IN MEMORY OF YEHONATAN BERICK (1968-2020)
Yehonatan was a frequent performer and Artistic Advisor for the series since 2011. We miss his infectious energy and humour, and his brilliant artistry.
Prizewinner at the 1993 Naumburg competition and a recipient of the 1996-97 Prix Opus, Yehonatan Berick was a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. Performances as soloist include Quebec, Winnipeg, Windsor, Ann Arbor, Jerusalem and Haifa Symphonies, and the Israeli, Cincinnati, Montreal and Manitoba Chamber Orchestras, Thirteen Strings and Ensemble Appassionata. Recital offerings included the complete Paganini Caprices, and the complete Solo Sonatas and Partitas by Bach. He collaborated with many of the world's most renowned artists. Festival and chamber series including Marlboro, Ravinia, Seattle, Ottawa, Great Lakes, and Music@Menlo. He toured extensively worldwide, in the world's most important venues, including Carnegie Hall and Wigmore Hall. On CD, Berick recorded for the Acoma, Albany, Centaur, Equilibrium, XXI-21, Gasparo, Summit, and Helicon labels. On video, he can be seen on a BluRay dvd Paganini: 24 Caprices and his recordings won rave reviews in the press. Equally sought after as violin teacher and chamber music mentor, Berick served as Professor of Violin at the University of Ottawa from 2013-2020, as well as the University of Michigan and McGill Schulich School of Music. He was invited as teacher and artist-in-residence at many festivals, and featured in masterclasses worldwide. His students hold leading positions in major orchestras, ensembles, and music schools. Yehonatan played a 1761 violin by Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi, generously on loan from the University of Ottawa, as well as violin by Honoré Derazey Père from 1852, and a viola by Stanley Kiernoziak from 2003.
www.yehonatanberick.com
Yehonatan was a frequent performer and Artistic Advisor for the series since 2011. We miss his infectious energy and humour, and his brilliant artistry.
Prizewinner at the 1993 Naumburg competition and a recipient of the 1996-97 Prix Opus, Yehonatan Berick was a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. Performances as soloist include Quebec, Winnipeg, Windsor, Ann Arbor, Jerusalem and Haifa Symphonies, and the Israeli, Cincinnati, Montreal and Manitoba Chamber Orchestras, Thirteen Strings and Ensemble Appassionata. Recital offerings included the complete Paganini Caprices, and the complete Solo Sonatas and Partitas by Bach. He collaborated with many of the world's most renowned artists. Festival and chamber series including Marlboro, Ravinia, Seattle, Ottawa, Great Lakes, and Music@Menlo. He toured extensively worldwide, in the world's most important venues, including Carnegie Hall and Wigmore Hall. On CD, Berick recorded for the Acoma, Albany, Centaur, Equilibrium, XXI-21, Gasparo, Summit, and Helicon labels. On video, he can be seen on a BluRay dvd Paganini: 24 Caprices and his recordings won rave reviews in the press. Equally sought after as violin teacher and chamber music mentor, Berick served as Professor of Violin at the University of Ottawa from 2013-2020, as well as the University of Michigan and McGill Schulich School of Music. He was invited as teacher and artist-in-residence at many festivals, and featured in masterclasses worldwide. His students hold leading positions in major orchestras, ensembles, and music schools. Yehonatan played a 1761 violin by Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi, generously on loan from the University of Ottawa, as well as violin by Honoré Derazey Père from 1852, and a viola by Stanley Kiernoziak from 2003.
www.yehonatanberick.com
2024-2025 PERFORMERS
DESIREE ABBEY, CELLO
Canadian cellist Desiree Abbey performs regularly with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra as Principal Cellist, as an extra musician with the NAC Orchestra, and with various other ensembles in the National Capital Region. She has appeared as a soloist with the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, and National Repertory Orchestra. Desiree’s 2023–2024 season includes a premiere of a cello concerto written for her by Canadian-Jamaican composer Ted Runcie with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Jean-Marie Zeitouni. Fascinated with neuroscience and how the growing brain learns, Desiree is a dedicated teacher, maintaining a private home studio.
TOVIN ALLERS, VIOLA
Originally from British Columbia, Tovin Allers joined the viola section of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2023. While an avid orchestral musician, he enjoys all avenues of performance. A few highlights include performing with his quartet in the Moody Mansion Music Series in Galveston, Texas, on behalf of Rice University; providing a quartet recital for the NAC’s 50th anniversary; and performing as a soloist with the Victoria Symphony in the annual “Symphony Splash” event. In the Ottawa area, Tovin was a part of the Back to Bach Project, introducing music to elementary school students; he taught with the Allegro Music School and was a substitute teacher at OrKidstra. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tovin participated in outreach projects in which he recorded the violin solo from Cinema Paradiso with the Ottawa Pops Orchestra, as well as a chamber music program for the Eine Kleine Distanced Music project led by the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, Allers joined the University of Ottawa Summer String Academy as the Administrative Coordinator. Prior pursuits led him to Houston, Texas, where he completed his master’s degree under the tutelage of Ivo-Jan van der Werff. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Ottawa, where he studied with Michael van der Sloot and Yehonatan Berick.
