Laurier Symphony Orchestra Program November 2026

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Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026
7:30 p.m.
Theatre Auditorium

Lorenzo Guggenheim, conductor
Rachel Rotella, violin soloist
Ren Lamarche, violin soloist
Phoebe Croteau, piano solist

Laurier Symphony Orchestra Roster

Program

Violin Concerto in D minor, WoO 23 by Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
I. In kräftigem, nicht zu schnellem Tempo

Rachel Rotella, Violin
3rd prize winner of the 2026 Ken Murray Concerto Competition

Tzigane, M. 76 by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Ren Lamarche, Violin
1st prize winner of the 2026 Ken Murray Concerto Competition

Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
I. Maestoso

Phoebe Croteau, Piano
2nd prize winner of the 2026 Ken Murray Concerto Competition

Intermission

Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
I. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio
II. Andante cantabile con moto
III. Menuetto. Allegro molto e vivace
IV. Finale. Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace

Biographies

Lorenzo Guggenheim

Lorenzo Guggenheim is an Argentine-Canadian conductor and has served as Music Director of the Oakville Symphony since 2022. Originally from Buenos Aires, he conducts symphonic, operatic, and contemporary repertoire internationally. In Oakville, he pairs major symphonic works with Canadian premieres, new commissions, and music by underrepresented composers, and develops concerts and educational events for audiences of all ages.

Guggenheim teaches orchestral literature at the Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music and is completing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Toronto, where he researches the performance practice of Franz Schreker’s orchestral music. He founded the University of Toronto Campus Philharmonic Orchestra, which brings together musicians from across academic disciplines, and the Canadian Studio Symphony, a professional recording orchestra dedicated to contemporary and underrepresented repertoire. With the Canadian Studio Symphony, he recorded Evocations (2023), featuring music by Felipe Téllez.
His guest appearances include the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Toronto, and the Greater Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra. He made his Teatro Colón debut at 23, worked with Ludovic Morlot as an assistant and cover conductor at the Seattle Symphony, and served as assistant conductor for the Berlin Academy of American Music at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie. He participated in the National Arts Centre Orchestra Mentorship Program and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s RBC Canadian Conductor Showcase and was nominated for the 2026 Heinz Unger Award.

His musical interests, from Debussy and traditional Argentine music to jazz and Pink Floyd, shape an approach to conducting that values both musical detail and the immediacy of live performance.

Rachel Rotella

Rachel Rotella is a young violinist from Hamilton, Ontario. She currently studies with the Penderecki String Quartet at Wilfrid Laurier University where she is working on an undergraduate degree in violin performance. Rachel has played in many places across Canada in the National Youth Orchestra and Cascade Peaks Chamberfest, and she has also been accepted to other academies such as Orford and Festival del Lagos. Although she has done a lot of violin playing over the past few years, Rachel still considers her music-making a work in progress and aims to continue to practice and improve. Aside from music, Rachel is also interested in philosophy and enjoys writing and spending time with her beloved cats.

Ren Lamarche

Ren Lamarche is currently in her final year as a violin performance student under the tutelage of Jerzy Kaplanek. Ren started playing violin at the age of 5, studying with Karen-Michele Kimmett in the Canta Arya School for Strings. She has enjoyed participating in various music festivals such as Music at Port Milford and the Orford Music Academy, as well as the OMFA Provincial competitions. She has also had the opportunity to perform with numerous ensembles, including touring with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, performing with both the Laurier Symphony Orchestra and the Queens University Orchestra, as well as competing in youth orchestral competitions in Vienna and Bratislava with the Montreal Suzuki String Orchestra. As a winner of the 2026 Ken Murray Concerto Competition, Ren is honoured to be granted the opportunity to perform Ravel's Tzigane with the Laurier Symphony Orchestra in this concert.

Phoebe Croteau

Phoebe Croteau was born in South Korea to a Korean mother and Canadian father. Having begun piano lessons at the age of 5, Phoebe quickly excelled at her instrument and won 1st prize at the Hankook Ilbo Music Competition at the age of 7. That same year, her family moved to Canada where Phoebe continued her piano studies, taking part and garnering top prizes in the OMFA and ORMTA competitions, as well as being a national finalist at the Concours de Musique de Canada. Internationally, Phoebe has performed solo, chamber, and collaborative concerts in a variety of renowned venues in countries such as the US, Canada, Italy, Russia, South Korea, and so on. She has also participated in various international summer festivals including Oberlin Conservatory’s Summer piano festival, and the Cervo International Summer Academy in Italy. She has performed in masterclasses and worked with distinguished artists such as Veronica Jochum, Leon McCawley, Ian Fountain, Jamie Parker, and James Anagnoson. Phoebe’s most recent accomplishment includes winning top prize at the 2026 Ken Murray Concerto Competition, allowing her to make her debut as a soloist with the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra. Phoebe previously studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in the class of Natalia Trull and is currently continuing her piano studies at Wilfrid Laurier University under the tutelage of Anya Alexeyev.

Laurier Symphony Orchestra Roster

Violin I
Gareth Au*
Melanie Au*
Will Brunet
Isidora Kunovac
Ren Lamarche
Aoi Mizoguchi
Rebecca Muth
Rachel Rotella
Sarah Younussi

Violin II
Aidan Bonner
Joshua Chua-Acayan
Ray Corner
Robert Fielding*
Logan Frohlich
Laila Hellebust
Kalya’nii Hoffmann
Emily Rak
Myles Schajnoha
Saoirse Wiseman
Alice Zacharias

Viola
Rose Erb
Manuel Galvez
Claire Gravel
Evan Pascary
Marlon Tong*

Cello
Sofia Andrasic
Matthew Buczkowski*
Ruben Diaz Granados
Shauna Howard
Kiara Hoyos
Nahvid Zolfaghari

Double Bass
Jasmine Luces
Joshua Thomas*
Ahmed Zalaal

Flute
Angela Bobis
Riley Hales
Caitlyn Trebble

Oboe
Landon Rose

Clarinet
Leo George
Katie Lacourciere

Bassoon
Ian Hopkin
Johanne Leveille-Schirm

Horn
Issac Shantz
Maja Constable
Elizabeth Hill
Roman Colucci

Trumpet
Emma Dawson
Gus Bolton

Timpani
Olive Ledriot

Harp
Lori Gemmell

* Concertmaster/Principal