Bassoon

• Christopher Millard
  

Cello

• Paul Marleyn
  

Clarinet

• Shauna McDonald
• Kimball Sykes

Double bass

• David Currie

Flute

• Camille Churchfield

Guitar

• Philip Candelaria
• Denis Donegani
• Patrick Roux
• Louis Trépanier

Horn

• Daniel Gress
  

Jazz

• Yves Laroche

Oboe

• Charles Hamann
  

Orchestra conductor

• David Currie
  

Percussion

• Kenneth Simpson
• Jonathan Wade

Piano

• David Jalbert
• Stéphane Lemelin
• Andrew Tunis

Saxophone

• Victor Herbiet

Trombone

• Douglas Burden
• Donald Renshaw
  

Trumpet

• Karen Donnelly
• Eric Rupp
  

Tuba

• Martin Labrosse
  

Viola

• Rennie Regehr
  

Violin

• Yehonatan Berick

Voice

• Donna Brown
• Laurence Ewashko
• Sandra Graham
• Ingemar Korjus
• Yoriko Tanno-Kimmons
  

Christopher Millard, one of Canada’s best known woodwind artists, joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra as principal bassoon at the beginning of the 2004-2005 season.

Christopher Millard was the principal bassoon for the Vancouver Symphony and the CBC Radio Orchestra for 28 years. He is however no stranger to the NAC Orchestra. He performed as acting principal bassoon for the 1987-1988 season while then-principal bassoon Gerald Corey was on leave-of-absence.

A regular guest artist and teacher at the Scotia, Orford and Ottawa Festivals, the Domaine Forget in Quebec and the Banff Centre, Christopher Millard has also appeared in concert and recordings with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Marlboro Festival, the World Orchestra for Peace, the Grand Teton Music Festival and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

A student of the legendary Sol Schoenbach at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, Mr. Millard also studied with the great French flutist Marcel Moyse. He has become an important teacher himself. He has been a faculty member of the University of British Columbia, bassoon professor for the National Youth Orchestra where for 20 years he helped to nurture many of the best of the new generation of Canadian wind players, and joined the University of Ottawa music faculty in the fall of 2004.

He has received wide praise for his four solo recordings, which include a disc in the prestigious “OrchestraPro” series for Summit Records and a recent CBC records disc of Italian concerti with Mario Bernardi and the CBC Radio Orchestra. He is also a member of the acclaimed Caliban Bassoon Quartet. His most recent recordings, both on CBC records, include a new Schubert Octet and the Hétu Bassoon Concerto, the latter of which recently won a 2004 Juno Award. In a recent review of his CD Duos, the peer journal The Double Reed called Mr. Millard “one of the great bassoonists of the 20th century.”

Christopher Millard has a second career as a musical instrument technician and manufacturer. In Vancouver, he was a partner with Backun Musical Services, a Vancouver company that specializes in high-end woodwind repairs and is currently developing its own line of clarinets.

Paul Marleyn has appeared in recital and as soloist with orchestras throughout Europe, North America and Asia, and is heard regularly on radio in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Recent engagements have included tours in Serbia, the United Kingdom and China. An active chamber musician, he has participated in many chamber music festivals in Canada, the United States and Europe, and has collaborated with members of the Tokyo, Vermeer, St. Lawrence and Hagen string quartets. Since 2000, he has been artistic director of the Agassiz Summer Chamber Music Festival and Agassiz Chamber Players series in Winnipeg.

With a special interest in new music, he has been a frequent guest of Ensemble Modern in Germany and at new music festivals in North America and Europe. He has commissioned works from, among others, Bramwell Tovey, Glen Buhr and Rodion Shchedrin. He is Professor of Cello at the University of Ottawa, and frequently gives master classes in North America, Europe and Asia.

Shauna McDonald joined the Ottawa Symphony as principal clarinetist in September 2008, at the same time becoming a member of the clarinet faculty at the University of Ottawa. She also performs frequently with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. In September 2009, Shauna began coaching the Senior Wind Ensemble at the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy, a position she shares with OSO colleague Susan Morris.

Shauna began her clarinet study with Stephen Robb in Vancouver, B.C. Her first orchestral experience was with the Delta Youth Orchestra, with whom she performed the Johann Stamitz Concerto at age 16. She subsequently played and toured with the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra until graduating high school. Shauna then moved to Montreal to study clarinet at McGill University with Robert Crowley. After finishing her degree in performance, Shauna was offered a full scholarship to pursue a Master's degree in Performance with Larry Combs at DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois. While there, Shauna won the principal clarinet chair in the DePaul Symphony Orchestra. She also performed and recorded with DePaul's
top chamber group during both years. In 2008, DePaul conferred on Shauna the degree of Master of Music Performance, with honors.

Shauna has been a two time prize winner in the Elora Music Festival, has performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Pembroke Symphony Orchestra and several concerts at the Ottawa International Chamberfest. She has presented masterclasses for the National Arts Centre Master Musician program and keeps a full private studio.

Shauna has played with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and L'Orchestre de la Francophonie, and under the batons of Pinkas Zukerman, Yoav Talmi, Bramwell Tovey, and Paul Nadler. She has performed throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe. She can be heard on CBC broadcasts with NACO, NYOC, OFC and the McGill Contemporary Ensemble.

Kimball Sykes joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra as principal clarinet in 1985.

Born in Vancouver, he received a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of British Columbia where he studied with Ronald Dekant. In 1982 Mr. Sykes 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 principal clarinet of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Sykes has performed as a soloist with the NAC Orchestra on numerous occasions. 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 Copland Clarinet Concerto, both conducted by Pinchas Zukerman. Other groups he has appeared with as soloist include Thirteen Strings, the Honolulu Symphony and the Auckland Philharmonia.

Mr. Sykes 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, which is included in the NAC Orchestra’s double Mozart CD released by CBC Records in 2003. Kimball Sykes is currently on faculty at the University of Ottawa.

David Currie is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and the University of Michigan. He joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 1971, and retired as principal double bass in 1992. His conducting studies have been with Maestro Franco Ferrara in Siena, Italy, and Professor Morihiro Okabe of the Toho Gakuen School of Music, Tokyo.

