
presents
STRING THEORY
MUSIC OF TIME & SPACE
Concert Programme
APRIL 10, 2025
Follow the CCO
The Canadian Chamber Orchestra is grateful for support from the Toronto Arts Council and our community of donors and supporters
Andrew & Christine Sloss
Benjamin Comstock
Aaron Schwebel
Krista Comstock
Gwen Sugiyama
Olga Jilani
Yang Sui
Charlotte Ryan
Catherine Willshire
Tess Griffin
Kenneth & Dawn Davison
Karen Comstock
Carolyn Blackwell
Bryan Holt
Travis Harrison
Joyce Bubar
Kimberly Skelding
Anne Bowman
Leslie Emma
Taylor Comstock
Gordon Comstock
A Message from the Artistic Directors
We are thrilled to welcome you to String Theory: Music of Time & Space; the second official performance of the Canadian Chamber Orchestra’s second season!
After a wonderful start to our second season with Movie Night in the fall and Shostakovichfest in February in callaboration with OPUS Chamber Music, we are thrilled to be venturing into the spring of our second season as an orchestra presenting the second of three unique concerts of our own, performances with other presenters in Toronto and beyond, and partnering with Eglinton St. George’s United Church, which will be our home base for the 2024-25 season.
Tonight’s concert celebrates music of the cosmos, inspired by our planet, the stars, the galaxies, and our dreams. We are thrilled to be performing music by Canadian composers Kelly-Marie Murphy and Marjan Mozetich alongside the works of notable American composers Jessie Montgomery and Aaron Jay Kernis. Rounding out the program is Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s ethereal and haunting piece Fratres for strings and percussion, as well as arrangements of some timeless hits by the psychedelic classic rock band Pink Floyd. We are proud to present music that is being written today by living composers here in Canada and abroad, and to celebrate art that is inspired by and evocative of our universe and examines our place in it.
Your presence here tonight is a testament to your love and appreciation for the arts, and we are grateful for your support. We hope that this concert will be the first of many memorable performances that we will share with you in the future. We invite you connect with us directly, and please consider supporting the CCO through our partnership with Chamber Factory, a non-profit organization that collects donations and issues tax receipts on behalf of many phenomenal arts organizations in Toronto.
Thank you for being a part of this special evening, welcome to the CCO’s living room, and we look forward to sharing the transformative power of music with you.
Andrew Ascenzo & Drew Comstock
Artistic Directors
Canadian Chamber Orchestra

Concert Programme
Arvo Pärt
Fratres
percussion: Bevis Ng
Jessie Montgomery
STARBURST
Marjan Mozetich
POstcards from the Sky
I: Unfolding Sky
II: Weeping Clouds
III: Messenger
Pink Floyd (arr. Ascenzo)
The Great Gig in the Sky
vocal: Maureen Honoré
piano: SarahRose Black
percussion: Bevis Ng
Claude Debussy (arr. T. Bertin-Maghit)
Clair de Lune
Kelly-Marie Murphy
Circadian Rhythms
I: Strung Out
II: R.E.M.
III: Drifting
Pink Floyd (arr. Ascenzo)
Time
Aaron Jay Kernis
Musica Celestis

Musicians of the CCO
Performing This evening:
Special Guests
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HONORÉ is an internationally recognized beacon of vocal diversity. Born in Detroit, Michigan to a Creole family from central Louisiana (Black, French and Native American from the Avoyel tribe), she grew up with strong musical impressions of where she came from, and where she came to be.
With a strong African-American musical tradition upbringing that included Jazz, Soul, Blues, Funk, Country and Gospel, the foundation of her musicality is rich.
HONORÉ has been the featured vocalist for Detroit Jazz and Gospel choirs, lead soprano for the Twelve Oaks Youth Pops Orchestra, and with the use of her 5-octave range, won the grand Prize in Walt Disney World’s All-American Music Festival (a U.S.-wide competition).
With the momentum that confidence brings HONORÉ found a home in the Detroit music scene as lead singer for the band Zebula Avenue.
