Solo Competition Winners
Isabel Misquitta-Yip
Winner, 2023-24Isabel Misquitta-Yip is currently completing her bachelor’s degree in music and concurrent education in the studio of Katherine Dowling at York University, having previously studied with acclaimed Canadian concert pianists Michael Berkovsky, Andre Laplante, and Christina Petrowska-Quilico. She has been a featured young artist in concerts at the Orford Music Festival, the Brampton Chamber Music Concert Series, and the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association music festival, and was the first-prize winner of the York University Concerto Competition where she had the opportunity to perform as a soloist with the York University Symphony Orchestra. She is a recipient of the Ron Weinberg Memorial Scholarship, The Spedding Memorial Scholarship, Thomas W. Doherty Prize, and Nancy Scoular Underhill Piano Award, and is the youngest two-time recipient of the Gold Medal from the Royal Conservatory of Music for having twice achieved the highest exam marks in all of Ontario and Quebec. In addition to her solo appearances, Isabel is also an active chamber musician and is regularly featured in various concerts in the Toronto area. A passionate advocate for artistic outreach, Isabel founded the Dynamic Centre for Education, a charity with a mission to provide educational opportunities in the creative arts for youth in marginalized communities. In the 2023-24 season, Isabel will be appearing as soloist with the Rouge River Winds and the York Region Symphony Orchestra. Isabel will be performing Saint-Saens’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22, Mvt. 1 with us at our concert on April 13, 2024.
Christopher Yeung
Winner, 2020-21Christopher Yeung began learning the piano at the age of 4 under the direction of Larisa and Vladimir Niurenberg. Under their tutelage, he has developed into a mature young artist, performing throughout Canada and the United States. Christopher is a recipient of numerous awards, trophies and scholarships from music festivals across Canada. Provincially, he placed 1st in the Ontario Music Festival Association competition in the Open Category, and nationally, he is a three-time first-prize winner of the Canadian Music Competition (’09, ’11, ’13). He made his orchestral debut performing Concerto No. 2 in g minor by Saint-Saens with the Orchestre Symphonique de Sherbrooke at the age of 13, and has also performed with the Oakville Chamber Orchestra, Kindreds Spirits Orchestra, and the Toronto Sinfonietta Orchestra. In 2014, he was honoured with the 2nd prize at The Fourth Canadian Chopin Piano Competition, making his solo debut performance at Koerner Hall in Toronto. Christopher obtained his Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in 2015, achieving First Class Honours with Distinction. Internationally, Christopher has received a Gold Medal, the highest distinction awarded at the International Young Gifted Musicians Festival. He was invited to perform at the AADGT “Passion of Music” Winners Concert, making his Carnegie Hall debut at the young age of 13. In 2013, he was the sole Canadian chosen to participate in the Sberbank International Music Competition in Ukraine, where he collaborated with pianist Denis Matsuev, and as Diploma Winner, performed with the National Symphonic Orchestra of Ukraine. Most recently, he won first-prize at the Ithaca College Concerto Competition in New York and performed Grieg’s Concerto in A Minor with the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra. Aside from classical music, Christopher enjoys playing different types of tunes on the black and white keys, including Gospel music. Additionally, he is heavily involved in sports, including being a committed member of Tennis Canada’s National Bank Open tournament. He also leads a competitive softball team in the summer, while actively playing tennis and swimming in the pool. Christopher will be performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor with us on April 15, 2023.
Gillian Chreptyk
1st Place Winner, 2019-20Gillian Chreptyk is a recent graduate from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music is currently spending her time freelancing and teaching in the GTA. Gillian has been playing the trumpet for 12 years and although it is still early in her career, she has developed into a spirited musician in many genres of performance. For three years Gillian sat in the lead chair position with the Toronto All Star Big Band and has played over 100 private galas, theater shows, and weddings with the group. As an orchestral player, Gillian has played with the Linus Chamber Orchestra, the Summerhill Orchestra, the Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra and in the summer of 2018 Gillian was a member of the National Academy Orchestra under the director Boris Brott in Hamilton, ON. This year she can be found playing with the Weston Silver Band, the Brott Festival Orchestra and many other Toronto-based groups. Gillian will be performing Stephen Gryc’s Evensong as part of our first concert of the season, on Saturday evening, October 26, 2019.
Paolo Rosselli
2nd Place Winner, 2019-20Paolo Rosselli is currently a French Horn performance major at the University of Toronto, and is pursuing a career in the orchestral music. Growing up in Edmonton, Alberta, Paolo has participated in a wide range of ensembles – such as the Edmonton Youth Orchestra, National Youth Band and Paul Kane Concert Band – and local festivals – namely, Alberta Kiwanis Provincial Festival and the Rotary Music Festival St. Albert. Presently, he is an active member of the Toronto music community, playing in the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, as well as the University of Toronto Wind Ensemble and chamber groups. Aside from French Horn performance, Paolo is also completing his RCM Grade 10 in Piano and participates in student government at the Faculty of Music, with the current position of Vice President of Student Life. Paolo will be performing ”The Call and Awakening” from The Glass Bead Game by James Beckel as part of our concert on Saturday evening, April 18, 2020.