In January 1992, David Currie joined the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, where he holds the post of Music Director. In addition, he has guest-conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Opera Lyra Ottawa productions. David Currie has been a member of the teaching staff of the School of Music, University of Ottawa since 1976, as well as conductor of the University of Ottawa Orchestra. During his sabbatical leave for the 1998-99 academic year he guest-conducted in Prague, Vienna, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Naples, Florida.

Camille Churchfield joined the flute faculty at University of Ottawa’s School of Music in 2005 after having served as Principal Flute of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for 29 years. Now performing with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ms. Churchfield was a concerto soloist nearly every season in Vancouver as well as in other Canadian cities; her creative musicianship and luminous tone have earned the respect of audiences across the country.

She has performed with an array of Vancouver chamber music groups as well as with Scotia Festival, the Seattle International Chamber Music Festival, Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival in Maryland, Northwestern University Faculty Woodwind Quintet in Chicago, Prince Edward County Music Festival,Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and Music and Beyond, and has been heard often on CBC Radio. As Guest Principal she has played with NACO, Milwaukee Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Quebec Symphony and the Toronto Symphony with whom she toured Europe.

Ms. Churchfield recorded many times with the Vancouver Symphony and can be heard on disk with bassoonist Christopher Millard (Summit Records). Her training on the flute includes study with the preeminent British flutist William Bennett as well as earlier work with Paul Renzi, Roger Stevens, Julius Baker and Murray Panitz, and she owes a fond debt of gratitude to the many colleagues from whose musical wisdom she has learned over the years.  In another area of interest, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.

Ms. Churchfield was a long-time faculty member at the University of British Columbia and she now devotes much of her professional time and energy to teaching and mentoring aspiring musicians in Ottawa where she leads the University of Ottawa’s School of Music flute faculty, maintains an active private studio and coaches chamber and orchestral groups.  She has enjoyed traveling to many Universities and communities across Canada to hear and work with young performers in masterclasses and to adjudicate competitions.  Summertime sees her serving on the faculties of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and Domaine Forget Music Academy, where her skills have contributed to the successful professional lives of many Canadian flutists. 

Already well established as one of Canada's top classical guitarists, Philip Candelaria is now becoming recognized internationally as one of the finest performers of his generation. Winner of several national competitions in Canada and the USA, Philip Candelaria was also the first North American to win the dégre excellence at the Bartoli International Guitar Competition in France. Now, Candelaria regularly tours across Canada, and has performed extensively in the United States and South America, as well as in Europe and the Caribbean.

Philip Candelaria has performed at international festivals in Canada, the USA, Jamaica, and Argentina. His recordings have been described as "dazzling", "distinguished", and "masterful". He has also been featured on numerous television broadcasts as well as CBC radio broadcasts in Canada, overseas and on American, Jamaican and Chilean radio.

Born in Connecticut, Philip Candelaria was trained at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C. and at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland where, with the generous support of the Canada Council, he completed his Master's degree in guitar performance, studying with Aaron Shearer.

Mr. Candelaria is on the music faculties of both Cambrian College and Laurentian University and gives regular masterclasses at the University of Ottawa as a member of the ensemble-in-residence, the Canadian Guitar Quartet. As a guest artist his masterclasses are popular throughout Canada, the USA and Chile. As well, Candelaria has adjudicated guitar competitions at the national and international levels and is committed to involving young people with music—both through running a Suzuki guitar program and by making school concerts and workshops part of his touring schedule every season.

Denis Donegani graduated from the Quebec Conservatory of Music and then received his Master’s degree from the University of Montréal. He has taken masterclasses with some of the world’s best: David Russell, Roberto Aussel, Roland Dyens and Manuel Barrueco. Donegani is the recipient of numerous awards and grants and has been featured on FM-Radio Canada and on CBC-FM Radio. In 1991, he won the Guitare Mauricie Quebec Competition and in 1992 received a grant from the Office Franco-Quebecois pour la Jeunese, which allowed him to tour France and Canada. He continues to publish arrangements for the Canadian Guitar Quartet, of which he is a member, with Productions d’Oz. He served as an assistant professor at the University of Montreal and is presently the head professor of the guitar program at l’École de Musique de l’Outaouais as well as teaching at the University of Ottawa.

Patrick Roux won the Canadian National Guitar Competition in 1989, solidifying his reputation as one of Canada's finest guitarists. In 1992 he won second place at the prestigious Concours International de Duo de Guitare Classique de Montélimar, France with partner Robert Latreille. This outstanding duo then recorded their first CD in 1993. Roux is also an accomplished composer and his works are published by Productions d'Oz.

He has created a repertoire for the group Contretemps/Go, with whom he released a début compact disc in 1996 and now composes and arranges for the Canadian Guitar Quartet. Roux is often heard on CBC radio, on both the French and English networks and has performed with orchestra and played for the Queen of Jordan, the Princess of Holland, the Prime Minister and the Governor General of Canada. He teaches music at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Gatineau and at the University of Ottawa.

Louis Trépanier was born in Ottawa in 1971 and grew-up in Hull, Québec, where he studied classical guitar at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec à Hull, under the guidance of Patrick Roux. Upon receiving the Prix en Guitare in 1998, he co-founded the Canadian Guitar Quartet with his former teacher, along with fellow former Roux student Denis Donegani, and renowned Canadian guitarist Philip Candelaria.

This ensemble has since toured extensively from one standing ovation to the next in North and South-America, as well as in Europe, and has recorded two acclaimed CDs for the Montreal-based Eclectra label (Portrait 1 in 2000 and Les Scènes de Quartiers in 2003). Louis Trépanier regularly contributes to the CGQ’s repertoire with arrangements and transcriptions from sources such as orchestral masterpieces and jazz and folklore melodies, as well as the occasional composition.

He has undertaken further studies with Sérgio Assad, Leo Brouwer, Hubert Käppel, David Russell and Fabio Zanon, as well as studying jazz with Canadian composer and guitarist Roddy Ellias. Balancing his career with the CGQ, Mr. Trépanier teaches guitar at the University of Ottawa where he is also Assistant Director of the School of Music.  He also plays with the Donkin-Trépanier guitar piano duet with his wife, pianist Catherine Donkin.

