NORMAN ABBOTT, collaborative pianist (ON), is a freelance keyboardist, cellist, choral/orchestral director and music arranger. Educated in Victoria, BC, Toronto, and London, ON, he holds his ARCT in piano and MM in cello (UWO). Norm is currently music director of Dundas Centre United Church (London), and on faculty of Young Artists Pre-college Academy (YAPCA, London), which, together with Forest City Violins, has showcased many of his arrangements for 3 or 4-part violin ensemble and piano.
His arranging renown extends to the UK and USA for choral, orchestral and chamber music genres. Recently, he garnered acclaim for choral/orchestral settings of Canadian World War I songs showcased in Victoria, BC, in April 2018. For 21 years, he cooperated with Edward Avey on the Lake Huron Chamber Music Camp, which had its origin in Muskoka. Norm is also an experienced string/keyboard festival adjudicator.
MARY-MARGARET ANNAB, operetta assistant director (ON), is a multi-disciplinary artist and youth arts educator originally from Guelph, ON. She has a BFA in Theatre Production and English Literature from York University and a graduate diploma in Arts Management and Masters of Arts Leadership from Queen's University. Her focus in her Masters degree was the implementation of DEIA strategies at non-profit arts organizations. As a theatre artist and musician, she has toured across Canada, the United States, the UK, and Poland, and has had the pleasure of teaching youth across southwestern Ontario. She currently works for MASC as their Community Programs Manager and sits on the Board of Directors for the Guelph Youth Singers.
Andrew is the Canadian Open Junior Fiddle Champion for 2015 and winner of many top honour fiddle awards since 2005 including the Ontario Open, Southwestern Open, Northern Ontario Open and Maritimes and many others for his age category and duet categories. He is a recipient of the Best Intermediate violinist NYMF (2013) and Summerfolk Youth Discoveries Showcase winner (2012). He performs regularly with his family band and other musicians.
TRICIA BALMER, cello (ON), has a Bachelor of Music in Performance and a degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology, both from the University of Toronto. Her Suzuki training includes cello and violin, completed in Canada, the United States and Europe. She taught as a Strings Specialist with the Toronto District School Board from 1989-2001. Her experience as an adjudicator includes the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music Non-competitive Festival (cello), as well as the London Ontario Kiwanis Festival. Experienced as a workshop clinician, she has worked for the Toronto Middle and High School Music Festivals, as well as Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ottawa, and Montreal Suzuki Schools. Tricia has been on the faculty of the Southwestern Suzuki Institute (Ontario) since 2003. Other Suzuki Institute teaching included St. John’s NLFD, Oakville Summer Music Camp, Huckleberry Summer Music Camp, and Saskatoon Summer Strings Experience. Tricia taught cello for the Etobicoke Suzuki Music program for 30 years, and co-directed the program for 20 years. Tricia’s conducting experience includes a number of years with The Suzuki Strings School of Guelph, the Toronto District School Board, and the Etobicoke Summer Music Camps. Tricia enjoys playing chamber music very much, and freelances in the southern Ontario region.
PAULE BARSALOU, violin (ON), holds a BM in performance from Laval University and an MM in performance and Suzuki pedagogy from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Paule has been teaching at the Suzuki String School of Guelph since 1989 and was artistic director of the school from 2004 to 2021. She is the coordinator of the SSSG long-term teacher training program. She has been a sanctioned Suzuki teacher trainer since 2003 and trained musicians in the Suzuki approach at institutes and workshops throughout Canada. She is also the co-founder, with Christie Zimmer, of Practice Notes, a reflective note-taking system for fostering independent learning in young musicians. She trains teachers across Canada and the Americas and adjudicates at festivals throughout Ontario. Paule is a former director of the Southwestern Ontario Suzuki Institute, which she led from 1996 to 2009. She is highly committed to Dr. Suzuki's vision that every child can learn a musical instrument and should be taught in a way that nurtures the whole child and allows them to reach their full potential while acquiring healthy playing habits.
ELLEN BERRY, piano (ON) is a highly experienced piano teacher based in Cambridge, Ontario. She has taught piano for over 45 years and has established a private Suzuki piano studio in the area. Ellen is known for her involvement in the Suzuki Method and has contributed to the broader music education community by serving on the boards of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, the Suzuki Association of Ontario, and the Ontario Registered Music Teachers' Association.
Ellen was the Piano Director of the Southwestern Ontario Suzuki Institute for 18 years and also the Director for eight years. In 2024, Ellen was awarded the “ORMTA Contribution to Teaching Award” by ORMTA. She enjoys learning to play the violin, and has two grown Suzuki children and three grandchildren.
JULIA BOWDRING, violin (NS), is originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland, and moved to Nova Scotia in 2017. She is a violinist, fiddler, pianist, and accompanist, and has performed in many locations worldwide, including Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, New York City, Ireland, and London (UK). Julia holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Master’s degree from the University of Limerick, where she specialized in Irish Traditional Music Performance.
As a music teacher, Julia worked with the Suzuki Talent Education Program (STEP) and King’s Bridge Montessori School in St. John's for many years. She also has served as the co-Artistic Director of STEP. She taught and served as Assistant Director at the Scotia Suzuki School of Music in Halifax for four years. She has taught in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Limerick, Ireland. Currently, Julia has a small studio of violin and piano students in her home in the Annapolis Valley.
