Artists

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  cello Desiree Abbey

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  viola Paul Casey

  

  viola Paul Casey

  Paul Casey was born and raised in Ottawa and is an avid orchestral, chamber and solo musician and pedagogue. 

  Paul is one of the newest additions to the National Arts Centre Orchestra viola section; as a soloist, Paul has performed with NACO as part of FanFair, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and has given recitals in Canada and the United States. He was the 2011 recipient of the NACO Bursary Competition's Harold Crabtree Foundation Award.  

  Paul obtained a MMus and BMus from Indiana University and the University of Ottawa, respectively, and most recently studied at McGill University.  

  Paul is on faculty at the Leading Note Foundation’s OrKidstra Program and was string coach for the Ottawa Junior Youth Orchestra. He is also a member of the Silflay String Quartet with his wife, cellist Karen Kang and violinists Leah Roseman and Mark Friedman. 

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  trumpet Karen Donnelly

  

  trumpet Karen Donnelly

  Following three successful seasons (1996-1999) as Acting Principal Trumpet of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Karen Donnelly was unanimously appointed Principal Trumpet in October 1999, and continues to enjoy each year with this wonderful ensemble.

  A native of Regina, Saskatchewan, Karen picked up a trumpet for the first time in her elementary school band program and she was hooked.  Her formal training includes a Bachelor of Arts in Music program at the University of Regina and later a Master's of Music from McGill University.

  Karen held the position of Principal Trumpet with Orchestra London (Canada) from 1994-1996, and performed with many ensembles in southwestern Ontario during her time there.

  Since she burst on the Ottawa scene in 1996, Ms. Donnelly has done concerts and interviews for CBC (French and English), performances with the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Rideau Lakes Brass Quintet, and the large ensemble, Capital BrassWorks.  In 2008, Capital Brass Works released its third album, “Gabriel’s Sister” featuring Ms. Donnelly as soloist.

  Karen has been featured with professional orchestras, community amateur orchestras, and many local school bands.  These include the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, Kington Symphony, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra London, Hannaford Silver Street Band, Maple Leaf Brass Band, Parkdale Orchestra and the Regina Catholic Schools Honour Band. 

  Music education has always been, and continues to be, very close to Karen’s heart.  Her work with the Rideau Lakes Brass Quintet and Capital BrassWorks creates opportunities for educational concerts and workshops in schools. Through the NAC Music Education programs, Karen has given master classes in Switzerland, Mexico, China, United States, United Kingdom and Canada from coast to coast.  Ms. Donnelly joined the teaching staff at the University of Ottawa in 2002, and since 2009, Karen has been assisting with the Leadingnote OrKidstra program. 

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  flute Joanna G’froerer

  

  flute Joanna G’froerer

  Praised by critics for the beauty, clarity and fluidity of her sound, impeccable phrasing and consummate musicality, Joanna G’froerer enjoys an exciting career as an orchestral player, chamber musician, soloist and educator. Principal Flutist of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1992, she was appointed to that position at the age of 20, one of the youngest musicians ever to be hired by the NACO.

  A native of Vancouver, Canada, Ms. G’froerer comes from a family of professional musicians. She studied flute in Vancouver with Kathleen Rudolph, and in Montreal with Timothy Hutchins, earning a Licentiate in Music from McGill University in 1993.  Her education also included orchestral training at the Interlochen Arts Camp and with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

  Joanna performs regularly as a soloist with the NACO, having appeared as soloist in over thirty different programs since joining the orchestra. She has also performed concerti with many of Canada's other fine ensembles, including the symphony orchestras of Vancouver, Victoria, and Quebec City. Joanna G’froerer is a past first-prize winner of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition.

  Among Ms. G’froerer’s acclaimed recordings are a CBC disc of Mozart’s Flute Quartets with Pinchas Zukerman, Martin Beaver and Amanda Forsyth, named Best Canadian Chamber Music Recording of 2002 by Opus Magazine. A Naxos recording of Rodrigo’s Flute Concerto and Fantasia Para un Gentilhombre with the Asturias Symphony under Maestro Maximiano Valdes was “exquisitely played by the Canadian virtuoso Joanna G’froerer” (Anthony Holden, The Observer). Also for Naxos, Saint-Saens, Music for Winds was an Editor’s Pick for Gramophone Magazine in 2011. A new recording of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, with Jens Lindemann, James Ehnes, Jon Kimura Parker and Charles Hamann, was nominated for a Juno Award in 2021.

