The People of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra

Ruth Balyta

Ruth Balyta, violin. Ruth joined the GSO in the fall of 2004, after moving from Montreal. While in Montreal, she played as principal second violinist with l’Orchestre symphonique de l’isle. In previous years, Ruth has played with a number of community orchestras and chamber groups including: East Hamilton Strings and Chamber Group, Westdale Secondary School Orchestra and Chamber Group, Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, University of Western Ontario Symphony and Contemporary Chamber Players, Windsor Community Orchestra, the Seaforth Community Orchestra, and Symphony Hamilton.

Ruth graduated from the University of Western Ontario’s music program in 1996, where she studied with Dr. Robert Skelton. After graduation, Ruth went on to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, with a specialty in Music Education. When she is not playing with the GSO, Ruth puts her Master’s Degree in Education to work as a licensed elementary school teacher in Ontario. She gives private violin and piano lessons and she is a founding member of the BBC String Trio, a two-violin and guitar ensemble.

Contact Tel: 519-836-5749 email: ruth.balyta@rogers.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Paule Barsalou

A native of Dunham, P.Q., Paule Barsalou holds a B.A. in Music Performance from Laval University (P.Q.) and an M.A. in Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from the Cleveland Institute of Music (OH). Her main teachers and mentors have been Michele Higa George, Daphne Hughes, David Cerone, Kathleen Winkler and Gyorgy Terebesi.

Ms. Barsalou has been a member of the Guelph Chamber Orchestra since its first concert in 2001 and is the principal second violinist. She also performs in solo and chamber music recitals on a regular basis. Her musical interests cover a wide range of musical styles going from baroque performance practice to premiering contemporary works.

Since 1989, she has been teaching at the Suzuki String School of Guelph, and is one of only three Ontario violin Suzuki teacher trainers approved by the Suzuki Association of the Americas. She also is a guest teacher at Institutes and workshops throughout Canada, a Kiwanis festival adjudicator and a part-time faculty member at Wilfrid Laurier University. She is the director of the Southwestern Ontario Suzuki Institute held every August at Wilfrid Laurier University in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario. She lives in Guelph with her husband pianist Ken Gee with whom she performs solo recitals on a regular basis.

Contact Tel: 519-836-3798 email: paule@artset.net

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Karen Bast

Karen Bast (nee Chapple) was born and raised in Toronto,ON, where she began her musical training. Always a music lover, Karen spent many hours as a child making interesting sounds on her grandmother's piano. Upon entering middle school, Karen began playing the viola under teachers Peter Wong and Trish Balmer. She continued through high school under the instruction of Janusz Boroweic at Martingrove Collegiate Institute.

Called away from Toronto to Cambridge, Karen pursued a Bachelor of Religious Education (minoring in counselling) at Heritage College. While there, she met and married James Bast, now a youth pastor in the Fergus-Elora area. Karen is employed part time by Youth For Christ, Women's Crisis Services of the Waterloo Region and the Canadian Mental Health Association. Through these organizations she supports young women in Centre Wellington, women fleeing abusive relationships, and those with mental health issues.

After moving to Wellington County, Karen began to take lessons again under the instruction of Jose Molina and is very pleased to be a part of the GSO.

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Kirsti Bos

Kirsti has had experience playing in professional-level orchestras since the age of 14. Originally from Northern Ontario, Kirsti had her orchestral debut playing second oboe for five years with the North Bay Symphony Orchestra under music director Victor Sawa.

After moving to Guelph in 1997, she joined the University of Guelph Orchestra under director Henry Janzen, playing first oboe for the duration of her undergraduate studies. Kirsti has been the principal oboist of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra since its formation in 2001.

Throughout her musical career, she has made numerous guest appearances with local groups, and has enjoyed the privilege of working with such music directors as Timothy Vernon, Dale Lonis, Daniel Warren, Colin Clarke, Keith Kinder, Gregory Burton, and James McKay. She is currently a PhD candidate at McMaster University in the department of Anthropology and the McMaster Ancient DNA Centre.

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Amy Cao

Amy Cao, violin, is a student at Centennial C.V.I. in Guelph. She began piano lessons when aged four and violin lessons when she was nine. She is currently working toward the Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT) diploma in piano and grade 10 in violin. Her piano teacher is Boris Borgstrom and her violin teacher is Catherine Molina. She attended the Canadian Keyboard Competition for ten years and received Most Outstanding Overall Performer award for four of those years. She accompanies her church choir and her school's Concert Choir. She has played violin with the University of Guelph Orchestra as well as the Guelph Youth Orchestra.

Amy joined the Guelph Symphony Orchestra in 2007. She says, "Music is my life."

Contact E-mail: amy.w.cao@gmail.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Grace Chan

Grace Chan, violin, began her career studying with Paule Barselou in the Guelph Suzuki String School. She now studies with Jerzy Kaplanek at Wilfrid Laurier University, with whom she is working towards her Royal Conservatory of Music ARCT diploma in violin. She also studies piano with Valerie Candelaria. Grace has performed on the violin with the advanced Suzuki string group, the Kitchener-Waterloo Youth Orchestra, and a chamber music group. In addition, she has played trumpet in her school band and is part of the worship band at her church.

