Musicians – 2021

Kyle Myrfield (he/him) is an emerging orchestral and chamber ensemble flutist and piccoloist based in Ottawa, ON and Saskatoon, SK. Originally from Saskatoon, Kyle completed his Bachelor of Music Honours in Performance at the University of Saskatchewan while studying under Randi Nelson and earned his Master of Music in Performance at the University of Ottawa under the tutelage of Camille Churchfield in 2020. A dedicated performer, Kyle won the position of Acting Second Flute and Piccolo during the Saskatoon Symphony’s 2018-2019 season. He has attended multiple summer music festivals including Orchestre de la Francophonie, the Pender Island Flute Retreat, The Consummate Flutist, Orford Music Festival and has performed in numerous master classes including those led by Leone Buyse, Alberto Almarza, Soo-Kyung Park, Joanna G’Froerer, and Denis Bluteau. A devoted pedagogue, he has been an active private flute instructor for the past 11 years, guiding students of all ages and abilities.

Daniella Tejada began playing the oboe at the age of 11. In 2019, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Conservatory of the National University of Colombia. While in Bogotá, she played with several student and professional ensembles and orchestras. In fact, she had a wonderful opportunity to discover the standard symphonic repertoire with the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bogotá Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the Colombian Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Bogotá Philharmonic Band. Internationally, she was selected three times at the FEMUSC (Santa Catarina music festival) in Brazil and at the Portillo International Music Festival in Chile. Daniella is currently pursuing a master’s degree in oboe performance at the Université de Montréal.

Born November 12, 1997, Chloé Balducchi discovered the bassoon at the age of seven at the Conservatoire Régional de Toulouse in France. Chloé studied bassoon at the pre-college level of the Juilliard School in New York and in Toulouse where she received a Bassoon and Chamber Music Award at the Saarbrücken Conservatory. She is currently studying at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg.

Chloé broadened her knowledge by participating in several masterclasses. She gained experience as an orchestral musician with the New Life Foundation Orchestra on a concert tour of South Korea, with the Maryland Youth Orchestra, at the Musika Academy and on a tour of Palestine in 2016 with the Al Kamandjâti Association. In 2018, she took part in a tour with the Youth Orchestra. Chloé also participated in projects with the Orchestre de Metz and the Orchestre du Luxembourg.

A native of Ottawa, Ontario, Isabella Czyrnyj has performed with ensembles throughout Canada and the United States, including the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She can be heard playing principal clarinet with the CCPA Symphony Orchestra on the world-premiere recording of Stacy Garrop’s Mythology Symphony. In addition to teaching privately, Isabella has participated in educational concerts in Chicago-area schools and with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra Winds for their School Education Concerts. She has also coached chamber music coach at the University of Toronto. Isabella is currently studying with Dominic Desautels at the University of Toronto, where she is completing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree. She has previously studied with Charlene Zimmerman and John Bruce Yeh at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, and with Shauna Barker and Kimball Sykes at the University of Ottawa.

Shayan Haselibozchaloee is a passionate and active flutist from Iran. He began his flute studies at Tehran National Music Conservatory. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Applied Science and Technology, School of Music, in 2018. To obtain a master’s degree, he decided to study overseas and received an admission from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in the United States under Professor Jennifer Clippert. However, after one year, Shayan decided to continue his education in Canada. Currently, he is studying MMus in flute performance at the Memorial University of Newfoundland under Professor Michelle Cheramy.

In Iran, He started his professional career as a second flute player and piccolo player with Tehran Symphonic Orchestra in 2015. Shayan became the principal flute player at Iran National Orchestra in 2017, and he was in the same position until 2019, when he left Iran to pursue his education. Besides his performances throughout Iran, Shayan has performed internationally as a soloist in Switzerland, Austria, Russia, and Armenia.

