NORMAN ABBOTT, collaborative pianist (London, 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 have 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 April 2018. For 21 years, he co-operated with Edward Avey the Lake Huron Chamber Music Camp which had its origin in Muskoka. Norm is also an experienced string/keyboard festival adjudicator.
ANYA ALEXEYEV, piano (Waterloo, ON) received her education at Moscow Conservatory and Royal College of Music. A winner of many awards, she has performed around the world playing solo recitals, chamber music, and concertos with some of the most prestigious orchestras. She released recordings on EMI, Dutton Epoch, Toccata, and Marquis Classics, and has been broadcast by numerous radio stations.
In 1995 she premiered Paul McCartney’s solo piano piece A Leaf, released on EMI Classics.
A number of her students have garnered prizes in national and international competitions, and have been accepted into prestigious graduate schools in North America and Europe.
Anya Alexeyev is a faculty member at Wilfrid Laurier University, Phil nd Eli Taylor Performance Academy, and the Glenn Gould School.
MARY-MARGARET ANNAB, operetta assistant director (Toronto, 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 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 for 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 in 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 workshop 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.
JULIA BOWDRING, violin (ON), 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 Masters 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. This is her seventh year at SOSI. She’s excited to bring her one-year-old son with her after her maternity leave last year!
JOSÉE DESJARDINS, piano (Ste Julie, 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.
CAROLINE FRASER, piano (Edinburgh, Scotland), 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 Masters 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.
SUSAN GAGNON, cello (Oakville, ON), holds a Bachelor of Music degree with Honours in Performance from the University of Western Ontario. She studied with Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and attended master classes at the Banff School of Fine Arts with Janos Starker and Aldo Parisot.
Susan teaches all levels and ages. She is in demand as a cello workshop and master class presenter. She is a member of the Canadian Music Festival
Adjudicators' Association and has adjudicated festivals across Canada.
Susan played per service with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra from 1983-2023. She enjoys performing chamber music and has been a member of String Quartet Panache, the Toronto Arts Trio, and the Chrysalis Piano Quartet.
Several of the quartets that Susan has coached have won Provincial Finals, CMC finals and been awarded the SOCMI scholarship to participate in events at the Banff String Quartet competition. Susan has been a regular faculty member at Music at Port Milford, an international summer music camp that teaches chamber music to teens, since 1995.
Susan Gagnon has been an examiner for the RCM since 1995, compiled the 1995, 2007 and 2013 Cello Syllabi as well as the 2013 repertoire books for the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program. Ms. Gagnon is also a Certified Teacher with the RCM Teacher Certification program. Currently Susan is working on the support material for what will be the new Teaching Elementary Cello course being developed by the RCM.
She has been on the faculty at Suzuki Institutes across Canada and throughout the US, teaching both teachers and students. She was formerly the Chair of the Suzuki Association of Ontario.
RACHEL GAUNTLET, cello (Toronto, ON), a Toronto native, is a cellist with a celebrated background in music performance, teaching, and arts administration. Her performances have been broadcast on CBC radio and taken her to Lincoln Center in New York City.
As an orchestral musician, Rachel has held principal cello positions with Sneak Peak Orchestra (Toronto) and l’Orchestre de la Francophonie (Montréal) among others. Rachel performed as a full time member of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra for three consecutive seasons, from 2011 to 2014.
Rachel is a dedicated educator, having completed her Suzuki teacher training in Chicago, Austin, Montréal, and Boston. Rachel has held guest clinician positions with the Newfoundland Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Suzuki Talent Education Programs of Waterloo and Newfoundland, Suzuki String School of Guelph, and the Atlantic Canada Suzuki Institute. More recently, she has served as a guest faculty member at the Royal Conservatory of Music and Wilfrid Laurier University.
As an arts administrator, Rachel has worked for some of Canada’s most prestigious arts organizations, including the Canadian Opera Company and Esprit Orchestra, where she was artistic administrator and manager for four consecutive seasons (2014 to 2018).
Rachel is currently on faculty at Etobicoke Suzuki Music. For more information, please visit http://www.rachelgauntlett.com.
