Suzanne Shulman
Flute
"I should have considered Suzanne Shulman's flute playing alone worth the trip … a voice of robust smoothness, with a feeling for long arches and agility to burn." - The Times of London
"Miss Shulman's flute tone had the roundness and solidity associated with the flute playing of Jean-Pierre Rampal, and her splendid breath control allowed for spacious phrasing." - New York Times
One of Canada's foremost flutists, Suzanne Shulman has earned international critical acclaim for solo recitals in renowned venues such as New York's Carnegie Hall, London's Wigmore Hall and the Chopin Institute in Warsaw. She is a graduate of the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto where she studied with Robert Aitken. As a three-time Canada Council grant recipient she also trained in Europe with Christian Lardé, Michel Debost, Marcel Moyse and Jean-Pierre Rampal.
Ms. Shulman has appeared as soloist with major Canadian and international orchestras and is a frequent guest at music festivals at home and abroad. She has performed with the Orford, St. Lawrence and Penderecki string quartets, and also with the late Glenn Gould with whom she collaborated on a variety of recording projects available on the Sony Classical label. With more than 30 recordings in her discography Suzanne can be heard on the CBC, Folkways, Crystal, Golden Crest, Centrediscs, Opening Day and Marquis labels. She is the flute soloist on all the award-winning Classical Kids recordings.
As a founding member of the outstanding ensembles Camerata Canada, Trio Lyra and ChamberWORKS Suzanne Shulman has premiered commissioned works by many prominent Canadian composers including Harry Freedman, Srul Irving Glick, Andrew MacDonald, Milton Barnes, Marjan Mozetich, Glenn Buhr, Christos Hatzis and Jacques Hétu. She currently performs with pianist Valerie Tryon, harpist Erica Goodman and the Festival of the Sound ensemble.
Suzanne Shulman's extensive teaching career has included the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. She now accepts a limited number of students in Hamilton at McMaster University, at her home studio as well as by invitation to teach master classes abroad.
Erica Goodman
Harp
Widely recognized as one of Canada's most skilful and versatile musicians, Ms. Goodman performs for TV and film soundtracks, on radio and television, and throughout Canada in concerts, recitals, and at festivals. She is renowned for her technique and interpretive skills in all styles of music, from Baroque to contemporary. Her repertoire includes works from a broad range of composers, both well-known and little known, and several women composers.
A proponent of Canadian and new music, she has commissioned and premiered works for solo harp and has made over thirty recordings for several record labels. A native of Toronto, Ms. Goodman comes from a musical family (her father was the well-known violinist Hyman Goodman) and she began her musical studies on piano at an early age, adding harp to that almost immediately.
She has been a concert performer since her teens. Ms. Goodman is also a highly regarded orchestral and chamber ensemble player, having played with the TSO, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the Esprit Orchestra, in Trio Lyra, Tapestry New Opera Works, Trio Desirée, among others.
She is a charter member of New Music Concerts and has won a Juno for her solo recording Erica Goodman Plays Canadian Harp Music, and a Grand Prix du Disque Canada for her recording Flute and Harp with Robert Aitken. Her most recent recordings consist of more flute and harp repertoire with Suzanne Shulman.
Evan Pyne
Violin
Since his solo orchestral debut at the age of 12 with the Canadian Sinfonietta, violinist Evan Pyne has been given the opportunity to perform essential concerti of the violin repertoire with the Greater Toronto Area's North York Concert Orchestra and Cambridge Symphony Orchestra.
Evan won third prize at the International Ilona Fehér Violin Competition in Budapest during the summer of 2019, and first prize in the 2018 Canadian Music Competition.
In Madrid at the 8th International "Noche en Madrid" Competition, he won second prize in its solo category and a first prize in its chamber category.
Evan was a finalist at the 13th International Grumiaux Competition.
Currently, he is a finalist in the Classicalia competition and recently won the Taylor Academy concerto competition.
Often participating in local music festivals, Evan has been numerously awarded at the Kiwanis and North York music festivals and won the Excellence String Award and Bach Trophy Class at the 2018 and 2020 Unionville Music Academy Competitions.
As an orchestral musician, Evan served as associate concertmaster of the Moordale Senior Orchestra in its 2016-17 season and played in three seasons with the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. He received one of 10 awards of excellence from the National Youth Orchestra of Canada in 2021.
Evan is in his final year at the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists studying under Marie Berard and Barry Shiffman and is a grade 12 student at Appleby College.
Recently, Evan was awarded a full tuition scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music and received acceptances from the Cleveland Institute of Music, the New England Conservatory, and the Juilliard School. In the fall of 2022, he will be studying with Ilya Kaler at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
He currently plays on an award-winning violin made by Maurizio Tadioli which is a replica of the 1742 Guarneri 'Lord Wilton' violin.
Ellen Annor-Adjei
Piano
Ellen Annor-Adjei was born in Moscow into a family of mixed African and Russian ancestry. Brought up in Moscow she studied at the 
Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. She has given a number of successful concerts in Russia, Europe and North America. Ms. Annor-Adjei's virtuosity on the piano has impressed audiences all over the world. Music critic Izvestia, Moscow wrote: "Ellen Annor-Adjei's performance is emotional, passionate and technically brilliant".
Ellen Annor-Adjei currently lives in Toronto where she has completed many solo recitals. Her repertoire includes works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Mussorgsky, Balakirev, Rachmaninoff, and other Classical, Romantic and Contemporary composers.
Miss Annor-Adjei is Director and Founder of Musical Arts Academy.
The Academy is located in the heart of Etobicoke and serves as the Etobicoke location for The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) examinations.
Miss Annor-Adjei's objective for Musical Arts Academy is to provide students with a well-rounded musical education.
"Music is the form of art which makes our lives rich, enjoyable and complete"
Olivia Esther
Olivia Esther is a sought after performer, recording artist, educator and, advocate for the arts in Canada.
As a french horn player, Olivia has performed with many of Canada's finest orchestras (Canadian Opera Company, National Ballet Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony), music festivals (Festival of the Sound, Toronto Jazz Festival, Kensington Market Jazz Festival) and 
with internationally acclaimed artists such as Adele, Barbra Streisand, Sarah McLachlan, Herbie Hancock, Rufus Wainwright, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Boy George, David Bryne, Supertramp's - Roger Hodgson, Il Divo, The Tenors, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble, Jann Arden, Holly Cole, and Steven Page.
Olivia loves playing for theatre. She has played several shows including Sweeney Todd (Theatre STU), Wizard of Oz (TNB) Anastasia, The King & I, A Gentleman's Guide to love and Murder (Mirvish) and Les Miserables (Upper Canada Chorus), Sousatzka (LivEnt), The Secret Garden, Nine (Podium Concerts), and Beauty and the Beast (Angelwalk Theatre). She has recorded for film, CBC, CTV, Naxos and many independent Canadian labels.
During the pandemic Olivia created and leads an all inclusive multi-generational community horn group called Sonic Horn Revolution which provides pop up performances to surprise and delight audiences all over Toronto.
Olivia is proud to be a member of the Canadian Sinfonietta and is honoured to present the Canadian premiere of Xavier’s Kamouraska in Cobourg, ON.
Elizabeth Dolin
Cellist
Since her Carnegie Recital Hall debut in 1985, Elizabeth Dolin is recognized as one of Canada's finest cellists, in demand as a recitalist and chamber musician throughout Canada and the United States, and as soloist with major Canadian orchestras under such conductors as Mario Bernardi, Yannick Nezet-Séguin and Simon Streatfield. Referring to her Mendelssohn recording with Bernadene Blaha on the Analekta label, The Strad writes that she "performs these works with technical finesse and just the right level of delicacy that Mendelssohn...demands. Highly recommended"
A founding member of several highly regarded ensembles (Les Cordes Romantiques, Duo Fouquet-Dolin, Reiner Trio), she has collaborated with such artists as Martin Beaver, Bernadene Blaha, Steven Isserlis and Pinchas Zuckerman. Her regular appearances at Festival of the Sound, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Orford Festival, Chamber Music Kincardine and the Fredericton Chamber Music Festival, among others, have been enthusiastically received. Highlights of note include a tour of Beethoven's Triple Concerto with l'Orchestre Metropolitain and a performance of Schumann's Concerto for Cello with the Victoria Symphony.