Grace enjoys many different forms of music, often going to various concerts whether they are classical music, or not so classical music. She is currently completing her high school diploma at Guelph's Centenial CVI. Although she is not sure what direction she wishes to go in after high school, she is certain that it will have something to do with music. Grace has been in the GSO since 2007.

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Cristi Cigolea

Born in Romania, Cristinel started his musical studies at the age of five, playing the violin under the instruction of his father, a well-respected and prominent violinist of Focsani. At the age of eleven, his talent led him to place third in the Golden Harp Festival in Romania,and he started performing solo and with his string quartet called "Nr.9". He became interested in wind instruments at an early age, and he performed on the clarinet for the first time on stage with his grandfather (who played pretty much all the reed instruments) at the age of 12.

At the age of fourteen, Cristinel went to the Military School of Music in Bucharest, and for the first time he tried a trumpet and he stayed with it. After a military regime of practice 6 to 8 hours a day, at the ages of 17, 18 and 19 he won the Romanian Youth National Competition as a trumpeter this time.

Cristinel continued his studies at the National University of Music Bucharest (formerly known as the Academy of Music) and has been featured as soloist with the Representative Military Music Orchestra of Romania and played with numerous radio and televison orchestra and ensembles.

In 1996 he moved to Canada and in 1997 he attended Wilfrid Laurier University in the Diploma Performance Program, studying with Guy Few. In 2001, he received his Master of Music in Performance from the University of Toronto, where he studied with Barton Woomert.

Presently, he enjoys performing and touring as a soloist; he is Principal Trumpet of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra , Trumpet Instructor at University of Guelph, and since 2004 the Band Director at Fern Hill School in Oakville.

Visit Cristi's website at www.christrumpet.com.

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Simion Ciobanu

Vasile Simion Ciobanu, principal bassoonist, was born in Romania. Simion developed a passion for music during his early schooling in Orlat, where he also danced in the Romanian folk music ensemble called “Caluserul.” He attended the High School for the Arts in Sibiu and then enrolled in the Faculty of Music at Transylvania University, where he studied with Gheorghe Cuciureanu, the internationally renowned bassoon teacher.

After graduation he performed as a bassoonist with the Lyrical Theatre in Brasov, Romania, travelling with them in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Thereafter, for seven years, he was second bassoonist and contrabassoonist and then principal bassoonist with the Sibiu Philharmonic. At various times he was invited to participate in concerts by various orchestras, including the Brasov Philharmonic and the Ramnicu Valcea Philharmonic, and he gave solo performances in many places. He also played with the medieval music band called “Aeternum.” In addition to performing, he worked as a music instructor at the Sibiu High School for the Arts, teaching bassoon, saxophone, and chamber music, and conducting a wind orchestra.

Since immigrating to Canada in 2005, Simion has performed with the Toronto Wind Orchestra, the Glenn Gould School, the Toronto Philharmonia, the National Academy Orchestra, the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra, and the Oshawa Durham Symphony Orchestra. Simion was appointed principal bassoonist of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra in June 2007.

E-mail: imisimitoni@yahoo.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Janet Diebel

Janet is a professional engineer currently teaching in the Engineering Technology program at Conestoga College. She grew up in St. Catharines where there was an excellent school board music program. She studied violin with Paul Van Dongen and piano with John Butler. She enjoyed many adventures and friendships during six years with the St. Catharines (now Niagara) Youth Orchestra, of which she was concertmaster during her last year. For a while there was little time to play as she established a family and career, but she is thrilled to be making music once again with the Guelph Symphony Orchestra. Janet currently resides in Guelph with husband Patrick and three sons who also enjoy music.

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Jim Edwards

Jim Edwards is currently the GSO's bass trombonist, also playing alto and tenor trombone, and euphonium. He received a B.A Music from St Francis Xavier University, where he also earned the Diploma in Jazz Studies. In addition, he has an MSc in Information Systems from Athabasca University. Jim’s principal teachers were Gene Smith (former principal with Woody Herman) and Verne Smith (Chief Warrant Officer, Canadian Forces).

He has participated in masterclass/private lessons with David Reid (Calgary Philharmonic), Peter Collins (Hamilton Philharmonic), and Jim Pugh (SUNY Purchase, Woody Herman alumnus). He has been a trombonist and featured soloist with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Band, and has performed with Carol Channing, Rob McConnell, Gary Guntham, Tommy Banks, Scott Poll, WindJammers, Reflections, Cambridge Orchestra, Brantford Symphony, and BrassRoots, among others. He has also performed in numerous shows, including Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat, My Fair Lady, and Anne of Green Gables.

A Guelph resident, he is married with two children. Jim is currently Manager of Systems Engineering for Agfa HealthCare.