Luca Ortolani has performed with L‘Orchestre de la Francophonie, the University of Toronto Symphony, Wind Ensemble and Symphony, the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy and the Orchestre Symphonique De La Salle. Luca regularly plays in chamber ensembles: woodwind duos, trios, quartets, and quintets. Most recently, he has been involved with quintets at the University of Toronto from 2018 to 2021.

Luca attended high school in Ottawa at the Centre d’excellence artistique de l’Ontario, ESP De La Salle, earning a certificate in woodwind performance. In the past two summers, Luca was part of the Orford Winds chamber quintet program. He has also studied with notable teachers such as Charles Hamann, Theodore Baskin, Louise Pellerin, Dr. Nancy Ambrose King and Anna Petersen. Luca is currently attending the University of Toronto Faculty of Music for oboe performance under the tutelage of Sarah Jeffrey, principal oboe, Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Luca is the recipient of the Anna Margaret Wallace and Willam Alexander McCoy Scholarship (2018), Le Prix d’excellence artistique (2018); deuxième prix, du Centre d’excellence artistique de l’Ontario, the 2017 Award for Excellence awarded by the Ottawa Junior Youth Orchestra Winds, and multiple awards from the Kiwanis Music Festival (2014 to 2018) for his work in chamber groups as well as large ensembles.

Alexander Ortins had very little interest in music of any sort until the very first day he picked up a clarinet in high school. He quickly developed a fervent passion for playing, listening to, and learning about classical music. Participating in several school bands, he also happily joined the Mount Royal Youth Orchestra in grade 10, of which he is still a part. After finishing high school with his grade’s music award, Alexander continued to study music at Vanier College with Zaven Zakarian, and now finished his first year in Performance at Mcgill, with Simon Aldrich. Though this year has posed challenges for musicians the world over, he has had the time to dive deep into the Mozart Concerto, a cornerstone of the repertoire, which he will be performing with orchestra in the coming year.

Avery began playing flute at the age of nine with Sistema NB under the direction of her flute teacher Angela Phi. She has since been a member of the Moncton Youth Orchestra and New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and has won concerto competitions with each in 2017 and 2018 respectively. During her time in Moncton, she also competed in the regional and provincial music festivals and participated in the Barachois Summer Music Festival. In 2019, she moved to Ottawa to begin her Bachelor of Music in flute performance with Camille Churchfield. Since then, she has competed in the Kiwanis Music Festival, the School of Music concerto competition and was invited to play in the Barachois Summer Music Festival’s series with other alumni of the program. Avery plans on finishing her undergrad at the University of Ottawa and continuing her education to earn a Master’s degree in flute performance. Eventually, she would like to play in a professional orchestra and teach privately.

Grace first began studying the bassoon at the age of eight with Laurent Le Chenadec. She then trained under Carlo Colombo at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique in Lyon. In 2015, she discovered the effervescence of the French and Dutch youth orchestras. The following year, Grace received a merit scholarship and an invitation to participate in the Eastern Music Festival in the United States. In 2017, she began studying with Guilhaume Santana at the Hochschule fur Musik in Germany.

Grace made her professional debut with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and then at the Pfalztheater in Kaiserslautern where she became familiar with the operatic repertoire. In 2019, she joined the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg as principal bassoon.

She specialized through a dozen masterclasses held by Sebastian Stevenson, Bence Bogányi, Marc Trénel, Sophie Dartigalongue among others. Grace joined Richard Galler’s class in 2020 where she is currently studying.

Valentina Pennisi is enrolled in the Codarts University of Arts, in Rotterdam, where she is completing a second Master’s Degree in the class of Julien Hervé and Bruno Bonansea, and where she is taking part in the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Academy. In the past, she attended the “Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia” in the class of Alessandro Carbonare and the “Accademia di Musica Scatola Sonora” in the class of Calogero Palermo, Rome.

