2009-2010 Program Biography ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thomas Annand – harpsichord, organ and piano
Thomas Annand leads an active life with numerous ensembles, including the Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra and the National Arts Orchestra. In addition, he is artistic director for Capital Brass Works, and is a founding member of the Gruppetto Baroque Ensemble, and Director of Music at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Ottawa, a role he has held since 1992. Thomas began his musical studies in his native Nova Scotia and went on to obtain Bachelor and Masters degrees in music from McGill University where he studied organ with John Grew and harpsichord with Hank Knox. A grant from the Quebec Government allowed him to pursue his studies in France with Marie-Claire Alain and to undertake research on the works of Widor and Vierne at the Bibliothèque Nationale. After winning the First Prize in the RCCO National Organ Competition in 1987, Thomas began a career as soloist, first as organist and recently as harpsichordist. He gives many recitals each year throughout North America and every year since 1995, he is a guest soloist at the Carmel Bach Festival in California. He has appeared as soloist in the International Congress of Organists, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, and the Organ Historical Society Convention.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Julian Armour – cello
Julian Armour has distinguished himself over the past 20 years as a performing musician, arts administrator and artistic director. He is currently Artistic and Executive Director of Ottawa’s new classical music festival, Music and Beyond. As well, he is Artistic Director of the Chamber Players of Canada, President of Ottawa Festivals, Principal Cellist of the chamber orchestra Thirteen Strings and teaches regularly at the University of Ottawa, offering courses in both music performance and arts administration. He is also President of the Friends of the Concert Hall and is a voting member of the Canadian Music Centre. For the past two summers, he has taught cello masterclasses at the Orford Arts Centre. For fourteen years he was Artistic and Executive Director of the highly successful Ottawa Chamber Music Society, an organization that he founded in 1993. As a chamber musician he has appeared in television broadcasts on CBC, CTV, PBS, EWTN and Vision TV. He has played in most of Canada’s concert halls and many in the United States and Europe. He has recorded over 30 CDs for many labels including Marquis, Crystal, ATMA, CMS Classics, CentreDiscs, SRI, CanSona, Studea Musica and CBC. He was the subject of a full-length documentary on CBC radio and a half-hour documentary on the television series “Men of Music.” Julian Armour was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in December 2002 by the Government of France for his contributions to music. In 2003, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada. Julian Armour was chosen as “Arts Newsmaker of the Year” in January 2006 by the Ottawa Sun.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Martin Beaver – violin
Canadian violinist Martin Beaver was named First Violin of the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet in 2002. As such, he has appeared to critical and public acclaim on the major stages of the world including New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Berliner Philharmonie, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and the Sydney Opera House. His concerto and recital appearances span four continents with orchestras such as the San Francisco Symphony, l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège and the National Arts Centre Orchestra under the batons of Pinchas Zukerman, Raymond Leppard and Charles Dutoit among others. His chamber music performances include collaborations with such eminent artists as Leon Fleisher, Lynn Harrell, Sabine Meyer and the late Alicia de Larrocha. Mr. Beaver’s discography includes concerti, sonatas and chamber music on the Harmonia Mundi, Naim Audio, René Gailly, Musica Viva, SM 5000 and Naxos labels. His recorded repertoire ranges from Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms to the music of Canadian composers John Weinzweig, Patrick Cardy and Alexina Louie. Mr. Beaver studied with Claude Letourneau, Carlisle Wilson, Victor Danchenko, Josef Gingold and Henryk Szeryng. He is a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth, Montreal and Indianapolis competitions. Subsequently, he has served on the juries of major international competitions including the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition. Over the course of his career, Mr. Beaver has been the grateful recipient of the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts. This includes Arts Grants for his studies at Indiana University, Career Development Grants and the 1993 Virginia-Parker Prize. In 1998, the Canada Council and an anonymous donor awarded Mr. Beaver the use of the 1729 “ex-Heath” Guarnerius del Gesù for a four-year period. A devoted educator, Mr. Beaver has conducted masterclasses on five continents. He has held teaching positions at the Royal Conservatory of Music, the University of British Columbia and the Peabody Conservatory. He is presently on the faculty of New York University and is Artist-in-Residence at the Yale School of Music. Mr. Beaver plays the 1727 “Paganini” Stradivarius on generous loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Murielle Bruneau – double bass