CAITLIN BOYLE, VIOLA & CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
A Hamilton based violin and viola performer and pedagogue, Caitlin Boyle is a member of the Isabel String Quartet, Sinfonia Toronto, the Niagara Symphony Orchestra, and teaches at the Hamilton Suzuki School of Music. Her passion for music education has led her to teach at the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto, Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts, Taylor Academy at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Festival of the Sound Music Scores Program, Toronto District School Board, Central Okanagan School District, in addition to having taught students across the US, Spain, UK, Italy, and the UAE. She currently coordinates and coaches the chamber music program at Mooredale Youth Orchestras. A JUNO-nominated performing artist, Ms. Boyle concertized extensively for thirteen years with the Cecilia String Quartet. She has won several international awards including Banff, Bordeaux, and Osaka String Quartet Competitions.
RACHEL DESOER, CELLO
Rachel Desoer is a cellist from Hamilton, Ontario. She studied at the Juilliard School, Oberlin College, McGill University and the Banff Centre. She graduated from Oberlin in 2008 with a Bachelor of Music degree. Rachel was the cellist of the Cecilia String Quartet from 2010 to 2018. In this ensemble Rachel toured extensively around the world, recorded 4 albums on the Analekta label and taught chamber music at the University of Toronto. Touring has brought Rachel to inspiring venues such as Wigmore Hall, The Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Konzert Haus Berlin and many more. The Cecilia Quartet also made educational programming a priority and performed hundreds of presentations for schools. In 2014 the quartet created a concert series called Xenia concerts specifically designed for children on the autism spectrum and their families. Exemplifying their commitment to the equal representation of women in music, Rachel spearheaded the commissioning of 4 string quartets by Canadian women composers in 2016. Throughout her schooling and career Rachel has also played recitals and concertos with orchestra. She has also worked in other orchestras, most notably, the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company. She is currently the acting principal cellist of Symphony Nova Scotia.
YOSUKE KAWASAKI, VIOLIN
Yosuke Kawasaki currently serves as Concertmaster of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra. His versatile musicianship allows him to pursue a career in orchestra, solo and chamber music. His orchestral career began with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and soon led to Mito Chamber Orchestra, Saito Kinen Orchestra and Japan Century Orchestra all of which he led as Concertmaster. His solo and chamber music career spans five continents, collaborating with artists such as Seiji Ozawa, Pinchas Zukerman and Yo-Yo Ma and appearing in the world's most prestigious halls such as Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall and The Royal Concertgebouw. Kawasaki's current regular ensembles are Trio Ink and the Arkas String Quartet. His passion for chamber music led to his appointment as Music Director to the Affinis Music Festival in Japan. He is also an artistic advisor to a brand new chamber music festival in Bulgaria called Off The Beaten Path. As an educator Kawasaki has given masterclasses and performed side by side with students in schools across Canada. Well versed in the string quartet literature he was entrusted by Seiji Ozawa as the youngest faculty member of the Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy at the age of 26. He is currently an adjunct professor of violin at the University of Ottawa School of Music. Mr. Kawasaki began his violin studies at the age of six with his father Masao Kawasaki and continued with Setsu Goto. At the age of ten he was accepted into The Juilliard School Pre-College Division and further continued his education and graduated from The Juilliard School in 1998 under the tutorship of Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, Felix Galimir and Joel Smirnoff.
Yosuke Kawasaki currently serves as Concertmaster of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra. His versatile musicianship allows him to pursue a career in orchestra, solo and chamber music. His orchestral career began with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and soon led to Mito Chamber Orchestra, Saito Kinen Orchestra and Japan Century Orchestra all of which he led as Concertmaster. His solo and chamber music career spans five continents, collaborating with artists such as Seiji Ozawa, Pinchas Zukerman and Yo-Yo Ma and appearing in the world's most prestigious halls such as Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall and The Royal Concertgebouw. Kawasaki's current regular ensembles are Trio Ink and the Arkas String Quartet. His passion for chamber music led to his appointment as Music Director to the Affinis Music Festival in Japan. He is also an artistic advisor to a brand new chamber music festival in Bulgaria called Off The Beaten Path. As an educator Kawasaki has given masterclasses and performed side by side with students in schools across Canada. Well versed in the string quartet literature he was entrusted by Seiji Ozawa as the youngest faculty member of the Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy at the age of 26. He is currently an adjunct professor of violin at the University of Ottawa School of Music. Mr. Kawasaki began his violin studies at the age of six with his father Masao Kawasaki and continued with Setsu Goto. At the age of ten he was accepted into The Juilliard School Pre-College Division and further continued his education and graduated from The Juilliard School in 1998 under the tutorship of Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, Felix Galimir and Joel Smirnoff.