She has been a member of the OGI-Italian Youth Orchestra and the OFJ-French Youth Orchestra. Among other others orchestra, she has been performing with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sinfonia Rotterdam, the Orchestra Mitteleuropa, the Orchestra Senzaspine of Bologna, the Orchestra Europa Incanto in Rome and appears in Reserve List for the EUYO-European Union Youth Orchestra (2019), the Lucerne Festival Academy (2019), the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (2017). She was awarded with the 2nd Prize at International Clarinet Competition “Chalumeau” in Maruggio (2019).

Kailan Fournier is a Graduate Fellowship student at McGill University, studying with Todd Cope of the Montreal Symphony. He recently finished his Bachelors degree at The Glenn Gould School with Joaquin Valdepeñas. As a Freelancer, Kailan has played in professional orchestras such as The Hamilton Philharmonic, and worked with conductors such as Gabor Takàcs-Nagy, Tania Miller, Leon Fleisher, Bramwell Tovey, Bernhard Gueller, Johannes Debus, and many others. Kailan has attended summer programs such as The National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Scotia Festival and The Domaine Forget Music Academy. Kailan will be performing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with orchestra next year, as winner of the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition.

Nick Walker was a scholar at the Royal College of Music, London, graduating in 2020 with both Bachelors and Masters degrees. Here he studied trumpet with David Elton, Jason Evans, Alistair Mackie and Kate Moore, as well as natural trumpet with Paul Sharp. Alongside studies Nick has worked with a variety of orchestras and ensembles such as the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and Dunedin Consort and in 2020 he was selected for the London Philharmonic Orchestra Foyle Future Firsts development programme. He also was a member of the London Sinfonietta Academy in 2017 and is currently a member of Sinfonia Cymru and the Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra. As a student, Nick won the Royal College of Music trumpet prize and was a finalist in the Royal College of Music Concerto Competition. He is currently a freelance trumpet player in London.

Originally from Ottawa, ON, trumpeter Charlie Watson graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Music in Performance in June 2020. His primary teacher was Barton Woomert and took additional lessons with Anita McAlister, Karen Donnelly, James Spragg, and various others. During the final year of his degree, he was selected for a trial position for second trumpet with the Canadian Opera Company, and performed with the group in early 2020. Mr. Watson has performed with groups such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra (including with their Brass Quintet) and the Hannaford Street Silver Band. Charlie was also a semifinalist in the 2020 OSM Competition, placed third in the 2019 NACO Bursary competition and won the Hannaford Youth Rising Stars competition, allowing him to perform as a soloist with the Hannaford Street Silver Band. He is also an alumnus of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada in 2019 and 2020, touring Canada and Spain in 2019.

Dylan Jérôme is a 22-year-old French trumpet player. 

Born in 1999 in a small town in Hirson, in the Hauts-de-France region, Dylan began playing the trumpet at the Hirson school of music. He also played saxophone and drums before dedicating himself fully to the trumpet. 

At the age of 10, he was admitted to a special curriculum for middle school and high school musicians at the Conservatoire de Reims where he studied the trumpet with Jean-Baptiste Arnold. In 2016, Dylan obtained his DEM in trumpet. A year later, he was awarded first prize in trumpet and chamber music. In 2018, he completed a baccalaureate in Music and Dance Technicians. 

After studying with Laurent Bourdon at the Conservatoire de Douai and with Pascal Charhaut at the Conservatoire d’Aulnay-sous-Bois, Dylan joined the Paris Republican Guard from 2019 to 2020. An avid brass band enthusiast, he also played in the solo cornet section of the Hauts-de-France Brass band. 

In 2020, he was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon in Romain Leleu’s and Thierry Caens’ classes.  

Dylan was selected in the Orchestra-Ostinato and the Orchestre Français des Jeunes for the 2021-2022 season.

William MacDonald started studying the cello at age six before switching to the trumpet at age 13.  He was admitted to the university studio of Prof. Helmut Fuchs at the Dresden Conservatory of music, graduating in May of 2019 with the German higher education diploma (Abitur) and honors for music. 

William MacDonald has performed with both student and professional orchestras, including the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, Tanglewood Young Artists Orchestra, Kapell-Musiker Dresden Chamber Orchestra, Chemnitz Chamber Orchestra and Brown University Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with the Dresden University Orchestra and can be heard on a CD recording with the Children’s Choir of the Saxon State Opera.  

William MacDonald has pursued musical studies with Sergei Nakariakov, Prof. Wolfgang Bauer, Raymond Mase, David Krauss, and Benjamin Wright. William is currently attending Brown University as a sophomore pursuing a degree in computational biology in addition to his musical studies.

Bertille is a French-born French Horn player based in London where she entered the Royal College of Music for a Master of Performance. Here she studies the horn with John Thurgood, Nigel Black, Simon Rayner and Kira Doherty. Previously she attended the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris in the class of Vladimir Dubois. Bertille has worked with orchestras in both London and Paris. She also holds a Bachelors in Social Sciences and Public Action from the Université Paris Dauphine.

Daniel Venglar is a trumpet player who has been active for over a decade. Daniel studied at the New England Conservatory of Music with Benjamin Wright, the second trumpet of the Boston Symphony, and also with Steven Emery. This fall, Daniel will be pursuing a master’s degree at the Royal College of Music in Lindon. Daniel is interested in both music and contemporary classical music. In his free time, Daniel likes to read, compose and cook.

Born in 1997, Shane Conley first began playing the horn at age 13. He went on to attend Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (2013 – 2016) and has performed with orchestras all over Los Angeles. In 2016 he was a Grand Prize finalist of the Spotlight Music Center Awards and performed as a soloist at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Conley went on to attend McGill University (2016 – 2020) where he studied with Denys Derome. He has participated in festivals including the Aspen Music Festival (2017), Soundscape Composition and Performance Exchange (2018) and the Sibelius Summer Academy in Helsinki (2019).

Conley spent the past year pursuing a Master of Music at California State University Long Beach where he studied with Dylan Skye-Hart. This fall he will be moving to New York to join The Orchestra Now.

Julien Altmann was born in Berkeley, California. In 2017, Julien completed his undergraduate studies at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music with Richard O’Neill and Carla Maria Rodriguez. He then moved to Montreal to pursue his M.Mus in viola performance with André Roy at McGill’s Schulich School of Music where he won the 2018 Chamber Music Competition and travelled to China for a residency at the Beijing Central Conservatory. Julien now studies with Steven Dann at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto. He has had the privilege to play with renowned chamber musicians, Axel Strauss, Elizabeth Dolan, Douglas McNabney, Movses Pogossian, Antonio Lysy, Guillaume Sutre, Anssi Karttunen, Erika Raum, Marie Berard, and Thomas Wiebe. Julien is also an active member of the Artists of the Royal Conservatory ensemble.

Born in Winnipeg, MB, Gabi has been playing violin for 15 years, and has participated in orchestra and chamber music since she was 7 years old. She is currently studying at University of Ottawa, in her third year. She loves dogs and her 13 year old cat Ozzy.

Thomas Brody is from Long Island, NY, and graduated from Ithaca College ‘19 where he studied double bass performance with Nicholas Walker. He most recently earned his Master of Music degree, attending University of Ottawa ’21 studying with the legendary Joel Quarrington. His commitment to his craft was realized in 2014 when he was selected to the All-National Honors Orchestra, performing under Gerard Schwarz at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN. His mission is to further push the boundaries of the double bass/bass guitar and its role in modern day music making, no matter the style or genre at hand. To become a mature artist, mastering both technique and musical expression, is his dream, but his ultimate goal is to connect with others by expressing what’s inside his heart through the voice of the bass

Originally from Ottawa, Maria-Sophia Pera studied in Montréal where she completed her bachelor’s degree in performance at the Université de Montréal. Through her role as concertmaster in the Faculty Orchestra, she had the opportunity to collaborate with Maestro Kent Nagano, Maestro Alain Trudel and Marie-Nicole Lemieux. She also participated in the Kronberg and Orford Academies’ summer internships, as well as the Orpheus Festival in Vienna, where she was fortunate to work with Michael Frischenschlager and Mauricio Fuks. Having completed a master’s degree in Violaine Melançon’s class at McGill University this year, Maria-Sophia is currently enrolled there in a postgraduate program. She intends to continue to compete over the coming years. In May 2021, she took third prize in a concerto competition at the Festival Concours de musique de Sherbrooke. Previously, she participated in the finals of the Marta Hidy Competition in Toronto and came first in her category at the Canadian Music Competition.

Known for not following rules or traditional conventions, Christian Wrona brings a breath of fresh air to the classical music scene. “Born to the viola (Witold Swoboda),” he began studying violin at 6 though quickly upgraded to the more loving sound of its sister instrument and by the time he was 14, made his solo debut with the Huckleberry Festival Orchestra. He has made appearances at the Junos, Symphony in the Barn, Scotiafestival, Toronto Summer Music and NYO Canada’s 150th Anniversary where he performed at venues such as The National Arts Centre, La Maison Symphonique, The Chan Centre, and the Yukon Arts¬ Centre. When not practicing past his allotted time at The Glenn Gould School, Christian enjoys running short distances, cooking Filipino food and checking that the doors to big performance halls are locked.

James Watson has been studying the violin since the age of 7 and as of this year, he has completed his Bachelor of Music (with a minor in linguistics) at the University of Calgary. James continues to study with his university violin teacher Joan Barrett. James’ post-university experience is off to a promising start having been awarded an artist-residency with Calgary’s cSpace and undertaken numerous recording projects including the Pan-Canadian Bartok Duet and the Daniel Pelton Collective. James continues to explore his creative interests while actively teaching at Yamaha Musica Academy in Calgary.  

James possesses a diverse performing experience having taken part/collaborated in performances with two time canadian fiddle champion Scott Woods, Dr. Jeremy and the University of Calgary Jazz Orchestra, the Calgary-based Timepoint ensemble (which is dedicated to 20^th and 21^st century music) as well as with orchestras such as the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic, and l’orchestre de la Francophonie in previous years.

Liam Jankelovics was born in Paris, France and began studying the double bass at age ten. He began his undergraduate studies with Cleveland Orchestra principal bassist Maximillian Dimoff at the University of Michigan SMTD, and will be continuing his studies with renowned double bass soloist Joel Quarrington at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal in fall 2021. Prior to this he studied for five years with Robert Kassinger of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His other influential teachers include François Rabbath, Thierry Barbé, and Ranaan Meyer; and he has participated in masterclasses with notable musicians such as Robert DeMaine, Catalin Rotaru, Alexander Hanna, Rick Stotijn, and Christine Hoock. When he doesn’t have a bass in his hand, Liam enjoys cooking and baking for his friends and family.

Born in London, Ontario, cellist Marianna Grigg made her solo debut at age 16 with the London Community Orchestra. She was selected as a member of the prestigious National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and performed in their 2017 Edges of Canada tour, and their 2018 Migrations Tour. Marianna has appeared as principal cellist with the London Youth Symphony, the Western Symphony Orchestra, the London Community Orchestra, the Windsor Symphony, and the McGill Symphony Orchestra. With NYOC, she has performed in many venues across Canada, including La Maison Symphonique, Koerner Hall, the National Arts Centre, and internationally at the Young Euro Classic in Berlin, and the Edinburgh International Festival.

Marianna graduated with an undergraduate degree in Music Performance from Western University under the direction of Thomas Wiebe. She was on the Dean’s Honour List and awarded with the University of Western Ontario Gold Medal. She recently completed a master’s degree at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music with Brian Manker. Marianna performed a solo recital to complete her master’s degree which included works by Caroline Shaw, J.S. Bach, and George Crumb.