ANDREA COOK, cello (ON), is a professional cellist and teacher based in Guelph, Ontario. She began her cello studies at the Suzuki String School of Guelph with Sally Gross and later continued her education with John Ehrlich. Andrea holds a Master of Music in performance and pedagogy, as well as a Performer’s Certificate from Northern Illinois University, where she studied under Marc Johnson of the Vermeer Quartet.
Andrea has extensive teaching experience, having held faculty positions in the UK with the Bayswater Suzuki Group, Lauderdale Suzuki Group, and Southbank International School, as well as in Ontario with the Oakville Suzuki Association and Huntsville Suzuki School. In addition to her teaching roles, she was involved in concert organizing as part of the central committee for the London Suzuki Group and served on the board of the Suzuki Association of Ontario.
Andrea currently teaches cello at the Suzuki String School of Guelph and is known for her commitment to music education and lifelong learning. She has also participated in masterclasses and workshops, including opportunities with renowned cellist Alban Gerhardt. Her teaching and playing continue to influence many young musicians in the Guelph area.
JOSÉE DESJARDINS, piano (QC) was raised in Kapuskasing, Ontario. She started piano lessons with Mrs. Rita Séguin at the age of 10. In 1986, Josée obtained an Honours Bachelor of Music with Distinction from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, where she studied piano with Marjorie and Garth Beckett. While finishing her Bachelor’s degree, Josée was initiated to the Suzuki Philosophy of music teaching and became engaged in a long-term Suzuki Teacher Training Apprenticeship with Gail Lange of Guelph, Ontario.
She has been teaching piano with the Suzuki Philosophy ever since. After moving to the Montreal area in 1991, Josée became actively involved in the local Suzuki music community. She now directs Institut Suzuki Montreal (ISM), which offers Suzuki piano and string students an exciting music-filled workshop every month of July. Josée currently resides in Ste-Julie, Québec. In 2011 she obtained a Diploma in Advanced Music Performance Studies from Concordia University in Montreal, where she studied piano with Gregory Chaverdian. She continues to study with Mr. Chaverdian.
DRAGAN DJERKIC, violin (QC) is a Serbian-born Canadian violinist and prominent Suzuki violin educator based in Montreal. After immigrating from Serbia, he studied violin with Mauricio Fuks at McGill University in Montreal. Upon graduating, Dragan taught at the McGill Conservatory of Music before co-founding the Institut Suzuki violin school in 1984 with Vera Mirkovic. In 1990, he founded and became the conductor of the Montreal Suzuki String Orchestra, a non-auditioned youth ensemble that has welcomed nearly 1,000 students and performed a wide variety of music, from classical to folk and contemporary works.
Dragan is known for his passion for youth orchestras and music education, inspired by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki’s philosophy. In addition to leading his school and ensemble, Dragan has organized international tours and served as conductor for broader initiatives such as the Performance Ensemble of Canada. His innovative teaching and commitment to nurturing young musicians have made him a respected figure in the Canadian Suzuki movement.
DAVID EVENCHICK, cello (QC) is a distinguished cellist, educator, and Suzuki teacher trainer based in Ontario and Quebec. He served as head of the cello faculty at the Suzuki String School of Guelph from 2004 to 2020 and was principal cello for the Guelph Symphony Orchestra during much of that period. Dr. Evenchick has been a sanctioned cello teacher trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas since 1999, training hundreds of teachers internationally. He also holds faculty appointments at the Pre-Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal and is a founding core member of Magisterra Soloists in London, Ontario.
His teaching career includes previous posts at Grinnell College, the Preucil School of Music, and Grinnell (Iowa) College, as well as involvement in teacher training at Wilfrid Laurier University and ongoing work as a clinician at regional and international workshops. Evenchick is recognized for his eclectic cello pedagogy, integrating Suzuki method principles with broader teaching tools and a commitment to community and lifelong learning.
CAROLINE FRASER, piano (CA), graduated from Edinburgh University with a Bachelor of Music degree and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, obtaining the diplomas Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (piano) and Associate of the Royal College of Music (violin). She obtained a Master’s of Music degree with Kodaly emphasis from Holy Names University (HNU) in California, where she continues to direct the Summer Suzuki Piano Teacher Training Institute. Caroline is an ESA and SAA teacher trainer. After many years living in Lima, Peru, and California, USA, she currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland. Caroline is a member of the SAA Latin American Teacher Trainers Committee, the SAA Latin American Country Association Committee, and the Suzuki Association of Peru Festival Committee. She has given teacher training courses all over Latin America, the USA, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Caroline is passionate about making Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy known to all and promoting a natural approach to learning.
CATHERINE FREITAG, collaborative pianist (ON), began her piano studies with Estonian teacher Helgi Fatovic in
Ottawa, completed her B. Mus.. in piano performance with Garth Beckett at W.L.U., and studied with Sonjia Behrens at Western University while pursuing a Master’s of Arts in Musicology. She was the winner of the W.L.U. Concerto competition in her first year as a student, and also played with the KWYO in the newly built Centre in the Square in 1982.
Concurrently, she pursued violin studies both at Laurier and then with Jeanne Lamon in Toronto, immersing in Baroque performance practice. She played and recorded three Naxos CDs as a violinist with the Aradia Baroque Ensemble, and was a founding member of the local Nota Bene Baroque Orchestra. She also freelanced with various other ensembles and orchestras over the years.