Murielle Bruneau has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1989 and has performed as a soloist with them on many occasions. She has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician at numerous festivals in Europe and North America. She was the solo bass of the Montreal ensemble, La Pietà, with whom she made six recordings. She was also principal bass of the McGill Chamber Orchestra. She plays her 350 year-old double bass with the Chamber Players of Canada on several highly-acclaimed recordings including Schubert’s Octet and Trout Quintet and the Chopin piano concertos with Janina Fialkowska. She studied at the Conservatoire de Trois Rivières and with the renowned bass teacher Franco Petrachi in Rome. She has taught at McGill University and the Chicoutimi and Trois-Rivières conservatories.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Natasha Chapman – flute
Natasha Chapman was born in Toronto in 1974. She began flute studies with Peg Albrecht at the Royal Conservatory of Music when she was 14 years old. After being accepted to the performance program at McGill University in 1993, Natasha studied under renowned teacher Timothy Hutchins principal flute Montreal Symphony) graduating with "high distinction in flute performance". Her graduate studies (Artist Diploma) led her to the United States where she attended Duquesne University on a full scholarship, studying with Robert Langevin (principal flute New York Philharmonic) and Rhian Kenny (piccolo, Pittsburgh Symphony). She also completed a residency with much sought after teacher and performer, Jeanne Baxtresser, at Carnegie Mellon University. Opportunities to play in competitive master classes included performances for William Bennett, Michael Hasel, and Peter Lloyd. Her career has taken her to perform in concerts across the world, including Japan and Korea. She has played flute with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra and the National Academy Orchestra, and has participated in summer festivals with other orchestras including the Symphonie Laval and the Orford Arts Centre Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, she enjoys performing in The Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. She is also a founding member of the flute quartet, Opus Four. Ms. Chapman is available for performances and maintains a private studio. For more information on bookings or lessons, please contact her directly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jonathan Crow – violin
Born in Prince George in 1977, Jonathan Crow began the Suzuki violin method at age six and continued studies at the Prince George Music School. When he was fifteen, Jonathan studied at the Victoria Conservatory of Music with Sydney Humphreys and attended the Banff Centre Master Class Program. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Honours Performance from McGill University, studying with Yehonatan Berick. Upon graduation from McGill University, Mr. Crow joined the Montreal Symphony at the age of 19 as Associate Principal Second Violin, and won the Associate Concertmaster chair 5 months later. He was appointed Concertmaster in 2002, a position he held until 2006, becoming the youngest Concertmaster to lead a major North American orchestra. Jonathan is currently Assistant Professor of Violin at McGill University. In May 1997 Jonathan performed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in a special benefit for the Victoria Symphony under the baton of Sir Yehudi Menuhin. Lord Menuhin was so impressed that he invited him to perform again with the Vancouver Symphony in April 1998. Jonathan continues to perform in North America, having been featured as soloist with most major Canadian orchestras including the Montreal, Kingston, London, National Arts Centre, Victoria and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, under the baton of such conductors as Charles Dutoit, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Mario Bernardi and João Carlos Martins. He is heard frequently on Chaîne Culturelle of Radio-Canada, CBC Radio Two, and National Public Radio, along with Radio France, Radio Allemand, and the RAI in Europe. An avid chamber musician, Jonathan has performed at chamber music festivals throughout North America, South America and Europe including the Banff, Ravinia, Orford, Domaine Forget, Seattle, Montreal, Ottawa, Incontri in Terra di Sienna, Alpenglow, Festival Vancouver, Pernambuco (Brazil), and Strings in the Mountains festivals and has also performed in concert with musicians from the Guarneri, Emerson, Vermeer and Tokyo Quartets. As an advocate of contemporary music he has premiered works by Michael Conway Baker, Eldon Rathburn, Barrie Cabena, Ernest MacMillan and Healey Willan, and includes in his repertoire major concertos by such composers as Ligeti, Schnittke, Brian Cherney and Bernstein. Mr. Crow has recorded for CBC, Oxingale and Atma labels. He has made four recordings with the Chamber Players of Canada.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Karen Donnelly – trumpet
