PROGRAM

Joseph Bolougne, Le chevalier de Saint-George: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 14 no. 6 

Hyacinthe Jadin: String Quartet in E major, Op. 3 No. 2

Mozart: String Quartet in E-flat major, K. 428

ARTISTS

The Eybler Quartet: Patrica Ahern & Julia Wedman (violins), Patrick Jordan (viola), Margaret Gay (Cello)

The Eybler Quartet came together in late 2004 to explore the works of the first century and a half of the string quartet, with a healthy attention to lesser known composers such as their namesake, Joseph Leopold Edler von Eybler. The group brings a unique combination of talents and skills: razor-sharp ensemble skills, technical prowess, expertise in period instrument performance and an unquenchable passion for the repertoire. The Toronto-based ensemble’s live performances have consistently garnered praise as “glowing and committed”, “spirited” and “lively and energizing”. Their recording of Joseph Haydn’s Op. 33 String Quartets for the Analekta label was called “simply a treasure” by Early Music America, “the tempos are beautifully chosen, the ensemble perfect, and the intonation absolutely pure. This is music-making that reflects the deeply human and attractive qualities found in Haydn the composer—good humor, wit, and invention.” Their recording with clarinetist Jane Booth won praise from Gramophone for being “totally engaging performances that breathe life into Backofen’s music”. Their most, Beethoven Quartets, Opus 18 nos. 1-3 garnered this praise from Gramophone: “…the revelations flood in: the swiftness with which the Eyblers take the great Adagio of Op 18 No 1 allows violinist Aisslinn Nosky’s almost vibrato-free period-instrument tone to sound breathtakingly fragile.” Their latest recording, the world premiere of Franz Weiss’s String Quartets Op. 8, nos. 1-2, is currently available.

Violinists Julia Wedman and Patricia Ahern, and violist Patrick G. Jordan are members of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Cellist Margaret Gay is much in demand as both a modern and period instrument player. In September 2022 Patricia Ahern joined the group, replacing founding member Aisslinn Nosky.

PROGRAM

Mozart: Sonata K.302

Medtner: Sonata No.1, Op.21

Beethoven: Sonata No.9, Op.47, "Kreutzer"

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

Ravel:  Jeux d’eau & Sonatine from Miroirs

Rodgers & Hammerstein (Transcriptions by Stephen Hough): Hello, Young Lovers (from The King and I), My Favourite Things (from The Sound of Music)

Chopin:

Two Waltzes: Op. 70, No. 3, in D-flat major Op. 64, No. 3, in A-flat major

Three Mazurkas, Op. 56 

Rondo a la Mazur, in F major, Op.5

ARTIST

Originally from Nanning, China, Junwen Liang began his piano studies at the age of nine and made his solo debut at thirteen. As a featured soloist, Junwen has collaborated with orchestras including the Central Texas Philharmonic, Penn State Philharmonic, and Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of esteemed conductors such as Jeffery Meyer, Michael Hall, Gerardo Edelstein, and Stefan Sanders. His interpretation of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra was broadcast on WSKG radio. Additionally, he was invited to present a solo performance on WRTI Classical Radio in Philadelphia, further establishing his reputation as a promising concert pianist and showcasing his growing presence in the classical music scene.

Since 2023, Junwen’s career has flourished as a versatile recitalist, with invitations to esteemed series including Lake Barcroft Concerts, Arts Club of Washington, Sunday Recital Series at Saint Thomas, Trinity Concert Series, and the Sevenars Music Festival, recognized by Time Magazine as one of the nation’s finest small festivals. During the 2024/25 season, he performed over 35 engagements across North America and China, appearing in prominent series such as Fripp Island Friends of Music, Saugerties Pro Musica, Chamber On The Mountain, and Boston Court Pasadena, while also holding residencies at universities in New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and Guangzhou. In the summer of 2025, he further broadened his reach with recital debuts in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Minnesota, in addition to an interview on KPR Radio and guest residencies at Ithaca College and the University of Northwestern – St. Paul.

Beginning with the 2025/26 season, Junwen’s schedule continues to expand with performances across the United States — including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, and California — alongside international debuts in France, Canada, and China. He is also preparing his first album with Sheva Collection, a distinguished label based in Italy and the UK, in collaboration with Naxos of America, Inc.

​​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, Charlotte 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), Music International Grand Prix, 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.

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 - DMA), Roberto Plano, Edward Auer (Indiana University - MM), and Charis Dimaras (Ithaca College - BM).

Currently based in Philadelphia, Junwen teaches piano and chamber music in the Department of Music at University of Pennsylvania; and is represented worldwide by Price Attractions.

PROGRAM

Vine: Piano Sonata No. 1 

Beethoven: Sonata Opus 57 “Appassionata”

Poulenc: 15 Improvisations

ARTIST

Canadian pianist Shoshana Telner has performed across Canada and abroad.  Described as an “authentic musician with a sparkling technique” (Le Droit) and 

“full of fire and warmth” (the New York Times), Shoshana has a passion for engaging audiences with exciting performances.  She made her solo orchestral début with the 

National Arts Centre Orchestra at the age of 16 and has since performed as soloist with several orchestras including the Québec Symphony Orchestra, the Boston 

Classical Orchestra, and the National Academy Orchestra.Shoshana received a Bachelor’s degree on full scholarship from Boston University, 

a Master’s degree from the Juilliard School in New York, and a Doctorate in performance from McGill University. She has taught piano and coached ensembles 

at McGill University, the University of Ottawa, Wilfrid Laurier University, and currently teaches piano at McMaster University. She frequently gives masterclasses, 

adjudicates competitions, and examines for the Royal Conservatory of Music. 

Shoshana has performed at numerous summer festivals including the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, the Elora Festival, the Kincardine Summer 

Music Festival, the Brott Music Festival, and the Blueridge Chamber Music Festival.  She has been awarded honors at the International Stepping Stone Competition, the 

Esther Honens International Piano Competition and the Canadian Concerto 

Competition.  Shoshana’s recordings include solo works of Canadian composer Colin Mack (CanSona), the Grieg violin/piano sonatas with Jeremy Bell (Chestnut 

Hall Music), Mozart Sonatas and Sonatinas (The Mozart Effect) and the six Bach Keyboard Partitas (Centaur Records). 

PROGRAM

Music of Spain and the Americas

Patrick Roux: Soledad

Astor Piazzolla: Histoire du Tango

Manuel De Falla (arr. Miguel Llobet): Selections from Canciones Populares Españolas

Antonio Vivaldi (arr. D. Ramjattan): Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, "Winter" (L'inverno)

Astor Piazzolla (arr. D. Ramjattan): Verano Porteño (7), from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires

ARTIST

Based in Kitchener, Ontario, violinist Jung Tsai has performed extensively in the region where she serves as 2nd Associate Concertmaster in Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra. 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 the 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.

Dr. Daniel Ramjattan has become an ambassador 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.

PROGRAM

Clara Schumann: Piano Trio and more TBA

ARTISTS

Magisterra https://www.magisterra.com/ (for this concert, a piano trio configuration)

Anya Alexeyeva, piano

Annette-Barbara Vogel, violin

Katie Schlaikjer, cello

(scroll down for links to individual artist bios)

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 Schlaikjer, cello

James Waldo, cello

Mikela Witjes, violin

2025 GUEST Musicians

Anya Alexeyeva, piano

Mehdi Ghazi, piano 

Cordula Hacke, piano

Peter Shackleton, clarinet 

Shoshana Telner, piano

2025 Magisterra FELLOWS

Hannah Cole, soprano

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTISTS

Joseph Petric, accordion Delivering music so diverse, so bold, so alive you're frightened to forget it' (Coda, USA)  Mr. Petric's solo career began with an official London debut  acclaimed by The Independent. His American debut given a citation in “Performances of the Year” by the Washington Post’s Joseph D. McLellan was followed by a trajectory across the Classical concert hall with appearances at Seiji Ozawa Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Bunkai Kaikan and Walt Disney Hall. His 360 commissions reflect far ranging explorations and deep connection with audiences, a curatorial initiative well in tune with the artistic stewardship of the Arditti Quartet and the American Wind Symphony.    

Mr. Petric's concerto-led career began with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jukka Pekka Saraste followed by a historic performance of three concertos in one evening with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with Pauline Oliveros, Witold Lutoslawski, John Cage, David Tudor, the Penderecki Quartet, Pentaedre, IRCAM, London Southbank, the Canadian Electronic Ensemble, Tokyo Spring, Montreal's MnM Festival, SMCQ and 'le NEM'. 

As a historian, Mr Petric's contributions illuminate a new epistemology with his retrieval of Giovanni Gagliardi’s forgotten 1911 treatise Manualetto del Fisharmonicista, the first confirmation of the origins of the concert accordion in the literature, and the anthropology of more than 54 forgotten period instruments and patents 1900-40. He was invited to a professorship by the Faculté de Musique, Université de Montréal (Québec) where he mentors the international graduate accordion program.  

He plays a bespoke instrument modelled on the 1910 Camerano built by Leo Niemi, 1996, Sudbury, Ontario. He considers Hugo Noth and Colin Tilney his masters. Mr. Petric divides his time between Upper Canada, Montreal and the old Ionian coast.

Ari Cohen-Mann, oboe  Ari Cohen Mann (they/them) serves up "brilliant virtuosity" (The Whole Note) through their playing and brightness and optimism through their popular social media channels. Ari has been hailed as the "Jonathan Van Ness of the oboe" (CBC Music), proudly championing their queer identity and serving as a role model for LGBTQ youth. Ari is a dynamic recitalist, new music proponent, orchestral musician, and educator based in Toronto. Ari was recently named on CBC’s 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30. Ari is a Howarth Artist and plays on a Howarth LXV-VT oboe.

With playing described as “emotionally charged” (Ludwig van Toronto), Ari is passionate about advancing the instrument as a solo voice in recitals and chamber music. Ari's solo debut at Carnegie Hall was with harpist Noël Wan, as featured artists in the Yale in New York series. Ari has performed as concerto soloist with the National Academy Orchestra, Canadian Studio Symphony, and Ontario Philharmonic.

Ari was a prizewinner at the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Manulife Competition, and the winner of the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition and Ben Steinberg Musical Legacy Award. They were a semi-finalist in the Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Competition.

 A champion of new music and lesser-known solo music for the oboe and English horn, Ari has been fortunate to premiere pieces by Kevin Day, Jocelyn Morlock, Nicky Sohn, Matthew Emery, Liam Ritz, and Felipe Téllez. Ari has fostered a partnership with the Yarilo Contemporary Music Society in Vancouver, BC as both a featured recitalist and ensemble member for Steve Reich’s Tehillim. Ari has served as guest principal oboe with the Esprit Orchestra.

 Feeling equally at home within the orchestra, Ari cherishes performing with ensembles in Canada and abroad. In Ontario, Ari has appeared with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company, the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestras of Toronto, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, Niagara, and Windsor. Their festival appearances include The National Repertory Orchestra (Breckenridge, Colorado), L’Orchestre de la Francophonie, The National Academy Orchestra of Canada, and The National Youth Orchestra of Canada where they received the Award of Excellence. Outside of North America, they have toured to India, China, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and Portugal.

 Ari teaches oboe at Wilfrid Laurier University as well as the Royal Conservatory of Music and Oscar Peterson School of Music. Ari has previously held positions as an Oboe Instructor at Yale College and as a Teaching Artist at the Yale Music in Schools Initiative. They proudly serve as a Mentor for the National Academy Orchestra of Canada. Ari is a frequent clinician at arts high schools in the Greater Toronto Area. For information about oboe lessons including free trial lessons for prospective Laurier students, click here.

