Musical Instrument Bank
2012 Competition Winners
Jonathan Chan
Violinist
Jonathan Chan began playing the violin and piano at the age of 4. By age 8 he had made his first
appearance with an orchestra and has since performed throughout Europe, China, South Africa
and North America. In 2003, he was invited to perform at a concert at Toronto’s Air Canada
Center to mark the retirement of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, sharing the stage with
renowned artists Oliver Jones, Paul Anka and the late Oscar Peterson.
While studying in London, England’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he performed at the
Barbican Centre, Wigmore Hall, the City of London Festival, and at Trafalgar Square as part of
St. George’s Day celebrations. He is a three-time Grand Prize winner of the Canadian Music
Competition, and two-time recipient of the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award, an award
given to the most gifted musicians in Canada under the age of 30.
Jonathan Chan is a native of Burnaby, B.C. and is now based in London, England.
Timothy Chooi
Violinist
At age 16, Timothy Chooi won the Grand Prize of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s
(OSM) 2010 Standard Life Competition. This led to numerous concert engagements including at
the OSM, the National Arts Centre’s Next Series, the Orford Arts Centre, the Banff Centre for
the Arts and the Vancouver Recital Series.
In 2012, he will debut with the Toronto Philharmonia, the Newfoundland Symphony, the
Edmonton Symphony, and the Northern Arts Centre (Yellowknife), among others, and will tour
in Chile as a solo artist with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. He won the Vancouver
Women's Society Club scholarship and the Special Violin Prize at the 2010 Yehudi Menuhin
International Violin Competition in Norway.
Born in Victoria, B.C., Timothy Chooi currently studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in
Philadelphia with Ida Kavafian, and in Ottawa with Pinchas Zukerman during the summer.
http://www.aarontimothychooi.com/
Nikki Chooi
violinist
Violinist Nikki Chooi has been described as “vigorous and colorful” (New York Times) and as “a
model of taste and tonal refinement” (Boston Globe). He is a laureate of the 2012 Queen
Elisabeth Violin Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious music competitions, based in
Brussels. His many honours include First Prize at the Irving M. Klein International String
Competition (2009) in San Francisco, a Sylva Gelber Foundation Grant (2008), First Prize at the
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal’s Standard Life Competition (2004), and the Grand Award
at the Canadian National Music Festival (2004).
He has performed in the Vancouver Recital Series, the Debut Atlantic Recital Tour, the National
Arts Centre’s Debut Series, the Caramoor Centre for Music and the Arts’ Rising Stars Series,
Chamber Music Tulsa, and La Monnai’s Concertini series in Belgium. He has been an artist at
Music from AngelFire (New Mexico), Music in the Vineyards (Napa, California), and the Ravinia
Festival (Chicago). In 2012 he performed for the second season at the Marlboro Music Festival
in Vermont.
Originally from Victoria, B.C., Nikki Chooi currently lives in New York.
http://www.nikkichooi.com/
Past winner, MIB competition
2009-2012: 1729 Guarneri del Gesù violin
Kerry DuWors
Violinist
Violinist Kerry DuWors has performed as soloist and chamber musician across North America,
Europe and New Zealand. Dedicated to collaboration in diverse musical settings, she has
worked with the St. Lawrence and Lafayette String Quartets, the Knights (New York) and the
Boundary Ensemble (Regina, Saskatchewan).
Recently she has performed in venues such as Jordan Hall (Boston), Carnegie Hall and the
Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York), and Germany’s Beethovenfest (Bonn), RadialSystem V
(Berlin) and Semperoper (Dresden). She has been a soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony, Red
Deer Symphony, Montreal Chamber Orchestra, and Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. She has
received many prestigious awards including the grand prize at the 26th Eckhardt-Gramatté
Competition, the Felix Galimir Award for Chamber Music Excellence and two Canada Council
Career Development Grants.
She is currently an assistant professor of violin at Brandon University, and is pursuing a Doctor
of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY). Kerry DuWors was born
in Saskatoon.
http://kerryduwors.com/
Past winner, MIB competition
2009-2012: 1820 Joannes Franciscus Pressenda violin
2006-2009: 1747 Palmason Januarius Gagliano violin
2003-2006: 1902 Enrico Rocca violin
Matilda Kaul
Violinist
Violinist Matilda Kaul is a member of the acclaimed Daedalus Quartet, which won First Prize at
the Banff International String Quartet Competition and was described by The New Yorker as
"one of the finest... to emerge in our current golden age of string quartets.”
She spent 10 years in Europe where she became (and remains) a member of the Chamber
Orchestra of Europe. She has been a frequent guest concertmaster and principal in other
orchestras around Europe, including the Zürich Tonhalle, the BBC Symphony and the Scottish
Chamber Orchestra. Her strong interest in historical performance has led her to perform and
record with the Orchestre Romantique et Revolutionnaire, the English Baroque Soloists and
Orchestre des Champs Elysées, amongst others. She has performed chamber music on both
sides of the Atlantic at festivals such as Ravinia (Chicago), Prussia Cove (England), Oulosalo
(Finland), East Neuk (Scotland) and Styriarte (Austria).
Matilda Kaul was born in North Bay, Ont., grew up in Toronto and lives in New York City.
Carissa Klopoushak
Violinist
Carissa Klopoushak’s playing has been described as the “complete package” of sensitive
musicianship and effortless technique. An active chamber musician, she performs with several
Montréal groups including Warhol Dervish, Ensemble Mooncrest, and Portmantô. She is the
lead singer and violinist in the Ukrainian band Tyt i Tam, and performs frequently with the
National Arts Centre Orchestra.
Active in the Prairie music scene, she performs with Boundary Ensemble (Regina) and is an
Artistic Director of the Ritornello Chamber Music Festival (Saskatoon). In 2009, as winner of the
32nd annual Eckhardt-Grammatté National Music Competition, she toured across Canada with
pianist Philip Chiu. She teaches violin and chamber music at McGill University where she is also
completing a doctorate in violin performance, focusing on the little-known violin repertoire by
Ukrainian composers.
Carissa Klopoushak was born and raised in Saskatoon, and is currently based in Montréal.
www.carissaklopoushak.com
Iryna Krechkovsky
Violinist
Celebrated for her tone, emotionality and precision, violinist Iryna Krechkovsky has been
featured at such venues as Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, Town Hall in Seattle,
and The American Church in Paris, France. She was a top prize winner at the Sorantin
International Competition (San Angelo, Texas), the Canadian Music Competition and the Kocian
International Violin Competition (Czech Republic). She has performed as soloist with the
Warren Philharmonic Orchestra (Ohio), the Toronto Sinfonietta, and the Lviv National
Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine).
As a distinguished chamber artist, she has been invited to perform at the Montreal Chamber
Music Festival, the Stony Brook Faculty Recital Series (New York) and The Banff Centre for the
Arts. Iryna Krechkovsky is currently completing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Stony
Brook University in New York.
She was born in Ukraine, raised in Toronto and is currently based in Irvine, California.
http://www.irynakrechkovsky.com/home.html
Véronique Mathieu
Violinist
Violinist Véronique Mathieu is an avid contemporary music performer who has premiered
many works by American and Canadian composers. She has performed as soloist and chamber
musician in North America, South America, Europe and South Africa. She has recorded for the
Radio-Canada label and for the CD series New Music from Indiana University. Her recitals have
been broadcast by CBC, Radio-Canada, the Classical Radio in Costa Rica, and the Radio SuisseRomande.
She is a winner of the 2012 Eckhardt-Gramatté Contemporary Music Competition, the 2010
Krakow International Contemporary Music Competition and the 2009 Competition in the
Performance of Music from Spain and Latin America. Artist-in-residence at the Festival
International de Musica de Piracicaba in Brazil, she regularly performs with the New York
Chamber Soloists and the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra.
Véronique Mathieu was born in Montréal, was raised in Quebec City and is currently based in
Toronto.
http://www.veroniquemathieu.com/Veronique_Mathieu_Official_Website.html
Past winner, MIB competition
2009-2012: 1715 Dominicus Montagnana violin
2006-2009: 1715 Dominicus Montagnana violin
Boson Mo
Violinist
Boson Mo discovered the violin at the age of 7 and has since received numerous national and
international distinctions. He has been invited to renowned music academies such as the
Perlman Music Program (New York), the Morningside Music Bridge (Calgary), the Banff Centre
Chamber Music Workshop, and the Aspen Music Festival.
His achievements include the W. Harvey Award for the Best Small Ensemble Performance by
the Canadian Music Educators' Association, First Prize at the Canadian Music Competition and
Third Prize at the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s Standard Life Competition. In 2010, he
received the Prix Joseph-Rouleau at the Montreal International Violin Competition, and more
recently, Third Prize in the Hellam Young Artists Competition. In fall 2012, he is touring the
Maritime Provinces with Debut Atlantic.
Originally from Boston, Boson Mo grew up and continues to live in Montréal.
Andréa Tyniec
Violinist
Violinist Andréa Tyniec’s career has reflected her passion for live performance and all forms of
modern art, influenced by her father, a visual artist. She has premiered works by many modern
Canadian composers, such as Ana Sokolovic, Maxime Mckinley, Terri Hron and André Ristic,
who composed a violin concerto specifically for her which she recorded on the ATMA label with
the Ensemble contemporain de Montréal.
In 2008, she received the European cultural foundation Pro Europa’s Prize for Culture and First
Prize of Italy’s Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition. Recent highlights include
performances with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, with
cellist Andrés Díaz and the Banff Festival Orchestra, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra and
the Glenn Gould School New Music Ensemble.
Born to Polish and Bolivian parents and raised in Montréal, Andréa Tyniec is currently based in
Toronto and is a Fellow at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glenn Gould School.
Past winner, MIB competition
2009-2012: 1747 Palmason Januarius Gagliano violin
Emmanuel Vukovich
Violinist
Emmanuel Vukovich left his native Calgary at 16 to study at the Juilliard School in New York
City. Since then he has played for audiences around the world. He is an instructor of violin and
chamber music at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music and since 2011, is founder and
artistic director of the Parcival Project, an international chamber music collective.
His many honours include McGill University’s first Schulich Golden Violin Award, the Ontario
Arts Council’s Orford String Quartet Scholarship, and winner of the Fischoff International
Chamber Music Competition, as first violinist of the Lloyd Carr-Harris String Quartet.
Emmanuel Vukovich has also combined his musical talent with his love of the environment and
farming through for Music for Farms, an initiative that brings classical music concerts to small organic
farms and venues around the United States and Canada. He is currently based in Montréal.
http://www.emmanuelvukovich.ca/
Jing Wang
Violinist
Since his debut with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra at the age of 9, violinist Jing Wang has
performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Czech Radio Philharmonic, the Royal
Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia (Belgium), the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM), the
Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre de Picardie (France), the I Musici Chamber
Orchestra (Montréal), the Metropolitan Orchestra of Montreal and the Sherbrooke Symphony
Orchestra.
In 2003, he was awarded the Young Soloist of the Year by the international broadcast network
Les Radios Francophones Publiques. He has also won First Prize at numerous competitions,
including the 2007 Irving M. Klein International Competition, the Canadian Music Competition,
the OSM’s Standard Life Competition and the Concertino Praga in Czech Republic.
Originally from Quebec City, Jing Wang is currently based in Dallas, Texas where he is the
Concertmaster for the Dallas Opera.
Past winner, MIB competition
2009-2012: 1902 Enrico Rocca violin
Emily Westell
Violinist
Violinist Emily Westell has established herself as a versatile musician, performing recitals for the
International Holland Music Sessions and appearing as soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic,
Tanglewood (Massachusetts), and Banff Festival Orchestras. She has performed at the festivals
of Prussia Cove (England), Norfolk (Connecticut), Spoleto (Charleston, South Carolina) and
Orford (Quebec). She also plays frequently with the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
Her concerts have been broadcast on CBC and Radio-Canada, and she appears on the Land’s
End Chamber Ensemble’s CD, Rollin’ Down #1, which won a Western Canada Music Award for
Outstanding Classical Album. An advocate for new music, she has premiered works with the
Harvard Group for New Music, Columbia Composers, and Callithumpian Consort, among others.
A former instructor of violin and chamber music at McGill University, she is a recent graduate of
the prestigious Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music.
Originally from Calgary, Emily Westell currently performs and teaches in New York City.
http://emilywestell.wix.com/violinist
Cellists
Ariel Barnes
Cellist
Described as creating a “mesmerizing musical experience” by combining his “deep personal
connection” (Toronto Live Music Report) with “luscious tone and technical prowess” (The
Vancouver Sun), cellist Ariel Barnes is acclaimed for his performances of unaccompanied Bach
to world premieres of contemporary art music. In recent years he has appeared in recital in
New York, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Quebec City, Vancouver, San Francisco and Guadalajara,
Mexico.
