**Music Makers Presents: All Saints ‘After Dark’ featuring Josh J. Searles & Marina Hasselberg — April 23 — Music begins at 7:30pm**
Tickets - $15-30 Sliding Scale (cash only!)
Please welcome renowned musicians Josh J. Searles (guitar) and Marina Hasselberg (cello) to Salt Spring Island for the very first time! Josh will be taking us on a musical journey around the world, with a special focus on South American and Spanish works for the guitar. Marina will be sharing with us solo works for cello from both the classical Baroque canon, as well as her own arrangements of 20th century classical works by composers such as Erik Satie and original works for solo cello and looping pedal.
Please read on for more information about these two extraordinary artists! Join us on April 23rd at All Saints After Dark to experience the music live!
JOSH J. SEARLES:
Josh J. Searles has spent a lifetime honing his craft across various genres and instruments. An acclaimed and award winning classical guitarist, composer, and DJ, Searles holds a Master's degree in classical guitar performance from the prestigious University of Alicante, where he studied under world-renowned guitarists. Including Grammy-winning David Russell, Manuel Barrueco, and Meng Su. In 2019 he was rewarded with the E.G. Montgomery award for excellence in performance by world class virtuoso guitarist Alexander Dunn.
Searles’ international performance career began at the young age of 15. He has performed classical guitar in solo concerts and chamber music, french horn in quartets, orchestra and concert band, as well as his more avant-garde music: live electronica utilizing outboard synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, computers and live instruments. His dynamic range has taken him across Canada, the US, the UK, and Spain, including collaborations with renowned Brazilian guitarist and percussionist Celso Machado.
In addition to his prolific music career, Searles has contributed scores to films that have premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival. His work has also been featured in award-winning shorts like Ana Valine's “A Love Poem,” which won Best Experimental Film at Videobardo in Buenos Aires. His original compositions have also appeared in video productions and short films, such as Helen Haig-Brown's Pel'sic (Home Coming).
As Ghost Orchid, Searles draws on decades of musical experience from his electronic projects Daega Sound and Tamarak, where he produced and remixed an impressive catalogue of original works released on international labels such as Muti Music, Interchill, and Deep Heads. His music has graced the stages of iconic festivals like Mutek, Shambhala, and Bass Coast. At the same time, multiple releases, including the Hatched EP, have reached the Top 10 charts on Beatport and Junodownload.
MARINA HASSELBERG:
Boundless inquisitiveness sits at the very heart of award-winning cellist Marina Hasselberg’s rich artistic practice. Over the past decade, she’s traveled a distinctive route that has variously led her through early music, free improvisation, the fringes of pop songcraft, electronics, contemporary chamber music, and an array of interdisciplinary collaborations that resist classification.
Hasselberg’s deep and meticulous explorations have culminated in a solo practice that blends disparate elements from various musical realms. Her forthcoming album Red (Redshift Records) sees her insightful interpretive vision colliding with her improvisatory prowess. Recorded by violinist and JUNO and Polaris-winning producer Jesse Zubot, the disc leads listeners through an eclectic, electronics-infused, and deeply personal collection that weaves compositions by everyone from Domenico Gabrielli to Linda Catlin Smith, together with spontaneous performances that feature Hasselberg amidst a cast of her frequent collaborators: Aram Bajakian, Kenton Loewen, Giorgio Magnanensi, and Zubot.
She’s a powerful player that’s nourished by her immersion in classical training, but by no means limited by it. Her relationship with the cello was ignited at age 11 during her studies at the musical academy of Évora, in her native Portugal. She later completed a Bachelors degree in Lisbon, and in 2008, she came to Canada to pursue a Masters degree in Literature and Performance from the University of Western Ontario.
Since making Vancouver her home, Hasselberg has become a fixture within an assortment of the city’s musical communities—both strictly as a cellist and as a vital creative instigator. In 2016, she was the recipient of the City of Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award for Emerging Artist in Music. She was also the feature artist for Pro Musica’s 2017 Sonic Boom Music Festival — an event that culminated in a sold-out concert where she premiered 11 new works for cello and electronics. As the artistic director of NOVO Ensemble she has commissioned and presented numerous works—especially by Canadian creators. In 2016, the group was rated Best Classical Ensemble in the Vancouver Is Awesome Reader’s Poll, flanked by the Vancouver Symphony and Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble. The long list of works she has premiered spans Howard Skempton’s spartan lyricism to pop eccentric Veda Hille, fellow Vancouverite cellist Peggy Lee to plunderphonic provocateur John Oswald as well as other notables such as Jordan Nobles, Michael Oesterle, Lisa Cay Miller, and Andrea Young.
Hasselberg served as the principal cellist of the Vancouver Island Symphony, while also enjoying collaborations with Vancouver New Music, Early Music Vancouver, Sound of Dragon Ensemble, Redshift Music Society, Turning Point Ensemble, Okkyung Lee, Kee Avil, Lan Tung, Sarah Davachi, Uri Caine, Ingrid Laubrock, and Endlings, the duo of John Dieterich of Deerhoof and Pulitzter Prize winning composer Raven Chacon. She has even found herself accompanying highly regarded pop stars from Father John Misty to Mariah Carey.
Georgia Straight journalist Janet Smith wrote of Hasselberg that she “has become a standout presence on Vancouver’s music scene.” Meanwhile, speaking to her imagination and versatility, veteran writer Alexander Varty describes her as “a spark plug in two very different musical worlds.”
All Saints ‘After Dark’ is a series devoted to music that feels personal, adventurous, and alive in the moment. Stripped of formality and illuminated by mood and resonance, these concerts encourage listeners to experience sound differently — closer, warmer, and more connected. Whether you’re a longtime concertgoer or new to live performance, this evening promises a rare chance to encounter music in a setting that prioritizes presence, atmosphere, and shared listening.
Music Makers is proud to curate performances that celebrate artistry, collaboration, and community. This concert reflects that spirit: music created not just to entertain, but to connect people through shared atmosphere and presence. Whether you come to be inspired, comforted, or simply immersed in beautiful sound, this evening offers space to pause and enjoy something meaningful.
Join us on April 23rd for All Saints ‘After Dark’ featuring Josh J Searles and Marina Hasselberg. Come as you are, settle in, and let the music and poetry carry you into the dark.