, and advocate for new music. Praised by Classical Guitar Magazine as “a virtuoso at the top of his game,” he was also named one of CBC Music’s Top 30 Musicians Under 30.
Since 2019, Adam has commissioned over thirty new works for solo guitar, duo, and chamber ensemble. His album Re/String (Leaf Music, 2025), featuring six world premieres for two guitars and string ensemble, was nominated for a Juno and recorded with Steve Cowan and collectif9. He has released seven albums on Analekta, ATMA Classique, and Leaf Music, with a new solo guitar and orchestra album forthcoming in May 2026. His 2021 album Focus won Classical Recording of the Year at the East Coast Music Awards, while Intimate Impressions was nominated the following year. With Cowan, he earned second and third prizes at the Guitar Foundation of America International Ensemble Competition in 2023 and 2021, one of the most prestigious competitions of its kind.
Adam has performed with major Canadian ensembles including the Orchestre classique de Montréal, Thirteen Strings, and collectif9, and is one of only two guitarists to have won the grand prize at Canada’s Canimex Concerto Competition. He has toured extensively across North America and Europe. He holds a Doctorate in Performance from McGill University, teaches at Mount Allison University, and founded the guitar program at Ottawa Suzuki Strings. He is sponsored by Augustine Strings, represented by Latitude 45, and performs on a guitar by Sergei de Jonge.
To learn more about what Adam’s up to, visit his website at: https://adamcicchillitti.com/