Katherine (Katie) Kirkpatrick is a Canadian soprano from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, currently based in Toronto. Recognized for her expressive stage presence and affinity for contemporary repertoire, she has recently appeared as Female Chorus in Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, Daria Garbinati in Donizetti’s Viva la Mamma, Miranda in Kaija Saariaho’s The Tempest Songbook, and Janine/Ofwarren in Poul Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale as part of  Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity’s 2025 Interplay program.

A dedicated performer of art song, Katie was a two-time finalist for the University of Toronto’s Norcop Prize in Song, receiving Second Prize in 2025. This summer, she will travel to Tours, France, to study French mélodie at the Académie Francis Poulenc. Katie holds both a Master of Music in Opera and a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Toronto and will continue her training as a Rebanks Fellow at The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School during the 2026–27 season.
 

Armenian-Canadian soprano Diana Agasian is an emerging artist on the international operatic and art song scene. She returns to Toronto as a Rebanks Family Fellow at the Royal Conservatory of Music for the 2026/27 season, following a summer as a Vocal Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center.

Most recently based in Vienna, she studies voice with Kammersängerin Olivera Miljaković and coaches with Lieder specialist Helmut Deutsch. A graduate of The Glenn Gould School of Music, Diana has performed across Canada, including appearances at Koerner Hall and the Orpheum Theatre, and as a featured soloist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for their Traditional Christmas concert series.

Her operatic credits include the Woman/Siren in Handel’s Rinaldo and the Third Spirit in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. An alumna of the Franz-Schubert-Institut, she maintains a particular affinity for German Lied and has appeared in recital at Vienna's Ehrbar Saal and C. Bechstein Centrum.

Lauded for her “supple, pliant” voice and “considerable emotional range” (Opera Canada), Hungarian-Canadian mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó is widely recognized for her refined musicianship and compelling stage presence. In the 2025/26 season, she made her Manitoba Opera debut as Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, and returned to both Tafelmusik and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah. She also premiered two works by composer Jeffrey Ryan: Seven Scenes with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Mother/Land with the Vancouver Bach Choir.

Further recent concert highlights include Handel’s Messiah with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Houston Symphony, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with the Cleveland Orchestra and Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Music of the Baroque, and Mozart’s Requiem with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

A graduate of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, Szabó performs regularly across Canada and Europe. She made her debuts at Dutch National Opera and the Royal Opera House in George Benjamin’s Lessons in Love and Violence, later recorded for a Grammy-nominated album. She is Assistant Professor of Voice and Opera at the University of British Columbia and recently appointed Chair of Voice at the Glenn Gould School.

Each Zhang was generously supported by the Frederick Louis Crosby Memorial Endowment

Yichi Zhang is in his honours (fourth) year of studying with Lyndon Watts at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. He has played with the Melbourne Youth Orchestra and the University of Melbourne’s Philharmonic Orchestra, Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra. Highlights include concerts in Geelong, Sydney and Brisbane with the Wind Symphony, and the Symphony Orchestra’s 2023 international tour of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, where he played in Gustav Mahler’s first symphony, and premiered Hun Tur by Melody Eötvös, Senior Lecturer of Music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.

Yichi is an enthusiastic chamber musician, having been a member of multiple wind quintets during his time at the Conservatorium, performing works such as György Ligeti’s Six Bagatelles for wind quintet and Samuel Barber’s Summer Music. Him alongside his wind quintet were selected to participate in the Portillo International Festival and Academy in Chile for 2025, where they performed Wind Quintet no.1 by Jean Françaix.

He is also a passionate pianist and conductor, and has conducted Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Gran Partita with ensembles of his own making, as well as conducted compositions by his fellow students at the university.

Ciara Wrede was generously supported by Frederick Louis Crosby Memorial Endowment

Ciara Wrede is a horn player from Melbourne, Australia. In 2025, she completed her Bachelor of Music with Honours at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, where she studied under Carla Blackwood. Ciara discovered her passion for the horn in high school and transitioned fully to the instrument at the beginning of her undergraduate degree. 

Ciara has had the opportunity to participate in various inspiring masterclasses with Australian and international horn players,including Katy Woolley, Andrew Bain, Přemysl Vojta, Genevieve Clifford, Anneke Scott, and Simen Fegran. She is looking forward to studying with Benjamin Jacks and Peter Luff at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in 2026.

Chamber music has become an unexpectedly important part of Ciara’s musical journey, especially after co-founding Auralis Ensemble. In 2025, she travelled to Chile with Auralis and also performed as principal horn in the Portillo Festival Academy Orchestra, touring major concert halls and working with leading international tutors.

Ciara’s true passion for the horn lies in orchestral performance. She performs regularly with Orchestra Victoria, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the Symphonic Cinema Orchestra. She has also been a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra.

Chi-En Wong was generously supported by the Helen Graham Artist Award

Taiwanese percussionist Chi-En Wong is a versatile performer and artistic researcher dedicated to the intersection of technical precision and narrative storytelling. Currently a Doctor of Musical Arts student at the University of Toronto, Chi-En’s work explores the art of concert curation, focusing on how narrative integration can transform the solo percussion concert experience.
Her professional orchestral career includes performing as a section percussionist with the Eugene Symphony and Orchestra Next, where she has navigated a vast repertoire ranging from classical masterworks to contemporary world premieres. An accomplished soloist, Chi-En’s commitment to excellence has been recognized through numerous accolades, including participating in the 2025 IPEA International Percussion Competition, winning second place at the 2022 Great Plains International Marimba Competition, and winning the 2020 Missouri State University Concerto/Aria Competition.
Chi-En holds a Master of Music from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor of Music from Missouri State University. Today, her artistry is driven by a deep commitment to the stage, blending rigorous formal training with a modern, dramaturgical lens to create immersive and conceptually driven musical experiences for audiences worldwide.
 

Linda Ruan was generously supported by the Barbara and John Poole Memorial Endowment

Chinese-Canadian pianist Linda Ruan is passionate about sharing the potential of music to overcome boundaries across cultures. Since being introduced to the drums at the age of four and then the piano at age seven, music has remained a stabilizing force in her childhood from Tokyo, Shanghai to Vancouver. Her unconventional path from a young age broadened her horizons and cultivated a fascination for diverse cultures. Her curiosity guided her beyond her solo piano studies, expanding to pedagogy and community engagement, fortepiano, conducting and chamber music projects. 

Linda is a top prize winner in international piano competitions including the ARD International Music Competition 2021. She has performed in venues across the world, from Carnegie’s Weill Hall and Lincoln Center’s Rose Studio to a recital tour in China spanning Guangzhou to Shanghai. 

Linda received her Bachelor of Music with Honours and Master of Music degrees from The Glenn Gould School, The Juilliard School, and the Tianjin Juilliard School respectively. Her past teachers include James Anagnoson Hung-Kuan Chen, Corey Hamm, Xiao Li, Li Wang, and Xiaohan Wang. Currently, she is studying at the UBC School of Music with Dr. Corey Hamm.

Stamp Netthai was generously supported by the Barbara and John Poole Memorial Endowment

Thai trumpeter Jid-anan Netthai, known as Stamp, is a fellow at The Orchestra Now at Bard College. He began playing the trumpet at nine and has a passion for sharing music. Stamp has collaborated with international ensembles, including the Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra in China and the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra in Singapore. He co-founded the Brassisimo Brass Quintet and attended the American Brass Quintet Seminar at the Aspen Music Festival in 2019.

His versatility spans classical, jazz, and pop, enabling him to connect with diverse audiences. He served as the lead trumpet for the Ruam Smai Big Band during an international tour across Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Japan. Beyond performing, Stamp conducts masterclasses in Thailand to nurture young talent and composes and arranges music to expand traditional brass boundaries. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music from the Tianjin Juilliard School.

Hyunah Lee was generously supported by the Margaret (Peggie) Sampson Memorial Endowment

South Korean cellist Hyunah Lee is a versatile performer whose passion lies in chamber music and collaborative music-making. She has performed at notable festivals, including the Maine Chamber Music Seminar, Toronto Summer Music, the Tianjin International Chamber Music Festival, and the Tibor Varga Music Academy in Switzerland. Her collaborative highlights include performances with distinguished artists such as Weigang Li, Jinjoo Cho, Colin Carr, Tom Sauer, Jonathan Crow, Sharon Wei, Scott St. John, Alvin Zhu, and Philip Setzer. She is currently a member of the Arco Ensemble and the Velaris String Quartet, and studies at the Emerson String Quartet Institute at Stony Brook University.

Hyunah won First Prize at the Seoul Chamber Competition, Second Prize at the Music Association of Korea Competition, and Second Prize (with no First Prize awarded) at the Sung Jung Music Competition. In addition to her extensive chamber music activities, she regularly presents solo and chamber recitals throughout the United States and South Korea.

She received her Bachelor of Music from Seoul National University and her Master of Music in Chamber Music from The Tianjin Juilliard School, where she was awarded a full scholarship and a graduate fellowship. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Stony Brook University under the guidance of Colin Carr, where she also serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant.