Core Members

Joyce Lai, Concertmaster Canadian violinist Joyce Lai enjoys a career as a soloist and chamber musician. She has been featured as guest soloist with numerous orchestras around the world, among them the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Szeged Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Chamber Academy, the Canadian Sinfonietta, and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong.

Aside from being concertmaster and executive director of the Canadian Sinfonietta, she is also the first violinist in the Riverdale Ensemble, the Croydon String Quartet and the Canadian Sinfonietta Chamber Players. She has been featured in a number of chamber concert series both as soloist and with chamber ensembles throughout Canada and overseas, including the Clear Lake Chamber Music Festival, the Canadian Opera Company Noontime Series, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Festival. As an orchestral player, Joyce has played under the baton of numerous conductors, among them Kurt Masur, Sixten Ehrling, and most recently, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Christopher Warren-Green.

Joyce has been integral in promoting multi-cultural arts in the Canadian society. Not only has she premiered a number of new compositions by Canadian composers, but she also makes it a point to perform at least one Chinese Canadian work per year. To bridge the gap between Chinese and Western music, Joyce also frequently performs with Chinese instrumentalists such as George Gao on the erhu, or Anna Guo on the yang qin.

Joyce has also done extensive teaching. Aside from a private studio, she has taught at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts and the Hong Kong Baptist University.

Joyce received her Bachelor of Music Degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City where she was a scholarship student and on the Dean's List. She was also a recipient of the Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges Award for three consecutive years. Joyce holds a Master of Music Degree and a Performer Diploma from the Indiana University in Violin Performance. Her principal teachers have been her parents Tak-Ng and Aster Lai, Lucie Robert and Nelli Shkolnikova. She has also worked under the tutelage of prestigious musicians such as Jacques Israelievitch, Franco Gulli and Rostislav Dubinksy.

Jennifer Mak, violin Jennifer is 18 years old. She began studying piano with Aster Lai at the age of 4, and began playing the violin with Mr. Tak-Ng Lai at the age of 6. Jennifer has won numerous awards, among them the Grace E. Lawson Senior Piano Trophy, Chopin Piano Award from Scarborough Lions Club, The Most Promising Violinist Award from Arts Richmond, 2nd place awards at the Canadian Music Competitions in the age 7 and 8 piano categories, as well as yearly piano and violin awards from Kiwanis, Peel, Yip’s, Mandarin, and Scarborough Music Festivals.

She performed as a guest violinist for the Toronto Chinese Beauty Pageant in the year 2003. Jennifer has also performed at 2 different Grand Openings of the Yee Hong Seniors’ Home. At age 9, she performed the Bach Violin Concerto in E major with the Toronto Cultural Youth Orchestra.

At age 10, she performed the Kabalevsky Piano Concerto in D major, and at age 11, she played the Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor, both with the Canadian Sinfonietta Orchestra. In June of 2006, she played Summer from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra. In June of 2007, Jennifer was a provincial finalist in the strings diploma level at the Ontario Music Festivals Association.

At the age of 10, Jennifer successfully passed her ARCT performer’s piano practical exam at age 10, and received her ARCT performer’s diploma at the age of 13.

Irina Babuk, violin Irina graduated from Belorussian Academy of Music and received a Master's Degree of Music in Violin performance. Since her graduation she performed with various symphony orchestras in-concert and toured around Europe. For the last fifteen years Irina taught violin technique as well as music theory to children and adults. Her students won prizes for the best music composition and performance.

Renee London, Principal Second violin Renée London is an Ottawa-raised violinist who made her first public appearance at the age of seven.A natural performer, Miss London has impressed music lovers with her unique style and interpretation.

Renée began her studies with Elaine Klimasko, first violinist of the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Miss London was top prize-winner of the National Arts Centre Orchestra's Bursary competitions in 1995 and 1997.She won First Prize at the national finals of the Canadian Music Competition in 1999, was a finalist in the Darius Milhaud Competition in Cleveland (2000), and was a semi-finalist at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition in 2001.

Renée London is a chamber music enthusiast.She has participated in master classes and coachings with North America's great chamber music genius: such as Peter Salaff, Donald Weilerstein, and William Preucil (Cleveland Quartet); Earl Carlyss , Samuel Rhodes and Ronald Copes (Juilliard Quartet); and Canada's own St. Lawrence Quartet.