She performed with Zebula Ave for nine years, co-writing its breakthrough studio album “Life Will Be Fine”. The album went on to win “Best Recording - World/Reggae/Ska” at the Detroit Music Awards, with two songs further receiving awards from both the Michigan Songwriting Contest, and the national Song Of The Year Competition.
HONORÉ is currently working on her first solo album of original Soul music: a fresh, new take referencing the classical styling of Soul from the 1970s and early 80s with its gorgeous orchestral arrangements, coupled with an infectious Tokyo City Pop soft aesthetic.
Creating this music with HONORÉ is multi-instrumentalist and producer Thomas McKay of Exeter Sound Studios, who has signed in London UK to R.C.A Records, Tommyboy Records N.Y.C., Warner Chappell N.Y.C and B.M.G. Canada. Thomas is platinum-awarded and Juno Nominated. The songs are arranged by Maurice Heard, who is behind the orchestral moments of 2024 GRAMMY Best New Artist Winner Victoria Monét. The songs are mixed by 3 x Juno-winning engineer Vic Florencia and feature the talents of:
Ron Otis (drum): Aretha Franklin, Nancy Wilson, Earl Klugh, SWV, Ken, Joann Shaw Taylor, Brian O'Neal, Tim Bowman
Takashi Iio (bass): 9-time Detroit Music Award Winner for Best Bassist, Michael Bolton, Sara Bareilles, Marcus Belgrave
Thom McKay (guitar): Nightcrawlers (4th & Broadway UK/Island UK), Five Guys Named Moe (RCA UK/BMG UK), Joydrop (Tommyboy NYC/Warner Chappell NYC), JUNO Nominated and Platinum awarded producer
Antony Gordon (keys): The Dramatics, Glenn Jones, Alexander O’Neal, Cherelle, Lin Rountree, Les Nubians
KC Roberts (guitar): Snarky Puppy
Since falling in love with and marrying a Canadian, she moved to the city of Toronto “Where life became the sweetest I’d ever known.” HONORÉ’s new music is born from true love. In her own words: “I even surprised myself!
This love has changed the very fabric of my world, and I can’t help but write songs about that joy and sweetness. Hopefully I can inspire others with my tiny miracle to dare to do the unusual because we all deserve to be happy.”
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Bevis Ng is currently completing a Master’s degree in Percussion Performance at the University of Toronto. His teachers include Prof. Aiyun Huang, and Prof. Beverley Johnston. His research in the TaPIR lab centers on the collaborative process in creating new works that incorporate interactive technology. He is interested in analyzing the role of the performer, composer and technician in each piece, locating the creative outputs of a performer, and documenting the performance practices of these new pieces. He is currently collaborating closely with composer/technician Fish Tsz Long Yu, working on two pieces that incorporate live signal processing electronic: a solo for Tam-tam with 8-channel diffusion speakers, and a duo for two Cantonese-speaking percussionists.
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Dr. SarahRose Black PhD RP MTA is a certified music therapist and registered psychotherapist, specializing in palliative care and psychosocial oncology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and her private psychotherapy clinic (Whole Note Psychotherapy) in Toronto, Ontario. She is a pianist, vocalist, and music health educator, and has performed, taught, and presented on her clinical work and research across Canada. SarahRose specializes in educating health care providers in the use of music as a tool for optimal wellness. She has presented at conferences, arts-based workshops and medical education events throughout the country.
In 2020, her doctoral research on music therapy and medically assisted dying earned her a collaborative specialization in palliative and end-of-life care through the Institute for Life Course and Aging. In 2019, SarahRose and Dr. Andrew Ascenzo founded Pulse Music, a collaboration which explores the intersections between the performing arts and music therapy through storytelling and performance. Together, they have performed with the Canadian Opera Company, Xenia Concerts, the Gryphon Trio, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Public Library, Google Canada, Pocket Concerts, Concerts in Care, and the Room 217 Foundation.