  Joanna G’froerer has been featured in the chamber music festivals of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa, at the Scotia Festival and at Brazil’s Campos do Jordao Festival. She is a member of the National Arts Centre Wind Quintet, and the G’froerer Gott Duo, with harpist Michelle Gott.

  Joanna was a co-founder of the Classical Unbound Festival in Prince Edward County, Ontario, and served as Co-Artistic Director during its first three seasons.

  As an educator, Ms. G’froerer has taught flute at the NAC Summer Music Institute, at Domaine Forget and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and has presented masterclasses at universities and conservatories throughout Canada, as well as in the US, Europe and Asia. Joanna is presently on faculty at the University of Ottawa and at McGill University in Montreal.

  Joanna G’froerer is a Wm. S. Haynes Artist, playing a custom 19.5 K gold Haynes flute with lightweight silver mechanism and headjoints in 19.5K and 14K gold.

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  tuba Chris Lee

  

  tuba Chris Lee

  A native of Toronto, Chris began playing tuba at the age of twelve at Winona Drive Senior Public School and instantly discovered a passion for performing.  During his time at Winona, Chris met Chuck Daellenbach of the Canadian Brass, and performed over 50 concerts with the Winona Brass Quintet including a tour of Japan. Chuck would serve as a role model and mentor for the remainder of Chris' career and those early musical experiences with the quintet would leave an indelible imprint on him.

  After graduating from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, Chris’ formal education included studies with Dennis Miller at McGill, Alain Cazes at the Montreal Conservatoire and Dan Perantoni at Indiana University. His summers were spent performing at various summer festival orchestras including the National Academy Orchestra (Hamilton Canada), National Repertory Orchestra (Breckenridge, Colorado), National Orchestral Institute (College Park, Maryland), Verbier Festival Youth Orchestra (Switzerland) and a memorable summer in the Ceremonial Guard Band performing on Parliament Hill. 

  Chris’ professional orchestral tuba career began overseas in Spain, performing as Principal Tuba with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia for 2 seasons from 2001 to 2003 before returning to Canada to take up the same position with the Winnipeg Symphony in 2003.  Chris served as Principal Tuba with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for 15 seasons from 2003 until 2018, when he started as Principal Tuba with the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

  Chris has been an active teacher and enjoys sharing his passion for music.  While in Europe, Chris was the Professor of Tuba at the ESMAE School of Music in Porto, Portugal and is the former Instructor of Tuba at the University of Manitoba.  He is very proud of his former students who hold a variety of positions.

  Chris has recorded with the Winnipeg Symphony, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Real Philharmonic de Galicia, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Brass and numerous studio recordings in the US.  Chris has appeared as a soloist with a variety of ensembles including the Winnipeg Symphony, the University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble and the National Youth Band of Canada.  Chris gave the orchestral premiere of the Victor Davies Tuba Concerto in 2009 with the WSO and is always on the lookout to find new tuba repertoire to perform for Canadian audiences.  When he is not playing tuba, Chris enjoys running, playing golf and spending time with his wife, Desiree and their two kids; Evelyn and Keenan.

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  violin Jessica Linnebach

  

  violin Jessica Linnebach

  Violinist Jessica Linnebach has distinguished herself among the next generation of Canadian classical artists being lauded on concert stages nationally and around the world. Since her soloist debut at the age of seven, Jessica has appeared with major orchestras throughout North America, Europe and Asia.   Jessica has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) since 2003 and was named their Associate Concertmaster in April 2010.

