ALEH REMEZAU
Canadian oboist Aleh Remezau is renowned for his “sensuous and exuberant” performances (The Millbrook Independent) and “incredibly expressive” playing (Vancouver Sun). Having established himself as a sought-after orchestral musician, he has performed in major Canadian venues as well as concert halls in the United States, Austria and the United Kingdom. He has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and National Arts Centre Orchestra as well as guest Principal Oboe with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, National Ballet Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. He appears regularly with the Esprit Orchestra, performing as both Principal Oboist and solo English horn.
After joining the Hamilton Philharmonic as Principal Oboe, Mr. Remezau’s playing has been highlighted in major works such as Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite and Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade. During his first season, he was a featured musician on the orchestra’s video broadcasts of Mozart’s Oboe Quartet and Tomasi’s Evocations for Solo Oboe. In the 2023-24 season, he performed Concerto for Oboe and Strings by Ralph Vaughan Williams as soloist.
While living in New York City, Mr. Remezau has performed numerous times on oboe and English horn with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of world class conductors including Jaap van Zweden, Manfred Honeck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Neeme Jarvi and others. With the New York Philharmonic, he can be heard on their 2017 Grammy nominated recording of Christopher Rouse’s Symphony No. 4.
Mr. Remezau was an inaugural member of The Orchestra Now (TON) – a training orchestra based at Bard College, New York. With TON, he was a frequent performer at Alice Tully Hall, The Metropolitan Museum, and Carnegie Hall. In 2018, he was one of select few musicians invited to perform at the renowned Grafenegg Festival in Austria.
Mr. Remezau also extensively performs outside of the orchestra, seeking out different ways to connect and share his art with audiences. As an active chamber musician, he has performed in festivals including the Scotia Festival, Sweetwater Music Festival and Big Lake Festival. As a member of The Happenstancers, an adventurous Toronto-based chamber ensemble featuring “an obscene amount of talent” (TheWholeNote), Mr. Remezau has brought “considerable virtuosity” to works for oboe and English horn by Oliver Knussen and Elliott Carter, presenting concerts hailed as “bizarrely eclectic, …very intriguing and rewarding” (John Gilks, operaramblings). He has also performed as a pit musician on Broadway in the musical Wicked, Mirvish’s production of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 as well as the Shaw Festival.
Aleh Remezau began his musical studies on piano, and his study of the oboe at fifteen. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the Manhattan School of Music. He is an alumnus of The Music Academy of the West and Domaine Forget.
ANDREW WAN
Andrew Wan has been Concertmaster of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal since 2008, while pursuing an acclaimed international career as soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist. He has performed with leading orchestras across North America, Europe, and Asia, appearing under conductors including Rafael Payare, Kent Nagano, Maxim Vengerov, Vasily Petrenko, Bernard Labadie, Carlo Rizzi, Peter Oundjian, Xian Zhang, Michael Stern, and James DePreist.
A dedicated chamber musician, Wan is a founding member of the New Orford String Quartet, one of Canada’s most acclaimed ensembles, noted for its dynamic performances and award-winning discography. He has also collaborated with the Juilliard Quartet, Vadim Repin, Marc-André Hamelin, Daniil Trifonov, Menahem Pressler, Jörg Widmann, Emanuel Ax, Johannes Moser, Arabella Steinbacher, James Ehnes, and Gil Shaham, and is a frequent guest at leading festivals such as Seattle Chamber Music, La Jolla SummerFest, Ottawa Chamberfest, Toronto Summer Music, Orford Musique, St. Prex, Colorado College, and Olympic. He regularly appears as guest concertmaster with the Pittsburgh, Houston, Indianapolis, National Arts Center, Toronto, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras.
His discography spans Grammy-nominated, Juno, Félix, and Opus award-winning recordings on the Analekta, Onyx, Bridge, and Naxos labels with ensembles including the Seattle Chamber Music Society, New York’s Metropolis Ensemble, Charles Richard-Hamelin, and the New Orford String Quartet. With the OSM and Kent Nagano, his albums of the Saint-Saëns violin concertos and of works for violin and orchestra by Bernstein, Moussa, and Ginastera earned international acclaim, the latter winning the 2021 Juno Award for Best Classical Album (Large Ensemble). His duo partnership with Richard-Hamelin has produced the complete Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin, including a 2022 Juno Award–winning album, followed by the Schumann sonatas in 2022. Their next project, a complete cycle of the Brahms sonatas, will be released in 2026.
Wan studied at The Juilliard School, earning Bachelor, Master, and Artist Diploma degrees. He is Associate Professor of Violin at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, where his students have gone on to win prizes at national and international competitions and to secure positions, including principal chairs, in major North American orchestras. He was Artistic Partner of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in 2017–18 and received the Schulich School of Music’s Part-Time Teaching Award in 2019.
Wan performs on a 1744 Michel’Angelo Bergonzi violin, on loan from the David Sela Collection, and an 1860 Dominique Peccatte bow generously provided by Canimex.
CAMERONC ROZMAN
“With a rich imagination and a keen mind” (Diapason Magazine), Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman leads an active performing career as a soloist and chamber musician in Canada, the USA, and Europe. He has appeared as a soloist with the Orchestre National d’Ile-de-France (Paris), Montreal, Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Vancouver Island Symphonies among others, and performances have taken him everywhere from the Philharmonie de Paris and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, to the Qidi Vidi Brewery of St. John’s, Newfoundland. An avid collaborator and chamber musician, Cameron shares the stage with eminent artists such as James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Louis Lortie, Gérard Caussé, James Campbell, and members of the Ébène, New Zealand, and Penderecki String Quartets.
Winner of the 2021 Canada Council for the Arts Virginia Parker Prize, the Council’s largest award for emerging classical musicians, Cameron was CBC/Radio-Canada’s 2019 Classical Revelation artist and a laureate of Gautier Capuçon’s Classe d’Excellence at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. Cameron’s debut album, Cavatine, recorded on the ca. 1696 “Bonjour” Stradivarius cello with pianist Philip Chiu, was released in 2019 and described by the French publication Classica Magazine as displaying “technical perfection with a personal style that leaves us wanting to hear more.” He has since recorded a number of CDs for the labels ATMA Classique in Canada and Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo in Monaco. His most recent release from May 2024 of the Haydn Cello Concertos and Jacques Hétu’s Rondo performed with Les Violons du Roy and conductor Nicolas Ellis has garnered international praise. Cameron’s performances are broadcast on CBC, BBC, RTÉ Radio, Radio France, and Medici.tv.
Deeply committed to the music of today, Cameron is active in leading projects commissioning and premiering new music by some of Canada’s most recognized composers including Alexina Louie, Allan Gordon Bell, Liam Ritz, James O’Callaghan, and Kelly-Marie Murphy. After studies in Canada with Paul Pulford, Cameron was a student at the Paris Conservatoire and received his “Prix de violoncelle” with highest honours studying in the class of Michel Strauss and chamber music with Claire Désert and Ami Flammer. In 2018, he received a one year mentorship with violinist James Ehnes as part of the André-Bourbeau award from the Jeunesses Musicales Canada. Passionate about teaching the next generation, he has been invited to give masterclasses at the Académie Rainier III in Monaco, Lawrence University (Wisconsin), University of Montreal, Conservatorio Superior de Música Joaquín Rodrigo Valencia, and the Escola Superior de Music de Lisboa, among others.
Alongside his performing activities, Cameron finds himself abosrbed by the rewarding challenges of producing concerts and musical events. He is co-founder of ClassicalValley, a festival bringing together chamber music and wine in Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada, and along with pianist Meagan Milatz, produces a series of chamber music concerts in Montreal called “HausMusique” in one of North America’s landmark Art Deco spaces, the Grande Salle of 9th floor of the Eaton Centre.
Since 2024, he has had the incredible joy to work alongside one of his musical heroes, James Campbell, as Assistant Artistic Director of the Festival of the Sound, among Canada’s premiere classical music festival now in it’s 46th year. Cameron is also grateful to have the chance to work together with his father by organizing chamber music concerts in Llíria, Spain, designated a Creative City of Music by the UNESCO (and share their enjoyment for Spanish culture, food, and wine 🍷).
Cameron currently plays on a c. 1750 Gennaro Gagliano cello, on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Instrument Bank and a bow by Georges Léon Lamy generously provided by the company CANIMEX INC. of Drummondville, Québec.
ENSEMBLE COMTESSA
COMTESSA is a Montreal-based ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting music from before 1500. Rooted in both research and artistry, we bring this repertoire to life with creativity, authenticity, and a deep love for the music.
Montreal has long been a hub for early music performance and scholarship, but medieval music, some of the most vibrant and expressive music of the past, is still rarely heard here. COMTESSA seeks to change that. We’re building a space where female and non-binary musicians take the lead in exploring and sharing this extraordinary repertoire.
Through collaborations with specialists, scholars, and performers, we craft programs that highlight the depth, beauty, and relevance of medieval music today. Whether through concerts, educational initiatives, or interdisciplinary projects, we’re passionate about bringing this music to audiences in Montreal and across Canada.
At COMTESSA, we’re not just reviving the past, we’re reshaping the future of early music.
ELISSA LEE
Co-founder and Executive Director
Winner of the 23rd Eckhardt-Gramatté Strings Competition, Elissa Lee has appeared as a soloist with top orchestras across Canada. She has held positions as second concertmaster in both the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestraand the WDR Sinfonie Orchester. Now enjoying a busy freelance career, Elissa tours frequently the greatest concerts halls and festivals in Europe. She has performed as Concertmaster with the Rundfunk Orchester München, the Swedish Radio Orchestra, the KlangVerwaltung Orchestra in Munich, and Festival Strings Luzern, and in leading positions with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Luxembourg Philhamonic and the Canadian Opera Company. She has also been a guest of world renowned Chamber of Orchestra of Europe, and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and has worked under the baton of Claudio Abaddo, Simon Rattle, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Bernard Haitink and Daniel Harding. As a chamber musician she has performed with Louie Lortie, Augustin Dumay, Anton Kuerti, Pascal Devoyon, Kevin Fitzgerald, Lawrence Lesser, and Shauna Rolston and has been a frequent participant of Open Chamber Music in Prussia Cove, England. Elissa Lee joined Ensemble Made In Canada in 2010, which performs concerts and tours throughout Canada and the United States.
JULIANA MOROZ
Canadian cellist Juliana Moroz is increasingly recognized as a rising young artist in North America. Named to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “30 under 30” in 2021, Juliana is originally from Winnipeg, Canada. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings in 2023, as well as her Master’s degree from Rice University in 2025. Juliana has participated in the Aspen Summer Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music, Orford Arts Festival, and Rome Chamber Music Festival. In 2024, she was a finalist in the Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition. Recent accomplishments include performing with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra on their Masterworks Series and becoming a Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award winner. Juliana is currently based in Toronto as a Rebanks Family Fellowship Artist for the 2025-2026 season.
ILYA POLETAEV
A musician with a fiercely inquisitive mind, impeccable technique and an intensely poetic vision, Ilya Poletaev is an artist equally at home on the modern piano or on historical keyboards: harpsichord, fortepiano, and chamber organ. Hailed as “one of the most significant pianists of his generation” by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, he launched his career after capturing First Prize at the prestigious International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig in 2010—the only Canadian ever to win that competition. He has since appeared at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, KlavierFestival Ruhr, Dresdner MusikFesttäge, Potsdam Musikfestspiele, Leipzig BachFest, Accademia Filarmonica Romana, Montreal Bach Festival, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center and Chamber Music Society, St. Paul’s Ordway Center, Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, Caramoor Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, and many other prestigious venues and festivals across Canada, US, Italy, Romania, Germany, and Russia. He also was the Grand Prize winner of the 2008 Concorso Sala Gallo in Italy, a laureate of the 2008 Canadian Stepping Stone, a top prize-winner at the 2007 SEHKS harpsichord competition, and a prize-winner at the 2011 George Enescu Competition in Bucharest. In 2009 he joined the roster of Astral Artists and is currently an Astral Artist laureate.
On the modern piano, he has appeared with the Toronto Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Hartford Symphony, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Samara Philharmonic, Sinfonia Toronto, Orchestra Filarmonica di Cluj, Orchestra Filarmonica de Bacau, and McGill Symphony Orchestra collaborating with such conductors as David Robertson, Peter Oundjian, Bernhard Gueller, Alexis Hauser, Rossen Milanov, Nurhan Arman, John Holloway and Leo Kraemer.
Known for the breadth and creativity of his programming choices, Poletaev has in past seasons offered solo performances ranging from the complete 2nd Book of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (which he performs in its entirety on both modern and historical keyboards); to traditional recitals and concerto performances of both well-known and neglected repertoire (C.P.E. Bach, Dussek, Medtner, Enescu, Nielsen, etc.), to interdisciplinary events combining performances on different instruments, poetry readings, spoken commentary, and historical narrative.
In performing Baroque and Classical repertoire on the modern piano, an area in which he is well-known, Ilya Poletaev strives to bring together a personal vision and wide palette of instrumental colors with the most scrupulous attention to sources and historical performance techniques. “An expert harpsichordist, he played Bach on the piano as well as any I have heard… All that he played was deeply considered… His intelligence was luminous.” (Berkshire Eagle). “The Bach Overture was set forth with delightfully springy rhythms, a constantly stimulating interplay of contrapuntal lines, and tone that was clear and warm with no suspicion of harshness. Stylish as it was, with intricately detailed embellishments, this was also romantic playing.” (Seen and Heard International).
In his interpretations of the traditional Romantic literature, Mr. Poletaev combines the improvisatory flexibility derived from his experience with period performance practice with psychological insight and a gift for large-scale musical narrative. Of a recent performance of Schumann’s Humoreske, a critic wrote: “There was no attempt to sand down Schumann’s jagged edges, to soften the blows of sudden changes in thought and mood. Through a liberal amount of rhythmic distortion, Poletaev revealed the wonderful truth in Schumann’s anxieties, obsessions, and wild tangents—that his was a reality apart. Resolution (sanity) was all the more sweet in the penultimate section, which the pianist rendered in the most tender shades of sincerity.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Among his many musical interests, Poletaev has a special devotion to the music of the great Romanian composer, George Enescu. His performances of the violin and piano works with Axel Strauss, published by Naxos in two volumes, have been hailed as “the finest readings… aside from the recordings that Enescu himself made” (American Record Guide); “formidable” (Gramophone), and “highly compelling” (The Strad). A recent performance of Enescu’s Piano Sonata No. 1 at a Philadelphia Chamber Music Society recital “seemed to transport to another time and place” (Philadelphia Inquirer). In 2011, to mark the composer’s 130th anniversary, Poletaev toured Italy and Romania with a program exclusively devoted to Enescu’s music, and in 2017, he organized a first-ever mini-festival of Enescu’s works in Canada, combining efforts by internationally renowned performers, prize-winning students and alumni of McGill University.
An avid chamber musician, Mr. Poletaev is the founding member of the Trio de Montreal (Axel Strauss, violin, and Yegor Dyachkov, cello) and Trio Séléné (Mingzhe Wang, clarinet, and Elizabeth Lara, cello). Trio Séléné’s debut recording, featuring music by Fauré, Zemlinsky, and the Catalan composer Fernando Buide, has been released in May of 2018; and the second one, with fortepiano, and featuring music of Beethoven, Eberl, and Sharlat, will be released in Sept 2021. Mr. Poletaev has also appeared alongside such vocal artists as Susan Graham, Miah Persson, James Taylor, Thomas Cooley, and Dominique Labelle; cellists Gary Hoffmann and Joshua Roman; violinists Donald Weilerstein, Colin Jacobsen, Mark Steinberg, Stephen Copes, and members of the St. Lawrence, Juilliard, and Alcan string quartets; flautist Ransom Wilson, and many others.
As a solo harpsichordist, Mr. Poletaev appeared at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Pierpont Morgan Library, Helicon Foundation, Ordway Center in St. Paul, Minnesota (with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, both in chamber formations and under the leadership of Christian Zacharias), Montreal’s Salle Bourgie, the Aston Magna Early Music Festival, Amherst Early Music Festival, Yale’s Collection of Musical Instruments, and Helicon Foundation in NYC. As a continuo player, he has performed with Masaaki Suzuki, Andrew Lawrence-King, Steven Stubbs, Nicholas McGegan, Simon Carrington, Graham O’Reilly, Matthias Maute, and Helmuth Rilling. He can be heard in both solo and continuo roles on several recordings with the Yale Schola Cantorum (Bach’s 1725 St. John Passion; Bertali’s Missa Resurrectionis, among others)—all issued on the ReZound label.
In addition to performing classical repertoire, Mr. Poletaev is also active as an improviser, both as a soloist and a creator of live scores for silent film. In 2019, he made his debut at the Giornate del Cinema Muto, a world-renowned festival of silent film in Pordenone, Italy.
Mr. Poletaev’s performances and interviews have been broadcast on the BBC; WQXR in New York; Minnesota Public Radio; CBC Radio-Canada; Radio Berlin-Brandenburg, MDR, NDR, and WDR networks in Germany; Radio Romania; Radio Rossiya and Radio Orfei (Russian Federation), and others. His recording of George Enescu’s violin and piano works with Axel Strauss has been heard on radio stations worldwide.
A dedicated teacher, Mr. Poletaev is currently Associate Professor of Piano at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal. He is also Assistant Director at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival’s Choral Week. He previously served on the faculty of Yale University as a Lecturer in Early Music. He has given numerous master classes and talks on performance practice in many of the world’s most prestigious music schools, including the San Francisco Conservatory, the Guildhall School in London, UK, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, the Buchman-Mehta Music Academy in Tel-Aviv, Rubin Academy in Jerusalem, the University of Toronto, the Glenn Gould School, and the Conservatorio di Milano. His students have been the recipients of many distinguished prizes and scholarships.
Mr. Poletaev began studying in Moscow at the age of six and continued his studies in Israel until he moved to Canada at the age of 14. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto, where he studied with pianist Marietta Orlov, harpsichordist Colin Tilney, and composition with Walter Buczynski, as well as Master’s and Doctorate degrees from Yale, where he studied with Boris Berman.
Mr. Poletaev currently resides in Montreal with his wife, the Romanian-born fortepianist Ruxandra Oancea, and their son Nikolay Simon.
KERSON LEONG
Kerson Leong has been described as “not just one of Canada’s greatest violinists but one of the greatest violinists, period” (Toronto Star). Forging a unique path since his First Prize win at the International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition in 2010, he continues to win over colleagues and audiences alike with “a mixture of spontaneity and mastery, elegance, fantasy, intensity that makes his sound recognizable from the first notes” (Le Monde).
His latest album, featuring the Britten and Bruch violin concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Patrick Hahn for Alpha Classics, was released to widespread critical acclaim, including having been awarded ‘Editor’s Choice’ by Gramophone, ‘The Strad Recommends’ by The Strad, and the ‘Choc de Classica’ by Classica as well as five-star recommendations from the Sunday Times and Diapason among others.
Recent season highlights include solo performances with such ensembles as the Royal, Oslo, Brussels, Kansai, and Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, the Seattle, Singapore, Toledo, Montreal, Tucson, Bilkent, Toronto, Vancouver, Stavanger, and Wuppertal Symphony Orchestras, a tour of Sweden with the Camerata Nordica, a recital tour of the Midwestern United States, and recording John Rutter’s Visions with the composer himself and the Aurora Chamber Orchestra, after giving its world premiere in London, UK.
As a sought-after soloist, he was hand-picked by Yannick Nézet-Séguin to be his artist-in-residence with the Orchestre Métropolitain during the 18/19 season and has performed in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Wigmore Hall, the Auditorium du Louvre and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.
As a passionate chamber musician, he has performed at such international festivals and concert series as the Verbier Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Flâneries musicales de Reims, and Bergen International Festival among others.
Passionate about pedagogy and music outreach, he has been invited to give masterclasses and teach at various festivals and universities including the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, the Gustav Mahler Academy, the Domaine Forget Festival Academy, the University of Ottawa, and Dalhousie University among others.
Fostering a significant audience away from the concert hall as well, he is cementing his noteworthy role in reaching young people, aspiring musicians, and potential music lovers alike with his art in creative and engaging ways on social media. He is an associate artist of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, where he was mentored by Augustin Dumay.
He has always been keen on making connections between music and other fields. Ever since his dad started introducing him to physics concepts about string resonance, they have strongly influenced his playing and philosophy on sound production. Together with his dad, he has given lectures about this subject in places such as the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, the Barratt-Due Music Institute in Oslo, and various universities in California.
Kerson performs on the ‘ex Bohrer, Baumgartner’ Guarneri del Gesu courtesy of Canimex Inc, Drummondville (Quebec), Canada.
PHIL CHIU
“A pianist-painter who transforms each musical idea into a beautiful array of colours” (La Presse), Philip Chiu is acclaimed for his brilliant pianism, sensitive listening, and a welcoming stage presence that eschews the hermit-pianist image in favour of openness, authenticity, and connection with audiences. Inaugural winner of the Mécénat Musica Prix Goyer, Philip has become one of Canada’s leading musicians through his infectious love of music and his passion for creation and communication.
Philip concertizes extensively as soloist and chamber musician and has performed solo recitals, concerti and chamber music concerts in most major venues across Canada, as well as in France, Japan and the United States. Chamber music partners have included James Ehnes, Emmanuel Pahud, Regis Pasquier, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Bomsori Kim, Johannes Moser, and the New Orford String Quartet; he also has a long-standing violin-piano duo with Jonathan Crow. Philip is a veteran touring artist of Prairie Debut, Jeunesses Musicales Canada, and Debut Atlantic, having toured the country 14 times with their generous support.
His most recent solo album Fables is part of an upcoming triptych (ATMA), presenting original commissions from distinguished composers such as Barbara Assiginaak, Odawa composer and recipient of the Order of Ontario, alongside the music of Ravel and Debussy. Other recent recording projects include John Burge’s 24 Preludes for Solo Piano (Centrediscs), as well as a recording/concert project with Pentaèdre honouring the music of Jacques Hétu (ATMA) recognized by Le Devoir as “A useful disc, superbly performed.” Also released in 2021: Tapeo (ATMA) with cellist Cameron Crozman offers colourful Spanish music and Night Light (Leaf Music) with flautist Lara Deutsch.
Philip has recorded for Warner Music, ATMA Classique, Analekta, Leaf Music and CBC Music. He can be heard on BBC Radio 3, France Musique, ICI Musique, and CBC Music. In addition to his performing activities, Philip created the Collaborative Piano Program at the Domaine Forget International Academy and consulted for national and international competitions as a recognized expert in collaborative piano. He regularly juries provincial, national, and international competitions, including the Concours OSM and the Montreal International Music Competition.
He is grateful for the support of Mécénat Musica, the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation, and the Canada Council for the Arts. Philip also wishes to thank his teachers and mentors; notably, Marc Durand, Jenny Regehr, Susan Steele, and the late Peter Longworth. Philip is represented by Andrew Kwan Artists Management.
RÉMI PELLETIER
Rémi Pelletier joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Viola in September 2019, having served in the New York Philharmonic’s viola section from July 2013, and in the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal beginning in 2007.
Previously, he was a regular substitute with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and also performed with The Haddonfield Symphony and Orchestre Métropolitain. He served as Guest Principal Viola of the International Orchestra of Italy in the summers of 2011 and 2012, Principal Viola of Japan’s Pacific Music Festival, and Assistant Principal of the New York String Orchestra Seminar.
An active chamber musician, Mr. Pelletier was a regular guest at the Société de musique de chambre de Québec and performed with Rendez-vous musical de Laterrière and Musica Camerata, as well as with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s chamber music series. His honours include the CBC/McGill Music Award (2003), as well as first prize at the Concours du Québec and Canada’s National Music Festival Competition. A native of Québec, Mr. Pelletier was a scholarship recipient at Encore School for Strings and the Orford Arts Centre. He performed a recital on CBC’s Debut series. In addition to attending masterclasses with Kim Kashkashian, Roberto Diaz, and others, Rémi Pelletier studied with Michael Tree and Joseph De Pasquale at The Curtis Institute of Music, and with André Roy at McGill University, from which he graduated with the distinction of Outstanding Achievement in Viola Performance, and where he was Principal Viola of the McGill Symphony Orchestra.