Specializing in collaboration with string players, Catherine has enjoyed playing piano for Suzuki String studios, including SSSG, STEW, and for local string teachers’ students, in recitals, examinations, and Kiwanis music festivals. Catherine’s accompanying began largely with her own children, who studied Suzuki violin and cello at the SSSG and were lucky to have their own personal collaborator.
KEN GEE, collaborative pianist (ON), is a classical pianist, born in Hamilton but happily living now in Guelph. He studied music at McMaster University, where he was awarded the McMaster Medal for the Creative and Performing Arts, and piano in Toronto with Boris Berlin. Ken was a music critic for the Hamilton Spectator, manager for chamber music series and Ensemble Sir Ernest MacMillan, co-director of the Hamilton Kiwanis Music Festival, and a teacher at McMaster University, Sheridan College and Mohawk College. He developed classical piano music software for PG Music Inc., Victoria, and is a music engraver for the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Ken has performed an impressive amount of string and piano chamber music, especially repertoire for violin & piano, cello & piano, and piano trio, quartet and quintet. He has also given many concerto performances, as well as solo piano recitals.
He is the pianist for the Suzuki String School of Guelph, and has also been a piano adjudicator, private teacher and chamber music coach. Until recently, he was a board member of the Guelph Youth Music Centre, where, among other initiatives, he led the creation of the Guelph Youth Symphony Orchestra and (after an absence) was part of its Steering Committee. In 2008, he was the recipient of a City of Guelph Mayor’s Award. Ken is the founder/director of
Guelph Musicfest, an annual spring chamber music series in the Guelph Youth Music Centre. Ken is married to violinist wife, Paule Barsalou (teacher and former director of the Suzuki String School of Guelph).
FLORY GODINEZ, violin (BC), earned a Bachelor of Music and a Master’s degree in Violin Performance and completed PhD studies in Music Theory and Violin. She studied in Japan for two years with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, earning a Suzuki Violin Teacher’s Certificate. Flory is a registered Suzuki Violin Teacher Trainer and has trained violin teachers in Europe and North America. She has played solo, chamber music and orchestral concerts in eleven countries on three continents under such conductors as Leopold Stokowski, Walter Susskind, and Hollywood film composer Carmen Dragon. Flory worked for four years as a studio violinist in Southern California, playing back-ups for radio and TV commercials and pop groups.
SALLY GROSS, cello (IL). Prior to joining the faculty at Western Springs School of Talent Education and the Naperville Suzuki School, Sally Gross was a cello teacher with the Suzuki String School of Guelph, Ontario since 1981 and became the Artistic Coordinator in 1989. In her 43 years of teaching, she has seen many young cellists grow up into extraordinary adults. Watching and learning from their development, both musically and emotionally, has given her powerful insights into teaching.
Sally grew up in the Chicago area, graduating from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Music in Performance degree, where her teacher was Marc Johnson. She received her Master’s of Music in Performance with an emphasis in Suzuki Pedagogy from Ithaca College, where she did her cello Suzuki teacher training with Carey Beth Hockett.
Ms. Gross has been a Registered Teacher Trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas since 1990 and has taught numerous short-term Institute courses as well as many years of apprenticeship courses in southern Ontario and the Chicago area. Sally is pleased that she has been able to support and guide so many new Suzuki cello teachers. She is an active clinician throughout Canada and the United States, especially in Ontario and Illinois.
She was a founding director of the Southwestern Ontario Suzuki Institute as well as the Guelph Youth Music Centre.
In September 2004, Sally joined the faculty at the Western Springs School of Talent Education and the Naperville Suzuki School, bringing her expertise in cello teaching and teacher training to the Chicagoland Suzuki community. In 2008, Sally was the Coordinator for the Suzuki Association of the Americas National Conference and served on many subsequent SAA committees.
In 2010, Ms. Gross was awarded the Suzuki Association of the Americas Certificate of Achievement, an award given to teachers who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to excellence in their teaching. She was the 2022 recipient of the Illinois ASTA Outstanding Studio Teacher award.
ASHTON HART, composition (ON), is a Canadian composer and music producer born in 2002 in Port Hope, Ontario. His love for music took root when he began playing the violin at age five, and grew as he played with string ensembles and orchestras in both Canada and Australia. Ashton holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Wilfred Laurier University, with a concentration in scoring for visual media. In his senior year, his academic success led to him receiving The Beingessner Family Award, The Charles and Myrtle Walkom Music Award, and The Cynthia Johnston Award. He was also honoured to have a reading of his work “Aurora Glade” done by the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra. Since his graduation in 2023, Ashton has been working full-time as a composer for various projects and clients in countries around the world, such as Canada, the United States, Japan, and more, through his online business—VallaStudios. In October of 2024, the first major project he scored for premiered: “Decade,” a short documentary about the powerful collaboration between photographer Hilary Gauld and the Waterloo Wellington Down Syndrome Society (WWDSS), celebrating a decade of their globally-recognized calendar project, challenging stereotypes and advocating for authentic representation of individuals with Down syndrome. Ashton's compositional work seeks to transport listeners into the narratives of the projects he scores for—breathing life and emotion into each story—in the same ways such works have transported him.
ANNA HUGHES, violin (ON), began playing violin at the age of three in the Suzuki String School of Guelph. Her mother, Daphne Hughes, a founder of the school, was her first teacher, followed by Tom Wermuth for the rest of her time at the school. Anna was a member of the Guelph and Kitchener-Waterloo youth orchestras and a member of the senior-level touring string orchestra of the Suzuki String School of Guelph. She also played with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada for two summers. After high school, Anna completed the Orchestral Training Programme at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and then went on to complete a Bachelor of Music Performance degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, followed by a year of Suzuki Pedagogy training at that same institution.
As a violinist, Anna has freelanced with various orchestras and ensembles in Ontario, Manitoba, and southern England, including the Winnipeg Symphony, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, and Windsor Symphony. For almost a decade, she was a tenured member of the Niagara Symphony and was also the second violinist of Brock University’s Walker String Quartet for three years.
As a dedicated violin teacher, Anna has enjoyed teaching at Suzuki Institutes and Camps in Newfoundland, Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, the Yukon, and Ontario. Currently, she has a private teaching studio in Guelph and Kitchener, and welcomes students of all ages and levels.
Anna enjoys combining her teaching and playing with arts administration work. She was the Coordinator of the University of Manitoba Suzuki Program, and she was the Event Coordinator for the Suzuki String School of Guelph. She is currently the Personnel and Artist Manager for the Niagara Symphony.
TRACY JEWELL, administrator (ON) (no relation to Margot), has been the Administrator of SOSI for 23 years and thoroughly enjoys the week, hearing beautiful music and seeing students, families and faculty each year. Her daughter Emma Jewell played the violin for many years and also became the office assistant at SOSI, retiring last year. Tracy has her own Business, Jewell Services, that provides financial management support to small organizations/businesses. Although Tracy doesn’t play the violin, viola, cello, piano or bass, she has recently taken up learning to play the guitar; watch out, Neil Young!
KATHLEEN KING-MARTIN. piano & organ (ON), is originally from Indiana, where she received a B.A. in Music with emphasis in Piano Pedagogy from Goshen College, Indiana. Currently, she is the Director of Music and Organist at First United Church, Waterloo, and teaches piano at The Beckett School at Laurier, Waterloo, and at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, Kitchener. She has had a wide and varied music career including teaching piano, organ, theory and voice privately; Director of Music at several churches in Waterloo, Goderich and Port Elgin; director of several community choirs such as the MacKay Choristers of Goderich, Goderich Area Youth Chorus, and the Saugeen Children's Choir; director of several handbell choirs and guest mass conductor at the Ontario Guild of English Handbell Ringers convention in 2001; teacher at Institut Biblique Lumière in Les Cayes, Haiti (MCC 1986-89). In 2007, Kathleen received the Associate degree from the Royal Canadian College of Organists and was awarded the Charles Peaker Prize for the second-highest mark overall, and the Barker prize for the highest mark in the playing test portion of the exam. Kathleen lives in Kitchener and is delighted to participate in SOSI.
EMILY LaFRENSE, Operetta Set Design (ON)
ELAINE LAU, piano (ON). Versatile as both a soloist and collaborative artist, Elaine Lau has performed as keyboardist and soloist with numerous orchestras, and broadcast on CBC Radio 2, National Public Radio (USA) and Rondo Classic (Finland). She has performed with the Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Array Ensemble and Contact Contemporary Music. As a solo recitalist, Elaine has been featured on the Canadian Opera Company’s Piano Virtuoso concert series, Arts and Letters Series, the Canadian Music Centre’s On the 13th! Piano Series and at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
A founding member of Toronto’s award-winning junctQín keyboard collective, Elaine regularly premieres new works for toy, solo and duo piano. As a duo pianist with Joseph Ferretti, Elaine has performed across North America and recorded for Capstone Records. Recordings in the last few years include reTHINK, a CD of contemporary piano music for six hands (Redshift Records) and a recording collaboration with Quatuor Bozzini released in 2024. Elaine is also featured on composer Alex Eddington’s album, “A Present from a Small Distant World” (2021, Redshift Records), with soprano Kristin Mueller-Heaslip. Recent projects include the premieres of six-hand works by Nicole Lizée and Vincent Ho, and the launch of PLAYrePLAY, a listener-interactive platform featuring three new works. Elaine looks forward to joining other musicians from diverse genres in next season’s Exit Points concert series at Arraymusic.
Elaine was a coach/repetiteur for the Opera Theatre of Lucca (Italy) and, for several years, a collaborative pianist/instructor for the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts (USA). Active nationally as an adjudicator and Senior Examiner for The Royal Conservatory of Music, she also received the Contribution to Teaching Award from the ORMTA. A member of the piano faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University since 2003, Ms. Lau has served as keyboard faculty at the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and teaches at the Royal Conservatory of Music.
JEAN-HEE (JEANIE) LEE, violin (ON), is a part-time professor at the University of Ottawa. She was previously a lecturer at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music and a teacher at Ottawa Suzuki Strings.
Jeanie made her solo debut at age 11 with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. She was a prize winner at the WAMSO Young Artist Competition, NTDTV International Violin Competition, Canadian Music Competition and MTNA Chamber Music Competition.
