Juan-Miguel Hernandez, viola

The Washington Post has praised violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez as having !...the sweetest, most sonorous tone...” (Charles T. Downey). The Atlanta Journal Constitution describes him as !...tender, lyrical, loaded with personality” (Pierre Ruhe). Performances as soloist and chamber musician have seen Juan-Miguel Hernandez on some of the world"s leading halls, including Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Disney Hall (Los Angeles), Salzburg Mozarteum, King"s Place (London), Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Wigmore Hall (London) and The White House. As a soloist Juan-Miguel has made appearances with orchestras, including the Rochester Philharmonic, San Fransisco Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Sinfonietta, iPalpiti Orchestra, as well as the Colorado and Atlanta Symphonies. As a chamber musician he has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Kim Kashkashian, Gérard Caussé and Itzhak Perlman. Chamber music being at the forefront of his career, Juan-Miguel was a member of the legendary Fine Arts Quartet (2013-2018) and original member of the Harlem Quartet (2006-2012), as well as a founder of the "Boreal Trio” (2012-2018) and ”Trio Virado" (2012-2021), both specialized in the creation of new repertoire. He has also been a member of the UK based Kaleidoscope chamber collective since 2018. Festival and program appearances as guest artist and pedagogue include the Festival Pablo Casal (Prades, France), the Festival Des Arcs (France), the Amalfi Coast Music Festival (Italy), Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (South Africa), the Brevard Summer Institute (USA), the Mozaic Festival (USA), Festicamara (Colombia), Montreal Jazz & Panama Jazz Festivals and Musica Mundi International Festival (Belgium), Borromeo (Switzerland) & Madeline Island (USA) Music Festivals, Toronto Summer Music & Orford Academy and the Heifetz International Music Institute (2023). In the summer of 2021 he was appointed Associate Artistic Director of the Festival del Lago International Music Festival (Mexico). He has been featured on radio airwaves and television broadcasts throughout Canada, United Kingdom and the United States including NBC's Good Morning America, The Today Show, NPR radio, PBS, BBC 3, and the Telemundo Network and Radio-Canada. His collaborative recordings have been released by Cedille records, the White Pine, Navona, Chandos and Naxos music labels. Juan-Miguel was born in Montreal, Canada and began his musical studies at the age of seven. Among his teachers were Paul Coletti at the Colburn Conservatory and Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory. He also worked with Paul Neubauer, Karen Tuttle, Steven Dann, James Dunham, Barbara Westphal, Garth Knox and Pinchas Zukerman. Juan-Miguel won the first Prize at the International Johannes Brahms Competition (Austria), adding to other top prizes won at the National Canadian Music Competition, and the 9th National Sphinx Competition, presented by JPMorgan Chase. He was honored with the medal of the National Assembly of Quebec for his significant international achievements. His strong commitment to educate and engage new audiences all around the globe have brought him to reach young musicians and various communities through art convoys in South Africa and Venezuela, various music festivals in South America and outreach projects in Europe and North America. He is also a regular mentor for the Benedetti Foundation. In 2016 Juan-Miguel was appointed as professor of Viola at the Royal Academy of Music (London) where he now remains as visiting professor after moving back to Montreal. In September 2021, he joined the faculty of music at Montreal university as invited Professor of viola. He was invited to serve on the Jury of the Johannes Brahms International Competition/Austria (2017), the Sphinx National Competition/USA (2018, 2022 & 2023) and the Banff International String Quartet Competition (2022). Beyond his extensive classical repertoire he has regularly performed with Jazz living legends Gary Burton, Stanley Clark, Paquito D"Rivera and Chick Corea.Further collaborations include Nora Jones"#album !Broken Little Hearts” as well as the album "Hot House" playing alongside Chick Corea and Gary Burton for which a Grammy was awarded. Juan-Miguel plays on a beautiful 2008 Miralles viola from Altadena/California. 

Jillian Yang, violin

Prize winner of the Maritsa Brookes Concerto Competition and London Music Scholarship Competition, she has obtained her Master’s of Music in Performance and Literature from the University of Western Ontario, studying under Professor Annette-Barbara Vogel. In her undergraduate years, she has completed a dual program in music performance and financial modelling. In her time at Western, Jillian performed the Paganini Violin Concerto with the Western Symphony Orchestra. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate at Western University. Jillian had the opportunity to play with the London Symphonia, Windsor Symphony Orchestra, International Symphony Orchestra and is a frequent player with the classical music ensemble- Magisterra Soloists. She performed with notable players such as Andrew Wan in the New Orford Mozart String Quintet Project, Jutta Puchammer and Marylène Gingras Roy in the Magisterra Museum series concerts. In 2021, she was a finalist in the Vancouver International Music Competition, and achieved third place at the JSFest international competition. In recent summers, she participated in the National Academy Orchestra based in Hamilton where she sat as associate concertmaster, Vancouver Symphony Orchestral Institute where she served as associate concertmaster, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, the Round Top Festival Institute, and the Marrowstone Music Festival. In addition to performing throughout the communities, Jillian is a passionate teacher in which she operates her violin studio, and teaches at Forest City String School.

Theodore Chow, piano

Theodore Chow is a pianist from Edmonton, Alberta. Theodore obtained a BSc. in Engineering Physics (Nanoengineering) from the University of Alberta before rediscovering his passion for music and completing a MMus. in Piano Performance at Western University. Theodore is currently pursuing a DMA at Western University, where he studies with Stéphan Sylvestre. His current research interests include chamber music for piano left hand.

While Theodore spends the majority of his time collaborating with others, particularly violinists and vocalists, he enjoys a variety of repertoire. After winning the University of Alberta Concerto Competition in 2018, he performed Glazunov's 2nd Piano Concerto with the University Symphony Orchestra. Theodore also joined the National Youth Orchestra of Canada as orchestral keyboardist on their 2019 tour of Canada and Spain. In 2022, as part of the inaugural Tuckamore Travels series, he toured rural Newfoundland with his piano trio. Theodore is also an experienced violinist, having previously served as concertmaster of the Edmonton Youth Orchestra and associate concertmaster of the University of Alberta Symphony Orchestra.

His past teachers include Dr. Patricia Tao and Wolfram Linnebach. Outside of music, Theodore enjoys competitive Rubik's cube speedsolving; he was a finalist in the one-handed event at the 2017 World Championship in Paris.

Paul Baek, violin

Paul Baek is a violinist and graduate from Western University. He began playing the violin at the age of four, taking a four year break from lessons along the way, reigniting a passion for music at age fourteen after being introduced to the famous Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Paul was a featured soloist with the London Youth Symphony, playing the Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, and was a finalist in the Don Wright Faculty of Music Concerto Competition. Paul holds a Masters Degree in Violin Performance and Literature from London, Ontario, having studied in the studio of Proessor Annette-Barbara Vogel. He has performed with several orchestras in Southern Ontario, including the Western University Symphony Orchestra, International Symphony Orchestra, and has also performed with members of the Tafelmusik Baroque Ensemble. A passionate teacher as well, Paul began private teaching in 2021 and is continuing to develop his skills as a violin pedagogue. Paul now resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he attended the Rosamunde string program in the summer of 2023 and worked with accomplished WSO musicians Elation Pauls, Karl Stobbe, and Elise Lavallée.