Elizabeth Dolin's large and varied discography includes works by Chopin, Coulthard, Debussy, Dolin, Franck, Mendelssohn, Mozart, St-Saëns, Widor, Rachmaninoff and Vierne, for the Naxos, Analekta, ATMA, CBC-Musica Viva, Fonovox , Espace XX1, and Pélleas labels. Her recording of the Rachmaninoff and Debussy sonatas, as well as the complete works of Mendelssohn for cello and piano, both for Analekta, were nominated for Best Album of the Year by l'ADISQ in 2002 and 2004 and received rave reviews.
In addition to being an active member of Montreal's chamber music scene, Ms. Dolin is Assistant Professor of Cello at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University, as well as Professor of Cello at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. She is also on faculty at Domaine Forget.
Elizabeth Dolin plays on a François Nicolas Voirin bow, graciously provided to her by the company CANIMEX INC. from Drummondville (Quebec), Canada.
Meagan Milatz
Piano
An experienced performer, Meagan Milatz has appeared as soloist with several Canadian orchestras including the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the McGill Symphony Orchestra, and l'Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke. Named by CBC as one of Canada's “30 hot classical musicians under 30” in 2019, she has been the top prize winner at the Shean Piano Competition, the CFMTA National Piano Competition, the McGill Classical Concerto Competition, and the Canadian Music Competition.
For the 2019-2020 season, Milatz and violinist Amy Hillis, otherwise known as meagan&amy, toured to 50 different cities across Canada as winners of the first ever “Pan-Canadian Partnership” recital tour offered by Jeunesses Musicales, Debut Atlantic, and Prairie Debut. Passionate as a collaborative pianist, Milatz is currently based in Montreal and works regularly with top musicians from l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal including concertmaster Andrew Wan, associate principal cellist Anna Burden, and principal clarinetist Todd Cope.
During the 2018-2019 season, she appeared in concert with Stefan Dohr, Principal Horn of the Berlin Harmonic, violinist Jinjoo Cho, and as guest pianist with Trio Saint-Laurent.
Milatz began her studies in Saskatchewan with Cherith Alexander, and holds a Master's degree from McGill University where she studied modern piano with Ilya Poletaev and fortepiano with Tom Beghin. She subsequently spent a year studying collaborative repertoire with Philip Chiu. She attended the Kneisel Hall Young Artist Program in 2017 and was the winner of a Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award.
Laurence Kayaleh
Violin
Laurence Kayaleh has performed as guest soloist with many distinguished orchestras: Zurich Tonhalle, RTBF Symphony Orchestra (Belgium), Russian National Orchestra, National Symphony (Washington), Lamoureux (Paris), Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and the major orchestras of Cleveland, St. Louis, Caracas (Simon Bolivar), Basel, Mexico City, under such conductors as Slatkin, Dutoit, Kogan, Pletnev, Nowak, Wakazugi, Carewe, Turnovsky and Venzago.
She gave major recitals in world centres including Paris, Montreal, Prague, Messina, Brussels, Zurich, Milano, Sofia, Dublin, Bern, Bologna, Moscow, Modena and Geneva. Le Figaro world-renowned critic, Pierre Petit, used the phrase " L'Archet Royal " to describe her golden tone. She performed at the Bolchoï and Tchaïkovsky Halls (Moscow), Théâtre du Châtelet, Pleyel and Gaveau Halls (Paris), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Victoria Hall (Geneva), Verdi Hall (Milano), Teatro Teresa Carreño (Caracas), Donizetti Theater (Bergamo), Place des Arts (Montreal), The John F. Kennedy Center (Washington), Powell Hall (St. Louis), Pollack Hall (Montreal), and at The Tsu Center for The Performing Arts (Japan). Other engagements include 20th-century chamber music concerts, recordings for the CBC-Series (Canada), and for major European radios/TVs.
Guest of international music festivals - Lucerne, Blossom, Cervantino, Divonne, Ottawa, Parry Sound, Annecy, Abbey Bach Festival - she shared concerts with Viktor Pikayzen, Ida Haendel and Igor Oïstrakh. Laurence has recorded for NAXOS Records the complete works for violin and piano by N. Medtner, A. Honegger and G. Catoire.
Upcoming recording releases will include J. Raff's complete sonatas for violin & piano (2 volumes), as well as F. Rebay's complete sonatas for violin & guitar, and viola & guitar (NAXOS).
Invited to conduct violin masterclasses in the world, Ms. Kayaleh is member of jury in international music competitions. Canadian composer, F.-H. Leclair, dedicated to her his piece for violin and piano " Le Retour des Oies ". She plays a magnificent 1742 Pietro Guarneri of Venice which belonged to the eminent violinist and pedagogue, Carl Flesch. (www.laurencekayaleh.com)
Alexander Panizza
Piano
Acclaimed by the critics and the public alike, Alexander Panizza appears regularly in the Americas and Europe. Born in Toronto, he received his musical education in Canada, Argentina, France and Spain, completing a postgraduate degree at the Royal College of Music, in London.
Among the main attributes of his artistic personality, his extraordinary mastery of pianistic sonorities, intensities and shades, his virtuosity and the scope of his repertoire stand out. He has performed as a soloist in recitals and with more than thirty orchestras in very important halls worldwide, including the Barbican Hall in London, Colón Theatre in Buenos Aires, Amphitheater Richelieu at the Sorbonne, Palas Theatre in Athens, Ciurlionis Museum in Lithuania, Teatro Nacional in Panama City and Herkulessaal in Munich. Among his memorable performances there were renderings of concerti by Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Beethoven and Schumann. He is also interested in collaborating with chamber musicians, participating in festivals such as Soesterberg Music Festival (Holland), Long Island Mozart Festival and Festival de los Siete Lagos (Argentina).
Alexander Panizza has recorded Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas (EMR), and Alberto Ginastera’s complete piano works (Tradition), as well as works by Winkler (Naxos, American composers series), Clementi (Cascade) and Guastavino (Espacio Santafesino). Alexander enjoys also teaching, holding a post at Universidad Pontificia Católica Argentina and conducting master classes in various countries.
Trey Lee
Cellist Trey Lee joined EMIC for selected Mosaique Project performances including a tour of the prairies in January/February 2019, which included concerts in northern communities Snow Lake and Norway House. He also joined EMIC this year in January 2020 on their most recent performances in British Columbia.
As a soloist, Trey has also performed with BBC Philharmonic, Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, Trondheim Soloists, and the chamber orchestras of London UK, Stuttgart, Munich and Romanian Radio. He was a featured artist with The IMAGINE Project with Yoko Ono, Hugh Jackman and ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the UN General Assembly Hall.
Lee has studied at Juilliard, Harvard, the New England Conservatory, Madrid's Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia, and the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne. He plays a 1703 "Comte de Gabriac" cello by Matteo Goffriller and is currently based in Berlin, Germany.
https://www.trey-lee.com
Shoshana Telner
Canadian pianist Shoshana Telner has performed as soloist and chamber musician across Canada and abroad. She made her solo orchestral debut with the National Arts Center Orchestra at the age of 16, and has since performed with orchestras including the Quebec Symphony, The National Academy Orchestra, and the Boston Classical 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 at Wilfrid Laurier and York Universities, and currently teaches at McMaster University. Shoshana frequently gives masterclasses, adjudicates competitions, and examines for the Royal Conservatory of Music. Shoshana has been awarded honors at the CMC International Stepping Stone Competition, the Esther Honens International Piano Competition and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.
Shoshana's CD's include solo works of Canadian composer Colin Mack (Cansona Arts Media), the six Bach Keyboard Partitas (Centaur Records), the Grieg violin/piano sonatas (Chestnut Hall Music), and selected Mozart Sonatas and Sonatinas (The Mozart Effect). Her latest CD, selected solo works of Robert Schumann, will be available on Centaur Records in the Spring 2022.
Angela Park
Angela has won numerous awards and prizes in major competitions both at home and abroad, including the International Grace Welsh Prize for Piano in Chicago, World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, Canadian National Music Festival, Honens International Piano Competition, and the Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Barcelona.
She earned her MMus at the University of Toronto, and her DMA in Piano Performance from the Université de Montréal. 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 sessions for universities and communities across Canada, as well as at SUNY New Paltz, Stanford, and Indiana University in the United States.
Angela currently resides in Toronto, Canada. Visit Angela Park’s website
Lynn Kuo
Canadian violinist Lynn Kuo is Assistant Concertmaster of the National Ballet of Canada and is Founder/CEO of Violin with Dr. Lynn, serving as an online educator for violinists motivated to become stronger, more fearless performers. Having launched her Summer Violin Bootcamp in June 2020 during pandemic, Lynn is quickly becoming a respected educator in the online space appearing on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Lynn performs as a concert violinist, and guest concertmaster of Canadian orchestras that have included the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Opera Hamilton, Ontario Philharmonic, Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, Mandle Philharmonic, and various orchestras in the city of Toronto. In addition to performing regularly with the Canadian Opera Company and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Lynn also serves as an adjudicator, guest artist, and lecturer at festivals and universities, and was Visiting Assistant Professor of Violin at Memorial University of Newfoundland for the Winter semester of 2020.
As a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, Lynn has performed across Canada, United States, Wales, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. She has performed with the Tainan Symphony Orchestra, Quebec Symphony Orchestra, Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, Thirteen Strings, Canadian Sinfonietta, Brandon Chamber Players, Nexus percussion ensemble, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (Bulgaria), Cantus Ensemble (Croatia), Lviv Philharmonic, Lviv Virtuosi (Ukraine), and as guest soloist with Hungary's gypsy orchestra, Rajkó Band.
In demand as an interpreter of new music, Lynn has given numerous world premieres in North America, Europe, and Asia of acoustic and electroacoustic solo and chamber works written by international composers. These works have been written for her and various ensembles that have included the Les AMIS Ensemble, Duo Vita, and for the Kuo-Humetska duo with Ukrainian-Canadian pianist, Marianna Humetska.
Lynn's performances have been broadcast on Canadian, Serbian, and Hungarian radio and television and can be heard on the NAXOS label (Works of Nino Rota) and on her self-produced CD with pianist Marianna Humetska: LOVE: Innocence, Passion, Obsession, available on iTunes, Spotify, CD Baby, and Amazon.
Having completed studies with Lorand Fenyves, Mayumi Seiler, Erika Raum, and post-doctoral studies with Burton Kaplan and Nathan Cole, Lynn holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Toronto, having dedicated her research to the subject of holistic health and injury prevention in orchestral string musicians. When not playing the violin, Lynn can be spotted on social media posting violin tutorials or perfecting her karate kicks or salsa dancing turn patterns. www.lynnkuo.com
Updated 11/12/20
Emily Marlow
Emily Marlow is frequently in Toronto at her post playing clarinet with the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra where she enjoys playing a wide variety of repertoire that often includes the E flat and Bass clarinets. Living in Chicago she is a busy freelancer regularly performing with the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra and various local orchestras and chamber ensembles including 5th House Ensemble, Quintet Attacca, C.U.B.E. and MusicNow Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Emily trained at Acadia University with Stan Fisher and then furthered her studies at Depaul University in Chicago with Larry Combs, also studying with John Bruce Yeh, David McGill and Dale Clevenger.
Emily has also performed with the Oregon Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, New World Symphony and the Canadian Opera Company.
Rafael Hoekman
Hailed as a “Rock Star of the Cello” and noted for his “spirited and fiery performances,” Rafael Hoekman’s varied career as a soloist, teacher, chamber musician and orchestral cellist has taken him on a journey across Canada.
Rafael grew up in St. John’s, Newfoundland and began his musical training with his parents at the age of three. His principal teachers were Theo Weber in St. John’s, Yuli Turovsky in Montreal, and he completed his Master’s Degree with Shauna Rolston at the University of Toronto. With his appointment to the position of Principal Cello for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Rafael has come full circle - his father was born in Lethbridge, and his mother was born in Conrad, Montana, a short drive from the Canadian border.
As a young soloist, Rafael first attracted attention by winning First Prize at the Orford International Competition. This award led to performances of the Boccherini Concerto with I Musici de Montreal and a subsequent CD on the Amberola Label. In quick succession, Rafael garnered awards from competitions including the Montreal Symphony Competition, the CMC Stepping Stones Competition, the Debut Young Artist Competition and the Quebec Symphony’s Canadian Concerto Competition. In addition to performing with I Musici de Montreal, Rafael has appeared as soloist with the Edmonton Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, the Quebec Symphony, the Newfoundland Symphony, Sinfonia Toronto, the Sudbury Symphony, and the Etobicoke Philharmonic.
As a chamber musician and founding member of the Tokai String Quartet, Rafael won Fourth Prize in the Banff International String Quartet Competition as well as the Felix Galimir Chamber Music Award and the Sir Ernest MacMillan Grant for a young Canadian chamber ensemble. Rafael’s chamber music performances have been featured on several national broadcasts for the CBC. He has been heard all across Canada on tours for Jeunesses Musicales and Debut Atlantic. He counts as his chamber music partners James Ehnes, Alexander Tselyakov, Anton Kuerti, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Prior to joining the Edmonton Symphony as Principal Cello in 2015, Rafael was a member of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and held assistant principal positions with both the Winnipeg and Windsor Symphony Orchestras. He has also held positions with the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra (Principal Cello), Orchestra London Canada and Sinfonia Toronto (principal cello) and has played frequently with the Detroit and Toronto Symphony Orchestras. He is also currently Principal Cello of the Chamber Orchestra of Edmonton.
Rafael is a passionate teacher and enjoys working with aspiring cellists as a faculty member at the University of Alberta and across the country at festivals including the Kincardine Music Festival, Southern Ontario Chamber Music Institute, and Music at Port Milford.
Rafael lives in Edmonton with his wife, cellist Meran Currie-Roberts, and their two children, Sam and Anastasia.
Iris Trio
Praised for their “beauty of sound and striking expression” (Bremen Weser Kurier), the Iris Trio (clarinetist Christine Carter, violist Zoë 
Martin-Doike, and pianist Anna Petrova) is known for their imaginative programming and powerhouse performances. Their 2013 debut at the German Consulate in New York City was met by a sold-out audience and followed by an immediate invitation to the prestigious Mozartfest in Würzburg, Germany. The Trio subsequently gave the world premiere of Christof Weiß’s Conversation Among Friends at the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Residence Palace and were featured in Michael Wende & Andreea Varga’s documentary, MozartLabor. They have since appeared at venues throughout North America and Europe, including a tour of their program, Homage and Inspiration, across Germany.
Their debut album by the same name, recorded at the Sendesaal in Bremen Germany, was released in 2020 on Coviello Classics to international acclaim. The Canadian Broadcasting Company selected it as one of “10 upcoming Canadian classical albums to get excited about,” Fanfare Magazine praised it as “a five-star, real stand-out release,” and Classical-Modern Music Review commented, “these are extraordinarily, mutually attuned practitioners that deserve our acclaim.”
Collectively, the members of the Iris Trio hold positions at Memorial University, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (New York City), and University of Louisville, and have performed around the world on major concert stages from Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Sydney Opera House. www.iristrio.com
Don McKay
Don McKay’s books of poetry include Birding, or Desire (1983), Night Field (1991), Apparatus (1997), Another Gravity (2000), Strike/Slip (2006), Paradoxides (2012) and Lurch (2021). Camber, a selected poetry, appeared in 2004. Five of his books have been nominated for the Governor General’s Award, and two of them – Night Field and Another Gravity – received that award.
