Born in amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, Canada), Jonathon Adams is a Two-Spirit, nêhiyaw michif (Cree-Métis) baritone. In concert, they have appeared as a soloist with Philippe Herreweghe, Sigiswald Kuijken, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Helmut Rilling, Václav Luks, Ensemble BachPlus, Vox Luminis, il Gardellino, and B’Rock Orchestra at Opera-Ballet Flanders. Future solo engagements include a recording with il Gardellino, concerts with Les Voix Humaines, Ensemble Caprice, Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, L’Harmonie des Saisons, Vancouver Early Music and Pacific Baroque Orchestra, and a world premiere of Adams’ performance piece nipahimiw / the plaint with Susie Napper and Catalina Vicens at the Art Gallery of Ontario (June 2021). Jonathon is a featured soloist in the film “MESSIAH / COMPLEX” produced by Against the Grain Theatre and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. During 2020 and 2021 Jonathon holds a fellowship with the Netherlands Bach Society and will appear in concert with them throughout the Netherlands and at the Leipzig Bach Festival. They are a core member of Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, appearing regularly with this ensemble around the world. Recent career highlights include a solo début at the Bruges Concertgebouw in Purcell’s Ode to St. Cecilia, Bach cantatas at Snape Maltings Concert Hall, and concerts with Amsterdam Baroque in China, Japan, and at the Château de Versailles. Jonathon is based in Canada and The Netherlands. They have attended The Royal Academy of Music (London), the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and The Victoria Conservatory of Music where they studied with Nancy Argenta. They also studied privately with Dame Emma Kirkby, and Edith Wiens. At the Dutch National Opera Academy Jonathon studied with Rosemary Joshua and Olivier Lallouette. As a student, Jonathon sang the role of Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas under Richard Egarr. Jonathon is a Britten-Pears Young Artist, participating in creative dialogues and mentorship schemes with world leaders in the arts at Snape Maltings, UK. They have attended the American Bach Soloists Academy (San Francisco), singing various cantatas of Bach and the Hohe Messe under Jeffrey Thomas.
Patricia Ahern has been a frequent soloist and core member of Tafelmusik since 2002. She was educated at Northwestern University, Indiana University, and the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Switzerland. She taught baroque violin at the Freiburg Conservatory in Germany and Oberlin’s Baroque Performance Institute, and has given masterclasses at McGill, York University, Wilfrid Laurier, University of Windsor, Western University, University of Toronto, University of Wisconsin, Grand Valley State University, California State University Long Beach, Sookmyung Women’s University (Seoul), and the Sydney Conservatorium (Australia). She has concertized throughout Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America, and has performed with Milwaukee Baroque, Ars Antigua, Chicago Opera Theater, Toronto Consort, Aradia, I Furiosi, Newberry Consort, Musica Pacifica, and the Carmel Bach Festival. Tricia has recorded for Sony, Naxos, and Analekta.
Most people who have listened to CBC Radio 1 or 2 will be familiar with the voice of Tom Allen. At the moment he is the host of Shift on Radio 2. His programs are filled with interesting facts about the selection, the composer and about history and our time. Tom is also a host and consultant for symphony orchestras and is an author, a musician and broadcaster with a Master’s degree in Music Performance from Yale. He worked as a professional trombonist in Toronto and New York and has had his own radio program on one or other of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s networks for 23 years. He loves telling the stories of how and why a piece of music may have become the way it is, and, as the critics agree, he is very good at it. Most recently Tom has written a series of shows that mix storytelling, chamber music and original popular songs to bring classical music and the stories behind it to life in an inspiring and accessible format. These “chamber musicals” feature a brilliant and diverse cast and have been presented at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Music Niagara, Toronto's Luminato Festival, theatre and music festivals across Ontario and at Toronto’s Soulpepper theatre, where Tom is a 2014 Resident Artist.
