“Veterans and newcomers alike were treated to a typically flawless performance from this all-star band…” Alex Varty, The Georgia Straight (Jan.20, 2014)
“…this is an exciting and very listenable recording from a solid and savvy ensemble interpreting the works of four notable composers.” Nick Storring, MusicWorks Magazine, review of Liquid States (Summer 2013)
“…highly technical and yet ethereally organic.” John Jane, Review Vancouver (June 2012)
“…another evening of compelling music by the stellar Standing Wave…” Candy Machine (December 2010)
“…Vancouver’s most adventurous chamber ensemble…” Alex Varty, The Georgia Straight (Nov.23, 2010)
“Standing Wave Ensemble is one of Vancouver’s most acclaimed practitioners of “new music”- a no-boundaries fusion of electronic and acoustic instruments, influenced by classical, jazz, soundtracks, and whatever else inspiration suggests.” WestEnder (Nov.25-Dec.1, 2010)
“Over the course of its 16-year history, Standing Wave has specialized in making the difficult seem easy – and in its first concert of 2007 that was definitely on the agenda.”
“There’s an odd sweetness to these tunes, but that simplicity is deceptive; they’re technically challenging, too. Violinist Rebecca Whitling rose to the occasion with startling grace, sometimes foregrounding one pure note while drawing reedy harmony from or two others. Allen Stiles, on piano, was also immaculate.”
“…the ensemble stared down bigger challenges in Zack Browning’s Impact Addiction and Carlos Sánchez-Gutiérrez’s Luciérnagas.”
“It’s no cinch to accurately reproduce this dizzying beauty, but Vancouver’s most accomplished contemporary chamber music group did just that, without even breaking a sweat.” Alex Varty, The Georgia Straight (Feb.22-Mar.1, 2007)
“…a deeply inspirational evening of music.”
“Standing Wave did this musical bounty proud. The group didn’t appear compromised by the addition of the extra musicians, always retaining its trademark clarity of execution. Nonetheless, some of the strongest performances were solo ones: cellist Peggy Lee’s high-wire improvisation three-quarters of the way through the hourlong concert, and pianist Allen Stiles’s effervescent reading of Cage’s Sonata #5, a piece so otherworldly it sounds like the product of an alien civilization.”
“…in Standing Wave, this city has a major cultural treasure.” Alex Varty, The Georgia Straight (Jun.9-16, 2005)
“Lean yet luxuriously paced, [palladia is] a glorious piece of music – and, like everything else on the program, it benefited from the performers’ impeccable poise.”
“The band offers brilliant musicianship, thoughtful programming, and true dedication to its craft: we can’t ask for more from it…” Alex Varty, The Georgia Straight (Oct.21-28, 2004)
“…fresh sounds that twist and surprise… Standing Wave is a vital contemporary voice with drop-dead ingenious musicians.” Tara Wohlberg, Vancouver Sun (Nov.22, 2000)