He has been nominated for the Griffin Award three times and received it for Strike/Slip in 2007. Between 1975 and 2018 he served as co-editor and co-publisher with Brick Books. After teaching English and Creative Writing at the Universities of Western Ontario and New Brunswick for twenty-seven years, he now writes and edits full time. From 1991 to 1997 he edited The Fiddlehead, and he has served as a workshop leader for institutions and writers’ groups. He was the Associate Director for poetry at the Banff Centre for the Arts for 14 years.
His abiding interest in natural history and the environment has led to four books on the poetics of wilderness: Vis à Vis (2001), Deactivated West 100 (2005), The Shell of the Tortoise (2011), and All New Animal Acts (2020). His collected poems, Angular Unconformity, appeared in 2014.
Don McKay currently makes his home in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
In 2009, he was named to the Order of Canada.
Florian Hoefner
Born and raised in Germany, trained in New York City and now based in Canada, Juno-nominated jazz pianist and composer Florian Hoefner draws from a myriad of influences that culminate in his unique brand of modern jazz. Praised as a “composer-bandleader of insightful resolve” by the New York Times and a “harmonically daring pianist … reaching toward new sonic territory” by Downbeat, Florian Hoefner continues to make waves as an inventive creator and performer of exciting contemporary jazz.
He has released 5 albums under his own name and many more as a sideman. His latest release “First Spring” with his Canadian trio with Andrew Downing on bass and Nick Fraser on drums has received 2 East Coast Music Awards in 2020 and was nominated for a 2021 JUNO in the category “Jazz Album of the Year: Group.” The trio is set to release its sophomore album, “Desert Bloom” on June 3rd 2022 on Alma Records.
As a touring artist he has played at venues and festivals on 5 different continents and has worked with artists including Kurt Rosenwinkel and Seamus Blake. He is the winner of 2 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards and the Stingray Rising Star Award at the Montreal Jazz Festival.
Florian currently serves as Assistant Professor for Jazz Studies at Memorial University in St. John’s, NL.
Christine Carter
Canadian clarinetist Christine Carter has performed at venues across the globe, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. Highlights have included performances at the Mozarthaus in Vienna, German Consulate in New York City, and Palffy Palace in Prague.
She has completed artist residencies at the Mozart Festival Würzburg (Germany), Málaga Clásica Festival (Spain), Shenzhen International Woodwind Festival (China), and six seasons with the Dark by Five inter-arts ensemble at Gros Morne Summer Music in Newfoundland. Christine frequently collaborates with Duo Concertante, including two CD releases on Marquis Classics,and is the clarinetist of the critically acclaimed Iris Trio.
She has been praised for her “special passion and inspiration” (Augsburger Allgemeine), “seductive tone and effortless fluidity” (The Clarinet), and “golden legato” (Fanfare Magazine). Christine has also performed extensively as an orchestral musician, including engagements with the New World Symphony (Miami), Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, YouTube Symphony Orchestra, and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (New York), as well as under the batons of some of the world’s finest conductors, such as Lorin Maazel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kent Nagano, and Fabio Luisi.
She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from Manhattan School of Music and is Associate Professor of Music at Memorial University in St. John's.
Christine is a Buffet Crampon Artist. www.christine-carter.com
Zoë Martin-Doike
Violinist/violist Zoë Martin-Doike is an exciting and versatile artist who engages in a wide variety of musical activities. A passionate chamber musician, Zoë was a founding violinist of the Aizuri Quartet which garnered top prizes at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition and held residencies at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia while she was a member. She has also received top prizes at the Primrose International Viola Competition and the Lennox International Young Artist Competition on viola and violin, respectively, and most recently won the 2019 Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra Competition, earning a solo appearance with the group in the following season.
Zoë has attended the Steans Institute at Ravinia as well as the Sarasota, Norfolk, Taos and Marlboro Music Festivals. She did her undergraduate studies with renowned violinist, Pamela Frank at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she served as concertmaster for the 2011-12 season, and her Master’s degree at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where she double-majored in violin and viola under the tutelage of Mimi Zweig and Atar Arad respectively.
She was the violist of the quartet selected for the coveted Kuttner Quartet Fellowship and had the opportunity to perform both the Walton Viola Concerto and the Brahms Violin Concerto with university orchestras during her time at IU.
Zoë is currently Acting Assistant Principal Viola of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York City, and has also frequently joined the Philadelphia Orchestra for tours of Europe and Asia.
Anna Petrova
Bulgarian pianist, Anna Petrova, praised for her “artistic, clear and enlightened” performances (BBC Magazine), performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician and is Assistant Professor of Piano at University of Louisville, Kentucky.
She is a top prize winner of numerous international competitions, including the First Prize winner of the Jose Roca International Competition, Spain and a semi-finalist of the Queen Elizabeth Piano Competition. Recent highlights include her New York debut with conductor Philippe Entremont, a recording of Stravinsky’s Les Noces with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and conductor JoAnn Falletta (NAXOS, 2016), and solo and chamber music residencies in festivals across North America, Europe and China.
Currently, she is working on a two-CD set of the complete piano sonatas of Russian composer, pianist and pedagogue, Samuil Feinberg for NAXOS. Petrova holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Manhattan School of Music and is the Artistic Director of Aberto Jonás International School of Music in Valencia, Spain. www.anna-petrova.com
Beverley Johnston
Beverley Johnston is one of Canada's leading percussionists. Over the years, she has commissioned and performed many works by leading Canadian composers some of which have become a staple of the standard percussion repertory around the world. In honour of her exemplary commitment to the performance of the music of Canadian composers, she has been awarded the distinction of "Canadian Music Centre Ambassador".
Her exceptional stage presence, her remarkable virtuosity and musicianship have established her reputation beyond the border of her native Canada where she tours and performs frequently as a soloist and chamber musician. She has been invited to numerous internationally renowned marimba and percussion festivals over the years. She has recorded six solo CD's and can be heard as soloist and chamber musician on many other recordings. Her recordings are available from the Canadian Music Centre and iTunes.
Beverley teaches at the University of Toronto and is a Marimba One and Paiste Artist.
For more information, please visit her on Facebook and at www.beverleyjohnston.com.
Susan Hoeppner
Canadian-born flutist Susan Hoeppner is highly regarded for her deeply lyrical phrasing, dazzling virtuosity and a "no holds barred" approach in her performances. She is an established international soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, with appearances that include numerous venues spanning the continents of North America, South America, throughout Europe, Japan and China.
Ms. Hoeppner has performed as guest soloist with orchestras around the world and has been invited to perform at many Canadian embassies including London, Belgrade, Tokyo, Mexico and has inspired Canadian composers such as Christos Hatzis, Alice Ping Yee Ho and Gary Kulesha among others to write music for her.
Susan was nominated for a JUNO, Canada's highest musical award, for Classical Album of the Year. Her numerous recordings are available digitally on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and on labels including Marquis Classics, EMI, Centrediscs/Naxos and Grammophon BIS.
As a graduate of The Juilliard School, she has herself become an esteemed mentor. Ms. Hoeppner enjoys giving masterclasses far and wide and is a Member of Faculty at the Glenn Gould School, The Taylor Academy for young gifted artists at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and at the University of Toronto.
Every summer she joins the woodwind faculty at the International Music and Dance Academy at Domaine Forget de Charlevoix in Canada and the Campus Internazionale della Musica d'Arte in Italy. Susan is a founding member of the new annual online CanAmerican Flute Symposium and Young Artist Competition, as well as hosting an online Insightful Performer Masterclass Series.
Susan Hoeppner has been appointed a Wm.S.Haynes Artist by the Boston-based flute company. As their Canadian Artist, she represents them in performances and masterclasses throughout the world. She resides in Toronto.