Jeanie has been a member of the Arthur-Leblanc string quartet since 2023. She has performed at chamber music festivals including Banff, Domaine Forget, Norfolk, Schleswig-Holstein, Toronto Summer Music, Sarasota, and Ottawa’s Music and Beyond. Jeanie was a founder of the Equinox Chamber Music Festival in Copenhagen. She has collaborated with dancers of the Royal Danish Ballet, performing solo Bach and chamber music in such venues as the Copenhagen Photo Festival, Elsinore Shakespeare Festival, and Royal Danish Theatre.
As an orchestral musician, she has previously been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, Odense Symphony Orchestra (Denmark), Aarhus Symphony Orchestra (Denmark) and the Royal Danish Orchestra. She has also played with Thirteen Strings, Via Salzburg, various musical productions with Broadway Across Canada, and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra.
STEPHANIE MARA, collaborative pianist (Waterloo, ON), received an Associate Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, where she studied with Garth Beckett.
As a collaborative pianist and coach for Wilfrid Laurier University, Stephanie works with students majoring in brass, bassoon, clarinet and cello and has assisted in master classes with Alain Trudel, Dennis Najoom and James Campbell.
Her festival and series appearances include the Elora Festival, the Festival of the Sound, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Barrie Colours of Music and Quad City Arts (USA).
KIMBERLY MEIER-SIMS, violin (OH), is a registered Violin Teacher Trainer through the Suzuki Association of the Americas. She is on the Violin Faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music Conservatory, where she is Head of the Suzuki Pedagogy Degree Program. From 2004 to 2022, Ms. Meier-Sims was the Director of the CIM Sato Center for Suzuki Studies Preparatory Program. In 2015, Ms. Meier-Sims was awarded the CIM Excellence in Teaching Award in recognition of outstanding teaching, service and continued devotion to the education of young musicians. Ms. Meier-Sims’ CIM Conservatory Suzuki Pedagogy graduates have received full-time positions at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, the University of Arkansas, and the Dallas Suzuki Institute. Other employment includes the Sato Center for Suzuki Studies, the Suzuki-Orff School of Music in Chicago, Western Springs School of Talent Education, the Levine School of Music, the Cleveland Music Settlement, the Avon School of Music, the Broadway School of Music & Art, and the Interlochen Arts Camp.
Ms. Meier-Sims received a Master’s degree in performance from Western Illinois University, studying violin and Suzuki pedagogy with Almita Vamos. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in performance and education from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville under the guidance of her mentor, John Kendall, the first American teacher to travel to Japan to study and observe the teachings of Shinichi Suzuki. In the summer of 1986, Ms. Meier-Sims travelled to Japan for a six-week study with Dr. Suzuki.
Ms. Meier-Sims’ private violin students have been members of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and the Cleveland Contemporary Youth Orchestra. They have included winners of the Lakeland Concerto Competition, the CIM Pre-College Concerto Competition, and the Sigma Alpha Iota Competition. They have performed in the Learning Through Creativity Composer's Guild project, the Suzuki Youth Orchestra of the Americas, and in Suzuki Association of the Americas Conference master classes with Paul Kantor & Scott Conklin.
ELEN MEYER, collaborative pianist (Toronto, ON), is one of Ontario’s most in-demand collaborative pianists. Possessing a large and varied repertoire, she has performed as a soloist and chamber musician across Canada and the USA (including Carnegie Hall), multiple times in Germany and most recently, Italy. Ellen has presented recitals with such notable musicians as Ricardo Morales, principal clarinettist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Julian Bliss, and was the official pianist for master classes conducted by Sabine Meyer and Karl Leister, amongst others. Ellen has been heard on upward of 15 CDs, including Foliage and Twelve by the Moon-dial with Riverdale Ensemble, several with Cantores Celestes Women’s Choir and Mit Ausdruck with Ossia on historical keyboard. Ellen has been broadcast on CBC, CTV, MuchMusic, Bravo, TVO and WNED, and hopes one day to perform in Antarctica.
DOUG MURPHY, double bass, orchestra assistant (Ottawa, ON), lives in Ottawa, Ontario, and is a bassist and father of three Suzuki-trained musicians (violin, viola and cello). His wife, Marie Kusters, has been a Suzuki violin teacher since 1986. He has led the bass sections of many orchestras for over 40 years, and also directs choirs. He has recently retired from a career as a civil engineer, and he is a promoter of the lifelong benefits that music education can have in all facets of mental and physical development.
Doug has played with Suzuki ensembles since 1986 with his wife’s violin studio, and since 1990 in Suzuki Association of Ontario ensembles and at summer Institutes. He has been an orchestral assistant and bassist for SOSI since 2002. His formal teacher training in the Suzuki Bass Method began in the fall of 2013, and he has been teaching since 2014. He is fully fluent in French and English.
Doug teaches private lessons and holds group classes from his home studio in Ottawa.
LAURA NERENBERG, violin (Ottawa, ON), is a Suzuki Violin and improvisation teacher and an improvisation pedagogy coach for music teachers. She believes that all musicians should learn to improvise regardless of their previous experience. Laura has taught improvisation to students and teachers from 6 continents. She has also worked with students at the University of Ottawa, Queen’s University, and Carleton University. She has been, since 2000, the director of Ottawa's Rideau Falls Violins.
Since graduate and undergraduate studies in violin performance at the University of Ottawa and the Hartt School, Laura has studied complementary modalities like body-mapping and improvisation, which she integrates into her teaching.
