Biographies for Stilwell and Loach - long versions

Jean Stilwell - long bio

Jean Stilwell is famous for her twenty-five blisteringly sexy Carmens in Canada, the US, Britain and Japan.

 In addition to acting as a co-host on Toronto's The New Classical 96.3FM morning show, Jean Stilwell continues to perform on the opera and concert stages as well as in five cabaret shows with pianist-writer Patti Loach: "Love and Life", "Carmen UnZipped", "Here's To You", "Not Exactly Paris", and "What Was I Saying?".

Always her own woman, Jean did not follow a conventional path to reach the stature that she enjoys today in the world of opera, concerts, art song recitals and cabaret. Grants allowed her to customize her own education as befitted the daughter of two musicians from whom she had already learned a great deal.

Jean was the grateful recipient of scholarships and grants from the following arts organizations:

  • The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
  • The Women's Art Association
  • The Chalmer's Foundation
  • Two grants from the Canada Council
  • Three Scholarships from the Banff School of Fine Arts

A career that began in choirs and operettas at the Stratford Festival quickly evolved into a career in opera that has included performances around the world.

Musicians who have worked with Jean speak of her performances with enormous respect for her talent as well as with an appreciation for her terrific laugh.

www.jeanandpatti.com

Recordings

  • Berio Folksongs—CBC Records 1994
  • Harry Somers/Celebration “Five Songs for Dark Voice”, The Esprit Orchestra — CBC 2000
  • Les Chemin de l’Amour with Robert Kortgaard, Pianist and Ensemble—CBC 2000
  • Millenium New Year’s 2000 Opera Gala recorded live at Roy Thomson Hall—CBC Records 2001
  • Harry Somers: Songs From The Heart of Somers (2 CDs) with John Hess, Pianist—CMC 2003
  • Louis Spohr: Sechs Lieder with The Amici Ensemble — CBC Records 2003
  • German Cabaret Songs with Robert Kortgaard, Pianist and Ensemble — CBC Records 2003
  • Carmen UnZipped, with Patti Loach, Pianist 2006

For the stories behind Jean's tattoos, click here.

 

Patti Loach - long bio

Patti Loach has been playing the piano since she was six. She is a grateful product of the vocal (alto) and instrumental (clarinet) music programmes offered by Scarborough’s Public Schools; a graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto (A.R.C.T. perf.), and of the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto (BMus). 

In addition to loving classical music, Patti’s mad for the American Songbook and musical theatre. Her recordings, Carmen UnZipped and Pull Me Through, as well as her work in shows like "The Shopping Cart of Love", "The Picture of Happiness"  and "Conversations at 3 a.m.", reflects these passions. In addition to playing piano, Patti has written five shows including the "What Was I Saying?", as well as “Carmen UnZipped”, which she has performed around the world with opera and cabaret diva Jean Stilwell.

Patti loves to listen to jazz and to jazz piano, in particular. Some of her favorite pianists are Glenn Gould, Alex Rybeck, Hélène Grimaud, Mike Renzi, Bill Evans, Gene Di Novi and Bill Charlap, i.e. pianists from the varying worlds of classical music, jazz, musical theatre and cabaret.She  lives happily and busily with her beautiful, trumpet-playing husband, John, in the Beach neighbourhood of Toronto, just around the corner from Glenn Gould’s childhood home. They are the amazed parents of three beautiful men - Will, Rob and Ned.  When they’re not making their own music, or hosting salons and soirées for musician and actor friends, Patti and John record other singers and instrumentalists in the studio they’ve built in their kitchen.

Patti's idea of an ideal evening is one spent in the company of friends and family,cooking, making music, laughing and loving.

Please visit Patti's artist site for more information.