JESSY JE YOUNG KIM, VIOLIN
Newest member of the NAC Orchestra in Ottawa, Jessy Je Young Kim, violin, is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the Yale School of Music, and played with the Nashville Symphony for the 23-24 season. She has studied with Ani Kavafian, Jonathan Crow, Barry Shiffman, and Paul Kantor. Originally from Seoul, South Korea, in her career, Jessy has won numerous awards and scholarships including the Hnatyshyn Foundation Developing Artist Grant and the Oneppo Chamber Music Prize. Her performance highlights include appearances with the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Northwest, Vancouver Pilgrim Orchestra, the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Symphony, the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
CSABA KOCZO, VIOLIN
Hungarian-born violinist Csaba 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 at 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. Mr. Koczó enjoys a prolific career as a chamber musician and soloist both in Canada and abroad. He 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. 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 the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, 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 spends every summer as a faculty member of Music at Port Milford in Picton, ON. In addition, Mr. Koczó was one of the founding members of the Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra, and is currently Assistant Principal Second Violin of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, and holds a position with the Canadian National Ballet Orchestra where he has been Acting Concertmaster.
www.tokaiquartet.com
www.tokaiquartet.com
JULIA MACLAINE, CELLO
Assistant Principal Cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 2014, Julia MacLaine performs worldwide as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician in music ranging from classical to contemporary and from ‘world’ to her own arrangements and compositions. MacLaine enjoys exploring the juxtaposition of music with other art forms, of different styles of music, and of contemporary and classical music. Her début album, Préludes, released by Analekta in January 2022, features six new Canadian works written for her, alongside the six Préludes from the Bach Cello Suites that inspired the new pieces. During the ten years she spent living in New York City, Julia collaborated frequently with composers, giving voice to new chamber and solo cello works. She has given premieres of music by Ingram Marshall, James Blachly, and Mauricio Pauly, to name a few, and has been a champion of Pedro Malpica’s Pachamama’s Catharsis for solo cello. With three other members of Ensemble ACJW, Julia created and performed an immersive tribute to whales and ocean life at the Museum of Natural History, featuring new American music, original poetry, and live painting. From 2005 to 2014, she was a member of the The Knights, with whom she performed the Schumann Cello Concerto in Central Park. Julia has performed at the Mecklenberg‐Vorpommern, Lanaudière, Bic, Mostly Mozart, Tanglewood, and Ravinia Festivals, and in Abu Dhabi, Tokyo, and throughout Europe, the US, and Canada. She has performed with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Les Violons du Roy, and has counted Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, James Ehnes, Cynthia Phelps, Inon Barnatan, Jamie and Jon Kimura Parker, and the Orion String Quartet among her chamber music partners. Originally from Prince Edward Island, Julia studied with Antonio Lysy at McGill University, and with Timothy Eddy at the Mannes College of Music and at The Juilliard School. She lives in Wakefield, QC with her partner - also a musician - and their son. www.juliamaclainecello.com
RACHEL MERCER, CELLO & CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Principal Cello of the NAC Orchestra in Ottawa and Co-Artistic Director of the "5 at the First" Chamber Music Series in Hamilton, Canadian cellist Rachel Mercer has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician across five continents. Described as a "pure chamber musician" (Globe and Mail) creating "moments of pure magic" (Toronto Star), Rachel plays with the Mercer-Park Duo, and was a member of JUNO-winning Ensemble Made In Canada (2008-20), and the Aviv Quartet (2002-10). An advocate for new Canadian music, Rachel has commissioned over 25 works including a cello concerto by Stewart Goodyear recently premiered with the NAC Orchestra, and an album of Canadian women composers released on Centrediscs. Rachel plays a 17th century cello from Northern Italy.