Ellis Yuen-Rapati is a Toronto-based violist. He began studying music at age four with Yvonne DeRoller, and continued at McGill University with André Roy. During Yuen-Rapati’s six summers with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, he worked with Neal Gripp, Michael Francis, Cho-Liang Lin, and the Gryphon Trio. A Dartmouth, Nova Scotia native, Yuen-Rapati has performed at venues across Canada and Europe, including the Konzerthaus in Berlin, Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Ruínas do Carmo in Lisbon, and Iqaluit, Nunavut. He has played principal viola with the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, McGill Symphony Orchestra, Royal Conservatory Orchestra, and the Etobicoke Philharmonic. Yuen-Rapati recently completed his studies with Steven Dann in the Artist Diploma Program at the Glenn Gould School, and is currently an NYOC ambassador. When Yuen-Rapati is not playing viola, he loves to watch movies, play squash and eat good food.

David Poro has been a cellist since the age of 4. He won the Competition of Excellence of the Confédération Musicale de France at 18 and was awarded a scholarship by the prestigious Williamson Foundation. When pursuing professional studies in Strasbourg and then Lausanne, he rubbed shoulders with renowned musical personalities such as his mentors F. Salque, E. Böcker and M.-D. Thirault. He is currently performing on stages in France and all over Europe. As a soloist with orchestra, he had the privilege of performing works by Haydn, Schumann and Tchaikovsky, among others. Having founded professional chamber music ensembles, David Poro was invited to perform with many groups, which led him to explore a large segment of the chamber music repertoire. In orchestra, he has been invited to perform in major French institutions and is solo cellist of the Orchestre de chambre de Strasbourg and the Orchestre de Lutetia. Classically trained, David enjoys composing and arranging, and ventures into theatre, jazz and contemporary music.

Benjamin began studying music at the age of seven. In 2012, he was awarded the prize for best student in the string section at the Luis Milán Conservatory of Music of Xativa in Spain, where he was studying under Joan Furió. In 2013, he began a Diploma of Musical Studies (DEM) at the Conservatoire de Toulouse with Clara Cernat. In 2017, he studied with Aki Saulière at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels where he is currently doing a master’s degree. Benjamin has been a member of several orchestras: the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra, the Youth Orchestra Flanders, MSO Valencia, MusikA Orchestra and the Jove Orquestra Simfònica de Castelló. He has also worked with violinists Svetlin Roussev, Stefano Pagliani, Klara Flieder, Sarah Kapustin, Garth Knox, Yuko Mori and David Ballesteros.

Jackson Kelly is a 16 year-old percussionist, who grew up in the small town of Perth on a farm. His training began at age eight, which led to the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy where he studied under Dominique Moreau, Angus Armstrong and Donnie Deacon. He was thrilled when accepted to train under Jonathan Wade and Ken Simpson, of the National Art Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario. He was honoured to play with the National Youth Band of Canada this past spring, and has played with the Parkdale United Church Orchestra for the past 5 years for fun. He is currently training under Jonathan Wade, Andrew Harris and Pace Sturdevant. He aspires to study Percussion and Physics at the University of Ottawa, and to create the longest LEGO train track across the farm. For now, he is studying for his SAT’s as he was homeschooled.

Mathias Poirier-Lacroix is currently specializing in percussion performance at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec. From an early age, Mathias had a passion for music, made it part of his daily life and thus his dream of a career in music was born.

Inspired by various teachers met during his studies, he dedicated himself to advanced percussion studies. While performing with various ensembles in Quebec City (and surrounding areas), such as the Orchestre Symphonique de Lévis and the Orchestre Symphonique de la Côte-Nord, he realized that, more than anything, he wanted to pursue a professional career with an orchestra.