Following three successful seasons as Acting Principal Trumpet of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Karen Donnelly was unanimously appointed Principal Trumpet in October 1999. A native of Regina, Saskatchewan, Karen completed her Bachelor of Arts in Music at the University of Regina, Ms. Donnelly continued studying at McGill University (Montreal) where she completed a Master of Music. From 1994-1996, Karen played with Orchestra London(Canada) as Principal Trumpet. Since her arrival in Ottawa in 1996, Karen has also kept a busy schedule, performing many concerts for CBC (French and English) and participating in the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival. As a member of the Rideau Lakes Brass Quintet, she is active in educational projects. May 2008 brought the release of Karen's first solo recording, "Gabriel's Sister" with Capital BrassWorks. In addition to performances with Capital BrassWorks, Ms. Donnelly teaches at the University of Ottawa.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Janina Fialkowska – piano
Beloved the world over for her exquisite pianism, Janina Fialkowska has enchanted audiences for over thirty years with her glorious lyrical sound, her sterling musicianship and her profound sense of musical integrity. Blending her vast experience with her refreshingly natural approach "Fialkowska has become an artist of rare distinction as well as retaining all the virtuosity of her youth" (La Presse, Montreal, February 13, 2009) Celebrated for her interpretations of the classical and romantic repertoire, she is particularly distinguished as one of the great interpreters of the piano works of Chopin and Mozart. She has also won acclaim as a champion of the music of twentieth-century Polish composers, both in concert and on disc. Born to a Canadian mother and a Polish father in Montreal, Janina Fialkowska started to study the piano with her mother at the age of five. Eventually she entered the Ecole de Musique Vincent d'Indy, studying under the tutelage of Mlle. Yvonne Hubert. The University of Montreal awarded her both advanced degrees of “Baccalaureat” and “Maitrise” by the time she was only 17. In 1969, her career was greatly advanced by two events: winning the first prize in the Radio Canada National Talent Festival and travelling to Paris to study with Yvonne Lefebure. One year later, she entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York, where she first studied with Sascha Gorodnitzki and later became his assistant for five years. In 1974 her career was launched by Arthur Rubinstein after her prize-winning performance at his inaugural Master Piano Competition in Israel. She has performed with the foremost North American orchestras, among them the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Houston Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony as well as with all of the principal Canadian orchestras, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa, the Calgary Philharmonic and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. In touring Europe each year, Ms Fialkowska has appeared as guest artist with such prestigious orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the Halle Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, London's Philharmonia Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, the Scottish National Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic and the French and Belgium National Radio Orchestras. She has also performed with the Israel Philharmonic, the Osaka Philharmonic and the Hong Kong Philharmonic and has worked with such renowned conductors as Sir Andrew Davis, Charles Dutoit, Hans Graf, Bernard Haitink, Kyril Kondrashin, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Sir Roger Norrington, Sir Georg Solti, Leonard Slatkin, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and Klaus Tennstedt. She has won special recognition for a series of important premieres, most notably the world premiere performance of a newly discovered Piano Concerto by Franz Liszt with the Chicago Symphony in 1990. She has also given the world premiere of a Piano Concerto by Libby Larsen with the Minnesota Orchestra (October 1991) and the North American premiere of the Piano Concerto by Sir Andrzej Panufnik with the Colorado Symphony (February 1992) and the Piano concerto by Marjan Mozetich with the Kingston Orchestra (March 2000). Janina Fialkowska was the Founding Director of the hugely successful “Piano Six” project and its successor “Piano Plus”. This latest project brings together some of Canada’s greatest Classical pianists, instrumentalists and vocalists with Canadians who, for either geographical or financial reasons, would otherwise be unable to hear this calibre of “live” classical performance. In 2000 "Piano Six" won one of Canada's top Arts’ awards, the Chalmers Award. In 1992 the CBC produced a sixty-minute television documentary, "the World of Janina Fialkowska" that aired to great acclaim throughout Canada. This program won a Special Jury Prize at the 1992 San Francisco International Film Festival. In October 2002 Ms Fialkowska was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2006, Acadia University, one of Canada’s oldest and finest educational institutions awarded her an honorary doctorate. In January, 2002 at the onset of a major European tour encompassing eight different countries, Ms. Fialkowska’s career was brought to a dramatic halt by the discovery of a tumour in her left arm. After successful surgery to remove the cancer, Ms Fialkowska underwent further surgery in January 2003; a rare muscle-transfer procedure. After 18 months of performing the Ravel and Prokofiev "concertos for the left hand" which she transcribed for her right hand she has resumed her two-handed career beginning with a tremendously successful and highly emotional recital held in Germany in January 2004. Ms Fialkowska's discography includes