Ari is a graduate of the prestigious Artist Diploma program at the Yale School of Music. They completed their Master of Music at Mannes School of Music and their Bachelor of Music at the University of British Columbia where they were awarded the UBC Medal in Music. Ari’s teachers and mentors include Sarah Jeffrey, Stephen Taylor, Sherry Sylar, and Beth Orson.

​Ari’s debut album VORTEX released in 2025 on Orchid Classics and has been hailed as "an especially good entry point into the world of the oboe.” (CBC Music) Order signed CD/vinyl or stream here.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTIST

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTIST

Michael Lewin is one of America’s foremost concert pianists, winning over audiences in 30 countries with playing of “majestic power and searing emotion.” (The London Times). His career was launched with top prizes in the Franz Liszt International Competition, the American Pianists Association Award and the William Kapell (University of Maryland) International Piano Competition. His recordings have won a Grammy Award and a Roundglass Music Award.

He has appeared as orchestral soloist with the Netherlands Philharmonic, Cairo Symphony, China National Radio Orchestra, Bucharest Philharmonic, Youth Orchestra of the Americas, State Symphony of Greece, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the Phoenix, Indianapolis, Miami, North Carolina, West Virginia, Nevada, New Orleans, Colorado, Guadalajara, and Puerto Rico Symphonies. Solo appearances include New York’s Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Taiwan’s National Concert Hall, Hong Kong’s City Hall Theatre, Holland’s Muziekcentrum, Moscow’s Great Hall, the Athens Megaron, the National Gallery of Art, the Newport, Ravinia and Spoleto Festivals and PBS Television. His extensive repertoire includes over 40 piano concertos, with particular interest in the music of Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Debussy and a host of American and Latin American composers.

Mr. Lewin’s award-winning discography on Sono Luminus, Naxos and Centaur includes a pair of acclaimed Debussy recordings entitled “Beau Soir” and “Starry Night”, the complete piano music of Charles T. Griffes and Scarlatti Sonatas for Naxos, “Michael Lewin plays Liszt,” “A Russian Piano Recital”, “Bamboula!” piano music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, “Piano Phantoms,” “If I Were a Bird” and the 4 Violin Sonatas by William Bolcom with Irina Muresanu.

Michael Lewin is Professor and Head of Piano at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Classical Music Director for Ethos Music in China. He gives master classes worldwide, directs the Boston Conservatory Piano Masters Series and has taught many prize-winning and successful pianists. He is a Juilliard School graduate and a Steinway Artist. His teachers included Leon Fleisher, Yvonne Lefebure, Adele Marcus and Irwin Freundlich. Please visit www.michaellewin.com for more information.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTISTS

Marcus Scholtes, violin 

Marcus Willem Scholtes is currently the Associate Concertmaster of Sinfonia Toronto, a Juno-award-winning ensemble. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where he graduated with a Doctor of Music degree in Violin Performance in the studio of renowned pedagogue Mimi Zweig.

A multi-talented artist, Marcus is an active soloist on both the violin and piano, at times even performing as a soloist on both instruments on the same concert program. As pianist, he has most recently performed Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto, and has performed solo piano programs in South Korea.

As Concertmaster, Marcus has led the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival orchestra in Germany, and has performed and toured much of Europe with this ensemble, including concerts in Spain, Turkey, Poland, Budapest, the Czech Republic, and Denmark. Marcus is also an original member of Aldeburgh Strings based in the UK, which has recently recorded two CDs, both released to critical acclaim in the UK and Germany. Outside of his musical interests, he is a driving and automotive enthusiast.

Miriam Stewart-Kroeker, cello 

Miriam Stewart-Kroeker is a native of Hamilton, Ontario, where she began her studies at the age of 5.  She studied with Paul Pulford and the Penderecki String Quartet at Wilfrid Laurier University, where she received an Honours Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance as well as a Diploma in Chamber Music Performance.  She went on to complete a Master’s degree in Cello Performance at McGill University under the direction of Matt Haimovitz. She recently joined the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony cello section in January 2020.

​On top of performing with various orchestras throughout Ontario, Miriam is an active chamber musician.  She is a founding member of the Andromeda Piano Trio, who perform frequently for a number of chamber music series in the region, including the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society, Guelph Connections Chamber Music Series, Conrad Grebel Noon Hour series, Toronto Chamber Players series and more.  In 2013 Miriam completed a winter residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in solo and chamber music, and her chamber ensembles have been the recipients of a number of awards. She has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras and ensembles, including the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, Da Capo Chamber Choir and the Georgian Bay Symphony

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 Dublin International Piano Competition, the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition, and the CMC Stepping Stone Competition. Guest appearances include the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, the New Juilliard Ensemble, the Las Vegas Young Artists Orchestra, the Ontario Philharmonic, Orchestra London, the Burlington Symphony, 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. Summer festival performances include repeat appearances at Toronto, 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 available include a disc of Canadian chamber music (Aboriginal Inspirations, 2017) and extensive 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, and has worked with composers John Corigliano, Reinaldo Moya, and Chandler Carter.

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

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

PROGRAM

Chamber Scenes

Stravinsky: L'Histoire du Soldat

Bartok: Contrasts

more TBA

ARTISTS

The Millwood Trio unites three of Canada’s most distinguished musicians, whose artistic paths have intertwined for nearly thirty years. Violinist Jasper Wood, pianist Gregory Millar, and clarinetist Michael Westwood bring together decades of experience, profound musical insight, and a finely tuned collaborative instinct, creating an ensemble voice that is at once luminous, sensitive, and compelling. Their performances combine clarity, warmth, and expressive depth, drawing audiences into a richly textured chamber-music experience.

Jasper Wood’s internationally acclaimed career as a soloist and chamber musician, together with his extensive discography and his long-standing role as Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the University of British Columbia, contributes a radiant, virtuosic string voice to the trio. Gregory Millar offers nuanced pianistic artistry, honed through studies at McGill University, the Glenn Gould School, the University of Toronto, and the Eastman School of Music, and a performance career spanning Canada, the United States, and Europe. Michael Westwood has performed across Canada and in Europe frequently performing much of the standard chamber music repertoire and commissioning and performing many new Canadian compositions over the past three decades.

Over decades of collaboration, the trio has cultivated a rare musical chemistry, allowing them to approach the repertoire for violin, clarinet, and piano with remarkable precision, interpretive depth, and expressive nuance. Their programs encompass classical masterpieces, 20th-century innovations, and contemporary works, each brought to life with keen attention to detail, dynamic contrast, and the subtle interplay that arises from nearly thirty years of shared artistry.

The Millwood Trio presents chamber music as a living conversation—elegant, intimate, and deeply expressive—offering audiences performances that linger long after the final note.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTISTS

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 and their performances here and in Guelph last fall 2025.

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.

PROGRAM

Bartók: Rhapsody

Janáček: Sonata

Beethoven: Sonata No. 9 “Kreutzer”

ARTISTS

Michael Sheppard, piano  Known as “a virtuosic soloist possessed of power, sensitivity, earthiness, and humor” (Whitney Smith, Indianapolis Star) with the “power to make an audience sit up and pay attention...thought- provoking for performers and listeners alike” (James Manheim, All Music Guide ), Michael Sheppard was a winner of the prestigious American Pianists Association Classical Fellow Award, a designation that led to the release of a critically acclaimed solo recording by Harmonia Mundi in 2007.

As a pianist, conductor and composer, Michael gives masterclasses, teaches and plays with some of the top singers and instrumentalists around the US; he also coaches singers, instrumentalists, and conductors, working at both the Peabody Conservatory and the Baltimore School for the Arts, sharing his love and understanding of music and the artistic process with future generations.

Jessica Tong, violin  Canadian violinist Jessica Tong has garnered international acclaim as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, having been described as an "outstanding talent" (Performing Arts in Canada) with "keen sensitivity and receptivity" (Bloomington Herald Times), who "allow[s] us to savour her sense of ardour and intensity, but never at the detriment of her tonal beauty." (ClassiqueInfo France). She has been a top prizewinner at the Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition, the Toronto Symphony, Canadian Music and Yellow Springs International Chamber Music Competitions and has served as first violinist of both the Vinca and Larchmere String Quartets, during which time she was Artist-in-Residence for the Perlman Music Program in Florida, the ProQuartet Odyssée Program in France and at the University of Evansville in Indiana.

She is currently the Violin Professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia, Chamber Music Director of the Composers Conference, and the newly appointed Artistic Advisor at Avaloch Farm Music Institute.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTIST

Boris Krajný is a Czech pianist, best known for his work on Czech and French pianism. He was awarded the Académie Charles Cros's 1982 Grand Prix du Disque for his recording of Albert Roussel, Arthur Honegger and Francis Poulenc piano concertos. He has also recorded Sergei Prokofiev and Béla Bartók's 3rd piano concertos together with Jiří Bělohlávek's Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Maurice Ravel's complete piano works for Supraphon. Krajný obtained an honourable mention at the 1975 Queen Elisabeth Music Competition. He teaches at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

Selected performance venues - Carnegie Hall, Teatro Colón, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Moscow Conservatory's Tchaikovsky Hall, Sydney Opera House, Wigmore Hall.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTIST

Adam Piotr Żukiewicz is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed concert pianist. He concertized across Europe, United States, Canada, Japan, Brazil, China, and his performances were broadcast in the USA, China, Canada, Italy, Slovenia, Germany, and Poland. Mr. Żukiewicz consistently receives critical acclaim, while his innovative programming - focused on exploring connections between the popular and the lesser-known gems of the traditional and contemporary repertoire - continues to engage and inspire audiences around the world.

In high demand as soloist and chamber musician, Adam Piotr Żukiewicz concertizes internationally. Highlights of recent performances include Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5 with the Boulder Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York City and Macky Auditorium in Boulder, Colorado, as well as recitals at the CBC Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London (UK), Royal Łazienki Theatre in Warsaw, and Chicago Cultural Center (Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series). Recent concerto performances include collaborations with the Shanghai Nine Trees Philharmonic, Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, Flagstaff Symphony, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, Cheyenne Symphony, Loveland Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, Greeley Chamber Orchestra, and Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra (Zlin, Czechia). Mr. Żukiewicz has performed in some of the most prestigious concert venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, Residenztheater in Munich, Goldensaal at the Musikverein in Vienna, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, KKL Luzern, and many others. He is also a frequent contributor to the Colorado Public Radio, where his broadcast recordings can be heard on air and online.

Following his successful debut with the Shanghai Nine Trees Philharmonic in 2024, Mr. Żukiewicz was invited to participate in the Chinese Mid-Autumn national celebrations in the same year. His performance of Chopin’s Mazurka Op. 59, No. 2 was broadcast on Chinese national tv (CCTV), reaching the audience of 1.4 billion.

Mr. Żukiewicz’s creative musical activities led to a recording of a critically-acclaimed debut album The Beginnings, exploring musical ideologies and languages of the great masters of the past and the present. This unique album is rooted in the artist’s musical inspirations and artistic philosophy. Opening with the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Fryderyk Chopin, Mr. Żukiewicz presents the music and cultural heritage of the modern masters Krystian Kiełb (Poland) and Jacobus Kloppers (South Africa/Canada), closing the album with a stunning work by the legendary jazz musician Oscar Peterson.

The Beginnings was released to critical acclaim by the DUX label in November 2018, and selections of the album are broadcast regularly by the Colorado Public Radio Classical in the USA.