RUXANDRA OANCEA
Multifaceted artist, Ruxandra Oancea is equally comfortable performing on both modern piano and early pianoforte. Her solid training started in Romania with pianist Dan Grigore, a disciple of the renowned teacher Florica Musicescu (Dinu Lipatti’s mentor). Ruxandra has concertized extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in Canada, the US, Italy, Austria, France, Great Britain, Japan, and her native Romania.
During her graduate studies in Canada (M. Mus in modern piano with pianist Sara Laimon, and Graduate Diploma in Performance in fortepiano with fortepianist and scholar Tom Beghin), Ms. Oancea was particularly interested in promoting the music of her native Romania abroad. In 2017 she was involved in performing and coordinating the “George Enescu Festival” at McGill University in Montreal. Among her projects are performances of all of Beethoven’s sonatas written for the 5-octave Anton Walter fortepiano, performances of works by Schubert and Woelfl on a 1809 Streicher fortepiano, and the performances of André Gagnon’s “Mes quatre saisons” and “Les turluteries” with l’Orchestre Symphonique de la Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent.
In 2001, Ruxandra Oancea was appointed as a tenured professor of piano at “George Enescu National College of Music” in Bucharest. She holds a Doctorate from the National University of Music in Bucharest. In 2018 she was appointed Lecturer at McGill University.
SHEILA JAFFÉ
Canadian violinist and violist Sheila Jaffé is praised for her versatility and expression on the instrument. She is equally comfortable and compelling in recital, chamber music, and orchestral positions, and is committed to excellence in every capacity. She has performed across North America and Europe as a chamber musician, orchestral player and soloist. Very much in demand in chamber music circles, she has performed in numerous international festivals, including Domaine Forget in Quebec, IMS Prussia Cove in England, Toronto Summer Music and Ottawa Chamberfest. She helped found the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival in Alberta, where the Rosebud String Quartet was formed. The quartet now performs regularly in and around Toronto, and will be playing in Albuquerque this summer.
Sheila completed her studies in violin at the Université de Montréal and the Hanns Eisler Hochschüle für Musik in Berlin, Germany before moving to Toronto to join the viola section of the Canadian Opera Company in January 2015. Since then, she has become an integral part of Toronto’s musical community and has performed with several established ensembles in the city. She performs regularly with several contemporary music organizations, as well as chamber music and recital series’. Sheila also holds the position of principal viola of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and the National Ballet Orchestra, and is regularly invited as guest concertmaster of several regional orchestras. Her debut album recorded with pianist Huw Watkins will be coming out in fall 2022 as well as the Rosebud String Quartet’s first album of Haydn quartets and a Mozart quintet with guest violist Steven Dann. Sheila plays on a Francesco Gobetti violin (1710-15) and a Raymond Schryer viola (2006) on generous loan from Canimex.
TREY LEE
Artistic Director
Hailed a “Miracle” by Gramophone, Trey Lee enthralls audiences with his virtuosity that combines intellectual sophistication with profound depth of emotions. His concerto debut at Carnegie Hall won him a standing ovation, with The New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini declaring him “the excellent cellist…with enveloping richness and lyrical sensitivity.” The late Lorin Maazel praised him as “a marvelous protagonist…a superb cellist” after conducting Trey as soloist with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London. In his performance with the Netherlands Philharmonic at the Royal Concertgebouw Hall, Trey was acclaimed by the critics as a “Star Musician.”
As a soloist, Trey has also collaborated in the last few seasons with Mikko Franck and the Philharmonic Orchestra Radio France, Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) in their inaugural tour of China, Vladimir Ashkenasy and the Mantova Chamber Orchestra, and Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli at the Teatro del Verme in Milan. Other notable musicians with whom Trey works include: conductors Vassily Sinaisky, Juanjo Mena, Yuri Bashmet, Hannu Lintu, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, and Dima Slobodeniouk; and ensembles Moscow Soloists, BBC Philharmonic, Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, Trondheim Soloists; and chamber orchestras of London UK, Stuttgart, Munich and Romanian Radio.
