Our Faculty
We have a first rate faculty coming from Canada, The United States, Mexico, and Europe. With a very low student to teacher ratio of about 6/1 we are able to offer a more immersive and personalized experience for each participant..
All our faculty members are approachable and accessible. We encourage interaction among students & teachers, as everybody breaks bread together in the Festival House.
2023 Faculty
Jeremy Bell
Violin
A native of Toronto, violinist Jeremy Bell earned a B. Mus degree from the University of Toronto, and from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he received his Masters and Doctor of Music. Dr. Bell is a recipient of numerous grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts and is a prize winner of the Eckhardt Grammatté National competition and the Conseil Québécois’ Prix Opus. He has studied with David Zafer, George Neikrug, Joyce Robbins, Metro Kozak and with members of the Orford, Juilliard, Tokyo, and Orion string quartets. Joining the Penderecki String Quartet in 1999, Dr. Bell is Artist in Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University where he teaches violin and chamber music. Described by the Toronto Star as a violinist who “agitates in the most intelligent and persuasive manner”, Bell has performed recently with the Penderecki Quartet at Arsenale Festival in Poland, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Is Arti Festival in Lithuania, MBZ Zagreb, State Museum of Music in St. Petersburg, REDCAT/Disney Centre in Los Angeles, Roxy/NOD in Prague, Fundación Juan March in Madrid, Jane Mallet Theatre in Toronto, Paris University 8, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Indiana University in Bloomington, Casalmaggiore Festival in Italy, Tovar Festival Venezuela, Virtuosi Festival Brazil, Adam Festival New Zealand, the Hong Kong Academy, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, the Banff Centre in Alberta, and the Chan Centre in Vancouver. With the Penderecki String Quartet, Bell has recorded over 25 discs including the premiere Canadian recording of the Béla Bartók string quartet cycle and Marjan Mozetich’s ‘Lament in the Trampled Garden’ (winner of the 2010 JUNO Award for composition). From 2000-2007, Bell was the artistic director of NUMUS Concerts where he created several multi-media events at the Perimeter Institute and with Dancetheatre David Earle. He has performed a wide range of music, performing baroque with Consortium Aurora Borealis and Les Violons du Roy, Cuban jazz with Hilario Duran, as well as collaborating with pipa virtuoso Ching Wong, NYC’s DJ Spooky, and rap star Jay-Z. In addition, Bell has performed as soloist with many orchestras in Canada, USA and Mexico, including the Toronto Symphony, the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, performing concertos of Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Hatzis, Locatelli, Lutoslawski, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Päart, Prokofiev, Saint-Saens, and Schoenberg. As guest concertmaster he has appeared with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the New Zealand National Symphony, and the Canadian Opera Company. Dr. Bell plays an A.S. Bernadel violin (1854).
http://jeremybell.ca
Grigory Kalinovsky
Violin
Hailed by critics as a “superior poet” (Vancouver Sun) and praised for his “heart and indomitable will” (Gramophone), Grigory Kalinovsky has performed at some of the world’s major venues, from all three stages of Carnegie Hall in New York to Musikhalle Grosser Saal in Hamburg. As a recitalist and avid chamber musician, he has appeared at numerous concert series and festivals, including the Asheville Chamber Music Series, Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York, Lucas Foss’s Festival at the Hamptons, Newport Music Festival, and Pavel Vernikov's festival, “Il Violino Magico” in Italy, collaborating with such renowned musicians as Pinchas Zukerman, Shmuel Ashkeniasi, Ralph Kirshbaum, Miriam Fried, James Buswell, Dora Schwarzberg, and Paul Coletti, among others.
A devoted educator, Prof. Kalinovsky joined the Jacobs School of Music faculty in the fall of 2013 and continues to teach at the Heifetz International Music Institute and IU Summer String Academy. Previously a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music, he has taught at many summer music festivals, including Pinchas Zukerman’s Young Artists Program in Canada, Keshet Eilon Mastercourse in Israel, Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine, Soesterberg International Music Festival in Holland, Summit Music Festival in New York, “Il Violino Magico” in Italy, and Manhattan in the Mountains, where he was also one of the founding artistic directors.
