2008-2009 Guest Artists

Alexander Tselyakov, piano "...represents the best aspect of Russian pianism and all its attributes...effectively synthesized the emotional balance of Arthur Rubinstein and the more highly-strung febrile quality of Horowitz." - Harris Goldsmith, New York Concert Review

Distinguished pianist Alexander Tselyakov has been described as a "phenomenal pianist" (Germany),having "an intoxicating sound" (Israel), and "a perfect artistic individuality" (Russia). He began his concert career with the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Orchestra in his native Soviet Union at the age of nine. Alexander Tselyakov went on to win one of the leading prizes at the prestigious VIIIth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Second International Music Competition of Japan, the Ibla Grand Prize International Piano Competition and the Mazara del Vallo International Piano and Orchestra Competition in Italy, the Israel Competition and the New Orleans International Piano Competition. His playing has inspired standing ovations in Japan, Germany, Italy, Israel, Spain, Portugal, France, England, Sweden, Austria, Poland, Finland, the United States, Denmark, the Netherlands, Turkey and Canada where he now makes his home. Tselyakov combines virtuosity with breath-taking musicality in the Russian tradition of great pianists. He studied with Lev Naumov (custodian of the Heinrich Neuhaus methods that are credited with producing many extraordinary twentieth-century Russian keyboard masters such as Gilels and Richter) at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. Tselyakov has performed frequently with leading orchestras including the Leningrad Philharmonic, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Moscow Radio Symphony and the State Byelorussian Philharmonic. He has appeared with the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Symphonique de Québec, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Nova Scotia, to name a few. Tselyakov has appeared as a recitalist at major festivals and concert halls around the world. He has performed at the Shostakovich Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, the Great Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory, the Tel-Aviv Museum, the Toronto Art Centre (the Ford Centre), the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, the Palais Montcalm in Québec, the Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, the Temppeliakin Kirkko Hall in Helsinki, the University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo, the Conservatorii Publico Professional in Granada (Spain), and at the Regentenbau Hall in Bad Kissingen (Germany). While still in Russia Tselyakov was appointed concert solo pianist with the Byelorussian State Philharmonic and Assistant Professor of Music at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. After moving to Israel in 1991, Tselyakov continued to impress audiences and critics alike. Several more important prizes followed along with recitals for such dignitaries as Michael Gorbachev and the late Yitzhak Rabin. In 1994, Tselyakov immigrated to Canada and made his debut to great acclaim that December at the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto. Recitals across the country soon started to materialize. Tselyakov is now counted in the ranks of Canada's leading concert pianists. That indescribable "something extra" which is so evident in his concerts made an immediate impact on Canadian audiences and continues to do so. Recent concerts have included a highly successful performance at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York, critically acclaimed concerts at Wigmore Hall in London, performances at The Centre Cultural (Paris, France), the University of Chicago, the International Piano Festival in Istanbul, at Merkin Hall (New York), at the International Piano Festival (San Jose, CA), the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, the Phillips Collection (Washington), the Embassy Series (Washington), at Blackheath Hall (London), the Vendsyssel Festival (Denmark), the Stockholm-Royal Palace Music Festival (Sweden), at Bösendorfer Saal (Vienna, Austria), at Cristofori Concerten Hall (Amsterdam), and at the Concert & Congress Centre de Doelen, Rotterdam (Netherlands). Tselyakov has also been heard recently on WQXR New York's "Reflections on the Keyboard", on the Danish Radio, on the BBC Radio (London, UK), ON Erstsendung, DeutschlandRadio Berlin (Germany) and on CBC Radio (Canada). Active as a chamber musician, Tselyakov collaborates with many leading Canadian musicians and is Artistic Director of the Pender Harbour Chamber Music Festival, BC and of the Clear Lake Chamber Music Festival, MB, Canada. Alexander Tselyakov lives in Brandon, Manitoba where he has held a full-time position as Professor of piano at Brandon University since 2003.

Daniel Tselyakov, piano

Daniel has won numerous scholarships and awards, including, Award the Jean and Lorne Chapple Memorial Scholarship at the Provincial Music and Speech Finals for the Most Outstanding Piano Performance of J.S. Bach, P.A. Kennedy Memorial Trophy, H.E. Phipps Trophy, First Place at the MRMTA Winnipeg Branch Scholarship Series Senior Competition , second place at the National Canadian Music Competition. He has performed at the Clear Lake Chamber Music Festival (2006, 2007), Eva Clare Hall, University of Manitoba, Laudamus Auditorium, Canadian Mennonite University, Convocation Hall, Edmonton, University of Alberta, Bandeen Hall, Sherbrooke, Bishop's University and International New Music Festival Winnipeg (2006, 2007). Born into a musical family in 1992, Daniel began his piano studies at the age of five with his mother, Alla Turbanova. Currently, He is studying under Alexander Tselyakov and Alla Turbanova. He also participated in master classes with Michael Kim, Pierre Reach, Marc Andrew Hamelin, Kyoko Hashimoto, and Jamie Parker. Last year Daniel has performed Chopin Piano Concerto as a soloist with the Penderecki String Quartet and must have made a remarkable impression to be the youngest musician ever who was invited as guest artist to the prestigious Virtuosi Concert Series for 2009.

Jonathan Mak, Piano Jonathan is 12 years old. He began studying piano at the age of three with Mrs. Aster Lai. 10 months later, Jonathan performed at the 102nd birthday celebration of Mr. Adelmo Melecci, the former Principal of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he played some of Mr. Melecci’s compositions. Due to his exceptional performance, Jonathan was interviewed on a Fairchild TV program. Other notable performances include the Heintzman Piano Dinner Reception, the Chinese Professionals Association Sing Competition Final Charity Event, Salute Canada, The Salvation Army Harvest of Hope, the 2009 Dragon Ball Dinner, and the opening of the Steinway concert grand piano at the new Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.

At the mere age of 4, Jonathan made his solo debut with the Canadian Sinfonietta Orchestra playing the complete Berkovich Piano Concerto. Since then, he has performed as a solo pianist with the Toronto Cultural Youth Orchestra, the Chinese Artist Society of Toronto Youth Orchestra, the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Sinfonietta Orchestra, and the Salvation Army Division Youth Band. In February of 2009, Jonathan had the opportunity to perform for a sixth time with the Canadian Sinfonietta Orchestra.

Jonathan is also very active in local competitions. In 2007, Jonathan was awarded first place in the piano age 10 and under category at the national Canadian Music Competitions.

At the age of 7, Jonathan passed his RCM Grade 10 practical piano exam with first class honours. In June of 2008, Jonathan passed his ARCT Performer’s practical piano exam, receiving first class honours with distinction. In March of 2008, Jonathan was invited to perform as a solo pianist with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in Bulgaria. He was also interviewed on the Sofia National Radio Music Program.

In September of 2008, Jonathan was selected to play in a master class held in Toronto by world renowned pianist Lang-Lang. Jonathan is the first prize winner of the 16 and under category in the 2009 Manchester International Concerto Competition for Young Pianists.

Aside from playing the piano, Jonathan studies violin under the direction of Mr. Tak-Ng Lai.

Charles Castleman, violin Charles Castleman, perhaps the world’s most active performer/pedagogue on the violin, has been soloist with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Boston, Brisbane, Chicago, Hong Kong, Moscow, Mexico City, New York, San Francisco, Seoul and Shanghai. Medalist at Tchaikovsky and Brussels, his Jongen Concerto is included in a Cypres CD set of the 17 best prize-winning performances of the Brussels Concours’ 50-year history.

Mr. Castleman's solo CDs include Ysaye's six Solo Sonatas (made at the time of his unique performance at Tully Hall in NYC), eight Hubay Csardases for Violin and Orchestra, and ten Sarasate virtuoso cameos on Music and Arts, Gershwin and Antheil on MusicMasters, and contemporary violin and harpsichord music for Albany. As one of sixteen Ford Foundation Concert Artists he commissioned the David Amram Concerto, premiering it with Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony, recording it for Newport Classic. He is dedicatee of "Lares Hercii" by Pulitzer winner Christopher Rouse.

He has performed at such international festivals as Marlboro, Grant Park, Newport, Sarasota, AFCM (Australia) , Budapest,Fuefukigawa, Montreux, Shanghai, Sheffield, and the Vienna Festwoche. He regularly participates in the Las Vegas, Park City, Round Top and Sitka festivals in the U.S. His recitals have been broadcast on NPR, BBC, in Berlin and in Paris. Chair of Eastman’s String Department, Mr Castleman has conducted master-classes in London, Vienna, Helsinki, Kiev, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, and all major cities in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. His students have been winners at Brussels, Munich, Naumburg and Szeryng, are in 30 professionally active chamber groups and are 1 st desk players in 11 major orchestras. He is founder/director of THE QUARTET PROGRAM, in its 39th season, now at S.U.N.Y Fredonia and University Colorado Boulder, an intensive workshop in solo and chamber performance. Yo-Yo Ma has praised it as the best program of its kind..a training ground in lifemanship.

