PROGRAM

Chaconne in D minor BWV 1004 Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)

15 Improvisations Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)

No 1 - Si mineur

No 2 - La b majeur

No 3 - Si mineur

No 4 - La b majeur

No 5 - La mineur

No 6 - Si b majeur

No 7 - Ut majeur

No 8 - La mineur

No 9 - Re majeur

No 10 - Eloge des gammes - Fa majeur

No 11 - Sol mineur

No 12 - Hommage a Schubert – Mi b majeur

No 13 - La mineur

No 14 - Re b majeur

No 15 - Hommage a Edith Piaf - Ut mineur

INTERMISSION

Sonata No. 5 Opus 53 Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915)

Nocturne Opus 27 #2 Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Scherzo No 2 Opus 31 Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

ARTIST

Canadian pianist Shoshana Telner has performed across Canada and abroad.  Described as an “authentic musician with a sparkling technique” (Le Droit) and full of fire and warmth” (the New York Times), Shoshana has a passion for engaging audiences with exciting performances.  She made her solo orchestral début with the National Arts Centre Orchestra at the age of 16 and has since performed as soloist with several orchestras including the Québec Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Classical Orchestra, and the National Academy Orchestra.

Shoshana received a Bachelor’s degree on full scholarship from Boston University, a Master’s degree from the Juilliard School in New York, and a Doctorate in performance from McGill University. She has taught piano and coached ensembles at McGill University, the University of Ottawa, Wilfrid LaurierUniversity, and currently teaches piano at McMaster University. She frequently gives masterclasses, adjudicates competitions, and examines for the Royal Conservatory of Music. 

Shoshana has performed at numerous summer festivals including the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, the Elora Festival, the Kincardine Summer Music Festival, the Brott Music Festival, and the Blueridge Chamber Music Festival.  She has been awarded honors at the International Stepping Stone Competition, the Esther Honens International Piano Competition and the Canadian Concerto Competition.  Shoshana’s recordings include solo works of Canadian composer Colin Mack (CanSona), the Grieg violin/piano sonatas with Jeremy Bell (Chestnut Hall Music), Mozart Sonatas and Sonatinas (The Mozart Effect) and the six Bach Keyboard Partitas (Centaur Records). 

PROGRAM

Mel Bonis: Soir! Matin! Op. 76

Rebecca Clarke: Piano Trio

Frank Martin: Trio on Irish Folk Tunes

Antonin Dvorak: Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor Op. 90 "Dumky"

ARTISTS

Robert Uchida, violin  Canadian violinist Robert Uchida, Concertmaster of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, enjoys a varied career as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician, and educator. His debut recording of Andrew Violette’s Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin won international acclaim, with Strings Magazine praising his “ravishing sound, eloquence and hypnotic intensity.”

Robert has been a concerto soloist with orchestras including the Alberta Baroque Ensemble, Edmonton Symphony, Kingston Symphony, Ottawa Symphony, Red Deer Symphony, Symphony New Brunswick, Symphony Nova Scotia, Orchestre de la Francophonie, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada. 

Robert is Artistic Director of the Longshadow Music Festival in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. He has taught and performed at festivals throughout North America including the Arizona MusicFest, Banff International String Quartet Festival, Jackson Hole Chamber Music, Music by the Sea, National Academy Orchestra, National Arts Centre Young Artists Program, New Brunswick Summer Music Festival, Rosebud Chamber Music Festival, Scotia Festival, Sewanee Music Festival, Summer Solstice Music Festival, and was Artistic Director of the Acadia Summer Strings Festival from 2010-2013. 

Before joining the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Robert was Concertmaster of Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax. He performed on a Juno-nominated recording with Sarah Slean, and recorded Requiem 21.5: Violin Concerto by Tim Brady, which won Classical Recording of the Year at the East Coast Music Awards. As a guest concertmaster, he has worked with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, Ottawa Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

A passionate teacher, Robert is a violin instructor at the University of Alberta, and has held teaching positions at Acadia University and the Manhattan School of Music Precollege. His students have continued their studies at the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and Guildhall School in London, have won major international competitions, and perform in ensembles in North America and Europe.

Robert holds a Master’s Degree in Violin Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Ottawa. His teachers and mentors include Andrew Dawes, Morry Kernerman, Patinka Kopec, Heratch Manoukian, David Stewart, and Pinchas Zukerman.

Robert loves volunteering and is honoured to have been inducted into the Ronald McDonald House’s Character Club in Edmonton. He performs on the "Dawes, de Long Tearse" Guadagnini violin with Vision Solo Titanium strings by Thomastik-Infeld Vienna.

Cameron Crozman, cello  “With a rich imagination and a keen mind” (Diapason Magazine), Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman leads an active performing career as a soloist and chamber musician in Canada, the USA, and Europe. He has appeared as a soloist with the Orchester National d'Ile-de-France (Paris), Montreal, Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Vancouver Island Symphonies among others, and performances have taken him everywhere from the Philharmonie de Paris and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, to the Qidi Vidi Brewery of St. John's, Newfoundland . An avid collaborator and chamber musician, Cameron shares the stage with eminent artists such as James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Louis Lortie, Gérard Caussé, James Campbell, and members of the Ébène, New Zealand, and Penderecki String Quartets.

Winner of the 2021 Canada Council for the Arts Virginia Parker Prize, the Council's largest award for emerging classical musicians, Cameron was CBC/Radio-Canada's 2019 Classical Revelation artist and a laureate of Gautier Capuçon's Classe d'Excellence at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris . He has released critically acclaimed recordings for the ATMA Classique and Printemps des Arts de Monaco labels.

Cameron's debut album, Cavatina , recorded on the ca. 1696 “Bonjour” Stradivarius cello with pianist Philip Chiu, was released in 2019 and described by the French publication Classica Magazine as displaying “technical perfection with a personal style that leaves us wanting to hear more.” His most recent release from September 2023, Ricercari , features a program of 7 new pieces for solo cello by Canadian and international composers alongside the earliest compositions for solo cello by Domenico Gabrielli. His performances are broadcast on CBC, BBC, RTÉ Radio, Radio France, and Medici.tv.

Deeply committed to innovation in classical music, Cameron constantly imagines new ways to share his art with the world. He is active in leading projects commissioning and premiering new music by some of Canada's most recognized composers including Alexina Louie, Allan Gordon Bell, Liam Ritz, James O'Callaghan, and Kelly-Marie Murphy.

After studying in Canada with Paul Pulford, Cameron was a student at the Paris Conservatoire and received his “Prix de cello” with highest honors studying in the class of Michel Strauss. In 2018, he received a one year mentorship with violinist James Ehnes as part of the André-Bourbeau award from the Jeunesses Musicales Canada. Passionate about teaching the next generation, he has been invited to give masterclasses at the Académie Rainier III in Monaco, Mount Royal University Conservatory in Calgary, Lawrence University (Wisconsin), University of Montreal, and the Victoria Conservatory among others.

Cameron is the co-founder of ClassicalValley, a festival bringing together chamber music and wine in Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada, and the artistic director of chamber music for the Edeta Arts International Festival in Llíria, Spain, designated a Creative City of Music by the UNESCO. He currently plays on a c. 1750 Gennaro Gagliano cello, generously on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Instrument Bank.

Philip Chiu, piano  “A pianist-painter who transforms each musical idea into a beautiful array of colors” (La Presse), Philip Chiu is acclaimed for his brilliant pianism, sensitive listening, and a stage presence that eschews the hermit-pianist image and favours openness, authenticity, and connection with audiences. Inaugural winner of the Mécénat Musica Prix Goyer, Mr. Chiu has become one of Canada’s leading musicians through his infectious love of music and his passion for creation and communication.

He concertizes extensively as soloist and chamber musician and has performed solo recitals and chamber music concerts in most major venues across Canada, as well as concert halls in France, Japan and the United States. He recently made his debut for the La Jolla Music Society in California in their 50th anniversary season and will be appearing in Maine and Massachusetts in fall 2019. Chamber music partners have included James Ehnes, Emmanuel Pahud, Regis Pasquier, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Bomsori Kim, Johannes Moser, and Raphael Wallfisch. He has a long-standing violin-piano duo with Jonathan Crow, concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and violinist of the New Orford String Quartet. Mr. Chiu is a veteran touring artist of Prairie Debut, Jeunesses Musicales Canada, and Debut Atlantic, having toured the country 14 times with their generous support.

As Artist-in-Residence of Cecilia Concert’s 2018/19 Season, he immensely enjoyed programming four unique and imaginative concerts, and is looking forward to further exploring his creative side as Artist-in-Residence for Montreal’s La Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur in 2020. Other upcoming projects include a recording/concert tour of John Burge’s 24 Preludes for Solo Piano, as well as a recording/concert project with Pentaèdre, honouring the music of Jacques Hétu.

In addition to his performing activities, Mr. Chiu created the Collaborative Piano Program at the Domaine Forget International Academy and consulted for national and international competitions as a recognized expert in collaborative piano. He has also juried for provincial, national, and international competitions.

PROGRAM

Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, Op.10

Peter Hatch: New Work for String Quartet (2025 Premiere)

R. Murray Schafer: Piano Quintet (2010)

ARTISTS

Simon Docking, piano

Australian-born pianist Simon Docking has appeared as a soloist for Toronto’s Soundstreams, the Winnipeg New Music Festival, Scotia Festival of Music, Symphony Nova Scotia, Acadia University’s Shattering the Silence, Australia’s Aurora Festival, the new music group Stroma in New Zealand, and MATA Festival in New York. 

Simon has often been heard on CBC Radio Two’s Two New Hours, The Signal, and Concerts on Demand. Internationally his performances have been broadcast on ABC Classic FM (Australia), Swedish Radio, and Radio New Zealand.

Active as a chamber musician, Simon has been a founding member of several ensembles, including the Toronto-based group Toca Loca, which has been presented by nearly every new music series in Canada from St John’s to Vancouver, as well as appearances in New York, California and at the C3 Festival at Berlin’s legendary Berghain. Toca Loca have released two CDs: P*P (2009) and SHED (2010).

Simon studied piano in Australia with Ransford Elsley, and holds a doctorate in piano performance from SUNY Stony Brook, where he worked with Gilbert Kalish, and upon graduation was awarded New York State’s Thayer Fellowship for the Arts. In October 2011 Simon received an Established Artist Recognition Award from the province of Nova Scotia. 

Penderecki String Quartet 

Celebrating their 36th  anniversary, the Penderecki String Quartet began their career as winners of the Penderecki Prize at the National Chamber Music Competition in Łódz, Poland in 1986.   Now based in Waterloo, Ontario where they have been Quartet-in-Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University since 1991, The Penderecki String Quartet has become one of the most celebrated chamber ensembles of their generation.  The four Penderecki musicians (now originating from Poland, Canada, and USA) bring their varied yet collective experience to create performances that demonstrate their “remarkable range of technical excellence and emotional sweep” (Toronto, Globe and Mail).

The PSQ's international performing schedule has included appearances in New York (Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Hong Kong (Academy for the Arts), Los Angeles (REDCAT Hall at Disney Center), St. Petersburg (Sheremetev Palace), the Adam Festival in New Zealand, and throughout Europe in Rome, Madrid, Paris, Belgrade, Prague, Krakow, Vilnius, and Zagreb.  The PSQ has also toured extensively in Mexico, Australia, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, and from coast to coast in Canada.

Dedicated educators, the PSQ have been recent guests at Bloomington Indiana University’s String Academy, the Beijing Conservatory, University of Southern California (Los Angeles), University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and with their partner universities in Osnabrück, Germany and Lyon, France.

To this day the PSQ is a devoted champion of the music of our time, having premiered over 100 new works from composers in Canada and abroad.   Penderecki Quartet's large discography includes over three dozen recordings including the chamber music repertoire of Beethoven and Brahms on both the Marquis and Eclectra labels, as well as the first Canadian release of the six Béla Bartók quartets.  Their disc of Marjan Mozetich’s “Lament in the Trampled Garden” won the 2010 JUNO Award for Best Composition.   In October 2013, the PSQ worked with Maestro Krzysztof Penderecki on his Third Quartet (2008) and performed it at Symphony Space in New York City on the occasion of his 80th birthday.  This followed with the recording of Penderecki’s Third Quartet along with quartets of Norbert Palej on the Marquis label.  In 2022, the PSQ was featured in Howard Shore’s soundtrack to David Cronenberg’s film Crimes of the Future.

The Penderecki Quartet has performed with diverse artists such as Atar Arad, Jeremy Menuhin, Stewart Goodyear, James Campbell and have recently appeared with jazz saxophonist Jane Bunnett, jazz pianists Egberto Gismonti, Don Thomson and David Braid, pipa virtuoso Ching Wong, Dancetheatre David Earle, Pentaedre Wind Quintet, actor Colin Fox, and New York turntable artist DJ Spooky.

The Penderecki Quartet continue to be active members of the Faculty of Music at Laurier University where they have built the string program to be one of the top programs in Canada, attracting an international body of students. Their annual Quartetfest at Laurier is an intensive study seminar and concert series that has featured such ensembles as the Tokyo, Fine Arts, Lafayette, Miro, Ying, and Ariana String Quartets.

A native of Toronto, violinist Jeremy Bell earned a B. Mus degree from the University of Toronto, and from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he received his Masters and Doctor of Music.

Dr. Bell is a recipient of numerous grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts and is a prize winner of the Eckhardt Grammatté National competition and the Conseil Québécois’ Prix Opus. He has studied with David Zafer, George Neikrug, Joyce Robbins, Metro Kozak and with members of the Orford, Juilliard, Tokyo, and Orion string quartets. Joining the Penderecki String Quartet in 1999, Dr. Bell is Artist in Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University where he teaches violin, chamber music, and lectures on the string quartets of Bartok and Beethoven. 

Described by the Toronto Star as a violinist who “agitates in the most intelligent and persuasive manner”, Bell has performed recently with the Penderecki Quartet at Arsenale Festival in Poland, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Is Arti Festival in Lithuania, MBZ Zagreb, State Museum of Music in St. Petersburg, REDCAT/Disney Centre in Los Angeles, Roxy/NOD in Prague, Fundacion Juan March in Madrid, Jane Mallet Theatre in Toronto, Paris University 8, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Indiana University in Bloomington, Casalmaggiore Festival in Italy, Tovar Festival Venezuela, Virtuosi Festival Brazil, Adam Festival New Zealand, the Hong Kong Academy, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, the Banff Centre in Alberta, and the Chan Centre in Vancouver.

With the Penderecki String Quartet, Bell has recorded over 25 discs including the premiere Canadian recording of the Béla Bartók string quartet cycle, Marjan Mozetich’s ‘Lament in the Trampled Garden’ (winner of the 2010 JUNO Award for composition), and the complete Grieg sonatas for violin and piano with pianist Shoshan Telner. From 2000-2007, Bell was the artistic director of NUMUS Concerts where he created several multi-media events at the Perimeter Institute and with Dancetheatre David Earle. He has performed a wide range of music, performing baroque with Consortium Aurora Borealis and Les Violons du Roy, Cuban jazz with Hilario Duran, as well as collaborating with pipa virtuoso Ching Wong, NYC’s DJ Spooky, and rap star Jay-Z. In addition, Bell has performed as soloist with many orchestras in Canada, USA and Mexico, including the Toronto Symphony, the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, and the CBC Vancouver Orchestra performing concertos of Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Dvorak, Hatzis, Locatelli, Lutoslawski, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Päart, Prokofiev, Saint-Saens, Schoenberg, and Vivaldi. As guest concertmaster he has appeared with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the New Zealand National Symphony, and the Canadian Opera Company. Dr. Bell plays a violin made in Canada by Mark Schnurr (2020).  Currently he is the artistic director of QuartetFest and the Leith Summer Festival, and has been on faculty at the Festival del Lago International Academy of Music since 2018.  

Internationally renowned violinist Jerzy Kapłanek has established himself as a chamber musician, member of the celebrated Penderecki String Quartet, soloist, dedicated teacher, adjudicator, artistic director of QuartetFest and lately as a jazz violinist

He performs throughout Europe, Asia, and North and South America over 80 concerts each season. His album of works by Karol Szymanowski with pianist Stéphan Sylvestre was highly praised by The Strad magazine as “an outstanding release”. His discography with the Penderecki Quartet comprises over two dozen CD’s (Marquis, Eclectra, CBC, CMC, EMI, Decca labels), including the highly acclaimed recording of the complete string quartets of Béla Bartók.

Mr. Kaplanek has collaborated with such notable musicians as pianists David Braid, Leopoldo Erice , Vladimir Feltsman, Janina Fialkowska Francine Kay, Lev Natochenny, Jamie Parker, Stéphan Sylvestre, cellists Marc Johnson, Antonio Lysy Paul Pulford, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and clarinetist James Campbell amongst others. He is frequently heard on CBC Radio and NPR. He has made solo appearances with the Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Peterborough and CBC Vancouver Symphonies and was a featured soloist at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Jerzy Kapłanek was born in Poland in 1965. His music education started at the age of six on piano and at the age of ten he began his violin studies. In 1984, he received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Conservatory in Bytom. In 1990, he graduated with a Master’s Degree in Musical Arts from the prestigious Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. There, he studied with the distinguished teachers Janusz Skramlik, Aureli Błaszczok and Stanisław Lewandowski

In 1987-88 he studied with Efim Boico and the Fine Arts Quartet at the Chamber Music Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1989-90, he was a student of Sylvia Rosenberg in New York City and in 1990-91 he studied with Daniel Heifetz, the Guarneri String Quartet and its violinists, Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley. Pursuing his interest in performance practice, Mr. Kapłanek also worked with the pioneer of baroque violin, Jaap Schroeder.

Jerzy Kapłanek is presently a Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where since 1991 he has been teaching violin and chamber music. He frequently gives master classes in Canada and abroad. Mr. Kaplanek performs on a 2016 Samuel Zygmuntowicz violin made in New York City.

Cellist Katie Schlaikjer is a member of the JUNO-winning Penderecki Quartet, quartet-in-residence at the Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. She was a member of the Colorado String Quartet from 2009 to 2013, and prior to that, cellist with the Avalon Quartet, award winners of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Melbourne Chamber Music Competition and the Concert Artists Guild (NY). A consummate chamber musician and soloist, Ms. Schlaikjer has performed around the globe, with tours throughout Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Croatia, China, Australia, Columbia, Mexico and across Canada and the U.S, performing at the Kennedy Centre, the Beijing Concert Hall, The National Arts Centre, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and many more. 

As a chamber musician, Katie Schlaikjer has performed the complete Beethoven and Bartok quartets with both CSQ and PSQ, amongst an almost encyclopaedic range of quartet and chamber music repertoire, including over 100 new works written for the Penderecki Quartet. She has appeared in the Ravinia, Tanglewood, Aspen, and Caramoor festivals, as well as Festival of the Sound, Music from Salem, Ottawa Chamberfest, the annual Music Mountain festival (CT), and has recorded for Albany Records, Marquis Classics, and Elektra.  

Of Ms. Schlaikjer’s many solo appearances, recent engagements have included the premiere of J. Mark Scearce’s cello concerto “Aracana” with the University of Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, and Haydn’s D major cello concerto with the Wuhan Symphony Orchestra in China. 

Guiding young artists and cultivating a vibrant studio of award-winning students has been a career objective as well as a passion, with several of her pupils continuing to advanced institutions such as the Glenn Gould School and Juilliard.  She has taught at the University of Connecticut, the Hartt Music School, Bard Conservatory and the New England Conservatory, and conducted masterclasses at the renowned UNAM (University) in Mexico City, Lynn University in Florida, the Cleveland Institute, the Colorado Quartet’s Soundfest, and Charles Castleman’s Quartet program.  At Wilfrid Laurier University, where she has been Artist-in-Residence with the Penderecki Quartet since 2013 where she teaches cello and chamber music. 

Violist Christine Vlajk has performed extensively in North and South America, Europe, much of China, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Some of the concert halls where she has performed with the Penderecki String Quartet have included Weill Concert Hall at Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, Kennedy Center, REDCAT Hall in Los Angeles, and the Hong Kong Academy to name a few.

She has held the positions of violist of the Penderecki String Quartet and Artist-in-Residence in viola and chamber music at Laurier University since 1997. She has received Prizes at the Banff, Coleman, Yellow Springs, Carmel and Evian Chamber Music Competitions. She was granted the Friedlander Fellowship from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory and Scholarships to attend the Aspen Center for Advanced Quartet Studies, The Julliard and Cleveland Quartet Seminars, all helping to pave the road for a life as a chamber musician. 

Originally from Denver, Colorado, Vlajk has Bachelor degrees in Viola Performance (B.M.) and Music Education (B.M.E.) from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a Masters degree in Viola Performance (M.M.) from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Her teachers have included Oswald Lehnert, Jerry Horner, Denes Koromzay and members of the Cleveland, Julliard, LaSalle, Takacs, and Fine Arts Quartets.

She has been guest soloist with the West Virginia Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Peterborough Symphony and the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra. She has performed recitals in Canada, the United States and Germany.

She has premiered two viola concertos by Peter Grella-Mozejko and Karol Gostyniski. As an orchestral player she has held the position of principal violist of the West Virginia Symphony and was a member of the New Hampshire Music Festival. 

Dedicated to the education of young people, she has performed an extensive series of children’s concerts across the United States and Canada. She has given master classes at Lynn Conservatory, Indiana University’s String Academy, Florida State University, University of Toronto, SUNY Fredonia, the Glenn Gould Professional School and many places in Mexico, China and New Zealand. 

As a member of the Penderecki String Quartet and the Montclaire Quartet, Vlajk has recorded nearly 30 recordings for the Koch, Leonarda, Eclectra, Marquis Classics and EMI labels. When she is not performing with her quartet or teaching her wonderful students, she enjoys nature, yoga, cooking and the finer things in life.

PROGRAM

Jaeyoung Chong - Folk Suite for Solo Cello

I. Regal

II. Jig

III. Vast

IV. Briskly

V. Fugue - Regal

Anita Pari - Escape 

I. Lento, rubato - Moderato - Lento, grave

II. Lento

III. Moderato, pesante

IV. Allegro - Adagio

Sergei Prokofiev - Cello Sonata, Op. 119

I. Andante grave

II. Moderato

III. Allegro, ma non troppo

ARTISTS

Anita Pari, piano  

Anita Pari is a composer, pianist, and cellist from Ottawa, currently pursuing a PhD in Composition at McGill University. In recent years, Anita’s music has taken inspiration from a variety of themes, ranging from mental health to the study of birdsongs that she has encountered while birdwatching. Through her creative work, she often reflects on and reimagines aspects of her lived experience, drawing from circumstances and events that have shaped her identity. She has recently received the Luba Zuk Piano Duo Composition Commission Prize from McGill University and has been invited to compose a piece for the QUASAR saxophone quartet.

Anita’s compositional output includes music for orchestra, wind ensemble, choir, various chamber groups, solo piano, live electronics, and fixed media electronics. Her compositions have been performed by the Prisme Ensemble ("Incongruous"), the McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble ("The Voices that Pull Me from the Darkness"), the McGill Wind Orchestra ("Bright Distance Blurring"), the Composer-Performer Orchestration Research Ensemble (“To A Lullaby”), the Cecilia Quartet (“Nocturne for Strings”), and the Harmonia Choir (Worlds Apart: Pappy's Song"), among other groups.

In addition to her work in composition, Anita frequently performs her own music or interprets other composers’ works in concert. Anita has given solo recitals across Ontario as well as soloist appearances with orchestras such as l'Orchestre classique de Montréal, the National Academy Orchestra, the Lancaster Symphony, and the Frost Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, she recorded and released a CD featuring a selection of her own compositions, which included her four-movement cello sonata “Escape” and her solo piano works “Directions” and “Urban Movement.” Later that year, she went on to perform these works at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. 

Anita holds ARCT diplomas in piano and cello as well as a Bachelor of Music degree from Carleton University, where she received the Governor General’s Academic Medal for graduating at the head of the 2020 undergraduate class. In 2022, she completed her Master of Music degree in Composition at McGill University. She currently studies composition with Dr. Melissa Hui, and has formerly studied with Dr. Brian Cherney (composition), Dr. James Wright (composition), Nicole Presentey (piano), Dr. Jamie Parker (piano), and Peter Rapson (cello).

Jaeyoung Chong, cello  

Jaeyoung Chong is a trained and established cellist and a profound musician passionate in many artistic medium such as improvisation, creative live performance, composition, electroacoustic technology and music production. His recent awards include Music New Brunswick's "Recording of the Year" for his self-produced album "Nostalgia".

Born in South Korea, Jaeyoung began studying at the age of 8 and quickly reached an advanced level when he moved to Canada with his family in 2005. Under the direction of Shimon Walt, a renowned cello professor at Dalhousie University, Jaeyoung has continued to develop his musical abilities leading to many awards and distinctions from local, provincial, and national levels. Summer music camps and festivals, such as Domaine Forget, NAC Pre-college program, Orford and National Youth Orchestra of Canada, are normal occurrence for young Jaeyoung and has managed to work with renowned cellists like Steve Doane, Matt Haimovitz, Blair Lofgren, Richard Aaron, Phillipe Muller, Laurence Lesser, and Collin Carr.

Jaeyoung received his Bachelor in Music Performance from the University of Ottawa in 2017 under the direction of Paul Marleyn. Jaeyoung was heavily involved in the Ottawa music scene throughout his undergraduate years. He was a member of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, was a featured soloist with the University of Ottawa Orchestra, won over $10,000 worth of scholarships, bursaries and competition which lead him to more performance opportunities such as being a featured soloist with the National Arts Center Orchestra. After his studies in Ottawa, he received a full-ride scholarship to Rice University and pursued his masters degree under the tutelage of Desmond Hoebig: a renowned soloist and orchestral cellist of today.