He has presented master classes at many major U.S. festivals and music schools, including New England Conservatory, the Colburn School, Meadowmount, University of Maryland, San Francisco Conservatory, and Seattle Conservatory, and at numerous European and Asian institutions, such as the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Buchmann-Mehta Scool of Music and Jerusalem Music Center in Israel, Lübeck Academy of Music in Germany, Beijing Central Conservatory in China, Seoul National University and Korea National University of Arts in Seoul.
Prof. Kalinovsky’s students have won top prizes at national and international competitions, including the Tibor Varga Youth Competition, Menuhin Young Artists Competition in England, Andrea Postacchini Young Violinists Competition in Italy, and Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition in Chicago, and have gone on to study at institutions such as Curtis, Colburn, Juilliard, Yale, New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, and Indiana University, among others.
His recording with pianist Tatiana Goncharova featuring Shostakovich’s Violin Sonata and Twenty-Four Preludes transcribed for Violin and Piano by Dmitri Tziganov –with several of the transcriptions commissioned by Kalinovsky from the celebrated composer Lera Auerbach – was released by Centaur Records to great critical acclaim and hailed by the composer's son, conductor Maxim Shostakovich, as “a must-have for any Shostakovich music connoisseur.” The duo’s recording of the complete set of sonatas for violin and piano by Mieczysław Weinberg was recently released on Naxos label in 2017.
Kalinovsky started his music education with Tatiana Liberova in his native St. Petersburg, Russia. After coming to New York, he continued his studies with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec at the Manhattan School of Music, where he served as a faculty member shortly after graduating and until his move to Indiana University.
Christopher Wilshere
Violin
Canadian violinist Christopher Wilshere enjoys a varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral leader, teacher, and entrepreneur. As a violinist and chamber musician, he has collaborated with and performed alongside esteemed artists such as Julian Rachlin, Anton Kuerti, Susan Hoeppner, David Fung, Benjamin Bowman, Manuel Delaflor, and The Gryphon Trio to name a few. Christopher has performed many recitals and led orchestras throughout Mexico and Canada, and at times soloing with them along the way, including solo performances with the Jalisco Philharmonic, Toronto Concert Orchestra, Sinaloa de las Artes, Zapopan Cameratta, the University Orchestra of Querétaro, OSIJUG and recently the Barber Violin Concerto with the Orquesta Sinfónica de la UAEH. He’s participated in summer chamber music festivals across Canada, Europe and Mexico including appearances at Ottawa Chamberfest, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, Festival Centro Histórico in Mexico City, Festival de Febrero, Festival del Lago in Ajijic and Festival Internacional de Música Nueva in Querétaro. Christopher is also known for his orchestral leadership and has acted as concertmaster for the Jalisco Philharmonic, the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, the Ontario Philharmonic, and Sinaloa de las Artes.
As a professor, Mr. Wilshere has maintained a full studio of 15-20 students for over a dozen years in his adopted city of Guadalajara, and has become recognized as one of the most important teachers and musicians in the country with students often traveling long distances to take classes. His students continually attain the top marks at their respective universities, receive scholarships to American, Mexican and European universities, are invited to international festivals in Canada and the United States and have won many orchestral jobs throughout Mexico. He is the founder of “Guadalajara Virtuosi”, made up entirely of his current and past students, is quickly becoming recognized as one of the foremost ensembles in the country. In Canada, he is a regular guest faculty at the University of Toronto.