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

[no picture available]

David Evenchick

David Evenchick, principal cello, was born in Ottawa. He received his university education in the USA, graduating with his doctorate in music from the School of Music at the University of Iowa. While still an undergraduate he received scholarships for two summers to study at the Banff Centre with the Canadian Chamber Orchestra. David has been a cellist in numerous orchestras in the USA (including the Cedar Rapids Symphony and the Dayton [Ohio] Philharmonic), and in Canada (including the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Philharmonic, and the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra). He joined the Guelph Symphony Orchestra in 2004. He has also performed with chamber ensembles, including the Ariadne String Quartet, Trio Chanteclair, and he has toured in the USA and overseas with the University of Iowa's flagship ensemble, The Center for New Music. In addition, he has performed as soloist in concertos with the Victoria Conservatory Orchestra and the Western Illinois Orchestra.

David has also performed in a number of TV and film productions and on KSUI (NPR) and the CBC. David is a cello teacher, having been on the music faculties of several institutions, including Grinnell College and the Preucil School of Music. Since 2004 he has been on the faculty of the Guelph Suzuki String School of Music. In addition he is in demand across north America as a Certified Teacher Trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas and also as a guest clinician.

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Alison Feuerwerker

With a Bachelors in Music degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and an ARCT in violin performance, Alison teaches violin at her private studio in uptown Waterloo, at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, and at St. John Kilmarnock School. She is a founding member of the Waterloo Chamber Players, an active church musician, and an occasional recitalist. She particularly enjoys playing chamber music, improvising, and trying out different musical styles. In recent years she has performed with a string quartet and a guitar-and-violin duo, and in the '90's she was the keyboard player in a Reggae band.

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Sarah Garrett

Sarah Garrett began studying violin at the age of three. One of her first teachers was Jose Molina, current Concert Master of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra. At the age of ten, Sarah began piano lessons and in grade eight added the alto saxophone to her repertoire of instruments. During her secondary school years in Thunder Bay, Sarah was very active in the Fort William Collegiate Institute music department. She was Concert Mistress of the 60 piece orchestra, leader of the FWCI String Quartet, and participated in the Concert Band, Stage Band, and choir. Sarah was also a violinist with the Thunder Bay Symphony Youth Orchestra.

During her post-secondary studies in Mathematical Science at McMaster University, Sarah continued her musical endeavours by participating in both the McMaster University Orchestra and Concert Band. After obtaining a Bachelor of Education degree from Lakehead University, Sarah returned to Southern Ontario to pursue a career in teaching. Currently, she is a Design and Technology teacher in Guelph and fills her free time by coaching various sports at school and directing her school choir. In addition to her musical activities, Sarah enjoys playing soccer, cycling and cooking.

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Simon Irving

Simon Irving received his musical education in England, and first conducted as a teenager. He received his BA and MA in Natural Sciences and Economics from Cambridge University, where among other musical activities he directed a church choir as organist. He has a wide range of experience, including choral groups, stage performing and directing, and as an organist.

In Guelph he was musical director of "Hooray for Guelph" in 1993, and of "Amahl and the Night Visitors" in 1996. He also prepared and directed a community performance of the Mozart Requiem in 1995 at the Guelph Spring Festival.

He is the Founding Director of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, which has given sixty performances since it debut in March 2001. He earned the diploma of Associate of the Royal Canadian College of Organists (ARCCO) in 1989, for which he received both the Willan and Rollinson prizes. In 1994 he became a Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists (FRCCO), and again garnered top honours, being awarded the Willan, Rollinson and Porter prizes. He has studied conducting with Nurhan Arman.

He was Organist and Choir Director at Carlisle United Church for eight years, then took early retirement from his IBM management position in 1992 to devote more time to music. From 1992 until 2008 he was Director of Music at Church of Our Lady in Guelph, directing the 30-voice Adult choir and the Junior Choir. He initiated the "Sundays at Three" concert series, which ran for thirteen years, and presented over sixty concerts. He is active in the RCCO, serving as Hamilton Centre Chair 1993-95 and as National President from 1998 to 2000. He was honoured with a Distinguished Service Award from the College in 2004. He is presently Director of Music at St John the Evangelist Anglican church in Hamilton.

Contact Tel: 289-238-8658 email: simon.irving@cogeco.ca

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

David Jakobs

David was born in Sarnia, Ontario, and moved to Waterloo to continue his studies in horn. Whilst in Waterloo, he has performed with groups such as the Stratford Symphony, NUMUS, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. Currently, David is third horn with the Guelph Symphony, as well as principal horn for Opera Kitchener and the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra.

Contact email: djakobs@gmail.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Brian Joyce

Brian Joyce, principal bass, started studying bass with Lena Turofsky in Nova Scotia. He then obtained his Bachelor’s of Music Performance at the University of Toronto where he studied with Tom Monohan, John Gowan, and Ed Tait.

He can also play guitar, piano and keyboards, recorder, and a bit of percussion. In addition to being the GSO’s principal bass, Brian is principal bass of the Stratford Civic Orchestra. He has played with Orchestra London Canada in the Ovation and Pops series and plays as an extra musician with other Southwestern Ontario orchestras. When not playing, Brian works as a supply teacher in the London region, and often takes his bass along to classes. His interesting 30-minute educational show about the bass has been performed hundreds of times. Brian also teaches Suzuki guitar from home.

His newest hobby is producing Music Minus One type accompaniments on his keyboard so he can have a traveling backup band with him when he does his educational demos. Brian can be seen playing his bass in a series of short Youtube films, at:

Contact Tel: 519-474-9266 email: bjoyce@rogers.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

David Knight

A founding member of the GSO,David B. Knight, timpanist, studied voice with Covent Garden Opera singer Vera Gilbert and drumming with Bruce Mulholland in New Zealand. He continued his studies in performance at Madras College in St. Andrews, Scotland, and, in timpani, at the University of St. Andrews due to the generosity of Cedric Thorpe Davie. Knight was timpanist in the College orchestra and Scottish Youth Orchestra.

He was appointed drumming Instructor in the Music Department, Macalester College, Minnesota, and then became the timpanist in symphony, chamber, opera, and ballet orchestras in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Chicago. More recently he has performed with the Toronto’s Hart House Orchestra, University of Guelph Orchestra, Guelph Concert Band, Toronto Teachers Wind Band, Vermont Mahler Orchestra, Vermont Philharmonic, and various other orchestras.

Among many great memories as a timpanist: performing with John Fletcher (organ) in a live BBC broadcast to all of Britain and the Commonwealth; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9; Brahms’s “A German Requiem” under Noel Edison’s direction with the Elora Singers and Canada’s premier duo-pianists, James Anagnoson and Leslie Kinton; and Beethoven’s “Emperor Concerto” with the GSO and Anton Kuerti as soloist.

In his parallel life, Knight has been a university professor, an editor with the Encyclopaedia Britannica, General Editor of the Carleton University Press, President of the International Commission on the World Political Map, Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Guelph, and a visiting professor and a consultant in several countries. Knight’s numerous books include his Landscapes in Music: Space, Place, and Time in the World’s Great Music (Rowman & Littlefield). He writes the GSO’s concert program notes.

Contact Tel: 519-846-2831 email: dbknight@uoguelph.ca

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

John Liefeld

John became a Bass Violinist in Grade 9 when his father (conductor of the H.S. Orchestra), decided the orchestra needed a bass violin more than a 2nd rate French Horn player. After several months of learning the Bass he discovered that putting the bottom on the chord was much more enjoyable than playing the off beats. He enjoyed the bottom so much he also switched from French Horn to Tuba. By Grade ten he was playing the Bass Violin in the Regina Symphony and the Tuba in the Regina Legion Band. At the University of Sask. (Saskatoon), they had lots of Bass Violinists but no French Horns. So he became a French Hornist again. At graduate school in Oregon he put my instruments aside for several years.

On returning to Canada in 1965 he joined the Hamilton Philharmonic, as a Bass Violinist. When the Philharmonic developed a school demonstration program, he was co-opted into the Brass Quintet on the Tuba, because he was available to play during the school day. That Brass Quintet later evolved into the Canadian Brass, but I missed out on that.

Arriving in Guelph in 1970, few opportunities for classical bassists existed. He played with the University of Guelph Orchestra started by Stanley Saunders, and later under Henry Jansen. About 10 year ago a number of fellow musicians started the Royal City Big Band in which he still plays. A couple of years ago the Guelph Concert band decided they needed at least one stringed instrument, and John was invited to become a member. Since the band often plays orchestral works scored for brass band (with string bass), this is an enjoyable situation. When the GCO was formed he was invited to participate and eagerly accepted.

John's bass violin is the one he purchased in Grade 10, a $300 Kay. It has mellowed with age (like single malt scotch) and today produces rich orchestral tonal qualities.

Contact Email: jliefeld@uoguelph.ca

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Edward Malison

Ed Malison (2nd Trumpet / GSO board member) is a lifetime native of Guelph and frequently performs special masses with Simon Irving and other organists in southern Ontario, also doing weddings, military memorial services, etc. He graduated from the University of Toronto (St. Michael's College) holding a B.Sc. in Physical Sciences, but music has always been an important part of his life. Ed has been a semi-professional musician for his entire career while working professionally in the chemical industry for over 25 years.

Currently, he is the Director of Business Development for CenterLine (Windsor) Ltd. Although he travels extensively in the United States, he always brings his trumpet mouthpiece along so he can "keep the chops in shape by buzzing”.

Ed has been playing trumpet since age 8. Early teachers included Bob Emberson and Sydney Crossland. Though self-taught, he is also an accomplished bass guitarist and vocalist. Ed has been married for 25 years to Bruna, and has three daughters Vanessa, Jenna and Sara. The entire family is both musical and athletic: piano lessons during the week and the weekends are always busy traveling to hockey or baseball tournaments (Ed has also coached his daughters’ fastball All-Star teams). Ed has a twin brother (Steven) who chose music as a primary profession and is a Professor of Musical Recording Arts & Digital Audio at Fanshawe College in London working with, among others, well-known Juno Award winner and producer Jack Richardson, O.C. Like many semi-professional musicians, the Malison brothers each have a home-based digital recording studio where they can collaborate with each other on musical and video productions for corporate clients.

When asked about the GSO, Ed lights up: “I love working with the GSO because it keeps my musical skills sharp. I really enjoy the company of the players, board and staff team members because they are hard working and very fun to be with!”

Contact Tel: 519-836-5405 Cell: 416-835-6422 email: edmalison@sympatico.ca

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Fiona McCairley

Fiona McCairley, clarinet, was born in Scotland and began her musical journey playing violin at age 8. She came to Canada at age 12, and studied violin with Daphne Hughes. She began playing clarinet a couple of years later. Favouring the clarinet over violin, it became her main instrument and she went on to obtain a degree in music (performance) at Wilfrid Laurier University, studing under Victor Sawa, Pauline Minevich, and Ross Edwards, as well as taking chamber music courses with members of the Penderecki Quartet. She was also chosen to perform a masterclass with James Campbell, Canada's leading clarinetist. She has played with the Guelph Youth Orchestra, the Wilfrid Laurier University Orchestra, was concertmistress of the WLU Wind Ensemble, and while living in France from 1998 to 2000 played with the Bourge en Bresse Symphony Orchestra.

She joined the Guelph Symphony Orchestra in February 2005, after being pleasantly surprised to see that Guelph had such an option! Fiona lives in Guelph with her husband and two daughters, and occasionally still dabbles in a little fiddle music.

Contact Tel: 519-821-2338 email: fmccairley@yahoo.ca

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Matt McCall

Matt McCall, French horn, is a native of Ajax. He has been playing Horn for 12 years. Originally a Trumpet player studying under Guy Few, he eventually saw the "light" and switched to Horn studies while attending University. He has an Honours Bachelor of Music Degree with a Post-Grad Diploma in Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University where he studied with Nina Brickman. He continued his studies at McGill University in the Masters of Music - Orchestral Performance program under the MSO Principal Hornist John Zirbel.

Matt also plays currently with the K-W Chamber Orchestra and Wellington Winds. He keeps his Trumpet roots alive and well as a member of "The Golden Keys", a well known Dance Band which is very active in Ontario and most well known for their award-winning K-W Oktoberfest parties each year. Matt currently lives right here in Guelph with his lovely wife Heidi and their two children, Briar and Griffin. Besides music (when he finds the time...), he enjoys playing soccer, golf and skiing.

Contact Tel: 519-265-1991 email: matt.mccall@syngenta.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Catherine Molina

Catherine Molina, principal viola, is a performance graduate of both the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music. She has also completed advanced chamber music studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and in Assisi Italy at the Academia Ottorino Respighi.

Catherine has been a member of the Thunder Bay Symphony, the Toronto Sinfonietta and has performed with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. In addition to maintaining an active teaching studio, Catherine is a member of the Canadian Guild of Film Composers, the Artelli String Quartet and the Royal Conservatory of Music's College of Examiners.

Contat Tel: 519-763-4111 email: astringquartet@rogers.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Jose Molina

Jose Molina, concert-master, made his solo debut with the Far East Symphony Orchestra in his native Philippines at age 14, playing the Wieniawski violin concerto. After completing (at his father's insistence) a Bachelor of Commerce degree , Jose travelled to British Columbia to study with Jean-Jacques Kantarov at the Johannesson International Summer Academy. It was here that he met Viennese violin virtuoso Paul Kling, Dean of the Music Department at the University of Victoria, who would become a life-long mentor and friend. Kling arranged for Jose to receive a full scholarship to attend U. Vic as his student. Jose was the winner of the University Concerto Competition and upon graduation was invited to join the Faculty String Quartet.

A seasoned orchestral musician, Jose has played with the Victoria Symphony, The Thunder Bay Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia and the New Brunswick Symphony. Highlights of his career include being invited to tour South-East Asia with Pavarotti and performing for the Pope during his 2002 Canadian visit.

Currently Jose performs with the Royal Opera Orchestra (www.royaloperacanada.com) and is the first violinist in the Artelli String Quartet. In summer 2004 Jose apprenticed with Horacio Pinero and Quentin Playfair in the violin restoration class at the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Contact Tel: 519-763-4111 email: openstrings@rogers.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Anne Monkhouse

Anne Monkhouse is the principal flautist in the Guelph Symphony Orchestra. She received her Honours Bachelor of Music from the University of Western Ontario and her Bachelor of Education from Althouse College. Since then Anne has been a flautist with various orchestras, including the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, and, of course, the Guelph Symphony Orchestra. She has taught flute at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Anne has been the conductor of Guelph Youth Singers youngest choir, and interim choir director of the Trinity United Church choir. She has also conducted choral workshops and numerous musicals. Of note, she received the adjudicator’s award for best musical direction for the Western Ontario Drama League Festival for Galt Little Theatre’s production of Oliver.

During the summer of 2006, Anne Monkhouse went with her husband John, and children Neil and Laine, all active musicians, on tour to Austria and the Czech Republic as singer/flautist with the Guelph Chamber choir. Anne was recently nominated for a KWArts Award for her contribution to the performing arts in Waterloo County.

Contact Tel: 519-821-8066

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Larry Moser

Larry Moser is the GSO’s principal clarinettist. A native of Kitchener, Larry received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Western Ontario. He then went on to earn a Master of Music as a Woodwind Specialist from Michigan State University. Larry taught high school music for 25 years. Now retired, he teaches woodwinds privately and performs in various groups including the Wellington Winds, the Royal City Saxophone Quartet, and the Guelph Symphony Orchestra.

Contact Tel: 519-579-8503

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Margaret Robinson

Margaret Robinson, flute, fulfilled a lifelong wish by returning to music as a mature student. In 2001 she graduated with distinction from Wilfrid Laurier University in flute performance and then went on, with the help of an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, to attend the University of Toronto. She graduated from there in 2003 with a Masters in Flute Performance. Although this was hugely challenging, there are no regrets and now she is enjoying playing wherever she is invited. She has performed with the Grand River Baroque Festival for three seasons, has participated in orchestras throughout southern Ontario, and performed as a concerto soloist with the York Chamber Ensemble in Aurora, Ontario. In August 2007 she participated in the recording of eight newly written works by Canadian composers for Flute Ensemble. This was a wonderful experience.

Besides chamber and orchestral music, Margaret has a deep love of choral music and sings with the Guelph's Dublin St. United Church chancel choir and other area choirs.

Contact email: merobinson@rogers.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Vanessa Rukholm

Vanessa Rukholm Vanessa’s love affair with the violin began when, as a three year old, she visited her grandmother in Toronto. Over dinner at a Hungarian restaurant, a gypsy violinist spellbound her with his music. From then on Vanessa insisted she wanted to ‘play like the gypsy man.’ At the age of five she was put in a Suzuki String programme in Sudbury, Ontario, where she grew up. Her passion for the violin never waned and still remains an important part of her life.

While in high school, Vanessa was a member of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and she was accepted into the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYOC) in 1997 and 1998. Her experiences with the NYOC were beyond memorable and she happily recalls the excitement of touring Canada from coast to coast and playing in some of Europe’s most picturesque cities. In 1998, she was a winner of INCO’s ‘Search for Excellence’ competition and won the opportunity to perform Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen as soloist with the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra.

In 2004, Vanessa performed with the University of Notre Dame Choir and in 2005, during a yearlong adventure in New Zealand, she was a member of the Nelson Symphony Orchestra. She returned to Canada to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Toronto and is currently doing her dissertation research on Second Language Acquisition. While in Toronto she was a member of the Hart House Orchestra and was Principal Second Violin in 2006.

Vanessa moved to Guelph with her husband in 2007. She is a busy Mommy to her 18-month old boy and will also be teaching Italian at Wilfrid Laurier and Waterloo universities in the coming year. Vanessa joined the GSO’s first violin section in 2008. She appreciates her instrument not only for its gift of music, but also for the many friendships it has helped her forge over the years. Interestingly, music making means she continuously crosses paths with fellow musicians she met in years past, several of whom are also in the GSO! She is so pleased to be playing alongside such talented and kind_hearted people and looks forward to many more seasons with the GSO.

Contact Email: vrukholm@yahoo.ca

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Carol Sammut

Carol grew up in Owen Sound and studied with Edourd Bartlett throughout grade 7,8 and high school (OSCVI). She received her Honours B.A. in Music Performance from WLU, where she studied with Alec Catherwood. She then studied with Viktor Danchenko and Gerard Kantarjian in the Orchestral Training Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She became an itinerant strings teacher for the Toronto Board of Education as well as teaching privately while she studied for and then received a B.A. Education from the University of Toronto. She became a grade 7/8 teacher for the York Region Board of Education.

She played with the East York, North York, Oshawa and Mississauga Symphonies for several years before moving in 1992 to Kitchener where she taught strings and classroom subjects for the Waterloo Region District School Board. In addition, she played with the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra then became one of the founding members of the Waterloo Chamber Players. She performs on a 1981 Bartlett violin. In 1996 she married Mark and moved to Guelph and in 1998 she had Nicholas and in 2000 Leah. She is currently teaching Grade 7 and 8 strings at MacGregor Senior Public School in Waterloo. She is a founding member of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra.

Contact Email: carol.sammut@rogers.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Jay Samuel

Jay Samuel took formal lessons to play the violin in India where he was born. He later took and successfully passed the exams to become an Associate of Trinity College of Music, London (A.T.C.L.). He was a founding member and the Principal Second violinist of the Delhi Symphony Orchestra. He arrived in Canada in 1966 to undertake graduate studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He subsequently was employed as a Medical Technologist at Guelph’s St. Joseph’s Hospital for many years before moving to the Guelph General Hospital. Jay enjoys playing chamber music with various colleagues. and is a founding member of the GSO.

Contact Email: jaysamuel@rogers.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Dirk Schlums

A native of Braunschweig, Germany, Dirk began playing the violin at the age of six and continued his training under A. Walter, principal violist of the Braunschweig State Orchestra. Joining the local Youth Symphony Orchestra provided a stimulating environment to discover major symphonic compositions and to learn about playing in a large ensemble. While studying Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Braunschweig, he co-founded the string quartet "Crescendo" and performed at various events and concerts, including the recording of a CD.

