Machines & Myths

SHHH!!… a powerful utterance designed to draw attention forward… creating space and awareness… opening ears to something important.

Percussionist Zac Pulak and pianist Edana Higham are the SHHH!! Ensemble, described as “truly virtuosic and intense” (Confluence Concerts) and “a beautiful discovery” by the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec. Their appetite for collaboration and experimentation has led to bold new works written for them by John Beckwith, Frank Horvat, Jocelyn Morlock, Mari Alice Conrad, Monica Pearce and more.

In February 2023, SHHH!! Ensemble “enthralled” (Winnipeg Free Press) as soloists in the world premiere of Kelly-Marie Murphy’s concerto “Machines, Mannequins, and Monsters” with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Other world premieres include JUNO-winning composer Jocelyn Morlock’s Spirit Gradient with the Tuckamore Festival in Newfoundland, and Noora Nakhei’s “Echoes of the Past” for the Ottawa International Literary Festival.  Across the country, their performances at the Open Ears Festival, LUMINA, the Tuckamore Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, the Banff Centre, and for the National Arts Centre captivate audiences and critics with their “avant-accessible” approach, calling them “inspiring” and “inventive”.

SHHH!! Ensemble’s debut album Meanwhile (Analekta), nominated for Classical Recording of the Year at the 2023 East Coast Music Awards, was released in October 2022 to critical acclaim, reaching top positions on Apple Music and Spotify playlists. In the fall of 2023 they will release their 2nd CD, a large-scale commission by Toronto composer Frank Horvat on the Leaf Music label, titled “An Auditory Survey of the Last Days of the Holocene.”