Beckettfest 2026

Arianne Ewing-Chow has a passion for teaching students how to make music an integral part of their lives. She believes in finding joy in music making through freedom of expression through sound. Arianne runs a full studio in North York, is a member of the College of Examiners with the Royal Conservatory of Music, is a festival convener for the ORMTA North York-York Region branch, and is also an active adjudicator. She holds a Bachelor of Music from University of Toronto, and received an Artist Teacher of Pedagogy and Performance from the Glenn Gould School. She holds both Performers ARCT as well as Teacher’s ARCT diplomas.. She has received numerous awards and scholarships and is also the proud recipient of the Steinway Gallery Teacher of the Year Award in 2018. Arianne performed in international masterclasses in Bad Bertrich, Germany with John Perry, and at the Almalfi Coast, Italy with Luiz de Moura Castro and Brian Ganz.The ten-piano monster concert with Toyich International Projects in Rome was an incredible collaboration. She has organized fundraising concerts through Music With a Cause to raise funds for various charities including The Canadian Cancer Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Canada, Crohn’s and Colitis Canada.

Equally comfortable in concert and opera, Bethany Hörst has sung with orchestras and major choirs across Canada. She has won several international competitions including the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Competition at Carnegie Hall in New York City. She was twice honoured as a District Winner and Regional Finalist at the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions. She has received the Encouragement Award at the Met Regional Finals and also the Palm Beach International Opera Competition. Hörst is a recipient of Brian Law Opera Scholarship and the Jacqueline Desmarais Opera Grant.

Hörst holds a Master of Music degree in Literature and Performance from Western University, where she currently teaches voice. She is in high demand for masterclasses and adjudicating throughout Canada. Hörst Studio students frequently appear with Mirvish Productions, Drayton Entertainment, and the Shaw and Stratford Festival Theatres.

Pianist Christine Vanderkooy performs as soloist across Canada, the USA and Europe. Performance highlights include a European recital tour, a Leschetizky Association invitation to perform in NYC, a debut of commissioned works by David L. McIntyre at CFMTA’s national convention, a recital for the Canadian University Music Society national conference, and appearances with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra including Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos, Coleridge-Taylor’s Nonet, op. 2, and Bach’s Concerto No. 5 in F minor. Christine’s national reputation as a pedagogue is reflected in invitations to adjudicate festivals and give masterclasses. Christine earned a Doctor of Music degree from McGill University and has held positions at the University of PEI, Lakehead University, University of Regina, and is currently Associate Professor at the University of Windsor. Christine’s newest album, recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio, comprises two late works by Franz Schubert—Sonata in C-minor, D. 958, and Drei Klavierstucke, D. 946.

Dan Luong is a Vietnamese-Canadian pianist based in London, Ontario, whose work spans the concert stage, recording studio, and teaching studio. His performances and programs have been described as intelligent, sensitive, and engaging, earning him international acclaim. Notable honours include a Special Prize at the Piano Island Competition in Bangkok, Thailand; Second Prize at the University of Florida International Piano Festival; and Third Prize at the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, Canada's premier platform for contemporary performance.

As an orchestral pianist, Dan has performed with Ontario's leading ensembles, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Niagara Symphony Orchestra, London Symphonia, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. An advocate for new music, he collaborates with living composers to commission and premiere works that incorporate extended techniques, electronics, and synthesizers bridging classical tradition and contemporary innovation.

Dan serves as Music Director at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, where he leads a vibrant choral and liturgical music program. As a dedicated pedagogue, he maintains a thriving private studio of over 30 students, many of whom are scholarship winners at local and provincial festivals. He is frequently invited to adjudicate at music festivals across Ontario. His teaching has been recognized by the Royal Conservatory of Music with Gold Medals in both Elementary and Intermediate Pedagogy.

Dan holds a Master's degree in Collaborative Piano Performance from Western University. He also serves on the boards of the Ontario Music Festivals Association, Kiwanis Music Festival of London, and the Gordon Jeffrey Music Foundation, where he advocates for music education and young artists.

Canadian pianist Dr. Joy Lee leads a vibrant and multifaceted career as a collaborative pianist, teacher, vocal coach, soloist, and adjudicator. Guided by a deep passion for music and education, she has performed at prestigious events and venues across North America, including the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. during President Barack Obama’s inauguration celebration, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and concert halls, institutions, churches, and communities throughout Canada, including Inuvik and Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories.

Dr. Lee holds a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Toronto, where she studied with renowned pedagogue Professor Marietta Orlov. Her love for vocal repertoire and chamber music led her to pursue a second Master of Music in Collaborative Piano Studies at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) with Professor Martin Katz, followed by a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Toronto under the guidance of Professor Steven Philcox.