KEN GEE, collaborative pianist (Guelph, 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 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 makes music and music text books 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 with various orchestras, as well as solo piano recitals.
He is the pianist for Guelph Youth Singers, Suzuki String School of Guelph, and Suzuki summer Institutes in Waterloo and Montreal, and has also been a piano adjudicator, private teacher and chamber music coach. Until recently, he was chair of the Guelph Youth Music Centre where, among other initiatives, among other initiatives, he led the creation of the Guelph Youth Symphony Orchestra and (after an absence) is part of the Steering Committee. In 2008, he was the recipient of a City of Guelph Mayor’s Award. Ken is married to violinist wife, Paule Barsalou (former director of the Suzuki String School of Guelph).
Ken is the founder/director of
Guelph Musicfest, an annual chamber music festival in the Guelph Youth Music Centre.
COREY GEMMELL, violin (Hamilton, ON), is a native of Hamilton, Ontario. He has distinguished himself as a soloist and chamber musician with performances in Canada, Germany, the United States and China. Concerto appearances include performances of such works as Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, Beethoven Triple Concerto, Beethoven Violin Concerto, Sibelius Violin Concerto, Brahms Violin Concerto and Brahms Concerto for Violin and Cello. 20th Century solos with orchestra include Mozetich’s Affairs of the Heart for Violin and Orchestra and Vaughn Williams’ The Lark Ascending.
Mr. Gemmell is concertmaster of the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Hamilton Orchestra and the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also performed in this role with the Boris Brott National Academy Orchestra, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Orchestra, and Esprit Orchestra. He performs frequently with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra.
Corey Gemmell was concertmaster for the fall CBC television production of Over the Rainbow with Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber. He has performed as concertmaster for a number of musicals including recent productions of Beauty and the Beast,the Hugh Jackman Show and Next to Normal and has worked with such pop icons as Hugh Jackman and Chantal Kreviazuk. Mr. Gemmell was concertmaster for the 2010 production of Miss Saigon at the Four Seasons Centre and the 2009/2010 production of the Sound of Music at the Princess of Wales. He is also active in commercial studio work in Toronto and has recorded for numerous movies and commercials.
Mr. Gemmell can be heard on compact disc in recordings of sonatas by Brahms, Ravel, Robert A. Baker, David Eagle and Hope Lee. He was one of the contributing artists to record the Royal Conservatory of Music’s newly released violin syllabus on compact disc.
Much in demand as a teacher, Mr. Gemmell’s students have distinguished themselves at provincial and national competitions. He is presently on faculty at the Western University, the National Music Camp of Canada and is a member of the Royal College of Examiners.?
SALLY GROSS, cello (Aurora, 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 Masters 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 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 that 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), Born in Port Hope, Ontario, Ashton grew up surrounded by music. He began playing violin at the age of 5, and studied with teachers in Ontario and South Australia. In 2015, he found his passion for composition in his grade 9 music class. Since then, he has dedicated his career to writing background music for film, television, video games, and other visual media. He completed a Bachelor of Music with distinction at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2023. Today, Ashton runs an online business composing commissioned background music in several genres for clients across the globe.
ANNA HUGHES, violin (ON), started out as a Suzuki student at the age of three in the Suzuki String School of Guelph.Her Mom, Daphne Hughes, was the one of the founding members of the Suzuki String School of Guelph and was her first teacher. After her Mom, Tom Wermuth was her teacher for the majority of her years in the program. During these years she was a member of the Guelph and KW Youth Orchestras, and the Concorde String Ensemble of the Suzuki String School of Guelph.
In her first year out of High school , Anna went on to the Orchestral Training Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto where she studied with Moshe Hammer. Anna’s orchestral training was enhanced by attending the National Youth Orchestra of Canada for two summers. The year following the Orchestral Training Program she started her Bachelor of Music Performance Degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She completed this degree having studied with David Updegraff, David Cerone and completing a year of Suzuki Pedagogy with Michele George.
