The McGregor-Verdejo Duo was formed in 2016 by guitarist Adrian Verdejo and flutist Mark Takeshi McGregor. From Bach to Piazzolla to Baca-Lobera, the Vancouver based duo is committed to re-envisioning established classics, rediscovering forgotten and neglected works, and forging bonds with modern day composers by commissioning and performing new music for flute and guitar. Past engagements include collaborations with soprano Dory Hayley, performances at Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra’s Global Soundscapes Festival and Powell Street Festival, and concerts throughout Western Canada for the HealthArts Society. The Duo’s dedication to fostering new music has resulted in the premieres of works by composers Jennifer Butler, Kara Gibbs, Rodney Sharman, and Hiroki Tsurumoto, as well as forthcoming commissions by Farshid Samandari, Mark Marinic, Alfredo Santa Ana, Ana Lara, and Diego Lozano.

During the 2020/21 season, when the coronavirus pandemic put live concerts on hold, the McGregor-Verdejo Duo moved their activities online, creating videos of music by Jocelyn Morlock and Celso Machado with assistance from the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, and Creative BC. Forthcoming projects include the duo’s debut album, which will feature new and recent works for flute and guitar by Canadian, Japanese, and Mexican composers, and an artist residency at the Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras in Morelia, Mexico.

Adrian Verdejo is a Canadian classical guitarist living in Vancouver. He performs as a soloist and as a founding member of the Victoria Guitar Trio. Adrian has also played with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Turning Point, Aventa Ensemble, among others. Adrian Verdejo is a Classical Guitar instructor at the Vancouver Community College School of Music. Born to a musical family in Regina, Saskatchewan, Adrian Verdejo began studying the guitar at a young age. He received a Master of Music degree from the University of Ottawa, a BMus from the University of Victoria, and a Music Diploma from Capilano University. He studied with guitarists Patrick Roux, Dr. Alexander Dunn, and Stephen Boswell. Adrian Verdejo performs many works spanning the guitar repertoire and has commissioned and premiered several new pieces. Verdejo’s debut solo album, Modern Hearts, was listed in the Top Albums of 2014 by Vancouver’s The Georgia Straight. Adrian is a regular performer for Health Arts Society Concerts in Care, and president of the board of directors for Redshift Music Society.

Flutist Mark Takeshi McGregor enjoys a diverse career as a leading performer of classical and contemporary music. Recent engagements include the Vancouver New Music Society, Little Chamber Music Series That Could, Innovations en Concert (Montreal), GroundSwell (Winnipeg), Honolulu Festival, Internationale ADEvantgarde-Festival (Munich), the Melos-Ethos Festival (Bratislava), Núcleo Música Nova’s International Symposium of New Music (Curitiba, Brazil), and the 2017 ISCM World New Music Days (Vancouver). An advocate of new music for the flute, Mark has commissioned and premiered dozens of new works, including concerti, chamber music, and solo works. McGregor earned his DMA from the University of British Columbia in 2012 and holds additional degrees from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (Australia). He teaches at the Vancouver Academy of Music.

All photos by Lenora Ede