discs featuring the 24 Chopin Etudes, Op. 10 & Op. 25, the Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3 and the Impromptus, a solo album of Liszt piano works and her astonishing version of the 12 Transcendental Etudes by Franz Liszt. Also a solo Szymanowski album and the highly praised CD, "La jongleuse - Salon pieces and encores." She has also recorded her immensely popular CD of the Paderewski piano concerto with the Polish National Radio Orchestra, the rarely heard piano concerto by Moritz Moszkowski and the tremendously successful CD of the three Liszt piano concertos with Hans Graf conducting. Ms Fialkowska’s recent recordings include performances of piano concertos by Chopin and Mozart in authentic versions consisting of piano solo and string quintet accompaniment. Both of which were released to highest critical acclaim. Just released for the 2010 Chopin bicentennial: a Chopin Recital, her third collaboration with the successful Canadian ATMA classique label. In 2010 Janina Fialkowska will be busily touring North America and Europe performing almost exclusively works by Chopin in recital or orchestra concerts. She will also premiere the Chopin inspired piano concerto “Prelude Variations” by John Burge, written specifically for her. 2010 will also witness the birth of an annual “International Piano Academy” hosted by Ms Fialkowska in Bavaria, where she will perform and give master classes to advanced and highly gifted students.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Andréa Armijo Fortin - violin In 2002, Andréa Armijo Fortin obtained a Prix avec Grande Distinction in violin and chamber music from the Conservatoire de musique de Québec (studio of Liliane Garnier Le Sage). She then graduated with an Artist Diploma from the Longy School of Music, where she studied with Malcolm Lowe. Andréa was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center in 2004 and 2005, where she worked with musicians including James Levine, Emmanuel Ax, Seiji Osawa and Kurt Masur. In 2007, Andréa was named a Richard Li Young Artist as part of the National Arts Centre Institute for Orchestral Studies. She is the recipient of the Québec Council for the Arts Scholarship, the FCAR scholarship, the CBC Rising Star in Chamber Music scholarship and a winner of "Les Jeunes Artistes de Radio-Canada" competition. Andréa performs regularly with ensembles including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Thirteen Strings and l'Orchestre Symphonique de Québec.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joanna G’froerer – flute
Joanna G'froerer became the principal flautist of the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada in 1992, at the age of twenty. A native of Vancouver, she comes from a family of professional musicians, and studied in her native city with Kathleen Rudolph of the CBC Radio Orchestra, becoming the first wind player to graduate from the Vancouver Academy of Music. She later studied at McGill University with Timothy Hutchins, principal flautist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and earned a Licentiate in Music from McGill in 1993. Joanna G'froerer was the principal flautist of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at Interlochen, Michigan, in the summers of 1989 and 1990, and was also principal flautist of the McGill University Symphony Orchestra from 1990. She spent the summers of 1991 and 1992 with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Her orchestral career has also included an engagement as assistant principal flute with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood during the summer of 1996. She performs frequently with the NAC Orchestra as a soloist, and has also appeared as a soloist with the CBC Radio Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, Thirteen Strings of Ottawa, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, after winning the wind division of the MSO Competition in 1990. As a chamber musician, she appeared in the 1994 Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, and is a regular participant in the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival. She has been a guest artist with chamber groups including the Proteus Ensemble of Montreal, the Penderecki String Quartet, and the Tokyo String Quartet. Joanna Gfroerer is also an active teacher. She has been on the faculty of the Scotia Festival of Music, has taught flute at McGill University, and regularly gives master-classes. Her recordings include a release of Mozart Flute Quartets, together with Martin Beaver, Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth, chosen by Opus Magazine as the best Canadian chamber music recording of 2001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Golod – treble Michael Golod has been singing in the Christ Church Cathedral choir of Men and Boys, Ottawa Canada under direction of Matthew Larkin since he was 8 years old. He takes singing lessons from Wanda Procyshyn. In recent years, he has had numerous solo parts in the performances of the Christ Church Cathedral Choir: J.S. Bach's Cantata 140 and St. John's Passion, Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, Handel's Messiah. In 2007, he was a soloist in the Ottawa Choral Society's concert of the Chichester Psalms. In May 2008, he had his National Arts Centre debut as "The Boy" in Mendelssohn's Elijah under the direction of Maestro Helmuth Rilling. He has taken piano lessons since he was 4 years old and at 12 years of age completed his Grade 10 Royal Conservatory of Music piano exam, receiving First Class Honours with Distinction. He has been the recipient of many awards from the Kiwanis Music Festival in both piano and singing. In 2005-07 he was also a National finalist in Canadian Music Competition as a pianist. In May 2009 Michael gave his solo vocal recital as fundraising concert to support Christ Church Cathedral Choir in their tour to England in summer 2009. Michael has CD "Music For A While", which was recorded at this concert. In September 2009 Michael debuted with Opera Lyra Ottawa as Genie in "The Magic Flute" by W.A.Mozart.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manon Le Comte – harp
