Born in South Africa, Ms. Forsyth came to Canada as a child and began playing the cello at age three.  She became a protégé of William Pleeth in London and later studied with Harvey Shapiro at the Juilliard School in New York and with Lynn Harrell in Los Angeles. After two seasons with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra she was the youngest principal ever selected by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra where she remained for six years.  In 1999 Amanda Forsyth was appointed principal cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada where she is also featured as a soloist each season.

Ms Forsyth is recognised as an eminent recitalist, soloist and chamber musician appearing with leading orchestras and prestigious chamber music festivals in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia.

As soloists, Amanda Forsyth and violinist Pinchas Zukerman appear frequently together in Canada, the U.S., Europe and South America.  She has also collaborated as a soloist with illustrious artists including Lynn Harrell, Yo-Yo Ma, Garrick Ohlsson, Jon Kimura Parker, Yefim Bronfman, Joseph Kalichstein, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Arnold Steinhardt., Michael Tree and Louis Lortie

Ms Forsyth has appeared with all the major orchestras in Canada including the Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Nova Scotia, Saskatoon and Okanagan Symphonies, the Calgary and Hamilton Philharmonics and the McGill Chamber Orchestra.

Ms. Forsyth appears on the Fanfare, Marquis, Pro Arte, Altara, Naxos and CBC labels. The Juno Award-winning cello concerto Electra Rising was recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. This was followed by Soaring with Agamemnon and in 2004 Musique de chambre francaise, a collaboration with flutist Susan Hoeppner both for Marquis Classics.  Chamber music recordings for CBC include the Mozart Flute Quartets which was named Opus Magazine’s “Best Canadian Chamber Music Recording of 2001” and in 2003 Mozart’s String Quintet in G minor, and Clarinet Quintet in A major “Stadler”,  which was nominated for the Juno Awards.  In July 2005 the Zukerman ChamberPlayers made their first CD for the new Altara label in New York and will record a second disc in the summer of 2006.   Naxos Records has recently released “An American Journey” which she recorded with Arnold Steinhardt in 2006.

Carol Tsai, age 19, is an undergraduate student at the University of Ottawa, studying with Paul Marleyn. A native of Vancouver, B.C., Carol studied cello for seven years with Audrey Nodwell at the Vancouver Academy of Music, during which time she was also principal cellist of the Vancouver Academy Orchestra and the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Winner of several concerto competitions, she has performed as soloist with orchestras in Canada and the U.S. She has been invited repeatedly to represent Vancouver in the Performing Arts Festival of BC and featured in the Gala Showcase Concert. She is a prize-winner in competitions across Canada, including the Canadian Music Competition. Her award-winning cello trio also won many prizes, including a radio-broadcast of their performance.

Accepted in 2010 into the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, she now plays as a regular member with the OSO at the National Arts Centre. In 2011, she participated in the first International Winnipeg Cello Festival, performing on the same stage as many world-renowned cellists in the Centennial Concert Hall. A frequent participant at music festivals, she most recently spent an enriching summer at the Banff Centre. She now plays on a 1950 Marinus Capicchioni cello loaned to her by the Chi Mei Culture Foundation.

Christine Crookall is currently an Assistant Professor of Music in the Fine Arts Department at Augusta State University.  Dr. Crookall teaches applied cello and bass lessons, music history, humanities, ear training, sightsinging, and string methods.  Before arriving in Augusta, Dr. Crookall served as Director for the University of Texas String Project, a nationally respected teacher-training program for graduate and undergraduate students at The University of Texas in Austin.

Dr. Crookall earned her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Cello Performance at The University of Texas at Austin where she studied cello and pedagogy with internationally acclaimed pedagogue Professor Phyllis Young.  A native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Dr. Crookall started playing cello with Audrey Nodwell at the Vancouver Academy of Music.  She earned her Bachelor of Music degree at the University of British Columbia with former Emerson Quartet cellist Eric Wilson.

Dr. Crookall has given workshops and masterclasses at public schools, universities and summer conferences located in Western Canada, Texas, Georgia and Europe.  She has also performed in solo and chamber music recitals in Canada, the United States and Europe.  Dr. Crookall was a member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra from 1999 to 2001, and is currently a member of the Augusta Symphony Orchestra and Trio Augusta.

Desmond Hoebig , Professor of Cello at the Shepherd School of Music; Rice University, has had a distinguished career as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician.

Desmond was born in 1961 and raised in Vancouver, Canada. He studied with James Hunter, Jack Mendelsohn and Ian Hampton. In 1978 he moved to Philadelphia to study with David Soyer at the Curtis institute of Music. He received his BM and MM at the Juilliard School with Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins, and participated in master classes with Janos Starker and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi at the Banff Centre.

