Musicians – 2022

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.

Zachary Senick, originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, began his studies at age 16 with Marie Sellars. In 2019, he completed his BMus in Orchestral Performance at McGill University under Stéphane Lévesque. Then in 2021, Zachary completed a MMus in Instrumental Performance at the University of Toronto under Eric Hall. He has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and a substitute with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. Zachary is currently studying with Eric Hall, pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance at the University of Toronto, researching works for bassoon by Ukrainian composers during the twentieth century. In addition to performing, he was a music instructor at the Vernon Cadet Training Centre’s summer program for 2018-2019, and a music librarian at the International Music Camp in 2017. In his spare time, Zachary loves to cook. His favorite things to make are вареники (varenyky/perogies) and борщ (borsch).

Katherine Mackenzie began playing bassoon at the age of 12. Her passion for discovering and communicating the truths in music has driven her to pursue the craft for as long as she can. Hailing from Huntsville, Alabama, Katherine’s studies in bassoon have allowed her to perform in Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica in San Juan, Costa Rica, and La Maison Symphonique in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She attended summer festivals throughout high school and college, including the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, the Tennessee Valley Music Festival, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and Orquesta Sinfónica Manuel María Gutiérrez de SiNEM. Katherine holds a Master’s of Music degree in bassoon performance from McGill University (as of June 2022) where she studied with Stéphane Lévesque and a Bachelor’s of Music degree in bassoon performance from The University of Miami where she studied with Gabriel Beavers.

Jayden Lee has enjoyed a career as a budding orchestral flutist. Born in Arizona, USA, he is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in flute performance with renowned Canadian flutist Joanna G’Froerer. Since the start of his degree in 2019, he has had the opportunity to play as a flutist and a piccoloist with multiple ensembles, playing principal flute with the McGill Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions. Most recently, he has started a position with the newly formed Ensemble Obiora as principal flute. As a young musician, Jayden performed on both flute and piccolo with various orchestras including the Honor Orchestra of America, the Arizona All-State Orchestra, the Phoenix Youth Symphony, as well as the Youth Symphony of the Southwest. He has played under several conductors including Alexis Hauser, Larry Livingston, Sey Ahn, and Jeffrey Meyer. Jayden hopes to begin a master’s degree in flute performance after graduation.

Valentina Pennisi is a clarinetist based in Rotterdam. As of October, she will take over the bass clarinet position at the Opera in Limoges, France.

After finishing her studies at the Conservatory of Piacenza, she attended the masterclass at the Accademia Santa Cecilia held by Alessandro Carbonare. At the same time, she began studies with Calogero Palermo and Davide Lattuada on the bass clarinet. 

She has played with the Italian Youth Orchestra and the French Youth Orchestra. Valentina has had the honor of playing with conductors such as Daniele Gatti, Nathalie Stuzmann, Valery Petrenko and Jérémy Rhorer. 

From 2018 to 2020, she attended Codarts in Rotterdam, obtaining a second master’s degree. 

She was an academician at the Rotterdam Philharmonic and has played with other Dutch orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebow Amsterdam and Sinfonia Rotterdam.

Valentina won the second prize at the International Clarinet Competition “Chalumeau” in Maruggio, in 2019, and the second prize at the International Competition “Città di Carlino” in the bass clarinet category.

Daniella Tejada began her oboe studies at the age of 11 and continued her studies at the Conservatory of the National University of Colombia where she finished her bachelor’s degree in 2019. During her studies, she participated in several student and professional ensembles and orchestras in Bogotá; the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bogotá Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, the Colombian Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra. Internationally, she has been selected three times at Femusc (music festival in Santa Catarina, Brazil), at the International Festival of Portillo (Chile) and at the Orchestre de la Francophonie 2021.

Having finished her master’s degree in performance at Université de Montréal in 2021, she is currently working as an “Oboe Teaching Artist” at Sistema New Brunswick.

Esteban Parra-Campo is a clarinetist from Medellín, Colombia where he pursued his bachelor of music degree at the University of Antioquia. He won the first chamber music competition at this university as part of a woodwind quintet and has been awarded several scholarships and awards throughout his career, such as the HILTI Foundation Scholarship and MUN Graduate Scholarship. He has performed in Germany, Belgium, Spain, Austria, the United States and Netherland, and he has been part of the most outstanding ensembles in his city, such as the Iberacademy Orchestra, Medellin Philharmonic Orchestra, and the University of Antioquia Symphony Band, where he served as a concertmaster assistant. Thanks to his discipline and musicality, he has won scholarships to take part in international festivals and merited a participation in the Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria, with Professor Andreas Schablas. Esteban recently won the Solo Concerto Competition at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, where he is currently pursuing his M.Mus. degree with Dr. Christine Carter.