An active performer, Laura is a founding member of Gatineau's Ensemble Prisme. She plays modern and Baroque violins in a duo, and founded the Triptych Piano Trio. She plays with several jazz ensembles, like the Ottawa Jazz Orchestra and Courage 4.
Laura is committed to teaching her students a wide variety of repertoire beyond. She routinely includes works by living, Canadian, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and women composers in her own performances and her student concerts. Her students also regularly perform their own creative improvisations and compositions and have the chance to explore other genres like fiddle, jazz and Blues.
In 2024 and 2025, Laura performed her inaugural autobiographical solo play over a dozen times – often to sold-out audiences – from St. John's to Victoria to Whitehorse. She is currently working on several more autobiographical plays. Laura is fascinated by issues of identity and artistic expression and enjoys weaving stories from her past self with insights from the present. Never hiding her musician identity, she interweaves musical performance throughout her plays.
ARUN PAL, percussion (Kitchener, ON), “Arun Pal oozes talent”, “Arun is just as engaging a singer and piano player as he is as a percussionist” (Michael Barclay), “To say Arun Pal is prodigiously talented is an understatement” (Errol Nazareth – CBC Radio 1), “Pal’s evolved melodic content supports David Earle’s intent. It also lends emotional texture to its most lyrical moment” (National Post).
Arun is one of the most diverse artists in Canada. He has produced, recorded and engineered close to 50 albums, including artists like Delaney Jane, Matt Osborne, snack! and many others. Arun has also collaborated with the most revered modern dance choreographers in Canada, composing compelling orchestral works, playing live with his piano-drumming-singing at the same time, setting up and workshopping movement and rhythm at Universities and Arts Schools.
Arun's recent Before Now Always music series and Arundisplays Arun’s full multi-instrumental talents featuring his incredible drumming and piano skills, his voice, his prolific com-positional skills whether it be his solo acoustic guitar and singing repertoire, his eclectic full band material, his one-man-band sets (known as “the man with 4 HANDS”) or his rhythmic orchestral pieces.
Arun is grateful to work, perform or open for many talents like Amanda Martinez, Luke Doucet, Bob Egan from Blue Rodeo, Matt Osborne, snack!, Juno-nominated artists Eccodek and Alysha Brilla, the Skydiggers, David Usher/Moist, and he is also honoured to regularly collaborate with Order of Canada winner David Earle. He has also frequented venues such as CTV’s Canada AM, Ontario Place, Centre in the Square, Festival of Friends, Hillside Festival, The River Run Centre, Nashville and The Canada Summer Games and had his music performed throughout France, the USA and Canada. With a long history of musical excellence, Arun was honoured to receive the KW Arts Award for Music in 2005.
MARGARET PARKIN, violin (UK). Canada native Margaret Parkin began her musical studies as a Suzuki violin student with Richard Lawrence at the age of 4. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from Queen's University and a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from McGill University, where she studied under the direction of Iwan Edwards and John Baboukis. She is an ESA graduate teacher for both violin and viola, chair of the BSMA Events Committee, an ESA Violin Teacher Trainer, Director of BSMA London Teacher Training (UK), and a member of the ESA Violin Committee.
Margaret is the director of the Oxford Suzuki String Group where she maintains a private studio of violin and viola students. She has previously served as director of the Exeter Suzuki String Group, as a member of faculty at the Suzuki String School of Guelph (ON), and director of the Guelph Youth Music Centre String Orchestras. She is a regular guest clinician, conductor, and speaker at workshops and institutes in Canada, the UK, and Europe. Her most rewarding role is that of a Suzuki parent to her teenage son.
GRETCHEN PAXSON-ABBERGER, violin (ON), Gretchen Paxson Abberger holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from Bennington College, a bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, and a master’s degree in Historical Performance from the Mannes College of Music in New York City, as well a 2-year Long Term Certificate in Suzuki training from the School for Strings in New York City studying with Louise Behrend. Further teacher development has been short-term training courses with the following: Ronda Cole, Daphne Hughes, Allen Lieb, Carol Smith, Ed Sprunger, Carey Beth Hockett, Brian Lewis, Sera Smolen, Alice Kay Kanack, and Nathan Cole. Gretchen taught at the Manhattan School of Music prep department and Louise Behrend’s School for Strings in NYC before moving to Toronto in 1994. Since then, she has been freelancing, teaching privately, and as a guest teacher at Suzuki workshops throughout the GTA. She has also taught for the Southwestern Ontario Suzuki Institute and Camp Sparrow. As a guest teacher at winter workshops, Gretchen has taught all levels for RCM, Hamilton Suzuki Program, Etobicoke Suzuki Music, and in Ottawa for Suzuki Programs of Laura Nerenberg and Leslie Wade.
She teaches all levels at the North York Suzuki School of Music and was Artistic Director for the Miles Nadal JCC Suzuki Program from 1999 to 2024. For the upcoming 2025-26 season, Gretchen is looking forward to a new role as Emeritus Artistic Director, while continuing to teach group and private lessons in the Suzuki program, and overseeing the adult music programming. In 2010, Gretchen founded and directed the MNjcc Suzuki Summer Music and Arts Camp, which she continues to co-direct alongside Kate Shaner.
In 2002, she founded Thanks to Dr. Suzuki Concert Performances, a charitable organization whose mission is to create community among students and teachers of Toronto area Suzuki schools in a yearly collaborative gala concert. Gretchen approaches Suzuki philosophy from two sides of the Suzuki triangle, as a teacher, and also as a parent of two adult children who learned violin by the Suzuki method studying at the MNjcc Suzuki Program.
