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 have been livestreaming concerts during the COVID-19 pandemic, most recently for the Philadelphia Guitar Society and the Festival Cultural Lagos de Moreno in Mexico.
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 has established herself as one of Canada’s top classical guitarists, in demand as both a soloist and chamber musician. Her playing has commanded worldwide recognition and she performs regularly throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia, and is a frequent guest at international guitar festivals. In 2016-17 she was a Debut Atlantic touring artist and an artist in residence at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS. She was featured in the documentary film The Group of Seven Guitar Project, commissioned by the McMichael Gallery, alongside Canada’s best guitarists including Bruce Cockburn, Jesse Cook, and Don Ross. “She enchanted the audience with her charm, wit, and technical prowess” Frankenpost, Hof
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
Rush and Traficante have been recognized by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Heritage Canada, the Ottawa Community Foundation, the Banff Centre for
Performing Arts, the Hamilton Arts Awards, the City of Hamilton Cultural Enrichment Fund, and FACTOR.