PROGRAM

Music from their Latest album, Mappa Mundi 

Mozart: Sonata K448 (arr. Trépanier)

Amelkina-Vera: Pulsar

Roux*: Prologue, Fougue et Allegro Trépidant

Côté-Giguère*: Empty Houses

Jobim/Bonfa: Areias Bracas, Orfeu Negro (arr. Trépanier)

*Canadian composer

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

Clementi: Sonata in C Major Op. 33 No. 3

Brahms: Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel Op. 24

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition 

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

MUSIC FROM ACROSS THE AMERICAS

Anthony DiLorenzo: Fire Dance

Fisher Tull: Exhibition

Michael Kamen: Brass Quintet

Morley Calvert: Three Dance Impressions

Daniel Anderson: Huapango

Ignacio Calvo: Andean (arr. Jay Lichtann)

Astor Piazolla: Maria De Buenos Aires (arr. Bob Driggs)

Astor Piazolla: Oblivion (arr. Serdar Cezemci)

Ignacio Calvo: Girl from Ipanema (arr. Jay Lichtmann)

Aaron Copland: Old American Songs (arr. James Mattern)

ARTISTS

The Chicago Brass Quintet has been performing together for more than forty years. It currently tours internationally performing throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, North and South America. They have recorded for the Delos, Centaur, Crystal, GIA and Covenant labels and have broadcast often on WFMT, National Public Radio and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The New Yor Times says “The Chicago Brass Quintet has established itself as one of the best brass quintets in the world." The Chicago Tribune, “They project a crisp sonic brilliance that enlivens every score they play."

Ross Beacraft, Trumpet, performs as Principal Trumpet with the Chicago Opera Theater, and the Elgin Symphony. In addition, he has performed often with the Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera, the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Chicago’s ballet and theater orchestras and in many radio and television commercials. Former appointments include principal trumpet with the Norwegian Opera and Ballet Orchestra in Oslo, third assistant first trumpet with the North Carolina Symphony, brass department chair, lecturer in trumpet and Director of Admissions for the DePaul University School of Music. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, his primary teachers were Adolph Herseth, Vincent Cichowicz, William Scarlet, Arnold Jacobs, Sidney Mear and Harry Glantz.

Matthew Lee, Trumpet, is an active freelance artist in the Chicago area. He performs with the Chicago Brass Quintet, the Millar Brass Ensemble, the Illinois Philharmonic, extra with the Lyric Opera and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and a variety of chamber music ensembles. Holding a BA in Music Education from Western Illinois University and an MM in Performance from Northwestern University, he has studied with William DeJong, Vincent Cichowicz and Adolph Herseth. Mr. Lee has taught at DePaul University and Elmhurst College .

Alex Laskey is a Chicago based horn player and teacher. Alex has held positions with the Virginia Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Along with these ensembles, he has performed as a guest with orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, and Alabama Symphony among others. In addition to his orchestral work, Alex has enjoyed performing in a variety of styles with highlights including a touring with the musical Wicked, performing with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and recording with John Williams.

Adam Moen, Trombone, currently holds the positions as section trombone with Elgin Symphony and the Chicago Philharmonic. He performs regularly with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater and the Illinois Philharmonic. As a substitute player, he has performed with the major orchestras of Chicago, Minnesota, Milwaukee, St. Louis, as well as the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Grant Park Symphony. He served as 2nd Trombone/Assistant Principal with the Lyric Opera for the 2007-08, 08-09 seasons. Adam has extensive experience performing in chamber and contemporary ensembles. The list includes Chicago Chamber Musicians, Fulcrum Point, ICE, Pink Martini, Music Now, Contempo and The Rembrandt Chamber Players.

Matthew Gaunt, Tuba, enjoys a varied career as a performer and educator. He has recorded and toured internationally as a former member of Burning River Brass, Proteus 7, and Boston Brass. He has also performed with Empire Brass, Center City Brass Quintet, Rhythm & Brass, Chicago Chamber Musicians, and the Millar Brass Ensemble. Mr. Gaunt performed as the tubist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 2017-2020. He has also performed in concerts and tours with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Lyric Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Grant Park Festival Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, Cincinnati Pops, Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Ballet, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Sarasota Opera, and many regional orchestras in New England and around Chicago. He has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician at festivals such as Tanglewood, Ravinia, Blossom, Chautauqua, and Music Masters MMCK. Matt is on the faculty of the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University teaching tuba, euphonium and coaching chamber music.

PROGRAM

Saudade no. 3 - Roland Dyens (1955-2016)

1. Rituel ad libitum 

2. danse

3. fete and final

Shard - Elliott Carter (1908-2012)

Cello suite no. 6 in D major - J.S Bach (1685-1750)

1. prelude

2. allemande

3. courante

4. sarabande

5. gavottes I and II

6. Gigue

El Decameron Negro - Leo Brouwer (b. 1939)

1. Harp of the Warrior

2. Flight of the Lovers through the Valley of Echoes

3. Ballad of the Young Maiden in Love

Sonata For Guitar Op. 47 - Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983)

1. Esordio

2. scherzo

3. canto

4. finale

ARTIST

Guitarist Madeline Hall 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

Bach: Fantasy and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 944

Beethoven: “Waldstein” Sonata Op. 53 and Andante Favori, WoO 57 (original slow movement)

Schubert: Hūttenbrenner Variations, D. 576

Brahms: 4 Klavierstücke, Op. 119

ARTIST

Peter Vinograde, 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

Brahms: String Quartet No.3 in B flat Major, Op. 67 

Dinuk Wijeratne:  “Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems” (2015)

Schubert: Cello Quintet D. 956

ARTISTS

Cellist Paul Marleyn tours regularly in North America, Europe and Asia. As a frequent participant in summer festivals including the Prussia Cove, Busan, Festival of the Sound, Domaine Forget, Casalmaggiore, Leicester and Ottawa international festivals, he collaborates with artists such as Boris Berman, Miriam Fried, James Somerville, Paul Neubauer, Marc-André Hamelin, Steven Dann, Joshua Bell, and with members of the Tokyo, Vermeer, New Zealand, St. Lawrence and Hagen quartets. He has appeared as soloist with the London Philharmonia, Belgrade Philharmonic, European Chamber, Winnipeg Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Thunder Bay Symphony and Manitoba Chamber orchestras. The Artistic Director of Winnipeg’s Agassiz Chamber Music Festival since 2000, and the International Cello Festival of Canada since 2011, Paul was the cellist in Trio Hochelaga from 2006-2012. He has made several compact disc recordings on the United Records, CALA, ATMA, Signum Classics, CBC and RCA Victor labels. From 1993-7, Paul was principal cellist of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and has served at professor of cello at the University of Manitoba, and more recently at the University of Ottawa, where he now mentors an award-winning studio of young cellists.

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

TBA

ARTISTS

TBA

PROGRAM

Wednesday, June 11 

Part 6 of Ms. Taves' Complete Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle: No.s 4, 19, 20, 6, 21 ("Waldstein")

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

TBA

PROGRAM

Friday, June 13 

Part 7 of Ms. Taves' Complete Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle: No.s 1, 8 ("Pathétique"), 12, 31

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

TBA

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

Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080 (Formosa Quartet)

Contrapuntus I

Contrapunctus XIII

Contrapunctus III

Contrapunctus IX

George Enescu: Octet for strings in C Major, Op. 7

ARTISTS

Formosa String Quartet

Winners of the First Prize and Amadeus Prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, the FORMOSA QUARTET has been hailed as “spellbinding” (The Strad) and “remarkably fine” (Gramophone), and has given critically acclaimed performances at the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the Da Camera Society of Los Angeles, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Wigmore Hall in London, die Glocke Bremen, and the Kammermusiksaal at the Berliner Philharmonie. 

For two decades and counting, the Formosa Quartet has forged uncharted musical terrain in performances that go “beyond the beautiful and into the territory of unexpectedly thrilling… like shots of pure espresso” (MUSO Magazine). The founding members’ interest in championing Taiwanese music and Indigenous cultures has since expanded to include the exploration of the rich folk traditions and heritages found in America today. Whether in its uncompromisingly exploratory approach to the standard quartet literature; its socioculturally probing American Mirror Project; or its unique Sets curated from its collection of folk, pop, jazz, and poetry arrangements, the Formosa Quartet is committed to an insatiable search for the fresh and new in string quartet expression.