A well known musical figure in Canada, Daniel Gress is a graduate of the University of Evansville and was Principal Horn of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) Band from 1971 to 1974, at that time the only international military band in existence. Stationed in Colorado Springs, the Band toured frequently as part of its role in support of the NORAD mission and made many trips to Canada, playing concerts from Victoria to St. John’s. A founding member of the Colorado Springs Chamber Music Society, Mr. Gress also held Principal Horn positions with the Colorado Springs symphony and the Colorado Opera Festival.

He left Colorado upon his admission to the Graduate School of Music at Indiana University where he was a student of Philip Farkas, the legendary horn pedagogue. It was during this time that he first worked with Mario Bernardi, who had been invited to be a Guest Conductor of the Indiana University Philharmonic Orchestra. A short time after that, Mr. Gress successfully auditioned for the position of Principal Horn with the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO), a job that he held for twenty-five years. In that time he was a soloist with the NACO on several occasions, was a frequent participant on its Music for a Sunday Afternoon Series with some of the world’s best known chamber music specialists, and he appeared as a soloist with Thirteen Strings and the Bel Canto Wind Quintet. Mr. Gress made over twenty recordings with the NACO and served as a member of its Players’, Artistic Advisory, and Bursary Committees.
He has been associated with the School of Music at the University of Ottawa since 1977 and is often called upon as a clinician and adjudicator. His former students can be heard in Canada’s finest musical organizations, including the NACO, the Calgary Philharmonic, and the Canadian Brass.

Mr. Gress recently participated in performances of Harry Somer’s The Death of Enkidu as part of Somersfest in Toronto. He has also appeared on local concerts sponsored by Espace Musique, the University of Ottawa, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. In February 2003, he made his orchestral conducting debut with the University of Ottawa Orchestra, having appeared as a soloist in February 2002.
In addition to his vast orchestral experience, Mr. Gress has also had the privilege of performing under the batons of Clifton Williams, Robert Jager, and William D. Revelli as a member of the Indiana Intercollegiate Band and the Indiana All-State Band.

Yves Laroche was born in Pine Falls, Manitoba and moved to Ottawa as a child.  He is a graduate of the School of Music of the University of Ottawa, and is currently music director and a teacher at the Bells Corners Academy of Music.

Over the last 13 years, Yves has created a successful community jazz ensemble program and a popular summer jazz camp.  Further experience with the School of Music of the University of Ottawa includes eight years directing the Jazz Ensemble, and teaching the course Arranging for Jazz Ensemble, Choir, and High-School Band.  Yves has been invited by the School of Music to perform at the Alumni Gala Concert and to give a lecture on jazz harmony.

His jazz ensemble has performed in many community events.  On several occasions, Yves participated in The Ottawa International Jazz Festival as a performer, leader and conductor and, in 2002, was featured on the main stage.  He also performed at The Ottawa Blues Festival, the Festival franco-ontarien, The Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship, The Tulip Festival, and others.  Television appearances include "The Rita McNeil Show" (CBC), "Chez Nous" (CBC) and "The Morning Show" (The New RO); and he was an arranger for CBC Radio's "Ottawa in Concert" featuring Vanessa London.

Yves recently performed with the Cantata Singers of Ottawa and was music director/pianist for the National Arts Centre’s production of Angel Square by Brian Doyle.  His musical theatre experience includes Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell (Gallilee Proclaims) and Once Upon A Mattress (Orpheus). 

Yves also hosts a jazz night at Café Nostalgica at University of Ottawa, and continues to play regularly at local jazz clubs.

Charles "Chip" Hamann, a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, is recognized as one of Canada's foremost oboists. In 1993 he was appointed Acting Principal Oboe of Ottawa's National Arts Centre Orchestra at the age of 22, and after having served for two seasons in that role, was chosen to become Principal Oboe of the orchestra on a permanent basis. In addition to his regular duties with the NACO, Mr. Hamann's career has expanded to encompass the roles of teacher, adjudicator, and chamber musician, both in Ottawa and across North America. He is a member of the teaching faculty at the University of Ottawa, and has adjudicated for the NACO Bursary Competition as well as at the Conservatoire du Québec.

In recent seasons he has presented master classes at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, the University of Toronto, the University of Nebraska, and across Mexico and the eastern United States with the NAC Orchestra on tour. He has been a guest artist at many summer music festivals, including the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Utah Music Festival and the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival in California, and appeared with members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival/Yale Summer School of Music in July of 2004.

Charles Hamann's solo appearances include the Lincoln Symphony, Ottawa's Thirteen Strings (including a CD recording), and Les Violons du Roy of Quebec City, with Bernard Labadie conducting. Of his numerous engagements with the National Arts Centre Orchestra as soloist, notable performances have included the Marcello Concerto under the baton of Roger Hamilton in 1994, the Vaughan-Williams Concerto with Joseph Silverstein in 1996 (also recorded by CBC for national broadcast) and J.S. Bach's Concerto for Oboe and Violin with Pinchas Zukerman in 1998, 2001, and 2002.

David Currie is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and the University of Michigan. He joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 1971, and retired as principal double bass in 1992. His conducting studies have been with Maestro Franco Ferrara in Siena, Italy, and Professor Morihiro Okabe of the Toho Gakuen School of Music, Tokyo.

In January 1992, David Currie joined the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, where he holds the post of Music Director. In addition, he has guest-conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Opera Lyra Ottawa productions.

David Currie has been a member of the teaching staff of the School of Music, University of Ottawa since 1976, as well as conductor of the University of Ottawa Orchestra. During his sabbatical leave for the 1998-99 academic year he guest-conducted in Prague, Vienna, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Naples, Florida.

A native of Ottawa, Jonathan Wade received a Bachelor of Music in performance from the University of Ottawa where he studied with Ian Bernard and Pierre Béluse. He went on to obtain a Superior Studies diploma in orchestral repertoire from the University of Montréal where he studied with the legendary timpanist Louis Charbonneau. Jonathan Wade is presently a percussionist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, a position he has held since 1983. He is also principal timpanist of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. In great demand both as an orchestral player and a chamber musician, Mr. Wade performs with many other fine ensembles including Thirteen Strings and Capital Brass Works. He is heard frequently on prestigious concert series such as the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival and Music for a Sunday Afternoon at the National Gallery. He has recorded for CBC and Radio-Canada and released numerous CD's with the NACO and other ensembles.

In 2002 Jonathan Wade was appointed professor of timpani at the University of Ottawa, and he is also percussion instructor at the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy. Jonathan performs regularly in the NAC's Music in the Schools program with Bangers and Smash and the Ragtime Brass Sextet.