Competition successes include several first prizes in competitions in Poland, First Prize at the 2012 Shean Piano Competition in Canada, First Prize at the 2011 TD Canada Trust Music Competition, and Second Prize at the 13th Pacific Piano Competition in 2011 in Richmond, BC. Mr. Żukiewicz is also a medalist of the 2014 Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Barcelona, Spain, and a winner of the First Prizes in Piano and Chamber Music categories in the 2024 Virtuoso Music Awards.

Always interested in new music, Mr. Żukiewicz regularly commissions and presents modern works: most recently Tom Lopez's Confetti Variations (2012-14, with Canadian premiere in 2025), Jim Klein/Ian Jamison's Piano Sonata (2021), Krystian Kiełb’s Obrazy (Paintings) (2018), Oscar Peterson’s Goodbye Old Friend (arr. Don Thompson/Adam Piotr Żukiewicz - European premiere), Brooke Joyce’s Lament for Orlando (2016), Stefano Sacher’s La memoria di Medea (2016), Zdenek Trnka’s Cervnova Nokturna (sonata pro klavir) (2015) and John Beckwith’s Follow me (2013) with clarinetist Peter Stoll (recording released on an album Calling by the Centrediscs label).

Following his long-lasting interests in the music of Fryderyk Chopin, in 2021, Mr. Żukiewicz has received a USA government grant to complete the "Chopin Unknown" recording research project. The project will have wider educational implications through the presentation of the recently published and never recorded study works of Chopin (Three Learned Fugues after Cherubini) as well as more renowned works, directly influenced by those. The project will contribute to the research of the compositional practice of Late Chopin and address Performance Practice issues associated with the development of his Late Style.

Adam Piotr Żukiewicz holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Toronto and Masters of Music degree from Indiana University. He has also studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, UK, and was a music scholar at the United World College of the Adriatic in Duino, Italy. His mentors and teachers include James Parker, Marietta Orlov, Arnaldo Cohen, Jerome Lowenthal, Vanessa Latarche, Dario de Rosa, Alberto Miodini, and Paweł Zawadzki.

Enthused by sharing music, thoughts and experiences of music, Mr. Żukiewicz also enjoys teaching, lecturing, impromptu performances, singing in an amateur choir, and musical discussions with musicians and music lovers alike. Beyond music, he takes pleasure in reading, connecting with people, sports, travel, and nature, which he finds most inspiring.

Adam Piotr Żukiewicz served as faculty at the University of Toronto and St Michael's Choir School in Toronto. His students studied in renowned institutions such as Royal College of Music (London, UK), Indiana University, and Eastman School of Music, and their successes include festival and competition awards in Canada, USA, Singapore, and Italy. Students of Mr. Żukiewicz also have successful performing and teaching careers, including academic positions in universities and conservatories in USA and China.

Mr. Żukiewicz is an Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. He served as a Resident Faculty Pianist at the International Music Festival of the Adriatic in Duino (Italy), and teaches at the Euro Arts Euro Music Festival (Poland) and International Concerto Festival and Competition Academy (Czechia). Adam Żukiewicz founded the Beethoven in the Rockies Concert Series, and co-founded the Trieste International Piano Festival.  He is a Certified Teacher of the Royal Conservatory of Music Curriculum and a member of the Royal Conservatory of Music College of Examiners. Mr. Żukiewicz frequently adjudicates piano competitions and festivals, and has been an adjudicator of the Steinway Piano Competition since 2017. Mr. Żukiewicz is a founding member of the Max Joseph Piano Trio and the Colorado Piano Trio.

Adam Piotr Żukiewicz is a Steinway Artist and a recipient of the Steinway & Sons Top Teacher Award.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTIST

Flavius Wagner from Romania is one of the most promising young guitarists in Europe. His playing combines technical precision, emotional depth and natural stage presence. Both as a soloist and in chamber music, he captivates audiences with clarity, balance and musical intelligence.

Flavius discovered his passion for the guitar at a young age. Guided by dedicated teachers, he built a solid technical foundation and developed a deep understanding of sound and phrasing. He later continued his studies at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, where he refined his musical voice under internationally renowned guitarists.

Wagner has performed at major festivals and concert halls across Europe, including the International Guitar Festival in Koblenz and the Salzburg Guitar Festival. His performances are praised for their focus, tonal beauty and emotional control. His repertoire ranges from Bach and Tárrega to Villa-Lobos and contemporary composers, revealing both stylistic range and artistic curiosity.

In addition to his solo work, he is an active chamber musician who collaborates with orchestras and instrumentalists. These collaborations enrich his musical expression and highlight his versatility as a thoughtful and sensitive performer.

Flavius Wagner’s playing is marked by precision, warmth and attention to detail. His interpretations are clear and lyrical, yet full of expressive energy. He has a strong interest in exploring new repertoire and often includes contemporary or lesser-known works in his programs, helping to expand the artistic possibilities of the classical guitar.

Alongside his concert career, Wagner is dedicated to teaching. He gives masterclasses and workshops across Europe, encouraging young guitarists to develop their own artistic voice while mastering the technical demands of the instrument. His teaching emphasizes clarity, balance and musical understanding rather than showmanship.

Flavius Wagner continues to perform widely and is preparing new recording projects featuring both classical and modern works. His dedication to the instrument, together with his musical insight, positions him as one of the notable voices of the new generation of classical guitarists.

PROGRAM

TBA (Beethoven, of course!)

ARTISTS

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.

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.

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.

PROGRAM

TBA

ARTISTS

The Seiler Trio unites three exceptional Canadian musicians, Mayumi Seiler, violin, Rachel Mercer, cello, and Angela Park, piano, who explore the rich traditions of the piano trio repertoire with a unique blend of intensity, passion, and generosity. Their performances also include ventures into diverse styles and new Canadian compositions.

Mayumi Seiler A violinist of impeccably tailored artistry, Mayumi Seiler is renowned for her exciting performances of concerto, recital and collaborative works both live and on disc. She has graced stages from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Toronto’s Roy Thompson Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Vienna’s Musikverein and in London at Wigmore Hall and the Royal Albert Hall for The Proms. In performances of depth and delight, she has collaborated with renowned soloists and conductors, and created a distinguished series of concerts which played to sold-out houses in Toronto over 14 seasons.

Mayumi Seiler has appeared as concerto soloist with major symphonies around the globe, including the Royal Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony, Moscow Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Montréal Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Academica Salzburg, Bournemouth Symphony, City of London Sinfonia and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, among others. She has collaborated with such noted conductors as Kent Nagano, Peter Oundjian, David Atherton, Christopher Hogwood, Neville Marriner, Sandor Vegh, Hugh Wolff and Richard Hickox.

Among Ms. Seiler’s extensive list of recordings are the Beethoven Concerto, the two Mendelssohn Concertos and three of the Haydn Violin Concertos with the City of London Sinfonia and Richard Hickox conducting on the Virgin Classics label. She has recorded Stravinsky’s Le Baiser de la Fée with the Hong Kong Philharmonic and David Atherton, also on Virgin Classics. Her many recordings of chamber music, including works of Schumann, Dohnanyi, Boccherini and Mozart, appear on the Hyperion and Capriccio labels.

While nurturing a busy schedule as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, Japan and the Americas, Ms. Seiler founded Toronto’s Via Salzburg – acclaimed as “One of the best roads to our musical hearts” (Toronto Star). In Via Salzburg she led a string orchestra in regular performances at the Glenn Gould Studio for sold out audiences. Through 14 seasons she curated programs with renowned artists from Europe and Asia and combined varied art forms such as dance, pantomime and painting into Via Salzburg events, winning the embrace of audiences and the praise of critics citing the performer’s “combustion of creative energy – they clearly love what they are doing” (Toronto Star).

She has collaborated with many of the world’s leading soloists, including violinists Maxim Vengerov, Richard Tognetti and Ruggiero Ricci, violist Veronika Hagen, cellists Steven Isserlis and Colin Carr, pianists Menachim Pressler, André Laplante, Yael Weiss and Ikuyo Nakamichi, clarinetist David Shiffrin, and guitarist Elliot Fisk among many others.

An active and passionate teacher, Mayumi Seiler serves on the faculty at The Glenn Gould School in Toronto. She has held a professorship at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg, has given masterclasses worldwide and has adjudicated at numerous international violin competitions. She began her musical upbringing in Osaka, Japan, where she was born of Japanese/German parentage. Wedded to the violin from the age of three, she received her musical education at the renowned Mozarteum during the formative years of her childhood in Salzburg.

Mayumi Seiler performs on the 1684 Croall Stradivarius.

Rachel Mercer Described as a "pure chamber musician" (Globe and Mail) creating "moments of pure magic" (Toronto Star), Canadian cellist Rachel Mercer has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician across five continents. Grand prize winner of the 2001 Vriendenkrans Competition in Amsterdam, Rachel is Principal Cello of the NAC Orchestra in Ottawa and Co-Artistic Director of the "5 at the First" Chamber Music Series in Hamilton and Orleans, Ontario. Rachel plays with the Mercer-Park Duo, St. John-Mercer-Park Trio and Ironwood Quartet, and was cellist of JUNO award-winning piano quartet Ensemble Made In Canada (2008-2020), the AYR Trio (2010-2020), and the Aviv Quartet (2002-2010). Rachel has given masterclasses across North America, South Africa and in Israel and has given talks on performance, careers and the music business. An advocate for new Canadian music, Rachel has commissioned and premiered over 30 works including cello concerti by Stewart Goodyear and Kevin Lau, as well as solo and chamber work by Vivian Fung, Andrew Downing, Alice Ho, Abigail Richardson-Schulte, John Burge and Jocelyn Morlock. She can be heard in recording on Naxos, Analekta, Atma, Leaf Music, Centrediscs, EnT-T, Pipistrelle, and in 2012, recorded the complete Bach Suites (Pipistrelle) on the 1696 Bonjour Stradivarius Cello from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank. Rachel currently plays a 17th century cello from Northern Italy.

Recent seasons included the world premiere of a Cello Concerto by Stewart Goodyear, written for Rachel, supported by the Ontario Arts Council, and premiered with the NAC Orchestra in Ottawa, and appearances with the Kingston Symphony (Lalo), Thunder Bay Symphony (Ichmouratov), Canadian Sinfonietta (Haydn C), and Cathedral Bluffs Orchestra (Elgar). Recent solo and chamber recordings include "Our Strength, Our Song" (Centrediscs), an album of 6 duos by Canadian women including 3 new commmissions recorded with her sister, Akemi Mercer-Niewohner, Canadian composer John Burge's "One Sail" with the Thirteen Strings Orchestra (Naxos), and "Mascarada" for cello and flamenco dancer by Alice Ho with the Allegra Chamber Orchestra. In 2023, the St. John-Mercer-Park Trio toured and released "Under A Veil of Stars" (Leaf Music), an album of chamber music by Kevin Lau including two new commissions. In 2020, Ensemble Made In Canada culminated its 2 year tour of the Mosaïque Project with a live-streamed video production grand finale concert in FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St. Catherines, which was also the release of the album: Mosaïque. 

Since 2006, Rachel appears in recital with pianist Angela Park as the Mercer-Park Duo. The duo performs across Canada, presenting the duo repertoire alongside new Canadian works. Their debut disc was released in July 2011 and the duo received Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council and FACTOR support to record all-Canadian music by composers of their generation, released on Naxos Canadian Classics in 2014. They were joined from 2010-2020 by violinist Yehonatan Berick, forming the AYR Trio.

​As a member of JUNO-winning piano quartet Ensemble Made In Canada from 2008-2020, Rachel toured regularly across Canada and the United States and performed for schools, seniors' residences, universities, the Canadian Music Centre, CONTACT (for young entrepeneurs), gave talks on the music business from a performer's perspective, and regularly workshopped with a range of composers from student to professional, as well as being Artist-in-Residence at the University of Western Ontario. The group's multiple commissions include John Burge's JUNO-nominated piano quartet (on Centrediscs) and "The Mosaïque Project", a cross-Canada tour from 2018-2020 including multi-media and a 14-composer commission. The album won the 2021 JUNO award for Classical Album of the Year (Chamber/Solo).

As a member of the Aviv String Quartet from 2002-2010, Rachel played in halls such as the Auditorium du Louvre, Zurich Tonhalle, Wigmore Hall, Herbst Theater in San Francisco, the Library of Congress in Washington DC, Baxter Hall in Cape Town, St Lawrence Centre in Toronto, and at festivals such as Montpellier, Aix-en-Provence, Lockenhaus, Davos, Colmar, Oslo and Ottawa. The quartet released cds on Naxos and Dalia Classics and celebrated its 10th anniversary with a complete Shostakovich cycle at the 2007 Verbier Festival. Collaborations included performances with Jorg Widmann, Boris Berman, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, James Tocco, Boris Petrushansky, Elisso Virssaladze and Anton Dressler. The quartet also gave masterclasses, coaching and outreach performances in the United States, Israel, South Africa and Canada, including at the University of Toronto.  

Born in Edmonton, Rachel began cello studies at the age of three with Diana Nuttall. She spent formative years with Kristl Armstrong at the Vancouver Academy of Music, where she made her solo debut with the Vancouver Academy Chamber Orchestra at the age of 12. After moving to Ontario, Rachel attended the Royal Conservatory of Music and received the Gold Medal for her Associate Diploma, studying with Susan Gagnon and David Hetherington. She received a BM from the University of Toronto with Shauna Rolston, an MM with honours from the New England Conservatory with Laurence Lesser, and a solo diploma from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Dmitri Ferschtman. Rachel attended Orford, Banff, Holland Music Sessions, Ravinia, Prussia Cove, Scotiafest, Proquartet, the Juilliard Quartet Seminar and the Verbier Academy, for masterclasses with Boris Pergamenschikow, Frans Helmerson, Lynn Harrell, Janos Starker, Aldo Parisot, Gregor Horsch, Harro Ruijsenaars, Valentin Berlinsky, Valentin Erben, Henry Meyer and Walter Levin.

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

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

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

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

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 was a board member of the Stratford Summer Music Festival from 2019-2023, and is currently co-Artistic Director of 5 at the First Chamber Music Series in Hamilton. 

This performance is the culmination of a 3-day chamber music workshop for secondary students. Six quartets and trios, and a chamber orchestra will be featured.

This is the third of three Young Artists concerts during Quartetfest.

Young artists from this year's Quartetfest perform.  QuartetFest is an intensive chamber music program at the Wilfrid Laurier Faculty of Music that brings young artists from across Canada and abroad together with world-renowned performers. QuartetFest is one of the most anticipated spring festivals by chamber music lovers and young musicians. Tickets are available for individual concerts and as a pass for the whole series. 

Since 1992, Laurier's Quartet-in-Residence, The Penderecki String Quartet  and the  Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society have hosted Quartetfest.

PROGRAM

Beethoven: String Quartet in B flat Major, Op. 130

Michael Matthews: String Sextet (2026 Premiere)

ARTISTS Penderecki String Quartet, Keynote String Quartet (Quartetfest Fellowship), Sharon Wei (viola), Thomas Wiebe (cello). Bios for all coming soon:

Keynote String Quartet (Quartetfest Fellowship)

Kai Schulz-Rousseau, violin

Elianna Van Raalte-Boeringa, violin

Meika Sonntag, viola

Caitlyn Liu, cello

Thomas Wiebe, cello

Cellist Thomas Wiebe has been heard by audiences and on radio broadcasts throughout North America and Europe. Mr. Wiebe regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician, including with ARC Ensemble whose 2025-26 schedule includes a three-concert residency in London, England’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Merkin Hall, Montreal’s La Salle Bourgie, Toronto’s Mazzoleni Hall as well as Manchester and Glasgow.

Mr. Wiebe’s most recent disc releases include the world-premiere recording of Ernest Kanitz’s Sonata for Solo Cello on Chandos and the chamber works of Omar Daniel on Centrediscs.

Mr. Wiebe has performed on numerous occasions as a guest artist with Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra London Canada. He has also been soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra at Lincoln Center in New York and with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded for the Chandos, CBC, Centrediscs, Doremi and Bowl labels. Please see selected recording links below.

Thomas Wiebe studied cello in his native Winnipeg with Julie Banton. He later studied at the Eastman School of Music with Robert Sylvester and Steven Doane, and at Yale University and the Juilliard School with Aldo Parisot. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale.

Mr. Wiebe is Associate Professor of Violoncello at the Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University in London.

Sharon Wei, viola

Canadian violist Sharon Wei is a dynamic and multifaceted artist, recognized for her excellence as a performer, educator, and dedicated contributor to Canada’s musical landscape. She has appeared as soloist with orchestras including Symphony of the Redwoods, Kingston Symphony, Sinfonia Toronto, Thunder Bay Symphony, and London Symphonia, where she premiered Richard Mascall’s Ziigwan concerto with Indigenous Elder John Rice and conductor Tania Miller. This season, she premieres a new viola concerto by Canadian composer Saman Shahi with the Obiora Ensemble in Montreal.

Sharon is the violist of the acclaimed New Orford String Quartet, comprising principal players from the Toronto and Montreal Symphonies. The quartet is deeply committed to highlighting Canadian compositions through frequent commissions and performances of works by Ian Cusson, Ana Sokolović, Dinuk Wijeratne, Dean Burry, Samy Moussa, Marjan Mozetich, and Kelly-Marie Murphy. Their extensive touring across Canada includes performances from Yukon to PEI, along with residencies at Mount Royal University, Western University, the Isabel Bader Centre, and Toronto Summer Music.

As a co-founder of Ensemble Made in Canada, Sharon has played a pivotal role in cultivating a distinctively Canadian voice in chamber music. The ensemble’s Mosaïque Project—winner of the 2021 JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year—brought together 14 Canadian composers and toured every province and territory. The project featured performances in venues ranging from major concert halls to natural landmarks like the seabed of the Hopewell Rocks, engaging audiences through interactive performances and original artwork submissions.

Over the past three years, violist Sharon Wei has led a unique interdisciplinary collaboration between Western University’s Don Wright Faculty of Music and the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP), merging music, science, and climate awareness. As part of Western’s Kaleidoscope of Creativity initiative, she curated a 2024 musical gallery that transformed campus spaces into immersive environments. Graduate student composers created original works based on NTP data, performed by faculty and guest artists, culminating in a panel discussion with scientists and musicians. The project uses music to interpret tornado data and environmental disruption, offering audiences both awareness and emotional resonance in response to Canada’s evolving climate landscape.

In 2025, the initiative expanded with a performance at the Ivey Business School, where the New Orford String Quartet premiered three new string quartets by Canadian composers Carmen Braden, Vincent Ho, and Cecilia Livingston. These works were later toured across Canada and the United States, broadening the project’s reach and impact.

The collaboration continues to evolve with a new viola concerto to be premiered this season, and a lecture-recital planned for the 50th International Viola Congress in Paris in 2026.

Sharon’s leadership in this project highlights how music can bridge disciplines, translating scientific research into meaningful artistic experiences that educate, inspire, and advocate for change.

Internationally, Sharon has performed at festivals including Verbier, Marlboro, Ravinia, Banff, Prussia Cove, and Giverny, and toured with Musicians from Marlboro to Carnegie Hall and other major venues. She has collaborated with artists such as James Ehnes, Marion Newman, Claude Frank, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. She is principal violist of the Verbier Chamber Orchestra and has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on their Grammy-winning recording of Ives symphonies.

As a passionate educator, Sharon is Associate Professor of Viola and was Acting Assistant Dean of Research at Western University. She previously taught at Yale and Stanford and has given masterclasses across Canada, the U.S., and China. At Western, she developed a pioneering course on entrepreneurial and career-building skills for musicians.

Her artistry and leadership have been recognized with Western University’s 2022 Faculty Scholar Award, the viola prize from Yale University, and numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and FACTOR. She has recorded for Centrediscs, CBC, Onyx Classics, and Warner Classics, and is frequently heard on CBC Radio and Air Canada’s Enroute Entertainment.

Penderecki String Quartet 

Celebrating their 37th  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.

This is the second of three Young Artists concerts during Quartetfest.

Young artists from this year's Quartetfest perform.  QuartetFest is an intensive chamber music program at the Wilfrid Laurier Faculty of Music that brings young artists from across Canada and abroad together with world-renowned performers. QuartetFest is one of the most anticipated spring festivals by chamber music lovers and young musicians. Tickets are available for individual concerts and as a pass for the whole series. 

Since 1992, Laurier's Quartet-in-Residence, The Penderecki String Quartet  and the  Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society have hosted Quartetfest.

PROGRAM

Beethoven: Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 1, No. 3

Michael Conway Baker: Piano Trio

Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 (final version)

ARTISTS

Cellist Katie Schlaikjer joins violinist Sadie Fields and Guelph Musicfest director/pianist Ken Gee as the new member of the Festival Trio which has been performing since 2014.

Sadie now lives in Brussels, Belgium, and has a stellar career in Europe, performing in top-drawer ensembles, and recently become the new principal violinist of the famed Edinburgh String Quartet. But she grew up in Guelph before heading off for studies in Manchester and London, UK.

Katie Schlaikjer is the new member of the Festival Trio, as Paul Pulford has now retired from concert performance. Katie is well known as a member of the JUNO-winning Penderecki String Quartet, quartet-in-residence at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Faculty of Music in Waterloo, Ontario. At Laurier she serves on the performance faculty, teaching cello and chamber music.

Ken is a Hamilton native and he was very involved in the local music scene, performing, organizing concerts, managing a string chamber orchestra, and was even a music critic for the Hamilton Spectator. Now living happily in Guelph, he has been performing even more, and founded and continues to organize Guelph Musicfest by himself.Details coming soon!

PROGRAM

Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59 No. 2

Kelly-Marie Murphy: Crazy Bout My Baby (Fats Waller) for string quartet, piano and trumpet

Paul Schoenfeld: 5 Days from the Life of a Manic-Depressive for piano duet

This concert co-produced with NUMUS.

NUMUS invites audiences to explore the bold sounds and ideas of a new generation of composers and performers while celebrating the innovators of the past.

Founded in 1985 by composer Peter Hatch and based in Waterloo, Ontario, NUMUS is one of Canada’s foremost new music organizations, renowned for its electrifying contemporary programming and high standards of artistry.

NUMUS showcases established and emerging talent from across Canada and the globe in Waterloo’s world-class venues. Diverse musical genres, traditional and experimental instruments and scored and improvised elements come together to create unique concertgoing experiences that capture the fluidity and relevance of contemporary music.

Exciting, challenging, ground-breaking: NUMUS is new music, now.

ARTISTS: Penderecki String Quartet, Guy Few (trumpet, piano), Cheryl Duvall (piano). Bios for all follow:

Penderecki String Quartet 

Celebrating their 37th  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.

Guy Few, trumpet and piano

Guy Few’s instrumental versatility and fearless interpretations have been noted by the international press “outrageous…simply phenomenal” (Le Devoir, Montreal) and “sheer brilliance” (L.A. Times).  As soloist with orchestra, recitalist or chamber musician he wows audiences with his technical ease and charm. Awards include a JUNO nomination, CAPACOA touring artist of the year, Penderecki Credo) and Sylva Gelber Foundation Award through the Canada Council for the Arts.  Guy has appeared on CBC-TV, CTV, BRAVO, TV5 and European television broadcasts and is heard regularly on CBC Radio, and NPR.  He is a Yamaha artist.

“Virtuoso”, “flawless”, “wild and joyous” are only a few of the reviews for Guy’s incredible trumpet playing.  He performs regularly with Leslie Fagan, Stephanie Mara, Mark Fewer and others while maintaining collaborations with orchestras, festivals and series in Canada and the USA.  Whether in traditional Baroque repertoire or Contemporary premieres, Guy infuses each performance with a commitment to technical and artistic perfection. “He coaxed out each note with brilliant clarity and restraint, dropping them like perfect pearls along a string.” (The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa USA).

Guy is fascinated by the challenges of four-hand repertoire and the collaborative piano tradition.  He has performed with the Penderecki, Amati, and Amici string quartets and world class singers including Leslie Fagan, Colin Ainsworth and .  Recordings include artistic endeavours with Stephanie Mara, Alain Trudel, Bellows and Brass, Festival of the Sound, and Boyd McDonald.  Guy holds a Fellowship Diploma from Trinity College, London England and a member of the Leschetizky Association. “Few displayed lightness and humaneness that reminded the listener of another Canadian, Glenn Gould.”  (The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, USA)

Cheryl Duvall, piano

Toronto’s Cheryl Duvall is recognized as one of Canada’s foremost talents in contemporary music both for her work as a pianist and interpreter, but also as a presenter and for her tireless advocacy. Versatility is among her most celebrated artistic traits; she has immersed herself in a vast array of compositional aesthetics and collaborative contexts. In all of these scenarios, her thoughtful agility and nuance imbue both the sonic and evocative domains with power and depth. She has toured and performed throughout Canada, Japan, Europe, Argentina , New Zealand, Australia and the U.S. 

As the co-founder of the “adventurous and smartly programmed” (Musicworks Magazine) chamber group Thin Edge New Music Collective alongside Ilana Waniuk, she has commissioned over 80 works, mounted ambitious production that cross several disciplinary boundaries, and collaborated with leading international performers. The group’s 2023 recording Dark Flower, devoted to the chamber works of Canadian composer Linda Catlin Smith was featured on the BBC and CBC radio, listed in the top 10 Modern Classical releases of 2023 by in The Wire Magazine, nominated for a JUNO Award, while amassing considerable acclaim in various media outlets.

To date, Cheryl has released three solo albums featuring works by Canadian composers, two of which have been nominated for Juno awards for Classical Composition of the Year. She is also the Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Mississauga and Collaborative Pianist for Resound Choir and Rhe Durham Philharmonic Choir. She holds an Honours BMus and Diploma of Chamber Music from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Master’s of Piano Performance and Pedagogy from University of Toronto.

Young artists from this year's Quartetfest perform.  QuartetFest is an intensive chamber music program at the Wilfrid Laurier Faculty of Music that brings young artists from across Canada and abroad together with world-renowned performers. QuartetFest is one of the most anticipated spring festivals by chamber music lovers and young musicians. Tickets are available for individual concerts and as a pass for the whole series. 

Since 1992, Laurier's Quartet-in-Residence, The Penderecki String Quartet  and the  Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society have hosted Quartetfest.

 QuartetFest is an intensive chamber music program at the Wilfrid Laurier Faculty of Music that brings young artists from across Canada and abroad together with world-renowned performers. QuartetFest is one of the most anticipated spring festivals by chamber music lovers and young musicians. Tickets will be available for individual concerts and as a pass for the whole series. Details coming soon!

Since 1992, Laurier's Quartet-in-Residence, The Penderecki String Quartet  and the  Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society have hosted Quartetfest.

PROGRAM

"BAROQUE...ish"

Andrew Sords and Cheryl Duvall return to KWCMS with works by Vitali, Bach, Kreisler, Stravinsky, and others.

ARTISTS

American violinist Andrew Sords maintains a prolific touring schedule with his piano trio and as soloist with orchestras. Having appeared on four continents and in nearly all of the 50 states, his performances have been cited for combining visceral virtuosity and ravishing tone, while international critics have endorsed Sords as “a fully formed artist” (Kalisz-Poland News), “utterly radiant” (Canada’s Arts Forum), and “exceptionally heartfelt and soulful” (St. Maarten’s Daily Herald). In 2018, an appearance at Festival Bravissima in Guatemala was heralded by the Prensa Libre: “Sords demonstrated what it means to be an artist. He paired maximum delicacy with fire and brilliance, and had a subtle handling of sonority – clearly audible even in his softest and sweetest moments.” Sords has received numerous awards and distinctions reflecting his career trajectory, including the Pittsburgh Concert Society’s Career Grant; was profiled by NPR’s “Morning Edition”, XM’s “Derek and Romaine Show”, and STRINGS Magazine (covering his residency in Trinidad and Tobago); and has recently made débuts for the Ravinia Festival, Québec’s Lakeshore Chamber Festival and Série de musique de chambre, and with orchestras in Scotland, Australia, the Caribbean, Canada, and Poland. The 2022/23 concert season features return appearances in Montréal, Beverly Hills, Toronto’s Glenn Gould Theatre, Cleveland’s Trinity Cathedral, the Norton Museum Series in West Palm Beach, and performances of concerti by Mendelssohn, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bruch, Wieniawski, and Bologne.

Cheryl Duvall, piano has established herself as one of Canada’s foremost contemporary music interpreters, immersing herself in a wide variety of compositional aesthetics and collaborative endeavours. Her lucid sense of contour, evocative sonic and emotional presence, and boundless versatility make her both a dynamic soloist and in-demand collaborator. In 2016, Duvall’s artistry was recognized with a nomination for the KM Hunter Award.

She co-founded the “adventurous and smartly programmed” (Musicworks Magazine) chamber group Thin Edge New Music Collective alongside Ilana Waniuk in 2011. Since their inception, they’ve commissioned over 80+ works, mounting lavish multidisciplinary productions while collaborating with internationally renowned composers and performers. TENMC was awarded the 2020 Friends of Canadian Music Award from the Canadian League of Composers and the Canadian Music Centre for being ‘an important musical innovator, working creatively across disciplines with an unwavering commitment to diverse and equitable programming’. In January 2020, she released her debut solo piano album Harbour, a highly acclaimed recording released on the Redshift Record Label featuring the music of Canadian composer, Anna Hostman. Harbour was chosen as the #1 Modern Composition Recording of 2020 by UK’s ‘The Wire’ Magazine and was nominated for a Juno for Classical Composition of the Year. Her next solo album, Intimes exubérances will be released in April 2024 on the Redshift record label. Duvall was appointed the Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Mississauga in February 2022 and was also the interim-co-artistic director of the Oakville Choir for Children and Youth for the 2021-2022 season. She operates a full private teaching studio, is a member of the College of Examiners with the Royal Conservatory of Music, and adjudicates piano competitions across Canada.

PROGRAM 

Variations a la Carte 

Bach: Aria Variata, BWV 989

Haydn: Andante with Variations in F minor, Hob. XVII: 6 

Beethoven: Six Variations in D major, Op. 76 

R. Schumann: Bünte Blatter, op. 99 #1 (Nicht schnell, mit Innigkeit)

R. Schumann: Romanze, op. 32 #3 (sehr rasch und mit Bravour)

Walker: Variations on a Kentucky Folk Song (1953) 

Brahms Paganini Variations, Book 2, Op. 35 

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 at the new Usina Art Center in Buenos Aires. A recent National Gallery recital featured all seven Bach Toccatas.

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, most recently at C.S.U. Northridge, Juilliard, Oberlin, and Northwestern. 

"Instantly impressed as a pianist with a big technique, a lively mind, and a passionate commitment to the music.” - The New York Times (N.Y. Debut) 

PROGRAM

Kreisler: Praeludium & Allegro

Beethoven: “Spring” Sonata

Leslie Fagan, Special Guest - TBA

Bloch: Nigun, from Baal-Shem suite

Bartok: Romanian Folk Dances

ARTISTS

Moshe Hammer, violin

Admired for his artistic style, unique interpretations and vibrant tone, violinist Moshe Hammer is Hungarian-born, was raised in Israel and studied there with Ilona Feher. As a student of Jascha Heifetz he was a medal winner at the Concours Jacques Thibaud in Paris.

Hammer’s tours have taken him across North America, Europe, Israel and the Far-East. His performances have consistently energized critics, thrilled audiences and earned respect among his colleagues.

A naturalized Canadian, Moshe Hammer has traveled the concert venues of the world and performed with many symphony orchestras. He was also the founder and leader of the Toronto based chamber group, The Amadeus Ensemble.

As member of Da Camera, he has thrilled audiences in Canada, the US and Europe with regular visits to the Netherlands, including the world renowned Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Moshe is a regular and welcome guest in various music festivals on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. He brings to his performances a charismatic stage presence, a tone of unmatched subtlety, vitality and artistry of the highest order.

Hammer loves to work with young musicians and offers master-classes everywhere he travels. His wide ranging discography reflects a multi-faceted talent.

In 2007 Moshe launched The Hammer Band – From Violence to Violins. With this project, school kids in priority areas are presented with free music lessons and violins.

Angela Park, piano

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

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

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

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

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 was a board member of the Stratford Summer Music Festival from 2019-2023, and is currently co-Artistic Director of 5 at the First Chamber Music Series in Hamilton. 

PROGRAM

Haydn: String Quartet Op. 33 No. 2, “The Joke” 

Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969): String Quartet No. 5 

Dinuk Wijeratne (b. 1978): Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems

Fanny Mendelssohn: String Quartet in E-flat major

ARTISTS

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. 

PROGRAM

Cosmic Connections

Philip Glass - Opening (1981)

Mari Alice Conrad - the moon and other celestial bodies shall be used exclusively for peaceful purposes (2021) *†

Monica Pearce - leather (2018) †

Noora Nakhaei - Echoes of the Past (2021) *†

Paolo Griffin - Resonant Bodies in Space (2023) *†

Harry Stafylakis - Light Symbolic: i. the quiet violence of celestial motion; ii. death of a sun, act of creation (2023) *†

Philip Glass - Closing (1981)

* written for SHHH!!

† Canadian Composer

Framed by the hypnotic minimalism of Philip Glass’ “Opening” and “Closing”, Cosmic Connections explores a dreamscape of beautiful and unexpected sounds. Featuring four recent Canadian works written for SHHH!!, the program reflects on the vastness of space, distilling celestial motion into human scale, and investigates the gravity of memories, meaning, and our shared human experiences.

ARTISTS

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”.

PROGRAM

Scarlatti - Two Sonatas in F minor, K. 466 and 239

Chopin - Deux Nocturnes, op. 62 

Nocturne in B Major, op. 62 no. 1 

Nocturne in E Major, op. 62 no. 2

Ravel - Sonatine, M. 40 

I. Modéré 

II. Mouvement de menuet

III. Animé 

Andrew J. Yang - Impromptu in F# minor, op. 3 (2025) 

Brahms - 6 Klavierstücke, op. 118

I. Intermezzo. Allegro non assai, ma molto appassionato

II. Intermezzo. Andante teneramente

III. Ballade. Allegro energico

IV. Intermezzo. Allegretto un poco agitato

V. Romance. Andante—Allegretto grazioso

VI. Intermezzo. Andante, largo e mesto 

Brahms - Fantasie Capriccio in D minor, op. 116 no. 7 

ARTIST

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.

PROGRAM

Villa-Lobos: Etude No. 11, Prelude No.s 4 & 1

Brouwer: El Decameron Negro

Domeniconi: Koyunbaba

Villa-Lobos: Melody and Cadenza from guitar concerto

Yu: Codenza and Finale from guitar concerto (commissioned by the performer)

ARTIST

Guitarist Pierre Beaudry performs through the world. His extensive concert career takes him to Europe, North America, China and South East Asia, where his solo performances are acclaimed both by the public and the press. The critics have rewarded him for his interpretations of Baroque, Modern and Avant-garde music.

In addition to being a laureate of the International Music Competition of Finale Ligure in Italy, he received numerous grants from the Quebec Arts Council, and is a DAAD alumni (German Academic Exchange Service).

He studied in Germany at the Cologne Music Academy (Artist Diploma, with Honors), in France at the Paris Conservatory of Music (1st Prize) and at the Nice Conservatory of Music (1st Prize). His most important teachers have been Alexandre Lagoya, Ako Ito (student of the legendary Ida Presti) and pianist Marc Durand. His interpretations are also marked by long-term studies of musicology and performance practice.

Since 2001, due to a major mechanical disorder in the spine, Pierre Beaudry is forced all the time to play guitar in an orthostatic position, i.e. standing up. This position is absolutely unusual in modern classical guitar. He never stopped giving concerts and gave his first performance standing up, in solo, in France on May 18th, 2006.

In the period from 1993 to 2006, he has been on the music faculties of three universities in Quebec, Canada (Concordia, Bishop’s and Sherbrooke).

He is currently professor of guitar at the Tiziano Rossetti International Music Academy in Lugano, Switzerland. Only in one year, six guitarists under his coaching have won prizes in international competitions. Five awards were given to him for his teaching in 2023 and 2024 by: Sound Espressivo Competition, World Classical Music Awards, Music & Stars Awards, European Classical Music Awards and Birmingham International Music Competition.

He also is on the faculty of Aeyons Classical, the Australian international teaching platform.

He presently plays a guitar by Philip Woodfield Moore, entirely designed for standing up performance. He played before Otto Vowinkel guitars for over 25 years.

PROGRAM

F. Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Chamber version)

A. Creeggan: Harlequin and Pierrot 

F. Schubert: String Quintet in C major

ARTISTS

Pianist Tomoko Inui http://www.tomokoinui.com/ has built a career shaped by curiosity, collaboration, and a lifelong commitment to musical expression. After living in several cities around the world, she moved from Alaska to Montreal in 2003 to study at McGill University under Kyoko Hashimoto, where she later received the Bruneau Prize for her outstanding solo recital. She has been an affiliated professor at conservatoire de musique de montreal and has worked as an official accompanist at Queens University, an organist at Eglise Saint Arsene, and a pianist for the Montreal West Operatic Society.

Based in Montreal, Tomoko contributes actively to the city’s cultural life through solo and chamber performances within the Accès Culture Montréal network and beyond. She has been a frequent performer with the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society since 2019, and has also appeared with the Lakeshore Chamber Music Society (2019, 2024) and Music Mondays in Toronto.

An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with artists such as the Alexander String Quartet in Florence, violist Marcus Thompson in Montreal, and cellists Laurentiu Sbarcea in the Czech Republic and Valentin Scharff in Austria. She also took part in the International Music Festival and Workshop (2003–2011) and contributed to the FriedensKonzert (Peace Concert) series in Liesing, Austria (2014–2015).

Her recording projects include works by Mozart, Chopin, Ravel, and Rachmaninoff, realized with recording engineer Meining Cheung (2008 and 2013). Tomoko holds both Licentiate and Master’s degrees in piano performance from McGill University, and also earned a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography, a field in which she worked for several years before dedicating herself fully to music.

Toronto native Andrew Creeggan studied composition and piano at McGill University after leaving the ‘pop’ group Barenaked Ladies and continues his journey as a musical creator with astonishing variety.  He uses the moniker Andiwork for his solo recordings of experimental instrumental music and released his fifth in 2023. His fourth installment won the ECMA for ‘instrumental album’ in 2022.   Creeggan has enjoyed a collaboration with theatre director Kim Collier including original music for Red (2011), The Great Gatsby (2014), 40 Days and 40 Nights (2018) and Everybody (2021).  As a composer the orchestral work “Harlequin and Pierrot” was commissioned by OneMusic orchestra and premiered at BeethovenFest in Bonn, Germany (2023) and his current project is a 45 min. orchestral work based on the Mi'kMaq creation story.   Arranger for many artists and most recently 12 songs for Ben Caplan and string quartet.  He is working on the soundtrack to artist Jon Claytor’s upcoming graphic novel ‘Nowhere.’  His recent producing credits include  Les Païens “Carte Noire” winner of 2018 ECMA and Umläb (2021 debut EP ‘Disque Space’) a group he has since joined (and they just released ‘Radio Silence’ Sept. 2025). He lives in Moncton, NB with his wife and two sons. 

Eri Kosaka, violin joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2012 and became Principal Second Violin in 2022. Prior to her current position, Ms. Kosaka was a member of the Kansas City Symphony for two seasons and a violin fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach. Growing up in Tokyo, Japan, Ms. Kosaka started playing the violin at age six and took lessons with Akiko Tatsumi and Michael Tseitlin. After graduating from Toho High School of Music and Toho Gakuen College of Music in Japan, she was awarded a scholarship from the Yamaha Foundation to study abroad. Ms. Kosaka graduated with a Master of Music and Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory where she studied with Miriam Fried. She has participated in festivals and music academies across the U.S., Japan, and Europe, including the Aspen Music Festival and Sarasota Music Festival in the U.S., Pacific Music Festival in Japan, Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Germany, Salzburg Music Academy in Austria, and Courchevel International Music Academy in France. As a soloist, she has performed with the San Diego Symphony, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, and Central Aichi Orchestra.

Kun Yan is a Toronto-based violinist and has served as Associate Principal Second Violin of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since the 2023–24 season. Her musical journey began in Hunan, China, where she started violin at the age of five and made her solo debut with the Hunan Symphony Orchestra at eight. At eighteen, she moved to the United States to continue her musical studies.

A devoted chamber musician, Kun is a founding member of the Blanche String Quartet at the New England Conservatory and the VIA Piano Trio at The Juilliard School. She has appeared at venues such as Alice Tully Hall and Jordan Hall, performed in masterclasses with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, and participated in festivals including Yellow Barn, Kneisel Hall, Bowdoin, Morningside Music Bridge, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, and the Music Academy of the West, where she was part of the String Leadership Program working with Glenn Dicterow and Rainer Honeck.

Kun is a member of the Canadian Chamber Orchestra, having recorded the ensemble’s debut album featuring repertoire from Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro to works by JUNO Award–winning composer Dinuk Wijeratne. She also performs with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Chamber Soloists and has collaborated with artists including James Ehnes.

Kun holds a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory.

Evalynn Tyros, viola Evalynn Tyros’s freelance career includes performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, and the New World Symphony.

Evalynn holds several degrees in viola performance, including a Bachelor’s and Graduate Diploma from McGill University, where she studied with André Roy, and a Master’s degree from Rice University, where she studied with James Dunham.

While performance is her primary focus, Evalynn has also been an avid teacher of beginner viola and violin for the past twelve years. She has taught in music-integrated primary and secondary school programs, El Sistema–inspired after-school initiatives, and through a modest private studio. She believes music is not only an art form but also a gateway to learning, and she strives to make music education more accessible.

Lucia Ticho, cello leads a multifaceted career as a performer and teacher. She is a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra and serves as cellist of Toronto’s Bedford Piano Trio. She has performed with the Houston Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, and St. Louis Symphony, and has appeared as soloist with the Brampton Rose Orchestra, Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, and Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. An active chamber musician, Lucia performs widely with the Bedford Trio and at series and festivals across North America, including DACAMERA (Houston), Chamber Music @ New Park (Ithaca), and the Gibson Classical Concert Series (Toronto). Her collaborators include violinist Stefan Jackiw, singer-songwriter Ben Folds, and dancer Lil Buck. A champion of new music, she has performed with leading contemporary ensembles across North America and commissioned a solo cello work by Chicago composer Kim Diehnelt. She has premiered numerous works written for the Bedford Trio’s IMMERSED concert project. A dedicated educator and Suzuki-certified instructor, Lucia’s students have been admitted to top conservatories and universities. She holds degrees from Columbia University and The Juilliard School and is an alumna of major summer festivals in both the United States and Canada.

Jesse Dale, double bass, was born in the small town of Salado, Texas, and grew up in Denton, Texas. He attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas, where he studied closely with many Dallas Symphony musicians, including privately with Roger Fratena, as well as Lancer Hardy of the US Air Force Band. After two years at the New England Conservatory of Music, studying with Todd Seeber and Tom Van Dyck, he graduated summa cum laude in 2021 from the University of North Texas, where he studied under renowned pedagogue Jeff Bradetich.

Dale has performed with many acclaimed ensembles, including the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, the Callithumpian Consort, and the Phoenix Orchestra of Boston. A lover of new and under-performed music, he gave the American première of Andris Dzenītis’s Iron-Wood for double bass and piano as part of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s What I Hear prelude concert series in 2018. Jesse joined the double bass section of the Toronto Symphony in 2023.

PROGRAM

Sky Macklay: "Many Many Cadences" 

Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 71 No. 2 in D Major

Kevin Lau: String Quartet No. 7 "Surfacing" *Commissioned by the Poiesis Quartet

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate: "Pisachi (Reveal)" 

Sergei Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 2 in F Major 

ARTISTS

Poiesis String Quartet

Celebrated for their "multifaceted artistry" and "brilliantly idiomatic" programming (New York Times), the Poiesis Quartet is the winner of the 2026 Cleveland Quartet Award and the First Prize and Commission Prize recipients of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition. In 2023, they were also named the Grand Prize and Lift Every Voice Prize winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, as well as Gold Medal and BIPOC Prize winners at the 2023 St. Paul String Quartet Competition. In May 2024, Poiesis joined the Concert Artists Guild roster for North American management as winners of the Louis and Susan Meisel Competition. 

Derived from ancient Greek (ποιεῖν), the word Poiesis means “to make”; specifically, to create something that has never existed before. With a focus on expanding the string quartet repertoire with vibrant new works by emerging composers, the Poiesis Quartet infuses each performance with unique moments of synchronicity and verve. Their 2024 debut album ‘as we are’ on the Bright Shiny Things label, which features world premiere recordings with mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby, was lauded for the quartet’s “bottomless depth” (Cleveland Classical). Having had presented several world premieres of works by composers including Brian Raphael Nabors, Kitty Brazelton, and Cara Haxo, their commission of String Quartet No. 7 ‘Surfacing’ by Chinese-Canadian composer Kevin Lau received its world premiere at the Chautauqua Institution in 2025. Furthermore, the Oberlin Commission Project (TOCP), an exciting new endeavor spearheaded by Poiesis, presents the world premieres of five newly commissioned works by LGBTQ+ composers of color from Oberlin Conservatory in March 2026. 

Poiesis is honored to be selected as the 2025-26 Ernst Stiefl Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and as the 2025 St. Lawrence Emerging String Quartet in Residence at Stanford University, Poiesis has also previously acted as ensemble-in-residence of concertnova, a Cincinnati-based collective which presents multi-sensorial and interdisciplinary concert experiences. Recent and upcoming engagements include the San Antonio Chamber Music Society, Newport Classical, Chamber Music Raleigh, Noe Music, Guarneri Hall, and the Austin Chamber Music Center, amongst others. Highlights of the 2025-26 season include performances of ‘Absolute Jest’ with the Dayton Philharmonic in Dayton, OH and with the Oberlin Orchestra in Oberlin, OH. Poiesis has completed multiple international residencies in Punta del Diablo and Punta del Este, Uruguay; the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy; the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in Nova Scotia, CAN; the University of Victoria in British Columbia, CAN; and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in France. Additionally, the Poiesis was selected as the only North American ensemble to compete in the prestigious 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition in Alberta, CAN.

The Poiesis Quartet is currently the Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) studying under the Ariel Quartet. As graduates of Oberlin College & Conservatory, they were previously mentored by Sibbi Bernhardsson of the Pacifica Quartet and members of the Verona Quartet. As a multi-faceted ensemble, in addition to their performance degrees from Oberlin, members of the quartet also individually received formal education in disciplines such as chemistry, comparative American studies, feminist studies, baroque, and jazz. When not playing chamber music, Poiesis loves to learn new languages, share ice cream cakes, and take long walks on the beach.

Sarah Ying Ma (they/she) is  pursuing an A.D. at the University of Cincinnati's CCM where she studies with Kristin Lee and is mentored in chamber music by the Ariel Quartet. Sarah was named a 2024 Performance Today Young Artist in Residence with host Fred Childs, and is the recent 2nd Prizewinner of the 2023 Dallas International Violin Competition: "Her impassioned account was gripping from start to finish. She commanded that rarest of effects, pianissimos at the threshold of audibility that still radiated intensity" (The Dallas Morning News). In 2024, Sarah was accepted as a semifinalist in both the solo and ensemble divisions of the Concert Artists Guild Louis & Susan Meisel Competition, and later advanced to the finals with Poiesis. As a soloist, Sarah has performed internationally with the Dallas Chamber Symphony, Ensemble 212, the Accademia D’Archi Arrigoni, and many more. Sarah was featured in Show 393 on NPR’s “From the Top'' and was a winner of the 2021 National YoungArts Competition. They have attended Heifetz International Music Institute and Kneisel Hall, and was the Dorothy Richard Starling fellow at Aspen Music Festival as a student of Robert Lipsett, Donald Weilerstein, and Paul Kantor. Sarah was a laureate of the 2019 Cooper International Competition sponsored by Florian Leonhard Fine Violins and the Anthony Quinn Foundation. After transferring from undergraduate studies at The Juilliard School with Donald Weilerstein and Li Lin & Masao Kawasaki in the Pre-College Division, Sarah  now holds a B.M. in Violin Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, where they studied with Sibbi Bernhardsson.  

Max Ball (they/he) is a current A.D. student at the University of Cincinnati's CCM, studying with Kristin Lee and quartet with the Ariel Quartet. He has a particular passion for chamber music, putting together a number of recitals, and attending summer programs such as the BUTI String Quartet Intensive, Encore Chamber Music Institute, and Madeline Island Fellowship Program. Alongside classical music, he is also pursuing a minor in jazz studies, studying under Gerald Cannon and Jay Ashby, and joining several ensembles at Oberlin. A particular highlight is the PI (performance and improvisation) ensemble, in which players across all departments of the conservatory join forces with guest artists from around the world, playing many varied styles of music. Max holds a B.M. in Violin Performance with a minor in Jazz Studies from Oberlin Conservatory as a student of Sibbi Bernhardsson. 

Jasper de Boor (any pronouns) is a recent graduate of Oberlin Conservatory where  they double majored in violin and viola with David Bowlin and Kirsten Docter. Currently, they study viola and chamber music at the University of Cincinnati's CCM with Ayane Kozasa and the Ariel Quartet. Aside from quartet, they love to sight read music, play piano and Baroque violin, and sleep.

Drew Dansby (he/him) is a recent double-degree graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory, with degrees in cello performance under Darrett Adkins and chemistry with minors in Comparative American Studies and sociology. Drew joined the cello section of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra full-time beginning in the 2023-24 season, becoming the youngest member of the orchestra at 22. He has served as an acting cellist in the Charlotte Symphony, associate principal cellist of the New York String Orchestra, and principal cellist of the Verbier Festival Orchestra. Originally from Charlotte, NC, Drew made his solo debut with the Charlotte Symphony at age 15.  Drew is also a founding member of the Charlotte Piano Trio, which has performed 14 concerts over 5 years across North Carolina, and was the founder and director of the 2022 Myers Park Summer Series. Drew has been recognized as a National YoungArts winner and gold medalist in the Cleveland Cello Society competition. Drew was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the USA for three summers, including as a violinist in 2018 and as principal cellist in 2019, and he was the first member in the history of the orchestra to be accepted on two instruments. As a winner of Oberlin's concerto competition, he performed David Baker's Concerto for Cello and Jazz Band with the Oberlin Jazz Ensemble in April 2024. 

PROGRAM

Beethoven: Trio in E Flat Major No. 1, Op. 1

Turina: Trio No. 2 in B Minor, Op. 76

Brahms: Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op.8

ARTISTS

Magisterra https://www.magisterra.com/ (for this concert, a piano trio configuration)

Anya Alexeyeva, piano

Annette-Barbara Vogel, violin

Tom Landschoot, cello

(scroll down for links to individual artist bios)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2025 ROSTER Musicians

Annette-Barbara Vogel, violin 

Tom Landschoot, cello

Kelvin Mun, violin , violin

Jutta Puchhammer, viola

Katie Schlaijker, cello

James Waldo, cello

Mikela Witjes, violin

2025 GUEST Musicians

Anya Alexeyeva, piano

Mehdi Ghazi, piano 

Cordula Hacke, piano

Peter Shackleton, clarinet 

Shoshana Telner, piano

2025 Magisterra FELLOWS

Hannah Cole, soprano

PROGRAM

Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Variations Concertantes, Op. 17

Mark Gottlieb: Sonata for Cello and Piano 

Stravinsky: Suite Italienne for Cello and Piano

Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Sonata for Piano and Cello in D Major, Op. 58 

Concert in tribute to Sydney Bulman-Fleming with Pamela Highbaugh Aloni, cello and Futaba Niekawa, piano. 

Dr Sydney Bulman-Fleming (Aug.23, 1944 - Sept. 16, 2025) was a professor of Mathematics at WLU, a gifted pianist, and a long-time friend of Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society. He was instrumental in ensuring the growth of KWCMS in the early years, performing often on our concert series with musical friends including Ofra Harnoy, Yariv Aloni, members of the KWS, and many more.

The KWCMS concert on March 2, 2026, featuring cellist Pamela Highbaugh Aloni and pianist Futaba Niekawa, will be in memory and celebration of Syd and his dedication to music.

We hope you’ll be there!

KWCMS regulars will remember Pam fondly as the cellist of the now-sadly-disbanded Lafayette String Quartet. It is especially fitting that Pam will be performing in a KWCMS concert devoted to Syd’s memory— she enjoyed a long musical and social friendship with Syd and his family.

Upon learning of Syd’s death, a number of people have inquired whether it would be possible to donate to the KW Chamber Music Society in his honour. The short answer is yes! Instructions on how to donate are here. And please let us know, by email to kwmusicroom@gmail.com, that your donation is for the Syd Bulman-Fleming Fund, so his family can receive a list of donors.

ARTISTS

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.

PROGRAM

Standchen by Franz Schubert (1797-1828), arr. Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806-1856) (guitar solo)

Sonata Arpeggione by Franz Schubert, arr. Pascal Valois: Allegro moderato, Adagio and Allegretto (violin, viola, cello and guitar)

Capricio no. 24 by Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840), arr. Pascal Valois (violin, viola, cello and guitar) 

Notturno op. 21 by Wenzel Thomas Matiegka (1773-1830), arr. Schubert: Lento e Patetico and Zingara (violin, viola, cello and guitar)

Romance from the Grand Sonata by Paganini (guitar and violin) 

Menuetto from Quartet op. 4 no. 1 by Paganini (violin, viola, cello and guitar)

Standchen by Franz Schubert (violin, viola, cello and guitar)

ARTISTS

Pascal Valois: romantic guitar

Jessy Dubé: violin

Sari Tsuji: viola

Simon Desbiens - 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.

PROGRAM

East of Budapest

Pancho Vladigerov: Biliana platno beleshe

Lubomir Pipkov: Pastorale

Milcho Leviev: Sonata for violin and piano

Georgi Zlatev Cherkin: Sevdana

Dobrinka Tabakova: Rodopa

Pancho Vladigerov: Grand Choro

Scroll down for notes about these composers.

ARTISTS

Georgy Valtchev, violin

Lora Tchekoratova, piano

Performing together as violin and piano duo since 1996, Valtchev and Tchekoratova made their debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall at the concert series 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 countries. The duo often commissions and 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. Their next album will be released in 2026 – a chamber music recording with works by Dobrinka Tabakova. 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. During the season, they reside in New York City.

COMPOSERS

Pancho Vladigerov (1899-1978) was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He studied composition with Prof. Paul Huon and piano with Heinrich Bardt at the High State Academy of Music in Berlin.  In 1920 he graduated with a degree in composition from the Academy of Arts in  Berlin, where he studied with Prof. F. Gernsheim and Prof. G. Schumann. Between 1920 and 1932 Vladigerov worked as a conductor and composer at “Deutches Theater” in collaboration with the famous director Max Reinhardt and wrote music for his performances. In 1928 he took part in the Festival of Bulgarian Music in Prague. He performed at many concerts in Germany and France. After returning in Bulgaria, Vladigerov became Professor in piano and composition at the State Academy of Music in Sofia. He is one of the founders of the "Contemporary Music" Society in Sofia. Winner of the Mendelssohn Prize (1920) and “Gottfried von Herder”Award (1968), Vladigerov is one of the first Bulgarian composers whose music is recognized all over the world.

Lubomir Pipkov (1904 - 1974) was born in Lovech, Bulgaria. His father is the composer Panayot Pipkov. He studied piano with Ivan Torchanov and Henryk Wiesner and continued his education at the Paris Ecole Normale de Musique, where he studied composition with Paul Dukas, Nadia Boulanger and piano with Yvonne Lefebure. After returning to Bulgaria, he worked as a choirmaster and accompanist at the National Opera in Sofia. Pipkov is co-founder of the “Contemporary music“ Society of Bulgarian Composers. He was also Director of the National Opera in Sofia (1944 - 1948), President of the Union of Bulgarian Composers (1945 - 1954) and Professor of vocal ensembles at the State Academy of Music - Sofia. Founder of “Music” magazine, Pipkov has participated in many international juries and congresses, being also active as a man of letters and a poet, publicist and public figure, pedagogue and artist. Through the universality of his artistic and personal qualities Pipkov joints the ranks of the leading intellectuals of our century.

Milcho Leviev (1937-2019) was a Bulgarian jazz musician  composer, arranger, and pianist. He worked for much of his life in the United States. Milcho Leviev was born on December 19, 1937 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in a Jewish family. He graduated from the State Conservatory in 1960. His professors were Pancho Vladigerov and Andrey Stoyanov. He began his career in the theater. He was appointed conductor of the Big Band of Bulgarian National Radio from 1962 to 1963. From 1963 to 1968 he worked as a soloist and conductor of Plovdiv and Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. He created Fokus'65 Jazz band, which toured at home and abroad until 1970 with great success. One of his most famous works of this period is the arrangement of the song of Paul McCartney's "Yesterday". He also writes film music. In 1970, at the invitation of Don Ellis he left Bulgaria and went to Los Angeles. He stayed with him until 1977. In 1980, he returned briefly in the country and gave a series of concerts  He was on numerous tours throughout Europe and the USA. He taught at the University of California, a Southern and Master Class at New Bulgarian University. He is an author of symphonies and chamber music . In 1997, he was awarded with the order "Stara Planina" for "extraordinary his great contribution to the Republic of Bulgaria in the field of music and the 60th anniversary of his birth".

Georgi Zlatev-Cherkin (1905-1977) studied for two years at the State Academy of Music majoring in Piano under Ivan Torchanov and Music Theory under Professor Dobri Hristov, Professor Pavel Stefanov and Professor Nikola Atanassov (1923-25). He graduated from the State Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in Vienna in 1929 as a student of the vocal pedagogue T. Lierhammer. Concurrently he studied composition with Y. Marx. After his graduation he taught Singing at the State Academy of Music (1929-36) and assisted Professor Lierhammer in Vienna. In 1938 he returned to Bulgaria. In 1940 he joined again the staff of the State Academy of Music as a lecturer. He became full professor (1944), was elected Rector (1948-54) and Dean of the Opera Studies Faculty (1960-74). He worked as a vocal pedagogue at the Conservatories of Peking, Tientsin and Shanghai (1955-58). His students were among the well-known Bulgarian singers as Lyuba Velic, etc. He composed two operettas; cantatas; chamber music; 50 solo songs; songs for mixed, equal voices and traditional music choir, etc. In the 1940s and 1950s he wrote his best chamber-instrumental works including his Pastoral for flute and piano or Sevdana for violin and piano (which later was transcribed for other instruments), as well as the songs The Blue-eyed Girl, the cycle Bachelor Songs, etc. They are among the emblematic musical-poetical repertoire for the Bulgarian performers.

Dobrinka Tabakova (b. 1980) studied music at Alleyn’s School in Dulwich, the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Born in Bulgaria, her music has been broadcast and performed in her native country as well as in other European countries. Her orchestral work Thrace was performed at the Barbican in London, and Insight and On a bench in the shade were both premiered at the Cheltenham International Music Festival. The 2003 Moscow festival ‘Homecoming’ featured a performance of Dancing on Cobbled Streets. Commissions include the chamber operas The Custard Tart Opera and Midsummer Magic, and a viola concerto The Song of the Enchanting Viola. Tabakova won the Lutoslawski Composition Prize in 1999, the Jean-Frédéric Perrenoud Prize, and a medal at the fourth Vienna International Music Competition.

PROGRAM

Storms of Life

Chopin

Barcarolle Op.60, in F sharp Major

Etude op. 10 no. 4 in C sharp minor

Etude op. 10 no. 5 in G flat Major “Black Keys”

Schubert

Allegro in A minor, D 947 “Lebensstürme” (Storms of Life)

Chopin

Etude op. 25 No. 1 in A flat Major “Aeolian Harp”

Scherzo No.2, Op. 31 in B flat Minor

Scriabin                

Sonata-Fantasy No. 2, op. 19 in G Sharp Minor

Mozart

Sonata No.10 in C major, K.330

Strauss/Schulz-Evler 

Concert Arabesque on "By the Beautiful Blue Danube"

Auber-Liszt-Cziffra 

Tarantella di bravura aus “La muette de Portici”, S.386

Mendelssohn          

Andante and Allegro Brilliante

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. 

PROGRAM

Franz Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata, D. 821 

R. Schumann: Märchenbilder, Op. 113 

Zoltán Kodály: Adagio 

Rebecca Clarke: Sonata for viola and piano

ARTISTS

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

Improvisation

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Lute Suite no. 2, BWV 997

I. Preludio

II. Fuga

Joaquin Turina (1882-1949)

Sevillana-Fantasia

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)

XVIII. "El Sueno de la Razon Produce Monstruos", from Caprichos de Goya 

Patrick Roux (b. 1962)

Valse Vertigo

Naoko Tsujita (b. 1985)

Echoes from the Sea

I. Island Whisper

II. Island Wind

III. Raging Waves

Raphael Weinroth-Browne (b. 1991)

Catharsis

I. Ire

II. Confusion

III. Reverie

IV. Absolution

ARTIST

Daniel Ramjattan, guitar Dr. Daniel Ramjattan has become an ambassador 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.

PROGRAM

Last Words, New Thoughts

Experience the monumental closing thoughts of Haydn and Brahms in their final works written for solo piano. Rarely performed gems by George Enescu reveal the luminous genius that prompted Pablo Casals to declare him ‘the greatest musical phenomenon since Mozart.’

Haydn: Piano Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob XVI:52

Brahms: 4 Klavierstucke, Op. 119

Enescu: Toccata from Suite No. 2, Op. 10

Enescu: Piano Sonata in F-sharp Minor, Op. 24, No. 1

ARTIST

Hong Kong-born Canadian pianist Dane Ko is active as recitalist, chamber musician and educator on international stages. Highlights in the 2024-25 season included recital tours to Montreal, Toronto, Hong Kong, Macau, where he gave masterclasses and workshops at The University of Hong Kong, University of Macau, and the University of Toronto. In the 2025-26 season, Dane makes his recital debuts in Ottawa for DOMS, the Kitchener Waterloo Chamber Music Society, Montreal International Bach Festival, Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur and Algoma Conservatory Concerts in Sault Ste. Marie.

As soloist, Dane has performed in France, Austria, Italy, Hong Kong, Macau, Canada and the US in such venues as the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall, Koerner Hall of The Royal Conservatory, Le Château de Fontainebleau and Palazzo Chigi Saracini. Among Dane’s growing accolades are prizes at Prix Ravel in Fontainebleau, The Shean Piano Competition, The Glenn Gould School Chamber Music Competition, and the Canadian Music Competition “Stepping Stone”. Dane has given interviews and performances on Florida’s Classical WSMR, Hong Kong’s RTHK Radio 4, and CBC Radio One.

A dedicated and sought-after music educator, Dane serves as an instructor of piano at McGill University and is invited for lectures and masterclasses worldwide. Dane adjudicated the 2025 Ontario Music Festivals Association (OMFA) Provincial Finals and served as a member of the inaugural Junior Jury of the 2024 Montreal International Piano Competition (CMIM). Dane is also an award-winning research scholar, passionate about investigating and communicating the intersections of culture, psychology and physiology. Dane won the the Canadian Federation of Music Teacher Association (CFMTA) National Conference student presentation competition in 2025 with a project on the foundational philosophies of Chinese traditional music. Dane is a recipient of the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral Award from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in 2024 with his doctoral research on the pedagogical legacy of his late teacher, Marietta Orlov.

From his first encounter with music, Dane cultivated a diverse musical pallet that spans genres and cultures, from Chinese traditional music to jazz. 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 and in duo with prominent instrumentalists including Erhu virtuoso George Gao. Dane’s love and affinity for improvisation continues to permeate all the music he has encounters, dabbles in jazz, popular music, and is a strong proponent of improvising ornamentation and cadenzas in Baroque and Classical repertoire.

In the classical realm, Dane has trained with preeminent artistic figures across Europe, Asia and North America at the Chigiana Music Academy, Mozarteum Summer Academy, Fontainebleau Schools of Music and Fine Art, Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, International Summer Academy of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Lilya Zilberstein, Robert Levin, Klaus Hellwig, Jan Jiracek von Arnim, Benedetto Lupo, John Perry, Ya-Fei Chuang among numerous others. He is particularly grateful to his primary teachers Marietta Orlov, Anna Fomina, Lydia Wong and Ilya Poletaev. Dane holds a Bachelor of Music in piano performance, an Advanced Certificate in Performance, a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy from the University of Toronto and an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory. Dane is a Doctor of Music candidate at McGill University Schulich School of Music.

For more about Dane, please visit www.dane-ko.com

PROGRAM

Mozart: Piano Trio in G major, K.564

Brahms: Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op.101

Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op.67

ARTISTS

Jung Tsai (violin), Rebecca Morton (cello) and Tomoko Inui (piano)

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. 

Rebecca Morton, cello Cellist Rebecca Morton inspires audiences with her honesty, ease, and love of music making. She began her studies at the age of six in her hometown of Hamilton, Ontario and went on to study as a scholarship student at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto with Vladimir Orloff and David Hetherington where she was awarded the Gold Medal for achieving the highest string mark in Canada. Continuing at the Eastman School of Music, she was the recipient of a six year scholarship and graduated with highest distinction receiving Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees under Paul Katz and Steven Doane. Since graduating, she has won numerous scholarships and awards including semi-finalist in the 2003 Eckhardt-Gramatte String Competition.

Currently living and freelancing in Toronto, Rebecca has played with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Ontario Philharmonic, group of 27, Toronto Masque Theatre, Contact Contemporary Music Ensemble, the Stratford Festival Orchestra and the Niagara Symphony. Sought after as a principal player, she has been guest principal of Symphony on the Bay, Talisker Players and the Kingston Symphony. A gifted soloist and ensemble member, she was a member of the Kamareli String Quartet for many years and has been heard in many solo and chamber music recitals, including performances with ChamberWorks!, Nota Bene, Past Perfect, at the Toronto Music Garden and in recordings with Final Fantasy. Most recently, she has performed with members of the Canadian Opera Company at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Gallery 345, theMcMaster Concert Series, and with the McMaster Trio. In September of 2015, Rebecca joined the cello section of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.

Tomoko Inui, piano http://www.tomokoinui.com/

Pianist Tomoko Inui has built a career shaped by curiosity, collaboration, and a lifelong commitment to musical expression. After living in several cities around the world, she moved from Alaska to Montreal in 2003 to study at McGill University under Kyoko Hashimoto, where she later received the Bruneau Prize for her outstanding solo recital. She has been an affiliated professor at conservatoire de musique de montreal and has worked as an official accompanist at Queens University, an organist at Eglise Saint Arsene, and a pianist for the Montreal West Operatic Society.

Based in Montreal, Tomoko contributes actively to the city’s cultural life through solo and chamber performances within the Accès Culture Montréal network and beyond. She has been a frequent performer with the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society since 2019, and has also appeared with the Lakeshore Chamber Music Society (2019, 2024) and Music Mondays in Toronto.

An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with artists such as the Alexander String Quartet in Florence, violist Marcus Thompson in Montreal, and cellists Laurentiu Sbarcea in the Czech Republic and Valentin Scharff in Austria. She also took part in the International Music Festival and Workshop (2003–2011) and contributed to the FriedensKonzert (Peace Concert) series in Liesing, Austria (2014–2015).

Her recording projects include works by Mozart, Chopin, Ravel, and Rachmaninoff, realized with recording engineer Meining Cheung (2008 and 2013). Tomoko holds both Licentiate and Master’s degrees in piano performance from McGill University, and also earned a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography, a field in which she worked for several years before dedicating herself fully to music.

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

Sunday, January 11, 2026  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. 

In high demand for his extensive experience as a concertmaster, Corey is presently Concertmaster for Esprit Orchestra, Sinfonia Ancaster, Burlington Symphony Orchestra, Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra Toronto.  He has also served in this capacity with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Brott Music Festival/National Academy Orchestra, Elora Festival Orchestra, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Orchestra, Ontario Philharmonic, Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra, 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. 2025 saw the release of two albums on the Orchid Classics label, one with cellist Daniel Hamin Go, and another with oboist Ari Cohen Mann. 

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

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

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

PROGRAM

String Quartet Op. 18, No. 6

Grosse Fuge Op. 133

String Quartet Op. 59, No. 1

ARTISTS

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.