The Formosa Quartet undertakes a variety of residencies at organizations and institutions across North America and Asia. The ensemble serves as the Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, Faculty Quartet-in-Residence at the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYOC) and has enjoyed residencies at Art of Élan; Rice University, University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, San Diego; San Diego State University, and Heidelberg University. During the 2023-2024 season, they held the M. Thelma McAndless Distinguished Professor Chair in the Humanities at Eastern Michigan University where they launched their American Mirror Project, a collaborative initiative that holds up mirrors and highlights personal reflections on the history, identity, and meaning of "America” through a thought-provoking exploration of American music.

The Formosa Quartet has played a leading role in actively commissioning new works, contributing significantly to the modern string quartet repertory. FQ’s 2019 milestone album From Hungary to Taiwan includes premiere recordings of three Formosa commissions: Lei Liang’s Song Recollections, Dana Wilson’s Hungarian Folk Songs, and Wei-Chieh Lin’s Five Taiwanese Folk Songs. Other works composed for the quartet include pieces by Dana Wilson, Wei-Chieh Lin, Shih-Hui Chen, and Clancy Newman. Forthcoming commissions and premieres include works by Angelique Poteat, Paul Novak, and Shih-Hui Chen. 

The members of the Formosa Quartet – Jasmine Lin, David Bernat, Matthew Cohen, and Deborah Pae – have established themselves as leading solo, chamber, and orchestral musicians. With degrees from the Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, New England Conservatory, Colburn Conservatory, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, they have performed in major venues throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe and have been top prizewinners in prestigious competitions such as the Paganini, Primrose, Fischoff, and Naumburg competitions. As chamber musicians, they have appeared regularly at the Marlboro, Kingston, Santa Fe, and Ravinia festivals, as well as at Lincoln Center, La Jolla Summerfest, Caramoor, and Chamber Music Northwest. The members of the Formosa Quartet currently serve on faculty at Eastern Michigan University, Roosevelt University, and Heifetz International Music Institute. They have previously taught at the Taos School of Music and the Juilliard School.

Formed in 2002 when the four Taiwanese-descended founders came together for a concert tour of Taiwan, the Formosa Quartet’s cultural identity has since expanded to include broader American, pan-Asian, and Eastern European roots. Their name “Formosa” is taken in its most basic sense: Portuguese for “beautiful.”

The Formosa Quartet forms an octet with violins Andrea Guarneri (1662) and Samuel Zygmuntowicz (1984), a Peter Westerlund viola (2014), and a Vincenzo Postiglione cello (1885).

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

Ottorino Respighi: 5 pieces for violin and piano

Sergei Rachmaninoff: 2 Morceaux de salon, op 6

Paul Schoenfield: Four Souvenirs for Violin and Piano 

John Corigliano: Violin Sonata

ARTISTS

Jung Tsai, violin Based in Ontario, Canada, violinist Jung Tsai has performed extensively in the region where she has served as 2nd Associate Concertmaster in Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra and Concertmaster of Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra in Waterloo region in the past. Her other main appearances include performing as guest concertmaster and guest soloist with several local symphony orchestras in Ontario. Ms. Tsai is also a committed chamber musician in addition to her solo and orchestral performances. She has participated in the ensembles of string quartet and piano trio in the past which brought her to performances in North America. Recently she has been part of Coriolis chamber ensemble that has been annually presented in chamber series concert in Quebec and Ontario provinces. Jung received her Bachelor degree in Mannes The New School for Music (New York), Master Degree in DePaul School of Music (Chicago) and Artist Diploma in McGill School of Music (Montreal). During her stay in the United States she has won several prizes including winner of Mannes Community Concerto Competition, finalists of Plowman Chamber Music Competition, and Luminaries Fellowship winner of string category. Her past teachers include Nina Beilina, Ilya Kaler, Axel Strauss, Jonathan Crow and Denise Lupien. Based in Ontario, Canada, violinist Jung Tsai has performed extensively in the region where she has served as 2nd Associate Concertmaster in Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra and Concertmaster of Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra in Waterloo region in the past. Her other main appearances include performing as guest concertmaster and guest soloist with several local symphony orchestras in Ontario. Ms. Tsai is also a committed chamber musician in addition to her solo and orchestral performances. She has participated in the ensembles of string quartet and piano trio in the past which brought her to performances in North America. Recently she has been part of Coriolis chamber ensemble that has been annually presented in chamber series concert in Quebec and Ontario provinces. Jung received her Bachelor degree in Mannes The New School for Music (New York), Master Degree in DePaul School of Music (Chicago) and Artist Diploma in McGill School of Music (Montreal). During her stay in United States she has won several prizes including winner of Mannes Community Concerto Competition, finalists of Plowman Chamber Music Competition, and Luminaries Fellowship winner of string category. Her past teachers include Nina Beilina, Ilya Kaler, Axel Strauss, Jonathan Crow and Denise Lupien. 

Jui-Sheng Li, piano Praised by the New York Concert Review as “[a] musician of integrity and depth” and lauded by La Scena Musicale as “a dedicated and uniquely authentic artist,” Taiwanese pianist Jui-Sheng Li has garnered international acclaim in recent years. He has performed across Asia, Europe, and North America in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Château de Fontainebleau in France, Konzerthaus Blaibach in Germany, National Concert Hall in Taiwan, and both Montréal Symphony House and Bourgie Hall in Canada.

Additionally, he has performed at renowned festivals and institutions such as the Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the Brevard Music Center, the Castleman Quartet Program, the Easter Music Festival, the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance, the International Music Workshop and Festival, the International Summer Academy of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, the Musical Chairs Chamber Music Festival, the New York University Summer Piano Intensive, and the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival. His performances have also been broadcast on the Rukus Avenue Radio in Los Angeles, USA and the National Education Radio of Taiwan.

As a performing artist, Jui-Sheng believes that music transcends language and culture, serving as a profound means of expression that forges connections with audiences worldwide. His concert programming reflects a creative vision, blending traditional repertoire with lesser-known but equally exquisite works. His solo album, Recollection (2023), invites listeners on an intimate journey through his musical memories, featuring pieces by Schumann, Scriabin, Rathaus, and Taiwanese composer Ming-Hsiu Yen. These works, rooted in diverse cultural traditions, reflects the influences that have shaped his artistry. Released globally under IAN Records in Munich, Germany, Recollection is available: https://ianrecords.lnk.to/Recollection. To listen to Recollection, you can also visit: https://youtube.com/channel/UC4nVXU5x5qErKJghSV9pFAw?si=TdZCd99rGwNx2EV9.

As an educator, Jui-Sheng has held teaching positions at Northwestern Polytechnic, McGill University, and the University of Wyoming. Understanding the challenges young artists face in pursuing professional careers, he is committed to fostering their growth. He frequently collaborates with organizations on benefit concerts, such as the Healing Notes Series with the Cedar Cancer Foundation, and fundraising initiatives like In Concert for Cambodia, founded by Ms. Flora Liebich, to support less privileged communities.

Currently based in Montréal, Jui-Sheng serves as a Piano Educator with the Montréal Symphony Orchestra’s Music for Children initiative and as an Adjunct Lecturer at Singapore Raffles Music College. He holds a Doctor of Music degree from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, where he studied under Professor Kyoko

PROGRAM - Romantic Encounter: Ravel & Chopin

M. Ravel: 

Valses Nobles et Sentimentales

Sonatine

Alborada del Gracioso (from "Mirrors")

F. Chopin:

Three Mazurkas Op. 56

Sonata No. 3 in B Minor Op. 58

ARTIST

Junwen Liang 

"...a very gifted pianist and a musician of great sensitivity" - Richard Goode 

“…Captivating” --- Stroll Magazine
“…an extremely gifted and promising young artist” --- Rorianne Sharade, New York Concert Review. Inc.
"With an engaging stage presence, helpful spoken introductions to the music, and confident programming skills, Junwen Liang is ready for a major career" --- Michael J. Moran, In the Spotlight Inc. 

​​Originally from Nanning, China, Junwen began his piano studies at the age of nine and made his solo debut at thirteen. During his years as a student, he performed at distinguished venues across the United States, including Stockton University Performing Arts Center, The Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts in New Jersey, Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State, Barnes Hall at Cornell University, 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.  

 As a soloist, Junwen collaborated with orchestras such as the Central Texas Philharmonic, Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra, and Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra. His interpretation of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra was broadcast on WSKG radio, further showcasing his growing presence in the classical music scene. Additionally, he was invited to present a solo performance on WRTI Classical Radio in Philadelphia, further establishing his reputation as a promising concert pianist. 

​ Since 2023, Junwen's artistry has flourished with a rapidly expanding career as a versatile recitalist, leading to invitations from distinguished series such as Lake Barcroft Concerts (Falls Church, VA), Arts Club of Washington (Washington, DC), Sunday Recital Series at Saint Thomas (Manhattan, NY), Trinity Concert Series (Watertown, NY), Sevenars Music Festival (South Worthington, MA), and the Afternoon Recital Series at Grunin Center (Toms River, NJ). For the 2024/25 season, Junwen will debut across North America, performing in prestigious series including Fripp Island Friends of Music, Aiden Chamber Music Series at McLean Center, Saugerties Pro Musica, Chamber On The Mountain, Classical Series at Boston Court Pasadena, Charlotte House Series; as well as in residencies at universities in New Jersey, Maryland, and California. (additional concerts for the 2024/25 season can be found here) 

​ 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. 

 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, 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, Johnathan Biss, 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. 

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). 

Junwen currently teaches at the Music Department of University of Pennsylvania, and is represented worldwide by Price Attractions. 

PROGRAM

W. A. Mozart: Sonata in C Major K303

A. Beach: Sonata Op. 34

R. Strauss: Sonata Op. 18

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

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.

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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

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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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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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Zemlinsky String Quartet: František Souček, Petr Střížek (violins), Petr Holman (viola), Vladimír Fortin (cello)

Many of you will remember the unforgettable complete Dvorak quartet series the Zemlinsky Quartet performed for us in 2018.

Founded in 1994 while the members were still students, the ZEMLINSKY QUARTET has become a much lauded example of the Czech string quartet tradition. The Zemlinsky Quartet won the First Grand Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in 2010. They have also been awarded top prizes at the Banff International String Quartet Competition (2007), Prague Spring International Music Competition (2005) and London International String Quartet Competition (2006), where they also received the Audience Prize. The Quartet was recipient of the

Alexander Zemlinsky Advancement Award in 2008. Other notable prizes include Beethoven International Competition (1999), New Talent Bratislava (2003), Martinů Foundation String Quartet Competition (2004), and the Prize of Czech Chamber Music Society (2005). In the season 2016/17, Zemlinsky Quartet was appointed as the residential ensemble of the Czech Chamber Music Society.

While students at the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts Prague, the ensemble was coached by members of renowned Czech string quartets including the Talich, Prague, Kocian and Pražák Quartets. The ensemble also took part in several master classes including ProQuartet, in France and Sommerakademie in Reichenau, Austria where they were awarded First Prize for the best interpretation of a work by Janáček. From 2005 to 2008, the quartet studied

with Walter Levin, the first violinist of LaSalle Quartet. Their recent mentor has been Josef Klusoň, the violist of the Pražák Quartet.

The Zemlinsky Quartet is named after the Austrian composer, conductor and teacher Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942), whose enormous contribution to Czech, German and Jewish culture during his 16-year residence in Prague had been underrated until recently. His four string quartets (the second one being dedicated to his student and brother-in-law Arnold Schönberg) belong to the basic repertoire of the ensemble. Since 2005, the quartet has maintained a special relationship with the Alexander Zemlinsky Foundation in Vienna.

The Zemlinsky Quartet performs regularly in the Czech Republic and abroad (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Monaco, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Canada, USA, Brazil, Japan, South Korea). Recent major appearances of the Zemlinsky Quartet include London’s Wigmore Hall, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Library of Congress, Place des Arts in Montreal, Prague Spring Festival, and their New York debut on Schneider/New School Concerts Series.

Their vast repertoire contains more than 200 works ranging from Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Dvorak to works by contemporary composers. The members of the ensemble also perform as soloists and are individual prize-winners of several competitions (Concertino Praga, Spohr International Competition Weimar, Tribune of Young Artists UNESCO, Rotary Music Competition Nürnberg,Beethoven International Competition, Kocian International Competition).

Between 2006-2011, the Zemlinsky Quartet were Assistant Quartet-in-Residence at Musikakademie Basel in Switzerland. Music education is an important part of

their professional life and during their tours, the quartet is often invited to give master classes to students of any age. They also perform educational concerts for

students. Recently, František Souček and Petr Holman have been appointed Professors at the Prague Conservatory.

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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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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.

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PROGRAM

Complete Beethoven Violin/Piano Sonatas

Friday November 14  Sonata No.s 1, 2, 3, 5

Sunday November 23  Sonata No.s 8, 4, 7

Friday November 28  Sonata No.s 6, 10, 9

ARTISTS (photo by Karen E. Reeves)

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 served as 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 Mr. Gemmell is concertmaster for the Burlington Symphony Orchestra, the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra Toronto. He has also served in this capacity with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, the Brott Music Festival/ National Academy Orchestra, the Elora Festival Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Orchestra, the Ontario Philharmonic, the Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra, the Burlington New Millenium Orchestra and the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra.

Very active in Toronto’s thriving musical theatre scene, Mr. Gemmell has been concertmaster in such musicals as Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, 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 has performed solos and concertos by Brahms, Sarasate, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Sibelius, Prokofiev, and Vivaldi.  In 2025, he is performing concertos with the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Toronto.

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.  In addition to the Gemmell & Smith violin-piano duo with pianist Benjamin Smith, Mr. Gemmell performs as part of Duo Regale with organist Aaron James, exploring 20th and 21st-century repertoire for violin and organ. 

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.  He is sought-after as a clinician and adjudicator at music festivals and institutes across the country.

In 2022 Mr. Gemmell recorded several new works, released in 2023, of solo and chamber music by Canadian composers Ronald Royer, Daniel Mehdizadeh, Brandon Walker, and Elizabeth Raum, in association with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra. He can be heard on 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 performs 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, using 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. 

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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.

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Flavius Wagner, guitar virtuoso, born and raised in Baden-Baden, began learning the guitar at an early age. He achieved early success in competitions such as Jugend Musiziert, where he was awarded several first prizes.

At the age of 14, he became a junior student at the HMDK Stuttgart in the class of Prof. Johannes Monno, where he has been studying for a Bachelor of Music since 2022.

Wagner is a prizewinner and winner of renowned guitar competitions in Bosnia, Chicago, Florida, and New York. Concert tours have taken him to Venice and Canada.

Flavius ​​Wagner teaches on behalf of the State Music Council and at the Youth Choir of Baden-Württemberg. In addition to his solo activities, he also works in various chamber music ensembles.

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Prize winner in the 2023 Prix Ravel, Hong Kong-born Canadian pianist Dane Ko is active as recitalist, chamber musician and educator on international stages. In the 2024-25 season, Dane will tour in recital to Montreal, Toronto, Hong Kong, and Macau, where he will also give masterclasses and workshops at The University of Hong Kong, University of Macau, and the University of Toronto. Chamber music performances this season include piano duo with Tong Wang, four- hands with David Potvin, and an appearance in the Belfast Chamber Music Festival in Maine.

As soloist, Dane has performed in such venues as the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall, Koerner Hall of The Royal Conservatory in Toronto, and Le Château de Fontainebleau in France. Among Dane’s growing accolades are prizes at Prix Ravel, The Shean Piano Competition, The Glenn Gould School Chamber Music Competition, and the Canadian Music Competition “Stepping Stone”. Dane frequently appears in important festivals in Europe and North America. In recent years these include Mozarteum (Austria), Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival (United States), Domaine Forget (Quebec), and Fontainebleau (France) during which he was awarded second prize in the Prix Ravel presented by The Maurice Ravel Foundation, and the Prix Langage Musical - harmony prize established by Nadia Boulanger. A radio veteran, Dane has given interviews and performances on Florida’s Classical WSMR, Hong Kong’s RTHK Radio 4, and CBC Radio One.