Born in 1998, Julien Moussa first began playing the cello at the age of 7 at the Issy-les-Moulineaux Conservatory. Some ten years later, he took an interest in wind instruments and began studying the French horn, first with Xavier Agogué, then with Jocelyn Willem.

After graduating high school with a diploma in science, Julien focused on becoming a professional musician. He is currently pursuing advanced studies under Jean-Christophe Vervoitte at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Boulogne-Billancourt.

Through summer internships, Julien sharpened his skills with the greatest horn players, including Jacques Deleplancque in Epsival and André Cazalet in the Czech Republic.

Eager to fully explore the many dimensions of being a horn player, Julien is also involved in chamber music, playing with a brass quintet and a wind quintet. He recently joined the Sapeurs-pompiers de Paris orchestra as a reservist and the Orchestre Atelier Ostinato in Paris. As he pursues a career in music, Julien aspires to a position in a symphony orchestra.

Katrina Dunkle is an incoming Artist Diploma student at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory in Toronto, Ontario, studying with Gabriel Radford. She completed a Bachelor’s degree in Horn Performance at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montréal, Québec, where she was awarded the David D. Cohen Brass Scholarship in 2021. At McGill, she studied with Nadia Côté and Catherine Turner. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she began playing violin at the age of four and horn at the age of 12. In 2020, Katrina was a winner of McGill University Schulich School of Music’s Woodwind, Brass, and Percussion Concerto Competition and, performed with the McGill Symphony

Orchestra in February 2021. In the summer of 2019, she attended Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina. She spent the summers of 2020 and 2021 as part of the esteemed National Youth Orchestra of Canada. This June 2022, she will be attending the Sarasota Music Festival in Sarasota, Florida.

Born in 2003, Aaron Sieve grew up in the town of Flower Mound, Texas. He began playing the French horn at the age of 11. He was a member of the award-winning Flower Mound High School marching and Wind Symphony bands. He performed with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra under Richard Giangulio and attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute in the summer of 2021. In the fall of 2022, Aaron will enter his second year at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory as a Bachelor of music student under Christopher Gongos. 

Gemain Leguy is presently an undergraduate in his 2nd year at the Haute École des Arts du Rhin in Strasbourg. He has been studying in various learning institutions and playing trumpet in musical projects for the past 18 years. He had the opportunity to play with the Tours Brass Band Exo-Brass as well as the Young Franco-German Philharmonics in Bayrouth. Germain recently participated in a Howard Moody creation in partnership the Opera National du Rhin. His state diploma and training have allowed him to pursue his interest in the mechanisms of learning. Germain is very engaged with the concept of sharing and remains open to life’s teaching. He uses his experiences to benefit others.

Ángel Luis Gómez is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Born in a musical family, it was only natural for him to follow his family’s tradition of playing string instruments. In 2007, he was presented with the opportunity to play the violin. Thanks to his enormous effort, he joined the Suzuki Violin association of Puerto Rico. Here, he performed as a soloist and demonstrated his passion and dedication for music. In 2010, he was accepted into Escuela Libre de Música de San Juan Ernesto Ramos Antonini. He became the concertmaster of the intermediate orchestra, where he performed solos and worked alongside the conductor. The following year, he successfully moved to the symphony orchestra as member of the first violins. In 2014, he won an honors mention in the Ricardo Morales competition. In 2015, Angel graduated obtained his high school diploma and entered the Puerto Rico Conservatory. There he studied under the direction of Dr Francisco Cabán. While at the Conservatory, he was appointed leader of the seconds violins. In 2019, he graduated the institution with high honors. That same year, he attended Festival Formadi in Guadalajara, Mexico. He was appointed concertmaster, where he was also a finalist in the violin and piano competition. He studied with professors Alvaro Lares from Venezuela and Claude Richard from Canada. In 2019, Professor Gomez taught violin at the Escuela Libre de Musica de San Juan. He now serves as concertmaster of “Camerata Filarmonica” and teaches the Suzuki violin method.

Lucinda Toews is a violinist from Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She began playing violin as a teenager and progressed quickly from fiddle tunes to a deep interest in the tradition of classical violin. At 17, she moved to Victoria to study with Sharon Stanis and the Lafayette String Quartet at the University of Victoria. Her studies at UVic were supplemented by additional lessons from local teachers such as Christi Meyers, and Gwen Thompson. After three years in Victoria, she transferred to Memorial University of Newfoundland to study with Nancy Dahn, where she completed her undergraduate degree in violin performance in 2021. She is currently living in St. John’s and continuing her studies with Dr. Dahn.

Vasilika Vangjeli is an Albanian-born violinist whose diverse skill set informs her career as both a performer and an academic. She is currently pursuing a master’s in Violin Performance at the University of Ottawa under internationally acclaimed violinist Timothy Chooi, having just completed a dual-track undergraduate degree program in Music and Economics at Mount Allison University.