Mathias turned to the Orchestre de la Francophonie to refine his skills and reach new heights in his art. With the wind in his sails, he is moving ever closer to his goals.

Robert Lenau is a percussionist, timpanist, and drummer from South Plainfield, New Jersey. He has been playing for nine years and currently studies with Joseph Tompkins at Rutgers University. Most recently, he participated in the online program of Orchestre de la Francophonie this past summer, and he played in the National Youth Orchestra of the USA in the summer of 2019. Robert played percussion in the NYYS Orchestra in high school and also attended the Juilliard School Pre-College Division. He was awarded the Vargas-Vetter/Ukena Fellowship and studied with Steven White of the MET Opera. Besides playing orchestral percussion, his other musical interests include broadway and opera. He hopes to one day become a percussionist or timpanist in a professional orchestra.

Conductor and pianist Eve Legault has been on contract with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa as assistant conductor since the fall of 2020. Previously, she fulfilled several roles within the international opera community. She worked with the Royal Opera House, Seattle Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Boston Lyric Opera, Wolf Trap Opera and The Opera Studio Melbourne, where she was Music Director in 2012.  

Eve was awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree from the Manhattan School of Music (Warren Jones Studio) where she claimed the Helen Cohn Award and worked for several years in the opera department. Eve received two grants from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) to study conducting with Kenneth Kiesler in Berlin.

From an early age, Théo Lampérier showed a keen interest in music. His passion for drums was triggered by a rock concert at the age of six. Focused on music, he entered the Conservatoire de Rouen at the primary level until completion of a baccalaureate in percussion. At the same time, he continued studying drums which led to an interest in jazz music in his later years of college.

In 2019, he joined the Pôle Sup’93 to train professionally in percussion. For a year, he also prepared for the examination at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris which he had dreamed of attending for several years. Admitted in 2020, he is now in the first year of a bachelor’s degree and enjoys it immensely.

For Théo Lamperier, percussion is an outlet, a way of communicating to an audience the feelings that inspire him.

Simon Veilleux is a 19-year-old percussionist. He started playing percussion at the age of 12 at Joseph-François-Perrault high school. His passion for the timpani was inspired by his participation in his high school symphony orchestra and by a concert of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, an experience that had a profound impact on him. Having decided to pursue learning and perfecting his art, Simon was admitted to the Montreal Conservatory of Music in Secondary IV. He was also a member of the Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra for two years and has been playing with the Conservatory’s symphony orchestra for over two years. Simon has always enjoyed playing with other musicians, in any context. Although the pandemic has prevented him from pursuing his passion to the fullest, he continues to dedicate himself to his instrumental practice.

Jason Hutt currently conducts the strings and orchestras program of the Center of Artistic Excellence of Ontario (CEAO) as well as the Petits archets program since 2013. After having worked for a long time as a teacher and musical director for winds and percussion, he became involved heart and soul to bring passion and excellence to the CEAO’s string and orchestral program. Mr. Hutt is an accomplished artist, as much as a conductor, musician, arranger and composer.

Since studying violin in Montreal, he has enjoyed a national career as a studio musician and member of various music groups. Many called on his talents as an arranger and composer for several performances and projects, including the Franco Symphonique project in 2015 for the 40th anniversary of the Franco-Ontarian festival as well as the Trille Or Award Gala broadcast on Radio Canada in 2016. Mr. Hutt studied from 2014 to 2018 with Maestro Louis Lavigueur, orchestra and choir conductor. It was under his baton that the French Ontario Youth Orchestra was reborn in May 2018. Under his direction, the Senior String Orchestra successfully completed an exceptional tour of the Balkans in May 2019, during which the Orchestra and the CEAO have signed partnerships with the Youth Orchestras of Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia. Since September 2020 he has been pursuing his master’s studies in orchestral conducting with Maestros Jean-Philippe Tremblay and David Currie at the University of Ottawa.