In addition to his performance activities, Dane is a passionate educator and an award-winning research scholar. Dane serves as an instructor of piano at McGill University Schulich School of Music, maintains a robust private studio, and is in demand as a masterclass clinician. A tribute to his late teacher, Marietta Orlov, Dane’s ongoing doctoral project on the Romanian piano school centering on Professor Orlov’s pedagogical legacy won the 2024 Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral Award by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). This major three-year research grant has little precedence of being awarded to a performer. Other research topics include mental practice strategies, on which he received repeated invitations to guest lecture at collegiate institutions including his alma mater, University of Toronto’s Graduate Piano Pedagogy Seminar. In May 2024, Dane was invited to serve on the inaugural Junior Jury of the Montreal International Piano Competition (CMIM).

Dane’s work as artist-educator is inextricably linked with his role as a global citizen. He believes that music is an incomparable channel to inspire change, engage diverse communities and reach all generations. Every season, Dane curates and brings outreach programs to hospitals, senior residences, public schools, and performs for the non-profit series “In Concert for Cambodia” in Montreal. Formed with two colleagues, Dane’s Covid- 19 initiative – “Play It Forward” offered musical services as incentive for donations. Through this, they were able support charities including 2-spirited People of the First Nations; The Youth Project; LGBTQ Youth Helpline. Keenly aware of the intersectionality of one’s artistic and personal life, Dane openly shares the unique path of his musical journey. He has been featured in an episode of “Out in the Open” on CBC Radio in conversation with fellow transgender pianist, Sara Davis Buechner, and was most recently the featured artist in the University of Macau MCMC Musicales event “Resonance of Life and Music”.

From his first encounter with music, Dane cultivated a diverse musical pallet that spans genres and cultures. Dane lived his first eleven years in Hong Kong with his father who was active in the Chinese traditional music scene as conductor, erhu and guzheng teacher. Forging his path as a classical pianist, his musical cultures eventually collided in opportunities to appear as soloist in the Yellow River Concerto with Yao Yue Chinese Orchestra in Hong Kong City Hall, and in duo with prominent soloists of Chinese instruments, including Erhu virtuoso George Gao. Beyond musical cultures, Dane’s personal relationship with music began without borders through improvisation. Dane’s love and affinity for spontaneous creation continues to permeate all the music he has encountered throughout his upbringing and into his professional career. He dabbles in jazz, popular music, and is a strong proponent of improvising ornamentation and cadenzas in Baroque and Classical repertoire. Among musical moments that sparked the most joy are off-the-score explorations both on and off stage.

In the classical music realm, Dane has had the privilege to train with preeminent artistic personalities across Europe, Asia and North America. These include Robert Levin, Klaus Hellwig, Jan Jiracek von Arnim, Ronan O’Hora, Benedetto Lupo, Eric Le Sage, John Perry, Jeremy Denk, John O’Conor, Rebecca Penneys, Wael Farouk, Roberta Rust, Ya-Fei Chuang and numerous others. His formal studies at the University of Toronto and The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory culminated in a Bachelor of Music in piano performance, an Advanced Certificate in Performance, a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy and an Artist Diploma. Dane also holds the ARCT diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music conferred with the National Gold Medal. Currently based in Montreal, Dane is pursuing the Doctor of Music degree at McGill University Schulich School of Music. Dane is always indebted to his primary teachers: the late Marietta Orlov, the late Anna Fomina, Lydia Wong and Ilya Poletaev, who remain his pillars in life and music.

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Daniel Ramjattan, guitar Dr. Daniel Ramjattan has become anambassador for the classical guitar in Canada, having premiered dozens of chamber and solo works for guitar. He has given recitals in Vienna, Austria, Italy, and various locations across Canada, the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, and Japan, and has received an array of top prizes in provincial and national solo guitar competitions. He has performed in festivals such as Koerner's 21C Festival, Open Ears, Waterloo, Guitar Alla Grande, INNERChamber, Ottawa Chamberfest, the Livorno Music Festival, Italy, the Alte Schmiede Kunstverein, Vienna’s Contemporary music series, Toronto Guitar Society’s Guitar Weekend, Vancouver Classical Guitar Festival, and many more. He also gave his concerto debut with Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez in 2023 with the Stratford Symphony.

His debut studio album, "Inspirations: New Works for Solo Guitar," features his interpretation of six brilliant works by Canadian composers, including three world premiere recordings, available for streaming on all major platforms. CBC Radio’s Paolo Pietropaolo featured the album as the Record of the Week in March 2022, and WholeNote Magazine described his playing as "beautifully clean."

He recently completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Toronto in August 2022, where he wrote his dissertation on music performance anxiety in classical guitarists, receiving a senior doctoral fellowship from New College in 2021-2022. He often shares insights from his research with his guitar students and performance coaching clients and has given lectures on the topic at McGill University, the University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University, Memorial University, the University of Waterloo, Mount Royal University, and more. CBC television’s the National has also interviewed him as an expert on music performance anxiety.

In 2020, he joined Wilfrid Laurier University's Faculty of Music as a classical guitar instructor, and designed and inaugurated the the Faculty of Music’s first music performance anxiety and performance skills course in Fall 2022. His students have received top prizes at the OMFA Ontario provincial guitar competitions, have received the RCM Gold medal, and have attended undergraduate and graduate programs throughout Canada. He has adjudicated several competitions, including the Canada West Performing Arts Festival and the FCMF National Music Festival.

Daniel’s past mentors have included Patrick Roux, Dr. Jeffrey McFadden, the late great Bruce Holzman, Lorenzo Micheli, and Jorge Caballero, and he has performed in masterclasses for world- class artists such as Sergio Assad, Judicael Perroy, Pavel Steidl, Fabio Zanon, and many others. He has taken first prize at competitions such as the Ottawa-Gatineau guitar competition and OMFA Provincial Guitar Competition open level in 2014 and 2016. He also placed second in the FCMF National Guitar Competition in 2016, and placed as a finalist in the Montreal and Hamilton International Guitar Competitions.

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Meagan Milatz, pianist, is winner of the prestigious 2025-2028 Mécénat Musica Prix Goyer and the 2024 Prix Opus “Discovery of the Year”. She is “a remarkable pianist with a seemingly limitless palette of expression” (Le Devoir). Meagan regularly shares the stage with top international musicians including Andrew Wan, concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Stefan Dohr, Principal Horn of the Berlin Philharmonic, cellist Matt Haimovitz, and mandolinist Avi Avital. In 2022, Meagan was named co-artistic director of HausMusique, along with cellist Cameron Crozman. 

Awarded the 2024 Prix Choquette-Symcox by Fondation Jeunesses Musicales Canada, Meagan’s recent engagements have included performances with Olivier Charlier, Michel Michalakakos, Cho-Liang Lin, Peter Hanson, Olivier Charlier, Pablo Hernán Benedí, Steven Dann, and tubist Øystein Baadsvik, among others. Internationally, Meagan has performed at the New Ross Piano Festival in Ireland in 2023 - the first Canadian musician to be invited - as well as at the Edeta Arts International Chamber Music Festival where she appeared in concert in Spain with violinists Wolfgang Redik in 2024 and Kai Gleusteen, concertmaster of the Orchestra del Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona, in 2022. Meagan recently embarked on a 2024 European recital tour with cellist Cameron Crozman in Italy, France, Malta, and Portugal. 

Meagan has appeared as a soloist alongside orchestras such as the Edmonton, Regina, Sherbrooke, and McGill Symphonies. Meagan was top prize winner in the Shean Piano Competition, CFMTA National Piano Competition, and Canadian Music Competition, and the recipient of a Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award. Her performances are regularly broadcast on CBC/Radio-Canada.  

Meagan has a recording contract for nine albums of solo and chamber music with ATMA Classique. She recently recorded an album of music for fortepiano and natural horn alongside Louis-Pierre Bergeron, released in December 2023. For the 2019/2020 season, Meagan undertook a 50-concert, Canada-wide tour alongside violinist Amy Hillis as the duo “meagan&amy”, winners of the first-ever Pan-Canadian Partnership Recital Tour offered by Jeunesses Musicales Canada, Debut Atlantic, and Prairie Debut. 

Meagan began her studies in Saskatchewan and holds a Master’s degree from McGill University. She is grateful to her teachers and lifelong mentors Cherith Alexander, Ilya Poletaev, Philip Chiu, and Tom Beghin with whom she was greatly privileged to study the fortepiano. Enthusiastic about helping the next generation of young musicians, she is a passionate faculty member of the “Session sonates violon et piano” of Camp Musical du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. 

Meagan lives in Montreal where she loves biking, reading outside whenever possible, and enjoying the occasional tasty pastry. 