As founder and coordinator of the inaugural music therapy programs at both the cancer centre and Kensington Hospice, SarahRose has introduced models of music psychotherapy for patients with varying diagnoses and psychosocial needs, across varying ages and stages of treatment. SarahRose has published on music and health care, music therapy, as well as oncology, palliative and end of life care in a number of peer-reviewed academic journals, as well as The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, MacLean's Magazine, and the Cancer Knowledge Network. Her music therapy specializations include improvisation and songwriting, and her clinical work has been featured on Global TV, Wholenote Magazine, and the West End Phoenix. She is an academic graduate supervisor at Wilfrid Laurier University, an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, and the former Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Music Therapy.
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I graduated from Western University with a BFA with practices shifting from primarily acrylic painting to oil painting and installation works over the past few years. Drawing inspiration from Hieronymus Bosch and Salvador Dali, I create paintings with a touch of Surrealism
and “whimsical”-like quality. Additionally, I pursued a dual degree with the Ivey School of Business which translated into an interest in critiquing the systemic issues behind capitalism in some of my work. These days I'm working on creating large scale oil & acrylic paintings with a new found love of using paint markers.As an artist, I seek to challenge the perspectives in which we view ourselves in relation to the world around us by communicating these ideas through installation and painting. I’m fascinated by how we perceive the world, and the search for truth behind what we deem to be real and what we deem to be fabricated. Some of my work focuses on this concept of a falsified utopia in a dystopian world fueled by the dark side of human nature, tainted by selfishness, greed, and sin. Prevalent in my previous work, I explore themes of wealth disparity and the consequences of the system built to function in favour of those in power. Following this, I'm creating work that comments on consumerism and the materialistic society that we indulge in, bringing to light the issues behind our current economic and political systems, exposing the impact of harmful actions that seem harmless on the surface and how we are all inevitably accountable. More recently, my work has taken a lighter direction with themes of personal self reflection and nostalgia. Holistically, I’m interested in questioning social constructs and exploring what is inherent human nature and what is conditioned.
Violin
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Recipient of the 2015 Hnatyshyn Foundation Developing Artist Grant, TSO violinist Christina (Jung Yun) Choi gave her first concerto performance in 2006 with the Queensland Symphony.Since then, she has performed around the world in venues such as Bridgewater Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and Carnegie Hall. Born in South Korea, Choi began playing the violin at the age of 5. Two years later, while visiting relatives in Australia, she met her future long-term teacher, Emin Tagiev. That moment became a turning point in her life, and after receiving a full music scholarship to attend boarding school in Australia, she went on to complete her studies at the Glenn Gould School, the Colburn School, and the New World Symphony.Choi’s primary teachers include Emin Tagiev, Atis Bankas, David Zafer, Mayumi Seiler, Paul Kantor, Barry Shiffman, and Martin Beaver. Outside of music, Choi likes to travel, hike, and search for good food and coffee.
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Luri Lee has been deemed “the perfect chamber music partner” (Bachtrack) whose playing is “spotlessly clean and with never a routine phrase” (The Calgary Herald). Appearing as soloist with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Lee has performed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia as a soloist and chamber musician.
As a founding member of the Rolston String Quartet, she received Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, First Prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition, and Grand Prize at the 31st Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition and the Astral Artists National Auditions.
The quartet are associated artists at the Queen Elizabeth Music Chapel, and completed a two-year term as the Yale School of Music’s fellowship quartet-in-residence in spring 2019. Previously, they were the graduate quartet-in-residence at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.
Keeping in the teaching tradition, they have taught at the Yale School of Music, the University of Toronto, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival among others. Their début album, Souvenirs, an all-Tchaikovsky recording released in 2020, was named Recording of the Year by BBC Music Magazine. The quartet has performed at some of the most prestigious concert venues on the globe, including Carnegie Hall, the Louvre, the Kennedy Center, Koerner Hall, and Wigmore Hall.