PAUL PULFORD, cello (Long Reach, NB) is a chamber musician, soloist, conductor and educator. Since his debut recital in Winnipeg in 1967, he has performed on four continents and has recorded over 30 CDs.
For over 25 years, Pulford pursued a passion for the string quartet, playing with the internationally acclaimed Penderecki String Quartet from 1990-2013, and Orford String Quartet from 1987-1989. With the Penderecki Quartet, he recorded many CDs, including the Bartok String Quartets, Brahms, Shostakovich and Schnittke Piano Quintets, the quartets of Penderecki and many works by Canadian composers.
As a quartet player, Paul has performed in many of the great venues of the world, including Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Wigmore Hall, London; Oratorio del Gonfalone, Rome; La Caxia, Barcelona; Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York City; Kennedy Centre, Washington; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Takefu Festival in Japan; Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City; National Arts Centre, Glenn Gould Studio & St. Lawrence Centre, Canada; to name a few.
From 1989 to 2017, Paul was Professor of Cello and Director of Orchestral Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, where he also served for seven years as Associate Dean of Music. During his tenure at Laurier, he developed a professional-level orchestral training program and taught and mentored many cellists and orchestral musicians who are now part of the professional music world in Canada and abroad. In 1991, Paul founded QuartetFest, a festival based at Laurier that celebrates the art of the string quartet with performances by international ensembles and mentorship of emerging string quartets from around the world. Pulford remains Professor Emeritus at Laurier.
As a conductor, Paul has worked with Symphony New Brunswick, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Mississauga Symphony, Stratford Symphony Orchestra and as Resident Conductor of the NUMUS Ensemble. He has conducted many premieres of new works, including Tim Brady’s opera The Salome Dancer, and Glenn Buhr’s Red Sea (2010) and Piano Concerto (2015).
Pulford showed a passionate commitment to contemporary music through his involvement with Blue Rider Ensemble, which he co-founded in 1989. Based in Montreal, BluePaulRider specializes in 20th and 21st century Instrumental Theatre works, having released a highly acclaimed CD recording of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, premiered experimental works such as Peter Hatch’s Mounting Picasso, and created new works, including the large-scale multimedia work, Frankenstein’s Ghosts.
ELAYNE RAS, SOSI Director (ON), began Suzuki violin lessons at the age of 11 at the first Suzuki school in Toronto, after taking piano lessons since age 5. She received her Honours Bachelor’s in Music Performance & her BA in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario and became a violin Teacher Trainer in 2002. Elayne has been a clinician for numerous Suzuki workshops and institutes in Canada and the US, has adjudicated at music festivals around Ontario and Alberta, and served 10 years on the board of the Suzuki Association of Ontario, including a term as Chair.
Elayne performed with the Stratford Symphony Orchestra for 5 years, is now Principal 2nd violin of the Guelph Symphony, and freelances around Southwestern Ontario. She conducted a community band of all ages in Goderich for 19 years. Now living in Rockwood, she taught with the Suzuki String School of Guelph for 14 years, including 12 years as conductor of beginning orchestras, after teaching with Huron String School in Goderich for 26 years. Currently, Elayne teaches violin and viola privately in Guelph and part-time with the Etobicoke Suzuki School of Music and is the Director of the Southwestern Ontario Suzuki Institute in Waterloo, Ontario. She toured China as a member of the Ontario Festival Symphony Orchestra in 2012, and in 2018, completed a Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology in Toronto, Ontario, given by the Flourishing Centre of New York. She is excited to be able to apply principles of Positive Psychology in her studio and in teacher training classes.
ROBERT RICHARDSON, JR., violin (MB), a sessional faculty member at Brandon University, teaches and conducts at Suzuki workshops, Institutes and music festivals on a regular basis throughout North America and beyond. He has presented at the Suzuki Association of the Americas Teachers’ conference, leadership retreats and most recently at the European Suzuki Conference. Along with maintaining an extensive violin and viola studio in the Suzuki Talent Education Program at Brandon University’s Eckhardt-Grammatté Conservatory of Music, he also conducts string orchestras and coaches chamber music. Robert is a member of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and performs regularly on both violin and viola as well as in numerous chamber ensembles, including the Brandon Chamber Players, of which he is a founding member. Robert also teaches in the Community Schools Partnership Initiative (CSPI) Suzuki Strings Program, which is comprised of over 40 students. He has served on the board and on committees for the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers Association and the Festival of the Arts, both locally and provincially, and is happy to serve as assistant violin coordinator for the SAA conference 2018.
MARION SAMUEL-STEVENS, operetta director (Rockwood, ON), has been described as an engaging, direct performer and actress. Her performances range from the intimacy of recital performance to the grandeur of opera. Equally comfortable on the operatic and concert stage, Marion is sought after for her subtle interpretations of text and character, as much as for her warm, supple and luminous voice. She is also a wonderful teacher, choir director, and a former conductor for Guelph Youth Singers.
GENEVIÈVE SCHIRM-JOYCE, Cello Director (ON), has been teaching cello for over 20 years, nurturing students of all ages and abilities with a deep passion for music and the Suzuki philosophy. She began her musical journey as a Suzuki student at just two years old, studying with Jo-Anne Goyder. She earned a Bachelor of Music (cello performance), a Diploma in Chamber Music and a Bachelor of Arts in French from Wilfrid Laurier University, where she studied under Paul Pulford. She later obtained a Master’s in Suzuki Pedagogy and Performance at the University of Denver, studying under Carol Tarr.