The versatile violinist and violist Victor Fournelle-Blain leads an active career as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. Principal Viola of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, he also teaches viola at McGill University and orchestral studies at Université de Montréal. After studying violin at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal under Johanne Arel, he went on to work with Ani Kavafian at the Yale School of Music, and subsequently joined the class of André Roy as a viola student at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University. Winner of McGill’s 2014 Golden Violin Award, the 2012 Prix d’Europe, and Second Prize winner of the 2010 OSM Competition, Victor Fournelle-Blain has performed as a guest soloist with various orchestras including the Orchestre Métropolitain and the Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil. As violinist of the Grand-Duc Trio, he regularly collaborates with renowned musicians including Charles Richard-Hamelin, Andrew Wan and Brian Manker. Victor Fournelle-Blain currently plays a violin by Carlo Tononi and a viola by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, both generously loaned to him by Canimex. 

PROGRAM

A selection of solo and duo piano works - details soon!

ARTISTS

Agnė Radzevičiūtė and Dmitri Levkovich, solo piano and piano 4-hands

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.”

Recent performance highlights include Grieg Concerto with Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, Liszt First Piano Concerto at the Great Hall of Berlin Philharmonie, a debut at the Ravinia Festival and 2nd International Mariinsky Far East Festival . Dmitri was featured in ARTE TV's "Stars of tomorrow" and "Living the Classical Life" interview series. His debut recording of Rachmaninoff’s 24 Preludes was met with worldwide critical acclaim and earned a nomination for the 2016 International Classical Music Award.

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 Prize. Dmitri has earned numerous ‘audience favorite’ awards and special prizes, notably for best performance of Chopin’s works.

In the fall of 2021, Dmitri toured Switzerland with Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, performing at Basel and Bern Philharmonic Halls.  The same season, he performed Rachmaninoff’s Second Concerto with Baden-Baden Symphony Orchestra at the Frankfurt’s Alte Oper. Since recently, Dmitri is getting recognition as a composer. The Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra has performed his "Fantasie" for piano and orchestra, and his Piano Trio was performed at the prestigious Verbier Festival in Switzerland.

Agnė Radzevičiūtė's first international stage appearance was at the age of 10 on a tour in Switzerland. Since then performances have taken her to Belgium, Canada, Israel, Finland, France, Portugal, Poland, Russia and the USA. She has performed Chopin and Mozart concerti with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Kaunas Symphonic and St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra (Lithuania). On seven separate occasions, Agnė performed at the Vilnius’s National Philharmonic Hall, most notably in Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20, K 466 under the baton of R. Šervenikas and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. She received distinctions from the President of Lithuania as well as the Ministry of Education for her “active performance career and representing Lithuania on the international stage”.  In 2018, she made her United States orchestra debut with Chagrin Valley Studio Orchestra under the baton of Steve Eva. In April 2023, Agnė debuted with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra in a performance which was streamed live on the Lithuanian National Television.

Agnė graduated with valedictorian distinctions from the foremost art school of Lithuania - the Čiurlionis School of Art. The school orchestra toured Lithuania and Russia with Agnė as a featured soloist. While still in Lithuania, she was a part of the Rostropovich Foundation performers’ roster and was supported by prof. Michel Sogny’s foundation “SOS Talents”, based in Switzerland. She earned her Bachelor and Master Degrees in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City and her Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Throughout the years Agnė feels fortunate to have had guidance from such esteemed musicians as Sergei Babayan, Michel Beroff, Philippe Entremont, Dmitri Levkovich, David Louie, John Perry, André-Michel Schub, Jeffrey Swann as well as members of the American String Quartet. 

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Georgy Valtchev, violin

Lora Tchekoratova, piano

Performing together as violin and piano duo since 1996, Valtchev and Tchekoratova were first presented to the public at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in concert, entitled Musical Treasures from Bulgaria under the sponsorship of the Cyril and Methodius International Foundation. Ever since, the artists have appeared together in numerous recitals and chamber music collaborations throughout the United States and Europe to great audience and critical acclaim.

Their adventurous programming has led them to musical explorations and collaborations with contemporary composers and has inspired them to create platforms for cultural exchange between the United States and other cultures. The duo often presents the works of American composers in Bulgaria and vice versa, brings music from the Balkans to the Western stages.

The duo appears regularly at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, the 92nd Street Y, the Kennedy Center, and at many international chamber music festivals and concert series, including Sofia Music Weeks, Varna Summer, and Apolonia in Bulgaria, Baståd Chamber Music Festival in Sweden, the Deerfield Memorial Hall Summer Concerts and the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in Blue Hill, Maine.

The artists’ program "East of Budapest", featuring composers from Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Albania, was presented at universities across the country, including New York University (Institute for the Study of the Ancient World), Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA, and Salisbury University in Salisbury, MD. Their debut CD of Béla Bartók's Violin and Piano Rhapsodies and Sonatas is available on Gega New through ArkivMusic.

Lora and Georgy are both distinguished Juilliard graduates. Lora received her Doctorate of Musical Arts under the guidance of the great American pianist Seymour Lipkin and the contemporary music champion Joel Sachs. Georgy was a pupil of the world renowned violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay. Their duo projects have been supported by numerous grants and awards by the American Foundation for Bulgaria, the Kitteridge Fund, The Arthur Foundation, The Puffin Foundation, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

The Duo has performed the majority of the standard classical Violin and Piano repertoire, most notably the complete Beethoven Sonatas for Piano and Violin (in three concerts), the three Brahms Sonatas for Piano and Violin as well as the sonata for Violin and Piano of Ravel, Debussy, Strauss, Mozart, Faure, Franck, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Grieg. In addition, they frequently program the works of Yanacek, Enescu, Bartok, Vladigerov, Leviev, Tabakova, and many other 20th and 21st century masters.

In August, 2018, Lora and Georgy launched “The Off the Beaten Path Chamber Music Festival” in the village of Kovachevitsa, South Western Rhodope mountains, Bulgaria. Since then, the festival has become a beloved summer destination for music lovers from Bulgaria and beyond and a nature sanctuary for renowned chamber music artists to rehearse, perform, and commission new works. In addition to presenting the festival, the musicians also bring music education to the area and are involved in the restoration of the community center at the village.

PROGRAM

The guitar of Schubert and Paganini (details to follow)

ARTISTS

Pascal Valois: romantic guitar

Jessy Dubé: violin

Sari Tsuji: viola

Marie-Michel Beauparlant : cello

Guitarist Pascal Valois is dedicated to reviving enthusiasm for the guitar scene during the Romantic era. He performs music from the nineteenth-century repertoire by using various period instruments, ornamentation, stylistic practices of the period, as well as improvisation, which was customary in that era.

After graduating with honours at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal under Jean Vallières, and receiving the award Pierre J. Jeanniot during his studies at Université du Québec à Montréal with Alvaro Pierri, Valois studied romantic guitar with Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and with David Starobin in New York. He has also received a doctorate in Performance Practice from Université Laval. Recently, he has played in Basel, Paris, Riga, San Francisco, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto. He has been a soloist with many ensembles, among them Rigas’s Ensemble Samsara and Montreal’s Les Idées Heureuses. He has also given master-classes in many institutions, including the Manhattan School of music, the San Francisco Conservatory, and the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.

Pascal Valois has received the most renowned bursaries in Canada for guitar performance (Canada Council for the Arts) as well as Musicology (FQRSC and SSHRC). He has also been awarded scholarships from the Desjardins Foundation, the Wilfrid-Pelletier Foundation, the Laval University Foundation, and the Université du Québec à Montréal Foundation. Pascal Valois recorded for the Centaur Records and Analekta labels.

Pascal Valois is a professor of classical guitar at the Alma College and Conservatoire de Saguenay. His students have won national music competitions and were awarded gold medals in national guitar exams. You can contact him for private lessons: pascalvalois@hotmail.com.

“The Québecois Valois is an exceptionally fine soloist who plays with a romantic temperament, coaxing many colors from a small instrument and shaping his phrases with such skill that one hears a whole narrative in his wordless playing. He plays with dimension, passion, and elegance (...)."

— Chris Petitt, Seen and Heard International, New York

Jessy Dubé, violin Hailing from Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, Jessy Dubé started her musical career at the Conservatoire de Musique de Saguenay, Quebec, and pursued her studies at the Hochschule für Musik Basel, in Switzerland. Since then she had held the position of concert master of the Orchestre de la Francophonie with whom she toured in South America and with Chamber Music Basel she toured in Europe and Israel.