Her diverse chamber music career has led to collaborations with many world-renowned artists such as Paul Neubauer, Yura Lee, Gary Hoffman, Cho-Liang Lin, Miguel da Silva, and Jon Kimura Parker. Lee holds degrees from the University of Toronto, Glenn Gould School, Peabody Conservatory, and Rice University.
She plays on a Carlo Tononi violin, generously on loan from Shauna Rolston Shaw.
During her spare time, Lee loves to travel with her husband, violist Hezekiah Leung, exploring and finding hidden food gems.
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Violinist Csaba Koczo is currently Assistant Principal Second Violin of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, and holds a position with the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra.
Mr. Koczó also enjoys a prolific career as a chamber musician and soloist both in Canada and abroad. As a founding member of the Banff Competition prizewinning and Dora award nominated Tokai String Quartet, Mr. Koczó has toured across Canada and the US and some of his performances have been broadcast on the CBC and the Hungarian National Radio. He has performed at Ottawa Chamberfest, and the Toronto Summer Music Festival where he has worked with Ian Swensen and the Leipzig String Quartet. Mr. Koczó has taught at the Universities of Stanford, Toronto, Kingston, Halifax and Acadia in Wolfville NS, and spent many summers as a faculty member of Music at Port Milford in Picton, ON. He also often appears on the Chatter Chamber Music series in New Mexico and plays with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. He is a member of the TakeFive Ensemble, and was one of the founding members of the Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra.
Mr. Koczo has shared the stage with such illustrious musicians as Mayumi Seiler, Steven Isserlis, Scott St.John, Douglas McNabney, Yehonatan Berick and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. As a soloist, he has been featured with the Sandor Frigyes Chamber Orchestra and has also had the opportunity to perform the Beethoven Violin concerto and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
Born in Hungary, Mr. Koczó began his studies in Yugoslavia and then continued in Hungary at the Richter Conservatory in Gyor and the Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest. After attaining his bachelor’s degree with distinction from the College of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, he continued his studies in Toronto with Lorand Fenyves and Erika Raum at the Glenn Gould School and the University of Toronto, where he was the recipient of the H. Carter scholarship.
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Praised by audiences and critics alike, Halifax native Heemin Choi has been featured on CBC Music’s list of “30 Hot Classical Musicians Under 30” and has shared his passion for music internationally in various orchestral, chamber and solo settings. Performing on the 1768 “Miller” Januarius Gagliano Violin generously on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts, Choi has performed with the likes of Simon Rattle, Antonio Pappano, Ginandrea Noseda and Valery Gergiev.
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Praised for his “beauty of tone and elegance of style” (Herald-Tribune), Toronto based violinist Patrick Goodwin enjoys a varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral violinist and teacher. As former concertmaster of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, Patrick has performed in many of the world’s great halls including the David Geffen Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Wales Millennium Centre and the Dubai Opera House. He has served as leader and orchestral soloist for multiple productions in collaboration with Cape Town Opera, Cape Town City Ballet and for the touring St. Petersburg Ballet’s production of Swan Lake. Patrick has appeared as a guest leader with various South African orchestras and chamber ensembles and has recorded for national radio, television and on numerous commercial recordings. In 2017 he represented South Africa performing with the New York Philharmonic Global Orchestra Project at the Lincoln Centre under conductor Alan Gilbert. Since relocating to Canada in 2018, Patrick has performed in various chamber music ensembles in and around Toronto and is a substitute violinist with the Orchestra of the National Ballet of Canada, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Concert Orchestra and joins Sinfonia Toronto for their 2019-2020 season. Patrick has featured regularly as a soloist with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, University of Cape Town Symphony Orchestra and in recital throughout South Africa. An experienced and sought-after chamber musician, he was a founding member of the Bacharova Quartet and leader of the Juliet String Quartet with whom he championed many new works alongside established repertoire. He was awarded first prize in the ATKV Ensemble Competition (2009) and has been faculty member at the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (2012, 2013)Patrick studied in Cape Town and Chicago where his principal teachers were Farida Bacharova and Olga Dubossarskaya Kaler. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in violin performance and was a member of the South African National Youth Orchestra as well as a frequent participant in the Britten-Pears Orchestra courses in Aldeburgh, UK. From 2011 to 2018 Patrick was adjunct lecturer in violin at the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town.
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David Baik is a violinist devoted to expressing intimate emotions through his instrument and creating a profound connection with his audience.
Featured on the CBC Canada's “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30", South Korean-born violinist David Baik is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2023 Peter-Mendell Award from the Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation, Grand Prize at the 2021 NAC Bursary Competition, consecutive First Prizes at the 2016 and 2017 Canadian Music Competition, Sturdevant Prize, Gerhard Kander Graduating Award, Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Fellowship, and the Gabriella Dory Prize. Recently, Baik was named a winner of the 2023 Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank competition.
Baik obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto, where he was mentored by Jonathan Crow. In 2022, he was awarded a fellowship at the Schulich School of Music, where he continued his studies under the guidance of Andrew Wan.
As an avid chamber musician, Baik has engaged in notable collaborations with esteemed artists such as Camden Shaw, Charles Richard Hamelin, Jennifer Koh, Andrew Wan, Desmond Hoebig, Jonathan Crow, and Philip Chiu. Additionally, his string quartet, the Stelios Quartet, has garnered acclaim, earning multiple awards, including the 2024 Schiermonnikoog Festival Audience Award and the Grand Prize at the 2023 McGill Chamber Music Competition. Their upcoming schedule features a notable lineup of concerts throughout the Netherlands, with performances scheduled in Eelde, Rhenen, Dalfsen, and Schiermonnikoog. Also an active soloist, Baik has performed with the Sinfonia Toronto, Toronto Summer Music Festival Orchestra, Durham Chamber Orchestra, North York Symphony Orchestra, and the Ottawa Youth Orchestra.
Baik has made appearances at the Toronto Summer Music festival, Schiermonnikoog Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Netherlands String Quartet Academy, McGill International String Quartet Academy, Orford Music Festival, and the Meadowmount School of Music. For the 2024/25 season, David Baik will be a resident of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Residency Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He plays on the 1871 Vuillaume violin ('Messiah' Strad) generously on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts.
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Noa Sarid is an Israeli violinist and chamber musician. She is the first violinist and founding member of the Dior Quartet, winner of the 2023 Concert Artist Guild Elmaleh Competition, silver prize winner of the Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition (2021) and bronze medalist of the 46th Fischoff National Chamber Competition (2019). Coached by the Pacifica Quartet, the Dior Quartet also studied with members of the Alban Berg, St. Lawrence, Danish, Artemis, Ébène, and Belcea Quartets. She is a 2023 Rebanks Fellow at the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Noa is the recipient of various scholarships and awards, such as the Ronen Foundation and the America-Israel Cultural Foundation (2004-2019) and the UNO Competition (Second prize, 2013). As a soloist, Noa toured in Israel and Europe with The Symphonette Ra’anana and The Thelma Yellin Symphony Orchestras. Noa participated in The Aspen Music Festival and School as a full scholarship recipient. As a chamber musician, Noa is a Naxos Records artist (2020) and a four-time winner of the Jerusalem Academy of Music Chamber Competition (2015-2018).
Noa is committed to advocating social justice through music. She took part in the Musethica International Chamber Music Festival in 2017, performing in hospitals, shelters for survivors of domestic violence, prisons, and schools for children with special needs. As part of her military service, Noa toured Israel with the Israel Defense Forces String Quartet, delivering lecture-recitals in army bases.
Noa holds a master’s degree in Violin Performance from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and a bachelor’s degree from The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Noa’s violin mentors include Simin Ganatra, Roi Shiloah, and Nava Milo. With the Dior Quartet, Noa will joined The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory in Toronto as the new String Quartet-in-residence for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Noa teaches violin at the Lane School of Music, and passionately mentors violin students at the Oscar Peterson Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto.