As an exchange student at the University of Waterloo, Dirk met his wife Debbie Ebanks. After getting married in 1994, he moved to Zurich to receive his Doctorate of Technical Sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. During this time, the music activities were reduced partly due to the attention to his growing family of five, and partly due to the call of the Swiss mountains with excellent snowboarding opportunities. After moving to Ontario, Dirk re-discovered his love for music, joined the GSO in 2004 and he has enjoyed playing regularly for the Guelph Symphony since then.

Contact Email: dschlums@husky.ca

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

[no picture available]

Tony Snyder

Tony Snyder, principal horn, received his bachelor of music at the University of Western Ontario. He studied horn with Ronald George, Robert Creech and John Simonelli. He has performed in masterclasses for Hermann Baumann, Ifor James and Michael Holtzel.

Tony has performed as a soloist and principal player with the Sudbury Symphony, North Bay Symphony and the Northern Music Festival Orchestra. Currently he is also principal horn of the Wellington Winds and performs with Brassroots of London. Tony also plays and builds guitars in his spare time.

Contact Tel: 519-888-7229
email: tony_snyder@wrdsb.on.ca

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Doug Sloan

Doug was born in Toronto, where he received all his schooling. After graduating from the Mathematics and Physics course from University of Toronto, he completed theology studies at Emmanuel College. He was assigned to a parish in rural Saskatchewan.

Doug's musical interest was inherited from his parents. He began studying the violin at age 10 and it has been a lifetime companion. He played in his High School Orchestra, Royal Conservatory of Toronto Orchestra, and more recently, he has been a member of the former U. of G. Civic Orchestra, and the Brantford Symphony conducted by Stanley Saunders. He joined the Guelph Symphony Orchestra in 2002.

Though his studies of violin were interrupted during college years, he did complete his A.R.C.T. in 1951. Violin teachers included Jack Montague, Elie Spivak of Toronto, and Jim Fenton in Saskatchewan. For the past 3 years, he has studied with John Bartlett of Fergus. In addition to orchestral work, Doug has done considerable solo playing, performing in churches, nursing homes, and elsewhere over the years. The GSO has added a new pleasure and challenge.

Other interests include family, curling, golfing, reading and cottage life. On several occasions he has served as a tour host to countries in Europe and the Middle East.

Contact Email: joysloan@attcanada.ca

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Evelyn Somer

Evelyn Somer Evelyn grew up in the Windsor area and has been playing the French Horn since the age of nine. She has been privileged to take lessons with Fergus McWilliam, Anne Marie Monaco, Eugene Wade, among others. While living in the Toronto area, Evelyn played with several groups, primarily the Northdale Concert Band and the North York Concert Orchestra. Currently living in Kitchener, Evelyn now performs with the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, Wellington Winds, Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra, and the Rosewood Wind Quintet.

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Justin St-Maurice

Justin St-Maurice, cello, was born in Utah but moved to London, Ontario when three years old. He began playing the cello at age eight, and studied with Terry Sefton for 10 years. He has played in quartets as well as in the London Youth Symphony for four years under conductor Stan Kopac. He twice toured in Europe with the latter orchestra.

He graduated from the Engineering Systems and Computing program at the University of Guelph in 2007. While still a student, he founded "The Guelph Computer Shop" in downtown Guelph. He joined the GSO in 2007.

Contact Email: stmaurice@gmail.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

[no picture available]

Lauren Strong

Lauren Strong is the GSO's principal trombonist, playing alto and tenor trombone. She is studying trombone at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo with both the principal and second trombonists of the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, Joseph Castello and Rachel Thomas. Lauren is an active student teacher and upon receiving her Honours Bachelor of Music, she will continue with her post secondary studies at teacher’s college.

Lauren has performed in myriad musical settings and is equally at home in a big band or a chamber group as she is in the orchestra. In the summer of 2007 she performed with the Band of the Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa, and she is currently a member of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Band in the Canadian Forces. Lauren has participated in masterclasses of Joseph Alessi (New York Philharmonic), David Martin (McGill), and Karen Donnelly (National Arts Centre Orchestra), and has performed under the batons of Uri Mayer, Edwin Outwater, Major Nilsen (H.M. Kongens Garde of Norway), Brian Jackson, Colin Clarke, Michael Purves-Smith, and Howard Cable.

Presently, Lauren is a Guelph resident and actively pursues an involved musical lifestyle in both military and civilian contexts.

E-mail: lauren.e.strong@gmail.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Heather Thomson

A GSO percussionist, Heather Thomson has been an active member of community concert bands since the age of 13, including the Oakville Wind Orchestra and the Wellington Winds. She has also performed with orchestras, notably the Kitchener Waterloo Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Wilfrid Laurier University Orchestra, and she has played with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony on several occasions. She completed a music degree with honours in theory at Wilfrid Laurier University. She currently lives and works in Guelph and enjoys playing percussion with a number of local bar bands. One of her cherished memories is playing the timpani in the Wilfrid Laurier University Orchestra’s multi-media performance of "Carmina Burana".

