Amy Hillis, violin

Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, Amy Hillis is quickly establishing herself as one of Canada’s most versatile and vibrant violinists. She collaborates with musicians from around the world in order to explore new approaches to classical and contemporary music. Amy was a 2017 artist-in-residence at La Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, a residency awarded by the Conseils des Arts et des Lettres du Québec. She is also the winner of the 2018 Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition and the 2019-2020 Pan-Canadian Recital Tour. As winner of the 2017 McGill Concerto Competition, Amy performed Lutoslawski’s Partita as soloist with the McGill Symphony Orchestra. Amy is the recipient of the prestigious Sylva Gelber Foundation Music Award which is given to Canadian musicians of outstanding ability and career potential. She performs on the 1902 Enrico Rocca, on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.

Continue reading at amyhillis.com/bio

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Catherine Cosbey, violin/viola

Canadian violinist Catherine Cosbey adores chamber music. She first graced the concert stage at the tender age of twelve, as a member of her family ensemble, the Cosbey Trio, when she was a guest artist with the Regina Male Voice Choir in a highly memorable performance   predominantly because they were two-thirds redheads, though, possibly, the concert is only memorable in the mind of Ms. Cosbey who distinctly remembers the exhilarating feeling of walking out on stage. She was piqued by the performing bug.

Since then, Ms. Cosbey has performed all over the States, Canada, Europe, and Asia, and has been inspired by collaborating with many incredible artists, including Peter Frankl, Jeffrey Kahane, Michael Brown, Annie Fullard, the Tokyo Quartet, Richard Stoltzman, Jason Vieaux, Peter Salaff, Donald Weilerstein, James Dunham, Zuill Bailey, and Jana Baty.

As a founding member of the critically acclaimed Linden String Quartet, Ms. Cosbey is a prize-winner at the 2009 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, the 2009 Coleman Competition, the 2010 Hugo Kauder Competition, and the 2011 Borcciani Competition.

An avid teacher, Ms. Cosbey has taught all over the United States and Canada. With the Linden String Quartet, she has been the Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the Yale School of Music, the Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and Arts, and has been in short-term residence all over the continent, including the Detroit Chamber Music Society, the University of Iowa, the Chamber Music Society of Logan, and Music at Port Milford.

Catherine holds degrees from Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Yale School of Music where her principal teachers were Erika Raum and Paul Kantor. Other invaluable mentors include the Cavani Quartet, Peter Salaff, and the Tokyo Quartet.

This season, Ms. Cosbey is thrilled to be a member of the Pialli Quartet, the Quartet-in-Residence at Chamber Music Society of Mexico. In January 2015 she appeared with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra in Canada along with her brother Thomas Cosbey in a performance of Bach’s Double Concerto. Ms. Cosbey is also proudly the assistant director of Regina Summer Strings, a week-long chamber music institute in July in her hometown, Regina, Saskatchewan.

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Chloé Chabanole, violin

Chloé Chabanole started playing violin at a young age in her hometown of Regina, Saskatchewan. She completed a bachelor’s degree in violin performance at the Conservatory of Amsterdam under Johannes Leertouwer and recently earned a master’s degree at the Université de Montréal under Laurence Kayaleh. She has taken part in numerous international orchestral and chamber music festivals, including the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar at Stanford University, the Toronto Summer Music Festival, the Accademia Mahler in Bolzano, Italy, and the Colorado College Summer Music Festival.

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Catherine Gray, viola

Originally from Calgary, AB, Toronto based violist Catherine Gray is a member of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. Outside her work with the COC, she also performs with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra. Ms. Gray has been featured on CBC Radio, CBC Television, and BBC3, and has been described as “une artiste formidable” (Le Devoir, Montreal). She is a founding member of the SOMA Quartet.

As a chamber musician and orchestral player, Ms. Gray has performed throughout Asia, Europe, and North America. She has participated in festivals such as the Edinburgh International Festival, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, soundSCAPE Festival, Morningside Music Bridge, Le Domaine Forget, St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar, The Banff Center for the Arts, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Catherine completed her Master’s Degree at McGill University under the tutelage of Steven Dann. She received her Bachelor of Music from the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glenn Gould School (Steven Dann), and previously studied with Nick Pulos and Joanne Melvin in Calgary, AB.

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Cameron Crozman, cello

Described as a “mature artist with a profound musical imagination,” (Toronto Concert Reviews), Cameron Crozman is being hailed as one of Canada’s leading young cellists. Maintaining an active performance schedule in North America and Europe, engagements have taken Cameron to such prestigious venues as the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, Berliner Philharmonie, Paris Philharmonie, Philadelphia’s Mann Centre, Montreal’s Maison Symphonique, and Canada’s National Arts Centre. He has performed concerti with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Orchestre des Lauréats du Conservatoire, and Orchestra London under the direction of conductors such as David Rieland, Edwin Outwater, and Fabien Gabel. In 2012, he toured Canada and the United States playing Dvorak Cello Concerto with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada under the direction of Alain Trudel. Current season highlights include performances with I Musici de Montréal, London Sinfonia, and Orchestre du Conservatoire de Paris and Bruno Mantovani.

Continue reading at cameroncrozman.com

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Simon Fryer, cello

​Principal Cellist of the Regina Symphony Orchestra, Head of Strings at the Regina Conservatory for the Performing Arts, Founder and Director of the Prairie Cello Institute, and Artistic Director of the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto’s Music in the Afternoon concert series, Simon Fryer is an artist of the utmost versatility, at home with the demands of the music of our time and those of historical performance, with the cooperation of ensemble music-making and in the solo spotlight.