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Born in Seoul, South Korea, he has performed as a soloist with the Allen Philharmonic, Conroe Symphony Orchestra, Austin Civic Orchestra, The University of Texas (UT) Symphony Orchestra and the University Orchestra at UT Austin, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra, and the University of Calgary Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Douglas has collaborated with Menahem Pressler, Pedja Muzijevic, Kim Kashkashian, and members of the Cleveland, Concord, Ravel, and St. Lawrence string quartets.
Douglas won a grand prize and a gold medal at the Young Texas Artist Competition. For the past summers, he has participated in Morningside Music Bridge, Meadowmount School of Music, Tanglewood Music Center, and the Toronto Summer Music Festival.
Mr. Kwon earned a Bachelor of Music, a Master of Music in chamber music, and a Professional Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Ian Swensen, Li Lin, and Wei He. Douglas has also been a teaching assistant to Professor Brian Lewis at UT Austin while working on a Doctor of Musical Arts degree.
Viola
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Originally from Calgary, AB, Toronto based violist Catherine Gray is a member of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. Outside her work with the COC, she also performs with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra. Ms. Gray has been featured on CBC Radio, CBC Television, and BBC3, and has been described as "glorious... Gray is an immense talent... performer of superb musicianship and high quality" (Ludwig Van, Toronto 2020). As a chamber musician and orchestral player, Ms. Gray has performed throughout Asia, Europe, and North America. She has participated in festivals such as the Edinburgh International Festival, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, soundSCAPE Festival, Morningside Music Bridge, Le Domaine Forget, St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar, The Banff Center for the Arts, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. She is a founding member of the SOMA Quartet.Catherine completed her Master's Degree at McGill University under the tutelage of Steven Dann. She received her Bachelor of Music from the Royal Conservatory of Music's Glenn Gould School (Steven Dann), and previously studied with Nick Pulos and Joanne Melvin in Calgary, AB.
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Praised for his “lovely lyricism” by The Calgary Herald, Hezekiah Leung has been featured as a performer throughout North America and Europe as both a soloist and as the violist of the Rolston String Quartet — winner of the First Prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition. After completing his studies as a violinist at the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Stephen Shipps, Leung pursued his artist diploma on the viola with Stephen Dann and Barry Shiffman and received top prizes in the Glenn Gould Chamber Music Competition as well as the 74th Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Standard Life Competition. He holds a Masters degree from Rice University, and was part of the Fellowship Quartet in Residence at the Yale School of Music as a member of the Rolston String Quartet. In 2020, Leung was chosen as a violist for the renowned Rebanks Family Fellowship & International Performance Residency Program in Toronto. Leung has shared the concert stage with such artists as Gilbert Kalish, Miguel da Silva, James Dunham, Jon Kimura Parker, Donald Palma, Cho-Liang Lin, Andrés Díaz, Gary Hoffman and Tara Helen O’Connor. As a founding member of the Rolston String Quartet, he was also awarded Grand Prize at the 31st Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition, as well as the Astral Artists National Auditions. The quartet has performed at some of the most prestigious concert venues on the globe, including
Carnegie Hall, the Louvre, Kennedy Center, Koerner Hall and Wigmore Hall. Leung plays on a viola made by Samuel Zygmuntowicz, on loan through the El Pasito Foundation.
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Laurence Schaufele is a violist intent on exploring musicianship in a wide variety of genres. His experience spans diverse styles of music such as classical, jazz, klezmer, celtic, bluegrass, and many more. Hailing from rural southern Alberta, Laurence trained in the European classical tradition.He specialized at an early age on chamber music, from duos to string orchestra ensembles. Starting his post-secondary in Calgary, he transferred to Toronto for a change of pace. After graduating from the Royal Conservatory of Music in 2015 in viola performance, Laurence set off on a career which stretched the viola between many genres.
Cello
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Cellist. Performer. Conductor. Composer. Musical Director. Artistic Director. Teacher. Video Producer. Audio Engineer. Multi Instrumentalist. Andrew Ascenzo is redefining what it means to be a professional musician in the 21st Century.Andrew is a graduate of the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the University of Toronto and recipient of the Tecumseh Sherman Rogers Graduating Award, the highest honour awarded by the Faculty of Music. He performs regularly as a soloist and was a founding member of the Bedford Trio, who served as the Irene R. Miller Piano Trio in Residence at the University of Toronto and finalists of the Anton Rubinstein International Chamber Music Competition. As an orchestral cellist, Andrew appears regularly with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Concert Orchestra. Andrew’s work in multi-media has included serving as the Artistic Producer of the Banff Centre’s Evolution Classical summer programs, video production for organizations including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, University of Toronto, University Health Network, Ottawa Chamberfest, Leaf Music, and Gryphon Trio.
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Cellist Drew Comstock has been praised for his “deep and sonorous” cello playing (South Florida Classical Review). He served as principal of the New World Symphony for three seasons under Michael Tilson-Thomas, and Stephane Deneve, leading performances at the Arscht Center, New World Center, and Carnegie Hall. He is the co-Founder and cellist of the Canadian Chamber Orchestra, regularly joins the cello sections of the Toronto Symphony, Canadian Opera Company, and has been featured on PBS and North Carolina Public Radio.
A believer in the transformative power of chamber music, Drew has made music with artists such as Anthony Marwood, Jonathan Crow, David Geringas, Steven Dann, and Mark Fewer. Alongside violinist Aaron Schwebel, Comstock performs in Ontario prisons through Looking at the Stars. Comstock has collaborated with composers John Adams, Osvaldo Golijov, and Steve Reich, and has premiered works by Efstratios Minakakis and Michael Tilson-Thomas. Comstock began his formal musical studies in high school, graduating from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He continued his education at the New England Conservatory, McGill University, and the Glenn Gould School. His mentors include Yeesun Kim, Brian Manker, Desmond Hoebig, Andre Roy, Timothy Ying, and Steven Dann.
BAss
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Born in Toronto, Canada, Travis Harrison is a graduate of Montreal's McGill University. His post-graduate work was with the National Arts Centre's Institute for Orchestral Studies while he concurrently completed a Master's degree in performance at the University of Ottawa in 2012 under the guidance of Joel Quarrington. Travis has happily ended a 6-year tenure with Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, having joined in Fall of 2013. Travis has also been serving the bass community as a board member of the International Society of Bassists since 2017. Travis' most formative musical experiences include European tours with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2019 as well as the Aldeburgh World Orchestra for the London 2012 Olympic Festival. Also of note are several months as guest principal bass of the Canadian Opera Company; and as guest principal bass with the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
As a teacher, Travis has served as a faculty member of Ottawa University, the Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Art, Carleton University, the University of Manitoba, and Sistema Winnipeg. Travis currently maintains a private studio based out of Toronto, and also offers lessons taught online. He has given masterclasses at the University of Toronto, Brandon University, and University of Ottawa; and acted as a mentor to students at the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, the Belfountain Festival, and the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance.
Whenever and wherever possible, Travis loves to play chamber music and performs regularly throughout Canada. He was a founding member of the Winnipeg Chamber Players, and Nova Scotia’s Iris Ensemble. He has also performed with the Kaimerata Festival of Denman Island (British Columbia), Ritornello Festival (Saskatchewan), Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (Nova Scotia), Off Centre Music Salon (Toronto), and the BelfountainFestival (Southern Ontario). As a recording artist, Travis has played on numerous classical recordings, most recently the National Arts Centre's Life Reflected (2016). While not playing music, the art of beer making, wood working, and audio/video production take up much of Travis' time.
Donate to the CCO
The Canadian Chamber Orchestra works with Chamber Factory, a registered Canadian charity to collect donations and issue tax receipts. Please use the form below to donate to the CCO via Chamber Factory, with options to donate once or on an ongoing monthly basis. If you have any questions or inquiries, please e-mail us at donate@canadianchamberorchestra.ca.