Mr. Hoebig won the First Prize at the Munich International Competition (1984), the Grand Prize of the CBC Talent Competition (1981) and the Canadian Music Competition (1980). He was also an award winner at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1982).

Mr. Hoebig has been a soloist with many prominent orchestras in North America, including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Houston, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. His international orchestral engagements have been in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Mexico and Columbia.

Howard Jang has been an active member of several volunteer boards and committees, most notably for the Canadian Arts Summit, Orchestras Canada, the Manitoba Arts Stabilization, Tourism Winnipeg and Vancouver, The Canada Council Theatre and  Dance, The BC Arts Council Music, the Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture and the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance. Howard is a founding board member of PAL Vancouver, a past member of the executive committee of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres and served on the Theatre Advisory for the Canada Council for the Arts. Howard currently sits on the TELUS Community Board and the Board of Tourism Vancouver.   In 2008 Howard joined the Vancouver Foundation’s Arts & Culture Advisory Committee and is a lifetime Honourary Governor for the Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation.  Howard is currently the Chair of Tourism Vancouver.

Trained first as a musician, Howard has served as the Executive Director for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Ballet British Columbia and was the Orchestra Manager for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s (NYC).

In 2004 Howard completed the Stanford University Graduate School of Business/National Arts Strategies Executive Program for Non-profit Leaders in the Arts.  In 2006 Howard completed the year long program of Leadership with the Shannon Institute in Minneapolis MN and has just completed the year long Executive Director Learning Circle and Mentorship program with Vantage Point (formerly known as Volunteer Vancouver).  In 2011 Howard joins the faculty of Vantage Point’s Board Chair’s Academy.

His background as both an artist and an arts administrator provides him with a unique perspective. Appreciating the need for artistic vision and what is required to support it, Howard is able to balance these requirements with strong fiscal and strategic planning.

Howard has been a consultant focusing on strategic planning, board and marketplace development for many organizations across Canada in all disciplines of the performing arts.

Howard joined the Arts Club Theatre Company in 2000 and is extremely pleased to be home in Vancouver.   Since 2000 Howard has lead the Arts Club through four multi-year Strategic Plans. He is thrilled to be partnered with Bill Millerd and the Arts Club Theatre Company as they produce their 48^th season of exceptional theatre presentations in Vancouver and British Columbia.

Canadian born artist, Jonathan Chan began playing violin and piano at the age of 4.  It did not take long for him to begin performing and by the age of 8, he had made his first appearance with an orchestra.  Since then, Jonathan has given concerts in Europe, China, South Africa and across North America.

Jonathan began his violin studies with Lawrie Hill before moving on to Professor Taras Gabora at the Vancouver Academy of Music.  He also studied piano with Lorraine Ambrose until his graduation from Saint George’s School, a prestigious and renowned private high school that held the highest academic rating in Canada.  Upon graduation, Chan was awarded the Arts Bowl in recognition of his outstanding contribution to visual and performing arts.

Throughout his young life, Jonathan has garnered numerous awards in violin, piano, and chamber music.  He is a three time National First Grand Prize winner of the Canadian Music Competition with overall highest marks, and has also received second place once on piano.  On two separate occasions, the country has recognized Jonathan by asking him to perform for the former Prime Minister, Jean Chretien.  When Monsieur Chretien retired, Chan was privileged and fortunate to be invited to share the stage at the Air Canada Center with other renowned artists like Oliver Jones, Paul Anka, and the late legendary pianist, Oscar Peterson.  He has also collaborated and performed with many distinguished artists including Andor Toth, Scott St. John, Alisa Weilerstein, and members of the Borromeo String Quartet, Nicholas Kitchen and Yeesun Kim.

Since 2008, Jonathan has been studying in London, England at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama under the tutelage of Caroline Palmer, on the piano, and Professor David Takeno, on the violin.  Unknown at the time of his arrival, he has since performed in the Barbican Hall, Wigmore Hall, City of London Festival, and was invited by the Lord Mayor of London to perform at Trafalgar Square in celebration of St George’s Day.  Jonathan aims to keep both instruments at the performance level and the school has awarded him a scholarship for his undergrad studies via the Max Jaffa Violin Fund.  In addition to this, Chan was the 2010 recipient of the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award; an award given to the most gifted musician below the age of 30 in Canada.

A founding member of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Canadian violist Lesley Robertson enjoys a busy career as  performer, teacher and director.  Worldwide the SLSQ (comprised of violinists Geoff Nuttall, Scott St. John, cellist Christopher Costanza, and Lesley on viola) performs more than 120 concerts each season with recent performances in Finland, Estonia, Belgium, German, and Italy.  2011/2012 takes them across North America, from New York to San Francisco, from Atlantic to Pacific Canada, as well as Western Europe, South America and a third cross-Australia tour.

Though they regularly perform works from the standard string quartet repertoire, the SLSQ is also fervently committed to performing and expanding the works of living composers.  This season sees them performing a new work by longtime friend Osvaldo Golijov and a new concerto for string quartet and orchestra by John Adams with the San Francisco Symphony.

Since 1998 the SLSQ has been Artists-in-Residence at Stanford University, where they teach an inspiring bevy of ridiculously intelligent and accomplished students, and perform regularly throughout the campus in traditional concert venues, student dormitories, law school classrooms, and laboratories.

In addition to both performing and teaching, Lesley also directs the SLSQ’s  Emerging String Quartet program and the SLSQ’s annual Chamber Music Seminar, both at Stanford.  She also directed the SLSQ’s 20th Anniversary Commissioning project, a Cross Canada ongoing endeavor which resulted in the creation of five new string quartets by Canadian composers.  Those works were performed both in Canada and abroad and led to the SLSQ’s most recent CD release “Sea to Sea”.

Currently under an exclusive contract with EMI Classics, the SLSQ has received considerable critical acclaim for their recordings, including two Grammy nominations for Yiddishbbuk, a collection of works by the Argentinean-American composer Osvaldo Golijov; a JUNO Award, granted by the Canadian Academy for Arts and Sciences for Best Classical Album, and the coveted German critic’s award Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik for their premiere recording of Robert Schumann Quartets. Recent recordings include the newly released Nonesuch recording of John Adams “String Quartet”, and a self- produced recording of Haydn and Dvorak quartets through the innovative ArtistShare label.

After beginning their studies in Toronto, the dynamic  foursome heeded the siren call and co-founded the SLSQ with founding members Geoff Nuttall and Barry Shiffman, violinists; Marina Hoover on cello, and Lesley.  They continued their training in New York City with the Emerson, Juilliard, and Tokyo String Quartets while winning both the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Young Concert Artists Audition. They then went on to critically acclaimed debuts in New York, Washington, DC, Paris, and beyond.

Lesley has been profiled several times in The Strad magazine and performed many radio interviews with CBC Radio in Canada and other media outlets throughout her travels.

Away from the concert stage, Lesley’s interests expand far beyond the viola.  She loves exploring the world with her ebullient daughter Kira; cycling and kayaking; and reading medical literature.  Her most recent favourite performance was playing for inmates at a women’s prison in Anchorage, Alaska.

Melody Lee, age 21, has received her Bachelor of Music Diploma from the Colburn Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of Robert Lipsett. A native of Vancouver, B.C., Melody began lessons, first in piano at age 2, then violin at age 6 with Erno Kabok, and later, Toni Stanick. Since then, she has won numerous prizes and scholarships from local and provincial competitions. In June 2011, she was chosen as one of four winners of the Seattle Ladies Musical Club Competition, and as a result, gave a recital tour throughout Western Washington in September 2011. In 2010, she was one of thirteen Colburn students chosen to perform at the Fortissimo Fest in Sofia, Bulgaria. She currently holds a principal position in the Colburn Orchestra, as well as being Associate Concertmaster of the YMF Debut Orchestra. Melody has appeared as a soloist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra. She is also a part of the YMF Music Mentor Program, in which she mentors 8 middle school students at Lennox Middle School. Melody currently plays on a Joseph Baptista Ceruti Violin on generous loan from The Mandell Collection of Southern California. She is now a first-year Artist Diploma student at the Colburn Conservatory of Music.

Michael Olsen was born in the seventies in Vancouver, hailing from a family of professional Drag Racers and Classical Musicians. At the young age of five, he opted for the latter and began to study the cello. At Vancouver Academy of Music, Michael studied with Audrey Nodwell, Judy Fraser, and Ian Hampton. He also played in the Academy Orchestra from 1988 – 1993. He attended many master classes including the  Banff Centre with Aldo Parisot. During this time, Michael contracted his own string quartet, Quadraphonic. He also organized the very first rock music performance in the Koerner recital hall, which was considered a resounding flop, though fun.

After a season as Principal Cello for the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra in 1995, Michael began studies with Shauna Rolston in Cello Performance at the University of Toronto. Before obtaining his Bachelor Degree, he had also been instructed by Phil Nimmons, Don Thompson and Gary Kulesha. Michael also showed a keen interest in recording during his studies.

In his graduating year, Michael took the initiative to record his new band’s debut album, Kitchenmusik. In the years following, Michael became active in the Canadian indie rock scene of the late nineties, playing electric cello. He has since developed a career performing on record and live, with such artists as: Arcade Fire, K-OS, Jim Guthrie, Andy Kim, Constantines, Jill Barber, Immaculate Machine and Jamie Stone. Michael is featured on over 100 recordings.