Kishan Chouhan
Winner, 2018-19Multi-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.
Brian McAuley
Winner, 2018-19An 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.
Subrina Sookram
Winner, 2017-18Subrina Sookram is an avid flute player and private teacher from Toronto, On. A proud graduate from York University’s Music (B.FA specialized honours) and Education (B.Ed, OCT) programs in 2013, she is currently sits on the executive board of the Canadian Flute Association as their Convention/Membership Coordinator and the board of directors for the Ontario Strings Association. She became a member of Rouge River Winds (then UTSC Community Band) in 2013 and has served on their executive team from January 2016 to present. She is also a Music Teacher in the Toronto Catholic District School Board. Apart from performing and private teaching, Subrina can be found reading, cracking a joke about awkward encounters and learning more about the rest of the flute family (Bass flute and Piccolo). Subrina performed Alfred Reed’s “Divertimento for Flute” at our spring concert, Wind Dances.
Danielle Sum
Winner, 2017-18Danielle Sum is a percussionist who recently completed her fifth year of study at the University of Toronto, in the Concurrent Teacher Education Program. A graduate of the Faculty of Music, she has studied with Beverley Johnston, John Rudolph and Mark Duggan. An avid performer, Danielle has performed as a soloist with the University of Toronto Wind Symphony as a result of winning the Winds Concerto Competition in 2015. She has also appeared as a finalist in the Orchestra Toronto Marta Hidy Competition in 2016. Danielle has performed in masterclasses for She-E Wu, Katarzyna Mycka, and Conrado Moya, and enjoys enhancing her own musical education by attending festivals such as the International Katarzyna Mycka Marimba Academy and the TorQ Percussion Seminar. Her ensemble experience includes performing with the Band of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, Silverthorn Winds, the Etobicoke Philharmonic and Weston Silver Band. Danielle is also passionate about continuing her education and gaining more experience as an artist, including learning about different ethnic percussion instruments and other styles of music such as jazz. She also enjoys teaching private lessons on piano and percussion. When she is not playing music, Danielle enjoys portrait photography. Danielle performed Ney Rosauro’s “Concerto for Marimba” at our spring concert, Wind Dances.
Jessica Tse
1st Place Winner, 2016-17Clarinetist Jessica Tse has been praised for her “fine musicianship” (Thornhill Chamber Music Institute). She is an emerging soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. She is an artist with Prologue for the Performing Arts as a member of Quintroversy, a woodwind quintet dedicated to introducing classical music to young audiences. She looks forward to performing at the McMichael Canadian Art Gallery for family day and at the pre-concert performance for the Toronto Symphony’s family concert, “Lights, Camera… Orchestra!” in February 2017. Passionate about new music, in 2012, Jessica premiered Chan Ka Nin’s Ambiance for solo clarinet at Ford-Crawford Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. In 2010, she performed Lines, the work of Canadian composer Harry Freedman, at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, as the North American musical ambassador chosen by Sing Tao Daily. She has performed with the National Academy Orchestra, FAWN Chamber Creative, Musica Reflecta, and can be heard on recordings for Eighth Note Publications. She has performed recitals for the Lunchtime Chamber Music series at the Yorkminister Baptist Church, the Good Neighbour’s Club for homeless men, Groupmuse, the Live Chamber Music series in Hamilton, and Performing Arts York Region. Jessica is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and Indiana University. She currently attends the University of Toronto where she is pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in clarinet performance. Her teachers include James Campbell, Kimball Sykes, and David Bourque. She also studied historical clarinet with Eric Hoeprich at Indiana University. As a teacher, Jessica has taught at the OrKidstra’s Kidsplayers Band Program, a program for children from economic-priority areas in Ottawa, Ontario, and has taught clarinet lessons through Skype as part of a pilot program between Mpingo Studios, Indiana University, and Kenyatta University (Nairobi, Kenya). She performed Allan Gilliland’s ”Dreaming of the Masters” at our summer concert, Canadiana: Songs in the Key of ”Eh”.
Young-Min Kim
2nd Place Winner, 2016-17Young-Min Kim is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, currently playing horn in the Rouge River Winds as well as the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra, in which he has also played trumpet, trombone and euphonium in previous years. He has performed in numerous tours with TYWO, during which he has played in world-renowned halls such as Carnegie Hall in New York and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. He also serves as a reservist in the Canadian Armed Forces, in which he plays trombone for the navy band at HMCS York in Toronto. In contrast to his active life as a musician, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University and is currently working in Markham as a photonics engineer. In his free time, he enjoys playing golf, watching The Office, and making multi-track recordings featuring himself playing several different instruments. He performed Camille Saint-Saëns’s ”Morceau de Concert” at our spring concert, The Sounds of Spring.