Harpist Manon Le Comte was born in Montreal. She began studying the recorder at four years old, then at eleven, she switched to the harp and studied with Dorothy Masella at the Montreal Conservatory of Music, where she obtained a Premier Prix in 1975. Since then, she has freelanced mainly in Montreal and Ottawa with a number of orchestras (including the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal, the Société de Musique Contemporaine du Québec and Nouvel Ensemble Moderne), in concert, for recordings (radio, television, records) and on tour. In addition, she has participated in a number of concerts as a chamber musician and soloist with various groups of musicians and several choirs. She has been playing in the National Arts Centre Orchestra for over 25 years. Manon Le Comte has taught at a number of institutions (including the Université de Montreal and McGill University) and has given private lessons. In addition, she participated on panels of examiners and as adjudicator at festivals. She has been teaching harp at the Montreal Conservatory of Music since 1994 and at the École Secondaire Joseph-François-Perrault.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Guylaine Lemaire – viola
One of Canada’s busiest and most versatile musicians, violist Guylaine Lemaire performs regularly as a chamber musician and as an orchestral player. A member of the Chamber Players of Canada, she has appeared at virtually every major Canadian festival including the Festival de Lanaudière, Festival of the Sound, Festival de musique de Lachine, Musique de chambre à Ste Pétronille, Festival international du Domaine Forget, Festival Canada at the National Arts Centre, and the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. She is heard regularly on CBC Radio and Radio-Canada. Guylaine Lemaire has recorded on many different labels and her chamber music recordings have all received strong critical acclaim. Her most recent recording, Mozart Piano Concertos with Janina Fialkowska has received unanimous praise and was selected as one of the top CD’s of the year by the Ottawa Citizen. It has so far received excellent reviews from publications around the world including BBC Music Magazine, CBC’s sound Advice, the Toronto Star and the Montreal Gazette. She has performed across Canada and around the world on first violin, second violin and viola with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the chamber orchestra, Thirteen Strings. She has also been a member of the Montreal Baroque Orchestra. Her viola was made by one of the great Italian luthiers and teachers of the 20th century, Otello Bignami. He was so proud of this instrument he signed it in three places including two places where he inlayed his intitials in gold.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stéphane Lévesque – bassoon
Born in Montréal in 1972, Stéphane Lévesque has held the position of principal bassoon with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM)since September 1998. He has also held principal positions with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Japan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marcelle Mallette - violin
Awarded First Prize from the Conservatoire de musique du Québec, Marcelle Mallette pursued her studies with Joseph Gingold at Indiana University, where she obtained the Soloist Diploma. She also performed in several masterclasses, notably with Yehudi Menuhin, Joseph Silverstein, and Stefan Georghiu, and participated in numerous chamber music festivals in Canada, Germany, and New Zealand. Marcelle Mallette was Concertmaster with the Orchestre symphonique de Laval and the Quebec Youth Orchestra, as well as with the Grands Ballets Canadiens Orchestra and the Montreal Opera Orchestra, and was Assistant Concertmaster with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra. An acclaimed chamber musician, she has toured the United States and Europe as a performer with the celebrated Orpheus Chamber Orchestra of New York and as a member of the Quatuor Morency, the Quatuor De Sève, and the Ottawa String Quartet. She also performs in a duo with pianist Marie Fabi. While residing for six years in New Zealand and Australia, she was Concertmaster of the Auckland Philharmonia (1998 and 1999) and a guest performer with the Melbourne Symphony, the Tasmanian Symphony, the Western Australian Symphony, and the Victoria Orchestra. She was also coordinator of the string programme at the Autralian National Academy of Music and taught violin at the University of Melbourne. Back in Canada in the fall of 2003, Marcelle Mallette joined the string ensemble La Pietà and worked as a freelance performer, notably with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. Since June 2004 she has been Associate Concertmaster of the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manuela Milani – violin