Trey is often invited as a featured artist at major events around the world, such as the launch of The IMAGINE Project with Yoko Ono, Hugh Jackman and ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the UN General Assembly Hall. As artistic director, he has spearheaded several music festivals, including the Musicus Fest, the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival, and, most recently, the Reimagine Music Festival of Malaysia.
He is a regular guest at festivals around the world, including Kuhmo, Banff, Marlboro, Seoul Spring, and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. On stage, Trey partners with many of today’s most sought-after stars such as Julia Fischer, Vilde Frang, Pekka Kuusisto, Bruno Canino, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Alexander Sitkovetsky and the Borodin Quartet. Trey has also given the world premiere of Bright Sheng’s latest cello concerto dedicated to him, The Blazing Mirage, inspired by UNESCO World Heritage site of Dunhuang.
Trey is a laureate of major international competitions, including First Prize at the International Antonio Janigro Cello Competition, and major prizes at New York’s Naumburg and Helsinki’s Paulo International Competitions. Several albums in collaboration with EMI have been released, and have topped the classical charts. In addition, he can be heard as the featured soloist on the original EMI-released soundtrack recording for the Sundance Festival featured film “The Drummer.” His other albums include Bright Sheng’s The Blazing Mirage under Naxos and The Dream of Red Chamber Suite with the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan. Trey has been featured by the Financial Times, CNN, China’s CCTV, and Italy’s Il Corriere Della Sera.
Trey attended Juilliard’s Pre-College Division, Harvard University (where he received his Bachelors in Economics), the New England Conservatory, Madrid’s Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia, the Cologne Musikhochschule, and studied with Frans Helmerson, Laurence Lesser, Bernard Greenhouse, and Ardyth Alton. Trey’s cello is the 1703 “Comte de Gabriac” by Matteo Goffriller previously played by the Canadian cellist Kristine Bogyo, and is currently based in Berlin, Germany.
TIM BEATTIE
Tim Beattie is a Canadian guitarist who gained international attention after winning the 2018 Brussels International Guitar Competition. He has since performed across Europe and North America, earning top prizes at competitions in Antwerp, Brussels, Calgary, Enschede, Hamilton, Leicester, Manhattan, and Uppsala.
Highlights of his 2024–25 season included solo debuts at Carnegie Hall (NYC), Festival Corde D’Autunno (Milan), Áureo Herrero Festival (Spain), alongside tours throughout the UK and Canada with the RSNO, Scottish Opera, Canadian Opera Company, and Quartet Malamatina.
Beattie was a scholarship student at the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he completed his BMus in 2019 with honours (cum laude). He undertook fully-funded postgraduate studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, earning an MMus in 2021 and an Artist Diploma in 2022. In 2022, he became the first and only guitarist ever invited to join the prestigious Rebanks Fellowship at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
He is currently pursuing a PhD on a full doctoral studentship at the University of Surrey (UK). Tim is an Associate Teacher of guitar at the University of St Andrews and founding director of St Andrews GuitarFest (Scotland) and Simcoe Guitar (Canada).
THE PHILHARMONIC STRING QUARTET
The Philharmonic String Quartet represents chamber musical excellence of the Berlin Philharmonic: cosmopolitan, versatile and artistically passionate. The Quartet was founded in 2018, and features three members of the Berlin Philharmonic — Dorian Xhoxhi (violin), Helena Berg (violin) and Naoko Shimizu (viola) — and the esteemed soloist Christoph Heesch (cello). The balance between powerful freshness and rich, philharmonic sound particularly distinguishes this ensemble. “The Philharmonic String Quartet captivates the audience from the first note.” (Rondo Magazine 5/14/2022)
The musicians are aware that they are following in great footsteps: with the Philharmonic String Quartet they are continuing the venerable tradition of the Berlin Philharmonic’s ensembles of making chamber music at the highest level. All four musicians have won various top-class competitions and have vast experience in various chamber music formations. The Philharmonic String Quartet offers them the opportunity to create their own musical expression. They feel less committed to a certain style than to their virtuosity, and they follow the motto of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: “… because we love to talk to all kinds of masters – with the old and modern.”