As Assistant Professor of Music and Worship Arts at Tyndale University, Dr. Lee is dedicated to teaching and mentoring the next generation of musicians while fostering a vibrant performance community where students and professional artists can collaborate and grow. She is also highly sought after as an adjudicator and clinician, having adjudicated performances and led workshops for organizations such as the Arcadia Academy of Music, OMFA Provincial Finals, Peel Music Festival, ORMTA Eastern Zone Competition, Sudbury Music Festival, and the Toronto Kiwanis Festival. In 2026, she will join the adjudication panels for Beckettfest, the Pickering GTA Music Festival, and Yip’s Music Festival.

Dr. Lee’s artistry has been recognized with numerous accolades, including second prize at the 2017 Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition and the 2018 Gwendolyn Williams Koldofsky Prize for Excellence in Collaboration. In April 2023, she made her Carnegie Hall debut as part of the Canada at Carnegie concert series. Later that year, she and soprano Stéphanie McKay-Turgeon presented the works of French composer Henri Dutilleux at the Maison Dutilleux-Joy in Candes-Saint-Martin, France.

A passionate collaborator, Dr. Lee served on faculty at the University of Toronto Choral Conducting Symposium in 2022 and 2023. She currently collaborates with the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, the Graduate Choral Conducting Seminar and MacMillan Singers at the University of Toronto, as well as Tyndale Singers and the Tyndale Community Choir. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors for the North Toronto Songbirds, reflecting her ongoing commitment to community engagement and the celebration of the arts

Larry Larson held the position of Principal Trumpet of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony for 30 years (1993-2023), and continues to enjoy a very active playing career post-“retirement” from that position. During that time, he was also the Trumpet and Brass Coach for NYOCanada for 18 years Larry enjoys a varied career which includes leading his own jazz quintet “Larry’s Jazz Guys,” performing and recording with harpist Lori Gemmell (“Divertissement” CD), as well as other chamber music opportunities. With the KWS, Larry gave the world premieres of trumpet concertos by John Estacio and Scott Good, as well as many other solo performances, including concertos by Malcolm Forsyth, Johnny Cowell, and Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No 2.” Under the “MEN WITH HORNS” banner, Larry produced and presented 10 acclaimed Pops programs for the KWS with trombonist/arranger David Martin. He is a member of Andrew Burashko’s “Art Of Time Ensemble,” with whom he has toured across North America, as well as being featured on two of their CD releases. Larry has also recorded two CDs with the Canadian Brass, and has performed in supporting orchestras for Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall, Brian Wilson, Jann Arden, and Anne Murray, among others. He is honoured to be a founding member of the Canadian National Brass Project, featuring principal brass players from across the country, a collaboration which also released two CD projects. Larry proudly serves on the Board of the Grand River Jazz Society, which operates The Jazz Room in Waterloo, Ontario.

Saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Tracey Frank has been teaching and performing all of the woodwinds for over 25 years, and currently runs her own private teaching studios based in Woodstock and Stratford, ON. Refusing to be bound to one genre of music, Tracey is equally at home in classical, jazz, rock, pop, indie, and musical theatre.

Tracey attributes this versatility to all of her mentors along the way. She holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Music History from Western University, where she was a student of Ryan Fraser, a Bachelor of Music Education from University of Regina, and a Master of Music in Saxophone Performance from Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA), where she studied with James Houlik, Mike Tomaro, and Sean Jones. After graduate school, Tracey pursued further jazz and woodwind studies at Humber College with Mark Promane and Alex Dean.

She can be heard performing with artists and groups such as singer/songwriter Leanne Mayer (London ON), the Wellington Wind Symphony (Waterloo ON), and various community and professional theatre companies throughout Southwestern Ontario. In addition to her studios, she coaches the Stratford Symphony Youth Orchestra woodwinds.

Outside of music, Tracey is particularly enthusiastic about coffee, cats, gardening, and (somehow) staying out of trouble in her full-time role as a public servant.

Robert Kubica hold a Bachelor of Music (Honours Performance) from the University of Western Ontario, and a Master of Music (Performance) from the University of Toronto. He has participated in masterclasses with many leading guitarists, including David Russell, Adam Holtzman, Sergio and Odair Assad, and Stepan Rak.