In April 2001, Miss London was appointed to the 1st violin section in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.She subsequently served as Associate Concertmaster in the Midland-Odessa Symphony (Texas), and was violinist in ‘Strings of the West' string quartet, also in Midland Texas, in 2003-2004.She is currently an active freelance musician, playing frequently with the Toronto Symphony, the National Ballet Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra.

Renée has been teaching violin for several years.She has a private violin studio in Toronto and has had private violin studios in Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Midland Texas.She is a regular chamber music coach at the Summertrios Chamber Music Festival in Pennsylvania, and is a member of the Wintergreen Music Festival Orchestra in Virginia.Renée is the proud founder of the Classics in the Tropics music festival in Tobago West Indies.

Alain Bouvier, Violin Violinist Alain Bouvier graduated with an honours bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the Glenn Gould School, where he studied with such notable violinists as Mark Fewer (concert master, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra) and Annalee Patipatanakoon (Gryphon Trio). He was also was a mainstay member of The Veritas Piano Quartet (2002-2005). This ensemble-in-residence performed the famous works of Mozart, Brahms, and Schumann in Toronto (CBC Radio two), Guelph (Guelph Spring Festival), Barrie (Colours of Music Festival), as well as various cities in Quebec.

In addition, Mr. Bouvier was a member of The Royal Conservatory Orchestra (2001-2005) where he played first violin for such maestros as Simon Streatfield, Leon Fleisher, the late Richard Bradshaw (Canadian Opera Company) and Bramwell Tovey (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra). He is also the concertmaster of Toronto’s own Upper Canada Chorus Symphony, and principal second of the Oakville Chamber Orchestra. Between Mr. Bouvier’s busy orchestral schedule, he also performs with The Alexsandre Ensemble, of which he is the founding member. This ensemble performs regularly throughout the city for various concerts and events. Alain also keeps a busy teaching schedule at The Music Spot and The Academy of Music, both in downtown Toronto

Aleksandar Gajic, Principal Viola Mr. Gajic graduated in violin at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Serbia, and subsequently received his Masters Degree from the Belgrade Faculty of Music where he studied under Professor Maja Jokanovic.

During his studies he distinguished himself as a member of many chamber ensembles an as Concertmaster of the Academic Symphony Orchestra. In 1992, he was awarded the Amadeus scholarship in London.

While living in Serbia, Mr. Gajic was a member of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, the Belgrade String Quartet and Concertmaster of the Symphony Orchestra if Radio Television of Serbia. Hw was a founding member of the Bellotti String Quartet, with whom he recorded and performed in Serbia and abroad for seven years. He has also played and recorded wiht the wolrd-renowned Yugoslav composer Goran Bregovic.

Since immigrating to Canada, Mr.Gajic has performed with the Oshawa Durham Symphony, the Windsor Symphony Orchest

András Weber, Principal Cello András Weber received his musical training in Budapest, Hungary. His mentor, Janos Starker, has been af major influence in his work. He has been principal cellist with orchestras in Hungary,Mexico City and Canda. Has given concerts in North America, Europe and Korea. He was the winner of DEBUT in Montreal where The Gazette called him a "generously gifted" musician who plays with a "nicely coloured and singing tone."

Mr. Weber has recorded in Hungary and Canada and plans to release some CD's: music for cello and organ with his wife Ran Kim,works for harp and cello with the acclaimed Mexican harpist Mercedes Gómez and solo cello works.

Mr. Weber is the founding artistic director of the Toronto series 'Music Alive!' and teaches at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He is a member of Sinfonia Toronto and Canadian Sinfonietta chamber orchestras. He has played concertos with many orchestras around the world.

In May 2005 he toured in Hungary, appearing in recitals and chamber music ensembles and giving master classes. Over the summer he played in Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City in chamber music festivals. Mr. Weber plays a 17th century Mariani cello.

Tim FitzGerald, Double Bass Tim FitzGerald was a member of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra for over 15 years and formerly played with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra London.

Over the past several years Tim has composed and performed vocal settings, in various styles, of Bahá'í Sacred text. Other performing interests include jazz bass, traditional Irish music and singing: in chorus and as soloist, often for groups of children. His own two daughters, Julie and Zoë, have reached the ages of 20 and 30 in spite of being subjected to many of these performances early on.

This is Tim's fourth season with Canadian Sinfonietta.

