{"id":118025,"date":"2025-10-01T11:57:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T15:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=118025"},"modified":"2025-10-01T11:57:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T15:57:23","slug":"preview-zac-pulak-shhh-ensemble-talks-upcoming-concert-ottawa-symphony-orchestra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/10\/01\/preview-zac-pulak-shhh-ensemble-talks-upcoming-concert-ottawa-symphony-orchestra\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Zac Pulak Of SHHH!! Ensemble Talks About Their Upcoming Concert With The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The SHHH!! Ensemble \u2014 pianist Edana Higham and percussionist Zac Pulak at the 2023 premiere of composer Kelly-Marie Murphy’s Machines, Mannequins, and Monsters (Photo: Matt Duboff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The SHHH!! Ensemble \u2014 percussionist Zac Pulak and pianist Edana Higham \u2014 is one of the very few piano\/percussion duos in the world. They\u2019ve made a name for themselves by combining high level performance with imaginative repertoire, and a fondness for new music.<\/p>\n

On October 5, they\u2019ll be performing Canadian composer Kelly-Marie Murphy’s double concerto, Machines, Mannequins, and Monsters, with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra led by Maestra Melanie Leonard.<\/p>\n

The piece was commissioned by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in 2022 for SHHH!! Ensemble, and it premiered in 2023 at the Winnipeg New Music Festival. It\u2019s the first time the duo has revisited the work since then.<\/p>\n

\"The
The SHHH!! Ensemble \u2014 pianist Edana Higham and percussionist Zac Pulak at the 2023 premiere of composer Kelly-Marie Murphy’s Machines, Mannequins, and Monsters (Photo: Matt Duboff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Zac Pulak: The Interview<\/h2>\n

\u201cOur duo started \u2014 we initially started thinking about the idea in 2017,\u201d says of SHHH!! Ensemble.<\/p>\n

As he points out, they became partners in life before they became musical partners. The two musicians had been working on individual projects and residencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther people there kept asking us, have you ever tried playing together?\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, they did, and a unique career has been the result. One of the challenges, though, with such unusual instrumentation, is the lack of repertoire in the traditional classical canon. It\u2019s not such a problem, though, if you are willing to build the repertoire from the ground up.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth of us are big supporters and fans of new music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Composer Kelly-Marie Murphy<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been working with Kelly for quite a bit,\u201d Pulak says. Murphy composed a work for Zac as a soloist in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about having a larger scale piece with our duo.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Winnipeg orchestra and new music festival answered that call with the commission. \u201cWe got this massive piece, this big beautiful orchestral piece,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll be working with her on another piece in the near future. Part of the appeal of her music is her versatility as a composer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the things I like about Kelly. She\u2019s got a definite style, but there\u2019s so much variety within that style.\u201d<\/p>\n

The duo has found that composers are generally enthusiastic about writing for the duo and their instrumentation. \u201cDefinitely, that\u2019s been the case, I\u2019d say 100% of the time. It\u2019s a different sort of ensemble.\u201d<\/p>\n

What they create isn\u2019t always so easy to play, as with Murphy\u2019s double concerto.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust from a technical standpoint […] the parts are not easy,\u201d he says. But, the challenge is always worth it. \u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to work on it. It\u2019s amazing to put together,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

In terms of thematic material, the title of Murphy\u2019s work comes from a Museum of Modern Art exhibit of the same name. Each movement in the work is inspired by a specific work of art. The third movement, titled Humanly Impossible, is based on a photo by Herbert Behr of 1932, with a man\u2019s head attached to a mannequin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s slightly disturbing, but also comical. I think that kind of captures the personality of the third movement,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s not humanly impossible, but it\u2019s quite difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

Revisiting the work is an occasion the duo appreciates. \u201cIt\u2019s been really nice to go back and dig into it. It\u2019s been fun […] it\u2019s only been a couple of years, but our duo has played so much since then.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve developed as an ensemble, and performed many works in between.<\/p>\n

\u201c[It\u2019s great] to see how it comes together a little more seamlessly than the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n