Appearances as soloist in Canada with orchestras such as the Regina, Mississauga, and Okanagan Symphonies and the Esprit Orchestra, as well as the Da Capo Chamber Choir and the Wellington Winds, have been complemented by performances as guest Principal with such as the Hamilton Philharmonic. Previously a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, internationally he has performed with the Orqestra Sinfonica de Tenerife and the UK’s Northern Sinfonia. As a member of the Juno-winning Penderecki String Quartet – one of the Canada’s most successful ensembles – Simon performed regularly across Canada and around the world. The PSQ released several discs during this time, including the complete cycle of Bartok’s String Quartets, and worked closely with many of the world’s most innovative contempoary creators from Christos Hatzis to DJ Spooky. Simon collaborates regularly with musicians such as the Silver Birch String Quartet, Duo Concertante and pianist Michael Kim. His discography of over 30 recordings includes the solo CD: Music of a life so far... which was acclaimed as ‘a fascinating collection’ by the Toronto Star. Of his latest release, on Centaur Records, a CD of Victorian Cello Sonatas by Samuel Liddle, Algernon Ashton and Charles Stanford with pianist Leslie De’Ath, Wholenote magazine lauded ’expansive playing … Fryer’s tone in the lower register is particularly lovely.’

Continue reading at simonfryer.com

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duo526, string duet

duo526 was founded in 2011 by violinist Kerry DuWors and pianist Futaba Niekawa at the Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY) where they worked extensively with professors Jean Barr and Charles Castleman. Invited to the Banff Centre for the Arts in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2018 as artists-in-residence, they worked with Henk Guittart, Roger Tapping, Lafayette String Quartet, Hardy Rittner, and Mark Steinberg. They have been featured on radio broadcasts including “Backstage Pass” WXXI (Rochester, NY) and Classic 107 “Morning Light” (Winnipeg, MB). They have recently been Visiting Artists at the “Experience Villa-Lobos” festival at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Since 2014 duo526 has toured Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Japan, China, New York, Virginia, and was in residence at Avaloch Farms, Brandon University and Indiana University. Recent travels to Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, Budapest, Amsterdam, New York City and Iceland have given duo526 insight and inspiration. duo526’s 2014 debut album, Ballade, exemplifies this spirit through sonatas by Janáček, Enescu and Grieg – pillars in the repertoire that are rarely performed together. Their sophomore album DUO FANTASY featuring works by Villa-Lobos, Bax and Bolcom will be released spring 2019.

duo526 is dedicated to creative thought and the art of listening through the study and performance of a vast repertoire across an array of styles. Their joy of collaboration results from risk-taking, inspiration and spontaneous reactions. Their name was inspired by Mozart’s last Sonata for Violin and Piano K. 526, the first work presented to them by Charles Castleman for their equal virtuosic flair and refined musicianship. In 2016, duo526 launched their “Mozart in Public Spaces” project: video recordings for social media of the complete Mozart sonatas in conjunction with the “Play Me I’m Yours” street pianos installations all over the world.

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Katherine Dowling, piano

Praised by the New York Times for her “crystalline performances, gestural expressiveness, and careful attention to color”, award-winning Canadian pianist Katherine Dowling has performed across North America and the United Kingdom.  Equally compelling as a solo, collaborative, and ensemble performer, Katherine holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University (December, 2014).

Recent engagements include her solo debut with the Britten-Pears Festival Orchestra under the baton of Oliver Knussen at the Aldeburgh Festival, a cross-Canada tour with violinist Joshua Peters under the auspices of the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, regular performances as a member of California-based ensemble Son à Trois, solo recitals at live@CIRMMT (Montréal) and Gallery 345’s ‘Art of the Piano’ series (Toronto), and appearances at the Ottawa, Regina, Ritornello, and Silicon Valley chamber music festivals. Upcoming projects include her Dutch debut at the Orlando Festival and adjudicating the National Finals of the Canadian Music Competition. Dr. Dowling is further familiar to audiences as a multi-year fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, as a New Fromm Fellow, as a Britten-Pears Young Artist, and through extensive involvement at The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

She credits her teacher Gil Kalish, as well as Henri-Paul Sicsic and Janice Elliott-Denike, as the major influences in her musical life.

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Clark Schaufele, piano

Alberta-born pianist Clark Schaufele recently completed his Doctorate in Musical Arts (Piano Performance) degree at Canada’s Université de Montréal in June of 2017 under the tutelage of Canadian pianist and educator, Paul Stewart. No stranger to the Canadian performance scene, Clark has participated in the Banff Centre Fall/Winter Creative Music Residency programs of 2009-2010 as well as the 2012-2013 season under the direction of Henk Guittart. A devoted collaborative pianist, he has had the privilege of serving as the studio pianist of Sylvia McNair for her opera workshop, and works as a freelance vocal coach/accompanist throughout Montreal, Toronto, and Western Canada.

In the summer of 2017, he served as the vocal pianist for the Orlando Festival vocal masterclass, working daily with students from Western Europe. Clark enjoys a multi-faceted career, spanning genres beyond classical piano - on both the piano and the double bass, he has been involved in a variety of performances, tours, and studio recordings, ranging from classical and jazz to country and folk; he is also a double bass alumnae of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

A dedicated educator, Clark has spent the summers of 2009-2013 as the musical director for Odeum Theatre, producing performances such as Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, Monty Python’s Spamalot and most recently, the Broadway hit, Grease. Ever since its formation in 2013, he has also enjoyed working as an educator and collaborative pianist at the Banff Summer Strings Program. Recently, he has participated in numerous music series and festivals throughout Canada and Europe, including the 2017 Orlando Festival at the historic Rolduc Monastery in the Netherlands. Clark has benefited prominently from the musical guidance of Paul Stewart, Henk Guittart, Marc Durand, Jean Saulnier and Wayman Chin.

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