His solo and chamber music performances have been broadcast by CBC Radio, and he was
recently selected as one of six cellists across the nation to celebrate the launch of
cbcmusic.ca as a featured artist. His recordings have been received with critical acclaim and
have been nominated for a Juno Award and two Western Canadian Music Awards.
Born in Toronto, Ariel Barnes began to study violin at age 3, switching to cello at age 5. He is
currently based in North Vancouver, B.C.
http://arielbarnes.com/
Arnold Choi
Cellist
Cellist Arnold Choi has performed to great acclaim throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
He has been featured as a soloist with several orchestras including the Orchestre symphonique
de Montréal (OSM), the Edmonton Symphony, the Okanagan Symphony, the Calgary
Philharmonic, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Opera House Orchestra and the
Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra (Germany).
A prizewinner at Korea’s Gyeongnam (Isang Yun) International Music Competition, he has also
won First Prize at the Pasadena Showcase Instrumental Competition, the Canadian National
Music Festival, the OSM’s Standard Life Competition, and the Concert Artist Guild Competition
(New York) among others. In 2008, he received the grand prize at the Stepping Stone
Competition in Quebec City.
Born in Calgary, Arnold Choi is currently studying at Yale University.
Rachel Desoer
Cellist
Rachel Desoer began playing the cello at the age of 5 and became passionate about chamber
music, especially string quartets, in her early teens. She has performed as a soloist and in
orchestras, and has toured Europe and China. In 2007 she competed in the Fifth Melbourne
International Chamber Music Competition in Australia and won the Oberlin Concerto
Competition (Oberlin, Ohio).
In September 2010 she joined the Cecilia String Quartet, which won the First Prize in the Banff
International String Quartet Competition. Since then, she has toured with the quartet through
much of Europe and North America. She has performed in concert halls such as Wigmore Hall
(London, England) and Beethoven-Haus (Bonn, Germany), as well as community venues across
Eastern Canada, as part of a month-long tour with the Jeunesses Musicales de Canada. In
March 2012, the quartet released its first CD – a series of works by Dvorak – on the label
ANALEKTA.
Rachel Desoer is from Hamilton, Ontario.
http://ceciliastringquartet.com/
Karen Ouzounian
Cellist
Cellist Karen Ouzounian has performed as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician throughout
North America and Europe. She has performed with such ensembles as Trio Cavatina, the
Tessera Quartet, The Knights, the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, A Far Cry, the String Orchestra
of New York City, the Argento Chamber Ensemble and Continuum.
During the 2012-2013 season she will tour with Musicians from Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music
Institute and appear in the Caramoor Centre for Music and the Arts’ Rising Stars series. Festivals
include Vermont’s Marlboro Music summer concerts, Ravinia (Chicago), the Open Chamber
Music Seminar (Prussia Cove, UK) and Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany). She
was a top prizewinner at the Zara Nelsova Competition for Canadian Cellists in 2011, and holds
Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from The Juilliard School.
Originally from Toronto, Karen Ouzounian is currently based in New York City.
Se-Doo Park
Cellist
At age 15, Se-Doo Park made her orchestral debut with Korea’s In-Eum Symphony Orchestra
and since has performed around the world. She has appeared at many prestigious festivals,
including the Ravinia Festival (Chicago), the Aspen Music Festival (Aspen, Colorado), Quebec’s
Orford Festival and Le Domaine Forget International Festival, and the Verbier Festival
(Switzerland), where she won the Prix Nicolas Firmenich as “cellist with exceptional talent.”
She has premiered chamber and solo works composed specifically for her and has collaborated
with such artists as world-renowned musicologist and pianist Robert Levin (Colburn Chamber
Music Society series) and singer Nathan Pacheco (PBS special broadcasts). She is giving solo
recitals across Canada through the 2012-13 season. Winner of the 2011 Zara Nelsova Memorial
Award, she has won top prizes in the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s Standard Life
Competition, Toronto’s Korean TV-Radio Competition (Grand Prize), and the Royal
Conservatory of Music Academy’s Symphony Orchestra Competition. She is an Artist Diploma
candidate at The Colburn School Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, California, where she
studies with Ronald Leonard.
Born in California, Se-Doo Park grew up in both Korea and Canada.
http://www.se-doopark.com/