Pianist David Jalbert is one of the most firebrand talents of the new generation. With his personal style, incomparable stage presence and refined ear, he has impressed audiences and critics everywhere in North America : “a deeply musical pianist” (Cleveland Plain Dealer), “an important talent” (The Montreal Gazette), “Jalbert dazzles with skill, style and taste… with all the exuberance and finesse a listener could want” (The Toronto Star).

His first solo disc, dedicated to the works of Corigliano and Rzewski, was launched to great applause on Endeavour in 2004; it was followed in 2006 by an equally successful recording of Fauré’s complete Nocturnes. David Jalbert has also recorded two cello and piano discs with his long-standing musical partner, Denise Djokic, the first for Sony Classical in 2002, and the second for Endeavour in 2005 (Folklore, nominated for a Juno Award and listed in the top 15 of the Billboard charts). He has teamed up as well with French hornist Louis-Philippe Marsolais for the German label Oehms Classics.

Mr. Jalbert also belongs to a dynamic classical trio (with violinist Jasper Wood and cellist Yegor Dyachkov) known as “Triple Forte.” His other collaborations have included the Quatuor Alcan as well as pianists Anton Kuerti and Naida Cole. In July 2007, the Canada Council for the Arts awarded him with the Virginia Parker Prize.
           
David Jalbert has been a guest soloist with many prominent orchestras, such as the Montreal Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, the Winnipeg Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the CBC Radio Orchestra and the National Symphony of Ireland. He has collaborated with conductors like Skitch Henderson, Bramwell Tovey, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jacques Lacombe, Marc David, Dmitry Liss and Mario Bernardi. He has performed in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe.

Mr. Jalbert's vast repertoire stretches from Bach to Ligeti in both solo and chamber music. What's more, his interests in literature, cinema, rock n’ roll and blues shine through his musical selections, heard regularly on CBC Radio and Radio-Canada broadcasts.
           
David Jalbert holds two “Artist Diplomas”; one from the Juilliard School in New York, the other from the Glenn Gould Professional School in Toronto. He received his master's degree from the Université de Montréal at age 21, along with the Governor General's Gold Medal for the highest standing among all of the University’s graduate students.  His main teachers have been Jerome Lowenthal, Marc Durand, André Laplante and Pauline Charron. He has also worked with Leon Fleisher, John Perry, Claude Frank, Gilbert Kalish and Marylin Engle.

Acclaimed Canadian pianist Stéphane Lemelin commands a broad and eclectic repertoire ranging from the Classical period to the 20th century, from art song to the Romantic concerto, and is particularly praised for his interpretations of Schubert, Schumann, Fauré and Ravel. He tours regularly in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists such as Donna Brown, Peter Schreier, James Campbell, Wolfgang Meier, Jacques Israelievitch, Marc Grauwels, Martin Ostertag, and the St. Lawrence, Artur-LeBlanc, Muir and Vlach string quartets. Recital engagements have included London’s Wigmore Hall, the Phillips Collection in Washington, the Ladies Morning Musical Club in Montreal and the Vancouver Recital Society.
An active recording artist with more than a dozen CDs to his credit, he is currently recording a several-disk series of French piano and chamber music. He is Professor of Music at the University of Ottawa and artistic director of the Prince Edward County Music Festival.

Andrew Tunis has been living and performing in the Ottawa area for over 20 years. He has given concerts in North America, Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia. Among the many musicians with whom he has collaborated are violinists Pinchas Zukerman and Martin Beaver, cellists Desmond Hoebig and Steven Isserlis, as well as the Philharmonia Quartet of Berlin and St. Lawrence String Quartet. He has appeared as guest soloist with many Canadian orchestras, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic and the Ottawa and Edmonton symphony orchestras.

After his studies at the University of Ottawa with Jean-Paul Sevilla and Douglas Voice, he went on to study with Artur Balsam at the Manhattan School of Music where he received the Pablo Casals Award for outstanding musical achievement. He won first prize in several national and international competitions and, with cellist Desmond Hoebig, first prize at the 1984 Munich International Competition. He is presently Profess of Piano at the University of Ottawa.

Born in Montreal, Donald Renshaw received his Bachelor degree in Music with distinction in trombone from McGill University in 1977 and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School in New York City in 1982.

After graduating in 1977, he freelanced in both the classical and commercial fields performing a wide spectrum of musical styles with such groups as the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal under Christopher Jackson on sackbut, and the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec under Serge Garant. On the commercial side, he has provided back-up for vocal artists such as Tony Bennett, Paul Anka, Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck and enjoyed many years of performing in both jazz and dance big bands.

While in New York, he performed regularly at Carnegie Hall with the National Orchestra of New York. During this time, he attended summer sessions of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the Tanglewood Festival in Massachusetts. In 1983, Mr. Renshaw was invited to perform with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra as Principal Trombone. He was appointed Principal Trombone of Orchestra London Canada in 1983, a position he held for three years while teaching at the University of Western Ontario.

In 1986, he became Principal Trombone of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Donald Renshaw taught trombone, tuba and Jazz Ensemble at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Gatineau from 1987 to 1994 and teaches trombone at the University of Ottawa. He is a founding member of the Rideau Lakes Brass Quintet performing in schools and giving recitals in the Ottawa-Hull region since 1987.

Douglas Burden has been the Bass Trombonist of the National Arts Centre Orchestra for over twenty-nine years. He has taught at the University of Ottawa for more than twenty-six years and continues to do so. Recently Mr. Burden was invited to join the teaching staff of the McGill Faculty of Music. For a period of five years he travelled weekly to Kingston and taught at Queen's University. He was also a member of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra for seventeen years.
After playing the cornet, trumpet, and tenor trombone for seven years, he received his early formal instruction on the bass trombone at the Hamilton Conservatory of Music under the guidance of Antal Dvorak. Upon receiving a scholarship to the Eastman School of Music, he continued his studies in Rochester under the famous trombone teacher Emory Remington and later with Donald Knaub, graduating in 1975 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance "summa cum laude". While at Eastman Mr. Burden studied conducting with Donald Hunsberger and Gustav Meier. In 1979 Mr. Burden received a grant from the Canada Council to continue studies with Arnold Jacobs and Edward Kleinhammer, both members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
As an active member of the musical life of Ottawa, Mr. Burden has performed solo Bass Trombone Recitals for the CBC, solo recitals at the University of Ottawa, performed in the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, was a member of the Ottawa Brass Quintet, and was the manager and co-founder of "Classical Brass", a ten-piece brass ensemble. Currently he is bass trombonist of Capital BrassWorks, a newly formed brass choir. Two of Mr. Burden's former students are now the principal trombonist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the second trombone player of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Many other students have gone on to successful careers as music educators and military band musicians.