Recent performances include a master’s recital in the spring of 2021, including works by Sibelius, Sarasate, and Mozart. During the 2020-2021 season, Vasilika was fortunate to be a part of various projects, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. This included the solo videorecording of Summer from the Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi after winning the 2019-20 Mount Allison Concerto Competition. Later that year, Vasilika proceeded to win the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra’s Concerto-Competition, touring as a soloist throughout the Canadian East Coast. An alumna of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestral Institute, Vasilika has also performed with MusicFest Canada in Ottawa, ON, and Orford Music Academy in Orford, QC.

Based in Montreal, violist Onyou Lee is actively performing in Montreal, performing with organizations such as Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Orchestre Classique de Montreal, Ensemble Obiora Societe de musique contemporaine du Quebec and others. He currently studies with Neal Gripp

Charlotte Tyhurst was born and raised in Waterloo, Ontario and fell in love at first symphony playing in the local youth orchestra. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver studying with Eric Wilson and then moved back across the country to study with Yegor Dyachkov for her Master’s at the Université de Montréal. While she is a dedicated orchestral musician, having played in the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, and the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra, she also has a special place in her heart for chamber music, having been fortunate enough to perform at many festivals across Canada from British Columbia to Newfoundland, as well as in Mexico and France. While Charlotte is currently mid-way through completing her law degree at McGill University, the cello is never far from arm’s reach as she continues to pursue freelance work in her current home city of Montreal.

Anastassia is a cellist with a degree in musicology from the Sorbonne, a DNSPM (Teaching Diploma and Higher- Level Musician’s Diploma) and master’s degree from the Brussels Royal Conservatory. She received guidance from Hélène Dautry, Marie Hallynk, Philippe Müller, Michel Strauss as well as Karel Steylaerts. By nature, curious, she loves to explore different music styles and from various eras. This attribute has led her to discover chilean music, work with dancers and actors, classic Moldova music with ARC Musical Historique. She also learned about gut music at the Festival des Saintes and to work with contemporary repertoire (spectral and electroacoustic music). She performed at the Philharmonie de Paris, at the Théâtre des Champs Élysée and the Folles Journées de Nantes. Above all, sharing music guides her life. Her passion shines through with her participation in special events for the culturally disadvantaged, in her support for peoples struggling for justice (GEPO in the Ukrainian-Russian war), and in teaching.

Dominic Gauthier is an exceptional double bass player from Gatineau, Québec. He stands out for his versatility and his willingness to play in all kinds of venues. He first studied at the Conservatoire de Musique de Gatineau with John Geggie and is now pursuing his master’s degree in Montreal with Joel Quarrington. Apart from his classical music training, he has also had the chance to study jazz with M. Geggie, Éric Lagacé as well as saxophonist André Leroux. Dominic has participated in several classical music ensembles such as the Orchestre Symphonique de Gatineau (OSG), the Orchestre Symphonique du Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal (OSCMM). He also played in jazz music ensembles such as the Nepean All City Jazz Band (NACJB) with whom he won first prize at the Musicfest Canada and went on to perform at major events such as the Ottawa Jazz Festival and the Montreal jazz festival. His motivation, his refined classical training, and his interest in other art forms and styles define his emerging musicianship.

Serena Piercey is violinist from St. John’s, Newfoundland. She is a 3rd year student at Memorial University studying violin performance with Dr. Nancy Dahn. Serena has performed with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of Kittiwake Dance Theatre as a member of the violin section. She has also performed as alternating concertmaster of the MUN chamber orchestra. Serena is very passionate about chamber music and has participated in the Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival in 2019, 2020 and 2021. She was named to the Dean’s list of the MUN school of music in 2020 and 2021. Serena was also the winner of the St. John’s Kiwanis Festival Junior Rosebowl in 2020 and the winner of the Newfoundland provincial music festival strings category 2021. In addition to music, Serena enjoys reading, learning languages, and playing hockey.

Andrés Romero is a Colombian violinist, with a passion for the symphonic performance. Since 2014 he has played in different orchestras, ensembles, and music festivals. In Colombia, he played with the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra, the Youth Chamber Orchestra of Bogota, and the Youth Philharmonic of Colombia. He is a violin teacher for Sistema NB in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Andrés obtained his bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the Conservatory of the National University of Colombia, and his master’s degree in violin performance from the University of Montreal under the guidance of professors Laura Andriani and Guillaume Sutre.

