Jonathan Crow, violon

Jonathan Crow has been concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 2011. A native of Prince George, British Columbia, Jonathan earned his Bachelor of Music in Honours Performance from McGill University in 1998, at which time he joined the Montreal Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Second Violin. Between 2002 and 2006 Jonathan was the Concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra; during this time he was the youngest concertmaster of any major North American orchestra. Jonathan continues to perform as guest concertmaster with orchestras around the world, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Filarmonia de Lanaudiere and Pernambuco Festival Orchestra (Brazil). Jonathan has also performed as a soloist with most major Canadian orchestras including the Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, the National Arts Centre and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestras, the Victoria, Nova Scotia and Kingston Symphonies, and Orchestra London, under the baton of such conductors as Charles Dutoit, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Andrew Davis, Peter Oundjian, Kent Nagano, Mario Bernardi and João Carlos Martins. Jonathan joined the Schulich School of Music at McGill University as an Assistant Professor of Violin and was appointed Associate Professor of Violin in 2010. Current and former students of Mr. Crow have received prizes at competitions around the world, including the Menuhin International Violin Competition, Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition, Shean Competition, CBC Radio's NEXT competition, Eckhardt-Grammatte Competition, Canadian Music Competition, and Stulberg International String Competition, and work regularly with orchestras such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Verbier Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Kammerphilharmonie and Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Jonathan is currently Associate Professor of Violin at the University of Toronto. In 2016 Jonathan was named Artistic Director of Toronto Summer Music, which has enjoyed record attendance and rave reviews in all of his first three seasons. An avid chamber musician, he has performed at chamber music festivals throughout North America, South America and Europe including the Banff, Ravinia, Orford, Domaine Forget, Seattle, Montreal, Ottawa, Incontri in Terra di Sienna, Alpenglow, Festival Vancouver, Pernambuco (Brazil), Giverny (France) and Strings in the Mountains festivals. He is a founding member of the Juno Award-winning New Orford String Quartet, a project-based new ensemble dedicated to the promotion of standard and Canadian string quartet repertoire throughout North America. As an advocate of contemporary music he has premiered works by Canadian composers Michael Conway Baker, Eldon Rathburn, Barrie Cabena, Gary Kulesha, Tim Brady, Francois Dompierre, Vivian Fung, Ana Sokolovic, Marjan Mozetich, Christos Hatzis, Ernest MacMillan and Healey Willan. He also includes in his repertoire major concerti by such modern composers as Ligeti, Schnittke, Bernstein, Brian Cherney, Rodney Sharman, Vivian Fung and Cameron Wilson. Jonathan has recorded for ATMA, Bridge, CBC, Oxingale, Skylark, and XXI-21 labels and is heard frequently on Chaîne Culturelle of Radio-Canada, CBC Radio Two, and National Public Radio, along with Radio France, Deutsche Welle, Hessischer Rundfunk and the RAI in Europe. Biography provided by the artist1

Philip Chiu, piano

“A pianist-painter who transforms each musical idea into a beautiful array of colors” (La Presse), Philip Chiu is acclaimed for his brilliant pianism, sensitive listening, and a stage presence that eschews the hermit-pianist image in favour of openness, authenticity, and connection with audiences. Inaugural winner of the Mécénat Musica Prix Goyer, Philip has become one of Canada’s leading musicians through his infectious love of music and his passion for creation and communication. Philip concertizes extensively as soloist and chamber musician and has performed solo recitals and chamber music concerts in most major venues across Canada, as well as concert halls in France, Japan and the United States (debuting for the La Jolla Music Society in California in their 50th anniversary season, as well as Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont). Chamber music partners have included James Ehnes, Emmanuel Pahud, Regis Pasquier, Roland Pidoux, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Bomsori Kim, Johannes Moser, and the New Orford String Quartet; he also has a long-standing violin-piano duo with Jonathan Crow. Philip is a veteran touring artist of Prairie Debut, Jeunesses Musicales Canada, and Debut Atlantic, having toured the country 14 times with their generous support. Passionate about programming unique and imaginative concerts, he was invited as Cecilia Concert’s 2018/2019 Artist-in-Residence, and is looking forward to exploring new ideas as Artist-in-Residence for Montreal’s La Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur in 2021. Other recent projects include a recording of John Burge’s 24 Preludes for Solo Piano, as well as a recording/concert project with Pentaèdre, honouring the music of Jacques Hétu (ATMA) recognized by Le Devoir as “A useful disc, superbly performed.” Also recently released, an album with cellist Cameron Crozman, Tapeo, offers colourful Spanish music. His upcoming series of solo albums (ATMA) presents the music of Ravel, Debussy, as well as original commissions from distinguished composers such as Barbara Croall, Odawa composer and recipient of the Order of Ontario. Philip has recorded for Warner Music, ATMA Classique, Analekta and CBC Music. He can be heard on BBC Radio 3, France Musique, ICI Musique, and CBC Music. In addition to his performing activities, Philip created the Collaborative Piano Program at the Domaine Forget International Academy and consulted for national and international competitions as a recognized expert in collaborative piano. He regularly juries for provincial, national, and international competitions. He is eternally grateful for the support of Mécénat Musica, the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation, and the Canada Council for the Arts. Philip also wishes to thank his teachers and mentors; notably, Marc Durand, Jenny Regehr, Susan Steele, and the late Peter Longworth. He is a graduate of the Young Artists’ Performance Academy (now the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists) and holds a Performance Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Philip is represented by Andrew Kwan Artists Management. http://philipchiu.ca Biography provided by the artist