As a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Mr. Burden has performed with such conductors as Pinchas Zukerman, Franz-Paul Decker, Mario Bernardi, and Eduarto Mata. In addition to playing with the NACO in virtually all of their Concert Series he has accompanied The National Ballet of Canada, The Canadian Opera Company, The Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Les Grandes Ballets Canadiens, The Quebec Opera Company, The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, The Festival Singers, CBC Talent Competitions, Canadian Music Competitions, The Elmer Isler Singers, The Royal Ballet-Sadler's Wells Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Gachinger Cantorei, La Scalla Ballet, Opera Lyra, The Stuttgart Chamber Choir, The Scottish Ballet, The Ottawa Choral Society, The Cantata Singers of Ottawa, Opera Lyra, and the National Arts Centre summer opera seasons.

As a free-lance musician Mr. Burden has performed and recorded with The Montreal Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit. He has performed with The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, and in the pit orchestras for "Les Miserables" and "The Phantom of the Opera" among others. Other freelance work has included playing in the backup orchestras for singers and entertainers such as Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, and Rich Little.

Mr. Burden is a Yamaha Performing Artist and can be heard on recordings of the National Arts Centre Orchestra on the RCA and CBC labels and on the Decca/London and EMI labels with The Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He is in demand across North America as a soloist, conductor, adjudicator, and clinician.
Douglas Burden was a Salvation Army Bandsman for thirty years. During that period he was a member of the London Citadel Band, the Hamilton Temple Band, and the Ottawa Citadel Band. At the age of fifteen he was appointed to the Canadian Staff Band based in Toronto. While in Ottawa, Mr. Burden was the Deputy Bandmaster for six years and then was the Bandmaster for fourteen years. Under his leadership the Ottawa Citadel Band made significant musical improvement which resulted in, among other things, three recordings, a performance at Roy Thomson Hall in 1989, and a tour of The Netherlands in 1992.

Karen Donnelly was appointed Principal Trumpet of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in October 1999 following three successful seasons as Acting Principal Trumpet.

A native of Regina, Saskatchewan, Karen became hooked on the trumpet in her elementary school band program. While she displayed a natural ability for the instrument, she started her formal training much later at the University of Regina.
After completing her Bachelor of Arts in Music, Ms. Donnelly received a major bursary from the Saskatchewan Arts Board to continue studying at McGill University (Montreal) where she completed a Master’s of Music in 1991. While in Montreal, she quickly became one of the most sought-after trumpet players in the area, performing with premier ensembles such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Orchestra.

From 1994-1996, Karen played with Orchestra London (Canada) as Principal Trumpet and performed with many ensembles in southwestern Ontario during this period.

Since her arrival in Ottawa, Karen has also kept a busy chamber music schedule performing many concerts for CBC (French and English) and with the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival. As a member of the Rideau Lakes Brass Quintet, she is very active in giving educational concerts and workshops in schools. Also a member of the large ensemble, Capital BrassWorks, Karen is very involved in the organization and presentation of this group's highly successful concert series held in Ottawa. The Capital BrassWorks recently released its second CD featuring Ms. Donnelly as soloist.

Teaching continues to be an important part of her schedule. Through the NAC Music Education programs, Karen Donnelly has given master classes in Switzerland, Mexico, the United States and in Canada from coast to coast. She joined the teaching staff of the School of Music of the University of Ottawa in 2002.

Born in the "cornfields of Ohio" into a musical family, Eric Rupp watched his older brother play trumpet, started lessons at eight years of age and soon found himself winning state competitions. Eric played both the trumpet and piano through high school, studying trumpet with Edwin Betts and piano with Elizabeth Gould. He graduated from the University of Michigan, with both a Bachelor and Master of Music, where he studied with the renowned teacher Clifford P. Lillya.

In 1971, Eric joined the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and four years later, was invited to audition for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, which he did successfully.
Eric was a founding member of the Rideau Lakes Brass Quintet. He has performed on numerous occasions with Thirteen Strings and the NAC’s Music for a Sunday Afternoon concert series. Currently he is a member of Capital Brassworks.

Eric has been teaching trumpet at the University of Ottawa since 1994. He also shares his love of music at his church, where he is Director of Music.

Martin Labrosse is a native of Ottawa. Since the age of 22, he has been first tuba with The Central Band of the Canadian Forces, with which he has performed as soloist on several occasions. He performs with the band regularly across Canada, the United States and Europe for a variety of concerts and ceremonies for war veterans, political dignitaries, heads of state and for the general public. He also performs in various ensembles within the band as a jazz bassist.
         
Martin started studying privately the tuba at age 15 with Ted Cosstick and later on with Nicholas Atkinson in his performance studies at the University of Ottawa. He has also studied with Denis Miller and Steve Sykes. He has won significant prizes on two occasions within the annual National Arts Center Orchestra (NACO) Bursary Competition.
         
Martin has performed with the NACO, and since 2002 has been the principal tuba with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. He has been teaching and giving clinics in schools in the region for over four years. In 2004 he was appointed professor of tuba at the University of Ottawa.

As a performer, Rennie Regehr began his professional career with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in 1971. Since that time, his career has taken him throughout Canada and abroad as chamber musician, soloist, recitalist, and orchestral musician. Quickly rising through the ranks at the Winnipeg Symphony, he was appointed Principal Violist in 1978 and concurrently, Principal Violist with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, positions he held until 1992.  During his tenure in Winnipeg, Mr. Regehr appeared as soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony, the CBC Radio Orchestra, and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. 