  Acknowledging the importance of versatility in today’s world, Jessica has developed a reputation as one of those rare artists who has successfully built a multi-faceted career that encompasses solo, chamber and orchestral performances. A passionate chamber musician, Jessica was a founding member of the Zukerman ChamberPlayers, a string quintet led by Pinchas Zukerman. During the 8 years they performed together, they toured extensively to international acclaim appearing throughout North America, South America the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.  Their recording of the Mozart Viola Quintet in G minor was nominated for a Juno Award and its fifth release, Quintets by Mozart and Dvorak, is on the Altara Label. Chamber music collaborations have included some of the most illustrious artists of a generation - Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, James Ehnes, Leon Fleisher, Lynn Harrell, Yo-Yo Ma, Jon Kimura Parker, Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham, and Michael Tree.

  In 2014, Jessica and three of her NACO colleagues formed the Ironwood String Quartet, and they are frequent performers at various chamber music series and festivals, including the WolfGANG and MFASA series, as well as the Pontiac Enchanté, Ritornello, and Classical Unbound festivals.

  As her schedule permits, she is also a solo artist in demand across North America. Over the past couple of years she performed with orchestras in the United States, as well as in Canada, including the Edmonton and Thunder Bay Symphonies, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

  Jessica is also the Artistic Director of the ‘Classical Unbound Festival’, a chamber music festival in Prince Edward County.

  Accepted to the world-renowned Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at the age of ten, Jessica remains one of the youngest ever Bachelor of Music graduates in the history of the school. While there, Jessica’s primary teachers were Aaron Rosand, Jaime Laredo and Ida Kavafian. At eighteen, she received her Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City where she studied with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec.

  Jessica Linnebach plays a circa 1840 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (Guarnerius del Gésu 1737) violin.  Her bows are crafted by Ron Forrester and Michael Vann.

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  viola David Marks

  

  viola David Marks

  In 2014, after 12 years living abroad, violist David Marks returned to Canada to accept the position of Associate Principal with the NAC Orchestra.  Born in Vancouver, David grew up in Virginia in the heart of a musical family.  From an early age he experimented with composing, writing, drawing and painting; these passions have resulted in dozens of original songs, paintings and murals.  Viola studies took him across the US and Europe for lessons with Roberto Diaz, Atar Arad, Karen Tuttle, Gerard Caussé, Thomas Riebl and Nobuko Imai, to the Banff Centre, L'Académie de Musique Tibor Varga and Prussia Cove.  

  In Europe, David performed as Principal Viola with L'Orchestre de Montpellier and L'Opera de Bordeaux, La Orquesta de la Ciudad de Granada, Holland Symfonia and Amsterdam Sinfonietta.  He was Principal Viola of the London Philharmonic under the batons of Vladimir Jurowski, Christoph Eschenbach, Yannick Nezet-Seguin and Marin Alsop.  As a fixture on the contemporary music scene, he performed across Europe with the Asko/Schonberg Ensemble, Ensemble Modern, Mondriaan Quartet, Fabrica Musica and Nieuw Amsterdamse Peil.  He was a member of the avant-garde Dutch contemporary music group, Nieuw Ensemble, with whom he toured China and recorded over 40 works.

  As a folk musician, David has toured Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia singing his songs with The History of Dynamite.  His folk-opera, The Odyssey was performed at the Banff Centre and subsequently at Theater de Cameleon in Amsterdam.  He plays fiddle and guitar and has performed with Van Dyke Parks, Bill Frisell and Patrick Watson.  

  He lives with his wife and 4 children in Wakefield, QC.

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  cello Rachel Mercer

  

  cello Rachel Mercer

  Described as a “pure chamber musician” (The Globe and Mail) creating “moments of pure magic” (Toronto Star), Canadian cellist Rachel Mercer has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician across five continents. Grand prize winner of the 2001 Vriendenkrans Competition in Amsterdam, Rachel is Principal Cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and Artistic Director of the “5 at the First” Chamber Music Series in Hamilton. Rachel regularly collaborates with her longtime duo partner, pianist Angela Park, and was cellist of JUNO Award-winning piano quartet Ensemble Made In Canada (2008–2020), AYR Trio (2010–2020), and the Aviv Quartet (2002–2010). Rachel has given masterclasses across North America, South Africa, and in Israel and has given talks on performance, careers, and the music business. An advocate for new Canadian music, Rachel has commissioned and premiered over 25 solo and chamber works, including cello concertos by Stewart Goodyear and Kevin Lau. She can be heard on the Naxos, Naxos Canadian Classics, Centrediscs, Analekta, Atma, Dalia Classics, and EnT-T record labels, and released a critically acclaimed album of the Bach Suites on Pipistrelle in March 2014, recorded on the 1696 Bonjour Stradivarius Cello from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank. Rachel plays a 17th-century cello from Northern Italy.

  www.rachelmercercellist.com

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  cello Marc-André Riberdy

  

  cello Marc-André Riberdy

  Though Marc-André Riberdy’s musical education began with the violin, he later changed his allegiance to the cello. He first studied with Father Rolland Brunelle and Sophie Coderre at the École de musique de Lanaudière, and then with Elizabeth Dolin at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. He did further studies in Jean-Guihen Queyras’s class at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany.

  Riberdy made a name for himself in numerous music competitions, including the  Lanaudière classical music festival and competition, the Canadian Music Competition and the Hélène-Roberge Music Competition. He was also awarded a special prize at the 2016 Domnick cello competion in Stuttgart, Germany.

  During his studies, Riberdy performed as a soloist with various orchestras, including the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal’s string orchestra, its symphony orchestra and the Joliette Youth Orchestra. He became the Orchestre Métropolitain’s associate solo cello in 2016 before before joining the NAC Orchestra’s cello section in 2018. He plays a Giovanni Gagliano 1790–1800 cello with a Karl Hans Schmidt bow, both generously made available to him by Canimex.

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  trumpet Steven van Gulik

  

  trumpet Steven van Gulik

  Ottawa-born trumpet player Steven van Gulik became a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2009. He began playing the cornet at the age of eight studying with his uncle Kenneth Moore and performing with the local Salvation Army church band.

  Having won the National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary in 1993 and competing successfully at many regional, provincial and national music festivals, Steven decided to pursue studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy and then at McGill University with former NAC Orchestra principal trumpet Douglas Sturdevant and Montreal Symphony principal trumpet Paul Merkelo. An active chamber musician, he has performed in every season of the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and can be heard regularly performing with Capital BrassWorks, an Ottawa-based brass ensemble. Steven can also be heard performing on CBC Radio as recital soloist, chamber musician and on stage with various orchestras across Canada.

  Steven held the position of principal trumpet of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and has performed as a soloist with the Thunder Bay Symphony, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

  Steven served as a member of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 2000-2007 and performed on international tours and recordings before moving west to become a member of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra from 2007 to 2009. He has now returned to his hometown of Ottawa with his wife Lianne and their daughter Maria.

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  violin Mintje van Lier

  

  violin Mintje van Lier

  Mintje van Lier (1982) is Principal Second violin with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra. 

  At the age of five, Mintje started studying the violin under Anneke Schilt-Plate and continued with Hans Scheepers, Joyce Tan, Mimi Zweig, Chris Duindam and Lex Korff de Gidts. In 2006 she received her Bachelor of Music at the Amsterdam Conservatory. She continued her studies in the class of Ilan Gronich at the Universität der Künste, Berlin, receiving the Diplom in 2009.  

  From 2004-2006, Mintje performed as a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra under the direction of Bernard Haitink, Sir Colin Davis, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Paavo Järvi and Sir John Eliot Gardiner.  

  In 2007, Mintje studied in the Academy of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, after which, she was awarded a scholarship from the Bernard Haitink Fund for Young Talent. In 2008, Mintje won the position as assistent principal 2nd Violin with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Filharmonic. In the five years leading up to the closing of this orchestra, Mintje enjoyed playing under the frequent guest conductor’s Philippe Herreweghe and Frans Brüggen. Mintje freelances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. From 2014—2021 Mintje was the assistant principal 2nd violin of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as a member of the Jenufa String Quartet. 

  She has taken part in the Zermatt Festival with the Scharoun Ensemble of the Berliner Philharmoniker. In Berlin, Mintje played with Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop.  

  Mintje plays a Theo Marks violin (2018).

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  horn Lawrence Vine

  

  horn Lawrence Vine

  Principal Horn with the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 2002, Lawrence Vine has also served as Principal Horn with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.