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

[no picture available]

Marlena Tureski

Cellist Marlena Tureski, a native of Saskatchewan, began her professional studies at the VCM with James Hunter in 1977, at the same time playing with the Victoria Symphony, the Canadian Chamber Orchestra, and studying with Zara Nelsova in Master Classes and at the Banff Centre. Other Master Class studies include those with Janos Starker, Leonard Rose, and Harvey Shapiro. In 1981, Ms. Tureski joined the Vancouver Symphony, with which she continues to play on occasion. Most recently she has been a freelance cellist in Chicago, concentrating on chamber music with members of the Chicago Symphony, Chicago Chamber Musicians, and Lyric Opera. She has also been a regular freelance cellist with the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera. Throughout her career of symphonic and chamber music, and many solo performances, Marlena Tureski has continued to inspire private students of all ages, coaching orchestral sections and audition repertoire for aspiring young professionals.

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Hector Vasquez

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Hector Vasquez, cellist, began his musical training at the National Conservatory of his native city with the Belgian maestro Leon Roy. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Violoncelle performance) at the National Conservatory in Puerto Rico with Adolfo Odnopossof and the internationally renowned Catalonian cellist Pablo Casals. He then studied with Claus Kanngiesser at Germany’s Musikhochschule of the Saarland in Saarbrucken, and later also with maestro Sir William Pleeth in London, England, and with the Brazilian maestro Aldo Parisot at Yale University. While in England, Hector played period instruments with “The Early Cello Consort,” touring the United Kingdom and Europe.

Hector has been principal cellist of the Venezuelan Symphony Orchestra, Soloist of Venezuela, the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra. In Florida, where he lived in 2000-2003, he was principal cellist at the Florida Grand Opera, Miami Symphony Orchestra, Florida Chamber Orchestra, Palm Beach Opera, Palm Beach Pops, and Boca Pops. In Canada since 2004, Hector has played with the Waterloo Chamber Players, the Waterloo Community Orchestra, and he has been principal cellist of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra.

He has performed as soloist with the Venezuelan Symphony Orchestra, Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, Soloist of Venezuela, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Camerata de Solistas, Florida Chamber Orchestra, Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and the Antioquia Symphony Orchestra, Medellin, Colombia.

Hector is also active as a recitalist. His many recitals have included the Conrad Grebel Noon Recitals; K-W Chamber Music Society; various series in Colombia, including those in Bogotá, Cali, and Medellin; the Teatro Teresa in Carreno, Venezuela; and the Carnegie Recital Hall, New York.

Hector Vasquez will perform the Haydn Cello Concerto in D Major with the Waterloo Chamber Players in April 2008. And he will perform Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Guelph Symphony Orchestra in March 2008.

E-mail: hvasquez22@hotmail.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Amy Wark

Amy plays percussion and piano in the GSO. She began her formal music training in piano at the age of 5, and studied piano under both Mary Inkster and Ilse Kraus. From an early age, Amy was involved in both vocal and instrumental music at church, and before long she was filling in for the organist as a part time job. She started to teach the piano in her early teens, and also began playing alto saxophone in a swing band and drums in her parent’s garage. Amy studied piano at the University of Windsor under Dr. E. Gregory Butler, while focussing on a career in music therapy with professors Valerie Ivy and Sandi Curtis.

She played timpani and percussion in numerous orchestras and ensembles throughout her undergraduate years and she became so proficient at the guitar that she was invitedto perform with members of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra (WSO). During this time, Amy was also involved in a collaborative pilot project with members of the WSO for the Music in Medicine Project, providing music therapy to palliative cancer patients in Windsor hospitals. Now a professional music therapist, she has worked at the world renowned W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind in Brantford. She was chosen to speak about her work with the visually impaired at the annual Canadian Association of Music Therapy conference in May 2006. She recently started her own business No Boundaries, Just Music Therapy, which provides music therapy services to a wide variety of clients, from seniors to the deaf and hard of hearing in the GTA. Amy is the music director/organist at St. John’s on the Hill United Church in Cambridge, plays drums in several ensembles, and performs with the Guelph Concert Band. She also has an active teaching studio in Flamborough, including piano, guitar, and drum students.

Contact Tel: 905 466 3774 Email: warkawark@yahoo.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.

Margaret Zak

Margaret is Assistant Concert Master with the GSO, and a founding member of the orchestra. Trained as a musician and teacher, she has been a professional violinist and teacher in her home country, Poland, and in Canada. She has a Masters Degree in Musical Arts and Pedagogy with specialization in the violin from the University of Wroclaw. During her years in Poland, Margaret successfully trained students for admission to Warsaw University, and many of them have become prize winners in Polish national music competitions. Margaret has worked professionally with various orchestras in Poland, Switzerland, Germany, and Russia.

Since arriving in Canada in 1996, she has developed professional associations involving local musicians, playing with quartets, and with the G.S.O. She also teaches the violin to students of all ages at the Guelph School of Music. Five of Margaret's Canadian students are recipients of the Royal Conservatory of Music Silver Medal. Besides music, she has travelled extensively through Europe and the Middle-East during her summers, and enjoys nordic skiing during winters. Her teaching philosophy involves a living relationship of give and take, and of mutual support and learning. To Margaret, music is an amazing blend of discipline and imagination brought to life by the strings of the violin.

Contact Phone: 519-836-4032
Email: janbzak@rogers.com

Click BACK to return to the previous page.