Michael was a core member of the Hidden Cameras from 2002 to 2008, touring extensively internationally.

Michael has also focused on production and engineering since 2002, when he started his own recording studio, Uncomfortable Silence. Studio clientele include Ohbijou, Spiral Beach, The Organ, The Miles, Debbie Suede, The Hidden Cameras, Indians, Heavy Filth, Yuka, Emma Lee, Amenta, British Columbians and The Great Lake Swimmers.

Michael newest venture is the original musical project, Our Founders, for which he writes and performs. In winter 2011 they will be releasing a new recording entitled “the 9’s”.

In 1972 Nicholas Lozovsky starting playing the violin in the Suzuki method at the age of 3 at The Vancouver Academy of Music. He practically lived at the Academy until he was 18 years old. He studied with Marianne Schreiber, Dr. Lise Elson, Allison Sloan and Gwen Thompson, participated in master classes with the late Sydney Harth, was Concertmaster of the Academy Symphony Orchestra, and received many awards and scholarships along the way. After a year studying in Moscow, Nicholas returned to Vancouver and received his Bachelor’s degree in Music from University of British Columbia studying primarily with Andy Dawes. In 1994 Nicholas received a full two year scholarship at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to pursue graduate studies in chamber music.

Nicholas spent many summers at the Banff Centre studying chamber music. As first violinist of the Sausalito String Quartet, he won the Grand Prize at the Carmel Chamber Music Competition, the Coleman Chamber Music Competition as well as First Prize at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. These critical successes launched the Sausalito Quartet’s concert profile with a national tour with performances in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, New York, as well as summer residencies at Tanglewood and Aspen. The quartet disbanded in 1998 as Nicholas pursued a career in business overseeing one of California’s leading automotive dealer groups Internet sales strategies from infancy into a 70 million business in annual sales. Soon after he became president and CEO of  iMotive Consulting, a consulting firm that assisted dealerships throughout the country with online sales and processes. Nicholas sold the company in 2010 to pursue yet another venture. As co-founder and managing partner of Amadeus Property Partners based in New York City, Amadeus makes real estate asset and credit based investments in the United States. In his spare time, Nicholas is an avid Yoga practitioner and still enjoys playing the violin.

Born in Vancouver, Silvia Fraser completed her BMus in Solo Piano under Prof. Lee Kum-Sing from the Vancouver Academy of Music and went on to receive her Masters of Music in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music at the Eastman School of Music, receiving private study with Dr. Jean Barr and vocal coaching with Dr. Russell Miller. While at Eastman, she was twice honoured with the school’s Excellence in Accompanying Award. She subsequently completed two years as Junior Fellow at the Royal College of Music, for which she was awarded a prestigious Wingate Scholarship. There, she studied with John Blakely and has coached with other leading musicians such as Roger Vignoles, Robin Bowman, Ralph Kirschbaum and Ralf Gothóny.

She has performed internationally, visiting Germany, France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Korea, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Holland, Norway, England and Wales. Her appearances in London have included Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, St. John’s, Smith Square, and the Purcell Room for an anniversary concert honouring the late mezzo soprano Jennie Tourel. She and baritone Christian Immler gave a Paris recital debut as part of the 1st prize in the Nadia et Lili Boulanger International Competition, where Françoise Pollet, member of the jury, invited her for a shared recital at the opening of the Festival du Haut-Limousin. She and Christian Immler  made their Vienna and New York recital debuts together, the last hailed by the New York Times as “A Harmonious Conversation between a Baritone and a Pianist”.

She has partnered with many other competition winners, including those of Jeunesses Musicales (Spain) and the BBC Young Musician of the Year , where she accompanied the winning cellist, Guy Johnston. She has been Official Pianist for the Banff Centre Cellofest and the Vancouver Cello Club, who granted her the first Colin Hampton Memorial Scholarship for her contribution to the cello community, and the Manchester International Violin Competition. In Manchester, she presented a recital series in collaboration with the Royal Northern College of Music based entirely on Spanish song, entitled Amar y Cantar. Her performances have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, most recently on In Tune and Voices, CBC Radio Vancouver, and BBC television.

Her masterclass experience includes Ivry Gitlis, Christa Ludwig, Thomas Hampson, Yo-Yo Ma, Zara Nelsova, Tsuyoshi Tsustumi, Natalya Gutman, Anner Bylsma Samuel Sanders, Gaelyne Gabora, Sarah Walker, Warren Jones, Malcom Bilson, Barry Tuckwell, Michael Collins, Cho-Liang Lin, and Steven Doane. After having been a regular teaching assistant at Bowdoin Summer Music Festival and Music Academy of the West, Silvia held the position of Pianist and Coach at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester for six years is currently Pianist and Coach at the Lausanne Conservatoire.