Charles Castleman’s long-term chamber music associations have included THE NEW STRING TRIO OF N.Y. with BASF recordings of Reger and Frank Martin and THE RAPHAEL TRIO with CDs of Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, and Wolf-Ferrari for NONESUCH, SONY CLASSICAL, DISCOVER, UNICORN, and ASV, and with premieres by Rainer Bischof and Frederic Rzewski for the Vienna Festival and Kennedy Center.
Mr. Castleman earned degrees from Harvard, Curtis, and University of Pennsylvania. His teachers were Emanuel Ondricek (teaching assistant of Sevcik, Ysaye student) and Ivan Galamian, his most influential coaches David Oistrakh, Szeryng, and Gingold. He plays the Marquis de Champeaux Stradivarius from 1708, and chooses from 80 bows.

Brendan Fitzgerald, narrator Brendan FitzGerald is a Grade 8 student at Kempenfelt Bay School in Barrie, ON. He has been studying piano for a number of years and also plays trombone in various school bands. He loves winter sports, and has been skiing with the Snow Valley racing program since he was six years old. This time of year is particularly busy as he juggles schoolwork with ski-racing, hockey and music. Brendan no longer wants to be a professional hockey player or ski racer when he grows up, but has not decided on a new career path as of yet. For now, the challenge is getting to grade 9.

Kristen Peterson, visual artist Kristen Peterson is a Toronto artist. She works primarily in installation, creating site-specific drawings on buildings that explore how we create and perceive space. Her first permanent installation, commissioned by the Toronto Transit Commission, will be unveiled in Spring 2010 on the St. Clair West streetcar line. Her ink-on-paper drawings are created using a black felt-tip marker on paper without the use of pencils, preparatory sketches, tracing or erasers.

Kristen has exhibited her work in numerous solo and group exhibitions. She has a fine art diploma from the Toronto School of Art and a Master of Visual Studies degree from the University of Toronto. This is her second project with the Canadian Sinfonietta. For the 2005-2006 season, she created drawings to accompany Peter and the Wolf.

Aileen Lee, Soprano Aileen Lee was born and raised in Cebu City, Philippines. She started singing in various competitions and programs as early as age 4 and continued to do so until she immigrated to Canada with her family. Once in Canada, she enrolled in the Royal Conservatory of Music and studied there for 4 years.

She obtained her Bachelor of Religious Education majoring in Sacred Music at Ontario Bible College. During her college years, she auditioned for the Continental Singers of American and was able to tour with them for 2 years. She was able to tour Europe, United States of America and the Caribbean Islands as soloist and first soprano. After graduation, she worked part-time as the music director in a few churches around the Toronto area and she went to school full-time to pursue her Masters degree in Worship. She was also the choir director for Sounds of Joy, a choir representing Tyndale College and Seminary. She is currently finishing her Doctorate Degree in Liturgical Studies at the Institute for Worship Studies in Florida.

8 years ago, Aileen, along with Maestro Lai and Winston Man started Toronto Cantata Chorus. They have developed the choir into what it is today by their hard work and dedication. As the choral master, Aileen continues to push and stretch the choir in every aspect of growth.

Aside from her busy academic and musical schedules, she is married to Dr. Derrick Li and they have two beautiful children, Anika and Joshua.

The Riverdale Ensemble Since its debut in 1996, the Riverdale Ensemble has been a regular fixture on the musical scene in Toronto, and elsewhere, dazzling its audiences with a blend of virtuosity and sensitive musicianship.

The Ensemble takes special pleasure in seeking out and performing dynamic music of the highest quality and audience appeal that is infrequently performed and deserves to be more widely known. Each season sees the premieres of previously unheard or unpublished works. The centre of the group’s repertoire is romantic music of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries - beautiful music presented in a slightly offbeat, relaxed manner that audiences appreciate.

The Ensemble performs music for a variety of instrumental combinations, from solos to large groups, with the core members supplemented by guest artists as required. The members of the Ensemble bring to the concert stage impressive and varied backgrounds in the music profession, including performance in Europe, Asia and the U.S.A. One of the core musicians, besides being a performer, is in addition an instrument maker with a worldwide reputation. Some concerts involve collaboration with other instrumental groups, vocal ensembles and graphic artists.

The Riverdale Ensemble's second recording, Twelve by the Moon-dial, has just been released. The Ensemble’s highly praised and widely distributed debut CD, Foliage, was released in 2000. Among other accolades, it was selected as the background music for an exhibition of paintings by Henri Rousseau at the Tate Gallery in London, in 2005-6.

The Ensemble’s parent organization, Riverdale Concert Productions Inc., is a not-for-profit corporation (Ontario Corporation No. 1635816), with a Board of Directors composed of music industry professionals and community supporters from Toronto and York Region.

The members of the Riverdale Ensemble are also active in historically informed performance using authentic period instruments, through their parallel group Ossia.