www.rachelmercercellist.com
www.rachelmercercellist.com
ANGELA PARK, PIANO & CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Angela Park has established herself as one of Canada’s most sought-after pianists. Praised for her “stunningly beautiful pianism” (Grace Welsh Prize, Chicago), “beautiful tone and sensitivity” (American Record Guide), and for performing “with such brilliant clarity it took your breath away” (Chapala, Mexico), Angela’s versatility as both soloist and chamber musician has led to acclaimed performances across Canada, as well as in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Mexico. She is a founding member of the JUNO Award-winning Ensemble Made In Canada, the Mercer-Park Duo, the Seiler Piano Trio, and the AYR Trio, and has recorded solo albums, as well as collaborative discs with cellist Rachel Mercer, oboist Linda Strommen, St. John-Mercer-Park Trio, and Ensemble Made In Canada, for labels including NAXOS Canadian Classics, Centrediscs, Leaf Music, and Enharmonic Records. She is currently Assistant Professor of Piano and Collaborative Piano at Western University.
www.angelapark.com
www.angelapark.com
THERESA RUDOLPH, VIOLA
Theresa Rudolph is Assistant Principal Viola of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and a member of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. Theresa began her orchestral career as the youngest member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the age of 21. She has also performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra. A passionate chamber musician, Theresa has performed throughout North America, appearing in festivals such as the Great Lakes and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festivals, Ottawa Chamberfest, and New Music Detroit. Frequently heard on series throughout Ontario, she performs regularly as a member of the TSO Chamber Soloists, and has been featured on CBC/Radio-Canada. Increasingly sought-after as a teacher, Theresa maintains a robust studio at the University of Toronto, and is the Viola Faculty of the Taylor Academy at the Royal Conservatory of Music. She has been a guest clinician at the Universities of Montreal, Western Ontario, and Ottawa, and is the Viola Coach of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. Theresa holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Robert Vernon. While at CIM, she toured and recorded with the Musicians from Ravinia, was a prizewinner at the prestigious Fischoff Competition, and performed in Carnegie Hall.
KIMBALL SYKES, CLARINET
Kimball Sykes joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra as Principal Clarinet in 1985. Born in Vancouver, he received a Bachelor of Music from the University of British Columbia, where he studied with Ronald deKant. In 1982, Kimball was a member of the National Youth Orchestra and was awarded the first of two Canada Council grants to study with Robert Marcellus in Chicago. He has participated in the Banff School of Fine Arts Festival, the Scotia Festival, the Orford Festival, and the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival. He has performed and toured with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and was a member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. While in Vancouver, he was a founding member of the Vancouver Wind Trio. From 1983 to 1985, he was the principal clarinet of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. Kimball has performed as a soloist with the NAC Orchestra numerous times. In May 2000, he gave the premiere performance of Vagues immobiles, a clarinet concerto by Alain Perron commissioned for him by the NAC, and in November 2002, he performed the Coplandʼs Clarinet Concerto, both conducted by Pinchas Zukerman. Other groups he has appeared with as a soloist include Thirteen Strings, the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, and the Auckland Philharmonia. Kimball has performed numerous solo and chamber music programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He can be heard on the recent Chamber Players of Canada recording of Schubert’s Octet. He has also recorded the Mozart Clarinet Quintet with Pinchas Zukerman and NAC Orchestra principal musicians Donnie Deacon, Jane Logan, and Amanda Forsyth, included in the NAC Orchestra’s double Mozart CD for CBC Records and nominated for a Juno Award in 2004. Kimball is currently on faculty at the University of Ottawa.
RAPHAEL WEINROTH-BROWNE, CELLO
Internationally renowned Canadian cellist and composer Raphael Weinroth-Browne has been celebrated for his emotive and virtuosic playing both on stage and in the studio. Combining his classical training with a passion for progressive metal and Middle Eastern music, he has defied traditional notions of how the cello should sound and developed a unique artistic voice that has consistently resonated with listeners on a deep emotional level. He has played on Juno award-winning albums, performed in front of over 40,000 people at the world’s biggest metal festival, made viral YouTube covers, and worked closely with contemporary dancers on multidisciplinary collaborations. In 2016, Raphael was recruited by Norwegian progressive rock icons Leprous. His cello has since been featured prominently on their latest three albums and he has played over 200 shows with them in Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Most recently he performed with the band at London’s legendary Royal Albert Hall and appeared on opening slots for rock heavyweights Evanescence, Devin Townsend, and Apocalyptica. As a session musician, Raphael has appeared on over 150 studio albums, including the Juno Award-winning Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light (Woods of Ypres). He has also captured the attention of prominent prog and metal artists such as Opeth and Steven Wilson with his innovative cello covers of their songs in his own unique style. Raphael’s debut solo album, Worlds Within, was released in 2020 to critical acclaim. A haunting 40-minute piece for amplified cello based around cyclical looped patterns and lush reverb-laden soundscapes, the album weaves together elements of ambient music, post rock, modern classical, and progressive metal, standing confidently alongside the work of similar artists such as Sarah Neufeld, Jessica Moss, Zoë Keating, and Jo Quail. https://raphaelweinrothbrowne.com/