SEASON 13
AFFETUOSO
November 9th, 3 p.m.
Guest Artists:
Eric Abramovitz, Clarinet
Luri Lee, Violin
Rémi Pelletier, Viola
Eric Abramovitz, clarinet
Eric Abramovitz joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2018 as Associate Principal and E-flat Clarinet, and was appointed Principal Clarinet in 2021.
Eric was named the Vandoren Emerging Artist of the year in 2017, and a CBC Next! artist in 2013. A first-prize winner at the OSM Standard Life Competition in 2011, Eric has been featured as a soloist with numerous orchestras including the McGill and USC Symphonies, l’Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Eric was a Sylva Gelber Career Grant recipient in 2016, and toured throughout Japan with the New York Symphonic Ensemble.
A Montreal native, Eric obtained his Bachelor’s Degree at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, and pursued graduate studies at the University of Southern California. Eric’s teachers include Zaven Zakarian, Alain Desgagné, Robert Crowley, Simon Aldrich, Jean-François Normand, Kimball Sykes, and Yehuda Gilad.
In his free time, Eric enjoys eating, spending time with his family and cats, shooting pool, playing hockey, and cheering for the Montreal Canadiens.
Luri Lee, violin
Luri Lee has been deemed “the perfect chamber music partner” (Bachtrack) whose playing is “spotlessly clean and with never a routine phrase” (The Calgary Herald). Appearing as soloist with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Lee has performed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia as a soloist and chamber musician.
As a founding member of the Rolston String Quartet, she received Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, First Prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition, and Grand Prize at the 31st Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition and the Astral Artists National Auditions.
Her diverse chamber music career has led to collaborations with many world-renowned artists such as Paul Neubauer, Yura Lee, Gary Hoffman, Cho-Liang Lin, Miguel da Silva, and Jon Kimura Parker. Lee holds degrees from the University of Toronto, Glenn Gould School, Peabody Conservatory, and Rice University.
She plays on a Carlo Tononi violin, generously on loan from Shauna Rolston Shaw.
Rémi Pelletier, viola
Rémi Pelletier joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Viola in September 2019, having served in the New York Philharmonic’s viola section from July 2013, and in the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal beginning in 2007.
Previously, he was a regular substitute with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and also performed with The Haddonfield Symphony and Orchestre Métropolitain. He served as Guest Principal Viola of the International Orchestra of Italy in the summers of 2011 and 2012, Principal Viola of Japan’s Pacific Music Festival, and Assistant Principal of the New York String Orchestra Seminar.
An active chamber musician, Mr. Pelletier was a regular guest at the Société de musique de chambre de Québec and performed with Rendez-vous musical de Laterrière and Musica Camerata, as well as with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s chamber music series. His honours include the CBC/McGill Music Award (2003), as well as first prize at the Concours du Québec and Canada’s National Music Festival Competition.
FOUR TEMPERAMENTS
March 22nd, 3 p.m.
Guest Artists:
Monica Whicher, Soprano
Yolanda Bruno, Violin
Theresa Rudolph, Viola
Monica Whicher, soprano
Monica Whicher is Associate Professor of Voice, Teaching Stream, and Head of Voice Studies at the University of Toronto, where she also teaches English Song. A graduate of U of T and former member of the COC Ensemble Studio, she studied with Lois Marshall and at Banff, Britten-Pears, and Ravinia. She has performed with major orchestras and opera companies across North America, Europe, and Asia, in roles from Mozart’s Countess and Pamina to Purcell’s Dido and Britten’s Governess. A Juno and Dora Award nominee, her acclaimed recordings include Breathe: Music for Voices and Early Instruments, Lullabies and Carols for Christmas, and Sheida Gharachedaghi’s The Fairies. Critics praise her “gorgeous timbre” and expressive artistry. A dedicated teacher and clinician, her students have gone on to sing and teach internationally at the Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, Bard College, and the Metropolitan Opera.
Yolanda Bruno, violin
Yolanda Bruno, Ottawa-born violinist, has been praised for her “total control of her instrument with infinite variety in the sound palette” (La Presse). Winner of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition, the Isabel Overton Bader Competition, and the Canada Council’s Virginia Parker Prize, she has appeared as soloist with the Montreal and Toronto Symphonies, the Orchestra of the Americas, and London Mozart Players. She has performed for the Queen at Buckingham Palace, recorded with Parkway Drive, and brought music to parks, prisons, hospitals, and classrooms. In 2021, she founded Music for Your Blues, offering free personalized concerts to combat isolation. Her debut CD The Wild Swans (2019) featured works by women composers, with a second album dedicated to Jeanne Lamon due in 2025. Former Concertmaster of the Kingston Symphony and Associate Concertmaster of the TSO, she teaches at The Glenn Gould School. Yolanda performs on a 1737 Montagnana violin, generously loaned by Groupe Canimex.
Theresa Rudolph, viola
Theresa Rudolph joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Principal Viola in 2011 and has also performed with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra since 2018. At 21, she became the youngest member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and has since held positions with the Canadian Opera Company and National Ballet of Canada Orchestras, as well as appearances with the Vancouver Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra. A passionate chamber musician, she has performed at major festivals including Vancouver, Great Lakes, Santa Fe, and Ottawa Chamberfest, and appears regularly with the TSO Chamber Soloists, often heard on CBC and Classical 96.3 FM. Dedicated to teaching, she maintains studios at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory’s Taylor Academy, and has taught widely across Canada. Raised in Vancouver, she studied with Gerald Stanick before earning a Bachelor of Music at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Robert Vernon. Theresa lives in Toronto with her husband, violinist Csaba Koczo, and their three children.
GRAND ROMANCE
May 31st, 3 p.m.
Guest Artists:
Annalee Patipatanakoon, Aaron Schwebel and Min-Jeong Koh, Violins
Sharon Wei and Hezekiah Leung, Violas
Guillaume Artus, Cello