April 2022
Turning Point Ensemble (TPE)
Founded in 2002 by its musician members, Turning Point Ensemble (TPE) is a large chamber ensemble (16 instrumentalists and conductor) with a mandate to increase the understanding and appreciation of music composed during the past hundred years. The ensemble has built a strong reputation for outstanding musicianship and linking seminal 20th century repertoire to contemporary works through thoughtful programming and innovative presentations. Uniquely and flexibly sized between a small chamber ensemble and a symphonic orchestra, TPE presentations offer a symphonic palette with a chamber music sensibility. In addition to its concerts, tours and recordings, the ensemble has regularly mounted innovative interdisciplinary productions including operas, and collaborations with dance, theatre, visual art and moving image.
Turning Point Ensemble has released six CDs and one DVD on the Artifact, Centrediscs, Atma Classique, Redshift Records, Orlando, and Parma labels. We have presented a diverse range of repertoire, commissioned and performed works by Canadian and international composers, and partnered with a number of community and cultural organizations.
In 2010, TPE was awarded the Rio Tinto Alcan Award for Music 2011 – the largest production prize for music in Canada for its presentation of FIREBIRD 2011, resulting in 4 sold out performances in March 2011 at The Cultch in Vancouver.
Other significant large-scale interdisciplinary projects include Flying White which was co-produced with Wen Wei Dance for the 2020 PuSh Festival with three sold-out performances and the premiere of air india [redacted] (5 performances November 2015). We have also had two major partnerships with Ballet British Columbia, and several projects with live music and moving image.
We are proud to have presented a diverse range of repertoire, commissioned and performed works by Canadian and international composers, and partnered with a number of community and cultural organizations. A highlight is our ground-breaking cultural collaboration with the Westbank First Nation in the Okanagan for an outdoor presentation of Barbara Pentland/Dorothy Livesay's 1954 opera, The Lake at Quails' Gate Winery, the original homestead of Susan Allison and her family.
The central artistic vision of the TPE is to bring to the public extraordinary music for large chamber ensemble written from the early 20th century through to present day. We draw audiences to this music through outstanding performances, and intelligent programming that creates a lively context for the music. We seek to create links from the music of earlier times to new music, to explore relationships and connections between composers and their music, to perform significant large-scale works from the Canadian and international repertoire, to collaborate with multiple art forms in extraordinary ways, and to establish meaningful long-term relationships with some of Canada's most talented composers through commissioning and multiple performances.
Turning Point has toured internationally in 2018 to Asia and the Czech Republic, in addition to two Canadian tours. We have performed in many festivals and series including the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, New Music Concerts Toronto, ECM+ Montreal, groundswell Winnipeg, New Music Edmonton, MusicFest Vancouver, Vancouver International Jazz Festival, the Sound of Dragon Festival and the Modulus Festival.
Owen Underhill
Owen Underhill is Artistic Director and conductor of the Turning Point Ensemble and a composer, and faculty member in the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. Previously, he served as Artistic Director of Vancouver New Music from 1987 to 2000. As a conductor, Underhill enjoys bringing to life new work, and has conducted more that 300 premieres of Canadian and international composers. He has worked with and conducted the music of several prominent composers including Louis Andriessen, Gavin Bryars, Sofia Gubaidulina, Giya Kancheli, Nikolai Korndorf, Rudolf Komorous, James MacMillan, Barbara Pentland, Steve Reich, Linda Catlin Smith, Ana Sokolovic, Toru Takemitsu, Kevin Volans, and Judith Weir.
As a composer, his music has many different expressions and has been described as dense and interesting, colourful, lyrical in inspiration, exuberant and witty, subtle, and thoughtful. Among his recent compositions are the violin solo Cone (2020), Bee Studies (2019), a song cycle based on poems of Renée Sarojini Saklikar for soprano and Turning Point Ensemble, and He is Flying (2020), a work for two erhu and sheng written as part of a dance project with Wen Wei Dance. His compositions are on several recordings including Curio Box on the Orlando label, Still Image on the Centrediscs label as performed by the Bozzini Quartet, and Celestial Machine on the Artifact label. He was nominated as Outstanding Composer at the WCMA awards 2019 for his Cello Concerto, and Canzone di Petra was awarded the Outstanding Classical Composition at the WCMA in 2007.
Underhill has worked on behalf of Canadian music throughout his career. He was named as a Canadian Music Ambassador in 2009, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award for extraordinary contributions to Canadian Music in 2017 from the BC Region of the Canadian Music Centre. https://turningpointensemble.ca/the-ensemble/
Ana Sokolović
An important figure in contemporary music, Quebec-based composer Ana Sokolović has distinguished herself internationally through her imaginative, rhythm-driven music, with repertoire that ranges from critically acclaimed operas and orchestra works to powerful solo and chamber pieces.
Originally from Serbia, Sokolović writes music infused with Balkan rhythms and influenced by multiple artistic disciplines. She recently won two back-to-back JUNO Awards for "Classical Composition of the Year": in 2019 for Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes for countertenor, chorus, and orchestra; and in 2020 for her violin concerto Evta. Her four operas have been performed internationally, including at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, and Festival d'Aix-en-Provence; and her 2010 opera Svadba won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for "Outstanding New Opera."
For the next three seasons, Sokolović serves as composer-in-residence with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. In addition to her activities as a composer, she teaches composition at the University of Montreal.
Boriša Sabljić
Boriša’s interests in music are diverse and wide. His approach to composition is born through intuition and subconscious reflections of thorough listening experiences. Classical, New, World, Folk, Dance, Popular, Electronic, Spiritual music are wonderful reservoirs from where, with a touch of his personal voice, he pulls ideas and inspiration.
His pieces have been performed in Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Germany, Serbia, Montenegro and Egypt. He has also composed music for dance, theatre and film.
Katarina Ćurčin
Katarina earned a Bachelor of Music in her native Serbia before coming to Canada in 1999. She holds Masters and Doctorate degrees in composition from the University of Toronto. Her composition teachers were Dusan Radic, Gary Kulesha, Chan Ka Nin and Christos Hatzis.
Ćurčin’s symphonic works include: Above the Clouds (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Olympic commission; also performed by TSO), a Double Concerto for violin and percussion, the children’s ballet suite Princess For a Day and a Cantata Stabat Mater for Organ, Choir and orchestra. The composer’s chamber repertoire includes three piano trios: Gypsies (Tuckomore chamber music festival commission), In Between and Unorthodox Obsession (York University Piano Trio commission), clarinet quartet The New Beginnings (QAT commission) as well as three string quartets: Walking Away From…, The World on a String and String Quartet No.3.
Ćurčin is the recipient of the Karen Kieser Prize in Canadian Music in 2005 and K.M. Hunter Artists Awards in 2008.
Dior Quartet Bio
Joined together from Israel, Korea-Canada, Saint Lucia, and the USA, the Dior Quartet is the Quartet-in-Residence at the Glenn Gould School, Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada. Formed in Fall 2018 at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana 
University under the Pacifica Quartet, they are Silver prize winners of the 2021 Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition, quarter-finalists of the 2022 Banff International String Quartet Competition and 2021 Bartok Competition, and Bronze Medalists of the 2019 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. The Dior Quartet has performed and participated in various programs and concert series in Canada, USA, and the U.K. The repertoire and projects they pursue intersect with their multicultural backgrounds and moral values, as they seek to explore the immigrant experience through art. The quartet takes their name from the French word “D’or” which means gold. The quartet has been selected to participate in the prestigious 2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and 2023 Bad Tolz 1st International String Quartet Competition.
Noa Sarid, Violin - Bio
Born in Israel, Noa Sarid is the first violinist of the Dior Quartet, the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory’s Quartet-in-residence. One of the ten selected quartets of the 2022 Banff International String Quartet Competition, they were finalists of the Chesapeake (2nd, 2021), the 46th Fischoff (3rd, 2019) Chamber Music Competitions.
Mentored by Pacifica Quartet, Dior studied with Alban Berg, St. Lawrence, Danish, Artemis, Ébène, JACK, Parker, and Belcea Quartets.
Noa is a Naxos Records artist (2020) and a four-time winner of the Jerusalem Academy of Music Chamber Competition (2015-2018). She served as the first violinist of the Israel Defense Forces Quartet.
Noa is a scholarship recipient from the Ronen and America-Israel Cultural Foundations. She participated in The Aspen Music Festival and School (full scholarship).
Noa holds a master’s degree in Violin Performance from Indiana University and a bachelor’s from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.
Toby Elser, Violin - Bio
Tobias Elser received his bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, and his Master’s of Music degree and Performer’s Diploma in Chamber Music from Indiana University. When he was concertmaster of the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra he realized he had an affinity for chamber collaboration and ever since he has devoted his musical focus to the art of chamber music. In the Fall of 2018, Tobias formed the Dior Quartet along with classmates from the Jacobs School of Music, at Indiana University. In the Fall of 2021 they began their residency at the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music, in Toronto. The Dior Quartet has won prizes at several competitions, including the Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition, Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and Plowman National Chamber Competition. A passionate proponent of new music, Elser has performed with the International Contemporary Ensemble in California, and the soundSCAPE Festival in Italy.
Caleb Georges, Viola - Bio
Caleb Georges, from the island of Saint Lucia was a 3rd Place Laureate of the 2019 Sphinx Senior division competition and performed solo with the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra in Detroit Symphony Hall. He was a member of the 2019-2020 Sphinx Virtuosi who performed across the US stages such as Carnegie Hall and the Library of Congress. He won first prize at the 2018 Dale & Nancy Briggs Chamber Music Competition as well as the 2019 WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition with his former group the Ivalas Quartet. As current violist of the Dior Quartet, he recently won 2nd Place at the 2021 Chesapeake International Competition and performed on the Schneider Chamber Music Series. Caleb holds a BM in Viola Performance from Bowling Green State University and a Masters degree in Viola Performance and Chamber Music from the University of Michigan. He is currently in residence and a Rebanks fellow with the Dior Quartet at the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Joanne Yesol Choi, Cello - Bio
Korean-Canadian cellist Joanne Yesol Choi, is an avid chamber musician, teacher, and founding member of the Dior Quartet. The ensemble is Quartet-in-Residence at the Glenn Gould School of Music, at the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Joanne has performed and participated in several international residencies and concert series in Toronto, Banff, New York, LA, Netherlands, England, and Germany. She has performed in masterclasses for Mischa Maisky, Alisa Weilerstein, Colin Carr, and collaborated with Orion Weiss, Phillip Setzer, and Andrew Wan in chamber music settings.
Joanne completed her Bachelors and Masters Degree at Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music and studied with Eric Kim and Brandon Vamos. Joanne was a Rebanks Fellow at the RCM in 2022, and was included in the 2022 CBC 30 Under 30 Young Canadian Classical Musicians List. She teaches and coaches at the Taylor Academy and the Oscar Peterson School, and was an adjudicator for the 2023 Don Banks Music Awards.
Soprano, Hannah Crawford’s first paid gig was singing “O Canada” for the Rockhound Gembouree in her hometown of Bancroft, Ont. It’s the mineral capital of Canada - a hardscrabble mining town that also happens to have a vibrant arts community. Hannah has been singing “since the beginning.” Her mom taught piano to kids in town, including Hannah and her three older brothers. She began formal lessons at 7 and scooped up prizes at the Kiwanis music festival. She found a sanctuary in high school music and drama classes. And along with her parents she co-founded a summer concert series.
Hannah joined the Voice Performance program at Cambrian College in Sudbury where she discovered her own distinctive sound as an aspiring dramatic soprano - a voice full of colour and depth and scope. Then, on to Wilfrid Laurier University for her Bachelor’s degree where she won the concerto competition, along with first prize at the Sudbury Symphony’s Young Performers Competition. She recently took second prize at the Canadian Opera Company’s Centre Stage Competition.
This season, Hannah is part of The Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program in Toronto. She also co-hosts “The Dreaming Divas”, a podcast that explores issues affecting emerging artists, from how to network to coping with body image. “Every one of us is unique - human, imperfect, but genuine and blessed with an individual talent,” she says. “I bring my entire being to every performance. I just love sharing the energy and joy from an audience.”
Canadian 
Soprano Jonelle Sills has been praised for her “... warm, full, elastic tone.” (Schmopera) Ms. Sills was recognised as one of York University’s Top 30 Alumni under 30 in 2022. Also recognised by CBC Music as “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30” for 2020. Past operatic roles include Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream) Mimì, Musetta (La Bohème), Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Micaëla (Carmen). Miss Sills is a 2019 Dora award winner for “Outstanding performance of an Ensemble” in Vivier’s Kopernikus with Against the Grain Theatre.
Ms. Sills holds an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School at The Royal Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Education from York University. Jonelle was a member of The Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Jonelle was a member of the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program at Vancouver Opera for their 2021 and 2022 season. Jonelle believes that her work in opera can have a social and cultural impact and is proudly a mentor with Opera InReach, a collective of multidisciplinary artists who focus to embody Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the operatic art form.
Ukranian-born Canadian pianist and composer Dmitri Levkovich’s performances were praised for "artistic sophistication far above the ordinary" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) and "understanding of the music far beyond most young pianists” (American Record Guide). His original compositions were reviewed in the Philadelphia’s Broad Street Review - “…the musicians could jump right into the heartfelt melodies and big emotional surges of Levkovich’s slow movement.”
He has performed over 30 different piano concertos, with orchestras that include the Cleveland Orchestra, China National , Dresden Philharmonic, Gulbenkian, Frankfurt HR Radio, Mariinsky, Slovak Philharmonic, and Utah Symphony Orchestra under conductors Valery Gergiev, Jahja Ling, George Pehlivanian, Vladimir Spivakov, Markus Stenz, and Sebastian Weigle. He has performed at Great Halls of the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts, Berlin Philharmonie, Gulbenkian Foundation, Moscow Conservatory, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Warsaw Philharmonie, as well as Mariinsky Theater’s Concert Hall and Carnegie Hall.
Dmitri honed his skills on the piano under the guidance of Sergei Babayan for 11 years and in composition at the Curtis Institute of Music. He is the winner of more than 20 international piano competitions, including the China, Cleveland, German Piano Award, Gina Bachauer, Jose Iturbi and the Vendôme P4rize. Dmitri has earned numerous ‘audience favorite’ awards and special prizes, notably for best performance of Chopin’s works.
Lithuanian- born pianist Agnė Radzevičiutė has been praised by the press for her “sincere and meaningful” interpretations and “exquisite musical sensitivity and conviction” (Seven Days of Art). Her concerts in Paris and Vilnius were featured live on Mezzo TV, Europe’s classical music channel, and her performance credits include a solo recital at the United Nations Concert Hall in Geneva. Most recently, Agnė performed Chopin Concerto in E minor at the prestigious Koerner Hall, (Toronto, Canada) in the Finals of the National Chopin Piano Competition. She was named the 3rd Prize winner, which included an entrance to the Preliminary round of the 18th international F. Chopin Competition, Warsaw.
Finnish accordionist Matti Pulkki performs frequently with different ensembles and as a soloist around the world. Although often focusing on classical contemporary repertoire and collaborating with composers, Pulkki also arranges, transcribes, and performs music from a wide range of styles and genres, and frequently works on diverse projects from interdisciplinary productions to music theatre and opera. His currently active chamber music projects include an eclectic duo with Montreal-based vocalist Sarah Albu, classical-contemporary Freesound Performance Collective in Toronto, and internationally acclaimed classical crossover ensemble Quartetto Gelato. Pulkki hold a Master’s degree from the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki. He is currently pursuing his doctorate at the University of Toronto studying with renowned Canadian accordionist Joseph Macerollo.
Wesley Shen
is a Toronto-based keyboardist, specializing in contemporary music on piano and harpsichord. He has played regularly with many Toronto ensembles including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, New Music Concerts, Esprit Orchestra and Continuum Contemporary Music. He also is a core member of the Freesound Performance Collective, and is a member of Ugly Pug, an Amsterdam-based trio playing new music on early instruments. He has recently finished a Masters cum laude at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in contemporary harpsichord with Goska Isphording. He has received generous funding from the Canada Council of the Arts in order to commission a number of new solo works for harpsichord and piano. An ongoing goal of his is to help expand the harpsichord as a contemporary music medium.
Guy Fouquet was principal cellist of l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal for 25 years under the direction of Franz Paul-Decker, Rafael Brubeck de Burgos, Charles Dutoit and several eminent guest conductors including Zubin Mehta, Kirill Kondrashin and Erich Leinsdorf. As soloist, he has regularly appeared with l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and many Canadian orchestras. As principal cellist, he has recorded over 75 major orchestral and solo works, available on the London-Decca label.
Guy Fouquet was a founding member of the Trio de Montréal, Les Cordes Romantiques and the Fouquet-Dolin Duo, and enjoyed a very active career as a performing cellist throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. He also recorded many chamber music works, and most notably the Bach cello suites, on the Riche Lieu label, to critical acclaim.
He served on faculty at the Université de Montréal as cello teacher for many years and also taught at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal for 17 years as cello, chamber music professor, and string orchestra conductor. He retired from the Conservatoire in 2012 after serving as its director.
Guy Fouquet has written several works, including the suite « Solitude » for two cellos dedicated to the duo Fouquet-Dolin, which has been performed to much success and has been recorded on the Fonovox label. He also wrote a book of daily exercices for cello.
His solo cello piece entitled« Improvisation » was originally intended for his students to fulfill the requirement featuring a Canadian work for their final Bachelor recital. The work is based on a rhythmical motive and uses many colours and effects.
Most recently, Guy Fouquet has written a suite for violin and cello dedicated to the Kayaleh-Dolin duo, of which three movements will be premiered at Trinity Church, in Cobourg for Les Amis Concerts October 29th.
Grace Lau is a second-year undergraduate student at the Royal Conservatory of Music's Glenn Gould School (GGS), studying with Paul Kantor and Marie Berard.
Born in Toronto, Grace started playing violin at four years old, studying with Helen Jacob-Stein at the Royal Conservatory. She went on to be a full scholarship student at the Taylor Academy, the Conservatory's pre-college program, studying with Kelly Parkins-Lindstrom and Jonathan Crow.
In the 2020 Canadian Music Competition, Grace was selected as the favourite of the 15-18 year old category (Ontario). She is also a winner of provincial music competitions as a soloist and chamber musician. Her piano trio placed 2nd in the GGS Chamber Competition.
Grace is a concertmaster of the GGS's Royal Conservatory Orchestra. She has also been a concertmaster of the Academy's Chamber Orchestra, and was a member of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO) for three years.
Grace has performed in numerous gala concerts including solo performances at Koerner Hall during the Royal Conservatory's Wide Open House Teen Showcase Concert, and on the red carpet for the Koerner Hall Season Gala Concert.
She has enjoyed participating in summer music festivals, including Meadowmount School of Music, Domaine Forget and Orford Music Academy, and the National Arts Centre's Young Artist Program in Ottawa founded by Pinchas Zukermann.
Described as a "thoughtful and immensely exciting performer" with "scintillating technique" (Barrie Examiner) and "intelligently rounded musicianship" (The Irish Times), pianist Benjamin Smith has performed as soloist and chamber musician across Canada and the United States. He has been a laureate of numerous competitions, including the Dublin International Piano Competition, 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, 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, Stratford, Niagara, 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.
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, Stanislav Pronin, Jacques Israelievitch, Jinjoo Cho, 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 a regular member of the Esprit Orchestra in Toronto, and has worked under prominent conductors Steven Schick and Werner Herbers, as well as with composers John Corigliano, Reinaldo Moya, Chandler Carter, and Alice Hong.
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.
Finalist and prizewinner of several competitions including the Concours Prix d’Europe and the Sendai International Piano Competition in Japan, Canadian pianist Jean-Luc Therrien believes his job as a musician is to cross barriers - of language, of culture, of time. He was named one of Canada’s 30 hot classical musicians under 30 for 2020 by CBC Music. And his first solo album Piano Preludes, just released on the Label Orpheus Classical in 2021, was chosen as one of the best releases of 2021 by CBC Music.
Recently, he was part of The Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program at The Glenn Gould School in Toronto. He also made his national radio debut on CBC Music with the broadcast of a virtual recital recorded in Toronto in the summer of 2021. In February 2022, he performed with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra before going on tour across 7 European countries with French violinist Jean-Samuel Bez to launch their first album. And then, it was back to Canada for 16 solo performances in the Maritimes with Debut Atlantic.
After graduating from the Conservatoire de Musique de Trois-Rivières in the studio of Denise Trudel, Jean-Luc headed for Austria and the University Mozarteum in Salzburg to complete a Master of Arts Degree in Piano Performance. Then, he remained in Europe to pursue further musical projects, thanks to a major grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. Later, he returned to Canada and entered The Ihnatowycz Piano Program at The Glenn Gould School in Toronto where he worked with another important musical mentor - Marietta Orlov.
Over the years, the recognition has poured in: among other awards, he’s won several prizes in competitions such as the Mauro Paolo Monopoli Prize Competition in Italy, the CMC Stepping Stone and, with violinist Jean-Samuel Bez, the Chamber Music Grand Prize at the Luigi Zanuccoli International Competition in Italy. jeanluctherrien.com
Julia Mirzoev - Violin (Canada)
Violinist Julia Mirzoev has been featured in Canada’s “Top 30 Classical Musicians Under 30”, CBC radio 94.1, and classical 96.3 FM. Her awards 
include top prizes including the commissioned work prize at both the Michael Hill and Klein International Competitions, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal competition, grand prize at the Canadian Music Competition, and first prizes at the Crescendo International Competition and Cremona Music Festival competitions. As a soloist, Julia has performed with the Montreal Chamber Music Festival’s Jeunes Virtuoses Orchestra, the Scarborough Philharmonic, Sinfonia Toronto, the Canadian Sinfonietta, the University of Toronto Symphony, Orchestra Toronto, the Colorado College Summer Music Festival Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. A passionate chamber musician, Julia has been a winner of the Yale Chamber Music Competition, and has been invited to participate in the Sarasota, Manchester, Toronto, Yellow Barn, and Perlman Music Program Festivals. Julia is also a founding member of the Myriade String Quartet, coached by André Roy, who have been selected to compete in the live rounds of the Wigmore Hall and Trondheim String Quartet Competitions. A graduate of the University of Toronto, McGill University, and the Yale University School of Music, Julia has received the Broadus Erle Graduating Prize at the Yale School of Music, and the Golden Violin Award at McGill University. Her mentors include Andrew Wan, Ani Kavafian, Jonathan Crow, and Jacob Lakirovich. She is extremely excited to be part of the Rebanks Family Fellowship Program.
Jamal Al Titi, baritone (Belarus)
Jamal Al Titi is a Belarusian-born baritone whose passion for music expands from early works to opera.
Making his home in Canada, Jamal was a winner of the Toronto Mozart Vocal Competition in 2023 and among the 2022 National Audition finalists of L'Atelier lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal. Passionate about opera, Jamal has been featured numerous times with the Brott Opera Festival where his roles have included Masetto in Don Giovanni, Schaunard in La Bohème and Casacada in The Merry Widow. Most recently, he performed both the roles of Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni and Tom in Adoration at the Banff Centre's 2023 Opera in the 21st Century, and as Belcore in L'Elisir D'Amore at the Highlands Opera. Jamal began his studies at the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts and holds a Bachelor of Music in voice performance from the University of Toronto, studying with Wendy Nielsen and Alain Coulombe. During his final year as an undergraduate, Jamal won the Jim and Charlotte Norcop Prize in Song, the Faculty of Music's most prestigious vocal prize, and was honoured to receive the 2023 faculty's top honour award. Jamal plans to continue performing as much as possible and wishes to sing to his heart's content to captivate his audience while appreciating the magic of music.
