resident quartets | music faculty | past concert programs

Marie Berard (violin - Session II), Concert Master Canadian Opera Company Orch., sought after chamber musician, soloist, recording artist and teacher. Former member Toronto Symph. Orch. Highly regarded as interpreter of new music. Solo recordings include solo sonatas of Bright Cheng, Anthony Davis, Alfred Schnittke Concerto Grosso #1 and "Meditation" from Thais. Regular performer at numerous chamber music festivals.

Meran Currie-Roberts (cello), Meran Currie-Roberts is currently one of Toronto's most active cellists. Recent chamber music appearances have included performances at the Glenn Gould Studio, Festival of the Sound, Elora Festival, Festival Ibero Americano (Puerto Rico), Huntsville Festival, Festival Vancouver, Toronto Music Garden, and Barrie's Colors of Music. As an orchestral performer, she plays with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London, the Windsor Symphony, Tapestry New Opera, and the Thunder Bay Symphony. An active recording musician, Meran has recorded for CBC records, the NFB, and has been broadcast on CBC Radio 2's "Music Around Us" and "In Performance". Meran maintains a studio of private students and has taught and performed at the Kincardine Festival, Interprovincial Music Camp, Music at Port Milford, and the University of Toronto. She is a certified Suzuki teacher and holds a teaching diploma from the Victoria Conservatory of Music. She has an M.Mus from UofT, where she studied with Shauna Rolston.

Susan Gagnon (cello), Principal contributor to new RCM cello syllabus. RCM examiner. Adjudicator and workshop teacher in Montreal and Ontario area. RCM faculty since 1984. Member Hamilton Philharmonic and String Quartet Panache. Mus. B., U. of Western Ontario. Master Classes with Janos Starker, Aldo Parisot, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi.

Rachel Handman (violin), Extensive work with alternative string styles: Bolivian Salsa Band, Guapacha, Accoustic Folk Bluegrass Band, Barebones and Wildflowers. Healing Through Music Project. Has accompanied Richie Havens, Livingston Taylor, Roberta Flack, Ray Charles among others. Member Tourmaline String Quartet, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Ridgefield Symphony.

Rohan Gregory (violin), Member, award-winning Arden String Quartet. Wide-ranging interest in chamber music, including performance with Klezmatics and Itzhak Perlman, tours to Thailand with flutist Abbey Rabinovitz, to India with the Indo-jazz group Natraj, and nationally with the SophiaBilides Greek Folk Ensemble. Active freelancer throughout New England, has played with Boston Symphony, B.S.O. Pops, Boston Ballet Orchestra and Boston Lyric Opera. Coached for Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. Mus.B. from Oberlin Conservatory with Marilyn McDonald; M.M. from Univ. of Mass. with Charles Treger.

Katharine Rapoport (violin and viola - Session I), Performance Faculty, University of Toronto and Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto. Freelance Violist and chamber musician in Toronto. M.A. Cambridge University; post-graduate Certificate of Advanced Studies in Violin, Guildhall School of Music, London, with Yfrah Neaman. Viola studies in Siena, Detmold and Vienna with Bruno Giuranna and Hatto Beyerle (Alban Berg Quartet). Author, newly released, Violin for Dummies.

Angela Rudden (viola - Session II), Principal violist National Ballet, member Canadian Opera Co. Performances as soloist and chamber musician in Europe and Japan. Private teaching studio, Toronto. Mus.B. Queens U., M.M. Musik Hochschule Munich.

Paul Widner (cello - Session II), is active as a cellist in Toronto and has performed throughout Erope, the United States and Canada as soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. He is on the faculty of the Glenn Gould School and the University of Toronto and is the assistant principal cellist of the Canadian Opera Company orchestra. His expertise and specialty has been in contemporary music. He is the principal cellist with the Esprit orchestra, founding member of the Continuum ensemble and performs regularly with New Music Concerts, Arraymusic and Soundstreams. He has debuted and commissioned numerous Canadian works. He has recently performed as soloist in the North American premiere of the Penderecki "Triple Concerto" and "Seven Words" by Sofia Bubaidulina. Mr. Widner records with CBC records and other independent labels. He has performed at numberous music festivals including Huddersfield, Chicago, Amsterdam, Athens as well as the Edinburgh Festival.

Chris Eastburn (choral conductor) M.M. Boston University. Arranger, choral director and award winning composer. Works performed at Carnegie Hall, Getty Museum, Jordan Hall, Cunningham Studios. Artistic director of Boston's much-heralded intergenerational Family Folk Chorale which has performed with Robbie O'Connell (of the Clancy Bros.), Tracy Grammer, Scott Alarik, Bill Staines.

Adine Mintz (choral conductor), Masters of Conducting, U.of Toronto, Conductor, St Clements Community Orch. Assist. Conductor (under John Barnum), Mississauga Symph..Orch ’04-05, Apprentice Conductor (under Boris Brott), National Academy Orch. ‘03

George Garrett Keast (orchestral conductor) will serve as Assistant Conductor of The Dallas Opera during the 2005-2006 season. During the 2004-2005 season, Mr. Keast serves as Resident Conductor of the Queens Symphony Orchestra where he conducts ten concerts and is a finalist for the orchestra’s Music Directorship. Mr. Keast also serves as an Associate Conductor of New York City Opera, where he assists and covers George Manahan in Dialogues of the Carmelites. He travels to the Syracuse Symphony to lead a set of Carrier Corporation Symphony Kids Concerts and returns to New York's PRISM Opera Showcase for concert performances of Tosca and The Magic Flute. Additionally, this season marks George Garrett Keast’s fifth season on the Titles Staff of The Metropolitan Opera. (website)

Michael Newnham (orchestral conductor), Music Director of the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, the Niagara Youth Orchestra and the Kawartha Youth Orchestra. He is an alumnus of the Indiana University School of Music and of the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. Former Conductor of the Warsaw Chamber Opera and Professor of Conducting at the Taegu-Hyosung University in South Korea. Recoently Conductor of Gala Concert for Pope John Paul II at Toronto's Air Canada Centre.