Kishan Chouhan (Winner)
Multi-instrumentalist, conductor, music director and music educator Kishan Chouhan received his B.Mus. in Clarinet Performance from the University of Toronto, and his MA in Music with research in multiple woodwind performance from York University. Notable and accomplished teachers he has studied with include: clarinet with Miles Jaques, David Bourque, Steve Pierre and Peter Stoll, flute with Peg Albrecht, Nina Martini-Dorey and Sara Hahn, oboe with Wendy Bornstein, Monica Fosnaugh and David Sussman.
As a performer, Kishan is in demand for his skills as a proficient woodwind multi instrumentalist, playing piccolo, flute, all clarinets, all saxophones, oboe, English Horn and bassoon with symphony orchestras, wind ensembles, opera companies and most notably, theatre pit orchestras across Toronto and the GTA. He has held orchestral principal positions in orchestras on each of the woodwinds he plays. Kishan has also recorded woodwinds for short films and has film credits in his name. Kishan assistant conducted the Rouge River Winds ensemble in 2015 and assistant music directed the Canadian premiere of “If/Then” the musical in 2018. Kishan was a Musician-in-Residence at the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity in Early Fall 2018 where he had the opportunity to collaborate with up-and-coming Canadian artists, and record plenty of clarinet and bass clarinet on recitals and other songwriters’ tracks.
Kishan will be performing Claude T. Smith’s “Fantasia for Alto Saxophone” at our spring concert, Fantasia.
Brian McAuley (Winner)
An active Trumpeter, composer, and arranger; Brian McAuley is an emerging member of the Toronto music community. Specializing in brass and and symphonic settings, he can be found performing a wide array of genres.
As a cornet/soprano cornet soloist and brass band fanatic, Brian has performed with the Hannaford Street Silver Band, the Weston Silver Band (WSB), the Hannaford Youth Band, and the Oshawa Civic Band. In 2018, he was awarded first place in the Hannaford Rising Stars solo competition performing Philip Sparke’s soprano cornet standard ‘Flowerdale’, following a third place finish the previous year with Harry James’ ‘Concerto for Trumpet’. Shortly after his third place finish in 2017, he received second place in the Hannaford Young Composers Competition with his concert opener ‘Trac 01: Chorale and Dance for Brass Band’ which was subsequently published under Hannaford Brass Music Publishing. Brian has written a new work for brass band titled Ten Fingers which was premiered by the Hannaford Youth Band in April of 2018. Brian has competed at the North American Brass Band Championships twice with the WSB, winning first place in 2017, and second place in 2018. Shortly following, Brian received the 2018 John Van Esterik ‘Bandsmember of the Year Award’ as nominated by his colleagues in the WSB. During the summer of 2017, Brian performed on stage with the WSB in the Belgian production ‘En Evant, Marche’ as part of Toronto’s Luminato Festival.
Outside of brass band, Brian has performed in ensembles including the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Linus Chamber Orchestra, and the York Symphony Orchestra. As a theatre musician, he has held lead trumpet roles in titles including ‘Merrily We Roll Along’, ‘Company’, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, ‘Legally Blonde’, ‘Evita’, and ‘Pirates of Penzance’ in theatres ranging from Toronto to Sudbury. Between 2017-2018, Brian worked closely with the University of Toronto Opera Division performing titles including ‘Don Giovanni’ (Mozart), ‘Of Thee I Sing’ (Gershwin), and ‘Prima Zombie’ (UofT student composer collective) under the batons of maestro Uri Mayer and Sandra Horst. Brian has performed in multiple brass chamber settings both in academia and professionally throughout Toronto, and is a founding member of the Cardinal Brass Trio with Toronto-based musicians Brayden Friesen and Ryan Garbett.
Brian completed his Bachelor of Music in Performance at the University of Toronto and is currently pursuing his Master of Music in Performance at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Anita McAlister. He has performed in solo trumpet masterclass settings with Jens Lindemann, Paul Merkelo, Stephane Beaulac, Paul Duffy, Karen Donnelly, Jeff Connor, Jose Sibaja, James Thompson, Larry Larson, and Norman Engel. Brian worked closely with the Boston Brass in 2017 and the Canadian Brass numerous times during their residency at the University of Toronto between 2013 and 2016. Recently, Brian has taken a special interest in early music performed on Baroque Trumpet and hopes to pursue historical performance opportunities in the future.
Brian will be performing Michael Mikulka’s “Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble” at our winter concert, Transformations.