As co-founder of Suzuki Talent Education of Waterloo (STEW), Genevieve leads a robust studio of cellists ranging from ages 2 to 70+ years. She has also been deeply involved in the Suzuki community, serving on the board of the Suzuki Association of Ontario (SAO) since 2018 and acting as treasurer since 2020. Additionally, she is the chair of the newly incorporated Suzuki Music/Musique Canada (SMMC), where she looks forward to fostering connections between teachers and families across the country. Geneviève is the cello director of the Southwestern Ontario Suzuki Institute (SOSI), held annually at Wilfrid Laurier University each August.
Geneviève continues to perform, serving as principal cellist of the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra and the Waterloo Chamber players, as well as a member of both the Quinten Quartet and the Harmonium ensemble.
Outside of teaching and performing, Geneviève enjoys teaching Centergy as a volunteer at her local YMCA, where she also participates in various classes. In her free time, she likes to read, take tap dancing classes and spend time at her family cottage. Genevieve lives in Waterloo with her husband, Marc, her three children and her various (many!) pets.
STEPHANIE SCHOLMAN, violin (ON), began playing the violin at age 5 at the Hamilton Suzuki School of Music and piano at age 9. She quickly became involved in chamber music and, at age 10, joined the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, where she played for five years, including her last year as concertmaster. She later played with the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra. She completed her ARCT in violin performance and a Bachelor of Music in Performance at the University of Toronto, where she studied with internationally renowned violin teacher Lorand Fenyves, professor emeritus. Since graduating, Stephanie has been teaching Suzuki violin and has played with several orchestras in the GTA. She was co-concert master of the Milton Philharmonic Orchestra for 2 years, and is currently concert master for the Southern Ontario Lyric Opera Company orchestra. About five years ago, she took up the viola and is now principal violist of the Rose Orchestra Brampton, Oakville Chamber Orchestra, and Masterworks of Oakville. Stephanie lives in Burlington with her husband Mike and children Jeffrey, Jordan, and Robyn.
JENNIFER STACEY, pre-reading (ON), has been teaching Orff and Preparatory Children’s Music Classes for over 30 years. She has her Orff Post Level III Certificate, Advanced Certificate in Early Childhood Music, Diploma in Child Studies and is currently working on her Master of Community Music at Laurier.
Jennifer has been teaching the Early Childhood Music Classes at the Beckett School of Music at Laurier since 2017. She has been teaching the Primary/Jr. Vocal Music Teacher Additional Qualification courses for York University for the past eight years.
Jennifer has been a clinician for music workshops covering such topics as Music and Literacy, Music and Kindergarten, Montessori Music, Music and Science, and Ukulele and Orff, and has written curriculum lessons for the Ontario Music Educators’ Association (OMEA), York University, and York Region School Board. In 2007, Jennifer was part of the Ministry of Education's writing team for the Elementary Arts Curriculum.
Jennifer is also co-founder of Music at Green Gables in Kitchener, which has a focus on community music.
WITOLD SWOBODA, violin (ON), is a Polish-Canadian violinist and educator based in Ontario. He was trained at the High Schools of Music in Bielsko-Biala and Krakow, Poland, and graduated in 1980 from the Krakow Academy of Music with a master's degree in violin performance. Before moving to Canada in 1981, he performed as a member of the Polish Radio and Television Orchestra, Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra, and as a violinist and violist with the Ewa Demarczyk Ensemble.
In Canada, Witold has performed widely as a member of the Canadian String Quartet and served as concertmaster of the Sault Symphony, Toronto Sinfonietta, Peterborough Symphony, Etobicoke Symphony, and Orchestra da Camera Toronto. With his wife, pianist Ewa Swoboda, he has given numerous solo and chamber recitals in Europe and North America.
A prominent teacher, he has taught violin and viola at Algoma University, Mohawk College, and numerous summer music programs. He is the founder and artistic director of the International Chamber Music Workshop in Puławy, Poland, and co-founder of Accademia Musica, a successful Suzuki program in Peterborough, Ontario. Witold is also active as a clinician and adjudicator across North America.
DELILAH TERSIGNI, crafts (ON), is a 25-year-old living in Fergus, ON. She spent the past five years travelling and working in British Columbia, where she followed her passion for art and creativity. Delilah loves working with kids and always aims to create an environment where everyone feels free and confident to create themselves
NICOLE WILTON, piano (Saskatoon, SK) is a distinguished piano educator based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where she has taught for over 35 years and is recognized as a second-generation Suzuki piano teacher. She is the owner and director of the Wilton Academy of Music, a prominent music school offering a wide range of instruction. Nicole holds a Master's degree in Education, an ARCT in piano pedagogy, and a Bachelor of Arts degree, along with training in Kodály and Orff methods. She is one of only four Suzuki Piano Teacher Trainers in Canada, reflecting her expert standing in the Suzuki community. Nicole began teaching in 1992 and is known for maintaining a vibrant private studio in addition to her leadership at the academy. Renowned for her commitment to nurturing musicianship, she has been an influential figure in piano pedagogy throughout her career.