In 1992 Mr. Regehr moved to Toronto to become the Dean of the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music.  In that role he developed an internationally renowned orchestral program, and under his leadership the school produced many of Canada’s finest professional musicians and solo artists.  He continued to be a much sought after chamber musician and recitalist, performing in most major Canadian venues on such series as Music Toronto, Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, The Tuckamore Festival in Newfoundland, Whistler Chamber Music Festival and the Courtenay Summer Music Festival on Vancouver Island.  Internationally, he has been invited to the Winnipesaukee Festival in New Hampshire, Park City Festival in Utah and the Oberlin Summer Festival in Casalmaggiore, Italy.  Highlights of his performance collaborations include artists such as Leon Fleisher, Anthony Elliot, Tsyoshi Tsutsumi, James Campbell, Andrew Dawes, Richard Roberts, Mark Kaplan, Desmond Hoebig, and many of Canada’s leading musicians.  Mr. Regehr’s performances have been broadcast on the CBC Radio networks, National Public Radio in the US and he has also recorded for the CBC Musica Viva and SM5000 labels.  In July of 2006 he collaborated in a highly successful concert with the internationally renowned Shanghai String Quartet.  During this time he has continued his orchestral career as well, performing with the Toronto Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Mr. Regehr has also expanded his activities onto orchestral podiums.  He was the resident conductor of the Royal Conservatory Orchestra from 1993-2006.  Other engagements have included guest appearances with the Calgary Youth Orchestra and University of Laurier Orchestra as well as conducting ensembles of the Winnipeg Symphony, the Courtenay Summer Festival Orchestra, and Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.  He was the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra from 2003-2006.  More recently he has conducted the University of Ottawa Orchestra.  In 2004 Mr. Regehr directed the Royal Conservatory Orchestra on a highly successful three week, eleven-concert tour of China.  On that same tour, he conducted the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra of Hangzhou for two performances of their high-profile New Years Eve concert.  Mr. Regehr was re-engaged with the Zhejiang Orchestra both as soloist and conductor in May 2008 and has been invited to return during their 2009/2010 season.

As a teacher, Mr. Regehr follows a tradition of great Canadian string mentors.  Himself, a student of Gerald Stanick, he continues that level of teaching and has trained some of Canadian’s outstanding violists who have gone on to win positions in major North American orchestras.  He has held teaching engagements at the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. 

His numerous summer teaching engagements have included Oberlin Summer Academy in Italy, the Domaine Forget Music Academy, and the Courtenay Youth Music Centre.  He is a permanent faculty member of the prestigious Morningside Music Bridge International Training School held in Calgary, Shanghai and Gdansk, Poland in 2009.  He has been a visiting professor at the Shanghai Conservatory, and since 2007 has become a regular guest faculty of the Central Conservatory in Beijing, teaching, and conducting.

In addition to his teaching activities, he has presented masterclasses across Canada and the US, including the Cleveland Institute of Music as well as in China and Hong Kong.

In September of 2006 he became a member of the School of Music at the University of Ottawa and in the summer of 2008, he and his wife, pianist Jenny Regehr, relocated to Ottawa.

In June of 2009 he will join the faculty of the National Arts Centre’s internationally renowned Young Artists Programme.

In high demand internationally since becoming a prizewinner at the 1993 Naumburg Violin Competition, violinist and violist Yehonatan Berick enjoys a busy concert schedule as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and pedagogue, throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Israel.

Berick has performed, among others, with the Quebec, Winnipeg, Windsor, Ann Arbor, Grand Junction, Jerusalem and Haifa Symphonies, the Israeli, Cincinnati, Montreal, and Manitoba Chamber Orchestras, Thirteen Strings and Ensemble Appassionata.
Berick's many recital programs include offering of complete cycles, including Bach’s complete Sonatas and Partitas, Paganini’s 24 caprices (each cycle performed in a single day or concert), as well as complete Sonata cycles by Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, and Grieg.

He has collaborated with many world renowned artists, including pianists Menahem Pressler, James Tocco, Gilbert Kalish, and Awadagin Pratt; violists Michael Tree, Paul Neubauer and Kim Kashkashian; cellists David Soyer, Peter Wiley, Stephen Isserlis, David Finckel, Michel Strauss, and Yehuda Hanani, clarinetists James Campbell and Wolfgang Meyer, flutist Julius Baker, and many others from a long list of internationally renowned artists.

Berick's many festival and chamber series’ credits include Marlboro, Ravinia, Seattle, Vancouver, Ottawa, Jerusalem, El Paso, Maui, Domaine Forget (Canada), Great Lakes (Michigan), Chamber Players of Canada (Ottawa), Close Encounters with Music (Great Barrington, MA), Giverny (France), Leicester (U.K.), Moritzburg (Germany), Festival of the Sound (Canada), Lapland (Sweden), Riihimaki (Finland), Strings in the Mountains (Colorado), Alpenglow (Colorado), Music and Beyond (Ottawa), Four seasons (N. Carolina), Agassiz (Winnipeg), Kfar Blum (Israel), Killington (Vermont), 5 at the First (Hamilton), and Bowdoin (Maine).

An avid chamber musician, Berick previously held the position of co-artistic director of the Quebec Chamber Music Society. Touring as a chamber musician with Musicians from Marlboro, The Lortie-Berick-Lysy Piano Trio, the Huberman String Quartet, Concertante Chamber Players, The Walden Chamber Players, the Los Angeles Piano Quartet, and other chamber ensembles, he has been featured in the world's most important music centers: in Europe (London's Wigmore Hall, Paris's Musee du Louvre, Milan's Sala Verdi), the US (New York's Carnegie Hall and Metropolitan Museum, Washington's Kennedy Center, Freer Gallery and the Phillips Collection) and Canada (Toronto's Glenn Gould Studio and St. Lawrence Centre, North York's Ford Centre and Quebec City's Grand Theatre and Palais Montcalm).

On CD, Berick has recorded for the Centaur, Summit, Gasparo, Acoma, JMC and Helicon labels. His recording with the Amici ensemble, entitled Contrasts, has won rave reviews in the Canadian press. Other CD features include the Grand Concert for violin, pianoand string quartet by Chausson; The Complete Bartok and Berio Violin Duos; Chamber Music by Paul Ben Haim; The Impossible Dream by Gerhard Samuel ;and Mordechai Seter's unaccompanied violin sonata. Many of his concerts are broadcast on Radio and TV in Canada, Europe and Israel. His DVD of Paganini’s 24 Caprices will be out on BluRay in 2013.

Berick is equally sought after as violin teacher and chamber music mentor. Prior to his appointment as Professor of Violin at the University of Ottawa, he served on the faculties of McGill UniversityThe University of Michigan, the University of Toronto, and the Eastman School of Music. He has been invited as teacher and artist-in-residence at Bowdoin Music Festival (Maine), Killington Music Festival (Vermont), The Shouse Institute (MI), The Beethoven Seminar (New York), Music@Menlo (CA), Keshet Eilon (Israel), Sounds in the Valley (Israel), and the JMC Young Players' Unit (Israel). He is featured in masterclasses worldwide.

Yehonatan Berick started his musical education at the age of six. His principal violin teachers were Ilona Feher, Henry Meyer, Kurt Sassmanshauss, as well as Dorothy Delay and Yair Kless. He had theory teachings with composer Sergiu Natra, and attended masterclasses with such artists as Isaac Stern, Henryk Szeryng, Max Rostal and Josef Gingold. Berick won several Clairemont Awards in his Native Israel, and received yearly stipends from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.

Renowned for the floating golden-hued quality of her voice, celebrated Canadian soprano Donna Brown performs on the world’s great opera and concert stages of Paris, London, Tokyo, Geneva, Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Sao Paolo, Tel Aviv, Barcelona, Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. She has worked with such distinguished conductors as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Helmuth Rilling, Carlo Maria Giulini, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Bernard Haitink, Marek Janowski, Kurt Masur, Daniel Barenboim, Armin Jordan, Kent Nagano, Jeffrey Tate, Charles Dutoit, Semyon Bychkov, Mario Bernardi, William Christie, Pinchas Zukerman, and Trevor Pinnock.

Ms. Brown has received critical acclaim for her roles as Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), Almirena (Rinaldo), Gilda (Rigoletto), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Seviglia), Michaela (Carmen), Nanetta (Falstaff), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Servillia (La Clemenza di Tito), Serpetta (La Finta Giardiniera), Madeleine (Le Postillon de Lonjumeau) Aricie (Hippolyte et Aricie) Scylla (Scylla et Glaucus) and Morgana (Alcina). Ms. Brown also appeared as Chimène in the world premiere creation of Debussy’s unfinished opera Rodrigue et Chimène for the opening of the renovated Opera de Lyon.

Recitals have always been of major importance to her, and she has sung in over a hundred recitals with such pianists as Michel Dalberto, Maria Joao Pires, Roger Vignolles, Alain Planes, Stephane Lemelin, Philippe Cassard, Bruce Ubukata, Stephen Ralls, Jean Marc Luisada, Philippe Bianconi,.....

In May 2005, France Musique recorded a three hour program on Donna Brown which consisted of a live interview, (with 500 spectators) involving a retrospective of her career with excerpts from her various recordings, and a live performance in which she sang Mendelssohn, Brahms, Wolf, Debussy, and Michael Head, with Philippe Cassard at the piano

With numerous recordings to her name, Ms.Brown is proud to have taken part in several ‘world premiere’ recordings, such as “Rodrigue et Chimene” - opera by  Debussy/Denisov, with Kent Nagano conducting, “Scylla et Glaucus” - opera by Leclair, with Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducting, “Messe Solonnelle” - Berlioz, with  Sir John Eliot Gardiner, “Requiem der Versöhnung”, with Helmuth Rilling, “Fanny Mendelssohn Lieder”, with pianist Francoise Tillard, and “Gitanjali” for soprano and orchestra, written for Donna Brown by the Canadian composer R.Murray Schafer, with Mario Bernardi conducting.

Donna Brown has been filmed for television in France, England, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Canada, and Japan.

Laurence Ewashko recently received tenure as an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa where he teaches choral techniques, conducts three choirs, teaches vocal repertoire and has a private voice studio. He has held the position of Music Director for the Cantata Singers of Ottawa from 1988 to 2005 and has been engaged as Chorus Master for Opera Lyra Ottawa since 1988. He has also recorded recitals as baritone soloist for CBC/SRC and is in much demand as choral clinician, vocal coach, conductor, consultant, guest lecturer and adjudicator. In May of 2003 he was heard in recital singing Schubert's Die Winterreise in Vienna and Ottawa. He has taught voice privately in both Austria and Canada since 19 85 and was invited to teach at both the University of Ottawa and McGill University in 2002.
A graduate of the University of Ottawa, Laurence completed six years of post graduate studies in Vienna, Austria where, thanks to the generous assistance of the Canada Council, he graduated from two programs; the first in choral conducting at the Vienna University and then Lied and Oratorio at the Vienna Conservatory. He has also studied at the Gliere Music Academy in Kyiv, Ukraine and with Helmuth Rilling in Stuttgart, Germany.

From 1986 to 1988 he was employed to conduct the Vienna Choir Boys, touring with them throughout Western Europe and North America. During his sabbatical in 1998, he was invited to return for a tour of Mexico and the United States. Highlights include his Carnegie Hall debut and a special appearance on the Late Night Show with David Letterman.

For the past fifteen years Laurence has toured with the Cantata Singers of Ottawa and the choirs of University of Ottawa not only through Canada but also Western Europe and the Far East. In 2006 he will tour with the University of Ottawa Choir to Russia and Ukraine. In September of 2002 he was invited to lecture at the University of Uppsala in Sweden and in April 2003 he studied Die Winterreise with Schubert specialist Professor David Lutz in Vienna, Austria. In October of 2005 Laurence was invited to give a lecture at a conference on Kyivan liturgical chant in Chicago, Illinois. Over the past 15 years he has conducted the NAC Orchestra, the University of Ottawa Orchestra, Thirteen Stings and the Orchestre symphonique des concerts du Gatineau in numerous concerts.

Through his extensive involvement with professional and amateur choirs and orchestras throughout Canada and Europe, Laurence Ewashko continues to contribute significantly to the quality and appreciation of choral music in Canada and abroad.

Mezzo-soprano Sandra Graham has established a worldwide reputation with her sumptuous vocalism which led to top prizes in the International Vocal Competitions of s’Hertogenbosch in Holland, the Montreal International Competition, and the International Vocal Competition in Toulouse, France.