  A much sought-after chamber musician, Lawrence has performed with Andrew Dawes, Lynn Harrell, Joseph Kalichstein, Anton Kuerti, Malcolm Lowe, Menahem Pressler, Pascal Rogé, David Schifrin, Joseph Silverstein, and Pinchas Zukerman.  He regularly performs at home and on tour with the National Arts Centre Wind Quintet, a highly acclaimed ensemble that has recorded for the Naxos label.

  As a soloist, he has appeared with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and Ottawa’s Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra.  His festival credits include the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Banff Centre for Fine Arts, Cleveland’s Kent/Blossom Music, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival and Ottawa's Music and Beyond Festival.

  An active teacher and clinician, Lawrence is proud to teach the horn studio at the University of Ottawa's School of Music.  He previously taught at the University of Manitoba, and has presented masterclasses at the Manhattan School of Music, Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory, Chicago’s Roosevelt University, Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music, Wilfrid Laurier University, and the Universities of Colorado, Toronto, British Columbia, Calgary and Victoria.  He also serves on the faculty of the NAC Summer Music Institute.

  The Toronto Globe and Mail has praised his “fine, burnished playing”; the Winnipeg Free Press commended his “delicate phrasing, rounded tone, and sense of poise”; the Ottawa Citizen enthused that his “playing was assured, and his clear sound was remarkably subtle”; and the Montreal Gazette described his playing as “radiant”.

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  trombone Steven Dyer

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  flute Stephanie Morin

  

  flute Stephanie Morin

  A native of Montreal, Stephanie Morin is an up and coming flutist on the Canadian music scene. Before her appointment as Second Flute and Piccolo with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2020, she held positions as Assistant Principal Flute with the Edmonton Symphony, and Principal Flute of the Laval and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean orchestras.

  As a chamber musician, Stephanie has performed with small ensembles for the Health Arts Society of Alberta and the Lakeshore Chamber Music Society. She also enjoys teaching flutists of all ages and levels, and was an ambassador for the YONA Sistema program at the Winspear Centre in Edmonton.

  Stephanie completed her music studies in Montreal, first at Marianopolis College with Carolyn Christie, then at McGill University with Denis Bluteau, and finally at the Montreal Conservatory of Music with Marie-Andrée Benny. She spent her summers at music programs such as the Music Academy of the West, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and the NAC’s own Young Artists Program.

  Stephanie is a prize-winner at the Canadian Music Competition, the Prix d’Europe, and the Orchestra Toronto Concerto Competition. She has also performed with ensembles such as Les Violons du Roy, the Orchestre Métropolitain, and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.

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  violin Emily Westell

  

  violin Emily Westell

  Canadian violinist Emily Westell has established herself as a versatile musician. Since her debut as soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic at age 15, she has performed as soloist and conductor with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, and has played concerti with the Tanglewood, Banff Festival, and University of Calgary Orchestras. A winner of the 2012 Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank Competition (loan of the 1717 Windsor-Weinstein Stradivari), she was awarded the 2013 “Astral Artist Prize” from Canada’s National Arts Centre. Westell has performed chamber music and solo recitals in Paris (Cité de la Musique), New York (Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall), Boston (Jordan Hall), and the Netherlands (International Holland Music Sessions). Her concerts have been broadcast on CBC and Radio-Canada.

  Westell has performed at the festivals of Prussia Cove, Norfolk, Spoleto USA, Orford, Meadowmount, and Lanaudiere. An advocate for new music, Westell has performed with the Harvard Group for New Music, Columbia Composers, Boston’s Callithumpian Consort, and on the Land’s End Chamber Ensemble CD, Rollin’ Down #1, winner of the Western Canada Music Award for “Outstanding Classical Album.” She is a former instructor of violin and chamber music at McGill University.

  Westell recently completed post-doctoral Professional Studies with Pinchas Zukerman in the Manhattan School of Music’s prestigious Zukerman Performance Program on a President’s Award. Her previous teachers include Edmond Agopian, Miriam Fried, and Jonathan Crow. Westell holds a Doctor of Music degree from McGill University (where she was a SSHRC Doctoral Fellow), a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory and the Fine Arts gold medal from the University of Calgary, for the top graduate.

  www.emilywestell.wix.com/violinist

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