2020
Daniel Tselyakov (Piano)
The Festival of the Sound welcomes Daniel Tselyakov as our 2020 Stockey Young Artist. He has been acclaimed for the sensitivity and depth of his interpretations and for the rare emotional intensity and bold energy of his performances. He began his piano studies at the age of five with his father, Canadian pianist Alexander Tselyakov and completed a Bachelor’s degree at the Oberlin Conservatory with Angela Cheng. Daniel is currently pursuing his Doctorate degree and full-teaching assistantship at the University of Utah with Ning Lu. He is a recent laureate of the International Livorno Piano Competition in Italy.
2020
Cameron Crozman (Cello)
Named “Canada’s next big cello star” by CBC Music and the 2019-20 Classical Revelation artist of Radio-Canada, Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman is making a name for himself both at home and internationally. Deeply committed to innovation in classical music, Cameron constantly imagines new ways to share his art with the world. He enjoys performing in unusual locations, from breweries and wineries to public markets, and makes a point of visiting smaller communities in Canada. As the 2020 Stockey Young Artistic Director, Cameron will introduce other stars of his generation in concerts during the second week of the Festival.
2019
Mathilde Côté (Composer) is a musician from the Gaspé area of Québec. She has an independent and multi-faceted approach as a composer, letting her music be influenced by popular songs, jazz, folk tunes, and more. Her main non-musical sources of inspiration include simple words, nature, and people. In 2016, she wrote and produced a concert called Métissages, quatuors en chaises berçantes, featuring new music for a traditional foot-tapping percussionist and a string quartet. Her music has been played in the USA, Europe and Canada.
2019
Andrew Hulse (Composer) is a non-binary composer based in Manhattan, New York, whose practice juxtaposes counterpoint with
improvisational elements as an active investigation of musicology. Along with overarching feminine themes, their practice includes influence from found objects – both material and conceptual. Photography, film, texts, and wallpaper all serve as fodder for new works. Andrew’s works have been performed in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
2019
Haotian Yu (Composer) is a Chinese-Canadian composer that works with ideas of ritual, materiality and gesturality through transformative applications of ancient Chinese aesthetics and philosophies. He is currently a candidate for the Bachelor of Music degree at the Eastman School of Music. His work has been recognized with prizes and awards including the SOCAN Serge Garant 1st prize, two SOCAN Young Composer Awards, and the Wayne Brewster Barlow Prize and Louis Lane Prize from the Eastman School of Music.
2018
National Youth Orchestra of Canada The brainchild of the noted conductor Walter Susskind, the NYOC has enjoyed an iconic reputation for more than 50 years as Canada’s orchestral finishing school, providing the most comprehensive and in-depth training program available to our country’s best young classical musicians.
2018
Noah Franche-Nolan (Piano) is a jazz pianist, improviser, composer, and ensemble leader. He is completing his degree in Jazz Comprehensive and Classical Composition as a student of David Braid at the University of Toronto. As a composer, Noah premiered Song of the Phoenix, his Modern Jazz/Classical Hybrid suite for sextet at Toronto’s Gallery 345 in 2017.
2017
Cameron Crozman (Cello)
Described as a musician of “profound musical imagination”, Cameron has established himself as one of Canada’s leading young cellists. He holds masters degrees and an artist diploma from the Paris Conservatory and recently released his album “Cavatine” with pianist Philip Chiu in 2019.
2016
Charissa Vandikas (Piano)
Praised for her “fabulous sense of style and musical expression well beyond her years”, Charissa is establishing herself as a pianist with a promising future. A recipient of numerous awards including the Canadian Music Competition, she currently studies at the Glenn Gould School.
2016
Linda Ruan (Piano)
Praised for “a great passion and poise” in her performance, Linda has participated in many local and international music festival and piano competitions where she has received numerous scholarships and awards. She was one of the first soloists to ever perform at the Bella Concert Hall at Mount Royal University in July 2015.
2015
Annie Zhou (Piano)
is a top-prize winner at many national and international piano competitions including the national first prize for three consecutive years at the Canadian Music Competition. She made her orchestral debut when she was eight and has since performed with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and many others.
2014
Cheng2 Duo (Cello & Piano)
The brother-sister duo is formed by Bryan Cheng, recipient of the 2017 Canada Council for the Arts Michael Measures Prize, and pianist Silvie Cheng, recipient of the Roy M. Rubinstein Award for exceptional promise in piano performance. They are celebrated by audiences and critics alike, and performed in our 2018 Festival season.
2013
Drew Jurecka (Violin)
is a violinist, composer and arranger who performs with a number of Canadian ensembles. Drew currently teaches at Humber College, helping to create the only specialized jazz strings post-secondary program in Canada.
2012
Adrian Fung (Cello) In addition to being the cellist of the Afiara String Quartet, Adrian is the Executive Artistic Director of Summer Music Vancouver and the celebrated presenting organization Music In The Morning. He is also Associate Dean at the University of Oklahoma’s Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts.
2012
Dinuk Wijeratne (Piano) is an award-winning composer who has collaborated with some of the greatest musicians in Canada. He has led the National Symphony Orchestra, Scotia Festival Orchestra, and Symphony Nova Scotia. His work “The Spirit and the Dust for solo marimba” was performed at the 2017 Festival of the Sound.
2011
Alexander Seredenko (Piano) is a leading voice in the next generation of Canadian young artists. He studied at The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School and is a recipient of the prestigious Ihnatowycz Piano Prize.
2011
Cecilia String Quartet enjoyed many years of success since their inception in 2004. Prior to their final season in 2018, they developed a series of concerts called Xenia Concerts that are customized to appeal to, and be welcoming of, children on the autism spectrum and their families.
2010
Afiara String Quartet are familiar faces at the Festival of the Sound and have received critical acclaim at home and abroad. The Quartet is known for its boundary-pushing collaborations, including innovative work with scratch DJ Kid Koala.
2009
Frederieke Saeijs (Violin) is a master recitalist, performing in renowned concert halls throughout Europe. A dedicated teacher, she has acted as a main subject teacher at both the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and the Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio in Madrid.
2008
Jan Lisiecki (Piano) was Deutsche Grammophon’s 2013 Young Artist of the Year and first came to the Festival of the Sound as a talented thirteen year old. Today he is one of the world’s most respected concert pianists.
2008
Magdalena von Eccher (Piano) is being recognized as one of Canada’s finest musicians. Magdalena is a regular Festival artist and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music at McGill University under the guidance of Dr. Stéphane Lemelin.
2007
Darrett Zusko (Piano) has garnered much critical acclaim wherever he’s performed and has firmly established himself as one of the new generation’s most exciting and versatile Canadian young artists.
2007
Peter McGillivray (Baritone) continues to have a prolific operatic career which has included roles with every opera company in Canada, most recently as Don Pizarro in Pacific Opera Victoria’s production of Fideli.
2006
Winston Choi (Piano) has had a varied and excited career since he first joined us in 2006. He is an in-demand soloist and répétiteur, as well as Head of the Piano Program at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts.