Schumann Piano Quartet - November 14, 2023

Todd Yaniw is a Canadian pianist praised for his “atmospheric contrast of poetry and power…a hair-raising performance”.  Since his debut with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at age 13, Mr. Yaniw has performed across Canada; at festivals and venues including CBC Vancouver, the Banff Centre for Music, Edmonton’s Winspear Centre for Music, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, and Koerner Hall.  Mr. Yaniw has performed concerti with several Canadian orchestras, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and has performed with the Afiara Quartet, Rolston String Quartet, Trio Arkel and the ARC Ensemble (Artists of the Royal Conservatory).  Todd has been interviewed and broadcast on many occasions on CBC Radio, and was featured in CBC's "30 under 30" list.  Internationally, Todd has performed in Bulgaria, China, Italy, Jamaica, Monaco, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Mr. Yaniw has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, and twice was a recipient of the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Awards.  He was on the performance staff at The Glenn Gould School, and served on the faculty of The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists.

Todd Yaniw recently returned to his hometown of Edmonton.  His teachers include Michael Massey, Dr. James Parker, Professor James Anagnoson (The Glenn Gould School), and Dr. Jon Kimura Parker (Rice University). Mr. Yaniw completed his doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked with Dr. Anton Nel.

Puts String Quartet + Dohnanyi Piano Quintet - February 6, 2024

A concert violinist, community volunteer, and music educator, Anita Walsh joined the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s First Violins in 2022.

Anita’s passionate pursuit of great orchestral and chamber music collaborations has taken her across Canada, performing concerts with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, and as Principal Second Violinist with the Kitchener- Waterloo Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, and Orchestra London. In summer months, Anita has enjoyed engagements with Festival of the Sound, Stratford Summer Music, Festival Vancouver, Jeunesses Musicales Canada, Scotia Festival of Music, and Ottawa Chamberfest. She appears as both Concertmaster and Principal Second Violin of the Elora Festival Orchestra.

During the pandemic, a keen interest in community wellbeing led Anita to establish music programming partnerships with the Kitchener Public Library and KW Symphony. With the support of generous grants from the Metcalf Foundation in Toronto and the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund, she developed a framework for delivering music-led Social Prescribing Initiatives at the Symphony. She also produced a series of live recorded children’s concerts that reached a broad online audience, as far away as Zurich. Most recently, Anita has enjoyed volunteering with the Alzheimer’s Society and has previously worked with the Canadian Mental Health Association. She is eager to get to know her new community in Edmonton!

Dohnanyi Piano Quintet - February 6, 2024

Leanne Regehr is a versatile and sensitive pianist who is widely recognized for her intuitive ability to collaborate with other musicians across an extensive range of repertoire. She is the featured soloist in a ive recording of Victor Davies' Mennonite Piano Concerto with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and is currently based in Edmonton where she serves on the faculties of the University of Alberta and The King’s University.

Leanne’s reputation in opera has grown through engagements as a répétiteur with Shreveport Opera, Mercury Opera, and Edmonton Opera. Her dedication to the development of young singers has been shown through her work as a faculty member with Opera NUOVA, as a Coaching Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and most recently with the Ukrainian Art Song Project’s Summer Institute in Toronto. She is a keyboardist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with the Chamber Orchestra of Edmonton, Pro Coro Canada, Da Camera Singers, Luminous Voices,, the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, and the Academy Concert Series in Toronto.

Leanne completed her Doctor of Music in Piano Performance at Northwestern University and explored further studies at the Banff School of Fine Arts, the Universitat Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Aspen Music Festival. She has enjoyed playing the masterworks of the choral repertoire during her twenty seasons as accompanist with the Richard Eaton Singers, and freelances as a soloist, vocal coach, recital partner, and adjudicator.

Devienne Bassoon Quartet - June 4, 2024

Born in Toronto, Bianca Chambul was appointed Principal Bassoon of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in June 2019. In addition to her orchestral duties, she has enjoyed performing chamber music with ESO musicians at the Art Gallery of Alberta. During the pandemic, Bianca developed a love for editing films on iMovie to contribute to the ESO’s YouTube channel.

As a freelance bassoonist and contrabassoonist, Bianca has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and Toronto’s Tapestry Opera. She has appeared as a concerto competition winner with the Rice University Chamber Orchestra (2019), the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra (2013), and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (2011).

As a soloist, Bianca performed for John Weinzweig’s Centenary Celebration (2013) and with the University of Toronto Contemporary Ensemble (2015).

Bianca has participated in several summer music festivals, including the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (2012, 2013) and the National Academy Orchestra (2015, 2016). While attending the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara in 2019, she was awarded a residency fellowship with the London Symphony Orchestra, and will be performing with them in England in June 2022.

In April 2019, Bianca completed one year of her Master’s degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas under the tutelage of Professor Benjamin Kamins. She obtained her performance undergraduate degree in 2016 at the University of Toronto, studying with Eric Hall, Principal Bassoon of the Grant Park Orchestra and Canadian Opera Company. Bianca received the William and Phyllis Waters Graduating Award, and was on the University of Toronto music faculty as a sessional bassoon instructor for the 2017 winter term.

One of her favourite bassoonists is Sergio Azzolini, especially his Vivaldi CDs with the ensemble L’Aura Soave Cremona on period instruments. His work has served as inspiration for Bianca to learn to play historical bassoons.