Her interest in early music inspired her to participate in workshops with Tafelmusik in Toronto and with Sigiswald Kuijken at the Petite Bande Summer Academy in Belgium. Jessy plays regularly with the Arion Baroque Orchestra and L’Harmonie des Saisons in Montreal. A new passion for the viol was inspired by a project initiated by Les Voix humaines and supported by the Quebec Arts Council to teach professional string players how to play the viol. She recently received a foundation scholarship to continue studying the viol with Mélisande Corriveau.

Sari Tsuji, viola holds degrees in violin and early music performance from McGill University where she studied with Thomas Williams, Emlyn Ngai, Hélène Plouffe, Hank Knox, and Betsy MacMillan. She is a founding member of Seasons Baroque, a Fredericton-based chamber music ensemble in which she also plays the bass viol. Sari has performed in England, Italy, Japan, the US, and across Canada with Ensemble Arion, Aradia Ensemble, les Voix Baroques, and the Lameque Festival Orchestra. She has recorded with Ensemble Arion and La Bande Montréal Baroque for the early-music.com and ATMA labels, and with Aradia Ensemble and the Toronto Chamber Orchestra for Naxos. 

Marie-Michel Beauparlant, cello holds a diploma from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal (2005), a Master’s degree in performance from Rice University (2008) and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in performance from Stony Brook University (2014). She has studied with Denis Brott, Norman Fischer and Colin Carr. She is a past winner of the Radio Canada young artists program (2006) and been invited to the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center (2006–2008) where she completed her training with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of James Levine.

Passionate about contemporary music, Marie-Michel has participated in numerous North American premieres and has performed at the Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival. During her time at Stony Brook, she became a member of the Contemporary Chamber Players of the University and participated in the World Premieres Concerts in New York (2011), concerts devoted to Ligeti, Stockhausen and Crumb, as well as a professional recording of music by Lansing Mcloskey.

Since the end of her formal studies, Marie-Michel has pursued a growing interest in the art of improvisation and early music performance. She has taken part in various programs offered by the Canadian Baroque ensemble Tafelmusik and studies Baroque cello with Christina Mahler and Elinor Frey.

Marie-Michel has won numerous prizes and scholarships including the Concerto Competition and the “Prix” in cello and chamber music from the Montreal Conservatory of Music, the Samuel Mayes Memorial Cello Award from the Tanglewood Music Center and the Jeanne Lamon Scholarship from Tafelmusik. She also received full scholarships for her studies at Rice and Stony Brook Universities. She has participated in numerous Master Classes with musicians and renowned professors including Yo-Yo Ma. She performs regularly with various Canadian ensembles including the Quebec Symphony Orchestra and the Violons du Roy.

A dedicated teacher, Marie-Michel has taught for fifteen years in various institutions including Rice University, Amhesrt College, The Bement School in Massachusetts and currently the Cooperative of Music Teachers of Montreal, the Regina Assumpta College and the school Des Cèdres of Laval.

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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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Pamela Highbaugh Aloni, cello

Praised for her “meltingly beautiful solos” (The Detroit News) and performances of “depth and insight” (Times Colonist), Pamela is a co-founding member of the prize – winning Lafayette String Quartet.

Since 1991, Pamela along with her quartet colleagues has been an Artist in Residence at UVic, where she teaches cello, chamber music and co-supervises the strings mentoring course in collaboration with School District 61. She and the LSQ maintain their leadership in one of the strongest university string programs in Canada. The Lafayette quartet celebrated 25 years of musical life together in 2011. Highlights of these years include a celebration of the millennium performing all sixteen of Beethoven’s string quartets, tours in North America and Europe, and the initiation of the Lafayette Health Awareness Forum. Recordings include a recent title “Tre Vecchi Amici” featuring works written for the quartet. Their CBC recording “Death and the Maiden” was awarded “Outstanding Classical Recording of the Year” by the Western Canada Music Awards.

A native of California, Pamela served as principal cellist with the Detroit’s Renaissance City Chamber Players. She was a Ford Motor Company Artist in Residence at the Center for Creative Studies Institute of Music and Dance and a faculty member at Oakland University. She earned her BMus and MMus degrees from California State University, Northridge and Indiana University. Her principal teachers include Peter Rejto, Janos Starker and Paul Katz.

An enthusiast teacher, Ms. Highbaugh Aloni served for ten years on the faculty at the Courtenay Youth Music School and Festival and for the past six years has been the coach for the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra cello section. She has performed both as a soloist and recitalist and has been a guest artist with the Sooke Philharmonic, Vetta Ensemble of Vancouver, Victoria Summer Festival, Eine Kleine Summer Music, Chamber Music San Juan, and the Victoria Symphony’s Summer Cathedral Series, and has served as principal cellist with the Galiano Ensemble since its inaugural season in 2000. Pamela plays on a George Craske cello made in England, 1850.

Futaba Niekawa, piano

Futaba Niekawa is lecturer in music (chamber and collaborative music) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she has been on faculty since 2015.

Known for her verve and sensitivity, Niekawa pushes the boundaries of her artistry as a versatile pianist, chamber musician, and mentor across genres and disciplines. She has performed throughout the United States, Canada, England, Spain, Taiwan, and her native Japan.

To date, she has released five recordings encompassing solo, four-hands, duo, and chamber music from classical to newly composed works. Niekawa’s curiosity for multidisciplinary collaboration and performing music of her generation continuously develops into artistic partnerships with composers, dancers, poets, and visual artists.

In demand as a collaborative pianist, Niekawa has performed with violist Atar Arad, clarinetist James Campbell, violinist Charles Castleman, and members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among others. She has been engaged as a collaborative pianist at the Banff Centre, New England Conservatory, Boston Ballet School, Meadowmount School of Music, the IU Summer String Academy, and the Perlman Music Program.

Niekawa and violinist Kerry DuWors have performed as duo526 since 2011. After their latest release, Duo Fantasy, critics praised them as “a beautifully balanced duo” (Gramophone magazine) and said they “create an art that goes beyond mere interpretation. The personality of the two musicians expands out with a creative attitude towards the world” (Sonograma Magazine).

The duo’s reach extends beyond the stage, including to its annual Sonata Seminar, where Niekawa and DuWors mentor and nurture the love of collaboration in the next generation, as well as their scholarly research and innovative projects on esoteric duo works.

Niekawa earned her Bachelor of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Natalya Antonova, Thomas Schumacher, and Jean Barr, and her Master of Music from New England Conservatory, with the late Patricia Zander and Irma Vallecillo.

In addition to her teaching position at Indiana University, she has appeared as a guest teacher at universities across North America. She has been invited as a performer and presenter at the Regina Chamber Music Festival and Dream Big: Music Out of Bounds conference, and as an adjudicator for the National Society of Arts and Letters.

Most recently, Niekawa has been a founding member of Chamberfest Brown County, a community outreach nonprofit initiative, creating platforms for accessible high-level performances in the local area.

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Deemed a “gifted, sincere musician and serious artist” by the legendary pianist Ruth Slenczynska and “a prodigy, [running] the emotional gamut from brooding introspection to manic exuberance” (San Francisco Examiner), American-Icelandic pianist Andrew J. Yang has an active international performance career across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Born and raised in California, Yang grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2020, he indefinitely moved to Iceland, where he has established himself as one of the most promising musicians in the country. For three years, Yang resided in Patreksfjörður, a beautiful small village of seven hundred inhabitants in the remote Westfjords region of Iceland. After a successful debut at Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík, Fréttablaðið, remarked: “Yang’s playing was full of emotion with amazing musical high points. Small nuances were beautifully executed, and the keystrokes were refined and even dreamy.” Yang is the founder and artistic director of the International Westfjords Piano Festival and Iceland Piano Festival.

Yang won top prizes at the 30th International FLAME Piano Competition (Paris) and the 5th Metropolitan International Piano Competition (New York City). Yang has also received awards from the Los Angeles International Liszt Piano Competition, Thaviu-Issac Piano Competition, and the Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition, and was a semifinalist at the Schimmel International Competition (Germany) and Campillos International Piano Competition in Spain. Yang received the 2023 Eyrarrósin Encouragement Award from First Lady of Iceland, Eliza Reid, and a “White Rose” Medal of Honor for musical excellence from President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö. Recent concerts include solo recitals at the Mozarthaus in Vienna, Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík, Musiikkitalo in Helsinki, Judaica Foundation in Krakow, and the Hoheikan in Sapporo. Yang has performed at most of the major New York venues including Carnegie Hall, Victor Borge Hall, and the Museum of Modern Art. He has also played extensively across Canada, including at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Centre d'arts Orford, and venues across British Columbia. Yang has also been invited to major festivals around the world including Gijon International Piano Festival in Spain, Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival in Florida, Austria International Piano Festival and Seminar, Krakow Piano Summer in Poland, Paderewski Piano Festival in Raleigh, Mannes Sounds Festival in New York City and Menningarnótt in Reykjavik. 

Yang’s most important teachers are the late Dr. William Wellborn, with whom he studied from childhood in 2007 until his passing in 2023, and Antoinette Perry. He has also studied with and been mentored by Ruth Slenczynska, Adam Wibrowski, James Giles, Dang Thai Son, and Robert McDonald. Yang received both a B.A. in Economics and B.M. in Piano Performance from Northwestern University. Upon graduation with an M.M. in Piano Performance from Mannes School of Music, he received the Steinway & Sons Award, a distinction given to the most outstanding graduating pianist. Yang then spent three years as a full-tuition scholarship D.M.A. doctoral student at USC Thornton School of Music (concurrently with living in Patreksfjörður), where also taught undergraduate and graduate piano major students as one of the two chosen Studio T.A.’s.

A former competitive athlete in badminton, track & field, and basketball, Yang also pursued an amateur boxing career, training out of the legendary John's Boxing Gym in the Bronx, NY. He trained mixed martial arts (MMA) under head coach Justen Hamilton at Modern Martial Arts in Pasadena, California. Yang also plays violin and guitar and is passionate about creating other genres of music, cooking, literature, and travelling. Yang is currently on the piano faculty at Tónlistarskólinn í Reykjavík and Tónskóli Sigursveins. He is also on the artist faculty at Krakow Piano Summer since 2023.

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Percussionist Zac Pulak and pianist Edana Higham are the two members of SHHH!! Ensemble, a duo carving a space for themselves as electrifying performers of new music. With a keen ear for experimentation and exploration, SHHH!! has been deemed “truly virtuosic and intense” by Toronto’s Confluence Concerts and called “a beautiful discovery” following their debut with the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec.

Formed in 2017, SHHH!! Ensemble began developing their signature “avant-accessible” style through residencies at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and the Canadian Music Centre. Since then, SHHH!! has continued to develop innovative repertoire for their ensemble by commissioning and premiering new works by Kelly-Marie Murphy, John Beckwith, Harry Stafylakis, Jocelyn Morlock, and Monica Pearce, among many others. 

SHHH!! Ensemble’s provocative “Spirits” program, premiered in January 2020 at the Canadian Music Centre, has since toured at concert series and festivals across Canada, including the Open Ears Festival of Music and Sound, LUMINA, Ottawa Chamberfest, and the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec’s Montreal New Music Festival.  Featuring music by J.S. Bach, Andy Akiho, Jocelyn Morlock, Monica Pearce, Micheline Roi, and others, “Spirits” is a journey through composers’ reflections on the nature of creativity, meditation, Scotch whisky, and The Beyond. 

SHHH!! Ensemble’s creativity and vitality were especially notable through the pandemic with one critic commenting “This virtuoso duo are so agile and inventive… I doubt anything short of a geological cataclysm will shut them down” (The WholeNote). 2020-2022 saw major highlights such as the duo’s acceptance into the prestigious Evolution: Classical career development residency at the Banff Centre, a National Arts Centre #CanadaPerforms concert, the world-premiere of JUNO-winning composer Jocelyn Morlock’s Spirit Gradient with the Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival in Newfoundland, and a nationally broadcast recital on the CBC Radio 2 program “In Concert”. 

In February 2023 SHHH!! Ensemble “enthralled” (Winnipeg Free Press) in their debut as soloists in the world premiere of Kelly-Marie Murphy’s concerto Machines, Mannequins, and Monsters with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. A repeat performance of that concerto the following week with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra was met with a standing ovation. 

As co-Artistic Directors of the Ottawa New Music Creators, Zac and Edana take pride in their role as presenters of weird and wonderful new sounds in the National Capital Region, curating programs known for cutting-edge invention drawing from local and international artists.

SHHH!! Ensemble’s debut album Meanwhile (Analekta) was released in October 2022 to critical acclaim, reaching top positions on Apple Music and Spotify playlists, as well as being nominated for Classical Recording of the Year at the 2023 East Coast Music Awards. The title track, Meanwhile, was the first piece written for SHHH!! by composer John Beckwith.

The duo’s sophomore album, a large-scale commissioned work by Frank Horvat entitled An Auditory Survey of the Last Days of the Holocene (Leaf Music), released on October 20, 2023. La Scena Musicale gave the recording 5 stars, calling it a “masterpiece” and “a much needed reminder of the healthy world we are all working toward”.

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Ida Derbesse, 1st violin

Elena Watson-Perry, 2nd violin

Claire Pass-Lanneau, viola

Fiona Robson, cello

“A model of technical discipline, elegance and musical excellence” (La Croix, transl.), the QUATUOR MAGENTA was founded in 2021 and is already performing on France’s most prestigious stages, from the Philharmonie de Paris to the Festival de RadioFrance Montpellier. Their “remarkable balance, flexibility and spontaneity” (Diapason, transl.) not only thrills their audiences, but led them to the finals of the 8th Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna and earned them prizes at the 2023 FNAPEC competition (Académie des Beaux-Arts scholarship) and the 2022 Zukunftsklang Competition Stuttgart (3rd prize). November 2024 marked the quartet’s first international tour to Canada with six concerts in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, generously supported by the Centre National de la Musique and SPEDIDAM. 

The Quatuor Magenta is based in Paris, France, where they are junior artist-in-residence at the Singer-Polignac Foundation and ensemble-in-residence at Proquartet - Centre Européen de Musique de Chambre. They have been invited to perform at numerous festivals in France, including the Musikfest Parisienne, the Festival de la Chaise-Dieu, Un Temps pour Elles, Un Été en France with Gautier Capuçon and the Modigliani Quartet’s Festival Vibre!, as well as in Switzerland (Festival de la Collégiale in Neuchâtel) and in Germany (Klangraum Konzerte in Cologne). 

Last season, contemporary music had 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 Biennale. This season includes six octet performances alongside the renowned Quatuor Van Kuijk, in partnership with La Belle Saison. 

The Quatuor Magenta was honoured to participate in the inaugural year of the Élite program at the École Normale de Paris, under the mentorship of the Quatuor Modigliani. They currently study with the Quatuor Ébène at their quartet academy at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, as well as with Rainer Schmidt of the Hagen Quartet at the Basel University of Music. They are grateful for the support of the Safran Foundation and ADAMI. They work with Chapeau l’Artiste Production. 

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Anna Jane Lester, Chloe Prendergast, violins

Isabel Franenberg, viola

Evan Buttar, cello

The Butter Quartet consists of four musicians brought together by their mutual love of vibrant historically-informed performance of string quartets. They first formed during their studies at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, but soon developed a passion and dynamic that extended beyond their conservatory years. They have been featured in festivals such as Wonderfeel (2024), The String Quartet Biënnale Amsterdam (2024), the York Early Music Festival (2023), the Utrecht Early Music Festival (2022), Mozartfest Würzburg (2021) and the Beethoven Academy at the National Forum for Music in Poland (2020). Their performances have also been broadcast on national classical radio in the Netherlands (NPO4), the UK (BBC3), France (France Musique) and Slovenia (RTV Slovenija). They released their debut album 'Scintilla' in July 2024 with Brilliant Classics.

At the 2019 York Early Music International Young Artists Competition, they were awarded a place in the prestigious EEEMERGING+ professional development scheme for young European ensembles.

The Butter Quartet enjoys integrating their research on late 18th- and early 19th-century performance practice into powerful performances. They also bring the same spirit of discovery to newly-composed works for historically-setup instruments. The Butters value a strong connection with their audiences, and have partnered with community organizations to create grassroots concert tours in diverse spaces, supported by grants from the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and the Fonds Podiumkunsten.

They have had coachings with renowned musicians and researchers such as Sigiswald Kuijken, Midori Seiler, Kati Debretzeni, Shunske Sato, Julia Wedman, Claire Holden, and Clive Brown. They attended the Evolution of the String Quartet program in 2018 at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, with support from scholarships from Early Music America and the Adriana Jacoba Fonds. The Butter Quartet is the most recent recipient of the String Quartet Stipend from Het Kersjes Fonds.

Anna Jane Lester is a violinist & illustrator. She has performed with internationally-acclaimed period instrument ensembles such as Holland Baroque (member since 2018), the English Baroque Soloists, the Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal de Versailles, Le Consort, Irish Baroque Orchestra, the Internationale Händel Festspiele Göttingen Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Gabrieli Players, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, The English Concert, PRJCT Amsterdam, L’Arpeggiata, Vox Luminis, and the Luthers Bach Ensemble. Her chamber performances have brought her to stages from the Concertgebouw Amsterdam to the Smithsonian Institute to the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht.

Anna Jane began her violin studies at age four in Jacksonville, Florida, studying with Melissa Pierson Barrett before attending Vanderbilt University as a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar and earning her bachelor’s degree in violin performance with Cornelia Heard. She then attended The Juilliard School for a Master of Music in Historical Performance, studying with Monica Huggett and Cynthia Roberts. She has since moved to the Netherlands, completing her studies with Walter Reiter and Kati Debretzeni. In her free time, Anna Jane enjoys exploring American old time music and spending time in wild places.

Chloe Prendergast is a violinist based in the Netherlands. She is a core member of Holland Baroque, as well as a founding member of the Butter Quartet, a period-instrument string quartet dedicated to the world of 18th- and early 19th-century performance practice. She is co-creator of the podcast Outside the MusicBox as well as its associated concert series, both of which break down barriers surrounding conventional classical music concerts in order to reach new classical music-lovers.  

Chloe has performed across North America, the UK, and Europe with groups including English Baroque Soloists, Le Consort, Ensemble Masques, the Handel and Haydn Society, Vox Luminis, Seattle’s Pacific Musicworks, the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, and Luthers Bach Ensemble. She has also appeared at music festivals internationally, including the Utrecht Early Music Festival, String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam, Wonderfeel, Leipzig Bachfest, the Connecticut Early Music Festival, and the Beethoven Academy at the National Forum for Music in Poland.

Chloe completed her master’s degree at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague with Kati Debretzeni and Walter Reiter and her bachelor’s degree at Willamette University, where she was a Phil Hanni scholar and studied principally with Anthea Kreston and Daniel Rouslin.

Isabel Franenberg is a freelance violist from the Netherlands. She is a founding member of the Butter Quartet, and regularly plays with the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Luthers Bach Ensemble and the Laurens Cantorij en Orkest. She has been invited to play with ensembles such as il Gardellino, Tulipa Consort, The Northern Consort, Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester, and Holland Baroque.

Isabel studied historical viola at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Sayuri Yamagata and Shunske Sato and at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Kati Debretzeni. Alongside her conservatory studies, she played in the European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO) where she toured Europe extensively under Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Margaret Faultless and Alfredo Bernardini. She participated in masterclasses with Clive Brown, Sigiswald Kuijken, Jane Rogers, Robert Levin and Laurence Dreyfus.

Before studying viola, Isabel completed a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Musicology at the University of Utrecht with a minor in Art History. She worked as producer, manager, librarian and fundraiser for orchestras such as the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Holland Baroque and the Nederlands Studenten Orkest.

Evan Buttar enjoys a varied and international performing career on both the baroque cello and viola da gamba. He has performed with groups such as the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Le Concert des Nations, Ensemble Zefiro, PRJCT Amsterdam, and Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, and regularly plays with various ensembles including the Luthers Bach Ensemble, Musica Gloria, Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester, and the Butter Quartet, a historically-informed string quartet of which he is a founding member. His chamber and orchestral experiences have brought him to international stages in numerous festivals, including the Utrecht Early Music Festival, the MA Festival Brugge, Mozartfest Würzburg, Festival Berlioz, Chopin and his Europe Festival, the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, the Beethoven Academy in Wrocław, and the String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam.

Evan started playing music at a young age in Vancouver, Canada. After completing a bachelor’s degree in modern cello at the University of Ottawa in 2014, his fascination with historically informed performance practice inspired his move to the Netherlands, where he currently resides. There he obtained a baroque cello master’s degree with Jaap ter Linden at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague in 2016, and that same year started a second master’s study there on the viola da gamba with Mieneke van der Velden and Philippe Pierlot, which he completed in 2018.

Evan plays a baroque cello by Jakob Weiss (ca. 1745) generously on loan from the collection of The Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.

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

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

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

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

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

J.S. Bach: Fugue in G Minor, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring (both arranged by R. Wilkins)

C. M. Widor: Ciel D'Orage

R. Whitemen: Making art Not War

C. Guastavino: Tonada

E. Nazareth: Odeon

A. Romero: Fuga Con Pajarillo (arranged by J. Labro)

A. Vivaldi: iFugue (arranged by J. Burke)

J. Kern: Kern Fantasy (arranged by R. Wilkins)

A. Piazzolla: Undertango (arranged by J. Labro), Milong for Three (arranged by R. Wilkins), Fugata (arranged by J. Labro)

D. Milhaud: Braziliera (arranged by C. Vena)

Ensemble Vivant’s stunningly beautiful program FROM BACH to PIAZZOLLA enchants, transports and mesmerizes, deeply touching the hearts and souls of listeners of all ages.  “It’s rare to hear music played with such depth and sincerity, and yet with a sparkle that moved its audience to new heights.”  Alvin Spaxman Brantford Music Club/Expositor.  Included will be composers Johann Sebastian Bach, Jerome Kern, Joaquin Turina, Richard Whiteman, John Burke, Ernesto Nazareth, Aldemaro Romero, and Astor Piazzolla.    

ARTISTS

Sarah Boyer, violin;  George Koller, bass;  Catherine Wilson, piano/artistic director; Norman Hathaway, viola; Lydia Munchinsky, cello

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

Friday, April 4 

Part 3 of Ms. Taves' Complete Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle: No.s 2, 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

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! Here is more about the work:

Vanishing Point was commissioned by The Carpe Diem String Quartet for the ensemble’s 15th anniversary project, 15 for 15. The one movement work of approximately 10 minutes duration is dedicated to the memory of Chas Wetherbee. My connection to the Carpe Diem Quartet goes back over a decade when they were presented in concert on the Composers Now Festival at Symphony Space in New York, where I served as artistic director. I was mightily impressed and moved by their performance and hoped one day to have an opportunity to work with them as a composer myself. Years passed, and I was delighted, in 2019, to be reunited with them when they were featured in Opera Columbus’s excellent production of my opera, As One (co-librettists Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed). It was that unexpected reunion that led to this commission. Tragically, violinist Chas Wetherbee passed away at the young age of 56 after a struggle with cancer, and the quartet (and everyone in his circle) had much to grieve and to process; the pandemic put yet another pause on everything. Out of darkness,

finally, came Vanishing Point, reflecting the swirling emotions of loss, persistence and hope. The piece begins with an extended trio, minus the first violin, with the strings starting from nothing and increasing in intensity, until, finally, they “find” and “invite” the first violin to join them, a quartet at last. There is some unity and strength, but again, reticent and searching music, followed by a bit of sweetness and forward-energy and a moment of grandeur, but then all ultimately drifts away, the first violin floating upwards to nothingness—the vanishing point.

—LAURA KAMINSKY

From the New York Concert Review of Carpe Diem's Feb 2025 performance at Carnegie Hall: As much as one expected that Ms. Kaminsky’s gift for the vocal and dramatic would shine through in her instrumental writing (and it did), nothing prepared one for the emotional impact of this quartet. Part of it was the dramatic structure.... The absence of the first violin was enough to crack one’s heart in two, but the plaintive solo cello followed by soulful viola utterances in the first minutes finished the job. One almost couldn’t recover to fully experience the “swirling emotions” that followed, but the fade to the end was perfect as a “vanishing point.” https://nyconcertreview.com/reviews/the-carpe-diem-string-quartet-presents-interconnected-in-review/

ARTISTS

Carpe Diem String Quartet

“…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.