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KWS Youth Orchestra Program Conductor Bios
Allene Chomyn: Preludium Strings
A native of British Columbia, violinist Allene Chomyn completed her Master of Music in Performance at the University of Toronto in June 2007. She studied with Annalee Patipatanakoon of the Gryphon Trio, and was coached in chamber music by Erika Raum, Terry Helmer, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet, among others.
Allene is the first violinist of the Blume Quartet, the 2007 recipients of the prestigious Felix Galimir Chamber Music Award from the University of Toronto. Their prize included a gala recital at U of T and a full scholarship to attend the Banff Centre String Chamber Music Residency program in the summer of 2007. In Banff, Allene worked closely with such artists as Barry Shiffman, Henk Guittart, and Paul Katz.
Allene has toured with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada in its 2003 and 2004 seasons, and was principal second violin of the Symphony and Opera Academy of the Pacific in the summer of 2006.
In June 2005 Allene completed her Bachelor of Music with Distinction from the University of Victoria, having studied with Sharon Stanis and the Lafayette Quartet. Allene acted as concertmaster of both the University of Victoria and University of Toronto symphony orchestras, and has been a featured soloist with the UTSO and the UVic Chamber orchestra.
In addition to her violin pursuits, Allene is a closet trumpet player. A member of jazz ensembles since high school and throughout both university degrees, Allene has studied and played with Hugh Fraser, Ian McDougall, Donny Clark, Mike Herriott and Campbell Ryga, to name a few. She and her jazz combo received the Most Outstanding Jazz Combo award at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in 2001.
Lance Ouellette : Youth Strings
Lance Ouellette began his musical studies in Saint John, NB, where he excelled at violin, piano, voice and saxophone. From an early age, Lance won numerous music festival and Royal Conservatory of Music awards for violin, piano, and voice. While still in high school Lance was a violinist with Symphony New Brunswick as well as concertmaster of the NB Youth Orchestra under Maestro Nurhan Arman. At the age of 15, Lance was concertmaster of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada under the direction of Simon Streatfeild and the following year he sat co-concertmaster for the NYO tour of Japan under the direction of Kazuyoshi Akiyama.
Lance studied at the University of Toronto with Atis Bankas. During that time, he won 1st prize at the national finals of the Canadian Music Competition, 1st prize at the FCMF National Music Festival, had a solo recital radio broadcast by CBC and was awarded a two week seminar in Quebec as part of the Jeunes Artistes de Canada competition.
In 2002, Lance attended Wilfrid Laurier University pursuing a post-graduate Diploma in Chamber Music. In the spring of 2003, Lance was the winner of the Ken Murray Concerto Competition and performed a movement of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the KWS. In 2003, Lance joined the KWS as 2nd Associate Concertmaster. He was appointed Interim Conductor of the KWS Youth Strings for the 08-09 season.
Julie Baumgartel : Youth Sinfornia
Julie Baumgartel has performed with Tafelmusik, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Orchestre des Champs Elysees across Europe, North America and Asia. Since moving to the Waterloo Region in 2000 she has focused her activities as close to home as possible- the Music Room, Maureen Forester Recital Hall and the Registry Theatre being her favoured venues -mainly because they are within easy biking distance to her house, and the Centre in the Square -mainly because of its great acoustics. Most of all she is focused on her two little boys, Zack and Buzzy. She performs frequently with the KWS and Nota Bene Period Orchestra. She also plays chamber music regularly at the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, the Elora Festival, the Perimeter Institute and co-founded the Grand River Baroque Festival near Ayr, Ontario with her husband oboist James Mason. Julie appears on various chamber music series in southern Ontario including The Gallery Players Of Niagara and NUMUS and has guested with Waterloo's Blue Rider Ensemble. In 2003 she was appointed conductor of the KWS Youth Sinfonia, and in 2005 joined the string faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University as a part time instructor.
Trevor Wagler : Vahalla Brass
As a hornist, Trevor Wagler has performed with many Canadian orchestras and ensembles including the K-W Symphony and CCE, Orchestra London, the Hamilton Philharmonic and the Windsor Symphony, as well as period instrument ensembles Tafelmusik, Ossia and the Nota Bene Period Orchestra. He holds a B.Mus. in Composition from Wilfrid Laurier University (where he now teaches musical skills), and an M.Mus. in horn performance from the University of Western Ontario. He is the Director of Waterloo’s Renaissance School of the Arts and conductor of the Waterloo Concert Band, in addition to serving as the assistant conductor of the KWS Youth Orchestra Programme and conductor of the Valhalla Brass. His compositions and arrangements are regularly performed around the world. Trevor can frequently be heard at area elementary schools performing Mozart on a garden hose.
Paul Pulford : Youth Orchestra
As a conductor Paul Pulford has worked with the Canadian Chamber Ensemble, the Pro Musica Ensemble (Ireland), the Saint John Symphony,and the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra. Hi s work with the Wilfrid Laurier Symphony Orchestra has resulted in an orchestral program, whichhas gone from strength to strength. The recently released CD on the Eclectra label of the Mendelssohn Concerto for Violin and Piano with the Lowe-Beaubien Duo and the Laurier Chamber Orchestra is his first CD as a conductor. During his development as a conductor and orchestral musician, Mr. Pulford worked with some of the great maestros of our time, including: Erich Leinsdorf, Sir Adrian Boult, Seiji Ozawa, Karel Ancerl, Pierre Boulez, and Klaus Tennstedt. As a cellist, Paul maintains a prominent career as a soloist and is, or has been, a member of several internationally acclaimed chamber ensembles: the Orford and Penderecki String Quartets, the Galliard Ensemble, and The Blue Rider Ensemble. His discography includes 22 CDs of solo and chamber music repertoire
Contact Us
Barb Kaplanek
Youth Orchestra Program Coordinator
Phone: 519.745.4711, x 390
Fax: 519.745.4474
Email: bkaplanek@kwsymphony.on.ca |
