Artists

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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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  Flute Lara Deutsch

  

  Flute Lara Deutsch

  Named one of 2020’s “Rising Stars” by BBC Music Magazine, flutist Lara Deutsch is a versatile soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player known for her engaging warmth and ability to connect with audiences. Recipient of the $125,000 Prix Goyer for 2019-2020, Lara was also a first prize winner of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s 2014 Manulife Competition, at which she was awarded a total of seven prizes. Additionally, she was the Grand Prize Winner of both the National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary Competition (2014) and the Canadian Music Competition (2010), as well as a laureate of the Concours Prix d’Europe (2016).

  An avid chamber musician, Lara’s recent performance highlights include recitals for the New Classical FM’s Zoomer Hall series, the National Arts Centre (NAC) & Facebook’s #CanadaPerforms initiative, Newport Classical (Rhode Island, USA), the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s Virée Classique, Ottawa’s Music & Beyond Festival, and the Allegra Chamber Music series, of which she was Artist-in-Residence for the 2019-2020 season. Among her favourite collaborators are pianists Philip Chiu and Frédéric Lacroix, guitarist Adam Cicchillitti, and harpist Emily Belvedere, with whom she founded Duo Kalysta. She has recorded two chamber music albums on the Leaf Music Label: Origins (2019, Duo Kalysta) and Night Light (2022, with Philip Chiu), both of which were named to Top 20 lists for their respective years by CBC Music.

  Lara is currently based in the Ottawa-Montreal area, where she has performed extensively with the NAC Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (of which she acted as Assistant Principal Flute & Piccolo for the 2016-17 season), the symphony orchestras of Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Kingston, and the McGill Symphony Orchestra, among others.

  Whenever possible, Lara enjoys performing for young audiences through educational outreach concerts, principally as a member of the NAC’s Ayorama Wind Quintet. She is similarly dedicated to sharing her transformative experiences working with Olympic mental performance coach Jean-François Ménard, having hosted workshops internationally for performers of all ages. In November of 2020, she joined the music faculty at Carleton University as a performance instructor.

  Lara performs on a 14k gold Haynes flute, generously loaned by Canimex Inc. of Drummondville, Québec.

  She is incredibly grateful for the support of Mécénat Musica, the Canada Council for the Arts, and FACTOR in her ongoing projects, as well as for the years of invaluable guidance from her principal teachers and mentors: Denis Bluteau, Tim Hutchins, Camille Churchfield, and Cathy Baerg. She is represented by Latitude 45 Arts.

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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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  Violin Emily Kruspe

  

  Violin Emily Kruspe

  Toronto-born violinist Emily Kruspe is a winner of the Glenn Gould School’s Concerto Competition and the University of Toronto Concerto Competition, is a recipient of the Orford String Quartet Scholarship, and was previously a CBC Young Artist. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Kruspe was a member of the Rolston String Quartet from 2018-2020 and performed extensively around North America and Europe. Emily has performed with the Toronto-based ARC Ensemble, and regularly plays section violin with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and the National Ballet Orchestra of Canada as an extra. She was also named one of CBC’s hot Canadian classical musicians under 30 in 2018. Emily completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto under Erika Raum, obtained an Artist Diploma at the Glenn Gould School under Paul Kantor and Barry Shiffman, and studied at the Colburn School with Martin Beaver. She was also a 2017-18 Rebanks Fellow of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto.

  Emily currently performs on a 1900 Stefano Scarampella violin, generously on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.

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  Viola David Thies-Thompson

  

  Viola David Thies-Thompson

  David was born in Kenya where his father served as a missionary doctor. When David was 5 years old his family moved back to Canada and settled in Victoria, BC. David began violin lessons at the age of 7, first by Suzuki method, and later at the Victoria Conservatory of Music (VCM) with Sydney Humphreys. He received diplomas from the VCM and the Royal Conservatory of Music.

  Focused on orchestral playing, David particularly enjoyed his studies at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, McGill University, and the Eastman School of Music. His teachers have included Mauricio Fuks and Stuart Knussen for orchestral coaching.

  His professional orchestral life began at the age of 15 as a violinist with the Victoria Symphony. After a brief hiatus for more schooling, he joined Symphony Nova Scotia in 1988. In 1990, David left Halifax for Ottawa to take a position in the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) as a violinist. After 18 years in the NACO’s violin section, David looked for a new musical challenge and thus, in 2008, he changed instruments and joined the viola section. In addition to his current position in the NACO, David has also appeared as a guest musician with other orchestras and chamber ensembles including the Winnipeg Symphony, the Gryphon Trio, and the Berlin Philharmonic. 

  David has performed as concertmaster with Thirteen Strings, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and the Opera Lyra Ottawa Orchestra. He frequently appears on the National Arts Centre’s 'Music for a Sunday Afternoon' series, and at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Music and Beyond Festival, and more recently the Festival aux iles du Bic.

  David also enjoys conducting. He served as Music Director of the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra from 1999 to 2013 and now conducts the NACO Players Association Fanfair concert. He is also a key coordinator for the annual fundraising campaign for The Ottawa FoodBank and the Snowsuit Fund.  

  David is an active member of Christ Church Cathedral Ottawa, where he is now the Artistic Director of the Cathedral’s eclectic, multi-disciplinary Cathedral Arts program. David enjoys an active teaching studio, gardening, and spending time with his family.

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  Cello Leah Wyber

  

  Cello Leah Wyber

  Leah Wyber is a native of Medicine Hat, Alberta.  Her introduction to the cello began in a school strings program at the age of eight.  She received her advanced musical training at the University of British Columbia and the Banff Centre.  Eric Wilson, Paula Kiffner, and George Kiraly are among her most influential teachers.

  Leah is a former member of La Pieta of Montreal, Thirteen Strings of Ottawa, the Atlantic String Quartet, and Joe Trio of Vancouver.  She was also principal cello of the Newfoundland Symphony for several years.  Some of the many festivals and programs she participated in include the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Scotia Festival, the Whistler Mozart Festival, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra.

  Leah has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1993.  In addition to performing alongside the wonderful cellists in the orchestra, she enjoys playing chamber music and teaching.  Other interests include gardening, hiking, cross-country skiing, and curling.

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  Stage Director André Perrier

  

  Stage Director André Perrier

  Mender of Solitudes

  A unifying force on the Franco-Ontarian cultural scene, André Perrier is accomplished in several theatrical professions. He is an actor and playwright, but above all a director: he has staged numerous plays, including the French-language adaptation of Pamela Gien’s The Syringa Tree (Le lilas africain, 2019). Among his many awards is a 2000 Masque for Du pépin à la fissure, which brought the words of the sublime poet Patrice Desbiens to the stage. From 1998 to 2004, he was the artistic director of Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario in Sudbury. He currently teaches at the University of Ottawa, and since 1990, has been the director of Théâtre Triangle Vital.

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