A member of the Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra since 1998, Manuela Milani was appointed to the position of Concertmaster of the ensemble in 2004. In addition she has been playing with the National Arts Centre Orchestra since November 1998. She was awarded a First Prize by the Conservatoire de musique du Québec where her teachers were Jean-François Rivest in Chicoutimi and Sonia Jelinková in Montreal. With a grant from the Quebec Arts Council, she studied with Sylvia Rosenberg both at the Manhattan School of Music in New York and at Indiana University, where she also studied baroque violin with Stanley Ritchie. She was awarded a special mention at the Prix d'Europe 1993. As the winner of the Janácek prize at the 1993 Montreal Czech and Slovak music competition, she was invited to perform recitals in Prague, Brno and Bratislava. She was concertmaster of the National Youth Orchestra in 1990 and assistant concertmaster of the Jeunesses Musicales' World Youth Orchestra in 1991. She was a member of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra from 1995 to 1998. An avid chamber musician, Manuela can be heard regularly on CBC Radio and Radio-Canada. She has performed at major festivals including Festival de Lanaudière, Rendez-vous musicale de Laterrière, Festival of the Sound and the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. She recorded Haydn's Seven last words of Christ for the Ottawa Chamber Music Society and three CDS for the Atma label with the Chamber Players of Canada. Manuela plays a 1785 J & A Gagliano violin on loan to her from the Zukerman Musical Instruments Foundation for the NAC Orchestra. The Gagliano was donated to the Foundation by NACOA (now Friends of the NAC Orchestra).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Julie Nesrallah – mezzo soprano and narrator
Julie Nesrallah is an extremely versatile singer and actress, at ease in all styles who has achievements and standards of musical excellence established across the continent and abroad. She dazzles audiences with her rich tone, engaging personality and deeply expressive communicative skills and is regularly cast in principal roles by leading opera companies across North America and abroad. Roles include Carmen (Carmen), Isabella (LItaliana in Algeri), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Angelina (La Cenerentola), Der Komponist (Ariadne auf Naxos), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Maddalena (Rigoletto), MegPage (Falstaff), Anita (West Side Story), Jocasta (Oedipus Rex), Miss Todd (Old Maid & the Thief), Dritte Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Queen Elizabeth (Maria Stuarda), Queen Henrietta (I Puritani), First Maid (Elektra), the Young Mozart (The Jewel Box) and the Old Woman (The Death of Enkidu). Miss Nesrallah has been the recipient of many distinguished awards & prizes, including the Canada Council for the Arts Emerging Artist Award & Mid-Career Grant. She has also been invited to sing for several high profile events including the Opera Canada Awards honouring great Canadian achievement in opera, and An Evening for Peace in Montreal for Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan. In 2004,Miss Nesrallah was invited to perform for Her Royal Highness Princess Haya in Amman, Jordan, to launch an endowment fund for underprivileged girls to study music in Canada. Miss Nesrallah is frequently featured on CBC Radio and National Public Radio, and is currently the host of Tempo, CBC Radio 2's flagship national classical music program. Miss Nesrallah has participated in many prestigious summer festivals which include the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, the Macau International Music Festival, the Vancouver Chamber Festival, Festival Vancouver, the Boré-Arts Summer Music Festival, the Huntsville Arts Festival, the Orford Summer Festival, the Guelph Spring Festival, Les Concerts des Iles-du-Bic, the Lanaudière International Music Festival, Nova Scotias Musique Royale and the Indian River Summer Music Festival in Prince Edward Island. Symphonic engagements for Miss Nesrallah have included performances with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Ottawa Symphony, the Laval Symphony, the Kingston Symphony, the Victoria Symphony, the Cedar Rapids Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, lOrchestre Métropolitain, l'Orchestre Leonardo da Vinci, the Toronto Philharmonia and the Plattsburgh Symphony. Renowned ensembles include the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the Orford Wind Quintet, Thirteen Strings, Quatuor Arthur-Leblanc, the Borealis String Quartet, La Pietà, the Montreal Guitar Trio and the Molinari String Quartet who recorded a CD with Miss Nesrallah as the multi-role soloist for R. Murray Schafers tour de force, Beauty and the Beast, which won the 2002/2003 Opus Prize for Record of the Year, Modern and Contemporary Category.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kimball Sykes – clarinet