Ryan Vis is currently enrolled in the Master of Music Performance concentration in Viola at the University of Ottawa for the Fall 2022 semester. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Viola Performance at the McGill Schulich School of Music in 2022. There he was the principal violist of the McGill Opera and assistant principal of the McGill Symphony Orchestra. Ryan Vis participated in the National Youth Orchestra of Canada in 2019 and 2020. He has dedicated himself to music and education. In 2016 Ryan was the principal violist for the New York State Music Association Conference All-state String Orchestra where they performed in Kodak Hall at the Eastman School of Music. In 2015 to 2017 he was the principal violist for the Empire State Youth Orchestra, performing in Portugal and, also in the esteemed Carnegie Hall. In 2015, Ryan was the principal violist of the American Music Abroad Red Tour where they traveled and performed across Europe in France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria. From 2010 to 2013, Ryan attended the Piano Intensive Study, a summer program, at the Saint Rose School of Music taught and founded by Dr. Young Kim.

A native of Toronto, Ontario, Karen (“Kay”) Chen is completing the last year of a Bachelor of Music degree with a major in performance with Worl Trumann at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON. They are a seasoned student of Queen’s, having also graduated with a Bachelor of Computing in 2018. A cellist since the age of four, they took classes with Tricia Balmer at the Etobicoke Suzuki School of Music. Kay has been part of ensembles such as the Richmond Hill Philharmonic Orchestra and in 2019 became the principal cellist of the Queen’s University Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Kingston in 2021. Kay performed on stage as a solo cellist with the Queen’s Polyhymnia Vocal Ensemble for Sarah Quartel’s Snow Angel. They are looking forward to beginning a master’s degree in cello performance at the University of Ottawa, studying with Paul Marleyn. In their spare time, Kay enjoys playing squash and sketching.

Chieh-yun Cheng is a 22-year-old bass player born in Taiwan. She began piano lessons at the age of five. She then began to study bass at the age of 14. She won numerous awards of distinction when participating in several competitions during her first year of bass studies. Besides playing with various music ensembles and orchestras since, she is also a conductor.

She pursued her studies in France having graduated from the Convervatoire à rayonnement régional de Paris in 2021. She continues her academic background at the Conservatoire de Saint-Maur.

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.

James Watson is a violinist and composer based in Calgary. Since earning his Bachelors of Music with a minor in linguistics from the University of Calgary in 2021, James’ path as a freelance musician is coming to fruition. James is associated with a number of ensembles including as principal second of the Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra, and Key 30 (a Classical and Soul music fusion orchestra). James is also making his own way as a founding member of Stringendo Calgary’s multi-genre string orchestra, his new jazz combo The Sunnyside Quartet, and Djame, a celtic music duo playing traditional and original music on stage and at events. In addition, he was awarded two brief composer-in-residencies at cSpace and the GRAND Theatre, and commits to a variety of recording projects from art-pop to celtic music and contemporary chamber music.

Rahel Coquema started playing the violin when she was five years old, coached by Melissa Schneps at a Franco-German music school. She also chose to pursue flute lessons at the same establishment, with the former soloist Liliana Novak.

Having made the decision to invest more of herself in the music world, she started to study at the Conservatoire de Paris, where she discovered the viola. She played both violin and viola for a few years and finally decided to focus on the viola, the sound more fitting to her needs.

In 2018, she was accepted at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel in the class of Professor Paul De Clerck, with whom she continues to study and, as well, has also started a degree in music writing with Professor Ann Kuppens.

Matthew Fields is a cellist from Cleveland, Ohio, who recently finished a bachelor’s degree in cello performance at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, where he studied with Matt Haimovitz. Matthew is a 1st place winner in competitions such as the 2021 King’s Peak International Competition, the Cleveland Cello Society High School and Elementary Divisions, the Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory Concerto Competition, and the Suburban Symphony Concerto Competition. As soloist, Matthew has performed with orchestras such as the McGill Beethoven Orchestra, the Cleveland Institute of Music Conservatory Orchestra, and the Suburban Symphony. As an orchestral musician, Matthew has performed as principal cellist with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, as well as with the National Orchestral Institute. 

In high school, Matthew was a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra for four years, where he was also a member of the Advanced Performance Seminar. During this time, he performed Mendelssohn’s Octet on NPR’s From the Top. Matthew has studied with teachers such as Matt Haimovitz, Martha Baldwin, and Pamela Kelly, and has participated in masterclasses with Astrid Schween, Mark Kosower, and Brett Mitchell.

Will Smythe is a cellist born in Toronto, Ontario. From the age of eight, Will has studied cello with Toronto-based cellists Erika Neilson and Paul Widner and attended Etobicoke School of the Arts from 2016 to 2020. He is currently based in Kingston, Ontario where he is in his second year studying music performance at Queen’s University’s Dan School of Drama and Music under Wolf Tormann. Will is interested in many different genres of music from classical, pop, and jazz of which he enjoys composing his own works and collaborating with others. Most notably Will  performed and recorded with Brazilian pop artist Bruno Capinan in Toronto at the Small World Music Festival, Lula Lounge in partnership with Uma Nota Culture, and has played other small venues across Toronto. Will dreams of one day being able to perform cello with many different types of musicians and experiencing how the cello can be integrated into these different genres.