Miss Graham is now in demand in concert and on the operatic stages of Germany, Canada, United States, Holland and China. She has performed and recorded with Helmuth Rilling, Christoff Penderecki, Charles Dutoit, and Vladimir Ashkenazy, appearing with the Cleveland Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Oregon Bach Festival, the Canadian Opera Company, the Welsh National Opera, the Arizona Opera, and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. At Staatstheater Stuttgart she has been a guest artist since 1992 returning again last season, where she performed in Hansel und Gretel, Cenerentola, Tristan und Isolde, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Cavalleria Rusticana. The distinguished mezzo’s recordings include Raminsh’s Songs of the Lights with the CBC Vancouver Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the Slovak Philharmonic, and Prevost’s Ahimsa.

Sandra Graham teaches voice and directs the Opera Workshop of the University of Ottawa. Last season included a recital of Brahms lieder in Ottawa, an appearance with the Cantata Singers, performances of Hansel und Gretel with the Staatstheater Stuttgart in Germany, the Dvoràk Requiem, and performances and the recording of Der Kaiser von Atlantis and Harry Somer’s The Fool. Sandra Graham and her husband Ingemar Korjus have toured China where they were invited to give concerts and masterclasses.

Ingemar Korjus, bass-baritone, teacher, adjudicator was born in Stockholm, of Estonian parents. His parents emigrated to Canada in 1952 and settled in Toronto, where Korjus studied voice with Megan Rutledge. He is an ARCT (Associate, Royal Conservatory of Music) performance 1970, ARCT teaching 1971. He also studied with Erik Werba in Vienna and Hans Hotter in Munich and with Pierrette Alarie and Léopold Simoneau in San Francisco. He made his professional debut in 1971 in a performance of Messiah with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. He won the top male prize in the 1973 International Hugo Wolf Lieder Competition and first prize (voice) and a special outstanding performer award in the 1974 CBC Talent Festival. In 1977 he placed second in the National Vocal Competition sponsored by the Edward Johnson Music Foundation. In 1978 he won first prize in the baritone and bass category at the International Competition for Singers at's-Hertogenbosch, Holland, and second prize at the International Music Competition in Munich.

Korjus's repertoire encompasses songs, oratorio, opera, and operetta, standard and contemporary. He has appeared in recital and concert in Canada, the US, and Europe, and has been heard many times on CBC radio. He made his debut with the Canadian Opera Company (COC) in 1977 as the Monk in Don Carlos and the Speaker in The Magic Flute. He sang with the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO), the Toronto Symphony (TS), the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, and also with the Mozarteum Orchestra in Austria and the Haydn Orchestra in Italy. He participated in the Algoma Fall Festival and the Brattleboro Bach Festival in Vermont (1976, Mass in B Minor). At the Guelph Spring Festival in 1977 he sang in the premiere of Healey’s Seabird Island and the Canadian premiere (1978) of Schubert's oratorio Lazarus. In 1978 Korjus signed a two-year contract (effective 1979) with the Düsseldorf Opera and sang leading baritone roles such as Masetto in Don Giovanni and Gremin in Eugene Onegin. He appeared as Gremin at the 1979 Aldeburgh Festival.

In 1980 Korjus returned to Canada to sing Schubert's song cycle Die schöne Müllerin at the St. Lawrence Centre, Toronto. He performed in Britten's Curlew River at the 1983 Guelph Spring Festival and in 1985 he was bass soloist in the festival's performance of Schubert's Mass in G Major. In 1988 Korjus and his wife, mezzo-soprano Sandra Graham, toured China giving recitals and master classes. He sang in the 1989 production of Saint-Saëns's Samson and Delilah with Stuart Hamilton's Opera in Concert and, in 1990, was Yamadori in the NAC (National Arts Centre)'s concert production of Madama Butterfly. Korjus has recorded works by Schubert, Wolf, Britten, and Bissell on RCI 419, released in 1975.

In 1982 Korjus joined the faculty of the University of Ottawa and in 2004 was the head of that university's voice department. In addition, he has conducted master classes in Montreal, Toronto, and Chicago, has served on the jury committee for the Canada Council for the Arts, and has been co-artistic director of the Opera Lyra Ottawa Young Artists Programme.

Yoriko Tanno-Kimmons (soprano) is a busy and successful singing teacher in Ottawa and Toronto; with over one hundred students each year, she has one of the largest studios in Canada. She emphasizes healthy and effective vocal production for singing styles ranging from bel canto to belting and her students consistently excel in competitions and festivals at the local, provincial and national levels. Students have also achieved great success in international competitions. Since 1996, she has produced annual Operatic Showcases with students singing under internationally renowned directors. Consistently and over many years, students have moved on to professional operatic or musical theatre careers, appearing in leading roles in Toronto, Broadway and European productions such as: Madama Butterfly, La Wally, Tosca, Magic Flute, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Mamma Mia!, Wicked, Spring Awakening, Hairspray, Urinetown, The Evil Dead, Jersey Boys, Oklahoma!, Flower Drum Song, 42nd Street, Mary Poppins, The Pirate Queen, etc.

Despite a heavy student load, including teaching voice for the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, Ms Tanno-Kimmons has given master classes for the Charlottetown Festival Young Company, the Quebec Singing Teachers' Association, etc., and lectured for the Opera Lyra Ottawa Guild. On physician's recommendation or referral, she has also taken clients (often professional pop or rock singers) with damaged vocal cords from incorrect use of the voice; these have been successfully corrected and enabled to continue with healthy singing careers.

Ms Tanno-Kimmons came to Canada at the age of 17. After obtaining her Associateship in the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, she majored in opera at the University of British Columbia. She then continued her training in Seattle and later in Toronto. She continues to coach with the world-renowned opera expert Stuart Hamilton and is also associated with José Hernández and Guillermo Silva-Marin of Opera in Concert and Toronto Operetta Theatre. On the West Coast, she sang solo engagements with the Vancouver Symphony, the Pacific Northwest Ballet of Seattle and the Prince George Symphony, and the role of Maria Corona in the Canadian première of Menotti's The Saint of Bleeker Street. Toronto roles have included Musetta in La Bohème and Tatiana in Eugene Onégin. The Toronto Star noted her Mrs Li in the world première production of the musical Tiananmen Dreams and Ellen in Opera in Concert's Lakmé. She has often been heard in recital accompanied by Stuart Hamilton, with whom she has also recorded for the CBC, or José Hernández. For a concert tour in Japan she was accompanied Evelyn Greenberg; she continues to sing in recitals and concerts as time and opportunity permit.