Kimball Sykes joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra as principal clarinet in 1985. Born in Vancouver, he received a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of British Columbia where he studied with Ronald deKant. In 1982 Mr. Sykes was a member of the National Youth Orchestra and was awarded the first of two Canada Council grants to study with Robert Marcellus in Chicago. He has participated in the Banff School of Fine Arts Festival, the Scotia Festival, the Orford Festival and the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival. He has performed and toured with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and was a member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. While in Vancouver, he was a founding member of the Vancouver Wind Trio. From 1983 to 1985 he was principal clarinet of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Sykes has performed as a soloist with the NAC Orchestra on numerous occasions. In May 2000, he gave the premiere performance of Vagues immobiles, a clarinet concerto by Alain Perron commissioned for him by the NAC, and in November 2002, he performed the Copland Clarinet Concerto, both conducted by Pinchas Zukerman. Other groups he has appeared with as soloist include Thirteen Strings, the Honolulu Symphony and the Auckland Philharmonia. Mr. Sykes has performed numerous solo and chamber music programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He can be heard on the recent Chamber Players of Canada recording of Schubert’s Octet. He has also recorded the Mozart Clarinet Quintet with Pinchas Zukerman and NAC Orchestra principal musicians Donnie Deacon, Jane Logan and Amanda Forsyth which is included in the NAC Orchestra’s double Mozart CD for CBC Records which was nominated for a Juno Award in 2004. Kimball Sykes is currently on faculty at the University of Ottawa.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew Tunis – piano
Andrew Tunis has been living and performing in the Ottawa area for over 20 years. He has given concerts in North America, Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia. Among the many musicians with whom he has collaborated are violinists Pinchas Zukerman and Martin Beaver, cellists Desmond Hoebig and Steven Isserlis, as well as the Philharmonia Quartet of Berlin and St. Lawrence String Quartet. He has appeared as guest soloist with many Canadian orchestras, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic and Ottawa and Edmonton symphony orchestras. After studies at the University of Ottawa with Jean-Paul Sévilla and Douglas Voice, he went on to study with Artur Balsam at the Manhattan School of Music where he received the Pablo Casals Award for outstanding musical achievement. He won first prize in several national and international competitions and, with cellist Desmond Hoebig, first prize at the 1984 Munich International Competition. He is presently Professor of Piano at the University of Ottawa.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jonathan Wade – percussion A native of Ottawa, Jonathan Wade received a Bachelor of Music in performance from the University of Ottawa where he studied with Ian Bernard and Pierre Béluse. He went on to obtain a Superior Studies diploma in orchestral repertoire from the University of Montréal where he studied with the legendary timpanist Louis Charbonneau. Jonathan Wade is presently a percussionist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, a position he has held since 1983. He is also principal timpanist of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. In great demand both as an orchestral player and a chamber musician, Mr. Wade performs with many other fine ensembles including Thirteen Strings and Capital Brass Works. He is heard frequently on prestigious concert series such as the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival and Music for a Sunday Afternoon at the National Gallery. He has recorded for CBC and Radio-Canada and released numerous CD’s with the NACO and other ensembles. In 2006, Jonathan Wade was appointed head of percussion at the University of Ottawa. He is also percussion instructor at the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy. Jonathan performs regularly in the NAC’s Music in the Schools program with Bangers and Smash and the Ragtime Brass Sextet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew Wan – violin
Andrew Wan is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. In August of 2008, he was named co-concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO) under Maestro Kent Nagano, making him one of the youngest concertmasters of a major symphony. His relationship with this orchestra began with performances of Elgar’s Violin Concerto under Jean-Francois Rivest, which were hailed as one of the top two musical moments of 2007 by La Presse. Andrew Wan performs on a 1744 Michel'Angelo Bergonzi violin, and gratefully acknowledges its loan from the David Sela Collection.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arianna Warsaw-Fan – violin
Arianna Warsaw-Fan, 23, has established herself as a rising star in the classical musical world. Ms. Warsaw-Fan performs on an 1868 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leah Wyber – cello A native of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Leah is an active orchestral and chamber musician in and around Ottawa. She is a former member of La Pieta of Montreal, Joe Trio of Vancouver, the Atlantic String Quartet, and the Prodigal Daughters, a Newfoundland folk group. Her advanced training was received at the University of British Columbia and the Banff Centre. As well, she has participated in numerous festivals and programs, such as the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Scotia Festival, the Whistler Mozart Festival, the National Youth Orchestra, and the Jeunnessess Musicales World Orchestra. Leah has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1993.
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