Known for being ”…deeply connected to the moment of creation both with their own instruments and each other” Ariel Barnes, 1st Solo Cellist of the Nürnberg Symphony, and Heidi Krutzen, Principal Harp of the Philharmonia Orchestra, London, form the duo COULOIR. Dedicated to 21st Century Art Music, COULOIR’s passion lies in creating fresh music with today’s leading composers through the magical, kaleidoscopic sound world of cello and harp. Both Barnes and Krutzen have developed international presence as soloists, chamber musicians and orchestral leaders, concertizing regularly in Europe, North America and Asia to critical acclaim. Described as “Music’s new rare pair…” and “de facto Ambassadors of Canadian Music” (The Georgia Straight) COULOIR’s work in the realm of contemporary music is a distillation of their artistic personalities, providing a “corridor” for what they love most about music making; story telling.

With a focus on developing original repertoire through collaboration and commissioning, COULOIR has thus far had ten duo works and two double concerti written for them by composers Kelly-Marie Murphy, James Maxwell, Baljinder Sekhon II, Jocelyn Morlock, Jeffrey Ryan, Ana Sokolovic, Andrew Staniland, Glenn Buhr, Caroline Lizotte, Brad Turner and Richard Birchall. Passionate about sharing this music, the Duo has programmed many of these works while touring extensively throughout North America, including appearances at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Music on Main’s “Modulus Festival” and world premiers featured in live broadcasts for CBC Radio. COULOIR have appeared as concerto soloists with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia (Warsaw), Czech National Symphony Orchestra (Prague), and most recently given the world premiere of James Maxwell’s new double concerto “The Razor Hiss of a Whisper “ with Canada’s Turning Point Ensemble. Having released two studio recordings on PARMA/Ravello Records; "Wine Dark Sea" (2013) and prize winning "MAXWELL, MUHLY & COULOIR" (2016), COULOIR’s newest recording of Kelly-Marie Murphy’s double concerto with Orchestre Classiques de Montrèal was released in the fall of 2019 on Analekta.