Elena Howard-Scott, soprano (Canada)
Hailing from Winnipeg, Elena Howard-Scott is a versatile soprano residing in Toronto, Ontario.
Deemed "someone to watch" (Ludwig Van Toronto), Elena is a recent graduate of the Artist Diploma Program at The Glenn Gould School, and she is thrilled to be joining The Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program in 2023-24. Competition highlights include receiving the Kurt Weill Foundation Prize in the Lotte Lenya Competition, placing first in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition ND/MB District, and winning the Grand Prize at The Glenn Gould School's Corcoran Concerto Competition in 2022. Selected stage credits include Jonathan Dove's Flight, John Blow's Venus & Adonis, and Ana Sokolovi?'s Svadba (GGS Opera); Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (Opera NUOVA); Strike! the Musical, Beauty and the Beast (Rainbow Stage), Fiddler on the Loose (Drayton Entertainment), Kiss of the Spider Woman (Dry Cold Productions), Evil Dead: The Musical, The Rocky Horror Show (Wasteland Productions). In the 2023/2024 season, Elena is excited to continue her varied performance career with a solo recital with the Hamilton Conservatory of the Arts, joining the cast of Narnia with the Dora award-winning company Bad Hats Theatre, and debuting the role of Blanche de la Force in The Glenn Gould School's spring production of Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmelites.
Christian Masucci Facchini, countertenor (Canada)
Born and raised in Toronto, countertenor Christian Masucci Facchini is described as having a full, rich, and muscular sound,
that paired with his "impressive stage presence" (Opera Canada) is propelling him through the classical and contemporary music scene today. He is an alumnus of St. Michael's Choir School (Toronto) where he was trained in classical voice, piano and violin, from 2007-2017. He has performed as a chorister and soloist internationally across Europe and North America, as well as at St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica in Toronto. Christian is a graduate of York University where he studied Music, specializing in Classical Voice Performance with Stephanie Bogle. There, he won first prize in the York University Concerto Competition. For the past two years, Christian has been studying in the Artist Diploma Program with a full-tuition Sheila K. Piercey Vocal Scholarship at The Glenn Gould School. Highlighted stage credits at The Royal Conservatory from the past two years include: Rinaldo in Handel's Rinaldo (GGS Spring Opera, 2022), Cupid in John Blow's Venus and Adonis (GGS Fall Opera, 2022) and Refugee in Jonathan Dove's Flight (GGS Spring Opera, 2023). Equally passionate about Baroque and Contemporary music, Christian has found a love for combining the music and styles of these eras, most recently as a soloist in 'Mother Sorrow', a secular re-imagining of the Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, in collaboration with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and an all-Canadian cast and crew. A highlight of this past summer was travelling to Thiré, France, to join Les Arts Florissants, a world-renowned Baroque musical ensemble conducted by William Christie, in a summer academy led by co-director Paul Agnew. There, Christian took part in inspiring and exciting master classes, and a fabulous concert featuring works by early English composers from the Restoration period. Christian is a recent graduate of The Glenn Gould School and is looking forward to working on building this next phase of his professional career.
Collaborative pianist and vocal coach Timothy Cheung is a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, the Merola Opera Program (San Francisco Opera), and Music Academy of the West. Mr. Cheung has served the Head Coach of the Benenson Young Artist Program at Palm Beach Opera, and as music director for outreach programs at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. He has worked as a music staff member at Houston Grand Opera, Bel Canto at Caramoor, and Teatro Nuovo in New York.
Colin Chang is an avid pianist and musician from Toronto who has performed in several recitals in both Hong Kong and Canada.
He was a finalist of the 5th Claudette Sorel Competition and the Music International Grand Prix, a bronze medalist in the Canada IPC festival, and was the recipient of the Consul General Award in the Chopin Avenue International Piano competition. In the 2021-2022 edition of the Sound Espressivo Competition, Colin received several awards including Laurate and First Place of his age category, and "Excellence in Piano Performance" by Brilliant Talent Discovery Awards. He also received 1st Place and the Grand Prize in the 2023 edition of the Golden Piano Talents Competition. In March of 2024, Colin received 2nd Prize in the Trio category of the GGS Chamber Music Competition as pianist of the Renati Trio.
Colin performed in the world premiere of Gould's Wall, a new opera directed by Philip Akin. He has performed in masterclasses with pianists including James Anagnoson, Anton Nel, Ilya Itin, John O'Conor, Kevin Kenner, Stewart Goodyear, Jeremy Denk, and Ronan O'Hora. He was a student of the Taylor Academy for three years under Prof. David Louie and Dr. Michael Berkovsky. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in piano performance under the tutelage of Prof. John Perry and Prof. David Louie at the Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory.
Samantha Yang is a nineteen-year-old cellist living in Toronto, Canada. At the age of 12, she joined The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy 
for Young Artists, studying with David Hetherington. Samantha has since graduated from the program and is now pursuing her Bachelor of Music Performance at the Glenn Gould School under the tutelage of Hans Jørgen Jensen and Andrés Díaz.
Samantha has taken part in many competitions and festivals, winning the 2019-2020 Emerging Artist Award at the Burlington Symphony Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition, 1st Place at the Ontario Music Festival Association provincials, and several awards in Canadian Music Competition, Toronto Kiwanis, Newmarket Lions Club and North York Music Festival. Samantha’s first solo debut with the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra, playing the Schumann Cello Concerto in A minor, took place in October of 2021.
During the summer of 2021, Samantha participated in the Orford Music Academy studying with Michel Strauss and the Domaine Forget International Music and Dance Academy with Johannes Moser. The following summer, her string quartet, the Freude Quartet, was invited to the Banff International String Quartet Competition’s Youth String Quartet Program during which she worked with Denis Brott, the Marmen Quartet and the Viano String Quartet. Most recently, Samantha participated in the Meadowmount School of Music, studying with Hans Jensen, Brannon Cho, Su Zhen and Ayane Kozasa.
This school year, Samantha had the opportunity to work with renowned cellist and teacher, Colin Carr, in a masterclass hosted by the Glenn Gould School.
Samantha’s piano trio, the Renati Trio, placed second in their category of chamber groups of three or more members at the Glenn Gould School’s 2024 Chamber Competition. As representatives of the prizewinners, the trio performed at one of the Canadian Opera Company’s Free Concert Series concerts on April 10th, 2024.
1st prize winner of the YMoCA, Dominican violinist Yohali Montero is an engaging and exciting artist, celebrated for her captivating performances 
characterized by a "warm and luscious tone" and a remarkable ability to weave powerful storytelling into her music (Carmen Heredia). Her soloist journey has graced the stages of major orchestras in her homeland, including the Dominican Symphony Orchestra, Juan Pablo Duarte Symphony Orchestra, National Youth Symphony Orchestra, and UASD Chamber Orchestra.
Currently pursuing her bachelor's degree at the Glenn Gould School, Yohali holds one of the prestigious Temerty Foundation Scholarships and the Conner State Scholarship. Under the expert guidance of Paul Kantor and Min-Jeong Koh, she continues to refine her artistry and musical prowess.
A passionate and enthusiastic teacher, she is an assistant to outstanding pedagogue Kelly Parkins-Lindstrom, conducting orchestras, coaching chamber ensembles, and leading group violin lessons at the Oscar Peterson School. Recognized as a Young Leader Representative of the Dominican Republic by the Fine Arts Foundation for Human Development, Yohali is the visionary founder of Interludios de Esperanza, an outreach program committed to promoting classical music across all provinces of the Dominican Republic.
Born into a musical lineage, Yohali extends her passion for music education by nurturing her younger siblings' musical talents, providing them with violin lessons. Beyond the stage and studio, she embraces adventure and outdoor pursuits, delighting in exploring new places and capturing their beauty through her lens. Yohali is a devout Christian and regularly serves in her local church as part of the worship team.
As of March 2024
Instagram: @yohaviolinist / YouTube: Yohali Montero