Stephen Tam, flute Canadian flautist Stephen Tam is the First-Prize Winner of the 2003 CBC/Radio-Canada National Competition for Young Performers. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic, the Banff Festival Orchestra, the University of Toronto Symphony, the Toronto Senior Strings and the Etobicoke Philharmonic, and has been heard as a soloist and chamber musician on numerous occasions nationwide on CBC Radio.

As an orchestral flautist, Stephen currently serves as principal flute with the Canadian Sinfonietta and the Toronto Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, and has served as principal flute in the Manhattan School of Music Symphony and Chamber Sinfonia. As a member of the Asian Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, he toured Canada, United States, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Japan. Also active as a chamber musician, Stephen has been a guest performer with the Duke Trio, the Riverdale Ensemble and the contemporary music group Toca Loca. He has also been invited to participate at the University of Toronto's New Music Festival, the Ottawa Valley Music Festival, and the Northern Lights Music Festival in Ajijic, Mexico.

Before moving to Toronto from his native Hong Kong, Stephen swept virtually every prize awarded to a flautist in the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, including the Commercial Radio Prize. He was also the winner of the 1992 South China Morning Post Student Musician of the Year. While in his teens, Stephen was chosen to record for RTHK Radio 4's Young Music Makers series and to perform in the inaugural public concert held at the Hong Kong Government House.

Stephen holds the Master of Music in Orchestral Performance degree and the Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a student of Jeanne Baxtresser and Michael Parloff. He also studied with Douglas Stewart at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, where he received his Bachelor of Music in Performance with Honours. In the past years, Stephen was awarded numerous scholarships including The Chalmers Award, The Women's Musical Club of Toronto Centennial Scholarship and the Manhattan School of Music's President's Award.

Kaye Royer, clarinet Kaye Royer was born in Canada and has performed in orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout Canada, the United States, England and Italy, and as a soloist in concertos by composers such as Mozart, Weber, R. Strauss, Finzi, Dubois and Ronald Royer.

Kaye currently holds the position of principal clarinet with the Toronto Sinfonietta, Brantford Symphony, Canadian Sinfonietta and the Scarborough Philharmonic. She also performs regularly with Niagara Symphony, Oshawa-Durham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestras Mississauga and Niagara-on-the-Lake Sinfonia.

Also active as a chamber musician, Kaye has enjoyed performances on the Les AMIS concert series, the Chamber Music Society of Mississauga, and the Niagara International Chamber Music Series. Her principal teachers include Avrahm Galper, Toronto; Stephen Pierce, London, England; James Kanter, Los Angeles; John Bruce Yeh and Larry Combs, Chicago.

Kaye also enjoys an active recording career, having worked on the soundtracks of such films as "Prisma", "The Dog", and "The Happy Couple" as well as the Compact Discs, "The Storyteller's Bag" and Toronto Sinfonietta's "Romancing Chopin" on which she performed as a soloist. She has also been heard on radio broadcasts on stations CJRT, CFMX, and throughout Canada on CBC 1 and 2.

Elizabeth McLellan, cello Liza, recent addition to the Toronto free-lance scene is a regular performer for Toronto’s Soundstreams series, and works with numerous orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout Ontario including the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Thunder Bay Symphony and Orchestra London. In addition, Liza has performed as a featured soloist onstage at the prestigious Glenn Gould Studio (Toronto), The Heleconian Club (Toronto), and The Arts Project (London). Recent chamber work has taken her to perform in other venues in such cities as New York, Indianapolis, and Granada in the Caribbean. Liza has been recorded both by CBC radio and CBC television, Canada.

In 2007, Liza was the recipient of the RBC Youth Acheivement Award and was able to study on full scholarship with Aldo Parisot at the Banff Center for the Performing Arts. Winner of the Thomas Jeffrey scholarship, the University of Western Ontario's highest and most esteemed bursary given to graduate students in the music program, Liza has recently completed her Masters in Music degree under the tutelage of Dr. Thomas Weibe. She also won second place in London's Music Scholarship Foundation competition and first place in Regina’s Music Club competition. An eclectic musician, she has also performed live for Toronto’s Much Music Video Awards, and on-stage at the Air Canada Center, Toronto, Club Soda, Montreal, Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, and at the Molson Amphitheatre, London.

Ms. McLellan previously studied at the Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto, Ontario and completed a Performance Diploma there in 2003 as a student of David Hetherington. In 2002, Liza toured with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada on a full scholarship taking her to Japan, Hong Kong, and numerous cities in Ontario and British Columbia. For the first four years of her post secondary education, Liza McLellan was the chosen recipient of a large government grant awarded by the Saskatchewan Arts Board.

Elizabeth began playing cello at the age of five in her hometown of Regina, Saskatchewan. She played Principal Cello with the South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra, winning a music scholarship during her final year and by the age of 17 she was a full contracted member of the Regina Symphony Orchestra.

Moira Burke, viola Moira Burke began her musical studies before age two at the Kodály Music School in Ottawa, directed by her grandmother, Mae Daly, a renowned musical pedagogue, vocal solo performer and choral conductor. Drawn to the violin after hearing Ida Haendel at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, Mrs. Burke began playing the violin at age five as a student of Florence Dunne of Ottawa.

Following her family to Italy at age ten, Mrs. Burke continued music studies as a full-time student at the Conservatorio Statale Luigi Cherubini in Florence, with Maestro Cornoldi of Rome as her principal violin teacher. Returning to Canada at age 13, she was awarded the Flora Golden Memorial Scholarship under the tutelage of Canadian violinist, Victor Pomer of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Mrs. Burke continued violin studies with renowned Romanian violinist, Ioan Harea. Later, as a violin student at McGill University, Moira renewed her connection with Ida Haendel, participating in her Master Classes.

While at McGill, Mrs. Burke was drawn to the beautiful tone of the viola and decided to concentrate on the viola under the tutelage of André Roy of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Three months later she successfully auditioned for the 2002 National Youth Orchestra performing as violist across Canada, Japan and in Hong Kong. Mrs. Burke performed as principal violist of the McGill Symphony Orchestra and the McGill Opera Orchestra and was assistant principal violist of the Leonardo Da Vinci Orchestra in Montreal. She graduated from McGill University with her BA in Music and Masters in Viola Orchestral Performance.

Upon graduating Mrs. Burke moved to Toronto and is presently an active freelancer in the Greater Toronto Area. Mrs. Burke is principal violist with the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra, and performs with the Peterborough Symphony, the Oshawa-Durham Symphony, the Korean Canadian Symphony and the National Academy Orchestra. Besides her busy orchestral career, Ms. Burke is also a private violin and viola teacher in the Toronto area and an active chamber musician. She is violist with the SASS Chamber Ensemble, and in March 2008 will be principal violist with the Canadian String Orchestra at Opera Grenada’s "A Night at the Opera."

Jenifer Burford, violin Ms. Burford completed her Bachelor of Music in Performance at the University of Toronto with Honours in 2004. There she studied with Mark Skazinetsky, Associate Concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In the fall of 2004, she completed a Career Development Residency at the Banff Centre performing in a chamber music setting with Canadian and International artists Alain Trudel, Gwen Hoebig, and Marc Durand to name a few. She also holds an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School and a Master of Music in Violin Performance from the University of Toronto, both completed through studies with Erika Raum.

Jennifer performed as a soloist with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra after winning their Youth Concerto Competition in 1999. Since then she has appeared in solo recitals annually.

As a chamber musician, Jennifer has been featured in national and international festivals, including the Casalmaggiore International Summer Music Festival, Stanford String Quartet Seminar with the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Guelph Spring Festival, Soundstreams, Domaine Forget Summer Festival, Barrie’s Colours of Music, and as a member of Klezfactor at the Ashkenaz Festival. She is a recipient of the Felix Galimir Award, the University of Toronto’s highest award for chamber music performance.

Orchestral playing has been a part of Jennifer’s musical life from an early age. She has been a member of several orchestras in the Toronto area and beyond. Recently she has performed with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, New Brunswick Symphony Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Oshawa-Durham Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Sinfonietta, and Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra where she holds the position of Principal Second Violin. She also was a member of Diana Krall’s southern Ontario touring orchestra in May 2009. Her orchestral training has extended to several summer festivals, including the Banff Centre Master class and Opera Orchestra sessions, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, Toronto Summer Music Festival, and three seasons with the National Academy Orchestra.

Ms. Burford enjoys teaching violin privately to children and adults. She has been a member of the North York Suzuki School string faculty since 2006.

Phoebe Tsang, violin Violinist Phoebe Tsang currently holds the posts of Assistant Concertmaster for the Oshawa Durham Symphony Orchestra, Principal 2nd Violin for both Sinfonia Toronto and the Canadian Sinfonietta, and is Managing Artistic Director of the Alicier Arts Chamber Music concert series. Active as a soloist and chamber musician, in December 2007 she gave the world premiere of Anguished Grief for Violin and String Orchestra, with Sinfonia Toronto, composed for her by Vancouver Symphony's composer-in-residence Scott Good. Ms. Tsang was the student and teaching assistant of the late Professor Lorand Fenyves, and developed her love of teaching under his mentorship. She continues to learn from the example of her lovely students aged six and up!

In tandem with her musical activities, Ms. Tsang is a poet whose works have been published in numerous anthologies, journals and chapbooks in Canada, the UK, India and Hong Kong. Her first full-length poetry collection is forthcoming from Tightrope Books in 2009. In addition, Phoebe holds a degree in architecture from the University of London (UK).

Olivia Brayley, horn New Brunswick’s own, Olivia Brayley Quackenbush, attended Acadia University in which she graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Music in horn performance. During that time she performed professionally with Symphony Nova Scotia and gave many chamber and solo recitals. Upon completion at Acadia, Olivia went on to McGill University to pursue graduate studies.

In 2007, Ms. Quackenbush became a member of Kvintten Nord, the first fully professional brass quintet in Finland. Olivia enjoyed a very active teaching and performing schedule, which included engagements with the Vaasa Symphony Orchestra and collaborations with national and local artists.

Olivia returns frequently to her home province to play with Symphony New Brunswick, Opera New Brunswick and has also appeared with the New Brunswick Summer Music Festival. She has recorded for CBC Radio and can also be heard on Symphony Nova Scotia’s recording, “Cable for all Seasons” which was recorded in the spring of 2002.

Ms. Quackenbush currently resides in Toronto as a freelance musician and sought after teacher and clinician. Up-coming engagements include the University of New Brunswick’s Artist in Residence position in 2010. She is a member of the newly formed Toronto Brass Quintet.

Michael Esch, pianist Canadian pianist Michael Esch holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from Rice University where his teachers included Robert Roux and Jon Kimura Parker. Michael has been featured in numerous recitals throughout Canada; most notably at the Glenn Gould Studio and for the Canadian University Music Society. His performances have been broadcast on CBC Radio as well as various television programs throughout the country. Internationally, Michael has appeared in concert throughout Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the United States and Germany. He made his debut in Asia in 2005 at the Singapore Arts Festival.

Michael has appeared as a guest soloist with numerous orchestras: highlights of these include the Canadian Sinfonietta at Glenn Gould Studio, and the Toronto Philharmonia on its recent cycle of the Beethoven piano concerti at George Weston Hall. As a chamber musician, Michael has collaborated with a number of acclaimed artists including the Belgian violinist Michael Guttman and the eminent violist, Rivka Golani. He is presently pianist in residence with the Canadian Sinfonietta Chamber Players.

Michael has enjoyed grant support from the Chalmers foundation, and is a multiple grant recipient from the Canada Council for the Arts. He has enjoyed success in numerous competitions in Canada, as well as at international levels. A sought after adjudicator in Canada, Michael has adjudicated festivals at the Provincial level in Ontario for the O.M.F.A., ORMTA, as well as the Canadian Music Competition 50’th anniversary National Tour, among others.

Michael serves on faculty at the Glenn Gould School where he teaches piano literature and studio piano through the Young Artists Performance Academy. In September of 2009, Michael joins the piano department at Wilfred Laurier University.

Michael Pepa, composer in residence Michael Pepa studied composition with Dr. Samuel Dolin at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto from which he graduated with an ARCT diploma. Having passed the necessary examinations in the Theory and Practice of Composition, he was admitted FELLOW (FTCL) of Trinity College of Music, London, England. He holds a Teacher’s diploma in the Art of Violin Playing (LTCL) from the same college. Mr. Pepa is also a graduate with a degree of Master of Arts in Music Education.

As well as being the founder and artistic director of Les AMIS Concerts, he is the composer-in-residence of the Canadian Sinfonietta, a member of the Canadian League of Composers, SOCAN, and an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre.

Mr. Pepa has composed over 70 works for solo instruments, chamber groups and orchestra. Most have been commissioned and broadcast here in Canada as well as U.S., Netherlands, France, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. His music has been performed by international groups such as the Filarmonica Banatul Timisoara, Romania; Hungarian Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble, Budapest; Utrecht’s Conservatorium Orchestra, Netherlands; SOUNDSTAGE CANADA at the Zagreb Biennale (’81) of Contemporary Music. His music has been performed many times in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Utrecht, Belgrade, Budapest, Sofia, Bucharest and Timisoara. Notable international artists such as Claire Bernard, Alexandra Gutu, Jovan Kolundzija, Nada Kolundzija, and Canadian artists Scott St. John, Martin Beaver, Barry Shiffman, Lynn Kuo and Rivka Golani have included Pepa’s works on their programs. St. Lawrence Quartet commissioned two of Pepa’s four quartets and in 1996 premiered Quartet No. 4 in Paris, France.

In January 2003, Lynn Kuo gave the world premiere of Pepa’s Metamorphose I, a work for solo violin written for her. CBC Radio broadcast her performance. April 2003 marked the world premiere of its chamber orchestral version, Metamorphose II, with Lynn as soloist and Canadian Sinfonietta conducted by Tak-Ng Lai. In October 2003, Metamorphose II was performed by Miss Kuo and BRANDON CHAMBER PLAYERS in Brandon, Manitoba with the composer conducting.

The Canadian Sinfonietta and world-renowned violist Rivka Golani commissioned Musical Offering for viola and strings. It was premiered on March 20, 2004 at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. Variations for Piano and Chamber Orchestra was commissioned by the Canadian Sinfonietta. It was premiered at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto on January 22, 2005 with pianist Angela Park for whom it was written.

Metamorphose I continued to enjoy success. At its US premiere on April 25, 2004, LA violinist Claire-Jeanne Martin dazzled the audience to a standing ovation. Fantaisie bohémienne, was written for Miss Martin who premiered it in Toronto on January 23, 2005 with a subsequent performance in Los Angeles, on January 30, 2005.

Michael Pepa's recent international activity was a tour of the Balkans in October and early November of 2005. He was a guest of The 37th Belgrade Music Festival - BEMUS - where his Waltz of The Mystic Bird (2005), a work for solo piano, received its premiere. The well-known Belgrade pianist Nada Kolundzija performed it. Canadian violinist Lynn Kuo performed Fantaisie bohémienne with Belgrade pianist Natalija Mladenovic on TRIBINA, XIV International Review of Composers, Belgrade, Serbia. The two performers included the work on a recital in Belgrade at which Miss Kuo also performed Métamorphose I for solo violin. The recital was repeated in Timisoara and Bucharest, Romania. The pianist on these occasions was Valentina Kohonicz from Romania. Canadian Ambassador F.D. Pillarella hosted the Bucharest concert. The final concert of the tour was in Pernik, Bulgaria, where Lynn Kuo performed with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Raitcho Christov, the orchestrated versions of Métamorphose I (Chorale Partita) and Fantaisie bohémienne. Nadja Christov was the pianist for this performance. Lynn Kuo's and Michael Pepa's tour was made possible by the grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Pepa’s last work, Squamish, for violin and electroacoustic sounds (realized by Dennis Patrick), was premiered in June 2006 at the SoundaXis festival in Toronto.

Touring through Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, the Les AMIS Ensemble, under the artistic direction of Michael Pepa, presented an all-Canadian programme to numerous European audiences to great success in April/May of 2007.

The world premiere of Michael Pepa’s Katajjaq, written specifically for the Les AMIS Ensemble (Lynn Kuo, violin; Lori Freedman, clarinet(s); Rachel Mercer, cello; Joseph Macerollo, accordion; Marianna Humetska, piano) to perform on tour, was officially presented at the Music Biennale Zagreb Festival in Croatia. Katajjaq, which means throat-singing in Inuit, is a quintessentially Canadian work, featuring icy depictions of the harsh Canadian North inspired by Michael’s visit to Nunavut.

The tour also featured: MUTATIONS for cello and strings Rachel Mercer with ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA of Bulgaria, conducted by Raitcho Christov (Pernik, Sofia); Squamish Violinist Lynn Kuo (Belgrade); Moldovenesca Lynn Kuo, violin; Lori Freedman, clarinet; Marianna Humetska, piano (Bucharest); Moldovenesca and Fantaisie bohemienne Lynn Kuo, violin and Marianna Humetska, piano (Budapest).

INVOCATION II, commissioned by the CANADIAN SINFONIETTA for cellist Winona Zelenka, was premiered on May 12, 2007 at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. Ms Zelenka has commissioned a new work for cello and percussion from Pepa for her upcoming recording project.

Michael Pepa was born in Romania. He came to Canada with his parents in 1953.