Banff Festival Chamber Orchestra

Consistently praised for his intense musicality and impressive technique, violinist Terence Tam has performed across North America, Australia, Europe and Japan as soloist and chamber musician. Currently concertmaster of the Victoria Symphony, he also previously held this prestigious position with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in Australia and Symphony Nova Scotia in Canada. Mr. Tam’s performances have taken him to the Sarasota, Ravinia, Meadowmount, Banff, Aspen, Encore, Hamptons, Scotiafest, Sweetwater and Music in the Morning festivals.

The 2020-2021 season marks Canadian violinist Jonathan Crow's tenth season as Concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. A native of Prince George, British Columbia, Jonathan earned his Bachelor of Music in Honours Performance from McGill University in 1998, at which time he joined the Montreal Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Second Violin. Between 2002 and 2006 Jonathan was the Concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra; during this time he was the youngest concertmaster of any major North American orchestra. Jonathan continues to perform as guest concertmaster with orchestras around the world, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Filarmonia de Lanaudiere and Pernambuco Festival Orchestra (Brazil). Jonathan has also performed as a soloist with most major Canadian orchestras including the Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, the National Arts Centre and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestras, the Victoria, Nova Scotia and Kingston Symphonies, and Orchestra London, under the baton of such conductors as Charles Dutoit, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Andrew Davis, Peter Oundjian, Gustavo Gimeno, Kent Nagano, Mario Bernardi and João Carlos Martins.

Jonathan joined the Schulich School of Music at McGill University as an Assistant Professor of Violin and was appointed Associate Professor of Violin in 2010. Current and former students of Mr. Crow have received prizes at competitions around the world, including the Menuhin International Violin Competition, Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition, Shean Competition, CBC Radio's NEXT competition, Eckhardt-Grammatte Competition, Canadian Music Competition, and Stulberg International String Competition, and work regularly with orchestras such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Verbier Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Kammerphilharmonie and Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Jonathan is currently Associate Professor of Violin at the University of Toronto.

In 2016 Jonathan was named Artistic Director of Toronto Summer Music, which has enjoyed record attendance and rave reviews in all of his first three seasons. An avid chamber musician, he has performed at chamber music festivals throughout North America, South America and Europe including the Banff, Ravinia, Orford, Domaine Forget, Seattle, Montreal, Ottawa, Incontri in Terra di Sienna, Alpenglow, Festival Vancouver, Pernambuco (Brazil), Giverny (France) and Strings in the Mountains festivals. He is a founding member of the Juno Award-winning New Orford String Quartet, a project-based new ensemble dedicated to the promotion of standard and Canadian string quartet repertoire throughout North America. As an advocate of contemporary music he has premiered works by over 50 Canadian composers, including Michael Conway Baker, Eldon Rathburn, Barrie Cabena, Gary Kulesha, Tim Brady, Francois Dompierre, Ana Sokolovic, Marjan Mozetich, Christos Hatzis, Ernest MacMillan and Healey Willan. He also includes in his repertoire major concerti by such modern composers as Ligeti, Schnittke, Bernstein, Brian Cherney, Rodney Sharman, Vivian Fung and Cameron Wilson.

Jonathan has recorded for ATMA, Bridge, CBC, Oxingale, Skylark, and XXI-21 labels and is heard frequently on Chaîne Culturelle of Radio-Canada, CBC Radio Two, and National Public Radio, along with Radio France, Deutsche Welle, Hessischer Rundfunk and the RAI in Europe.

Andrew Wan is concertmaster of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM), member of the New Orford String Quartet (NOSQ) and Associate Professor of Violin at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University.  His recordings with the OSM, NOSQ, les Solistes de l'OSM and pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin have garnered multiple Juno, Felix and Opus awards.  His recent album release of concerti by Bernstein, Moussa and Ginastera with the OSM and Kent Nagano won the 2021 Juno award for best classical album for large ensemble.

DIANA COHEN is Founder and Co-Artistic Director of ChamberFest Cleveland and a member of Trio Terzetto. She was appointed Concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic in 2012, having previously served in that role, and appeared as soloist with the symphonies of Richmond, Charleston, and Kalamazoo, the National Repertory Orchestra, Iris Orchestra, and Red (an orchestra). She has also served as guest concertmaster with the Rochester Philharmonic and Phoenix Symphony. She regularly performs with the Grammy-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and East Coast Chamber Orchestra and has appeared with the International Sejong Soloists, The Knights, the Cleveland Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic. As soloist, Ms. Cohen has appeared with numerous orchestras, including the Holland Symphony, Rochester Symphony, Lansing Symphony and Grand Rapids Symphony. Ms. Cohen has performed at the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Aspen, Chamber Music Festival of Giverny, Great Lakes Festival and Banff, among many others. She has collaborated with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Miró, Cleveland and Parker Quartets, and with such renowned artists as Mitsuko Uchida, Garrick Ohlsson and Jonathan Biss. An honor graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, she was a recipient of the Jerome Gross Prize and winner of the Milhaud competition. She can be heard on several of Orpheus’s recordings as well as with her father, clarinetist Franklin Cohen, on Osvaldo Golijov’s The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind. She and husband Roman Rabinovich became the parents of a girl in December.

Byungchan Lee garnered recognition as prizewinner at the Yuri Yankelevitch International Violin Competition, and as one of CBC's 30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30. He is a recipient of the Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant (Juilliard), the Golden Violin Award (McGill), and the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award. 

Byungchan was a Rebanks fellow at The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School, and plays on an 1869 Vuillaume from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank

Former violinist of the Cecilia Quartet, Min-Jeong Koh is highly regarded as a performer and educator. She has recorded award-winning albums and toured internationally for ten years with the ensemble. This fall, she will be joining the faculty at the Royal Conservatory of Music to teach violin and chamber music, and guide the development of a new stream in the Artist Diploma Program that will provide training in performance and pedagogy.

Robert Uchida is Concertmaster of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. His recording of Andrew Violette’s Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin won international acclaim, with Strings Magazine praising his “ravishing sound, eloquence and hypnotic intensity.” Before joining the ESO, he was Concertmaster of Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax. As a soloist and chamber musician, Robert has performed across North America and Europe. He plays on the “de Long Tearse” Guadagnini and teaches at the University of Alberta.

Hailed as “the perfect chamber music partner” by Bachtrack, Luri Lee has performed throughout the world as a soloist and chamber musician. A founding member of the Rolston String Quartet, she was awarded First Prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and Grand Prize at the Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. The quartet has performed at some of the most prestigious concert venues on the globe, including Carnegie Hall, the Louvre, Kennedy Center, and Wigmore Hall.

Luri is a past Rebanks fellow at The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School.

Barry Shiffman enjoys a diverse career as a musician, educator, and administrator. He was co-founder of the St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ) and currently serves as both the Associate Dean and Director of Chamber Music at Glenn Gould School, and Director of the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. 

During his 17 years with the SLSQ he appeared in over 2,000 concerts in venues around the globe, and recorded several critically acclaimed discs under an exclusive contract with EMI Classics. While with SLSQ, Shiffman served as artistin-residence at Stanford University from 1998 to 2006 and as visiting artist at the University of Toronto from 1995 to 2006. 

Shiffman has also served in numerous roles at Banff Centre, including Director of Music Programs (2006-2010), Artistic Director of Summer Classical Music Programs (2010-2016), and Director of the Banff International String Quartet Competition since 2006. During his tenure at Banff Centre he introduced new programming in classical music performance, composition, popular music, and jazz and oversaw the dramatic growth of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, including the successful launch of the Banff Centre International String Quartet Festival in 2017.

In 2018, Shiffman was appointed Artistic Director of Rockport Music in Massachusetts, overseeing all classical programming for the organization including a five-week summer chamber music festival at the venerable Shalin Liu Performance Center. From 2009-2017, he was Executive Artistic Director of Music in the Morning Concert Society in Vancouver. A sought-after juror, he has served on the violin jury of the Tchaikovsky and Montreal Violin Competitions, and the String Quartet Competitions of London Wigmore Hall, Lyon, and Geneva.

Shiffman received his formal studies at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, University of Toronto, Utrecht Conservatory, Hartt School of Music, Juilliard School, and Yale University. Summer studies included Banff Centre, Tanglewood, and Aspen. He is also  the recipient of the Longy School’s Nadia Boulanger Prize for Excellence in the Art of Teaching, and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Calgary.

Originally from Rosebud, Alberta, Keith Hamm is the Principal Violist of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he held the same position with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. Keith is an alumnus of IMS Prussia Cove, Programs at the Banff Centre, Sarasota Music Festival, and Le Domaine Forget. Keith trained at the Glenn Gould School under Steven Dann and at the Mount Royal Conservatory with Nicholas Pulos. Keith is a member of the Rosebud String Quartet, LARK Ensemble, and has performed with the ARC Ensemble, Amici Ensemble, and Continuum New Music. Keith is the founder and Artistic Director of the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival in Rosebud, Alberta.

Violist Marina Thibeault’s “plangent tone and expressive phrasing” (The Strad) foreground a great richness in her playing that is on display across various styles. Named Radio-Canada's classical "Revelation" for 2016-2017, Marina has delighted audiences across the world with her elegant, spellbinding performances and engaging presence.

 
An accomplished concerto soloist, Marina has performed with the North Czech Philharmonic, the Santiago Chamber Orchestra, the Verbier festival, the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Sinfonia Toronto, to mention a few. In 2019, she was appointed Assistant Professor of Viola at the University of British Columbia.

Hezekiah Leung  (viola) - Praised for his “lovely lyricism” by The Calgary Herald, Hezekiah Leung has been featured as a performer throughout North America and Europe as both a soloist and as the violist of the Rolston String Quartet — winner of the First Prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition.

After completing his studies as a violinist at the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Stephen Shipps, Leung pursued his artist diploma on the viola with Steven Dann and Barry Shiffman and received top prizes in the Glenn Gould Chamber Music Competition as well as the 74th Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Standard Life Competition. He holds a Masters degree from Rice University, and was part of the Fellowship Quartet in Residence at the Yale School of Music as a member of the Rolston String Quartet. 

Leung has shared the concert stage with such artists as Gilbert Kalish, Miguel da Silva, James Dunham, Jon Kimura Parker, Donald Palma, Cho-Liang Lin, Andrés Díaz, Gary Hoffman and Tara Helen O’Connor. 

As a founding member of the Rolston String Quartet, he was also awarded Grand Prize at the 31st Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition, as well as the Astral Artists National Auditions. The quartet has performed at some of the most prestigious concert venues on the globe, including Carnegie Hall, the Louvre, Kennedy Center, Koerner Hall and Wigmore Hall. Leung plays on a viola made by Samuel Zygmuntowicz, on loan through the El Pasito Foundation. 

Hezekiah is a Rebanks Fellow at The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School.

Born in Montreal, Julie joined the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Principal Cello in the fall of 2019. Previously, she held the same position in the Quebec Symphony Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, Julie has toured across Canada with Debut Atlantic and Jeunesses Musicales du Canada. She's performed extensively with the chamber orchestra Violons du Roy in Quebec City and throughout Europe and North America. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-founded The New Cohort with husband and violist, Keith Hamm.

Laureate of numerous national and international competitions, Arnold Choi has performed to great acclaim throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. His teachers include John Kadz (Mount Royal Conservatory), Ronald Leonard (Colburn Conservatory, Bachelor's Degree ‘09), Aldo Parisot (Yale School of Music, Masters Degree ‘11), and Colin Carr (Stony Brook University, Doctorate degree ‘17). Arnold serves as the principal cellist of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and is cello faculty at Mount Royal University, and Ambrose University.

Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, cellist Estelle Choi has garnered top prizes as a soloist and as a chamber musician. She has gained international recognition as a founding member of the Calidore String Quartet, an ensemble that celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2020. Praised by the New York Times for its “deep reserves of virtuosity and irrepressible dramatic instinct” the Calidore won the Grand-Prize of the 2016 M-Prize International Chamber Music Competition. Choi is an Avery Fisher Career Grant winner, recipient of the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist award, BBC 3 New Generation Artist and Borletti-Buitoni Trust recipient, a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and alumni of the Bowers Program. Choi’s artistry has been broadly praised by critics like Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times who wrote that “her tone is rich, deep and powerful, giving the impression that music and the room are a single living being.” Choi studied with John Kadz in Calgary, Aldo Parisot at the Yale School of Music and Ronald Leonard at the Colburn Conservatory. She instructed cello performance and chamber music at the University of Houston. Choi teaches and performs at the University of Delaware. She holds a Masters degree from the Yale School of Music, and a Bachelor and Artist Diploma from the Colburn Conservatory of Music.