As for his creative endeavours, Jaeyoung has experimented with composition from an early age and continued to test his creative potential through solo works, chamber works and improvisation. At the age of 19 he released his first album “Endless” where he experimented with minimalist compositional techniques. Through out his studies at Rice University, he found an interest in electroacoustic music and performed a creative recital project called “New Modern” where he performed his own works accompanied by backing track produced by himself along with contemporary works by other composers and improvisations

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTISTS

Described as “beautiful to watch and breathtaking to hear” by the Guelph Mercury, violinist Bénédicte Lauzière enjoys a prolific career on the Canadian stage. She was concertmaster of the former Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, with which she was featured as a soloist. She is an avid chamber musician, her recent collaborations including Emanuel Ax and members of the Penderecki String Quartet. As a recitalist, she enjoys her partnership with pianist Angela Park. She won numerous prizes and awards including the Prix d’Europe 2014, the Michael-Measures Award 2011, the Peter Mendell Prize 2010 as well as a grant for professional musicians from the Canada Council for the Arts. Ms Lauzière was a laureate of the Stulberg International String Competition in 2010 and won numerous first prizes at the Canadian Music Competition. As a soloist, her recent performances include Chausson’s Poème op. 25 (2023), Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto op. 35 in d major (2023), Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending (2021), Barber’s Violin Concerto op.14 (2018), Beethoven’s Triple Concerto (2018) with pianist Stewart Goodyear and cellist John Helmers, Korngold’s Concerto op. 35 in d major (2016) and Ravel’s Tzigane (2016). She has been featured as guest soloist with the Kingston Symphony Orchestra, the Elora Festival, the National Academy Orchestra of Canada and the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec. Bénédicte obtained her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in New York City in May 2014, where she studied with Masao Kawasaki with the support of the Karl H. Kraeuter, H. & E. Kivekas and Starr scholarships. She has performed both at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, studying with Jonathan Crow as recipient of the Lloyd Carr-Harris scholarship. In her younger formative years, she studied at Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal with Helmut Lipsky.

Angela Park has established herself as one of Canada’s most sought-after pianists. Praised for her “stunningly beautiful pianism” (Grace Welsh Prize, Chicago), “beautiful tone and sensitivity” (American Record Guide), and for performing “with such brilliant clarity it took your breath away” (Chapala, Mexico). Angela’s versatility as both soloist and chamber musician has led to performances across Canada, as well as in the United States, Europe, Japan and Mexico. She has performed for such notable series as Montreal’s Pro Musica, Ottawa Chamberfest, Toronto Summer Music Festival, Parry Sound’s Festival of the Sound, Winnipeg Virtuosi, Debut Atlantic and Prairie Debut Tours, Orchestra London Canada, Sinfonia Toronto, Stratford Symphony, and the Northern Lights Music Festival in Mexico.

Angela Park, pianist, developed a passion for chamber music early on in her music studies, and this has led to a varied career as a chamber musician. She has developed a longstanding collaborative partnership with violist Sharon Wei, both as a duo, and as former founding members (2006-2022) of the renowned Ensemble Made In Canada. Their work together reached across every province and territory across Canada, culminating in a JUNO Award for their Mosaïque Album in 2021. They have also toured as a duo for Debut Atlantic and Prairie Debut, and continue to collaborate regularly with other musicians across the country.

Cellist Rachel Mercer and Angela have also forged an important duo partnership since their first performance in 2006. As the Mercer-Park Duo, they have performed and recorded a vast range of repertoire for cello and piano with a focus on Canadian contemporary composers. Rachel and Angela have been privileged to work with violinist Yehonatan Berick as the AYR Trio (2010-2020), with Mayumi Seiler as the Seiler Trio, and with Scott St. John as the St. John-Mercer-Park Trio.

Angela was previously a pianist for Piano Six – New Generation, an organization that toured remote communities across Canada. In 2019 she joined pianist Stéphan Sylvestre to form a piano duo, focusing on the complete Brahms Symphonies in their four-hand versions. Among other collaborations, Angela has performed with such international artists as violist Rivka Golani, violinist Martin Beaver, clarinetist James Campbell, soprano Leslie Fagan, and leading members of the Montreal and Toronto Symphonies.

Past and future highlights include a world premiere of John Burge’s Second Piano Concerto with Sinfonia Toronto, solo recitals for Confluence Concerts in Toronto and Consortium Aurora Borealis in Thunder Bay, tours with Prairie Debut and Debut Atlantic, performances with Lyrica Baroque in New Orleans, Louisiana, collaborative recitals at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, and Ensemble Made In Canada tours of Canada and the United States. Angela has recorded independent solo albums, and collaborative discs with cellist Rachel Mercer and Ensemble Made In Canada for labels including NAXOS Canadian Classics, Centrediscs, and Enharmonic Records. She is also featured on a recording of Srul Irving Glick’s Suites Hébraïques with clarinetist James Campbell, saxophonist Wallace Halladay, and violinist Barry Shiffman.

In 2010 Angela earned her DMA in Performance from the Université de Montréal, and previously received her MMus and BMus degrees from the University of Toronto. From 2011-2014, Angela was Visiting Assistant Professor of Collaborative Piano-Woodwinds at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. She has given masterclasses and educational outreach workshops for universities and communities across Canada, as well as at SUNY New Paltz, Stanford, and Indiana University in the United States. Angela has been Assistant Professor of Piano and Collaborative Piano at Western University since 2019. She is a regular guest teacher at Music at Port Milford, a summer chamber music academy for high school students. Angela is currently co-Artistic Director of 5 at the First Chamber Music Series in Hamilton, and sits on the board of the Stratford Summer Music Festival. 

PROGRAM

Fox Preludio (R. Smirnov)

Fox And Gardener ( R. Smirnov)

Kuwaka ( R. Smirnov)

Thinking Of You( R. Smirnov)

Elvira - Shtuken( R. Smirnov)

Amarilli Mia Bella( R.Smirnov after J. Caccini)

Preludio and Anarquitango ( R.Smirnov)

Rappel Des Oiseaux ( J.Ph. Rameau)

La Forqueray ( J.Duphly)

Cantaloupe ( H. Hancock)

Almoraima (Paco de Lucia)

Gitana (Serranito)

Calima (G. Nunez)

ARTIST

Roman Smirnov is an award-winning artist performing in classical and flamenco virtuoso guitar styles, as well as a producer, arranger and composer. Roman has participated in international festivals and musical projects in various musical styles, ranging from early baroque to modern music and jazz.

His compositions have an emphasis on emotional, energetic and innovative expressions from a number of cultures and traditions in music. He is inspired by a variety of epochs and genres such as baroque, classical, jazz, flamenco, world, folk music and even rock which influenced by great artists like J.S. Bach, D. Scarlatti, A. Piazzolla, Wolfgang Lendle, Paco de Lucia, John Scofield, Herbie Hancock and many others.

Roman is a classically trained guitarist. He obtained his musical education from the Tallinn Music Conservatory in Estonia, the Rubin Academy of Music in Israel, and the Academy of Music in Kassel, Germany, with the renowned guitar virtuoso Wolfgang Lendle. 

Since 2008 Roman lives in Canada and regularly performs solo programs, duets, trios, quartets and small orchestras. These performances feature a variety of musicians, from classical string quartets to jazz ensembles, opera singers and different ethnic instruments, like Chinese Pipa, Arabic Oud, etc.

PROGRAM

An all-Ravel program!

Mother Goose Suite for piano 4 hands (Alexander, Daniel)

Gaspard de la Nuit Suite for piano solo (Alexander)

Jeux D’eau for piano solo (Daniel)

Trio for piano, violin, cello (Alexander, Jerzy, Katie)

ARTISTS

Alexander Tselyakov, piano

Pianist and educator, Professor Alexander Tselyakov has been described as a "phenomenal pianist", having "an intoxicating sound", and "a perfect artistic individuality", and "...representing the best aspect of Russian pianism and all its attributes... effectively synthesized the emotional balance of Arthur Rubinstein and the more highly-strung febrile quality of Horowitz." Harris Goldsmith, New York Concert Review.

He began his concert career with the State Philharmonic Orchestra in his native Soviet Union at the age of nine. Alexander Tselyakov went on to win one of the leading prizes at the prestigious VIIIth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Second International Music Competition of Japan, the Ibla Grand Prize International Piano Competition and the Mazara del Vallo International Piano and Orchestra Competition in Italy, the Israel Competition and the New Orleans International Piano Competition. His playing has inspired standing ovations in Japan, Germany, Italy, Israel, Spain, Portugal, France, England, Sweden, Austria, Poland, Finland, the United States, Denmark, the Netherlands, Turkey and Canada where he now makes his home. Tselyakov combines virtuosity with breath-taking musicality in the Russian tradition of great pianists. He studied with Lev Naumov (custodian of the Heinrich Neuhaus methods that are credited with producing many extraordinary twentieth-century Russian keyboard masters such as Gilels and Richter) at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. Tselyakov has performed frequently with leading orchestras including the Leningrad Philharmonic, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Moscow Radio Symphony and the State Byelorussian Philharmonic. He has appeared with the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Symphonique de Québec, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Nova Scotia, to name a few.

Tselyakov has appeared as a recitalist at major festivals and concert halls around the world. He has performed at the Shostakovich Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, the Great Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory, the Tel-Aviv Museum, the Toronto Art Centre (the Ford Centre), the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, the Palais Montcalm in Québec, the Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, the Temppeliakin Kirkko Hall in Helsinki, the University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo, the Conservatorio Publico Professional in Granada (Spain), and at the Regentenbau Hall in Bad Kissingen (Germany). While still in Russia Tselyakov was appointed concert solo pianist with the Byelorussian State Philharmonic and Assistant Professor of Music at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.

Tselyakov continued to impress audiences and critics alike. Several more important prizes followed along with recitals for such dignitaries as Michael Gorbachev and the late Yitzhak Rabin. In 1994, Tselyakov immigrated to Canada and made his debut to great acclaim that December at the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto. Recitals across the country soon started to materialize.

Tselyakov is now counted in the ranks of Canada’s leading concert pianists. That indescribable “something extra” which is so evident in his concerts made an immediate impact on Canadian audiences and continues to do so. Recent concerts have included a highly successful performance at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York, critically acclaimed concerts at Wigmore Hall in London, performances at The Centre Cultural (Paris, France), the University of Chicago, the International Piano Festival in Istanbul, at Merkin Hall (New York), at the International Piano Festival (San Jose, CA), the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, the Phillips Collection (Washington), the Embassy Series (Washington), at Blackheath Hall (London), the Vendsyssel Festival (Denmark), the Stockholm-Royal Palace Music Festival (Sweden), at Bösendorfer Saal (Vienna, Austria), at Cristofori Concerten Hall (Amsterdam), and at the Concert & Congress Centre de Doelen, Rotterdam (Netherlands). Tselyakov has also been heard recently on WQXR New York’s “Reflections on the Keyboard”, on the Danish Radio, on the BBC Radio (London, UK), ON Erstsendung, DeutschlandRadio Berlin (Germany) and on CBC Radio (Canada).

Daniel Tselyakov, piano 

Daniel Tselyakov has been acclaimed for the sensitivity and depth of his interpretations and for the rare emotional intensity and bold energy of his performances. 

Born into a musical family Daniel began his piano studies at the age of five with his father, well-known Canadian pianist Alexander Tselyakov, before subsequently completing a Bachelor of Music degree at the Oberlin Conservatory with Angela Cheng and a Master of Music degree at the Université de Montréal. Daniel is presently pursuing his doctorate with Dr.Ning Lu and teaching at the University of Utah, USA. He has won numerous scholarships, trophies, awards and competitions including the McLellan Competition, the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg Scholarship Competition, the National Canadian Music Competition, The Livorno International Piano Competition (Italy), and San Jose International Piano Competition. He has received full scholarships to many well-known music academies such as Pinchas Zukerman’s’ Young Artist Program, Art of the Piano Festival, Toronto Summer Music and PianoTexas International Academy & Festival. 

Daniel has studied with legendary mentors including Sergei Babayan, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Olga Kern, Marc-André Hamelin, André Laplante, Marc Durand, and John Perry. He was the youngest musician ever to be invited as a guest artist with the prestigious Virtuosi Concert Series and has appeared as a soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Sinfonietta, the Winnipeg Symphony Chamber Orchestra and the San Luis Potosi Symphony Orchestra, Mexico. In April 2014 he made his debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. By the age of 12, he had performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 as a soloist with the Penderecki String Quartet. He has performed in festivals such as the Music and Beyond, Ottawa ChamberFest, Perry Sound Festival, Clear Lake Chamber Music Festival, Agassiz Chamber Music Festival, Texas International Festival, Gijon International Piano (Spain) Festival. In Europe, he has given solo recitals in Italy, France, and Spain. 

Jerzy Kaplanek, violin

Internationally renowned violinist Jerzy Kapłanek has established himself as a chamber musician, member of the celebrated Penderecki String Quartet, soloist, dedicated teacher, adjudicator, artistic director of QuartetFest and lately as a jazz violinist

He performs throughout Europe, Asia, and North and South America over 80 concerts each season. His album of works by Karol Szymanowski with pianist Stéphan Sylvestre was highly praised by The Strad magazine as “an outstanding release”. His discography with the Penderecki Quartet comprises over two dozen CD’s (Marquis, Eclectra, CBC, CMC, EMI labels), including the highly acclaimed recording of the complete string quartets of Béla Bartók.

Mr. Kaplanek has collaborated with such notable musicians as pianists David Braid, Leopoldo Erice , Vladimir Feltsman, Janina Fialkowska Francine Kay, Lev Natochenny, Jamie Parker Stéphan Sylvestre, cellists Marc Johnson, Antonio Lysy Paul Pulford, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and clarinetist James Campbell amongst others. He is frequently heard on CBC Radio and NPR. He has made solo appearances with the Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Peterborough and CBC Vancouver Symphonies and was a featured soloist at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Jerzy Kapłanek was born in Poland in 1965. His music education started at the age of six on piano and at the age of ten he began his violin studies. In 1984, he received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Conservatory in Bytom. In 1990, he graduated with a Master’s Degree in Musical Arts from the prestigious Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. There, he studied with the distinguished teachers Janusz Skramlik, Aureli Błaszczok and Stanisław Lewandowski

In 1987-88 he studied with Efim Boico and the Fine Arts Quartet at the Chamber Music Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1989-90, he was a student of Sylvia Rosenberg in New York City and in 1990-91 he studied with Daniel Heifetz, the Guarneri String Quartet and its violinists, Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley. Pursuing his interest in performance practice, Mr. Kapłanek also worked with the pioneer of baroque violin, Jaap Schroeder.

Jerzy Kapłanek is presently an Associate Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where since 1991 he has been teaching violin and chamber music. He frequently gives master classes in Canada and abroad.

Mr. Kaplanek performs on a 2016 Samuel Zygmuntowicz violin made in New York City.

Katie Schlaikjer, cello

Cellist Katie Schlaikjer is a member of the JUNO-winning Penderecki Quartet, quartet-in-residence at the Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. She was a member of the Colorado String Quartet from 2009 to 2013, and prior to that, cellist with the Avalon Quartet, award winners of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Melbourne Chamber Music Competition and the Concert Artists Guild (NY). A consummate chamber musician and soloist, Ms. Schlaikjer has performed around the globe, with tours throughout Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Croatia, China, Australia, Columbia, Mexico and across Canada and the U.S, performing at the Kennedy Centre, the Beijing Concert Hall, The National Arts Centre, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and many more.

As a chamber musician, Katie Schlaikjer has performed the complete Beethoven and Bartok quartets with both CSQ and PSQ, amongst an almost encyclopaedic range of quartet and chamber music repertoire, including over 100 new works written for the Penderecki Quartet. She has appeared in the Ravinia, Tanglewood, Aspen, and Caramoor festivals, as well as Festival of the Sound, Music from Salem, Ottawa Chamberfest, the annual Music Mountain festival (CT), and has recorded for Albany Records, Marquis Classics, and Elektra.

Of Ms. Schlaikjer’s many solo appearances, recent engagements have included the premiere of J. Mark Scearce’s cello concerto “Aracana” with the University of Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, and Haydn’s D major cello concerto with the Wuhan Symphony Orchestra in China.

Guiding young artists and cultivating a vibrant studio of award-winning students has been a career objective as well as a passion, with several of her pupils continuing to advanced institutions such as the Glenn Gould School and Juilliard.  She has taught at the University of Connecticut, the Hartt Music School, Bard Conservatory and the New England Conservatory, and conducted masterclasses at the renowned UNAM (University) in Mexico City, Lynn University in Florida, the Cleveland Institute, the Colorado Quartet’s Soundfest, and Charles Castleman’s Quartet program.  At Wilfrid Laurier University, where she has been Artist-in-Residence with the Penderecki Quartet since 2013 where she teaches cello and chamber music.

Ms Schlaikjer received her Doctoral and Master’s degrees from Stony Brook University and her Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory where her teachers included Timothy Eddy and Laurence Lesser.

PROGRAM

3 Brand new short quartets inspired by the Northern Tornadoes Project at Western. Canadian composers Carmen Braden (Yellowknife), Vincent Ho (Calgary) and Cecilia Livingston (Toronto) are each writing a short movement that New Orford quartet is premiering the day before this concert.

Mozart: String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421 

Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810, "Death and the Maiden"

ARTISTS

Four musicians with equally stellar pedigrees formed the New Orford String Quartet with the goal of developing a new model for a touring string quartet.  Their concept – to bring four elite orchestral leaders and soloists together on a regular basis over many years to perform chamber music at the highest level – has resulted in a quartet that maintains a remarkably fresh perspective while bringing a palpable sense of joy to each performance. The Toronto Star has described this outcome as “nothing short of electrifying. 

The New Orford String Quartet has seen astonishing success, giving annual concerts for national CBC broadcast and receiving unanimous critical acclaim, including two Opus Awards for Concert of the Year, and a 2017 JUNO Award for Best Classical Album. Recent seasons have featured return engagements in Chicago, Montreal and Toronto, as well as their New York City debut on Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series.

The original Orford String Quartet gave its first public concert in 1965, and became one of the best-known and most illustrious chamber music ensembles. After more than 2,000 concerts on six continents, the Orford String Quartet gave its last concert in 1991. Two decades later, in July 2009, the New Orford String Quartet took up this mantle, giving its first concert for a sold-out audience at the Orford Arts Centre. The New Orford has since gone on to perform concerts throughout North America and lead residencies at the University of Toronto, Schulich School of Music, Mount Royal University, and Syracuse University. In September 2017 the Quartet became Ensemble in Residence at the University of Toronto, and was recently named Artistic Directors of the Prince Edward County Music Festival, where they made their curatorial debut in September 2018.

In 2011, the Quartet recorded its debut album of the final quartets of Schubert and Beethoven, released by Bridge Records to international acclaim. The recording was hailed as one of the top CDs of 2011 by La Presse and CBC In Concert and nominated for a JUNO Award in 2012. Critics have described the recording as “…flawless… a match made in heaven!” (Classical Music Sentinel); “a performance of rare intensity” (Audiophile Audition); and “nothing short of electrifying… listen and weep.” (The Toronto Star). Their follow-up album of the Brahms Op.51 Quartets was equally well-received, and received the 2017 JUNO for best chamber music album.

The New Orford is dedicated to promoting Canadian works, both new commissions and neglected repertoire from the previous century. New Orford String Quartet projects have included performances of major Canadian string quartets from the 20th century including works by Glenn Gould, Sir Ernest MacMillan, Jacques Hétu, R. Murray Schafer, and Claude Vivier, as well as commissions of new works from composers such as Francois Dompierre, Gary Kulesha, Airat Ichmouratov and Tim Brady. The Quartet thrives on exploring the rich chamber music repertoire; recent collaborations include those with pianists Marc-André Hamelin and Menahem Pressler.

The Quartet regularly tours in the major cities of North America, including Washington, D.C., Toronto, and Los Angeles; at the same time, the members feel strongly about bringing this music to areas that don’t often hear it, and as a result perform frequently in remote rural locations and smaller Canadian communities. The New Orford String Quartet are Artists-in-Residence at Western University in London, ON.  

PROGRAM

Weber : Invitation to the Dance

Grieg : Three Lyric Pieces

- Once upon a time

- At your feet

- Butterfly

Schumann : Fantasiestücke  Opus 12

Ravel : Valses Nobles et Sentimentales

Chopin : Berceuse

Chopin : Scherzo #1 in B Minor

ARTISTS

For 50 years, concert pianist Janina Fialkowska has enchanted audiences and critics around the world. She has been praised for her musical integrity, her refreshing natural approach and her unique piano sound thus becoming “one of the Grandes Dames of piano playing” (Frankfurter Allgemeine).

Born in Canada, she began her piano studies with her mother at age 4 continuing on in her native Montreal with Yvonne Hubert. In Paris she studied with Yvonne Lefébure and in New York at the Juilliard School with Sascha Gorodnitzki, experiencing the best of both French and Russian piano traditions. Her career was launched in 1974, when the legendary Arthur Rubinstein became her mentor after her prize-winning performance at his inaugural Master Piano Competition, calling her a “born Chopin interpreter” laying the foundation for her lifelong identification with this composer.

Since then she has performed with the foremost orchestras worldwide under the baton of such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Bernard Haitink, Lorin Maazel, Sir Georg Solti, Sir Roger Norrington and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, to name one of the younger generation. She has won special recognition for a series of important premieres, notably Liszt’s newly discovered Third Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony and several contemporary piano concertos. Ms Fialkowska's discography includes many award-winning discs, e.g. the BBC Music Magazine’s 2013 “Instrumental CD of the Year" award as well as the Canadian "Juno Award" in 2018.

Her native Canada has bestowed upon her their highest honors: “Officer of the Order of Canada”, the “Governor General’s 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award in Classical Music” (Canada's equivalent to the US Kennedy Centre Awards), as well as three honorary doctorates. She passes on her wide musical experience in master classes and at her annual “International Piano Academy” in Bavaria, where she now resides and makes frequent appearances as a juror of the world's most prestigious piano competitions.

2020 began promising with another tour in North America featuring concerts in five Canadian provinces including a highly acclaimed recital at Salle Bourgie in Montreal as well as a recital at Willamette University in Oregon’s capital Salem, before the consequences of the corona epidemic stopped her tour cancelling her last two concerts. The subsequent lockdowns prevented numerous further engagements, although a brief loosening of the restrictions allowed her to return to the prestigious Klavier Festival Ruhr for an enthusiastically acclaimed recital in Dortumund (" ... a real pianistic moment of glory ..." Westallgemeine Zeitung) as well as to the Belfast International Arts Festival where she performed Beethoven’s piano concertos Nos. 3 and 4 in October of 2020

On May 7, 2021 Ms Fialkowska celebrated her 70th birthday.. Most of the concerts of her “Birthday Celebration Tour” were cancelled as well as the production of a new CD. Nevertheless her birthday was heartily celebrated in the media worldwide. In November her autobiography “A Note in Time” (Novum Publishing, London UK) was released.

She was looking forward to a tour of a seven weeks in Canada and the US starting in late January of 2022. But yet again, Covid restrictions and logistics put a spanner in the works. What remained of this tour was a short one-week trip across the Atlantic in early March with two concerts for Portland Piano International in the US and a triumphant comeback recital for the Ottawa Chamber Festival.

At the end of April 2022 Janina Fialkowska went on a tour of four Canadian provinces starting in Halifax with Symphony Nova Scotia, followed by a recital in Quebec City for the Club Musical. After concerts with the Calgary Philharmonic she performed in Ontario at the Guelph Festival as well as for the in Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society and at the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts and at Montreal’s Salle Bourgie ending in Saskatchewan with the Regina Symphony and a recital in Saskatoon for Gustin House. After that she returned to Europe to perform at the Berlin Piano Festival in Germany’s Capital as well as the prestigious Klavierfruehling Deutschlandsberg in Austria followed by several recitals in Germany and a concert with the Rijeka Symphony (Croatia). Highlights in 2023: Rerturning to the Klavierfestival Ruhr (Düsseldorf), a concert with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra, recitals in the UK as well as a tour of summer festivals and a winter tour in Ontario, Canada.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTIST

After winning her first  competition at age 5, guitarist Cinzia Milani proceeded through more until, at age 12, she began tour performing and has since been just about everywhere  (including Canada - where she included master classes at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto.)

Here are a few more small excerpts: 

In the latest years she performed in Mexico and she was a part of jury at “Concurso Internacional de Guitarra de Sinaloa”.

She created the show "Venere" of music composed and performed live by her, in collaboration with the dance company "Performing Dance": the feminine universe told through music and dance.

Further to her work as a guitarist, are her activities as a violinist; graduate in violin, she plays in various orchestras and, with them, performs both in Italy, Spain and France.

One of the few “repeats” we do from our overseas musicians, Cinzia is invited back because of the impression she made last  year!

PROGRAM

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Emilie Mayer - String Quartet in A Major

Alexander Glazunov - Five Novelettes Op.15

Giacomo Puccini - Crisantemi 

Sergei Prokofiev - String Quartet No.2 in F Major Op. 92

Monday, March 31, 2025

Joseph Haydn - String Quartet Opus 33 No. 3 “The Bird”

Laura Kaminsky - Vanishing Point

Emilie Mayer - String Quartet in E minor

Korine Fujiwara - Fiddle Suite Montana

The piece by Laura Kaminsky is a work we commissioned to celebrate our 15th anniversary.  We will be giving it’s world premiere a month earlier in Carnegie Hall. The performance in Kitchener-Waterloo will be the Canadian premiere. It’s maybe 10 minutes long, tonal. We are thrilled to be working with such a famous living composer!

ARTIST

“…Until Saturday evening, I had never heard a performance by one of these multilingual quartets where the classical repertoire was delivered at a level that was competitive with the finest traditional groups. But the Carpe Diem Quartet, appearing at the Dumbarton Church, was extraordinary. Among these contemporary quartets who speak in different tongues, the Carpe Diem is the best one out there." (The Washington Post, Washington, DC)

One of the most unique and sought-after chamber ensembles on the concert stage today, the Carpe Diem String Quartet is a boundary-breaking ensemble that has earned widespread critical acclaim. Carpe Diem defies easy classification with programming that includes classical, Romani, tango, folk, pop, rock, and jazz-inspired music. The Quartet appears regularly on traditional concert series stages like Carnegie Hall in New York City, Jordan Hall in Boston, The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, The Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, National Library Concert Hall in Beijing, and The BinHai Performing Arts Center in Tianjin, as well as in unconventional venues like Poisson Rouge in NYC, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society of Half-Moon Bay, CA, and the Mug & Brush in Columbus, OH. 

“The Carpe Diem players turned in a fiery and flexible performance that was astonishingly free…” (The New York Times)

“With enthrallingly flawless execution and miraculous synchronicity, the Carpe Diem String Quartet wowed their New York audience on Saturday night at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall… With a flair for the romantic and technical expertise to spare, the ensemble is a perfectly structured, dexterously concentrated success...This ensemble must be held in only the highest and most reverent esteem…” (New York Theatre Guide)

“One would have to search long and hard to find a more charming and enjoyable chamber music concert . . . A number of elements contributed to this end result, not the least of which the superb musicianship of the four musicians - Carpe Diem is a seriously talented quartet in the most traditional definition.” (Herald-Tribune, Sarasota, FL)

Carpe Diem’s CD “Montana,” by composer (and quartet member) Korine Fujiwara, received this rave review in Strings Magazine: Carpe Diem “must be one of the most adventurous groups of its kind.”  Carpe Diem has recorded the complete cycle of the nine string quartets of Sergei Taneyev for Naxos, as well as the complete string quartets of Jonathan Leshnoff, Reza Vali’s The Book of Calligraphy and Longing, two CDs with singer/guitarist Willy Porter, Anansi and the Sky God with John Gunther, saxophone, the complete string quartets of Richard Jordan Smoot, Bruce Wolosoff’s Songs without Words, Quintets No. 1 and 2 for Mandolin and String Quartet by mandolinist Jeff Midkiff, and Dances of the Yogurt Maker - Music for String Quartet and Turkish Folk Percussion by Erberk Eryilmaz. Recently the CDs of Jeff Midkiff’s and Erberk Eryilmaz’s music were awarded Gold Prizes at the Global Music Awards.

Carpe Diem seeks out, and is sought after by, artists from many different genres for collaborations, including : American singer/songwriter/ guitarist Willy Porter, Latin Grammy winner/bandoneón player Raul Juarena, klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer, cellist Yo Yo Ma, banjo virtuoso Jayme Stone, Shannon Heaton, Celtic flautist, mandolinist Jeff Midkiff, trumpeter Tom Battenberg, classical guitarist Nicolo Spera, Chinese pipa player Yihan Chen, Jazz Quartet the Whirly Birds, and world master of the Persian santoor Dariush Saghafi.

Devoted to expanding the reach and impact of community engagement, Carpe Diem has been awarded six transformative outreach grants from the PNC Foundation ArtsAlive Awards. The Quartet’s outreach performances incorporate diverse and eclectic repertoire tailored to specific audience demographics; use cameras, video, and artistic contributions to enrich presentations visually; rely on communication from the stage to introduce music and engage the audience; and explore fun, imaginative, and thought provoking themes to connect audiences to chamber music. These carefully crafted performances have allowed the Quartet to reach underserved audiences including The Apache Nation, Ohio Women’s Reformatory residents, and families at the Columbus Museum of Art.

Sam Weiser, violin, formerly a member of the award-winning Del Sol Quartet, is a lifelong chamber musician and advocate of contemporary music. 

Sam has performed all over the country, from the Herbst Theater and the Kennedy Center to a raft floating along the Yampa River. He has premiered over 150 new works by composers such as Vijay Iyer, Huang Ruo, and Chen Yi. Sam is the violinist in sfSound, a member of One Found Sound, and the Assistant Concertmaster of the California Symphony. He studied with Ian Swensen, Lucy Chapman, James Buswell, and Patinka Kopec. He holds bachelors’ degrees from Tufts University (computer science) and the New England Conservatory (violin), as well as a master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (chamber music).

Marisa Ishikawa is an avid performer, educator, and entrepreneur based in Houston, TX. As a violin teacher and a founder and faculty member of Opus 1 Chamber Music School, she is passionate about cultivating a love for music in her students. As a performer in the internationally renowned Carpe Diem String Quartet and co-founder of the arts non-profit Austin Camerata, she is devoted to curating and presenting inclusive and engaging performances that showcase diverse composers and styles of music. In her free time, Marisa enjoys cooking and practicing yoga.

As a performer, Marisa has performed in Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Jordan Hall, as well as throughout Europe and China. She serves as the second violinist of the internationally recognized Carpe Diem String Quartet, a boundary-breaking ensemble that has earned widespread critical and audience acclaim for its innovative programming and electrifying performances. With the Quartet, she appears on the quartet’s recording, Dances of the Yogurt Maker, which features the string chamber works of Turkish composer Erberk Eryilmaz. This album was released in May 2021 on the MSR label, was produced by Grammy Award winner Judith Sherman, and received Gold Prize in the Global Music Awards. Marisa also composed her first work for string quartet as part of the quartet’s interactive virtual performance An American Story. This performance was sponsored by the PNC Arts Alive Grant and was released in May 2021.  

As an entrepreneur, Marisa co-founded the nonprofit chamber music organization Austin Camerata. Its mission is to enrich the city of Austin, TX by introducing new audiences to the world of chamber music through creative concerts, artistic collaborations, and community outreach. Dedicated to broadening the audience for chamber music, Austin Camerata performs an array of repertoire, from the most revered classical masterpieces to newly written, genre-defying works. The ensemble is known for creative artistic collaborations that augment the music’s emotional power, and performances frequently feature collaborations with visual art, creative writing, and dance ranging in style from flamenco, to hip-hop, to ballet.

In 2021, Marisa co-founded Opus 1 Chamber Music School, Houston chamber music program. Opus 1’s goal is to create experiences and ensembles – tailored to the unique personality and playing of every student – that foster a sense of community, high standards, and enthusiasm for each other and chamber music. Whether a student intends to pursue music as a career or as a lifelong hobby, Opus 1 equips them with the interpersonal and musical skills and passions that chamber music uniquely provides.

Marisa was born in Boulder, Colorado and began playing the violin at the age of three. Between 2011 and 2015, she earned a Bachelor of Music with Highest Honors from the University of Colorado Boulder. Additionally, she received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with High Distinction from CU Leeds School of Business. From 2015 to 2017, Marisa studied with Brian Lewis at the University of Texas Austin, where she received the Starling Distinguished Violinist Scholarship and earned a Master of Music degree. In 2020, she earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from CU Boulder under Charles Wetherbee. During this time, she worked as a Teaching Assistant giving individual lessons to undergraduate BM and BA violin students and assisting in major Music History courses and non-major Music Appreciation classes. Her final thesis, Keeping and Retaining Audiences in Today’s Classical World, explored reasons for and solutions to classical music’s declining audience population. Solutions include forming relationships with audience members, programming underrepresented musical voices, and presenting artistically collaborative performances.

Marisa has worked with numerous artists, such as Glenn Dicterow, Naoko Tanaka, Alexander Kerr, Rachel Barton Pine, Ani Kavafian, Peter Otto, and Stephen Rose, the Takács String Quartet, and the Miró String Quartet. As a soloist, Marisa has performed with the National Repertory Orchestra, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestra. Additionally, she has participated in the National Repertory Orchestra and the Aspen Music Festival.

Montana native Korine Fujiwara is a founding member of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, a devoted and sought-after chamber musician and teacher, and a gifted composer and arranger.

Ms. Fujiwara is Professor of violin and viola at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. She served for many years on the music faculty of Ohio Wesleyan University and is in great demand for master classes and clinics throughout the United States. Korine’s students have been accepted into the performance programs of such institutions as Indiana University, Cincinnati College Conservatory, and Northwestern University to continue their musical studies.

Named as one of Strings Magazine’s “25 Contemporary Composers to Watch,” Korine has received multiple commissions including works for opera, chamber ensembles, chorus, concerti, and music for modern dance. Her works have been performed throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, China, and Japan. Her musical language encompasses a wide range of influences, including classical, folk, jazz, and rock and roll. Her diverse artistic collaborations have helped to infuse her work with a rhythmic power and intensity. 

Critics have remarked of Ms. Fujiwara's music, “The ear is forever tickled by beautifully judged music that manages to be sophisticated and accessible at the same time,” “Contains a very rare attribute in contemporary classical music: happiness.” (Fanfare Magazine); “She knows how to exploit all the resources of string instruments alone and together; her quartet writing is very democratic, with solos for everyone; her solo violin writing is fiendishly difficult.” (Strings Magazine). “Fujiwara beautifully meets the challenge of weaving together different emotions across generations that make sense musically while delighting the ear.” (WOSU Classical 101 by Request) “Fujiwara’s music is rich and beguiling throughout.” (The Columbus Dispatch)  “Artfully layered and knitted together…While each “room” has its own musical personality, the poignant sections in which characters in different periods actually sing together—a trio, a sextet, and even an octet—dovetail perfectly. The dramatic arc builds persuasively to the climactic moments, shifting with increasing speed between scenes to the culminating revelation.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Korine is a recipient of an Opera America Commissioning Grant from the Opera Grants for Female Composers program, made possible through the generosity of The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, for the composition of “The Flood,” an award-winning opera with Stephen Wadsworth, librettist, premiered by Opera Columbus and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in February 2019.

Ms. Fujiwara is a gifted performer on both the violin and viola, and holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Northwestern University, where she studied with Joseph Fuchs and Myron Kartman, respectively. Her other mentors include Harvey Shapiro, Robert Mann, and Joel Krosnik. Ms. Fujiwara is a member of the music honorary society Pi Kappa Lambda.

Korine began her orchestral career with the Brooklyn Philharmonic and served as a principal player and soloist with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus. She is also a former member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, where she held the position of Acting Assistant Principal Second Violin.

Korine performs on a 1790 Contreras violin, 2004 Kurt Widenhouse viola, and bows by three of today’s finest makers, Paul Martin Siefried, Ole Kanestrom and Charles Espey, all of Port Townsend, WA, USA.

Cellist Ariana Nelson is based in Houston where she is a member of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra. She frequently performs with other ensembles in the Houston area, including the Houston Symphony, Houston Ballet, and Texas New Music Ensemble. Ariana has taught and coached as an adjunct faculty member at Texas Southern University, and at AFA’s Chamber Music Academy. She is an avid proponent of new music and loves experimenting with different styles, including improvisation and folk music. This passion led her to co-found the Pacific Crest Trio in 2020, a group that dives into multiple genres and prioritizes engaging more audiences and community outreach. Her eclectic tastes have also led her to appearances at Jazz at Lincoln Center, performances for patients recovering in Mount Sinai Hospital’s transplant ward, and a performance with the Silk Road Ensemble at Tanglewood. In 2015 Ariana was invited to perform in a small chamber orchestra to accompany Yo-Yo Ma at the Kennedy Center as part of the Kennedy Center Honors event. Ariana has received many honors as a soloist, most recently winning third prize at the 2016 Eisemann Young Artists Competition in Dallas, Texas.

A native of Seattle, Washington, Ariana was steeped in chamber music as a child. Family influences in music extend three generations back to her grandfather, Alan Iglitzin, who was the founding violist of the Philadelphia String Quartet. Her mother Karen was the first violinist of the quartet before she started her own chamber music organization in Seattle, called Chamber Music Madness. Since age eight, Ariana has been playing string quartets. Her extensive chamber music experience has included coaching with renowned musicians such as Emanuel Ax, James Dunham, David Finckel, John Harbison, Desmond Hoebig, Jon Kimura-Parker, and Roger Tapping.

Ariana is passionate about bringing the joy of music to others in her community. In recent summers, Ariana has been an artist faculty member at the the Charles Ives Music Festival, a week long program for young students. There she teaches private lessons, coaches chamber music, and performs several concerts featuring new and contemporary music in Danbury, Connecticut. Additional summer appearances include the Grand Teton Music Festival, Strings Music Festival, Fontainebleau Conservatoire Américain, Spoleto Festival USA, Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival and School, Le Domaine Forget Chamber Music Festival, the Olympic Music Festival and the Zephyr International Chamber Music Festival in Italy.

Ariana received her Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School in May of 2017 where she studied with Darrett Adkins. She completed her Bachelor of Music degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she graduated cum laude in May of 2015. There she had the privilege of studying cello with Norman Fischer of the Concord Quartet.

PROGRAM

Friday, April 4 Part 3 of Ms. Taves' Complete Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle: No.s 12, 16, 25, 18

Sunday, April 6  Part 4 of Ms. Taves' Complete Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle: No.s 11, 22, 29 ("Hammerklavier")

Tuesday, April 8  Part 5 of Ms. Taves' Complete Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle: No.s 10, 14 ("Moonlight"), 24 ("à Thérèse"), 28, 30 (Op. 109, first of the great three final sonatas)

Read all about Heather Taves' Beethoven Sonata project here

ARTIST

Heather Taves Concert pianist Heather Taves brings her “radiantly beautiful, commanding and authoritative” artistry to audiences everywhere, as she connects with openness and humour to share musical worlds. An internationally respected classical artist, she is preparing the complete cycle of 32 Sonatas by Beethoven for completion in 2024. Heather shares this process in her entertaining blog “Beethoven Journey” at https://heathertaves.substack.com/

Gifted in multiple genres, Heather showcases her gifts as improvisor, composer, and writer. She is composing music for an event titled Painted Dances, joining forces with the popular Propeller Dance Company which includes wheelchair dancers, artist Julea Boswell, and emerging filmmaker Aaron Daniels Casey. As an improvisor, she plays keyboard in the Scott Parsons Band which presents stories of Black history to communities large and small. She has performed music by diverse living composers such as Israeli composer Oded Zehavi, Palestinian-Canadian composer John Kameel Farah, Turkish composer Can Kazaz, and British jazz pianist Julian Joseph.  Her vision is to share music in all its diverse facets as a powerful force to bring people together.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTISTS

Pioneering tour-de-force Ensemble Vivant’s innovative genre-diverse classical and jazz programming is rich with passionate, deeply communicative playing that touches the hearts and souls of listeners of all ages. Ensemble Vivant has 15 internationally acclaimed albums heard on radio world-wide.

Of Ensemble Vivant’s latest album iFUGUE - A World of Fugues, U.S.A. magazines Fanfare, and American Record Guide respectively wrote: “Smokin…Fugues shouldn’t be this much fun!”; “Lively readings of fugues by all sorts of composers. A few are presented in original form, such as Bach’s Prelude & Fugue 9 (WTC I), played beautifully by pianist Catherine Wilson.”

More Praise:

“…highest-level chamber music-making. No matter the genre, there is magic in Ensemble Vivant's music-making.” - Jazz Icon Rick Wilkins, C.M. 

“Chamber music at its evocative best!” – The WholeNote

“…beautiful, poised performances...capture the passion and verve…Wilson’s piano gives this music unerring drive and plenty of sparkle.” - Toronto Star

Ensemble Vivant’s invaluable live and video programs for underserved schools and for seniors are endorsed by leading neuroscientists on music and the mind, and are conducted through Euterpe: Music Is The Key (musicisthekey.org). Funding support has been awarded by Ontario Trillium Foundation; Canada Council for the Arts; Levante Foundation; Ross Mitchell Foundation and more.

www.ensemblevivant.com

PROGRAM

F. Danzi: Woodwind Quintet in B-flat Major Op. 56 No.1

A. Reicha: Woodwind Quintet in E-flat Major Op. 88 No. 2

P. Hindemith: Kleine Kammermusik Op. 24 No. 2

C. Ball: Scenes from a Comedy 

J. Medaglia: Suite "Belle Époque in Süd-Amerika" 

A. Running: Quodlibet 

ARTISTS

KW Woodwind Quintet

Wendy Wagler - Flute

Sarah Cardwell - Oboe

Barbara Hankins - Clarinet

Trevor Wagler - Horn

Gabrielle Eber- Bassoon

The KW Woodwind Quintet has delighted audiences in the Waterloo Region for 40 years. Their eclectic music for all ages has been heard in schools, seniors' homes, noon-hour series, and universities. Recent performances have included the Elora Festival, First United Church Noon hour series,  St. Andrew's Church Noon hour series, Conrad Grebel University Noon hour series, and the Mississauga Chamber Music Society.

The Quintet has an extensive library, which over the years has been supplemented with special arrangements by the quintet's horn player, Trevor Wagler. The group's programs include classical favourites, popular tunes, and movie music.

Wendy Wagler, flute is an accomplished soloist and orchestral musician. She holds the principal flute chair in the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra and freelances with many ensembles, including the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. She has performed as soloist with the K-W Symphony Youth Orchestra, the K-W Chamber Orchestra and the Renaissance Singers and is a founding member of the Springdale Trio and flutist for the KW Woodwind Quintet. Wendy holds a Master’s Degree in Performance and Literature from the University of Western Ontario and an Honours Bachelor Degree in Flute Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, having studied with Bonita Boyd, Dr. Amy Hamilton, Thomas Kay, and Prof. Fiona Wilkinson. She has directed flute masterclasses throughout Southwestern Ontario, and maintains a full teaching schedule at Renaissance School of the Arts and Heritage College.

Sarah Cardwell, oboe, holds a MMus in Oboe Performance from the University of British Columbia, where she studied with Beth Orson of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. She also studied with Roger Cole, Normand Forget, Richard Killmer, and Cheryl Bishkoff. 

As an oboist, Sarah performs regularly as the Principal Oboist of the Stratford Symphony Orchestra, the Kitchener-Waterloo Woodwind Quintet, Spiritus Ensemble, and many other groups within Southwestern Ontario.  Sarah was a member of the National Youth Orchestra and have participated in summer festivals at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Domaine Forget, Bowdoin International Music Festival and the Chautauqua Institute. Solo performances have included Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, Applebaum's Five Snapshots, Marcello’s Oboe Concerto, Copland’s Quiet City, Vaughan Williams' Oboe Concerto, and Morricone’s Gabriel’s Oboe. 

Committed to music education, Sarah enjoys teaching all of my students at Laurier Academy of Music and Arts.

Barbara Hankins, clarinet has been a member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony since 1980 and performs with the K-W Woodwind Quintet and as a freelance performer.

She has taught clarinet, recorder, theory, and chamber music privately, in the public school system, and at the University of Toronto, McMaster University, and Wilfrid Laurier University.

Ms. Hankins holds a Bachelor of Music degree (performance, with Distinction) and a Bachelor of Education degree from theUniversity of Calgary, a Master of Music degree (performance) from the University of Toronto, and an Associateship Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), Toronto. She is a member of the Board of Examiners of the RCM.

Barbara is married to retired WLU Press computer technician Steve Izma and they have two grown children, Amelia and Gabrielle. She sings with various local choirs, and enjoys gardening, cycling, pilates, hiking, and reading. She is involved in the KWS Players’ Association and actively supports local theatre and environmental sustainability.

Trevor Wagler, horn, has dedicated his life to the art of music. He is co-owner/Director of Renaissance School of the Arts, as well as a freelance French horn player (on both modern and historical instruments), conductor, organist, composer, arranger/orchestrator, music editor/copyist and clinician.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Composition, a Diploma in Performance, and a Diploma in Chamber Music from Wilfrid Laurier University, as well as a Masters of Music Degree in horn performance from Western University. He has performed with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Tafelmusik, Orchestra London / London Sinfonia, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the Nota Bene Period Orchestra, the Windsor Symphony, the Stratford Festival, Drayton Entertainment and more, sharing the stage with the likes of Dianna Krall, Anne Murray, Michael Burgess and Howard Cable.

Trevor has conducted the historic Waterloo Concert Band since 2006, and has spent nearly two decades conducting various ensembles for the KWS Youth Orchestra Programme. He is the regular guest conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony for their acclaimed joint performances with KW GLEE. He founded the Kitchener-Waterloo Youth Concert Band (KW YCB) in 2017.

Trevor is a member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, the International Horn Society, the Historic Brass Society and the National Geographic Society.

Gabrielle Eber, bassoon  Gabrielle is a Toronto-based freelance bassoonist from  Kitchener, Ontario. Gabrielle holds both a Master of Music and a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Eric Hall. Gabrielle has also studied with Ian Hopkin, of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra. She has performed in orchestras such as the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra and the Milton Philharmonic Orchestra. While at the University of Toronto, she received multiple performance-based scholarships and awards. Gabrielle enjoys playing different styles of classical music and is an avid chamber musician as well. Outside of performing she enjoys teaching students of all levels.

PROGRAM

Christus: The Dragon and the Phoenix (solo cello)

Rodrigo: Como Una Fantasia )solo cello)

Vivaldi: Sonata No. 5 in E Minor

Bruch: Kol Nidrei

Van Goens: Scherzo

Rachmaninoff: Sonata in G Minor Op. 19

Grace Tin Yen Christus:  is a Chinese American composer living in Denver Colorado . She is a graduate of the Julliard school of music and wrote 'the dragon and the phoenix ' for the occasion of her daughter's wedding . 2024 is the year of the dragon in the Chinese calender .

Joaquin Rodrigo: 1901/1999 .He wrote 'como una fantasia ' for solo cello in 1979 , 40 years after his famous guitar concerto . At the age of 3 he become totally blind after a childhood illness and he wrote his music painstakingly in braille .'Como una fantasia' uses a very different musical language to the Aranjuez guitar concerto and is a musical tone poem for the cello in which the initial cantabile theme is transformed into jagged dissonant clashes and dramatic passages in which Spanish fragments are combined with sounds from Rodrigos memory including references to the sirens in the civil war and a grotesque waltze . Everything comes full circle in the end back to the broad singing theme .

Vivaldi wrote at least 10 sonatas for cello and continuo, this being one of the most well known . The cello was still a relatively  new instrument and Vivaldi was one of the first composers to treat it as a singing instrument not just as a bass line . He was himself a priest as well as a voice instructor and he uses the singing quality of the instrument to it's full in the haunting Sicilienne 3 rd movement.

Max Bruch 1838/1920 was born in Cologne to non jewish parents , his father was a police inspector and mother a soprano .The Kol Nidrei is taken from the most sacred of Hebrew texts and is a recited prayer of atonement before the Yom Kipur. Bruch dedicated this to the jewish community of Liverpool where he was director of the orchestra .

Daniel Van Goens 1858/1904 was a Dutch cellist and composer who became famous in France who suffered poor health and was forced to give up the cello and move to Switzerland .  He was known at his peek as the ' king of spiccato 'and this scherzo was written to show this off .

Rachmaninov dedicated the work to Anatoliy Brandukov , famous for his rich tone, who gave the first performance together with the composer on december 2nd 1901 in Moscow.  The sonata was composed after a long period of depression and was written at the same time as his famous Piano Concerto No 2. The piano part is notoriously difficult and the cello part consists of long singing lines responding to the piano which generally introduces these glorious themes .

ARTISTS

The English cellist, Michael Kevin Jones, studied Music Performance Piano/Cello at Royal College of Music in London. While a student there he was chosen to play for the Royal family and awarded a German government scholarship for further study in Köln. He continued his studies at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf, Germany (from 1987). He studied with Pauline Ballard, Dulce Haigh Marshall, Michael Evans, Joan Dickson, Johannes Goritzki.

Michael Kevin Jones has found a unique place for himself among today's performers. After his studies he quickly became solo cellist and toured the world with top musical groups. He has developed a non conventional career incorporating multi-musical activities and he is also an avid teacher and coach.

As member of 'the Jones Maruri cello guitar duo, Michael Kevin Jones had his first top 10 selling CD 'Original music for cello and guitar' in Hong Kong and China and as a soloist his recording of the complete J.S. Bach' Cello Suites (BWV 1007) on a 1667 Stradivarius cello for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has received international critical acclaim and several audio awards. Projects for 2018 and 2019 included solo tours of South Africa, Canada and Europe. He currently lives in Madrid, Spain.

Henry Wong Doe, piano “Pianism in a whole different league, namely: art”. These words from Tel Aviv’s Ha’aretz illustrate Henry Wong Doe’s sincerity and passion for music. Since winning “Audience Favorite” prizes at both the Arthur Rubinstein and Busoni International Piano Competitions, Henry continues to engage audiences with thoughtful programming and insightful performances. 

Henry Wong Doe has performed in Carnegie Hall, New York, Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay Singapore, St.Martin-in-the-Fields, London, U.K., the Sydney Opera House in Australia and Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv, Israel. He has been a featured artist at the Busoni International Piano Festival in Bolzano, Italy, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series in Chicago, USA and the Brussels Piano Festival in Belgium. 

Henry has performed with noted orchestras such as the Pittsburgh Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Australian Chamber, and Israel Philharmonic, and collaborated with conductors Christopher Hogwood, Mendi Rodan, Fabio Mechetti and Edvard Tchivzel. Appearances on television and radio include BBC Radio 3 (UK), ABC Classics FM and Channel 9 (Australia), Concert FM and TVNZ (New Zealand), WNYC Radio (New York), WFMT Radio (Chicago), WQED Radio (Pittsburgh), RTBF and Canal La Deux (Belgium), and Kolhamusica (The Musical Voice) Israel.

PROGRAM

Music from their Latest album, Mappa Mundi (Bach, Mozart, Bonfa, Jobim, Roux, Côté-Giguère, Amelkina-Vera)

ARTISTS

The Canadian Guitar Quartet

Steve Cowan – Jérôme Ducharme – Christ Habib – Louis Trépanier

Since its debut in 1999, the Canadian Guitar Quartet has performed on three continents, going from one standing ovation to the next, and established a reputation as one of the finest guitar ensembles in the world.

During its twenty-plus years, the CGQ has released four critically acclaimed CDs while touring extensively in Canada and abroad, appearing in recital, and with orchestra. The CGQ’s first concert at the 92Street Y in New York city, part of the Art of the Guitar series, was extremely well received. Don Witter Jr., of the New York City Classical Guitar Society, wrote: “The Canadian Guitar Quartet made one of the greatest New York City debuts of any artistic ensemble in decades…STUNNING!!!”.

As well as performing and recording, the CGQ continues to mentor and direct young guitarists through clinics, masterclasses, and one on one teaching.

While personnel changes have occurred over the years, the ensemble has remained committed to its core mission: chamber music at its highest level by presenting a robust mix of classical masterworks in clever new arrangements alongside bold original works for guitar quartet – most often penned by past and present members of the ensemble. The engaging repertoire, the CGQ’s fiery virtuosity, the players’ easy and congenial rapport with the audience, all make a Canadian Guitar Quartet concert an event to remember.  

The Canadian Guitar Quartet play Knobloch strings.

Steve Cowan

Described as “an elegant musician with a strong, crisp sense of rhythm” (American Record Guide), guitarist Steve Cowan has performed throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe. International highlights from recent seasons include concerto performances with Ensemble Del Arte (Germany), the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (New Zealand) and two solo albums with HR Recordings (Spain).

 As a chamber musician, Steve performs regularly with Forestare, a Montréal-based string ensemble. His duo with guitarist Adam Cicchillitti has premièred 21 new works and released an album of Canadian music titled FOCUS (Analekta, 2019); their next recording, Impressions intimes (Analekta, 2021), features original arrangements of Debussy, Ravel, Mompou and Tailleferre. As of 2022, he is also the newest member of the renowned Canadian Guitar Quartet.

Steve is a first-prize winner at eight international competitions and is currently a guitar instructor at McGill University. 

Jérôme Ducharme

Since winning the Guitar Foundation of America International Competition, Jérôme Ducharme has become highly sought for solo recitals, chamber music projects, concerto performance as well as for his teaching. He has been invited to perform in various festivals in Canada, U.S.A and Mexico, and has given concerts for numerous guitar societies and other concert series. 

He recorded with Naxos (CD of the month, La Scena Musicale) and a DVD with Melbay (premier recordings of works by Canadian composer Maxime McKinley) in addition to participating in CD’s featuring other artists.

Jérôme has taught at McGill University since 2011, and in 2019 began teaching positions at Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal and Domaine Forget Summer Academy. His students have won honors in competitions and have success in their professional life. 

Christ Habib

With an exciting and promising carrier in expansion, Christ Habib’s perseverance, discipline and enthusiasm makes him an incredibly passionate musician. 

Other than standing out in numerous national and international competitions, Christ was  named one of Canada's Top 30 Classical Musicians Under 30 (2020 edition) and had his debut with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in October 2020 with renowned conductor Alexander Shelley in Canadian composer Jacques Hétu's Concerto for guitar and strings Op.56.

In the course of 12 years of studying at the Gatineau Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Patrick Roux, he completed his Master’s Degree (2019) and has received a prize in chamber music as well. Christ has had the chance to refine his musicianship by playing in numerous masterclasses for great masters and going to numerous musical academies such as the International Music Academy of the Domaine Forget and the Boston Guitar Academy as well.

He currently teaches in his own private studio.

www.christhabib.com

Louis Trépanier

Over a career that is now well into its third decade, Louis Trépanier has shown himself to be a seasoned chamber musician, occasional soloist, experienced pedagogue, composer and arranger, always with his customary energy and sensitivity. 

He is a founding member of the Canadian Guitar Quartet, as well as Trio Tangere. With these two ensembles, as well as through various other collaborations, he has performed on three continents and judged competitions on the national and international levels. 

He completed his formal musical education in 1998 at the Conservatoire de musique de Hull with Patrick Roux; Louis also furthered himself by working with leading musicians in masterclasses or in collaboration projects. 

Since 2002, he has been teaching at the University of Ottawa’s School of Music, where he is the Coordinator of the Guitar Sector.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTIST

In September 2009, pianist Sofya Gulyak was awarded the 1st prize and the Princess Mary Gold Medal at the Sixteenth Leeds International Piano Competition – the first woman in the history of the competition to achieve this distinction. Since then she has appeared all over the world to great acclaim.

Her recital programmes are frequently reviewed in superlatives, and her concerto appearances with major orchestras are noted in glowing terms by the world’s music press. Sofya has been praised for her "tremendous precision and colouration...exquisite soft playing ...with delicacy" and described as a “Rach star"(Washington Post).

Sofya Gulyak’s resume includes prizes from many prestigious piano competitions: she is a 1st prize winner of William Kapell International Piano Competition in the USA, Maj Lind Helsinki International Piano Competition, Tivoli Piano Competition in Copenhagen, Isang Yun International Piano Competition in South Korea, San Marino Piano Competition, winner of Busoni Competition in Italy and prize winner of Marguerite Long Piano Competition in Paris.

Recitals and concert appearances have been numerous, with Sofya Gulyak having performed all over the globe in such venues as La Scala Theatre and Sala Verdi in Milan, Herculessaal in Munich, Salle Cortot, Salle Gaveau and Salle Pleyel in Paris, Tokyo Opera City Hall, Osaka Symphony Hall, Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Kennedy Center in Washington, Hungarian National Opera, Palais de la Musique in Strasbourg, Hong Kong City Hall, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Musashino Cultural Centre in Tokyo, Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Teatro Municipal adn Cidade des Artes in Rio de Janeiro, Auditorium Manzoni in Bologna, Aberdeen Music Hall, Salle Molière in Lyon, Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, King Theatre in Rabat, Kursaal in Bern, Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen and many others.

Sofya Gulyak appeared as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony, Saint-Petersburg Philharmonic, Rio de Janeiro Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera North, Budapest Philharmonic, Orchestra dell’ Arena di Verona, Orchestra Filarmonica di Bologna, NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic, Enescu Philharmonic, Stavanger Symphony, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Slovak Radio Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, Copenhagen Symphony, Ulster Symphony, Ochestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Orchestre National de France, Shanghai Philharmonic, Oulu Philharmonic, Leipzig Philharmonic, Pensacola Symphony, Tatarstan Symphony, Philippines Philharmonic, Morocco Philharmonic and others

She collaborated with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sakari Oramo, Mark Elder, Donald Runnicle, Vasily Petrenko, Alexander Lazarev, Karl-Heinz Steffens, David Hill, Alan Buribayev, Eiving Gullberg Jensen, Theodor Guschlauer, Rory McDonald, Tamami Nishimoto, Danail Rachev, Fabio Mastrangelo, Michele Mariotti, Fuat Mansurov, Alexander Sladkovsky, Mario Kosik, Jesus Medina,Tomomi Nishimoto, Istvan Denes, Peter Rubardt, Anna-Maria Helsing, Dalia Stasevska and others. The festivals in which Sofya Gulyak participated include Klavier Ruhr Festival, Chopin Festival in Duzniki-Zdroj, Festival du Sceaux, International Keyboard Festival in New York, International Strasbourg Festival, Busoni Festival, Harrogate Festival, Krakòv Piano Festival, New Zealand Piano Festival, Ravello Festival, Festival Chopin in Paris, Shanghai International Piano Festival and many others.

Sofya Gulyak’s recording of Russian piano music (Medtner, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev) was released on Champs Hill Records in 2013 and received a 5 stars review in Diapason magazine (“What a pleasure to hear the piano blossoming and projecting in the most vivid of ways when played by Sofya Gulyak. The singing sound alongside dazzling and powerful execution distinguishes an outstanding natural pianist”) and praising reviews in Gramophone (“This is a stunning debut album…”) and Guardian magazines (“Sofya Gulyak is a fearless pianist, never afraid to scale the most technically demanding heights of the repertoire and equally proud to wear her heart on her sleeve”). Her CD with Brahms music was released on Piano Classics in the spring of 2015 and got glowing reviews from American Record Guide ("The Handel Variations is among the top contenders on record. From the very first notes she takes charge and envelops us in a thrilling sequence of variations that will send goose bumps to susceptible listeners. Not only does she perform with arresting contrast and lovely, soft floating tone. She keeps you on the edge of your seat, as the music presses ever forward. Sometimes I was reminded of the young Argerich.." and Fanfare magazine (" Her musicality is beautifully attuned to the spirit of Brahms...I must praise Kazan-born Russain pianist Sofya Gulyak, whose impressive reading places a stronger emphasis than Perahia's in the continuity of the variations... She is a natural Brahmsian whatever his moods."). Her last CD with the Chaconnes for Piano was released by Champs Hill Records in 2017.

Sofya Gulyak is a native of Kazan (Russia) where she studied in a Special Music College under Nailya Khakimova, and then in Kazan State Conservatoire under Professor Elfiya Burnasheva. After that she continued her studies at the Piano Academy "Incontri coi Maestri" (Imola, Italy) with Boris Petrushansky and at the Royal College of Music in London with Vanessa Latarche.

Sofya Gulyak attended as a jury member the International Piano Competitions in Italy, Serbia, France, Greece, USA, and was invited to teach master classes in China, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Hong Kong, Mexico, USA, and Germany. In past and recent years she has been on the faculty at the Royal College of Muisc in London, Kazan State Conservatory, Monteverdi Conservatory of Bolzano.

Her playing has been broadcast on radio and TV in Russia, Poland, France, Italy, Germany, USA, Finland, Denmark, Serbia, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, and the United Kingdom (BBC 3 and BBC 4).

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTISTS

The Chicago Brass Quintet has been pushing the bounds of chamber orchestration for more than four decades. Originally founded in a Northwestern dorm room, the Quintet rose to national prominence with the release of their first recording for Crystal Records and through a notable appearance at the International Trumpet Guild’s Conference in Ithaca, New York.

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Over the course of their history, the Quintet has made numerous contributions to the contemporary arts community, and has played to acclaim before audiences around the world. Today, the ensemble remains as vibrant as ever, and continues to engage with music lovers through an enriching calendar of concerts, workshops, and educational events.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTIST

Madeline was a student of Wilma Berkel’s at Western, and Wilma said we’ve just got to have this musician, she’s going to be one of the finest Canadian guitarists! 

CBC Music’s ‘hot 30 under 30’

Hall’s trajectory continued this past summer, when she was named to CBC Music’s 2023 30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30 list, reserved for those who are “highly skilled, creative, disciplined and determined to make their mark in the world of classical music.”

The honour included an invitation for Hall to play at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse historic site and museum in Toronto, where she performed Joaquin Turina’s Sonata, Op.61.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTIST

Peter Vinograd, piano  An outstanding interpreter of J.S. Bach and contemporary composers, pianist Peter Vinograde regularly tours the U.S., Canada, and Asia. Recent seasons featured performances in Nanjing, Rome, Santa Fe, San Francisco, Singapore, Taipei, and Xiamen. More recently, he recorded Arnold Rosner’s Piano Concerto #2 with the London Philharmonic, and gave two recitals and a master class at the new Usina Art Center in Buenos Aires. In March 2019, a National Gallery recital featured the seven Bach Toccatas. 2024 features performances in Canada and Italy, including Kenneth Laufer’s 200 Years: A History of the United States from 1776-1976.

As a chamber musician, Peter Vinograde has appeared at the Bard, Bargemusic, Caramoor, and Wolftrap Festivals.  As a collaborative artist, he toured throughout Asia with violinist Midori, including her Singapore debut, also performing with her at the Cape Cod and Mostly Mozart Festivals.

His numerous distinctions began with first prize in the 1971 J.S. Bach International Competition, followed by a New York debut at Carnegie Recital Hall and an N.E.A.-sponsored Lincoln Center recital at Alice Tully Hall. He has been featured on NPR's Performance Today and CBC-TV's the Journal. CDs include releases on the Albany, CBC, Decca and Phoenix labels. His primary teacher was Zenon Fishbein.

In conjunction with his Bach for Pianists class at the Manhattan School of Music, Dr. Vinograde annually presents Bach recital/lectures at conservatories and universities, this past season at Juilliard, Oberlin, and Northwestern.

PROGRAM

Wednesday, June 11 Part 6 of Ms. Taves' Complete Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle: No.s 19, 20, 6, 21 ("Waldstein")

Friday, June 13 Part 7 of Ms. Taves' Complete Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle: No.s 1, 8 ("Pathétique")

Read all about Heather Taves' Beethoven Sonata project here.

ARTIST

Heather Taves Concert pianist Heather Taves brings her “radiantly beautiful, commanding and authoritative” artistry to audiences everywhere, as she connects with openness and humour to share musical worlds. An internationally respected classical artist, she is preparing the complete cycle of 32 Sonatas by Beethoven for completion in 2024. Heather shares this process in her entertaining blog “Beethoven Journey” at https://heathertaves.substack.com/

Gifted in multiple genres, Heather showcases her gifts as improvisor, composer, and writer. She is composing music for an event titled Painted Dances, joining forces with the popular Propeller Dance Company which includes wheelchair dancers, artist Julea Boswell, and emerging filmmaker Aaron Daniels Casey. As an improvisor, she plays keyboard in the Scott Parsons Band which presents stories of Black history to communities large and small. She has performed music by diverse living composers such as Israeli composer Oded Zehavi, Palestinian-Canadian composer John Kameel Farah, Turkish composer Can Kazaz, and British jazz pianist Julian Joseph.  Her vision is to share music in all its diverse facets as a powerful force to bring people together.

PROGRAM

Sunday, June 15 Part 8 of Ms. Taves' Complete Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle: No.s 3, 7, 13, 26 ("Les Adieux")

Read all about Heather Taves' Beethoven Sonata project here

ARTIST

Heather Taves Concert pianist Heather Taves brings her “radiantly beautiful, commanding and authoritative” artistry to audiences everywhere, as she connects with openness and humour to share musical worlds. An internationally respected classical artist, she is preparing the complete cycle of 32 Sonatas by Beethoven for completion in 2024. Heather shares this process in her entertaining blog “Beethoven Journey” at https://heathertaves.substack.com/

Gifted in multiple genres, Heather showcases her gifts as improvisor, composer, and writer. She is composing music for an event titled Painted Dances, joining forces with the popular Propeller Dance Company which includes wheelchair dancers, artist Julea Boswell, and emerging filmmaker Aaron Daniels Casey. As an improvisor, she plays keyboard in the Scott Parsons Band which presents stories of Black history to communities large and small. She has performed music by diverse living composers such as Israeli composer Oded Zehavi, Palestinian-Canadian composer John Kameel Farah, Turkish composer Can Kazaz, and British jazz pianist Julian Joseph.  Her vision is to share music in all its diverse facets as a powerful force to bring people together.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTIST

Chinese pianist Junwen Liang stands as a preeminent classical pianist, lauded for his "captivating" (Stroll Magazine) performances and recognized as "an extremely gifted and promising young artist" by the New York Concert Review. Originally from Nanning, China, Junwen embarked on his piano journey at the age of 9, unveiling his prodigious talent with a solo debut at 13.

In recent years, Junwen has graced distinguished venues across the United States, leaving an indelible mark on the classical music landscape. His performances have resonated in renowned venues such as Cohen Family Studio Theater, Robert J. Werner Recital Hall in Cincinnati, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and the Academy of Music at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Notably, he has collaborated as a soloist with orchestras including the Central Texas Philharmonic, Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra, and Ithaca College Symphonic Orchestra. Junwen's interpretation of Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra received acclaim, reaching the public through broadcast on WSKG radio in New York State. His artistry was further acknowledged with an invitation to present a solo performance on WRTI Classical Radio in Philadelphia in August 2022.

In the 2023/24 Season, Junwen's exceptional artistry shone through in performances at Lake Barcroft Concerts (Falls Church, VA), the Tuesday Concert Series, WIYAMS @ Georgetown University, Arts Club of Washington (Washington, DC), the Sunday Recital Series at Saint Thomas (Manhattan, New York), Trinity Concert Series (Watertown, NY) Concerts at Valley Cottage (Valley Cottage, NY). In the summer of 2024, Junwen is set to make his debut across North America, featuring in prestigious concert series including the Sevenars Music Festival, Fripp Island Friends of Music, The Aiden Chamber Music Series at McLean Center, and Saugerties Pro Musica. As anticipation mounts for Junwen's burgeoning career, additional concerts for the 2024/25 season will soon be unveiled.

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Junwen's commitment to musical excellence is also exemplified by his participation in prestigious music festivals, including Texas State International Piano Festival, Lunigiana International Music Festival, The Leon Fleshier Academy, Art of the Piano at CCM, Atlantic Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Orford Musique, and Philadelphia Young Pianists' Academy. He has worked with famous pedagogues and concert pianists including Piotr Paleczny, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Gary Graffman, Jerome Lowenthal, Ching-Yun Hu, Andre Laplante, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Vladimir Feltsman, Robert McDonald, Ursula Oppens, Jeremy Denk, and more.

A recipient of numerous awards, Junwen's trajectory began with victories in esteemed competitions in China at the age of 12. This journey continued globally with triumphs in the New York International Piano Competition, Naftzger Young Artist Competition, Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford, Juliusz Zarębski International Music Competition (Poland), and WPTA Spain. Notably, he secured first prizes in the Crescendo International Music Competition, Nouvelles Etoiles International Music Competition (France), The Princeton Festival International Piano Competition, YMIC International Music Competition, Philadelphia International Piano Competition, and The American Prize. In Spring 2019, Junwen's achievements were crowned with the exclusive Spencer Merit Award at the National Society of Arts & Letters in Bloomington, an honor given to only one pianist that year.

​In addition to his solo career, Junwen extends his musical talents engaging as a collaborative pianist with professional instrumentalists and singers in the thriving music scenes of Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore County, Maryland. Recognized for his exceptional collaborative skills, he was honored with the Clara Ascherfeld Award in Accompanying, and the title of "Outstanding Collaborative Pianist" at the Peabody Institute, which he was featured in their esteemed Noon:30 Concert Series. In February 2024, at the invitation of concert pianist Chantal Balestri, Artistic Director of the Lunigiana International Music Festival, Junwen participated in the Puccini Concert Project held at NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo. This special event, in collaboration with the Festival Puccini Torre del Lago, commemorated the composer's 100th Anniversary. Junwen showcased his talent through solo arrangements and engaging vocal duets alongside guest soprano Marina Medici.

 Furthermore, Junwen's collaborative ventures led to his participation in a piano quintet, coached by Michael Kannen, director of Peabody’s Chamber Music Program. The quintet's outstanding artistry earned them the distinction of being the only chamber group from Peabody selected to perform at Carnegie Hall’s Master Class Series, offering a unique opportunity to collaborate with Ludwig Quandt, principal cellist of the Berliner Philharmoniker.

​Most recently, Junwen graduated with a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, under the tutelage of Richard Goode. His past mentors include Christopher Guzman (Penn State), Roberto Plano, Edward Auer (Indiana University), and Charis Dimaras (Ithaca College).

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTIST

Alexandra Whittingham, guitar Recognised by The Guardian as “a young 21st-century virtuoso”, Alexandra Whittingham’s creative spirit is reshaping classical music and defying conventions. At the age of 16 she began to film her performances of popular guitar repertoire as a personal project, rapidly creating a large community of fans worldwide with over 50 million views.

Having just signed exclusively to Decca Classics, recording continues to play an important part in Alexandra’s career. Her debut album ‘My European Journey’, released in 2021, was described as “a superb debut” by BBC Music Magazine. The album sees Alexandra's passion for romantic guitar music combine with a love of discovering lesser-known composers and bringing them into the spotlight. The recording lead to her being chosen as one of Classic FM’s ‘Rising Star’ artists in 2022.

Alexandra has enjoyed recent performances at such events as the Cayman Islands Arts Festival, Texas’ South by Southwest Festival and Rome Guitar Expo last year. Forthcoming highlights include recitals in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and London as well as a tour across Ireland this April with trumpeter Matilda Lloyd. Alexandra will also embark on a 30-date North American tour in early 2025.

Closer to home Alexandra has performed at London’s Milton Court Concert Hall, The Jazz Cafe in Camden, the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Sage Gateshead and Wells Cathedral. She has also appeared as a concerto soloist with both UK and European orchestras.

The presence of music education in schools is something that Alexandra has been passionate about since having the opportunity for her first formal guitar lesson at the age of eight. As well as giving masterclasses at music colleges around Europe, she also enjoys holding regular workshops and presentations in schools with an aim to involve more young people from diverse backgrounds in classical music.

Alexandra began her studies at Chetham’s School of Music at the age of eleven, where she now teaches alongside her former professor. She went on to gain a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London and graduated with both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. During her time at the Academy she was awarded the Timothy Gilson Guitar Prize, a Diploma of the Royal Academy of Music and the Regency Award for distinguished studentship.

Alexandra is delighted to be an Augustine Strings artist. She plays guitars made by Philip Woodfield and Christopher Dean.

PROGRAM

Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57

more TBA

ARTISTS

Arthur Rowe, piano 

Canadian pianist and Steinway Artist Arthur Rowe is a critically acclaimed recitalist, soloist with orchestra and chamber musician.

Following a New York solo recital, The New York Times wrote: “The Canadian pianist Arthur Rowe made an immediate and positive impression...before eight bars had gone by, one knew he was capable of vigor without heaviness, energy without excess of drive. It was first-rate playing: a kind of execution tinglingly alive to the shape and contribution of each phrase." Reviewing a solo recital in London England, The London Times spoke of his "unusual clarity of articulation," and "poetry of expression," and David Burge, writing in The San Diego Tribune said, "Rowe is a marvelous pianist...even when he is pushed to the limit by extreme virtuosic demands...he can concentrate all of his considerable talents on vital matters of phrasing, tone and ensemble."

A highly respected chamber musician, Mr. Rowe’s first collaborative performances began while he was still a second year student at Western University, when he was invited to tour in concerts across Canada with esteemed Professor of Cello Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. While completing graduate studies at Indiana University with Gyorgy Sebok, he was performing recitals, chamber music and concerti at venues in the United States and Canada, many recorded for broadcast by CBC Radio and NPR in the U.S. In the ensuing decades he has performed widely throughout North America and has been a guest artist at summer festivals in Blossom, Interlochen, Niagara, Santa Fe and Seattle, as well as in France, New Zealand, and Yugoslavia.

Arthur Rowe has recorded with various artists for the Crystal, ebs, Innova, GM and Fanfare labels. In 2004 The Harrington String Quartet joined forces with Arthur Rowe and Cleveland Orchestra Concertmaster William Preucil in New York, for a performance of the Chausson Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet, which was reviewed by Harris Goldsmith as a "reading that rivaled the benchmark recordings by Franzescatti/Casadesus/Pascal, and Heifetz/Sanroma/New Arts.”

In 2007, he released an all-Schubert recording on the Centaur label (available on Apple Music). Fanfare magazine’s review says, “Rowe’s reading (of the posthumous B-flat Sonata) is one of the most beautiful I have heard...The D. 899 Impromptus are equally impressive...his purling right-hand runs recall Schnabel’s velvety sound...every harmonic change is underscored by a delicate nuance of color change. This kind of expression cannot be taught; it is in the bloodstream and the soul.”

In addition to his performing activities, Arthur Rowe has for many years been the Artistic Director of both the Victoria Summer Music Festival, and The Jeffery Concerts in London Ontario. Through these venues he has an opportunity to present both world renowned artists and exceptional young artists to audiences in these communities. Some of his recent performances have included concerts with laureates of the Banff International String Quartet Competition including the Dover, Viano, Marmen and Isidore Quartets. In 2022, Arthur Rowe and Jonathan Crow, Concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony, performed the complete cycle of Beethoven violin sonatas in Victoria and London, Ontario.

Having previously held positions at the University of Iowa and the University of Western Ontario, Arthur Rowe is a Professor of Piano and Collaborative Piano at the University of Victoria, where he has also served as Acting Director of the School of Music and Acting Associate Dean of Fine Arts. While at UVic he was instrumental in enabling the School of Music to become Canada’s first All-Steinway School of Music. He has also been a guest clinician at numerous Universities in North America including the Cleveland Institute, Oberlin, and The University of Texas at Austin.

Penderecki String Quartet

Celebrating their 36th  anniversary, the Penderecki String Quartet began their career as winners of the Penderecki Prize at the National Chamber Music Competition in Łódz, Poland in 1986.   Now based in Waterloo, Ontario where they have been Quartet-in-Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University since 1991, The Penderecki String Quartet has become one of the most celebrated chamber ensembles of their generation.  The four Penderecki musicians (now originating from Poland, Canada, and USA) bring their varied yet collective experience to create performances that demonstrate their “remarkable range of technical excellence and emotional sweep” (Toronto, Globe and Mail).

The PSQ's international performing schedule has included appearances in New York (Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Hong Kong (Academy for the Arts), Los Angeles (REDCAT Hall at Disney Center), St. Petersburg (Sheremetev Palace), the Adam Festival in New Zealand, and throughout Europe in Rome, Madrid, Paris, Belgrade, Prague, Krakow, Vilnius, and Zagreb.  The PSQ has also toured extensively in Mexico, Australia, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, and from coast to coast in Canada.

Dedicated educators, the PSQ have been recent guests at Bloomington Indiana University’s String Academy, the Beijing Conservatory, University of Southern California (Los Angeles), University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and with their partner universities in Osnabrück, Germany and Lyon, France.

To this day the PSQ is a devoted champion of the music of our time, having premiered over 100 new works from composers in Canada and abroad.   Penderecki Quartet's large discography includes over three dozen recordings including the chamber music repertoire of Beethoven and Brahms on both the Marquis and Eclectra labels, as well as the first Canadian release of the six Béla Bartók quartets.  Their disc of Marjan Mozetich’s “Lament in the Trampled Garden” won the 2010 JUNO Award for Best Composition.   In October 2013, the PSQ worked with Maestro Krzysztof Penderecki on his Third Quartet (2008) and performed it at Symphony Space in New York City on the occasion of his 80th birthday.  This followed with the recording of Penderecki’s Third Quartet along with quartets of Norbert Palej on the Marquis label.  In 2022, the PSQ was featured in Howard Shore’s soundtrack to David Cronenberg’s film Crimes of the Future.

The Penderecki Quartet has performed with diverse artists such as Atar Arad, Jeremy Menuhin, Stewart Goodyear, James Campbell and have recently appeared with jazz saxophonist Jane Bunnett, jazz pianists Egberto Gismonti, Don Thomson and David Braid, pipa virtuoso Ching Wong, Dancetheatre David Earle, Pentaedre Wind Quintet, actor Colin Fox, and New York turntable artist DJ Spooky.