Anna has taught and done freelance work in Winnipeg, England, and throughout Southern Ontario, including being a tenured member of Niagara Symphony from
1996-2006, touring with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in their 2008 season and being second violinist of the Walker String Quartet from 2016- 2019. She has also taught at Suzuki Institutes and Camps in Newfoundland, Alberta , British Columbia, Quebec, the Yukon and Ontario. Currently she has a private teaching studio in Guelph. Anna is the Personnel Manager for the Niagara Symphony and continues her freelance playing throughout Southern Ontario.
MARGOT JEWELL, violin (ON), has enjoyed working with young people and their families, first at the Hamilton Suzuki School where she taught violin and was also the director. Then in 1982, she founded Etobicoke Suzuki Music, where she presently is an artistic advisor. She received training from many inspiring Suzuki trainers, including a three-month study time in Matsumoto with Shinichi Suzuki in 1985. Margot is now a registered Suzuki violin Teacher Trainer with the SAA.
Margot was an active freelance musician and currently enjoys her work as a festival adjudicator across Canada and an Examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music. She enjoys teaching at Suzuki workshops and institutes as well as summer music camps. She was on the board of the Suzuki Association of Ontario and is a past board member of the SAA.
Margot’s Suzuki parenting skills were developed as a mother to a violinist and cellist who as adults continue to enjoy playing. She also now enjoys teaching her grandchildren.
KATHLEEN KING-MARTIN. piano & organ (Kitchener, 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.
STEPHANIE MARA, collaborative pianist (Waterloo, ON), received an Associate Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor 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), ??
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 life-long benefits that music education can have in all facets of mental and physical development.
Doug’s 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 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, improvisation teacher and improvisation pedagogy coach for music students and teachers. Laura wants to make the world of classical music more imaginative by being a catalyst for students and teachers to develop their own unique creative voice.
Laura has worked with students and teachers from all over the world, including Canada, the US, the UK, Switzerland, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, India and Hong Kong. She traveled to Canada's North early in 2022 to teach improvisation to students and teachers in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Laura earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Violin Performance from the University of Ottawa and the Hartt School respectively. While at the Hartt School, she completed Suzuki Violin pedagogy training with Teri Einfeldt. Laura has continued to deepen her pedagogical studies through studies with many Suzuki, violin and creativity luminaries. As a Baroque violinist, Laura trained with members of the
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and has performed in numerous Baroque chamber music and orchestral concerts.
Laura has also trained in Body Mapping and Alexander Technique to help her students develop and maintain a healthy physical and psychological relationship with their instrument.
Laura's improvisation pedagogy mentors are Alice K. Kanack and Dr. Sera Smolen. As an improviser, her studies with the late David Darling and at
Ottawa JazzWorks were most influential. Additionally, Laura studied Jazz Piano and composition with Steve Boudreau.
A native of Montreal, Laura now lives in Ottawa where she performs chamber music, improvised music and jazz on her modern and Baroque violins. She is concertmaster of the Ottawa Jazz Orchestra and a founding member of Gatineau, Quebec's
Ensemble Prisme. She forms a recital duo with a pianist/harpsichordist and founded the
Triptych Piano Trio. During the pandemic, she performed streamed solo, duo and jazz concerts and recorded several chamber works.
Laura's students play classical repertoire, as well as their own imaginative creations, world music, jazz, Blues and fiddle repertoire.
Laura is in demand as a guest clinician specializing in violin, chamber music and improvisation for students and improvisation pedagogy for teachers. Learn more at lauranerenberg.com or get in touch
[email protected]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 set up and work-shopping 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, renowned 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 (Oxford, UK), a Canada native, 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 (ON) and a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from McGill University where she studied under the direction of Iwan Edwards. She is a European Suzuki Association graduate teacher for both violin and viola, chair of the British Suzuki Music Association Events Committee, a ESA Violin Teacher Trainer, Director of BSMA Violin Teacher Training in London (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 and challenging role is that of Suzuki parent to her inquisitive teenage son.
GRETCHEN PAXSON-ABBERGER, violin (ON), 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, and Alice Kay Kanack. 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 teaching privately, free-lancing, and as a guest teacher at Suzuki workshops throughout the GTA. She has also taught at SOSI, and Camp Sparrow. As a guest teacher at Suzuki 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, has been Artistic Director for the Miles Nadal Jcc Suzuki Program since 1999. In 2010 Gretchen created and directed the first MNjcc Suzuki Summer Music and Arts Camp. This camp has continued to flourish, and recently finished the 13th year. In 2002, Gretchen 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. She approaches Suzuki philosophy from two sides of the Suzuki triangle, as a teacher, and 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, Pulford 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 Pulford 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, Pulford 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, Pulford 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 premiers of new works, including Tim Brady’s opera The Salome Dancer, and Glenn Buhr’s Red Sea (2010) and Piano Concerto (2015).
Pulford maintains a passionate commitment to contemporary music through his involvement with Blue Rider Ensemble, which he co-founded in 1989. Based in Montreal, Blue Rider 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 multi-media work, Frankenstein’s Ghosts.
ANNE RANKIN, cello (ON) is a passionate educator of children and advocate for the arts. She has taught children in private, group and school settings for over 20 years. She is a Suzuki cello teacher and has held teaching studios in Toronto, Boston, London and Peterborough. She is the new Co-director at Etobicoke Suzuki Music, replacing Tricia Balmer as she retires. She is also ESM’s Sprouts Coordinator and runs ESM’s Headstart program with Amanda Lee.
Trained as a cellist, she received her Bachelor of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and an Artist Diploma from McGill University. She has freelanced with the Vancouver CBC Radio Orchestra and the Boston Lyric Opera as well as orchestras throughout Ontario.
Anne started Suzuki cello training early in her career, studying privately with Sally Gross and Catherine Walker, and taking coursework at SOSI and the Chicago Suzuki Institute. She began Suzuki pre-school training with Dorothy Jones at the Children’s Talent Education Centre in London, Ontario. At the time, Dorothy Jones was developing her concepts for Suzuki Early Childhood Education programming.
For fifteen years, Anne was the Executive Producer and Founder of Shoestring Opera, a charitable organization that performs opera for children and families in schools and theatres. Recognized widely for its innovative programming, the company has delighted over 30,000 children throughout Canada.
ROBERT RICHARDSON, JR., violin (Brandon, 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. Mr. Richardson 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 SAA conference 2018.
JENNIFER STACEY, pre-reading (ON), ??
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 is a conductor for Guelph Youth Singers.
STEPHANIE SCHOLMAN, violin (Burlington, 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, she joined the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra playing with them for five years, the 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 concertmaster for the Southern Ontario Lyric Opera Company orchestra. About 8 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.
NICOLE WILTON, piano (Saskatoon, SK) ??
MYRA YEUNG violin/viola (Toronto, ON), is a proponent of lifelong learning and enjoys working alongside colleagues to offer enriching programs for students, parents, and teachers. Some examples include directing and co-chairing Suzuki workshops, coordinating children’s summer camps in Whiteshell Provincial Park (Manitoba), and directing a mentoring program for teen girls in inner-city Winnipeg. She is a past Artistic Director in Toronto, past Program Director in Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky, and past violin and viola faculty in Ann
Arbor, eastern North Carolina, and Winnipeg. She served on the Suzuki Association of Ontario Board of Directors from 2018 to 2021. In 2018, she presented a pedagogical project at the 45th International Viola Congress in the Netherlands.
Myra grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, learning Suzuki viola from Joanne Martin and RCM piano from Lydia Wiebe. For a few years after completing her undergraduate computer science degree, Myra worked in IT full-time and taught evening violin lessons and group classes. While she continues to enjoy working on computer projects, Myra’s passion for teaching became quite evident during that time and she went on to pursue graduate studies in music performance and pedagogy. She credits her music teachers for instilling in her a wholehearted joy of teaching with excellence.
Recent achievements by students in Myra’s studio include Concertmaster chairs, 1st Place awards, and scholarship awards. She herself is the winner of many competitions and awards for viola, piano, and chamber music.