In three decades of work at the Shaw Festival, Guy played in over 4000 performances. Recent work on stage includes King Charles III (Studio 180, Toronto); Agatha Christie’s comedy thriller Spider’s Web (Theatre Aquarius, Hamilton); the world premiere of Norm Foster’s The Writer (Foster Festival, St. Catharines); and The New Canadian Curling Club (Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque, 2019; Western Canada Theatre Company, Kamloops and Vernon, British Columbia, 2020). On television he has been seen in Murdoch Mysteries, The Firm and Warehouse 13. Guy is also heard as the voice of Mr. Bear on Rupert the Bear. While working at the Stratford Festival, Guy received a Guthrie Award, and he has also received a Newton Award and a Paul Reynolds Award at the Shaw Festival. He has been an artist-in-residence at universities across Canada, and frequently teaches with colleague Sharry Flett, specializing in “Victorian Costumes and Customs.”
Karlie Boyle is a passionate and committed musician, teacher, composer, and arranger. Karlie started her studies at the age of 4 and continued with private teachers in viola, piano, composition, theory, and history. As well as private studies, Karlie attended Laura Secord Secondary School, the University of Toronto and completed her Bachelor of Arts in Music at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. An active member of the growing arts community, Karlie has collaborated with several chamber ensembles such as the Brock University String Orchestra and the popular Niagara based string ensemble, Grace Notes; for whom she has written many arrangements. She has also worked for many years with the Niagara Symphony Orchestra's Summer Music Camp, as the Camp Director, which has fostered her passion for sharing the love of music with young people. She is currently the Director of Education and Administration for the Niagara Symphony and has enjoyed moving the education department forward!
David began his studies on the violin at the age of seven. His family having relocated numerous times allowed David to experience instruction from a number of teachers in various methods. David’s introduction to orchestral playing was with the Niagara Youth Orchestra in St. Catharines. After high school David earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Northwestern College in Roseville Minnesota. During his time in Minneapolis David was able to tour internationally as Concert master of the Continental Singers and Orchestra and of the Communique Singers and Orchestra. While in Minneapolis David studied with Roger Frisch, Associate Concert Master of the Minnesota Orchestra. Upon returning to St. Catharines David studied with Deryck Aird of the Bradley Institute of Music and at that time, Concert Master of the Niagara Symphony. David has been a member of the Niagara Symphony Association since 1989 and has also worked for the District School Board of Niagara as a secondary school music educator since 1989. He currently teaches music at Centennial High in Welland. David and his wife Deborah met while preparing a faculty recital for the Laura Secord Music Department where David began teaching. Since then they have formed the chamber ensemble now known as Glissandi; together with their friend and colleague Douglas Miller, principal flute with the Niagara Symphony. The past twelve years have been very full as the demand for their particular style of chamber music has increased. Performances and audiences have varied greatly providing many rich experiences. One of those was a concert tour of Southern England in the spring of 1997. Upon returning from that tour Glissandi set out to record their first CD entitled Serenity. He enjoys both teaching and performing and is looking forward to much more of the same. David and his wife Deborah have three children: Matthew, Nicholas, and Jessica.
Deborah Braun (harpist) is a native of St. Catharines and began her harp studies locally with Doris Scharing. She subsequently studied with Eilene Malone of the Eastman School of Music, Suzanne Thomas of the Buffalo Philharmonic, and Elaine Pamphilon of Cambridge, England. In additional to extensive solo and ensemble playing, she is harpist with the Niagara Symphony Orchestra and Glissandi.
Nick Braun is a graduate of Brock University’s Bachelor of Arts Music program as well as a former student in the Mohawk College Jazz Music Program in the field of drums and percussion. Nick has been writing music since the age of 15 with groups of various styles as well as producing his own albums typically playing all of the instruments and featuring guest musicians. Nick intends to continue to branch out in the fields of composition, music production, and live performance to hone his craft.
Canadian soprano Sheila Dietrich is a versatile and in-demand young performer whose style and vocal technique shine in both concert and operatic roles. Ms. Dietrich has appeared as a concert soloist with ensembles across Canada including Les Violons du Roy, Capella Intima, The Toronto Continuo Collective, Nota Bene Baroque Players, TACTUS, The Toronto Classical Singers under Jurgen Petrenko, The Elora Festival Singers and The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir under Noel Edison, The Guelph Chamber Choir under Gerald Neufeld, and The Bach Elgar Choir under Howard Dyck. Operatic roles include Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors | Menotti), Pitti-Sing (The Mikado | Sullivan), Belinda (Dido & Aeneas | Purcell), Venus (La Dafne | Gagliano), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Britten), Abigail Williams (The Crucible | Ward) and La Petite Chaperon Rouge (La Foret Bleue | Aubert). A Kitchener-Waterloo native, Ms. Dietrich received her Bachelor of Music Performance and Opera Diploma from Wilfrid Laurier University where she studied with Victor Martens. Ms. Dietrich continues to study with Laura Pudwell. In 2015, Ms. Dietrich made her Carnegie Hall debut as a featured soloist in an evening devoted to the music of Purcell under the direction of Richard Egarr. She was also a finalist in the 2015 New York Oratorio Society Solo Competition and was awarded the Johannes Somary Prize. More information, including a full rep list, and upcoming performance dates, can be found at Sheila’s website: www.sheiladietrich.com.
Joined together from Israel, Korea-Canada, Saint Lucia, and the USA, the Dior String Quartet is the Quartet-in-Residence at the Glenn Gould School, Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Silver prize winners of the 2021 Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition and Bronze Medalists of the 2019 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, they formed in Fall 2018 at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University under the tutelage of Pacifica Quartet. They studied with members of the Alban Berg, St. Lawrence, Danish, Artemis, Ébene, and Belcea Quartets. The Dior Quartet participated in various programs, including the Britten-Pears Young Artists Program, Banff String Quartet: Evolution in collaboration with Tippet Rise Art Center, McGill International String Quartet Academy in Montreal, and the SLSQ Seminar. The Dior Quartet collaborated with Orion Weiss and Victor Yampolsky during their residency at Wintegreen Music Festival, and with Rolston String Quartet, Axel Strauss, and Stéphane Lemelin at the 2021 Prince Edward County Chamber Music Festival. The quartet made their debut with the Schneider Concert Series In January 2021 and were quarter-finalists in the 2021 Bartok World Competition in Budapest. The repertoire and projects they pursue intersect with their multicultural backgrounds and moral values, as they seek to explore the immigrant experience through art. The quartet takes their name from the French word “D’or” which means gold. It's a rare, elegant, and malleable element, precious to those who own it and often gifted to loved ones. Most importantly, gold holds the memory of the earth and absorbs the stories of the people who give it shape and form.
The Eybler Quartet came together in late 2004 to explore the works of the first century and a half of the string quartet, with a healthy attention to lesser known composers such as their namesake, Joseph Leopold Edler von Eybler. The group brings a unique combination of talents and skills: razor-sharp ensemble skills, technical prowess, expertise in period instrument performance and an unquenchable passion for the repertoire. The Toronto- based ensemble’s live performances have consistently garnered praise as “glowing and committed”, “spirited” and “lively and energizing”. Their recording of Joseph Haydn’s Op. 33 String Quartets for the Analekta label was called “simply a treasure” by Early Music America, “the tempos are beautifully chosen, the ensemble perfect, and the intonation absolutely pure. This is music-making that reflects the deeply human and attractive qualities found in Haydn the composer—good humor, wit, and invention.” Their recording with clarinetist Jane Booth won praise from Gramophone for being “totally engaging performances that breathe life into Backofen’s music”. Their most recent release, Beethoven Quartets, Opus 18 nos. 1-3 garnered this praise from Gramophone: “…the revelations flood in: the swiftness with which the Eyblers take the great Adagio of Op 18 No 1 allows violinist Aisslinn Nosky’s almost vibrato-free period-instrument tone to sound breathtakingly fragile.” Violinists Julia Wedman and Patricia Ahern, and violist Patrick G. Jordan are members of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Cellist Margaret Gay is much in demand as both a modern and period instrument player. This summer the group will again be on the faculty at the Banff Centre as part of the EQ: Evolution of the String Quartet program. In September 2022 Patricia Ahern joined the group, replacing founding member Aisslinn Nosky.
After completing a Bachelor of Music degree at Boston University School for the Arts, Margaret Gay accepted an invitation to the Banff Centre for Fine Arts, where she completed the winter programme. From there she moved to Toronto, where she earned a Master’s degree at the University of Toronto and began a remarkably active freelance career performing on both modern and period ‘cello. Margaret performs regularly with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, Opera Atelier, Mississauga Sinfonia, Baroque Music Beside The Grange, the Eybler Quartet, and Ensemble Polaris, a group exploring the traditional music of various Nordic countries. She is the Artistic Director of The Gallery Players of Niagara, an organization based in the Niagara Region that presents chamber music. She was for many years a member of Modern Quartet, a string quartet dedicated to the performance of new works, the Burdocks, a foursome specializing in works of the 20th century, and Critical Band. In the summers she has performed at the Carmel Bach Festival, Stratford, Elora, Parry Sound, Grand River Baroque, and Lameque Baroque Music festivals, as well as teaching ‘cello and coaching chamber music at the Toronto Board of Education Music Camp, and the University of New Brunswick Summer Music Camp. Margaret can be heard on numerous CD’s, including a recent release from Analekta of Joseph Leopold Eybler's string quartets Op. 1, Ensemble Polaris, Not Much Is Worse Than A Troll, a Hungaroton disc of 17th century English theatre music, Ah! How Sweet It Is To Love, O Bali, from New Music Concerts, and, A Curious Collection for the Common Flute.
Lori Gemmell is the Principal Harpist with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and plays often with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. She has 2 recordings of solo harp music, 2 duo recordings and also recorded with Feist. www.lorigemmell.com
Glissandi, is a Niagara-based trio that has been performing together for over twenty-five years. They are featured regularly in Niagara's finest venues, and are members of the Niagara Symphony. Glissandi has recorded three CDs and each of the members is an established freelance musician of their own.
Lucas Harris discovered the lute during his undergraduate studies at Pomona College, where he graduated summa cum laude. He then studied the lute and early music at the Civica scuola di musica di Milano and at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen. Since 2004 he bases his freelance career in Toronto, where he serves as the regular lutenist for Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Toronto Continuo Collective, the Vesuvius Ensemble (dedicated to Southern Italian folk music), and the Lute Legends Collective (an association of specialists in ancient plucked-string traditions from diverse cultures). Lucas plays with many other ensembles in Canada and the USA and has worked in recent years with the Helicon Foundation, the Smithsonian Chamber Players, Atalante, The Newberry Consort, Les Délices, and Jordi Savall / Le Concert des Nations. He teaches at the Tafelmusik Summer and Winter Baroque Institutes, Oberlin Conservatory’s Baroque Performance Institute, and the Canadian Renaissance Music Summer School, and is also a regular guest artist with Early Music Vancouver. In 2014 Lucas completed graduate studies in choral conducting at the University of Toronto. Upon graduating, Lucas was chosen as the Artistic Director of the Toronto Chamber Choir, for which he has created and conducted over twenty themed concert programs. He has also directed projects for the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, the Ohio State University Opera Program, Les voix baroques, and the Toronto Consort. One of Lucas's many pandemic projects was the reconstruction of 12 solo voice motets by the Italian nun Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, now available for free download on the Web Library for Seventeenth-Century Music. www.lucasharris.ca
Sheila Jaffé was born into a family of musicians and was fascinated by classical music from a young age. Born in Montreal and raised in South Florida, she returned to her native Quebec at the age of thirteen to live and study with her second cousin Catherine Dallaire, concertmaster of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and professor of violin at the Conservatoire de Musique de Québec. After completing high school as part of the arts intensive program at l'École Secondaire Pierre-Laporte in Montreal, Sheila completed her Bachelor's degree in violin performance at the Université de Montréal. Over the course of her years in Montreal, it became clear that chamber music and orchestral playing were at the core of her musical passions. She co-founded the Alaya String Quartet, performed in numerous chamber music concerts in the city, and kept herself impossibly busy with every kind of ensemble she could put together. In the summers, she participated in orchestral, chamber music and masterclass festivals such as Schleswig-Holstein Orchester, Domaine Forget, International Musicians Seminar and Open Chamber Music at Prussia Cove, Orford Arts Centre, Aurora Music in Sweden, and several others. Sheila continued her studies in Berlin, Germany with a Master's program at the Hanns Eisler Hochschüle für Musik, during which she also was accepted into the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Akademie for a one-year position. During this time she also co-founded the Alondra String Quartet, who were invited to the International Musicians Seminar Prussia Cove as well as the Toronto Summer Music festival. The members of this quartet are now in leading orchestras around the world. In 2013, at the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival in Alberta, Canada, she co-founded the Rosebud String Quartet (RSQ), with whom she currently performs regularly. Sheila is also the violinist and violist of the Array Ensemble, specializing in new music. In 2015, Sheila joined the Canadian Opera Company as a violist while continuing to nurture her love of chamber music on the violin with her string quartet as well as other chamber ensembles and various solo performances. She is now principal viola of the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada orchestras. Her first album, "Lachrymae", a tribute to her late husband Peter Longworth and featuring works by Franck, Elgar and Britten in collaboration with Welsh pianist Huw Watkins (Coviello Classics), came out in 2022, closely followed in 2023 by her string quartet's first album of Haydn and Mozart featuring Canadian violist Steven Dann and the Rosebud String Quartet (Leaf Music). Sheila Jaffé plays on a Francesco Gobetti (1710-15) violin and Raymond Schryer (2001) viola on generous loan from Canimex.
Patrick Jordan, a native of West Texas, studied with Susan Schoenfeld before moving to Boston in 1981 to study with Walter Trampler. Mr. Jordan holds a Bachelor's degree from the New England Conservatory and an Artist's Diploma in Chamber Music from the Longy School, where he began several years' study with Eugene Lehner. Now a resident of Toronto, Mr. Jordan is a member of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra with which he tours throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, Asia and Europe. He is also the Artistic Administrator and violist with the Gallery Players of Niagara. He has been a member of the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra since 1997 and has appeared with the New York Collegium as well as the American Classical Soloists. While living in Boston, he performed regularly with D.C. Hall's Band (a recreation of a 19th-century dance and concert band),the van Swieten Quartet, a period instrument string quartet, and the Handel & Haydn Society Orchestra. He was a member of the Boston Quartet, a modern instrument string quartet, and the Really Eclectic String Quartet (RESQ), a group that explored popular dance and lyrical music from many cultures. From 1988 to 1993 he was Lecturer in Violin and Viola at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA; he is currently on the faculty of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He has recorded for Sony, Sony Classical, Dorian, Newport Classic, NorthStar, Analekta and Northeastern.
The eclectic cultural richness of Ladom Ensemble’s music is a reflection of Canada’s cultural diversity. Like the vibrant colours of a beautifully woven Persian carpet, the intricacies of an Iranian stone mosaic, Ladom’s sound is drawn from the old and brought into a contemporary presentation. Like the traditions of music from that region, Ladom also relies on the equal balance of both structure and improvisation. Ladom Ensemble, consisting of founding member Pouya Hamidi on piano, accordionist Michael Bridge, cellist Beth Silver, and Adam Campbell on percussion, creates a sound that represents one of the oldest cultures in the world, one can hear influences drawn from the Balkan, Celtic, Iran, Argentina, and Europe. The elasticity of styles is the musical foundation of these four musicians and their vast experiences create a new sound and experience that will be appeal to all audiences. The musicians met in Toronto and quickly realized that they shared a passion to create a sound that draws from their unique musical experiences. A sound that would incorporate inspirations from classical tango, Celtic music, Serbian folk dance, Persian classical dulcimer, amongst others. Ladom was formed, not to define one specific tradition, but rather, to express what a modern and authentic Canadian sound experience, that reflects a beautiful new world. As critic Michael Vincent of musicaltoronto.org wrote, “Toronto’s Ladom Ensemble is not your typical chamber group. In many ways, they represent a changing definition of chamber music which sees musicians increasingly looking away from a purely Eurocentric purview…They can play pretty much anything.”
Is a Mestizo artist of Mexican descent. Her main studies in the arts are in classical ballet and contemporary performance (México, US, Canada, Germany). Mariana is an interpreter, creator, street artist, and her artistic practice is heavily influenced by a socio-cultural understanding. The major milestones that have shaped her art include being raised in México, migrating north, and developing deep connections and research in the Middle East (Palestine, Jordan). She’s created art via performance, dance, installation, in the streets and venues of México, Canada, Palestine, Jordan and Germany. At this moment her main concern is to expand the art viewer demographics and to question value systems in a society. Mariana has worked with many artists, directors and choreographers in Toronto while touring across México, Canada, U.S. and Europe. But she has developed artistic and life-long relationships with Brian Solomon (Anishnaabe/Irish), Daina Ashbee (Cree/Dutch), Jumana Dabis (Palestinian) and with The Dietrich Group, D.A. Hoskins. Mariana is a Dora Mavis Moore Award recipient.
Douglas Miller is a versatile soloist who is active within various symphony orchestras, chamber music series, mega-musicals, film and television recordings. He has performed with the Toronto Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, and Kitchener Waterloo Orchestra. He is current principal flute of the Niagara Symphony and a former Instructor at Brock University. As theatre musician, he is a regular member of the pit orchestras in Toronto productions such as The Sound of Music, Phantom of the Opera, The Wizard of OZ, and Les Miserables. In The Lion King, and The Lord of the Rings, he played a collection of ethnic bamboo flutes, several of which he built himself. In 2004-2006 he toured North America with Hal Princes' production of EVITA, celebrating the show's 25th anniversary. He has been a member of the Shaw Festival Orchestra in various productions since 1991 and performs regularly at the Stratford Festival. One of his many online videos with guitarist Timothy Phelan was used for a seminar in the music curriculum at Brock University in 2021. He has performed with Diana Krall and has made videos with Idina Menzel, Jonathan Antoine, and Chantal Kreviazuk. He is heard on the soundtracks of many films and TV series such as CBC's Road to Avonlea and David Suzuki's Nature of Things. Mr. Miller's diverse education includes a Master of Music in flute from University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Music and Licentiate with Distinction in saxophone from McGill University, where he completed a year of graduate studies in recording engineering. A graduate of the Royal Conservatory's Orchestral Training Program, he also spent a year of Advanced Studies in Music at the Banff Centre followed by private studies in Vienna. He is a founding member of The Gallery Players of Niagara and has produced three CDs with his trio Glissandi. He regularly performs his multimedia show, 'Flutes en Route!' a showcase of ethnic flutes from around the world. He makes his home in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Joan Nicks, retired associate professor, Communication, Popular Culture and Film, author of two new volumes, Lost Movie Theatres / Disappearing Motels (Niagara Artists Centre, 2022), and co-editor of two studies on popular culture (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010, 2002). For many years, Joan and Barry Grant programmed BUFS (Brock University Film Series). Her on-going public work includes programming film series at the Niagara Falls History Museum, and collaborating with Gallery Players musicians on special screenings of restored silent films. Active researcher and writer, she continues to walk, drive and document Niagara Falls street scenes and voices.
Michelle Odorico is a versatile musician who freelances with a variety of groups in the Greater Toronto Area. Specializing in baroque violin, Michelle has performed with groups including Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Elixir Baroque Ensemble, Gallery Players of Niagara, Nota Bene Baroque Players, Elora Festival Singers among others. Some highlights include a memorized tour of Bach with Tafelmusik throughout Canada, US, China, Korea and Australia. She has also toured with Opera Atelier to Chicago and the palace in Versailles. Nowadays Michelle has settled in Hamilton, often playing pop arrangements with the Toronto String Quartet and teaching violin at the Hamilton Suzuki School of Music. She spends the rest of her time enjoying her three young children.
Gail Poulsen has an ARCT in violin performance from the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, where she studied with Katharine Rapoport. Gail regularly performs with The World Rock Symphony Orchestra and has performed with The National Youth Orchestra of Canada, The Windsor Symphony, and The Boris Brott Festival Orchestra. As a soloist, Gail has appeared with Chorus Niagara, The Niagara Symphony, Brock University Chorus, Avanti Chamber Singers, Young Singers of Niagara, and To The King Chorus, among others. Gail is an avid composer, and often plays on the CDs of other Canadian artists, writing her own fiddle/violin parts. Her compositions have been performed by Chorus Niagara, Glissandi Trio, Niagara Symphony, Niagara Youth Orchestra, Avanti Chamber Singers, Chorus Niagara Children's Choir and many churches. In 2014, the CD, Songs of Jubilee was released on iTunes. These songs were written by Gail and Linda Lensink. Two of the songs have won international competitions. One is published in an Anglican hymnal. Another was orchestrated by Gail, and performed by the NYO. Celtic Blessing (arr Harris Loewen) and Mary's Heart (arr Larry Nickel/James Moffett) were published by Cypress Choral Music while Open Arms (arr H. Loewen) has been published by Renforth Music. Visit www.songsofjubilee.ca to download songs or see videos. Gail is so grateful to the congregation of Jubilee CRC for their constant support and inspiration.
Hamilton tenor Bud Roach maintains a busy schedule of performances from the Baroque to the contemporary. Recent highlights include performances with the Toronto Consort, Soundstreams, the role of the Sailor in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Les Violons du Roy (Richard Egarr, conductor) in Montreal, Quebec City, and Carnegie Hall, appearances with the Hamilton Philharmonic, and a new recording (along with performances in Toronto and New York) with his ensemble Capella Intima. Bud’s recordings for the Musica Omnia label have been recognized internationally as ground-breaking achievements in historically-informed performance practice. “Roach is marvellous throughout….Five stars” (Early Music Today, UK). Recent recital appearances include Toronto (Early Music Centre), the Midtown Concert Series (New York), and the Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Series (“revelatory concerts”- Early Music America, 2013). Highlights for the 2016-17 season include concert appearances with the Toronto Consort, La Chapelle de Quebec, the Hamilton Philharmonic, Bach Elgar Choir, Nota Bene Baroque Players, the Menno Singers, the Spiritus Ensemble, Soundstreams Canada, Talisker Players (Cole Porter), and Toronto Masque Theatre, as well as solo recitals in Boston, New York, Guelph, and Thunder Bay. With Capella Intima, Bud leads programmes in Hamilton, Toronto, and Kitchener, and will also be presenting a lecture/recital on the self-accompanied performance tradition of the alfabeto aria at the Historical Performance Institute, Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University. Bud is also the founder and Artistic Director of the successful HAMMER BAROQUE concert series, presenting some of Canada’s finest early music performers. www.budroach.com
A graduate of the performance programme at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Patricia Kern, Baritone David Roth has sung on the opera and concert stage in Canada, the US, Great Britain, and Germany. He has appeared recently in concert with notable organisations such as Tafelmusik, The Toronto Consort, La Chapelle de Québec, I Furiosi, The Alderborough Connection, and Capella Intima. He has sung in the professional choruses of the COC and Opera Atalier, and appeared as Figaro and Don Alfonso in Weimar, Germany, with Lyric Opera Studio Weimar and Theater Rudolstadt respectively.
Annie Slade is a Niagara-based arts administrator specializing in audience development and community partnerships. As a life-long lover of all forms of artistic expression, she aspires to support artists in creating accessible, inclusive, and engaging experiences for audiences of all ages. With nearly a decade of experience in the non-profit arts industry in roles that include education, marketing, fundraising, and audience development, Annie brings a wealth of knowledge and a passion for collaboration to her role as General Manager of Carousel Players. She also holds an MA in Arts Management from Queens University. When not behind the curtain as an administrator, Annie is a vocalist and violinist performing regularly throughout the Niagara Region as a member of the Avanti Chamber Singers and Grace Notes String Ensemble.
Ian Slade is a part-time musician from the St. Catharines area who has been performing on the Double Bass for upwards of 15 years. After learning to play in the local N.E.I.M. Program (Niagara Elementary Instrumental Music), and graduating in 2018 from Wilfrid Laurier University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Orchestral Performance on Double Bass, Ian has come full circle to teach young aspiring musicians through the NEIM program himself.
Brian Solomon is of Anishinaabe and Irish descent, born in the remote community of Shebahonaning / Killarney, located in the Manitoulin District of Northern Ontario, Canada. The bedrock in the area is among the oldest on earth. There are white mountains of quartz, silica and granite. There are clean bodies of fresh water the size of seas in every direction. Animals, Plants and Humans have thrived in the region since before the iceage, and Solomon’s ancestors have been on that land a very long time. This immense fortune he was born into informs his work greatly. These were his first teachers. Solomon followed first in the tradition of visual art in the region – the surrounding lands are one of the birthplaces of Eastern Woodland Art, and many contemporary artists are drawn here to practice. He began his Visual Art practice learning from some of these artists. While working as a portrait artist in his teenage years in Sudbury Ontario, Solomon discovered theatre, traditional and contemporary dance. He moved to Toronto to train at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, and later received a Masters in Performance from the Laban Centre (UK). Solomon then performed in dance and theatre for dozens of creators from across Canada, the US and Europe, earning several Dora and Gemini award nominations. As a creator his work is multidisciplinary, raw, challenging and present. He has created a community work with over 40 interpreters, solos in trees, and animated installations of landfill. Solomon’s work has toured nationally and internationally. It has been presented at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre and nGbK – neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst Berlin. A co-creation with German visual artist Judy Ross on their film "the Filmmaker", won best prize for experimental film at Watch Out! film festival in Macedonia. Solomon was also a recipient of a REVEAL Indigenous Arts Award from the Hnatyshyn Foundation. He has taught his practice in numerous shelters, friendship centres, dance and theatre companies and in universitie. Solomon is passionate about helping people relearn about their forgotten bodies, and take back the space those bodies occupy. Find out more at electricmoose.ca
Ellen Torrie is a preeminent soprano, songwriter, and performance curator currently making waves in Montréal. Known for their crystalline tone, versatility, and storytelling gifts, Ellen is sought after by various ensembles in Montréal and across Canada. Mentored by Suzie LeBlanc and Dominique Labelle, Ellen earned a master’s degree in early music vocal performance from McGill University in 2022. This was followed by a standout tenure as inaugural Emerging Artist for Early Music Vancouver’s Bach Festival. They returned the following year to sing the role of St. Catherine in the festival’s project Milton in Love alongside soprano Myriam Leblanc. Ellen is featured on Leblanc's new album with Ensemble Mirabilia Amour Fou released February 9. Ellen’s previous studies in music therapy positioned healing and connection as the focal points of their performance life. Ellen is currently exploring the practice of self-accompanying early music on baroque guitar. As a queer non-binary artist, Ellen is guided by the knowledge of their queer elders and ancestors in the research and performance of radically inclusive stories as they continue to develop musical languages to explore that which is most richly human.
Leanne is thrilled to be performing with the Gallery Players this season! Upon completion of an Honours Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance at Brock University, she attended Western University Canada to complete two graduate degrees: a Master of Music in Voice Performance and Literature, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance. Leanne has extensive operatic, music theatre, and recording credits, and has performed throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe. Leanne is the voice instructor at Brock University, and is also the adjunct professor of voice at Niagara University, a music instructor at Ridley College, as well as maintaining a small home teaching studio. An active performer, Leanne sings in 2 choirs (Avanti Chamber Singers, The Edison Singers), 3 bands (High Fidelity, Temple of Night, Minuscule), and frequently performs as a soprano soloist and session musician. Recent research projects include a curriculum of Canadian Art Song, and the development of a meditation technique for singers and performers. When not making music, Leanne can be found at her local yoga studio, cultivating her wild perennial garden, or immersed in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
Violinist Julia Wedman brings an "infectious vitality" to music (Victoria Times Colonist). Her playing has been described as "highly communicative", and "extraordinarily lithe and intuitive" (Globe and Mail). Originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Julia completed her studies in music at the University of Western Ontario, the University of Toronto and Indiana University at Bloomington. With a life long passion for chamber music, she formed her first serious string quartet at age 15 and performs with a wide collection of chamber ensembles including the Eybler Quartet, I FURIOSI Baroque Ensemble and L’Harmonie des Saisons (Montreal). She joined the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in 2005, and is regularly featured as a soloist with the group on their home series in Toronto as well as on tours in Canada, the U.S.A, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Germany, China and Korea. Always interested in the latest research in period performance, Julia joined the Accordes! Ensemble in 2019 at Oxford University (UK) in their ground-breaking research into 19th Century performance practice, which culminated in a CD of music by Tchaikovsky and Fuchs.