An ensemble dedicated to providing memorable live music for any occasion.
Nicole Li is pursuing her undergraduate studies at the University of Western Ontario in Biological and Medical Sciences (Physiology) and violin performance at the Don Wright Faculty of Music. A graduate of the University of Toronto Schools, she recently appeared as the featured soloist at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, and placed first at the National Finals of the Canadian Music Competition seven times. Nicole is the concertmaster of the UWO Symphony Orchestra and won the faculty-wide Maritsa Brookes Concerto Competition in her first year. Nicole received a full scholarship to attend the St. Lawrence String Quartet Chamber Music Festival at Stanford University and devotes her summers participating in various local and international outreach initiatives in Peru, Thailand, Cambodia, and El Salvador. This year, Nicole has become an athlete of the UWO Varsity Fencing team.
Gianna McGrath embarked on her musical journey at the young age of 4. She began the violin with Director of the Guelph Suzuki String School, Paule Barsalou and piano at age 9 with Debra Roberston. By the time she was 12, Gianna was studying violin under the tutelage of Lance Ouellette, violinist for the Toronto Symphony.
Gianna had the privilege of playing with the Guelph Youth Music Centre Orchestra and the Kitchener-Waterloo Youth Symphony for many years. These years brought great opportunities to perform with many talented youth like the award-winning Grand Philharmonic Youth Choir, Toronto Mendelssohn Youth Choir and the Cirque de la Symphonie. She was the 2013 recipient of the Parry Michael Zehr Memorial Scholarship in recognition of excellence and dedication to the Kitchener-Waterloo Youth Symphony. Gianna has performed and competed in the Guelph and Kitchener-Waterloo Kiwanis Festival earning numerous first place wins and scholarships for Chamber Music and Solo performances. It has been her pleasure to perform at weddings, graduations, fundraisers and other special events in her community. She has also enjoyed accompanying the Guelph Youth Choir during their many fabulous Christmas Concerts.
Gianna has an enthusiasm and energy that is infectious! She is a strong advocate of music education and has taught violin and piano at the Children’s Academy of Music in Guelph and in her own music studio for 3 years. She is pursuing her vocation to become a high school music teacher studying violin with Professor Annette-Barbara Vogel at Western University. Gianna is in her second year, working toward an Honours Degree in Music Education and Visual Arts at Western University.
Katie McBean began studying the viola at age 14 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and prior to that she practiced the violin. Katie has performed across the country at many music festivals and competitions, but her passion is orchestra. She attended the National Youth Orchestra for three consecutive summers, touring Canada and the United-States. She was also a hired violist for the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra for six years. Before coming to the University of Western Ontario to study Music Education with Kelvin Enns and Sharon Wei, Katie took two years off university to work as a tree-planter in British-Columbia, and travel Asia and Central America.
Natalie Dawe began playing cello at the age of 7. In 2007, she travelled to Beijing, China with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra to perform and record a CD that won an East Coast Music Award for Best Classical Recording. After moving to Winnipeg in 2007, Natalie studied with Yuri Hooker, principal cellist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. In 2011, she toured Sweden and Finland in collaboration with the University of Manitoba Singers. She was a prize winner in the Genser Competition and the Women’s Musical Club Scholarship Competition, as well as a winner of the Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music Concerto Competition. Natalie also performed in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as a winner of the Desautels Faculty of Music Apprenticeship Program. In 2013, she graduated with a B. Music degree in cello performance from the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music where she studied with Dr. Minna Rose Chung. In the summer of 2014, she performed with Rod Stewart at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. She also performed at the Government House of Manitoba during the Royal Tour for The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. Currently, Natalie is completing a M. Music degree in cello performance at the University of Western Ontario's Don Wright Faculty of Music where she is studying with Thomas Wiebe.