ChamberFest West 2023
ChamberFest West brings internationally acclaimed classical musicians to perform with some of Canada’s best and together they create a unique fusion of styles and interpretations.
Our musicians include great artists who have made their reputations over decades, along with the most extraordinary and established young stars. They are chosen specifically to rehearse and perform together for ChamberFest West’s Resonance, having spent the winter season performing with the world’s finest orchestras and as soloists in the world’s most prestigious concert halls.
Meet the Musicians
Michael Stephen Brown
Michael Stephen Brown has been described as “one of the leading figures in the current renaissance of performer-composers” (New York Times). Winner of a 2018 Emerging Artist Award from Lincoln Center and a 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant, he makes regular appearances with orchestras such as the National Philharmonic, the Seattle, Phoenix, Grand Rapids, North Carolina, and Albany symphonies and recently toured his own Concerto for Piano and Strings (2020) around the US and Poland with several orchestras.
Erin Burkholder
Erin Burkholder grew up in the mountains of British Columbia, where her first violin teacher was her grandmother. She attended McGill University for her bachelor of music in performance, studying under Denise Lupien and Axel Strauss. She was the winner of the 2013 McGill Chamber Competition with her string quartet, the Vitus Quartet, and won a residency at the Summer Academy Mozarteum in Salzburg.
Arnold Choi
Described by The New York Times as having a “Rich tone, and muscular style”, Canadian cellist Arnold Choi has performed to great acclaim throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Choi is a first-place winner of numerous competitions including the Canadian Music Competition, Montreal Symphony Competition, Stepping Stones Competition, Pasadena Showcase Instrumental Competition, and Concert Artist Guild among others.
Daniel Chong
GRAMMY Award-winning violinist Daniel Chong is one of the most exciting and versatile musicians of his generation. Since 2002, as the founding first violinist of the Parker Quartet, he has garnered wide recognition for his performances in such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, the Musikverein, and Wigmore Hall. Additionally, recent solo engagements include appearances at National Sawdust in New York City, Seoul Arts Center, and Jordan Hall in Boston.
Hélène Clément
Born in France in 1988, Hélène Clément has learned to combine her proud love for french wine with the cheese delicacies found in England when she moved to London in 2013. Her ferocious enthusiasm and thirst for the chamber music and viola repertoire leads her to constantly expand her musical horizons by performing with a wide range of different collaborations, playing in the most prestigious concert halls in Europe and around the World.
Alex Cohen
Alexander Cohen has been the Principal Timpanist of the Calgary Philharmonic since 2011. A student of Paul Yancich and Richard Weiner, he graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2006. Shortly thereafter he was appointed as Principal Timpanist of the West Virginia Symphony- a position he held for five years. During those years, he maintained a busy freelance career, playing regularly with the San Diego Symphony, where he acted as Principal Timpanist during the 2007-2008 season. He has acted in the capacity of visiting Principal Timpanist with the Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic.
Diana Cohen
Praised for her “incredible flair, maturity and insight,” violinist Diana Cohen leads a multi-faceted career as a concertmaster, chamber musician, soloist and arts administrator. Appointed concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra in 2012, she previously served as concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra while maintaining an active freelance career in New York City.
Franklin Cohen
Principal Clarinet of The Cleveland Orchestra since 1976, Franklin Cohen has distinguished himself as one of the outstanding clarinetists of his generation. His playing has been described as “hypnotic, impeccable, brilliant… with a vocal quality that would be the envy of any singer.” He first gained international recognition and acclaim when, at the age of 22, he became the first clarinetist awarded First Prize at the International Munich Competition (the other first prize that year went to soprano Jessye Norman). Since then, Mr. Cohen has enjoyed an illustrious career as soloist, recitalist, recording and chamber artist, pedagogue and orchestral principal.
Liza Ferschtman
To love music deeply and share that with her audience is Liza Ferschtman’s raison d’être. A musical storyteller committed to the emotional language of every composer she interprets, the ever-widening path of her international career is as varied as the work she performs. For a musical chameleon like Liza, the romantic standard repertoire feels equally important as playing or collaborating with leading voices of our time such as Fagerlund, Zuidam, Kancheli, Lann and Wolfe.
Laurent Grillet-Kim
Born and raised in Bordeaux, France, Laurent Grillet-Kim studied with Atar Arad at Indiana University where he won the Viola Concerto and the String Quartet competitions. While at IU, he was regularly invited to play with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and actively collaborated with a number of faculty members such as Alex Kerr, Eric Kim, Emile Naoumoff and Atar Arad. Upon graduation, Laurent joined the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra as Principal Viola in 2014.
Oliver Herbert
The recipient of a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Oliver Herbert’s natural musicianship and connective performances are carving a unique path in the world of music. As a soloist, Oliver’s collaborations include appearances with the San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, Erfurt Philharmonic, and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has worked with conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Juanjo Mena, and Alexander Shelley.
Sam Loeck
Sam Loeck joined the Calgary Philharmonic as Principal Bass in 2016. A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Sam completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Nebraska. He then earned a Master’s degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied with Bruce Bransby and was named winner of the IU Bass Concerto Competition. Sam has performed extensively as Guest-Principal Bass with the London Symphony Orchestra (UK), and served as a substitute bass with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Oregon Symphony.
Jesse Morrison
Violist Jesse Morrison is currently in his third season as a member of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. He was recently living in Toronto where he frequently played with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, as well as the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Jesse graduated in May 2017 with a M.M from the New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston, studying with Kim Kashkashian. He had his solo debut in Jordan Hall when performing as the winner of the Chamber Orchestra Competition at NEC in 2016 and again in 2017 with the Symphony Orchestra.
Aubree Oliverson
Praised for her evocative lyricism and joyful, genuine approach, young American violinist Aubree Oliverson is proving to be one of most compelling artists of her generation, distinguishing herself with clear, honest, and colourful performances, which have been described as “powerful… brimming with confidence and joy” (Miami New Times) and “masterful” (San Diego Story).
Susanna Phillips
Alabama native soprano Susanna Phillips continues to establish herself as one of today’s most sought-after singing actors and recitalists. Ms. Phillips is a recipient of the prestigious Met Opera 2010 Beverly Sills Artist Award. She has sung at the Metropolitan Opera for 12 consecutive seasons in roles including Musetta and Countess Almaviva. Role highlights include Fiordigili, which The New York Times called a “breakthrough night”, and Clémence in the company’s premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de Loin.
Roman Rabinovich
The eloquent Israeli-US pianist Roman Rabinovich has been highly lauded by The New York Times, BBC Music Magazine, the San Francisco Classical Voice and others. He has performed throughout Europe and the United States in venues such as Wigmore Hall in London, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Centre in New York, the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, the Cité de la Musique in Paris, and the Terrace Theater of Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Rabinovich has participated in festivals including Marlboro, Lucerne, Davos, Prague Spring, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Amy Schwartz Moretti
Violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti has a musical career of broad versatility. Before becoming the inaugural Director of Mercer University’s McDuffie Centre for Strings, she was concertmaster of the Florida Orchestra and Oregon Symphony.
Chris Sies
Chris Sies is a percussionist and sound artist who seeks to bring visceral sonic and performative experiences to audiences. A unique performer with “virtuoso flair" (Detroit Free Press), Chris has appeared with such groups as New Music Detroit, The National Arab Orchestra, Man Forever, The Black Earth Ensemble, My Brightest Diamond, and the Fulcrum Point New Music Project, among many others.
Jonathan Swensen
Rising star of the cello Jonathan Swensen is the recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant and was recently featured as both Musical America’s ‘New Artist of the Month’ and ‘One to Watch’ in Gramophone Magazine. Jonathan first fell in love with the cello upon hearing the Elgar Concerto at the age of six, and ultimately made his concerto debut performing that very piece with Portugal’s Orquestra Sinfónicado Porto Casa da Música.
Nicholas Swensen
Nicholas Algot Swensen (b. 1999) is a Danish/American violist and conductor. A top prize winner of competitions such as the Juilliard concerto competition, Primrose international viola competition (Los Angeles), Nedbal international viola competition (Prague) and Øresunds Soloist competition he has been a soloist in concertos by Walton, Bartok and Mozart collaborating with Odense Symphony orchestra, The Juilliard Orchestra and the Colburn Orchestra most recently in collaboration with conductor Sir Antonio Pappano.
Josué Valdepeñas
Josué Valdepeñas enjoys a diverse career as a musician and is currently the Assistant Principal Cellist of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Along with the Calgary Phil, he has also been engaged by other prominent Canadian orchestras including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as guest principal cello and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as soloist. Born and raised in Toronto, he began his early musical studies as a pianist and later picked up the cello at the age of seven.
Hojean Yoo
Violinist Hojean Yoo was born in Seoul, South Korea, and has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at major venues. Hojean regularly appears in recital series as a Young Artist of Kumho Art Hall Foundation since 2008, she was selected as a Fellow Artist of the La Jolla Music Festival, Schumann Festival Concert, and Seoul Spring Festival-fringe Festival in South Korea. Hojean has performed with Euro Asia Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonia, Seoul National University Philharmonic, and Seoul National University String Chamber orchestra, among others, and her performances broadcasted on Korean Radio station (KBS).