Robert has been on the faculty of the University of Western Ontario since 1999, and currently teaches in the Music Performance and Music Education departments. Robert has recorded three CDs of guitar duets together with his wife, Wilma van Berkel, and has performed throughout Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba. He has released two solo recordings: To the Greenwood Gone, featuring his own arrangements of traditional Celtic tunes and music from the English Renaissance, and Step Inside, which features his own compositions for steel-string and classical guitar. Robert is on the faculty of the National Music Camp of Canada, he teaches music at Saunders Secondary School in London, and works regularly as an adjudicator for music festivals

A part of the musical community in southwestern Ontario for decades, multi-instrumentalist Adam Diderrich enjoys a career performing in many different genres. After completing his undergraduate degree in violin performance at University of Toronto, he pursued additional training in Miami, first at New World Symphony, and later at the University of Miami. Most of his studies focused on performing violin in the classical style, but while at the U, Adam had the opportunity to work towards developing an improvisational style, and also to start learning other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano. Lately Adam has been performing as a member of the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony and the Hamilton Philharmonic, as well as multiple chamber music series including the ‘Kitchener Waterloo Chamber Music Society’ , ‘Music at St. Andrews’ in Toronto, and ‘5 at the First’ in Hamilton. He has been a part of many Mirvish productions in Toronto playing violin and viola including Joseph, Jesus Christ Superstar, Hamilton, among others. Adam had the opportunity to play the violin solo for Stratford Festival’s production of Annie. Adam makes his his home in Kitchener, where he is a proud husband and father of two beautiful boys and a pug called Lucy.

British born cellist Julia MacGregor began her musical studies with piano lessons at the age of five and started the cello two years later. She was awarded a music scholarship at the age of 10 to study at Watford School of Music with Malka Cossack until she began her studies at the age of 17 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester with Raphael Sommer. After three years of study with Raphael Sommer she began further study with Ralph Kirshbaum and graduated with a first class honours diploma. A further two years of study with Ralph Kirshbaum included four performances as soloist of Elgar’s cello concerto with the R.N.C.M. Symphony Orchestra. At this time she accepted as a member of the European Community Youth Orchestra and its Chamber Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado and Herbert Von Karajan. Julia’s final year at the R.N.C.M. was as principal cellist of the newly formed R.N.C.M. Sinfonia, formed in conjunction with the BBC to give advanced chamber orchestra experience at the highest level. Visiting conductors included Sir Edward Downes, Sir Charles Groves and Rudolf Schwarz.

Julia participated in masterclasses with the Vermeer String Quartet and Sir William Glock at the R.N.C.M. Christopher Bunting and Dartington ’72a Nelsova at International Music Seminar, Prussia Cove as well as performing in Aldeburgh Festival with Hugh Maguire directing. She was awarded a Brooks and Henry Fielder scholarships by the R.N.C.M. and the Martin Trust Scholarship for two years administered by the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. Throughout this period of time her chamber music mentor was Terence Weil who was the original cellist of the Melos Ensemble of London.

Upon completion of graduate studies in Manchester, Julia was offered an assistantship to study with Marc Johnson, cellist of the Vermeer String Quartet and Raya Garbousova at Northern Illinois University, U.S.A. While studying at NIU, Julia coached chamber groups and taught undergraduate cellists the fundamentals of teaching the cello. She gained a Masters degree in Performance before returning to London, England where she gained valuable orchestral experience performing with BBC Concert Orchestra, London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonia and Manchester Camerata. Following her marriage to Iain MacGregor in 1983, Julia relocated to South Western Ontario where she has enjoyed a varied and exciting musical career. She has performed the Boccherini B flat major concerto and Rodrigo’s second cello concerto (premier performance in Canada) with Orchestra London Canada, the Elgar and Monn concertos with London Community Orchestra as well as Bruch’s ‘Kol Nidrei’ and Dvorak’s ‘Silent Woods’ with the London Concert Players. Other solo work

includes working with the Gerald Fagan Singers performing ‘Svyati’ by John Tavener and the ‘Yiddish Suite’ by Glick.

Teaching the cello has always played an integral part throughout Julia’s musical career. She teaches students from beginner to diploma level and many have represented London at the Provincial Finals of Kiwanis Music Festival, been finalists in the Canadian Music Competition as well as members of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Julia plays a Carlo Giuseppe Testore cello made in 1703 in northern Italy.

Dr. Feihong Nan is an award-winning musician, community advocate, and cultural ambassador. As founder of the Canadian division and a fourth-generation member of the Yuan Yin Group, a global music organization established in 1920, Feihong leads hundreds of performers and volunteers each year. She has organized more than 40 workshops and concerts, including the Youth Leader for Music and Health Program and the annual Music Connect concert, which highlights traditional Chinese instruments such as the Guzheng and Qin. Feihong’s innovative work bridges cultures and generations. She promotes Chinese music through youth education, intergenerational music-therapy initiatives, and global outreach introducing the Qin—a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage instrument with over 3,000 years of history.

A noted performer, Feihong recorded Guzheng and Qin for Ron Korb’s Grammy-nominated album Asia Beauty and has collaborated with leading Canadian artists. Her contributions have earned her the Heritage Mississauga Legacy Award and the 2024 Senator Victor Oh Legacy Award. She served as an adjudicator for Chinese instruments at the National Capital Region Music Festival in 2023, BoAo International Music Festival in 2024-2025 and will adjudicate at the Canadian International Music Festival in 2026. She is also a board director for the Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival.