Founded during the 2020-21 season by members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the High Level Trio combines the talents, broad experiences and diverse backgrounds of Edmonton native Ewald Cheung on violin, American-born violist Ethan Filner, and cellist Julie Hereish from Montreal, Quebec.

Ewald Cheung joined the ESO's first violin section in 2018 after earning performance degrees at the Juilliard School and McGill University. A prize-winner in multiple violin competitions and an avid chamber musician, Ewald was a founding member of the Roddick String Quartet and Geistrio, and has performed extensively around Canada in recitals, chamber music collaborations, and as soloist with orchestras. Ewald can be heard on his 2015 recording with pianist Philip Chiu, "A Tribute to Fritz Kreisler."

Ethan Filner has been the ESO's Assistant Principal Viola since 2019, having previously held the same position with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in Ontario, where he also taught viola at the University of Toronto and enjoyed a busy freelance career since moving to Canada from San Francisco with his family in 2016. Formerly the violist of the internationally acclaimed Cypress String Quartet, Ethan toured extensively throughout North American and Europe, recorded nearly 20 commercial albums, commissioned and premiered dozens of new works, presented educational outreach programs for thousands of students of all ages, and collaborated with many of the most inspiring musical artists of our time.

Assistant Principal Cello of the ESO since 2019, Montreal native Julie Hereish previously held the same position with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, having completed studies in both her hometown and Vienna, Austria. Julie has performed extensively with chamber orchestra Violons du Roy and has toured as a chamber musician with Debut Atlantic and Jeunesses Musicales du Canada. Together with actor Pierre Mayer, Julie created Charlot et Mlle Cello, a theatrical concert experience for children based on Charlie Chaplin’s famous character.

The High Level Trio has presented successful performances throughout Alberta, including at the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival, the Peace Region Music Series in Grande Prairie, and for the Edmonton Recital Society. The HLT has also presented outreach concerts and recorded videos for the Health Arts Society of Alberta.

contact the HLT by email: highleveltrio@gmail.com