The Penderecki Quartet continue to be active members of the Faculty of Music at Laurier University where they have built the string program to be one of the top programs in Canada, attracting an international body of students. Their annual Quartetfest at Laurier is an intensive study seminar and concert series that has featured such ensembles as the Tokyo, Fine Arts, Lafayette, Miro, Ying, and Ariana String Quartets.

A native of Toronto, violinist Jeremy Bell earned a B. Mus degree from the University of Toronto, and from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he received his Masters and Doctor of Music.

Dr. Bell is a recipient of numerous grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts and is a prize winner of the Eckhardt Grammatté National competition and the Conseil Québécois’ Prix Opus. He has studied with David Zafer, George Neikrug, Joyce Robbins, Metro Kozak and with members of the Orford, Juilliard, Tokyo, and Orion string quartets. Joining the Penderecki String Quartet in 1999, Dr. Bell is Artist in Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University where he teaches violin, chamber music, and lectures on the string quartets of Bartok and Beethoven. 

Described by the Toronto Star as a violinist who “agitates in the most intelligent and persuasive manner”, Bell has performed recently with the Penderecki Quartet at Arsenale Festival in Poland, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Is Arti Festival in Lithuania, MBZ Zagreb, State Museum of Music in St. Petersburg, REDCAT/Disney Centre in Los Angeles, Roxy/NOD in Prague, Fundacion Juan March in Madrid, Jane Mallet Theatre in Toronto, Paris University 8, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Indiana University in Bloomington, Casalmaggiore Festival in Italy, Tovar Festival Venezuela, Virtuosi Festival Brazil, Adam Festival New Zealand, the Hong Kong Academy, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, the Banff Centre in Alberta, and the Chan Centre in Vancouver.

With the Penderecki String Quartet, Bell has recorded over 25 discs including the premiere Canadian recording of the Béla Bartók string quartet cycle, Marjan Mozetich’s ‘Lament in the Trampled Garden’ (winner of the 2010 JUNO Award for composition), and the complete Grieg sonatas for violin and piano with pianist Shoshan Telner. From 2000-2007, Bell was the artistic director of NUMUS Concerts where he created several multi-media events at the Perimeter Institute and with Dancetheatre David Earle. He has performed a wide range of music, performing baroque with Consortium Aurora Borealis and Les Violons du Roy, Cuban jazz with Hilario Duran, as well as collaborating with pipa virtuoso Ching Wong, NYC’s DJ Spooky, and rap star Jay-Z. In addition, Bell has performed as soloist with many orchestras in Canada, USA and Mexico, including the Toronto Symphony, the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, and the CBC Vancouver Orchestra performing concertos of Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Dvorak, Hatzis, Locatelli, Lutoslawski, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Päart, Prokofiev, Saint-Saens, Schoenberg, and Vivaldi. As guest concertmaster he has appeared with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the New Zealand National Symphony, and the Canadian Opera Company. Dr. Bell plays a violin made in Canada by Mark Schnurr (2020).  Currently he is the artistic director of QuartetFest and the Leith Summer Festival, and has been on faculty at the Festival del Lago International Academy of Music since 2018.  

Internationally renowned violinist Jerzy Kapłanek has established himself as a chamber musician, member of the celebrated Penderecki String Quartet, soloist, dedicated teacher, adjudicator, artistic director of QuartetFest and lately as a jazz violinist

He performs throughout Europe, Asia, and North and South America over 80 concerts each season. His album of works by Karol Szymanowski with pianist Stéphan Sylvestre was highly praised by The Strad magazine as “an outstanding release”. His discography with the Penderecki Quartet comprises over two dozen CD’s (Marquis, Eclectra, CBC, CMC, EMI, Decca labels), including the highly acclaimed recording of the complete string quartets of Béla Bartók.

Mr. Kaplanek has collaborated with such notable musicians as pianists David Braid, Leopoldo Erice , Vladimir Feltsman, Janina Fialkowska Francine Kay, Lev Natochenny, Jamie Parker, Stéphan Sylvestre, cellists Marc Johnson, Antonio Lysy Paul Pulford, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and clarinetist James Campbell amongst others. He is frequently heard on CBC Radio and NPR. He has made solo appearances with the Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Peterborough and CBC Vancouver Symphonies and was a featured soloist at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Jerzy Kapłanek was born in Poland in 1965. His music education started at the age of six on piano and at the age of ten he began his violin studies. In 1984, he received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Conservatory in Bytom. In 1990, he graduated with a Master’s Degree in Musical Arts from the prestigious Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. There, he studied with the distinguished teachers Janusz Skramlik, Aureli Błaszczok and Stanisław Lewandowski

In 1987-88 he studied with Efim Boico and the Fine Arts Quartet at the Chamber Music Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1989-90, he was a student of Sylvia Rosenberg in New York City and in 1990-91 he studied with Daniel Heifetz, the Guarneri String Quartet and its violinists, Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley. Pursuing his interest in performance practice, Mr. Kapłanek also worked with the pioneer of baroque violin, Jaap Schroeder.

Jerzy Kapłanek is presently a Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where since 1991 he has been teaching violin and chamber music. He frequently gives master classes in Canada and abroad. Mr. Kaplanek performs on a 2016 Samuel Zygmuntowicz violin made in New York City.

Cellist Katie Schlaikjer is a member of the JUNO-winning Penderecki Quartet, quartet-in-residence at the Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. She was a member of the Colorado String Quartet from 2009 to 2013, and prior to that, cellist with the Avalon Quartet, award winners of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Melbourne Chamber Music Competition and the Concert Artists Guild (NY). A consummate chamber musician and soloist, Ms. Schlaikjer has performed around the globe, with tours throughout Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Croatia, China, Australia, Columbia, Mexico and across Canada and the U.S, performing at the Kennedy Centre, the Beijing Concert Hall, The National Arts Centre, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and many more. 

As a chamber musician, Katie Schlaikjer has performed the complete Beethoven and Bartok quartets with both CSQ and PSQ, amongst an almost encyclopaedic range of quartet and chamber music repertoire, including over 100 new works written for the Penderecki Quartet. She has appeared in the Ravinia, Tanglewood, Aspen, and Caramoor festivals, as well as Festival of the Sound, Music from Salem, Ottawa Chamberfest, the annual Music Mountain festival (CT), and has recorded for Albany Records, Marquis Classics, and Elektra.  

Of Ms. Schlaikjer’s many solo appearances, recent engagements have included the premiere of J. Mark Scearce’s cello concerto “Aracana” with the University of Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, and Haydn’s D major cello concerto with the Wuhan Symphony Orchestra in China. 

Guiding young artists and cultivating a vibrant studio of award-winning students has been a career objective as well as a passion, with several of her pupils continuing to advanced institutions such as the Glenn Gould School and Juilliard.  She has taught at the University of Connecticut, the Hartt Music School, Bard Conservatory and the New England Conservatory, and conducted masterclasses at the renowned UNAM (University) in Mexico City, Lynn University in Florida, the Cleveland Institute, the Colorado Quartet’s Soundfest, and Charles Castleman’s Quartet program.  At Wilfrid Laurier University, where she has been Artist-in-Residence with the Penderecki Quartet since 2013 where she teaches cello and chamber music. 

Violist Christine Vlajk has performed extensively in North and South America, Europe, much of China, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Some of the concert halls where she has performed with the Penderecki String Quartet have included Weill Concert Hall at Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, Kennedy Center, REDCAT Hall in Los Angeles, and the Hong Kong Academy to name a few.

She has held the positions of violist of the Penderecki String Quartet and Artist-in-Residence in viola and chamber music at Laurier University since 1997. She has received Prizes at the Banff, Coleman, Yellow Springs, Carmel and Evian Chamber Music Competitions. She was granted the Friedlander Fellowship from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory and Scholarships to attend the Aspen Center for Advanced Quartet Studies, The Julliard and Cleveland Quartet Seminars, all helping to pave the road for a life as a chamber musician. 

Originally from Denver, Colorado, Vlajk has Bachelor degrees in Viola Performance (B.M.) and Music Education (B.M.E.) from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a Masters degree in Viola Performance (M.M.) from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Her teachers have included Oswald Lehnert, Jerry Horner, Denes Koromzay and members of the Cleveland, Julliard, LaSalle, Takacs, and Fine Arts Quartets.

She has been guest soloist with the West Virginia Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Peterborough Symphony and the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra. She has performed recitals in Canada, the United States and Germany.

She has premiered two viola concertos by Peter Grella-Mozejko and Karol Gostyniski. As an orchestral player she has held the position of principal violist of the West Virginia Symphony and was a member of the New Hampshire Music Festival. 

Dedicated to the education of young people, she has performed an extensive series of children’s concerts across the United States and Canada. She has given master classes at Lynn Conservatory, Indiana University’s String Academy, Florida State University, University of Toronto, SUNY Fredonia, the Glenn Gould Professional School and many places in Mexico, China and New Zealand. 

As a member of the Penderecki String Quartet and the Montclaire Quartet, Vlajk has recorded nearly 30 recordings for the Koch, Leonarda, Eclectra, Marquis Classics and EMI labels. When she is not performing with her quartet or teaching her wonderful students, she enjoys nature, yoga, cooking and the finer things in life.

PROGRAM

J. Haydn: Piano Trio in E Major Hob. XV:28

J. Brahms: Piano Trio in C Major Op. 87 No. 2

D. Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 Op. 67 

ARTISTS

"Cuore Piano Trio played brilliantly” - these words were used by the Musikfreunde Magazine to describe the trio's debut in the renowned Brahms Hall of the Wiener Musikverein in 2022. Spirited interpretations and excellent technique are some of the many assets of the ensemble, which draws ever greater attention of the European and American music industry. In June 2024 they were accepted to ECMA (European Chamber Music Academy) as an aspirant ensemble.

The trio's members - Zuzanna Budzyńska (violin), Antoni Orłowski (cello) and Szymon Ogryzek (piano) - are passionate about introducing new audiences to the unknown classical music pieces in the output of less popular Polish composers. In January 2024, as a result of being awarded the Grand Prix at the Music & Stars International Music Competition in Estonia (2022), the Trio's debut album was released. „Never Twice the Same” (KNS Classical) presents an extraordinary set of Polish, French, American, and Argentinian pieces and has recently been very well reviewed by Patrice Imbaud (ResMusica), who wrote: „(...) Winners of numerous international competitions, and based in Vienna, the trio boasts originality, discovery and the pleasure of playing as the key words of their repertoire, of which this CD constitutes a living reflection. (...)”. The album is available on all streaming platforms.

The Trio performs in Poland, Austria, Germany, UK, Italy, the Czech Republic, or Lithuania regularly. They performed during festivals such as the Internationaler Bad Schandauer Musiksommer in Germany, Festival Mlada Praha in the Czech Republic or the Karol Lipiński Festival in Poland. In 2023 they made their concerto debut as soloists with Jyväskylä Sinfonia and Jan Söderblom, performing the Concerto for Piano Trio and Symphony Orchestra H. 231 by Bohuslav Martinu in Finland. They were the Ensemble in Residence of the Canadian PRISMA Festival 2023 in Powell River and after „capturing the hearts of the audience" (daily festival newspaper, June 2023) they came back to British Columbia in 2024 for the "Never Twice the Same” BC 2024 Tour and gave 12 recitals in Vancouver and the area, promoting their debut album.

Cuore Piano Trio was founded in 2017 in Warsaw. Currently based in Vienna, the musicians are students of Avedis Kouyoumdjian (piano, chamber music), Christian Altenburger (violin) and Reinhard Latzko (cello) at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. They perform at the Brahms Hall of the Musikverein Wien regularly, as the official ensemble presenting the „Souvenir” concert cycle together with the moderator Veronika Mandl. Additionally the musicians appear regularly in the other prestigious concert halls in Austria. Recently they have received the mdw Artist title awarded by the Career Center of the mdw - University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna to the most promising students of the institution.

Cuore Piano Trio has been a prizewinner of many international music competitions i.a. the Fanny Mendelssohn International Music Competition in Germany (1st prize in 2023), Nouvelles Etoiles International Music Competition in France (1st prize in 2021), Quebec International Music Competition (1st prize in 2020) or the Brilliant Talent Discovery Awards International Music Competition in Singapore (1st prize in 2019). In April 2023 they received the prestigious Ensemble of the Year 2022 award from the Italian chamber music network Le Dimore del Quartetto, as well as the Gioventù Musicale Prize. Cuore Piano Trio is supported by the Polish Lubelskie Voivodeship within the „Lubelskie - Taste life!” program since 2022.

Their live recordings have previously been published by the Polish DUX Recording Producers Label and received great reviews such as: „(...) Cuore Piano Trio gives an accurate, clear and passionate reading of the compositions highlighting the musical maturity that already characterizes this ensemble. (...)” - Simone Gramaglia, Quaretto di Cremona. The musicians worked as editors for the EUPHONIUM Publishing House on a Franciszek Lessel's Piano Trio in E Major op. 5, which was later published as a world premiere.

The musicians have received scholarships from the Polish Prime Minister, the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage, the „Bridge to the Future” Scholarship from the Globalworth Foundation and the Julian Cochran Foundation, the Société Générale Bank and others. Their work has been greatly influenced by artists such as Hatto Beyerle, Johannes Meissl, Patrick Jüdt, Vida Vujic, or Sibila Konstantinova. They participated in masterclasses led by Eberhard Feltz, Michael Flaksman, the Lafayette Quartet, Oliver Wille (Kuss Quartett) or Eckart Runge (former member of the Artemis Quartet).

Next season the trio performs in Poland, Austria, UK, Norway, Italy, Canada and Japan, among others.

PROGRAM

Complete Shostakovich String Quartets, order TBA

ARTISTS

The Eliot Quartett was founded in 2014 and has become one of the most engaging string quartets of its generation. Hailing from Canada, Germany and Russia, the quartet’s members formed the group in Frankfurt am Main and have since gone on to win prizes at major national and international music competitions, including second prize at both the Mozart International Competition in Salzburg and the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, the Prize of the German Music Competition as well as three additional special prizes, and first prize and the special prize for the best interpretation of a piece by Karol Szymanowski at the inaugural International Karol Szymanowski Competition in Katowice, Poland.

The Eliot Quartett has established itself as a cornerstone of the music scene in its hometown of Frankfurt, Germany. In addition to appearances at the Alte Oper, the Polytechnische Gesellschaft concert series and the Schumann Gesellschaft, the Eliot Quartett is a regular guest at the Holzhausenschlösschen in Frankfurt and founded its own festival ‘Eliots am Main’ in 2022.

The Eliot Quartett’s concert schedule includes performances at renowned festivals and concerts series throughout Europe. It has performed at the Bachfest Leipzig, the Kasseler Musiktagen, the Mozartfest Würzburg, the Rheingau Musik Festival, the Shostakovich Tage, the Festival Musica Sur and Delta Chamber Music Festival in Spain, the Styriarte in Graz, the Mozarteum Salzburg and the Schubertiade.

The four musicians began their chamber music instruction with Prof. Hubert Buchberger and went on to study with Prof. Tim Vogler at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main and with Prof. Günter Pichler at the Instituto Internacional de Música de Camera at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. The Eliot Quartett has received valuable musical guidance from Valentin Erben, Oliver Wille, Martin Beaver, and the Mandelring Quartet and enjoys a close working relationship with the esteemed pianist Alfred Brendel and the Belcea Quartet.

The Eliot Quartett is named after the American poet T. S. Eliot whose famous work “Four Quartets” was inspired by the innovative late Quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven. Eliot, like Beethoven, attempted to establish a connection between past, present and future by breaking away from the accepted classical forms of the time.

The Eliot Quartett has released several recordings on GENUIN classics.

Maryana Osipova  (1st Violin) was born in 1987 in Moscow into a musical family and is a graduate of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory where she studied with Prof. Marina Keselman and Prof. Maya Glezarova. She currently studies with Prof. Laurent Breuninger at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe. Maryana has enjoyed success at several international violin competitions, winning third prize at the 2013 Yankelevich Violin Competition in Omsk, and sixth prize at the 4th China International Violin Competition in Qingdao in 2014.  As an avid chamber musician, Maryana has won prizes at the Vainiunas Competition in Vilnius in 2010, the London International Chamber Music Competition in 2010, and the Premio Vittorio Gui in Florence in 2011. Maryana attended masterclasses with Boris Kuschnir, Mihaela Martin (Kronberg Academy Masterclasses), Igor Ozim (Weimarer Meisterkurse), and Boris Belkin (Accademia Chigiana). She has performed at the Homecoming Festival in Moscow (2007—15), the Moscow Conservatory Youth Festival (2010—13), Svyatoslav Richter’s Festival in Tarusa, Oleg Kagan’s Festival in Moscow, and at the International Festival in Togliatti, where she premiered Polina Nazaykinskaya’s violin concerto. She has collaborated with musicians such as Boris Andrianov, Kristina Blaumane, Nikita Borisoglebsky, Boris Brovtsyn, Alexander Buzlov, Maxim Rysanov and Alexander Sitkovetsky and can be heard in Maxim Rysanov’s recording of Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet on the Onyx label. Maryana Osipova holds a scholarship from the Oscar und Vera Ritter foundation.

Alexander Sachs (2nd Violin) was born in 1990 in Vancouver, Canada. He began his musical education at the Vancouver Academy of Music and took violin lessons with Prof. Taras Gabora. From 2008 to 2012, Alexander Sachs studied at the Hochschule für Musik Mainz with Prof. Anne Shih and from 2012 to 2016 at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main with Prof. Sophie Jaffé. He has attended masterclasses with Prof. Rainer Kussmaul, Prof. Tanja Becker-Bender and Prof. Gerhard Schulz (International Musicians Seminar in Prussia Cove, England). In 2011, Alexander received the Neumeyer Consort Scholarship for Baroque music and has performed with the ensemble throughout Germany (Göttinger Händelfestspiele, Magdeburger Telemanntage, Forum Alte Musik in Frankfurt).  As a member of the Goethe String Trio, he was selected in 2011 to the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Frankfurt e.V. Foundation. After completing a practicum with the 2nd violins in the Staatsorchester Darmstadt, Alexander spent a year in the 1st violins on a temporary contract. Since 2014, he holds a teaching position at the Emanuel Feuermann Conservatory at the Kronberg Academy.

Dmitry Hahalin (Viola) was born in 1988 and studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory as well as the Hochschule für Musik Mainz with Prof. Anne Shih. He then made the switch to viola and studied with Prof. Roland Glassl at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main. Dmitry received a scholarship from the International Vladimir Spivakov Charity Foundation as well as the Neumeyer Consort scholarship for baroque music. He was selected in 2013 to the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Frankfurt am Main e.V. foundation. As a chamber musician, Dmitry won the 1st prize at the 2010 S. Vainiunas Competition in Latvia as well as the Chamber Music Prize of the Polytechnische Gesellschaft 2013 and has worked with Eduard Brunner, Nils Mönkemeyer, Manuel Fischer-Dieskau and the Talich Quartet. Since 2010, Dmitry has devoted more time to the field of historically-informed performance, completing a master’s degree in Baroque violin with Prof. Petra Müllejans. He has performed at the Telemann-Festtagen Magdeburg, the Göttinger Händelfestspielen and the Forum Alte Musik Frankfurt am Main and has worked with Ton Koopman, Konrad Junghänel, Michael Hofstetter and Andreas Scholl. Dmitry was selected as a scholarship recipient of the Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz in 2014.

Michael Preuß (Violoncello) was born in 1985 in  Leipzig. He began his musical education as a pre-college student at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig. Michael studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Rostock with Prof. Joseph Schwab and at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main, where he completed his Diplom and Konzertexamen in 2015.  As an orchestral musician, he was a member of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, and has held training positions with the Staatsorchester Darmstadt and the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin. He also held temporary contracts with the Sinfonieorchester des Staatstheater Giessen as principal cellist and with the MDR Sinfonieorchester in Leipzig. As a member of the Helenos Quartett, Michael won the Chamber Music Prize of the Polytechnische Gesellschaft and 1st prize at the “Cours et Concours” at the Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz. He also won 1st prize at the “HMT Interdisziplinär“ at the HMT Rostock as well as the Peter Pirazzi Foundation competition. Michael has attended masterclasses with Gustaf Rivinius, Wen-Sinn Yang, Gerhard Schulz, the Tokyo String Quartet, the Mandelring Quartett, and the Verdi Quartet.

PROGRAM

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ARTISTS

Turkwaz is a unique combination of four musician/singers, immersed in diverse traditions from mysterious Sufi devotional love songs, to rousing Thracian dance music. Each performer brings a special flavour to the group. Maryem Hassan Tollar draws on her Arabic language heritage, Jayne Brown and Sophia Grigoriadis bring their experience with Greek music to the mix and Brenna MacCrimmon adds her Turkish fascination.

They have a long-standing collective interest in Balkan traditions and add Albanian, Bulgarian and Macedonian and whatever else strikes their fancy to their repertoire. The love and respect they have for the traditions they draw from are clear but they are not afraid to arrange the tunes in new and unexpected ways to give them a fresh spin.

Maryem Tollar is a renowned Egyptian-Canadian vocalist, known for her world music performances. Her voice has been heard on the theme of CBC’s Little Mosque on the Prairie and A.R. Rahman’s Bollywood hit, Mayya Mayya. Tollar was the featured vocalist in Tafelmusik’s production of multi-media performances of “Tales of Two Cities: The Leipzig-Damascus Coffee Houses” and the narrator and vocalist in “Safe Haven”. She performed Christos Hatzis’ piece “Syn-Phonia – Migration Patterns” with The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Inuit throat singer Tiffany Ayalik; and his multi-media piece “Constantinople” with The Gryphon Trio and Patricia O’Callaghan. She performs with several Toronto musical groups including Al Qahwa (Traditional Arabic Music and Original compositions); Turkwaz (Traditional Turkish, Greek, Arabic and Balkan vocal repertoire); and storyteller Dawne McFarlane, adding music and sounds for performances at the Toronto Storytelling Festival, The Scottish International Storytelling Festival and at Silence Guelph. Maryem will be touring in the fall of 2022 in “The Cave” (Libretto by Tomson Highway, Music by John Millard, Script by Martha Ross). In early 2023 she will be touring with the stage adaptation of Ann-Marie MaDonald’s book “Fall On Your Knees” providing music and acting in the role of Mrs. Mahmoud (Directed by Alisa Palmer, Script by Hannah Moscovitch). Maryem was awarded the inaugural Johanna Metcalf Prize for Performing Arts in 2019.

Brenna MacCrimmon is a Toronto-based interpreter of Turkish and Balkan songs – an adventure that began with a trip to a local public library’s vinyl collection in 1983. She has studied and performed with many notable masters of the traditions in both Turkey and the USA.  She works in a diverse range of musical projects, travels frequently to perform and teach and thinks you can never stop learning.

Sophia Grigoriadis, is a musician and teacher. Over the past 30 years her study of Greek, Balkan and Middle Eastern singing and percussion has led her to compose, perform and tour with many Toronto world and fusion ensembles. Her love of teaching and sharing her musical passion extends to all ages: as Church Choir Director of All Saints Greek Orthodox Church, as Music teacher from Preschool to Grade 8 at Metamorphosis Greek Orthodox School, and to young children through her Clapping Land music studio, where her compilation world music CD Sound Adventures — Global Music for Children garnered the Parent’s Choice Foundation Silver Award.

“With their first album Nazar, the Toronto based vocal quartet Turkwaz introduces a wondrous world of uniquely imaginative songs. This compilation features a selection from the Middle East, Turkey, Greece and the Balkans, collected individually over many years. While the songs themselves are traditional, the creative vocal arrangements and the use of exotic world instruments make this music delightful to the ear and harmonically surprising at times. Turkwaz – Maryem Tollar, Brenna MacCrimmon, Sophia Grigoriadis and Jayne Brown – sounds both pure and raw, with sincerity and sentiment that comes from their deep appreciation of this music. Their individual voices are light yet loaded with emotion.

Collectively, the intended textures of their voices are exquisite. The lyrics, sung in Turkish, Arabic, Greek, Macedonian and Bulgarian, are pure poetry, and for the most part fragrant with love themes. Nested in between the songs are expressive improvisatory vignettes by guest artists – Demetrios Petsalakis (spectacular on bağlama, outi), Nagmeh Farahmand (daff, tombak), Ernie Tollar (duduk, bansuri flute, saxophone) and Andrew Downing (cello).

Among many charming songs, a few numbers stood out for me. Send Me a Message My Love, The Beloved Visited Me in the Myrtle Garden, Love on a Rainy Day and the lively Alexandris/Grandpa’s Brandy all share alluring harmonic twists and delicately ornamented melodies, the power of voices being a driving force. The word nazar is derived from Arabic “sight” or “seeing.” It is a perfect title for this album as the members of Turkwaz bring forward their musical vision to each song.”

– Ivana Popovich, Whole Note Magazine – August 29, 2016

PROGRAM

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ARTISTS

Blackwood Duo: Peter Anthony-Togni, Jeff Reilly

Blackwood started back in 1998 with a trip to the organ loft. Peter and Jeff had just started working together at the CBC music department in Halifax, NS and on one weekday afternoon Peter mentioned he had acquired the keys to one of the best organs in the city. Without hesitation they skived off the rest of the day to go check it out. Jeff brought his bass clarinet along and the sounds they were able to make in that cathedral space of St Mary’s Basilica were a revelation. They discovered a deep musical sympatico that has led to over 2 decades of remarkable productivity.

Peter and Jeff went on to tour the world with the trio Sanctuary, record concertos for bass clarinet and choir on the German label ECM, string orchestra concertos on Warner Classics and award winning full length works for solo bass clarinet and vocal quartet on the Montreal based label ATMA Classique.

In spite of having worked on many large-scale projects together, it is in the intimate context of performing their own compositions on piano and bass clarinet that Togni and Reilly celebrate the full range of their many years of collaborative musical experience. In their debut release as a duo, Togni and Reilly explore everything from ancient modality to contemporary modernism. Their sound has the precision of gesture and clarity of focus found in any serious classical ensemble, but also taps into the expressive freedom found in the improvisational gestures of contemporary jazz.

“This music is soaring, enveloping, comforting, and it creates atmospheres that are both mysterious and languid. A rather unclassifiable album that we highly recommend if you are the type to let yourself loose”.  Justin Bernard, La Scena Musicale, Oct. 2021

“Sonically haunting, sophisticated euro-jazz minimalism”. 

Selwyn Harris, Jazzwise UK, Nov. 2021

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ARTIST

Yamaha Artist Jarred Dunn has been described by critics as “a piano sound-colour magician” (Muzikos Barai, Vilnius), “evocative and mystical” (New York Classical Music), "technically perfect" (Belarusian First Radio), and “a virtuoso with the most exquisite touch” (Freethought Today, Madison). Mr. Dunn is featured on the 2018 CBC Top 30 Under 30: Hot Canadian Classical Musicians (CBC) and has hosted CBC’s This is My Music. He is currently on the Faculty of McGill University Schulich School of Music and Alumni Committee of the Aspen Music Festival and School.

His playing has been heard on CBC/Radio-Canada, 98.7 WVMO, New Classical 96.3FM, WWFM, WQXR, Belarusian First Radio, and Madison Freethought Radio/Television. His recordings include Chopin and Debussy (AFA, 2018), Brahms in Solitude (2022); Chopin's Diary: The Mazurkas (Lexicon Classics, 2023), and a fourth album of the complete works of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (2024). Brahms in Solitude received attention in LaScena Musicale and Piano Professional (EPTA) as a five-star album, “His deft voicing and clarity speak to his understanding of the works of Brahms’s idol, J.S. Bach. His soft sound is at once full-bodied and resonant, and unthinkably quiet. Dunn’s precision, sense of musical direction, and knowledge of the piano’s every colour are on display here.”

Mr. Dunn won First Prize and Concerto Award at the 7th International Chopin Competition of Lithuania (Vilnius 2018), leading to concerts in Europe and abroad, and was a finalist/prizewinner in the 1st Jan Hofmann International Competition (Kraków 2019). He won prizes in Piano and Chamber Music at the Rome, Verona Zinetti, and Vitti International Competitions, and First Prize in McGill Piano Concerto Competition. He has performed worldwide as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with orchestras, and his career has included invitations to perform in Poland, Hungary, Belarus, Slovakia, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Malta,The Czech Republic, England, United States, Canada, China, and Australia. He enjoys playing solo recitals, a capacity in which he performs regularly. Following Mr. Dunn's all-Chopin recital in Warsaw, one critic wrote,

The playing of the brilliant Canadian performer did not lack the “Polishness” that he had a chance to learn thoroughly from the best Polish teachers during his Master’s Studies in Katowice or later in Bydgoszcz. The “Polishness” was audible in every piece: from Nocturne in C minor op. 48 with its drama that was built by the pianist from the very first chords and the tragic ending, through Scherzo in E major op. 54, played with a great sensitivity, brilliant sound and technical mastery, to the brilliant Polonaise Fantaisie op. 61, a piece that is very complex harmonically and difficult in many aspects. Jarred Dunn showed his virtuosity, amazing sense of style, elegance and noble - but not excessive - sensitivity, passion - without being pathetic, beautiful piano and powerful forte, melodious - but not sugary - cantilena, broad phrasing and very rich, nuanced range of sounds.  -- Nina Sankari, K. Łyzczyński Foundation, Warsaw

In his repertoire are over forty concertos, representing his interest in this genre of performing. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Niagara Symphony, Sinfonia Toronto, York Symphony, McGill Symphony, Toruń Symphony, NOSPR Katowice (National Radio Symphony of the Republic of Poland), Vilnius Chamber, Cantus Symphony (Vilnius), Eurasian Chamber (Berlin), Budapest Chamber, and Belarusian State Radio-Television Orchestras, among others. He has collaborated with conductors Bradley Thachuk, Denis Mastromonaco, Anna Duczmal-Mroz, Przemysław Fiugajski, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Jakub Chrenowicz, Erki Pehk, Sabatino Vacca, Alexander Liebreich, and Nurhan Arman.

As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with the Johannes Brahms International Master Classes (Poertscach, Austria), the Ãtma Quartet (Poland), Baroque cellist Jessica Korotkin, pianists Dominic Gál and Urszula Stańczyk, and violinist Anna Kuk (Reverb Ensemble), including performances of major works by Franck, Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven, etc. in New York, Toronto, Czech Republic, Italy, Slovakia, and Poland. He is on the artist-faculty of Semaine Internationale Piano at Musique de Chambre (Switzerland) working with such distinguished artists as Edith Fischer, Jorge Pepi-Alos, and Marc Jaermann.

Noted by Tonebase Piano as “a revered pedagogue,” Mr. Dunn has given lectures, workshops and master classes at The Juilliard School, Royal College of Music (London) Southern Methodist University Meadows School of the Arts (Dallas), Bydgoszcz Academy of Music, Katowice Academy of Music, F. Chopin University of Music, Chetham's School of Music, McGill University, University of Puget Sound (Seattle), Laurier University, Canadian Music Centre (CMC), Vilnius New School of Music (Lithuania), Queen's University, and many others. His articles have been published in Canadian Music Educators’ Journal, Piano Magazine (formerly Clavier Companion), and Canadian Music Teacher. Of special importance to him was research at the former site of Auschwitz-Birkenau on music during the Holocaust, culminating in an article about Anita Lasker-Wallfisch (former cellist of the Auschwitz Women's Orchestra). He is featured in the Frances Clark Center From the Artist Bench series (2022). He has received awards and distinctions for his scholastic, musical, and pedagogical achievements including the Teacher Recognition Award (RTO), Graduate Prize of CFMTA National Essay Competition, and research-creation funding from the FRQSC and Canada Council for the Arts. 

His interest in a multitude of approaches to piano playing and musical personalities has taken him around the world. He participated in master classes with many renowned pianists, including Dmitry Alexeev, Dmitri Bashkirov, Seymour Bernstein, Rafał Blechacz, Andrea Bonatta, Janina Fialkowska, Leon Fleisher, Peter Frankl, Leslie Howard, Jenö Jandó, Robert Levin, Robert McDonald, John O’Conor, Choong-mo Kang, Tobias Koch, Julian Martin, Andrzej Jasiński, Seymour Lipkin, Matti Raekallio, Zbigniew Raubo, Hartmut Sauer, Ilja Scheps, Wojciech Świtała, Balasz Szokolay, and Nelita True. Currently based in Montreal, Dr. Dunn teaches at McGill University Schulich School of Music.

A double-graduate of the University of Toronto (MusBacPerf; B.Ed.), he also studied at Aspen Music Festival and School and The Juilliard School with Jacob Lateiner and Yoheved Kaplinsky. While in New York, he became one of the only members of his generation to study with Dorothy Taubman. Mr. Dunn graduated with Distinction from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice (MM, Diploma), where he was a student of Prof. Anna Górecka (daughter of composer H. M. Górecki). He completed his piano training in the class of Prof. Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. He holds a Doctor of Music (Performance) from McGill University Schulich School of Music, where he was invited to teach while still completing his studies. He worked extensively with Maria João-Pires in Portugal, about which the CBC published Five Things I Learned from Maria João-Pires. He also received important teaching from Andrei Gavrilov, Andrzej Jasiński, and Robert Levin.

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Pianist Ida Pelliccioli was born in Bergamo, Italy. She studied at the Nice Conservatoire de Région and at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris - Alfred Cortot in the class of     Serguei Markarov, Unesco Artist for Peace. During her studies, Ida Pelliccioli was awarded several scholarships, amongst them, one from the Zygmunt Zaleski Foundation and one from Fondation Albert Roussel.

Ida Pelliccioli participated in number of master-classes, among others with Jean-Claude Pennetier, Gerard Wyss and received a double diploma in interpretation and pedagogy, at the École Normale in Paris.

She received artistic guidance from Norma Fisher who teaches at the Royal College of Music in London, Stephen Gutman, and she is one of  the rare pianists to have received guidance from  the cuban concert pianist Jorge Luis Prats.

Ida chose to avoid the international competition circuit and, before becoming a full-time pianist, received a double master diploma at the Sorbonne University - in Italian Literature and in Ancient Greek History, specializing for the latter in the practice of music during the Hellenistic period.

Ida has been performing throughout Europe, Canada, South Africa and Australia. In 2024, she has debuted in Sweden, Lithuania, Austria, Iceland and Australia. In 2025 she will make her debut in New Zealand.

Ida shows a great interest in contemporary music: in 2023 she has performed music by Polish composer Elżbieta Sikora with soprano Joanna Freszel live on French radio – France Musique - in September 2023.

Ida has always been opened to other forms of art and collaborations. She appeared on screen, playing the role of a pianist, for the american TV Series “Find me in Paris” – Season 1 and 2 (2017/2018) and the french one “Munch” (2018).

In 2019, she has been casted to double the role of the pianist in the short movie „Quand on ne sait pas voler” directed by Thomas Keumurian and produced by FILMO.

In 2022 she performed a quintet programme and in 2023 she has collaborated with clarinetist Ann Lepage during a tour in the Netherlands.

In 2021 Ida also took up a teaching position at Paris Conservatoire du 8ème arrondissement. 

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Magisterra Soloists has become the face of visionary chamber music in Southern Ontario in London, Ontario, Magisterra Soloists has a current string roster of over 49 international musicians hailing from more than 25 countries, who have performed in over 130 concert performances and 35 school outreach visits, in collaboration with over 35 international special guest artists (piano, winds, voice). 

Founded in 2016 by internationally-acclaimed violinist, Artistic Director Annette-Barbara Vogel, the ensemble is proud to call upon some of the finest chamber musicians worldwide, bringing first rate festival-style chamber music concerts to the region through its “Magisterra at the Museum” concert series and annual Christmas concert series, among others. 

Magisterra Soloists plays a significant role in invigorating and enriching the local artistic experience. Its carefully crafted programs engage timeless masterworks in tandem with countless intriguing new discoveries. Performances showcase the ensemble’s boundless curiosity and total commitment to sharing gems from the string chamber music literature with the community. 

The ensemble’s interactive educational “Magisterra in Schools” program has reached thousands of youth from kindergarten to high school. Magisterra Soloists is particularly passionate about bringing face-to-face exposure to the arts to underprivileged and rural school communities. 

With the help of generous financial supporters, Magisterra Soloists aims to bring fully subsidized educational performances to school-aged children. To date, the ensemble has presented educational programming in both English and French to over 4000 students.

Magisterra Soloists is committed to providing invaluable professional development to young talent. Its “on the job” mentorship program, “Magisterra Fellows”, has already provided intensive artistic training to nearly two dozen deserving emerging artists, in support of their future careers as professional musicians.

To encourage the development of school-aged string players, Magisterra also hosts an annual searchlight audition: the Young Performer’s Award (YPA). Recipients of the YPA earn a small stipend and the opportunity to perform solo with the ensemble.

Magisterra Soloists is proud to serve both our local and national artistic community. As champions of Canadian art and artists (with commissioned works by Canadian composers Kevin Morse, Emily Doolittle, Edgar Suski, and Abby Richardson-Schulte), the ensemble has already successfully completed five multicity tours through both Canada and Brazil. 

2025 ROSTER Musicians

Annette-Barbara Vogel, violin 

Tom Landschoot, cello

Kelvin Mun, violin , violin

Jutta Puchhammer, viola

Katie Schlaijker, cello

James Waldo, cello

Mikela Witjes, violin

2025 GUEST Musicians

Anya Alexeyeva, piano

Mehdi Ghazi, piano 

Cordula Hacke, piano

Peter Shackleton, clarinet 

Shoshana Telner, piano

2025 Magisterra FELLOWS

Hannah Cole, soprano

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ARTISTS

David Vanbiesbrouck, oboe  David Vanbiesbrouck is an active orchestral free-lancer and lover of all things oboe. He lives in Guelph where he plays principal oboe with the Guelph Symphony, and owns and operates Oboerific Reeds. David is an alumnus of Wilfrid Laurier University where he studied with Jim Mason and Graham Mackenzie. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, foraging wild edibles and fungi, and curating his large collection of orchids. 

Kat Mrmak, viola Kat began learning violin and piano at age 4. She studied both instruments, as well as viola, at Wilfrid Laurier University, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree on both violin and viola. Kat has toured Europe twice with the Niagara Youth Orchestra, and Canada once with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. She was also a member of the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, under the late Boris Brott, for many years. Now, a freelance musician, Kat enjoys playing with various groups, including Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Niagara Symphony, Jeans n’ Classics, and others. She also teaches violin and piano, and plays fiddle in her band, Chandler McQuade with Kat.

Peter Ryan, cello Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Peter Ryan enjoys playing and teaching cello in a variety of contexts within the Greater Toronto Area. He is currently finishing a Doctor of Musical Arts at University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, where he also completed his M.M. degree. Before Cincinnati, Peter got his B.M. degree at NYU Steinhardt. His orchestra experience includes playing in the National Arts Center Orchestra, New World Symphony, and Kentucky Symphony Orchestra. With his piano trio, the SunRix trio, Peter has performed in several venues across the Cincinnati area and has participated in competitions such as the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Competition and the 46th annual Fischoff Competition. Peter has attended several summer music festivals including National Academy Orchestra of Canada, National Repertory Orchestra, and Meadowmount School of Music and has participated in several master classes with prominent cellists such as Hans Jorgen Jensen, Bonnie Hampton and Wendy Warner. Peter’s primary teachers include Alan Rafferty and Marion Feldman. In his spare time, Peter enjoys bird watching, hockey and playing chess.

violinist TBA

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ARTISTS

Corey Gemmell, violin  A Hamilton native, Corey Lyle Gemmell began violin lessons with local Hamilton teacher Jackie Sutherland and later continued lessons with Mark Fujino before studying with David Zafer and Mark Skazinetsky at the University of Toronto. While studying in Hamilton he joined the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (HPYO) where he played concertmaster under the direction of the legendary Glenn Mallory.  

Mr. Gemmell currently makes his home in Markham, Ontario. He has distinguished himself as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Canada, Germany, the United States and China. At present, he is concertmaster for the Burlington Symphony Orchestra, Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Toronto, and the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra.  He has also served in this capacity with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Brott Music Festival/National Academy Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, the Elora Festival Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Orchestra, the Ontario Philharmonic, and the Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra. Very active in Toronto’s thriving musical theatre scene, Mr. Gemmell has been concertmaster in such musicals as Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, the Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to name but a few. One of his personal favourites was performing as concertmaster in the Hugh Jackman Show. 

As a soloist Mr. Gemmell has performed much of the standard repertoire for violin and orchestra. In recent seasons, he performed solos and concertos by Brahms, Sarasate, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Sibelius, Prokofiev, and Vivaldi. 

Mr. Gemmell has been a member of Ensemble Vivant, the Elgin String Quartet, and the National Piano Trio.  He has been a frequent guest artist with New Music Concerts, with whom he performed and led workshops at the National Conservatory of Beijing in 2016. He has been a guest on such series as Live!@WestPlains in Burlington, the Chamber Music Society of Mississauga, Array Music, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society. 

Mr. Gemmell is a member of the faculty for the National Music Camp of Canada as well as a member of the Royal College of Examiners. He has also been on faculty at the Great Lakes International Summer Music Institute at Algoma University, the Royal Conservatory of Music, and the University of Western Ontario.  

In 2022, Mr. Gemmell recorded several new works of solo and chamber music by Canadian composers Ronald Royer, Daniel Mehdizadeh, Brandon Walker, and Elizabeth Raum in association with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, which were released in 2023. He can be heard in recordings of the Mozart Effect, having recorded several of Mozart’s Violin Sonatas and many of Mozart’s String Quartets for the series. With Ensemble Vivant he completed three albums, including a 2022 release, “iFugue”, to critical acclaim. He was one of the contributing artists to record the Royal Conservatory of Music’s complete violin syllabus in 2013.  He has also recorded other works by Mozart, Brahms, Ravel, Robert A. Baker as well as numerous movie and commercial recordings. 

Mr. Gemmell plays on a violin made in Milan in 1907 by Cipriano Briani and a violin made for him in 2005 by renowned Toronto luthier, Hratch Armenious, as well as bows by Lamy, Martin and Voirin. 

Benjamin Smith, piano  Described as having “scintillating technique” (Barrie Examiner), pianist Benjamin Smith has performed both as soloist and chamber musician across Canada and the United States. He has been a laureate of numerous competitions, including the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition and the CMC Stepping Stone Competition. Guest appearances include the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, the New Juilliard Ensemble, the Las Vegas Young Artists Orchestra, the Ontario Philharmonic, Orchestra London, the Burlington Symphony, the Windsor Symphony, and the University of Toronto’s Hart House Orchestra. As soloist, he has performed under esteemed conductors Rossen Milanov, Marco Parisotto, and Yunior Lopez, with concertos including rarities such as the Schoenberg Piano Concerto. Festival performances include repeat appearances at Toronto, Banff, Stratford, Niagara, Port Milford, and New Park (Ithaca, NY). American performances include recitals for the Texas Chopin Society and Chicago’s Landowska Harpsichord Society. Recent seasons have seen two concerts in Carnegie Hall: once as soloist in Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue with the Hart House Orchestra, and previously in recital with Canadian cellist Dongkyun An. A disc with Mr. An of Saint-Saens, Schumann, and Beethoven was released in December 2016. Other commercial recordings include a disc of Canadian chamber music (Aboriginal Inspirations, 2017) and extensive solo recordings for the 2022 Royal Conservatory Celebration piano series. 

Devoting considerable time to chamber music, Ben has been heard nationally across Canada on CBC Music, as well as radio broadcasts in the UK. He has partnered in recital with a myriad of renowned artists including Martin Beaver, Timothy Chooi, Colin Carr, Narek Hakhnazaryan, Jacques Israelievitch, Jinjoo Cho, Stanislav Pronin, Gábor Tarkövi, Øystein Baadsvik, and William VerMeulen, as well as with ensembles such as the Penderecki, Cecilia, Annex, and Tokai string quartets. For two seasons he performed as one-third of the Israelievitch-Smith-Ahn piano trio. Involved with music of our time as well, he is regularly found playing keyboards with the Esprit Orchestra in Toronto. 

Increasingly in demand as a teacher, Ben often serves as a juror for music festivals and competitions, and has adjudicated many of the largest music festivals in Canada. His students have had success in this realm as well, including the CFMTA National festival. He has also served on panels for competitions internationally, most recently for the OPUS competition in the US. 

Dr. Smith currently resides in Toronto, maintaining a concert schedule and serving on the faculties of both the Glenn Gould School (GGS) and the Taylor Young Artist Academy at the Royal Conservatory. Previously, he held a position on the piano faculty at Western University. His principal teachers included Andrea Battista, James Anagnoson, Julian Martin, and Christina Dahl. Along with a DMA from Stony Brook University, he holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Toronto, an Artist Diploma from the GGS, and a Masters from Juilliard. 

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTIST

Award-winning Canadian pianist Luke Welch was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and grew up nearby in Mississauga. He played his first public performance at age seven, and his early private piano teachers include Catherine Kuzeljevich and John-Paul Bracey.  He later graduated from Western University in Canada with Bachelor and Master of Music degrees and completed additional graduate studies in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Welch has also participated in the classes of Jean-Bernard Pommier, Cecile Ousset, Dang Thai Son, Stephane Lemelin, André Laplante.  He has performed extensively on the international stage including appearances in Canada, United States of America, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and New Zealand.

Highlight performances include recitals at Beethoven Haus in Bonn, Germany, St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, and Castletown House in Ireland.  He has also appeared at St. Andrew’s-on-the-Terrace in Wellington (New Zealand), Music Mondays in Toronto, the American Cathedral in Paris, Waalse Kerk in Breda (Netherlands), and Geelvinck Muziek Museum in Zutphen (Netherlands).

Welch made his debut as soloist with Durham Chamber Orchestra in Toronto and has since collaborated with a number of orchestras including the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Mumbles Symphony Orchestra, Winchmore String Orchestra, Greenway Strings, York Chamber Ensemble, and Oakville Symphony Youth Orchestra.

In addition to his performance commitments, he has also been highly sought after as an interdisciplinary collaborative pianist.  He has worked closely with a number of renowned international academies and companies including Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, Dans Ateliers, Holland Dance Festival, Codarts Rotterdam Conservatory, Royal Conservatory of the Hague, Dutch National Ballet, and National Ballet of Canada.

Welch’s recordings have international received critical acclaim, and his performances have been broadcast on CBC Radio, WQXR-FM in New York, WXXI in Rochester, KING-FM in Seattle, and Radio Classique.  His most recent album, ‘Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Piano Works’ has also been featured as CBC In Concert’s Album of the Week.

In addition to his published writing in the Globe and Mail (including ‘Life as  Black Classical Pianist’, and ‘Black sopranos Othalie Graham, Audrey Dubois Harris and Measha Brueggergosman on inclusion and Black Lives Matter‘), La Scena Musicale Magazine, and WholeNote Magazine, he was named the 2018 recipient of the Harry Jerome Arts Award – distinguished with national recognition by the Black Business and Professional Association.

Welch has taught in both Canada and Europe, and was appointed to the Faculty of Piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music Oscar Peterson Program in 2022.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTISTS

Magisterra Soloists has become the face of visionary chamber music in Southern Ontario in London, Ontario, Magisterra Soloists has a current string roster of over 49 international musicians hailing from more than 25 countries, who have performed in over 130 concert performances and 35 school outreach visits, in collaboration with over 35 international special guest artists (piano, winds, voice). 

Founded in 2016 by internationally-acclaimed violinist, Artistic Director Annette-Barbara Vogel, the ensemble is proud to call upon some of the finest chamber musicians worldwide, bringing first rate festival-style chamber music concerts to the region through its “Magisterra at the Museum” concert series and annual Christmas concert series, among others. 

Magisterra Soloists plays a significant role in invigorating and enriching the local artistic experience. Its carefully crafted programs engage timeless masterworks in tandem with countless intriguing new discoveries. Performances showcase the ensemble’s boundless curiosity and total commitment to sharing gems from the string chamber music literature with the community. 

The ensemble’s interactive educational “Magisterra in Schools” program has reached thousands of youth from kindergarten to high school. Magisterra Soloists is particularly passionate about bringing face-to-face exposure to the arts to underprivileged and rural school communities. 

With the help of generous financial supporters, Magisterra Soloists aims to bring fully subsidized educational performances to school-aged children. To date, the ensemble has presented educational programming in both English and French to over 4000 students.

Magisterra Soloists is committed to providing invaluable professional development to young talent. Its “on the job” mentorship program, “Magisterra Fellows”, has already provided intensive artistic training to nearly two dozen deserving emerging artists, in support of their future careers as professional musicians.

To encourage the development of school-aged string players, Magisterra also hosts an annual searchlight audition: the Young Performer’s Award (YPA). Recipients of the YPA earn a small stipend and the opportunity to perform solo with the ensemble.

Magisterra Soloists is proud to serve both our local and national artistic community. As champions of Canadian art and artists (with commissioned works by Canadian composers Kevin Morse, Emily Doolittle, Edgar Suski, and Abby Richardson-Schulte), the ensemble has already successfully completed five multicity tours through both Canada and Brazil. 

2025 ROSTER Musicians

Annette-Barbara Vogel, violin 

Tom Landschoot, cello

Kelvin Mun, violin , violin

Jutta Puchhammer, viola

Katie Schlaijker, cello

James Waldo, cello

Mikela Witjes, violin

2025 GUEST Musicians

Anya Alexeyeva, piano

Mehdi Ghazi, piano 

Cordula Hacke, piano

Peter Shackleton, clarinet 

Shoshana Telner, piano

2025 Magisterra FELLOWS

Hannah Cole, soprano

PROGRAM

Part 2 of Ms. Taves' Complete Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle: No.s 5, 9, 27 and 32 (the final sonata)

Read all about Heather Taves' Beethoven Sonata project here

ARTIST

Heather Taves Concert pianist Heather Taves brings her “radiantly beautiful, commanding and authoritative” artistry to audiences everywhere, as she connects with openness and humour to share musical worlds. An internationally respected classical artist, she is preparing the complete cycle of 32 Sonatas by Beethoven for completion in 2024. Heather shares this process in her entertaining blog “Beethoven Journey” at https://heathertaves.substack.com/

Gifted in multiple genres, Heather showcases her gifts as improvisor, composer, and writer. She is composing music for an event titled Painted Dances, joining forces with the popular Propeller Dance Company which includes wheelchair dancers, artist Julea Boswell, and emerging filmmaker Aaron Daniels Casey. As an improvisor, she plays keyboard in the Scott Parsons Band which presents stories of Black history to communities large and small. She has performed music by diverse living composers such as Israeli composer Oded Zehavi, Palestinian-Canadian composer John Kameel Farah, Turkish composer Can Kazaz, and British jazz pianist Julian Joseph.  Her vision is to share music in all its diverse facets as a powerful force to bring people together.

PROGRAM

Part 1 of Ms. Taves' complete cycle of Beethoven Piano Sonatas: No.s 17 ("Tempest"), 15 ("Pastorale"), 23 ("Appassionata")

Read all about Heather Taves' Beethoven Sonata project here

ARTIST

Heather Taves Concert pianist Heather Taves brings her “radiantly beautiful, commanding and authoritative” artistry to audiences everywhere, as she connects with openness and humour to share musical worlds. An internationally respected classical artist, she is preparing the complete cycle of 32 Sonatas by Beethoven for completion in 2024. Heather shares this process in her entertaining blog “Beethoven Journey” at https://heathertaves.substack.com/

Gifted in multiple genres, Heather showcases her gifts as improvisor, composer, and writer. She is composing music for an event titled Painted Dances, joining forces with the popular Propeller Dance Company which includes wheelchair dancers, artist Julea Boswell, and emerging filmmaker Aaron Daniels Casey. As an improvisor, she plays keyboard in the Scott Parsons Band which presents stories of Black history to communities large and small. She has performed music by diverse living composers such as Israeli composer Oded Zehavi, Palestinian-Canadian composer John Kameel Farah, Turkish composer Can Kazaz, and British jazz pianist Julian Joseph.  Her vision is to share music in all its diverse facets as a powerful force to bring people together.

PROGRAM

Dvorak: String Quintet, Op. 77

Schubert: Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 ("The Trout")

Program Notes

ARTISTS

Allene Chomyn, Violin A native of Western Canada, Allene Chomyn holds a Bachelor of Music Performance with Distinction from the University of Victoria (2005) and a Master of Music Performance from the University of Toronto (2007). She was a member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony from 2007-2023 and was featured as Concertmaster and soloist multiple times.

Allene can be seen performing regularly as Concertmaster of the Spiritus Ensemble and the Stratford Symphony Orchestra, and joining many other ensembles throughout Southern Ontario. One of Allene’s career highlights was being selected from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra (2011) which included a trip to Australia to perform in the Sydney Opera House, and whose performance became the largest live-streaming concert event in YouTube history, with over 30 million streams. Allene lives in Kitchener with her husband, bassist Ian Whitman, their two children, and their cute dog, Spike.

Nora Pellerin, Violin Nora Pellerin completed her Masters in Violin Performance at the University of Ottawa, under the tutelage of David Stewart, and received the Bessie Ewen Scholarship in Orchestral Studies. She got her undergraduate degree at McGill University, studying with Ellen Jewett and Andrew Dawes.

Nora has considerable experience playing with orchestras, including acting as concertmaster for the McGill Symphony Orchestra, University of Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and University of Ottawa Opera Orchestra. She was an apprentice with the Boris Brott National Academy Orchestra for many summers. Today, Nora performs with orchestras throughout Ontario, including those of London, Niagara, Windsor, Kingston and the (now former) Kitchener Waterloo Symphony. She was principal second in the Georgian Bay Symphony for many years, and more recently holds that position with the Peterborough Symphony. In addition, she has participated in several summer music programs, including Domaine Forget in Quebec and the Toronto Summer Music Academy and Festival. 

Rebecca Diderrich, Viola Born in London ON, Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from the University of Toronto where she studied with Lorand Fenyves, and a Professional Performance Certificate from Lynn University in Boca Raton Florida where she studied with Ralph Fielding. While living in Florida, Rebecca was the principal violist of the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra where she also appeared as a soloist.

She was a violist with both the Palm Beach Opera and Florida Grand Opera orchestras for many years, and played frequently with the Naples Philharmonic and the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival. Rebecca also worked as a studio musician in Miami, recording on albums produced for many artists including Gloria Estefan, Christian Castro and Natalie Cole. After returning to Canada to raise her children closer to home, Rebecca became a member of the (now former) Kitchener Waterloo Symphony.

Cathy Anderson, Cello A native of Guelph, Ontario, Cathy Anderson holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, where she studied cello with Paul Pulford and members of the Penderecki String Quartet. She earned a Master of Music degree at Yale University under the tutelage of Aldo Parisot, where she received regular coachings from members of the Tokyo String Quartet. Cathy has had the opportunity to perform in concert with the St. Lawrence, Penderecki and Borealis String Quartets, and has been heard as a soloist and chamber musician on CBC Radio. Cathy, along with three other members of the KWS, now plays in the Bremen String Quartet which performs frequently in the area and runs the KWS Youth Chamber Program. Before joining the KWS in 2007, Cathy played in the Thunder Bay Symphony and taught the cello studio at Lakehead University. She recently taught a semester at Wilfrid Laurier University, and played for the Drayton Entertainment productions of Evita and Annie.

Beth Ann de Sousa, Piano Pianist Beth Ann de Sousa holds an AMus from Western Ontario Conservatory, BMus from Wilfrid Laurier University and a MMUS from Western University with all degrees in Piano Performance. She is a founding member of the New Art Quartet and has performed frequently with the K-W Symphony Orchestra and the Canadian Chamber Ensemble. An experienced choral accompanist, Beth Ann has worked with numerous conductors including Mario Bernardi, Bernard Labadie, and Robert Shaw. Beth Ann is the accompanist in residence at Laurier, She teaches collaborative piano courses as well as co-ordinating the chamber music program. In addition, Beth Ann maintains a busy performance schedule as an accompanist and chamber musician.

Ian Whitman, Double Bass A native of Edmonton, Ian Whitman was introduced to the bass at age 17 and spent two years studying jazz at Grant MacEwan College. He went on to receive his Bachelor of Music degree at McGill University, where he studied with members of l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Ian completed his Master of Music from Yale University under the tutelage of Donald Palma, founding member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and during this time, made his debut at Carnegie Hall in New York and Symphony Hall in Boston. After a year at the New England Conservatory, Ian joined the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony as principal bass in 2008.

During his student years, Ian was a member of the National Youth Orchestra, the Banff Festival Orchestra and L'orchestre de la francophonie canadienne.. In 2009 Ian was one of only 5 Canadians chosen to be part of the very first “YouTube Symphony Orchestra,” for which 90 musicians from 27 countries were selected from thousands of entries to perform a concert at Carnegie Hall, under music director Michael Tilson Thomas.

He has performed with multiple Canadian orchestras, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic. Locally, Ian has appeared as soloist with the KW Symphony and the KW Chamber Orchestra, performed with the Penderecki String Quartet and works regularly with the KW Chamber Music Society in Waterloo and the Inner Chamber Series in Stratford. Since 2012, he has taught at Wilfrid Laurier and is delighted to be on faculty at Conrad Grebel University College.

PROGRAM

Haydn - Quartet in D Major, Op. 64, No. 5 (“The Lark”)

Chopin - Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52

Brahms - Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34

ARTISTS

Noted for “an extraordinary range of colour” (Montreal Gazette), and “poetic brilliance” (Toronto Star), Canadian pianist Francine Kay has performed extensively in Europe, North America, and Asia, at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center, Salle Gaveau, The National Gallery, Roy Thomson Hall, The Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, and Bargemusic. Francine Kay made her New York debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall as the winner and Recitalist of the Year of the New York Pro Piano Competition.

She has been soloist with orchestras such as the Toronto Symphony, the Princeton Symphony, New York’s West Side Chamber Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra London, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Victoria Symphony and Sinfonia Toronto among others, under conductors such as Georg Tintner, Mark Laycock, Nurhan Arman, Agnes Grossman, Kevin Mallon, Jonathan Yates, and Simon Streatfeild. 

Francine Kay’s recordings on the Analekta and Audio Ideas labels have received international acclaim. Her recording of the Debussy Preludes was nominated for a JUNO Award and selected by Germany’s Fono Forum as as Disc of the Month, citing its “astonishing grace and floating sonorities”. Francine Kay gave the premiere of Canadian composer Oskar Morawetz’s Four Contrasting Moods which became a live recording for CBC records.  Ms. Kay’s performances have been broadcast on NPR, the BBC, WFMT, WCNY, Radio France, and the CBC, among others.

Ms. Kay’s collaborations include groups such as the Penderecki, Avalon, Wister, Harlem, Arianna String Quartets, Cantata Profana and Trio Arkel. She has performed at festivals such as the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the Icicle Creek International Chamber Music Festival, Music Mountain, the Banff Summer Festival, the Orford Arts Centre, the International Course of Interpretation, Nowy Sacz, Poland and the 60th Chopin Festival, Marienbad, Czech Republic. 

Francine Kay was the recipient of the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto Career Development Award, the Chalmers Award, and grants from the Canada Council.

Ms. Kay received her Bachelors and Masters degrees at the Juilliard School studying with Adele Marcus, the Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School in the master classes of Leon Fleisher, and the Doctor of Musical Arts from SUNY Stony Brook studying with Gilbert Kalish. Ms. Kay was a chamber music fellow at Tanglewood, and a participant at the Banff Centre where she participated in the classes of George Sebok and Marek Jablonski. 

Francine Kay is currently on the faculty of Princeton University and is a regular faculty artist at the Zodiac Academy and Festival in the south of France. 

Celebrating their 36th  anniversary, the Penderecki String Quartet began their career as winners of the Penderecki Prize at the National Chamber Music Competition in Łódz, Poland in 1986.   Now based in Waterloo, Ontario where they have been Quartet-in-Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University since 1991, The Penderecki String Quartet has become one of the most celebrated chamber ensembles of their generation.  The four Penderecki musicians (now originating from Poland, Canada, and USA) bring their varied yet collective experience to create performances that demonstrate their “remarkable range of technical excellence and emotional sweep” (Toronto, Globe and Mail).

The PSQ's international performing schedule has included appearances in New York (Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Hong Kong (Academy for the Arts), Los Angeles (REDCAT Hall at Disney Center), St. Petersburg (Sheremetev Palace), the Adam Festival in New Zealand, and throughout Europe in Rome, Madrid, Paris, Belgrade, Prague, Krakow, Vilnius, and Zagreb.  The PSQ has also toured extensively in Mexico, Australia, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, and from coast to coast in Canada.

Dedicated educators, the PSQ have been recent guests at Bloomington Indiana University’s String Academy, the Beijing Conservatory, University of Southern California (Los Angeles), University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and with their partner universities in Osnabrück, Germany and Lyon, France.

To this day the PSQ is a devoted champion of the music of our time, having premiered over 100 new works from composers in Canada and abroad.   Penderecki Quartet's large discography includes over three dozen recordings including the chamber music repertoire of Beethoven and Brahms on both the Marquis and Eclectra labels, as well as the first Canadian release of the six Béla Bartók quartets.  Their disc of Marjan Mozetich’s “Lament in the Trampled Garden” won the 2010 JUNO Award for Best Composition.   In October 2013, the PSQ worked with Maestro Krzysztof Penderecki on his Third Quartet (2008) and performed it at Symphony Space in New York City on the occasion of his 80th birthday.  This followed with the recording of Penderecki’s Third Quartet along with quartets of Norbert Palej on the Marquis label.  In 2022, the PSQ was featured in Howard Shore’s soundtrack to David Cronenberg’s film Crimes of the Future.

The Penderecki Quartet has performed with diverse artists such as Atar Arad, Jeremy Menuhin, Stewart Goodyear, James Campbell and have recently appeared with jazz saxophonist Jane Bunnett, jazz pianists Egberto Gismonti, Don Thomson and David Braid, pipa virtuoso Ching Wong, Dancetheatre David Earle, Pentaedre Wind Quintet, actor Colin Fox, and New York turntable artist DJ Spooky.

The Penderecki Quartet continue to be active members of the Faculty of Music at Laurier University where they have built the string program to be one of the top programs in Canada, attracting an international body of students. Their annual Quartetfest at Laurier is an intensive study seminar and concert series that has featured such ensembles as the Tokyo, Fine Arts, Lafayette, Miro, Ying, and Ariana String Quartets.

A native of Toronto, violinist Jeremy Bell earned a B. Mus degree from the University of Toronto, and from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he received his Masters and Doctor of Music.

Dr. Bell is a recipient of numerous grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts and is a prize winner of the Eckhardt Grammatté National competition and the Conseil Québécois’ Prix Opus. He has studied with David Zafer, George Neikrug, Joyce Robbins, Metro Kozak and with members of the Orford, Juilliard, Tokyo, and Orion string quartets. Joining the Penderecki String Quartet in 1999, Dr. Bell is Artist in Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University where he teaches violin, chamber music, and lectures on the string quartets of Bartok and Beethoven. 

Described by the Toronto Star as a violinist who “agitates in the most intelligent and persuasive manner”, Bell has performed recently with the Penderecki Quartet at Arsenale Festival in Poland, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Is Arti Festival in Lithuania, MBZ Zagreb, State Museum of Music in St. Petersburg, REDCAT/Disney Centre in Los Angeles, Roxy/NOD in Prague, Fundacion Juan March in Madrid, Jane Mallet Theatre in Toronto, Paris University 8, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Indiana University in Bloomington, Casalmaggiore Festival in Italy, Tovar Festival Venezuela, Virtuosi Festival Brazil, Adam Festival New Zealand, the Hong Kong Academy, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, the Banff Centre in Alberta, and the Chan Centre in Vancouver.

With the Penderecki String Quartet, Bell has recorded over 25 discs including the premiere Canadian recording of the Béla Bartók string quartet cycle, Marjan Mozetich’s ‘Lament in the Trampled Garden’ (winner of the 2010 JUNO Award for composition), and the complete Grieg sonatas for violin and piano with pianist Shoshan Telner. From 2000-2007, Bell was the artistic director of NUMUS Concerts where he created several multi-media events at the Perimeter Institute and with Dancetheatre David Earle. He has performed a wide range of music, performing baroque with Consortium Aurora Borealis and Les Violons du Roy, Cuban jazz with Hilario Duran, as well as collaborating with pipa virtuoso Ching Wong, NYC’s DJ Spooky, and rap star Jay-Z. In addition, Bell has performed as soloist with many orchestras in Canada, USA and Mexico, including the Toronto Symphony, the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, and the CBC Vancouver Orchestra performing concertos of Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Dvorak, Hatzis, Locatelli, Lutoslawski, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Päart, Prokofiev, Saint-Saens, Schoenberg, and Vivaldi. As guest concertmaster he has appeared with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the New Zealand National Symphony, and the Canadian Opera Company. Dr. Bell plays a violin made in Canada by Mark Schnurr (2020).  Currently he is the artistic director of QuartetFest and the Leith Summer Festival, and has been on faculty at the Festival del Lago International Academy of Music since 2018.  

Internationally renowned violinist Jerzy Kapłanek has established himself as a chamber musician, member of the celebrated Penderecki String Quartet, soloist, dedicated teacher, adjudicator, artistic director of QuartetFest and lately as a jazz violinist

He performs throughout Europe, Asia, and North and South America over 80 concerts each season. His album of works by Karol Szymanowski with pianist Stéphan Sylvestre was highly praised by The Strad magazine as “an outstanding release”. His discography with the Penderecki Quartet comprises over two dozen CD’s (Marquis, Eclectra, CBC, CMC, EMI, Decca labels), including the highly acclaimed recording of the complete string quartets of Béla Bartók.

Mr. Kaplanek has collaborated with such notable musicians as pianists David Braid, Leopoldo Erice , Vladimir Feltsman, Janina Fialkowska Francine Kay, Lev Natochenny, Jamie Parker, Stéphan Sylvestre, cellists Marc Johnson, Antonio Lysy Paul Pulford, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and clarinetist James Campbell amongst others. He is frequently heard on CBC Radio and NPR. He has made solo appearances with the Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Peterborough and CBC Vancouver Symphonies and was a featured soloist at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Jerzy Kapłanek was born in Poland in 1965. His music education started at the age of six on piano and at the age of ten he began his violin studies. In 1984, he received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Conservatory in Bytom. In 1990, he graduated with a Master’s Degree in Musical Arts from the prestigious Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. There, he studied with the distinguished teachers Janusz Skramlik, Aureli Błaszczok and Stanisław Lewandowski

In 1987-88 he studied with Efim Boico and the Fine Arts Quartet at the Chamber Music Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1989-90, he was a student of Sylvia Rosenberg in New York City and in 1990-91 he studied with Daniel Heifetz, the Guarneri String Quartet and its violinists, Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley. Pursuing his interest in performance practice, Mr. Kapłanek also worked with the pioneer of baroque violin, Jaap Schroeder.

Jerzy Kapłanek is presently a Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where since 1991 he has been teaching violin and chamber music. He frequently gives master classes in Canada and abroad. Mr. Kaplanek performs on a 2016 Samuel Zygmuntowicz violin made in New York City.

Cellist Katie Schlaikjer is a member of the JUNO-winning Penderecki Quartet, quartet-in-residence at the Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. She was a member of the Colorado String Quartet from 2009 to 2013, and prior to that, cellist with the Avalon Quartet, award winners of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Melbourne Chamber Music Competition and the Concert Artists Guild (NY). A consummate chamber musician and soloist, Ms. Schlaikjer has performed around the globe, with tours throughout Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Croatia, China, Australia, Columbia, Mexico and across Canada and the U.S, performing at the Kennedy Centre, the Beijing Concert Hall, The National Arts Centre, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and many more. 

As a chamber musician, Katie Schlaikjer has performed the complete Beethoven and Bartok quartets with both CSQ and PSQ, amongst an almost encyclopaedic range of quartet and chamber music repertoire, including over 100 new works written for the Penderecki Quartet. She has appeared in the Ravinia, Tanglewood, Aspen, and Caramoor festivals, as well as Festival of the Sound, Music from Salem, Ottawa Chamberfest, the annual Music Mountain festival (CT), and has recorded for Albany Records, Marquis Classics, and Elektra.  

Of Ms. Schlaikjer’s many solo appearances, recent engagements have included the premiere of J. Mark Scearce’s cello concerto “Aracana” with the University of Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, and Haydn’s D major cello concerto with the Wuhan Symphony Orchestra in China. 

Guiding young artists and cultivating a vibrant studio of award-winning students has been a career objective as well as a passion, with several of her pupils continuing to advanced institutions such as the Glenn Gould School and Juilliard.  She has taught at the University of Connecticut, the Hartt Music School, Bard Conservatory and the New England Conservatory, and conducted masterclasses at the renowned UNAM (University) in Mexico City, Lynn University in Florida, the Cleveland Institute, the Colorado Quartet’s Soundfest, and Charles Castleman’s Quartet program.  At Wilfrid Laurier University, where she has been Artist-in-Residence with the Penderecki Quartet since 2013 where she teaches cello and chamber music. 

Violist Christine Vlajk has performed extensively in North and South America, Europe, much of China, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Some of the concert halls where she has performed with the Penderecki String Quartet have included Weill Concert Hall at Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, Kennedy Center, REDCAT Hall in Los Angeles, and the Hong Kong Academy to name a few.

She has held the positions of violist of the Penderecki String Quartet and Artist-in-Residence in viola and chamber music at Laurier University since 1997. She has received Prizes at the Banff, Coleman, Yellow Springs, Carmel and Evian Chamber Music Competitions. She was granted the Friedlander Fellowship from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory and Scholarships to attend the Aspen Center for Advanced Quartet Studies, The Julliard and Cleveland Quartet Seminars, all helping to pave the road for a life as a chamber musician. 

Originally from Denver, Colorado, Vlajk has Bachelor degrees in Viola Performance (B.M.) and Music Education (B.M.E.) from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a Masters degree in Viola Performance (M.M.) from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Her teachers have included Oswald Lehnert, Jerry Horner, Denes Koromzay and members of the Cleveland, Julliard, LaSalle, Takacs, and Fine Arts Quartets.

She has been guest soloist with the West Virginia Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Peterborough Symphony and the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra. She has performed recitals in Canada, the United States and Germany.

She has premiered two viola concertos by Peter Grella-Mozejko and Karol Gostyniski. As an orchestral player she has held the position of principal violist of the West Virginia Symphony and was a member of the New Hampshire Music Festival. 

Dedicated to the education of young people, she has performed an extensive series of children’s concerts across the United States and Canada. She has given master classes at Lynn Conservatory, Indiana University’s String Academy, Florida State University, University of Toronto, SUNY Fredonia, the Glenn Gould Professional School and many places in Mexico, China and New Zealand. 

As a member of the Penderecki String Quartet and the Montclaire Quartet, Vlajk has recorded nearly 30 recordings for the Koch, Leonarda, Eclectra, Marquis Classics and EMI labels. When she is not performing with her quartet or teaching her wonderful students, she enjoys nature, yoga, cooking and the finer things in life.

PROGRAM 

Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 76 No. 3, “Emperor”

Henriette Bosmans (1895-1952): String Quartet (1927)

Soo Yeon Lyuh (b. 1980): Yessori (Sound from the Past)

Robert Schumann: String Quartet Op. 41 No. 1 in A Minor

ARTISTS

The QUATUOR MAGENTA (Ida Derbesse, 1st violin; Elena Watson, 2nd violin; Claire Pass-Lanneau, viola; Fiona Robson, cello) is a string quartet founded in 2021 and based in Paris. For the upcoming seasons, the quartet is in residence at Proquartet - Centre Européen de Musique de Chambre and junior artist in residence at the Singer-Polignac Foundation. 

Finalist at the 8th Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna, the quartet also won prizes at the 2023 FNAPEC competition (Académie des Beaux-Arts scholarship) and the Zukunftsklang Competition Stuttgart 2022 (3rd prize). 

The Quatuor Magenta has been invited to perform at numerous festivals in France, including the Festival de Radio France Montpellier, the Musikfest Parisienne, the Festival de la Chaise-Dieu, Un Été en France with Gautier Capuçon, the Modigliani Quartet’s Festival Vibre !, and the International Piano Festival in la Roque d’Anthéron, as well as in Switzerland (Festival de la Collégiale in Neuchâtel) and in Germany (Klangraum Konzerte in Cologne). They are featured on flutist Julien Beaudiment’s album California Dreamin’ which was released in 2023 on Klarthe. 

This season, contemporary music has pride of place with Quatuor Magenta’s participation in the Kronos Quartet’s “50 for the Future” Marathon at the Philharmonie de Paris’s String Quartet Biennial, as well as a recording project of Olivier Korber’s string quartet and performances of Yves Balmer’s string quartet in spring 2024. 

The Quatuor Magenta studies with the Quatuor Ébène at their quartet academy at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, with the Quatuor Modigliani in the new Élite program at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, and with Rainer Schmidt of the Hagen Quartett at the Basel University of Music. They are grateful for the support of the Culture and Musique Foundation (Fondation de France) and that of ADAMI, and they work with Chapeau l’Artiste Production. 

PROGRAM

Exploring the historical ties between France and North America through music, and the mutual influence between 20th century French and North American composers.

Darius Milhaud: Scaramouche, Op. 165 (arranged for piano 4-hands by Magdalena Galka)

Francis Poulenc: Sonata for Piano Four Hands, FP 8

Germaine Tailleferre: Impromptu 

Francis Poulenc: Improvisation No. 7 in C Major, FP 63/7 

Claude Debussy: L’isle joyeuse, L. 106 

INTERMISSION

Alexina Louie: “Memories from an Ancient Garden”, No. 2 from Scenes from a Jade Terrace 

Frederic Rzewski: “Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues”, Four North American Ballads No. 4 

Samuel Barber: Souvenirs for Four Hands, Op. 28

Jean-Luc Therrien

’For the early birds, there was a half hour chamber music performance by students of the Glenn Gould School. Jean-Luc Therrien, in his final year of the Artist Diploma program, performed seven of the nine movements from Robert Schumann’s Waldszenen (Forest Scenes) Op. 82. It was easy to find oneself in the haunted forest of Schumann’s imagination. His playing was absolutely exquisite.’’ Named one of the “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30” by CBC Music in 2020, it was said of pianist Jean-Luc Therrien that he “[…] was able to stand out through his frank playing, […] not hesitating to go off the beaten track to reveal to us his personal reading of certain passages. A very refreshing performance. » (La Scena Musicale)

With his playing always resolute, committed and sincere, the native of Repentigny in Quebec has for several years led an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, collaborative pianist and educator throughout the world. Among other collaborations, he has shared the stage with notable musicians and ensembles including cellist Colin Carr, cellist Zlatomir Fung, The Happenstancers and the Claudel-Canimex Quartet. In February 2022, he was a soloist with the Royal Conservatory of Music Orchestra at Koerner Hall (Toronto) under the baton of conductor Tania Miller. As a soloist, he collaborated with Jeunesses Musicales Canada (2016) and Debut Atlantic (2022) for solo tours in Quebec and the Maritime Provinces. He has also appeared at various festivals and concert series such as the Bach Festival (Montreal), Britten Pears Arts (United Kingdom) and Orford on the Road (Quebec).

Some recent achievements include his participation in the prestigious career development program, The Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency at the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), as well as his debut on national radio with the broadcast on CBC Music of a recital recorded in Toronto.

Tristan Savella

Based in Toronto, Filipino-American pianist Tristan Savella has been an active soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Canada, and Europe. His career has taken him to performances at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in New York City, the Schloss Mirabell in Salzburg, Austria, and the Canadian Opera Company’s Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre in Toronto. In 2019, he performed Saint Saens’ Carnival of the Animals with the Toronto Concert Orchestra, under Vincent Cheng, at Flato Markham Theater in Markham, Ontario and in 2013, his Piano Trio was chosen to represent the Eastman School of Music as part of “The Conservatory Project”, sponsored by the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. 

Tristan holds a Bachelor of Music in Applied Music from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, a Master of Arts (Klavier Solistenausbildung) with highest distinction from the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School in Toronto, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Toronto. He is also an alumnus of the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan. His principal teachers have included T.J. Lymenstull, George Kern, John O’Conor, Lydia Wong, Jamie Parker, and the late Marietta Orlov and Nelita True.

Furthermore, Tristan is the recipient of multiple prizes at various national and international competitions, including third place at the Concours Flame in Paris, first place at the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition in New York City, and a finalist prize at YoungArts Week – sponsored by the National YoungArts Foundation – in Miami. Additionally, Tristan was awarded third prize at the 2018 Glenn Gould School Chamber Music Competition, alongside cellist, Kimberly Jeong. Apart from performing, Tristan works as a private piano and music theory teacher in Toronto, as well as an accompanist at The Royal Conservatory of Music and the Canadian Children’s Opera Company. Aside from music, Tristan enjoys traveling and is an avid tennis and ping pong fan.

PROGRAM

Reena Esmail - Varsha (2019), 

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson - Lamentations: Black/Folk Song Suite 

Fuguing Tune: resolute

Song Form: plaintive

Calvary Ostinato

Perpetual Motion

Benjamin Britten - Suite for Solo Cello No. 1, Op. 72 

Canto primo: Sostenuto e largamente

Fuga: Andante moderato

Lamento: Lento rubato

Canto secondo: Sostenuto

Serenata: Allegretto pizzicato

Marcia: Alla marcia moderato

Canto terzo: Sostenuto

Bordone: Moderato quasi recitativo Moto perpetuo e Canto quarto: Presto

---intermission---

Andrea Casarrubios - SEVEN (2020) for solo cello

J.S. Bach - Suite for Solo Cello No. 4 in E-flat Major, BWV 1010

Prelude

Allemande

Courante

Sarabande

Bourrée I

Bourrée II

Gigue

ARTIST

Ms. Graef performed a wonderful concert for us a couple of years back. Here is her return engagement.

American cellist Anita Graef has garnered praise as a musician of “superb artistry” (Pasadena Now) who plays with “high energy and polish” (WQXR). She has appeared both nationally and internationally in concerto, recital and chamber music engagements, while establishing a reputation as an artist who is equally at home exploring traditional as well as contemporary works, along with a deep commitment to service, outreach and education. Notable appearances include features in Strings Magazine, as well as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert series, and “Concerts from the Library of Congress.” She has also performed as a guest of various radio programs, including WQXR, WFMT and NPR, among others.

As the winner of the 2022 Gheens Young Artist Award and the 2021 American Prize, recent seasons have seen concerto debuts from Ms. Graef with the Louisville Orchestra, the Arkansas Philharmonic, the Riverside Symphony, the Miami Valley Symphony and many others. She recently concluded an appointment as the 2023 Duncanson Artist-in-Residence for the Taft Museum of Art. Upcoming recital and chamber music appearances include engagements with the Norton Museum of Art (West Palm Beach, FL), Saugerties Pro Musica, the Turner Center for the Arts (Valdosta, GA), Musica Sierra (Lake Tahoe/Reno, NV), the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, and the Partnership for the Performing Arts (Brookings, OR), with return appearances to “Live from WFMT” and others. Ms. Graef has appeared at numerous festivals, most recently including the Victoria Bach Festival, Green Lake Festival of Music, along with Artist-in-Residence positions at pianoSonoma and Lake George Music Festival. In 2023, Anita assumed the role of Artistic Director for Tallgrass Chamber Music Festival.

Ms. Graef also serves as the Artistic Director of the Juliani Ensemble, an inventive, multi-faceted chamber ensemble, with whom she performs extensively both on tour and in residence in Chicago, directing their Saturday Salons series. In 2023, along with the other core members of the Juliani Ensemble, she helped to launch an outreach program in collaboration with the Mayfair Arts Center providing free music instruction, lessons and resources to students of all ages and backgrounds in Chicago’s South Side neighborhoods.

Born into a family of professional musicians, Anita grew up surrounded by music. Her introduction started with piano studies, while beginning to study cello at age four, later making her concerto debut at the age of twelve. She went on to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, where she studied with professor Anthony Elliott. Following this, she received her Master’s Degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a CSO/CCM Fellow, under the tutelage of Ilya Finkelshteyn.

When not making music, Anita enjoys reading, cooking, crocheting, weight lifting, hiking, horseback riding, any kind of dance training, spending time with friends and family, volunteer work and exploring new cities.

Ms. Graef performs on a modern Italian cello by Ferdinando Garimberti, dated 1923.

PROGRAM

Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) -  Piano Trio in E-flat Major

Kevin Lau - A Simple Secret

Robert Schumann - Trio No. 1 in D Minor Op. 63

ARTISTS

Violinist Scott St. John, from London Ontario, is known for his joyful style of music-making and inspiring chamber music coaching. Scott is Concertmaster and Artistic Partner of the innovative ROCO Chamber Orchestra in Houston, Texas, and teaches Chamber Music at University of Toronto. He performs frequently with the St. John – Mercer – Park Piano Trio, and returns often to the summertime Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont. Recently Scott was appointed as “Chamber Music Artist-in-Residence” at Western University in London Ontario.

Rachel Mercer Described as a “pure chamber musician” (The Globe and Mail) creating “moments of pure magic” (Toronto Star), Canadian cellist Rachel Mercer has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician across five continents.

Grand prize winner of the 2001 Vriendenkrans Competition in Amsterdam, Rachel is Principal Cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and Artistic Director of the “5 at the First” Chamber Music Series in Hamilton. Rachel regularly collaborates with her longtime duo partner, pianist Angela Park, and was cellist of JUNO Award-winning piano quartet Ensemble Made In Canada (2008–2020), AYR Trio (2010–2020), and the Aviv Quartet (2002–2010). Rachel has given masterclasses across North America, South Africa, and in Israel and has given talks on performance, careers, and the music business. An advocate for new Canadian music, Rachel has commissioned and premiered over 25 solo and chamber works, including cello concertos by Stewart Goodyear and Kevin Lau.

Rachel is now the Principal Cellis, NYCO.

Angela Park has established herself as one of Canada’s most sought-after pianists. Praised for her “stunningly beautiful pianism” (Grace Welsh Prize, Chicago), “beautiful tone and sensitivity” (American Record Guide), and for performing “with such brilliant clarity it took your breath away” (Chapala, Mexico). Angela’s versatility as both soloist and chamber musician has led to performances across Canada, as well as in the United States, Europe, Japan and Mexico. She has performed for such notable series as Montreal’s Pro Musica, Ottawa Chamberfest, Toronto Summer Music Festival, Parry Sound’s Festival of the Sound, Winnipeg Virtuosi, Debut Atlantic and Prairie Debut Tours, Orchestra London Canada, Sinfonia Toronto, Stratford Symphony, and the Northern Lights Music Festival in Mexico.

 Angela developed a passion for chamber music early on in her music studies, and this has led to a varied career as a chamber musician. She has developed a longstanding collaborative partnership with violist Sharon Wei, both as a duo, and as former founding members (2006-2022) of the renowned Ensemble Made In Canada. Their work together reached across every province and territory across Canada, culminating in a JUNO Award for their Mosaïque Album in 2021. They have also toured as a duo for Debut Atlantic and Prairie Debut, and continue to collaborate regularly with other musicians across the country.

Cellist Rachel Mercer and Angela have also forged an important duo partnership since their first performance in 2006. As the Mercer-Park Duo, they have performed and recorded a vast range of repertoire for cello and piano with a focus on Canadian contemporary composers. Rachel and Angela have been privileged to work with violinist Yehonatan Berick as the AYR Trio (2010-2020), with Mayumi Seiler as the Seiler Trio, and with Scott St. John as the St. John-Mercer-Park Trio.

Angela was previously a pianist for Piano Six – New Generation, an organization that toured remote communities across Canada. In 2019 she joined pianist Stéphan Sylvestre to form a piano duo, focusing on the complete Brahms Symphonies in their four-hand versions. Among other collaborations, Angela has performed with such international artists as violist Rivka Golani, violinist Martin Beaver, clarinetist James Campbell, soprano Leslie Fagan, and leading members of the Montreal and Toronto Symphonies.

NOTES

Rebecca Helferich Clarke (27 August 1886 – 13 October 1979) was a British classical composer and violist. Internationally renowned as a viola virtuoso, she also became one of the first female professional orchestral players in London.[1]

Rebecca Clarke had German and American parents, and spent substantial periods of her life in the United States, where she permanently settled after World War II. She was born in Harrow and studied at the Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music in London. Stranded in the United States at the outbreak of World War II, she married composer and pianist James Friskin in 1944. Clarke died at her home in New York at the age of 93.

Darren Sigismund 2010 JUNO nominee and Galaxie Rising Star winner Canadian trombonist Darren Sigesmund has firmly established his Strands project as one of Canada's leading national and international touring ensembles [for much more, just google Sigismunc]

Here is a veritable Trio to End All Trios! Friends and incredible musicians all (Scott and Angela are  husband/wife), they make for a rare combination! (Literally rare, since they all have day jobs in different places - Scott at U of T; Rachel wtih National Arts Center Orchestra, and Rachel at Western.) So we’re very happy that they could manage a date for us!

PROGRAM

Nov 6 - Concert 1

Brahms: Sonata for clarinet and piano Op. 120 No. 1 in F minor

Brahms:  Three Intermezzi Op. 117 (piano)

Brahms:  Trio for clarinet, cello and piano Op. 114

Nov 7 - Concert 2

Brahms: Sonata for clarinet and piano Op. 120 No. 2 in Eb major 

Brahms:  Clarinet Quintet Op. 115 (clarinet, string quartet) 

Watch James Campbell talk about the Brahms Clarinet Quintet here: https://vimeo.com/769299298 

Selected Program Notes

ARTISTS

James Campbell, clarinet  A Juno award winner and Order of Canada recipient, James Campbell has been called ‘Canada’s pre-eminent clarinetist and wind soloist’ by the Toronto Star, ‘a national treasure’ by the CBC, and ‘one of the top half dozen clarinetists in the world today’ by Fanfare Magazine.

James has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in more than 35 countries with over 65 orchestras, including the Boston Pops, London Symphony and Philharmonic, and every major orchestra in Canada. He has collaborated with Glenn Gould and Aaron Copland and toured with over 35 string quartets, including the Guarneri, Amadeus (when he replaced Benny Goodman on a tour of California) and Vermeer. Of his more than 50 recordings, the BBC and The Times UK rated his recording of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet as the best available. He was named Canada’s Artist of the Year, awarded the Queen’s Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medal, an Honorary Doctor of Laws, and was recently inducted into the CBC’s Classical Music Hall of Fame.

James has been the Artistic Director of the Festival of the Sound, the annual summer Canadian chamber music festival, since 1985 and has programmed over 1500 concerts for the festival. Under his direction, the festival has travelled to England, Japan and the Netherlands, and been the subject of documentaries by BBC Television, CBC Television and TV Ontario.

From 1988-2019, James was a Professor of Music at the famed Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University. His former students now occupy positions in orchestras such including Boston Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, and St Louis Symphony, professorships in numerous conservatories worldwide, and Grammy-nominated performers.

James is the subject of numerous features and cover stories in Clarinet Magazine (USA), Clarinet and Sax (UK), Piper Magazine (Japan), and Gramophone, and is featured in the book ‘Clarinet Virtuosi of Today’ by British author and clarinet authority Pamela Weston.  James lives in Canada and continues to give concerts and masterclasses worldwide.

Leopoldo Erice, piano Leopoldo Erice is a Spanish pianist born in Madrid who enjoys a performing and teaching career, which has brought him to Europe, the two Americas, Asia, and Africa. He is a faculty member at the University of Ottawa, has been a member of the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada), has held the position of Associate Professor of Music at the American University of Sharjah (UAE), and also has taught at Middle Tennessee State University (USA). In 2006, Leopoldo founded the Festival Internacional de Música Clásica de Ribadeo (Spain). Erice has won several prestigious national and international awards, and has made recordings for television and radio programs in Spain, Argentina, Syria, and the USA. Leopoldo studied in his home country at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, in Holland at the Koninklijk Conservatorium, and, as a Fellow of the prestigious “la Caixa” Foundation Fellowship Program (Spain), at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University (Bloomington, USA). He holds the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts from the State University of New York at Stony Brook (USA). For more information, please visit www.LeopoldoErice.com. 

Penderecki String Quartet

Jeremy Bell, violin

Jerzy Kapłanek, violin

Christine Vlajk, viola

Katie Schlaikjer, cello

The PSQ have been Quartet-in-Residence at Canada's Wilfrid Laurier University since 1991. Current members are from Poland, Canada, and the USA. Previously they were affiliated with the University of Wisconsin (1988–91). The quartet's annual Quartetfest at Laurier is an intensive study seminar and concert series.

The quartet's recording of Marjan Mozetich's Lament in the Trampled Garden won the Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year in 2010.

The Penderecki String Quartet is a champion of contemporary music and has premiered or commissioned over 100 new works from composers in Canada and abroad. Selected composers include Andrew Ager; Carmen Braden; Glenn Buhr; Ka Nin Chan; Brian Cherney; Omar Daniel; Srđan Dedić; John Estacio; Anthony Genge; Jarosław Gołembiowski; Peter Hatch; Christos Hatzis; Daniel Janke; Veronika Krausas;[4] Alice Ho; Matthew Malsky; David L. McIntyre; Piotr Grella-Możejko; Kelly-Marie Murphy; Norbert Palej; Laurie Radford; Jeffrey Ryan; J. Mark Scearce; David Scott; Linda Catlin Smith; Jesse Stewart; Kotoka Suzuki; and Marek Żebrowski.

In October 2013, the PSQ worked with Maestro Krzysztof Penderecki on his Third Quartet (2008) and performed it at Symphony Space in New York City on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

The Penderecki String Quartet was the first Canadian quartet to have recorded the complete Béla Bartók string quartet cycle.

In 2015 Polish composer Marek Żebrowski wrote "Fire" ("Pożar") for the quartet, which David Lynch used for his animated short of the same name.

The Penderecki String Quartet has performed world-wide, including appearances in New York (Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Hong Kong (Academy for the Arts), Los Angeles (REDCAT Hall at Disney Center), St. Petersburg (Sheremetev Palace), the Adam Festival in New Zealand, and throughout Europe in Rome, Madrid, Paris, Belgrade, Prague, Kraków, Vilnius, and Zagreb. The PSQ has also toured extensively in Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil and from coast to coast in Canada.

PROGRAM

Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 20 No. 4

Webern:  Langsammer Satz

Beethoven: Op. 59 No. 2

ARTISTS

This excellent ensemble is the Quartet in Residence at the Mannes School of Music in Manhattan. They all attended Rochester School of Music in the state of New York, and selected their name from the formerly huge Kodak company situated in Rochester.

Kodak Quartet is violinist Edgar Donati, violinist Martin Noh, violist Daniel Spink and cellist Blake Kitayama. They have performed with Grammy winning artists Time for Three, Kronos Quartet, and Jack Quartet and worked with members of the American, Beethoven, Juilliard, Pacifica, Verona, Jupiter, Arianna, JACK, and Ying Quartets.

“The dynamic, award-winning string quartet, Kodak Quartet, is setting the world on fire with their passionate and energetic playing". They are highly regarded for their work with contemporary composers on new compositions and for presenting traditional works with a contemporary flavor. Kodak's members hail from the US, Canada and France. Their international performance career brings concerts to a great diversity of people, season highlights include concerts at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall and the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance. They have also performed for thousands of children at non-traditional performance venues including school concerts, movie theaters, and working alongside Rob Kapilow in his program “What Makes it Great?”. Kodak Quartet formed in Rochester, New York while attending the Eastman School of Music and are currently based in New York, NY.

Kodak Quartet has performed with Grammy winning artists Time for Three, Kronos Quartet, and Jack Quartet. They have worked with members of the American, Beethoven, Juilliard, Pacifica, Verona, Jupiter, Arianna, JACK, and Ying Quartets. The Kodak Quartet is currently the Cuker and Stern Resident String Quartet at the Mannes School of Music. “ [from their web pages on google)

Born in South Africa to French and Spanish parents, Edgar Donati is a true citizen of the world. He is fluent in three languages and has lived in many different countries, forging his own eclectic style. He began his studies at the age of 5 with Tedi Papavrami and Viollça Agolli, immediately winning first prize in Paris’ Flame Competition and the Vatelot Violin Competition. After moving to Serbia and winning first prize in the International Petar Konjovic Competition and the Young Artists Podium, Edgar made his solo debut with the Serbian Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra. He maintains an active performing career, and has given several solo recitals in Belgrade’s Kolarac Concert Hall and at the Serbian Academy of Fine Arts (SANU). He is also regularly invited to perform in Montreal, France, and Guadeloupe.

Edgar spent time at the Conservatoire National Régional de Paris before moving to North America where he received his Bachelor of Music and Masters of Music from McGill University’s Schulich School, studying with Marcelle Mallette and Axel Strauss. He also holds a Performer Diploma from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University under the tutelage of Mauricio Fuks. He has worked with Salley Koo and currently studies with Lucie Robert at the Mannes School of Music, as part of the graduate string quartet. He has also worked with several famous masters such as Alexandre Brussilovski, Vladimir Landsman, Dejan Bogdanovic, Yuri Volguine, Boris Kuschnir and Zakhar Bron

The Korean-Canadian violinist, Martin Noh, was born in South Korea and raised in Canada. He is an active performer, playing solo, chamber, and improvised works both nationally and internationally. In 2015, Martin made his debut with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, and since then, has performed as a soloist with various symphony and chamber orchestras throughout Ontario. In 2017, he was selected as a national finalist at the Canadian Music Competition.

Martin has traveled the world as an orchestral musician, performing in world-renowned venues across North America, Europe, and abroad. A scholarship recipient at the Eastman School Of Music, Martin studied under the tutelage of Professor Oleh Krysa and has worked closely with members of the Ying Quartet as part of the Intensive Chamber music seminar. He has also worked with Salley Koo at Montclair State University. Martin is currently studying with Lucie Robert as part of the Cuker and Stern Graduate String Quartet residency.

In addition to his active performing career, Martin is also a dedicated teacher. He has maintained his international studio for over 5 years, sharing his knowledge and passion for music with students around the world.

Outside of violin, Martin enjoys playing various sports such as table tennis, basketball, badminton, and tennis. He currently plays on a violin made by Andranik Gaybaryan in 2018.

Blake Kitayama is a chamber musician, orchestral cellist, and music educator who strives to foster an accessible musical dialogue. Blake made his solo debut with the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra in 2003. Alongside positions with the Jackson Symphony and Huntsville Symphony, he most recently held a position with the Winston Salem Symphony and has recorded for Navano Records. In addition to performing recitals across the United States, Blake has appeared on national broadcasts APM’s Performance Today and WDAV. He currently enjoys performing concerts and outreach nationally and internationally with the Kodak Quartet.

An advocate for collaboration and new music, Blake has continuously worked across genres. He has provided cello and vocal harmonies for songwriters such as Sofie Zamchick, Anna Schofield, Fermata Caesura, and Fox Apt . In the classical world, he has also debuted dozens of new classical works for mixed ensembles written by his contemporaries.

As an educator, Blake has extensive experience working with all ages and backgrounds. He has maintained a private studio for over 8 years, and has taught at summer festivals alongside the Phoenix Quartet. He seeks to build curiosity and engage his students in the awareness and process that is cello playing.

He earned a Bachelor of Music from Vanderbilt University under the instruction of Felix Wang and his Master of Music at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with Brooks Whitehouse. He most recently studied with Christine Lamprea at Montclair State University and Jay Campbell at the Mannes School of Music, as a member of the Cuker and Stern Graduate String Quartet.

Daniel Spink, violist, is an active performer, and collaborator with living composers. He has premiered and recorded new works for both solo viola and string quartet. He 

performs nationally and internationally as a solo, chamber, orchestral musician, and teacher with both violin and viola and with the string quartet, Kodak Quartet. Daniel regularly performs in outreach settings including past solo appearances with Central City Opera’s Inside the Orchestra chamber music performances for Merkin Hall’s “Bridges” series, the Eastman School’s Music for All series, and the Rochester Early Music Festival for Coffee Connection. Daniel has been a member of CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra since 2019. Daniel made his solo debut with orchestra at age 10 on violin. In 2016, Daniel was a finalist in the American Viola Society Festival’s National Solo Competition.  A lover of cross genre improvisation, he teaches and regularly performs in improvised concerts. In 2016, Daniel was a finalist in the American Viola Society Festival’s National Solo Competition. As a teacher, Daniel maintains a selective international studio of students across the US and overseas, including students In Europe, the UK, Japan, and Singapore. Daniel teaches violin, viola, and improvisation. Mr. Spink received his Bachelor of Music and Masters of Music at the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Carol Rodland and Masumi Per Rostad and was professor Rostad’s teaching assistant.   Growing up in Colorado gave Daniel a lifelong love of sunshine and the outdoors.  Away from the viola, he enjoys practicing mixed martial arts, swimming, cycling, and hiking and has performed as a jazz saxophonist at jazz clubs and venues in Denver.   Daniel plays an unnamed Italian violin from the 1860’s on generous loan from the Eastman School of music, and viola made by Nicolas Augustin Chappuy in 1768.

PROGRAM

Amanda Maier (1853-1894): Sonata in B Minor

Allegro

Andantino

Allegro molto vivace

Luis Ramirex:  Iridescence (2024)

Alice Ho: Dark Tales (2023)

César Franck (1822-1890): Sonata for Violin and Piano

Allegretto moderato

Allegro

Recitativo-Fantasia

Allegretto poco mosso

Program Notes

ARTISTS

For twenty-four years through live performances and acclaimed recordings, violinist Nancy Dahn and pianist Timothy Steeves have built an international career in the Canadian chamber ensemble Duo Concertante. Their name comes from the inscription over Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” sonata, “in stilo molto concertante,” which implies the two performers are equal, dynamic voices. This defines their unique artistic relationship and the “deeply integrated performances that flow naturally as if the music were being created on the spot” (Gramophone). Outstanding musicians, champions of new Canadian music, visionary artistic directors, and inspiring mentors, Duo Concertante have forged a musical legacy and strive to provoke thought and engagement through music in innovative ways.

After their first concert in 1997, the Halifax Chronicle-Herald called Duo Concertante “two packages of musical dynamite that would credit any stage on the planet.” Since then, they have performed in more than 700 concerts across North America, Europe, Central America and China. Their recitals have received numerous accolades including the following critical quotes from national and international press:

• Grace and fire… fury and repose…a triumphant mass of non-stop energy – Wholenote

• Majesty, passion and excitement. Inspiring! – Wiener Zeitung (Vienna)

• Artistry, poetry and impeccable technique – La scena musicale

Duo Concertante’s recordings have set the benchmarks for musicians around the world. Of their epic recording Beethoven: Complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano (a 3 CD album), preeminent critic John Terauds stated “…these beautiful interpretations are so good right down to the tiniest of details that they deserve to be called a reference in… contemporary performance”. Gramophone writes that Dahn and Steeves “do Atlantic Canada proud in this splendid new set” and describes their interpretation as a “miracle of… knowledge and poetry”. The album received critical praise in German, Austrian, British and Canadian media; it was featured for months on Air Canada’s entertainment system and is heard on CBC radio almost weekly.

Duo Concertante have twelve other acclaimed recordings on top Canadian labels ATMA, Centrediscs, and Marquis, many of which have won awards and special recognitions. The all-Canadian works CD Wild Bird includes Murray Schafer’s Duo for Violin and Piano which won a 2011 Juno Award (Classical Composition of the Year). A two-disc set of J.S. Bach’s Sonatas for Violin and Keyboard, received the first of three consecutive ECMAs for Classical Recording of the Year, followed by Incarnation in 2018 and Perfect Light in 2019. Their Franz Schubert: Music for Violin and Piano was selected by CBC Music as one of “Canada’s Top 20 Classical Albums of 2020.” Ecology of Being, released in 2022, features music written especially for Duo Concertante and inspired by the climate emergency. It has been praised as “a powerful and deeply moving album performed with world-class expressiveness and musicality …. This release is a stunning collection of highly personal works wonderfully performed by the duo.” (The Wholenote)

Duo Concertante are the founders and artistic directors of the Tuckamore Festival – an internationally acclaimed chamber musical festival held for two weeks each August. For 22 years, Tuckamore – a major contributor to the cultural life of Newfoundland and Labrador – has put the province on the map by welcoming leading artists and emerging musicians worldwide to St. John’s. The Tuckamore Festival has presented more than 140 outstanding guest artists; mentored more than 400 young musicians and composers representing 10 countries around the globe; travelled to more than two dozen communities for school tours and performances; and produced more than 500 performances and events. In addition to Tuckamore, Duo Concertante regularly perform and collaborate with other artists of international stature at summer music festivals throughout North America, including the Ottawa International Chamberfest, Cactus Pear Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music, Festival of the Sound, Indian River Festival, Domaine Forget and Music Niagara.

As champions of Canadian music, Duo Concertante have few equals, and their lasting impact will be a legacy of new works created through their unprecedented commitment to commissioning new works. To date the duo has been responsible for sixty-nine new works and original arrangements for violin and piano by leading composers. This includes works by Andrew P. MacDonald (Double Concerto for violin and piano, Op. 51), Alice Ho (Capriccio Ballo, Cœur à cœur), Chan Ka Nin (Cool Mountain Water, Late in a Slow Time, Incarnation), Denis Gougeon (Chants du cœur), Omar Daniel (Wild Honey), Jean Lesage (Portrait of a Sentimental Musician in a Distorting Mirror), Kelly-Marie Murphy (Dance Me to Your Beauty with a Burning Violin), Brian Current (Faster Still with string quartet), Linda Bouchard (Spill Out), Kati Agócs (Supernatural Love), Andrew Staniland (The River within Us…, The Ocean is Full of its Own Collapse) and Jocelyn Morlock (Petrichor, Asylum). The Duo regularly includes new Canadian pieces alongside standard repertoire in such prestigious venues as Wigmore Hall (London), Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall (New York City), Shanghai City Theatre, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Roy Thomson Hall and the Four Seasons Performing Arts Centre (Toronto), the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), and the Forbidden City Concert Hall (Beijing), among others.

Duo Concertante uses music as a means of drawing attention to issues of historical and social importance, often in collaboration with composers, writers, dancers, and actors. They also enjoy performing for children; their Ecology of Being and What life Throws at You programs have been shared with over 1500 students across Newfoundland and Labrador. Since 2020, Duo Concertante has been active creating unique music videos. Melissa Hui’s piece from the Ecology of Being project was made into a 21-minute film and won Best Experimental Film and Best Original Score at the 2020 IndieX Filmfest (Los Angeles). In 2022, the Duo created SOLACE – four films with music by Dawn Avery, Alice Ho, Jessie Montgomery and Cesar Franck. The Jessie Montgomery film, End of the Line, was an award winner at the Los Angeles Women’s Independent Film Festival.

Upcoming projects and commissions for 2023-2024 include a 60-minute dramatic/musical piece by playwright Robert Chafe and composer Randolph Peters which addresses issues relating to ocean change and sustainability, a new sonata written for the Duo by German composer Stefan Heucke, and a 40-minute multimedia piece by composer Alice Ho and animator Duncan Major inspired by Tom Dawe’s Newfoundland ghost stories.