As an entrepreneur, Mr. Wilshere founded and is artistic director of Festival de Febrero. Now in its 19th season, it has become recognized as one of the most prestigious, successful and self-sustaining classical music festivals in North America with some of the worlds finest performers attending the 2 week winter festival. Christopher’s latest project has been a summer music academy called Festival del Lago. A two week intensive summer academy now having finished its 4th season has attracted a first rate faculty and students from all over the world who attend schools and institutions such as the Royal Academy of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Indiana University and the Juilliard School. He’s also worked closely, and on many occasions, with the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City over the years, being himself a featured soloist, but also producing concerts for them.
As one of the youngest recipients in history, Christopher was presented with one of Canada’s highest honors, a Governor Generals award from Michaëlle Jean for his musical accomplishments abroad, declaring him “one of Canada’s proudest exports”. Christopher currently lives in Guadalajara, Mexico where he is happy to call home. He holds a bachelor's degree in music performance from the University of Toronto.
Luke Fleming
Viola
Praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for his “glowing refinement,” violist Luke Fleming‘s performances have been described by The Strad as “confident and expressive…playing with uncanny precision,” and lauded by Gramophone for their “superlative technical and artistic execution.” Strings Magazine said of a recent performance by Mr. Fleming: “With tender lyrical lines, the viola’s richness suited the music wonderfully…I wished I could put [him] on repeat.” Festival appearances include the Marlboro Music School and Festival, the Steans Institute at Ravinia, Perlman Music Program, the Norfolk and Great Lakes Chamber Music Festivals, the Melbourne Festival, Bravo!Vail, Festival Mozaic, and the Virginia Arts Festival, as well as concerts and residencies across North and South America, Europe, and Asia.
From 2009 – 2015, Mr. Fleming was violist of the internationally acclaimed Attacca Quartet, with whom he served as Quartet-in-Residence for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Graduate Resident String Quartet at the Juilliard School. Mr. Fleming was also awarded First Prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and top prizes at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, as well as the National Federation of Music Clubs Centennial Chamber Music Award. In 2015, Mr. Fleming became the Founding Artistic Director of both the Manhattan Chamber Players, a New York-based chamber music collective, and the Crescent City Chamber Music Festival, a mission/outreach-centric festival held every summer in his hometown, New Orleans.
Mr. Fleming has been featured on a Live from Marlboro CD release on the Archiv Music label, and his recordings with the Attacca Quartet on Azica Records were released to widespread critical acclaim. He has performed as a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Sejong Soloists, Ensemble Connect, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York Classical Players, and the Serafin and Canterbury String Quartets, and has given masterclasses at UCLA, Louisiana State University, Ithaca College, Syracuse University, Melbourne University, and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, among others.
He has served on the faculties of the Innsbrook Institute, Renova Music Festival and Houston ChamberFest, and Fei Tian College, writes frequently for Strings Magazine, and is currently Director of Outreach Activities at Louisiana State University’s School of Music and Dramatic Arts and Lecturer-in-Residence for Project: Music Heals Us. Mr. Fleming holds the degrees of Doctor of Musical Arts, Artist Diploma, and Master of Music from the Juilliard School, a Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music in London, and a Bachelor of Music summa cum laude from Louisiana State University. He is represented by Arts Global, Inc. lukefleming.com
Juan Miguel Hernández
Viola
An artist defined by the critics as "…tender, lyrical, loaded with personality" (Atlanta Journal Constitution, Pierre Ruhe). In September 2009, Juan-Miguel won the first Prize at the 16th International Johannes Brahms Competition, for which he is delighted to join as a juror for the 2017 edition, in Austria, adding to other top prizes won at the National Canadian Music Competition, and the 9th National Sphinx Competition in 2006, presented by JPMorgan Chase. As a featured guest soloist, Juan-Miguel has appeared with the Atlanta, Seattle, Colorado Symphonies, as well as the Rochester Philharmonic and the Chicago Sinfonietta. Performances in recent seasons have brought Juan-Miguel on tour throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, South America, Canada and the United States. In 2010, he was honored with the medal of the National Assembly of Quebec.
Juan-Miguel has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell, Kim Kashkashian, Gérard Caussé, Nicolas Dautricourt, Misha Dichter, the Weilerstein trio as well as Jazz living legends Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Stanley Clark and Paquito D’Rivera. Recent festival and program appearances as guest artist and teacher include the Festival Pablo Casal (Prades, France), the Festival Des Arcs (France), the Amalfi Coast Music Festival (Italy), Orford Academy (Canada), Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (South Africa), the Salzburg Festival, the Brevard Summer Institute, the Mozaic Festival, Festicamara (Colombia), Montreal Jazz & Panama Jazz Festivals and Musica Mundi International Festival (Belgium).
A dedicated chamber musician, Juan-Miguel is the newest member of the legendary Fine Arts Quartet and a founding member of the Harlem Quartet with whom he performed from 2006 to 2012. Juan-Miguel is also a founder and member of the "Trio Virado" (Flute, Viola, Guitar) as well as the "Boreal Trio” (Clarinet, Viola, Piano), both specializing in the creation of new repertoire. From 2005 to 2010, he was also an active member of the I Palpiti orchestra, a cast of international laureates forming a world class string orchestra based in Los Angeles. The 2017 summer season saw his return with the I Palpiti orchestra, this time as soloist, performing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in Disney Hall (Los Angeles), and the Mozarteum's Solitaire Hall (Salzburg).
On radio airwaves and television broadcasts, Juan-Miguel has been heard and seen on nationally-syndicated programs throughout Canada, and the United States. His discography includes four quartet CDs, released on the Naxos, Cedille records, the White Pine and Navona labels as well as multiple collaborations on various other labels including with artists like Chick Corea and Gary Burton as well as Norah Jones. Fall of 2015 saw the release of Trio Virado’s debut album, “Mangabeira”, featuring music by Piazzolla, Leo Brouwer and original music by Sergio Assad.
His strong commitment to educate and engage new audiences all around the globe have brought him to reach young musicians and various communities through art convoys in South Africa and Venezuela, various music festivals in South America and outreach projects in Europe and North America. In the Fall of 2016 Juan-Miguel was appointed to the faculty of the prestigious Royal Academy of Music (London) as Professor of Viola.
Juan-Miguel Hernandez was born in Montreal, Canada in 1985 and began studying the violin at age seven, then switched to viola at age twelve under the tutelage of Jean McRae. He received his Bachelor degree from the Colburn Conservatory in 2010 studying with Paul Coletti and Graduate Diploma in the Professional String Quartet program in 2012 with Paul Katz at the New England Conservatory, working privately with Kim Kashkashian and Dimitri Murrath. He also worked before Pinchas Zukerman, Roberto Diaz, Paul Neubauer, Karen Tuttle, Steven Dann, James Dunham, Barbara Westphal and Robert Vernon.
Juan-Miguel plays a beautiful 2008 Miralles viola from Altadena CA.
www.jmhernandez.com
Noémie-Raymond-Friset
Cello
Noémie Raymond-Friset has been called one of the most promising Canadian cellists of her generation, known for her refined and sensitive playing. In recognition of her artistry, she was named by CBC Music as one of the “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30.” She was also one of the top prizewinners at the Edwin H. and Leigh W. Schadt String International Competition, the Stepping Stone Competition and the WAMSO Young Artist Competition. At the Prix d’Europe 2014 and 2017, she was awarded the Beatrice Kennedy-Bourbeau Award (Best Interpretation of a Work) and Guy-Soucie Award (Best Interpretation of a Canadian Work). Previously, Ms. Raymond-Friset was awarded the First Prize at the “Grand Prize Virtuoso” of England and debuted at the famous Royal Albert Hall of London in December 2016. In addition, Ms. Raymond-Friset has been awarded a professional development grant by the Canada Council for the Arts and was a laureate of the 2015 edition of the Musical Instrument Bank Competition. Ms. Raymond-Friset took part in the XVIII Chamber Music Festival in Lima (Peru) and was previously invited by the Musical Corporation of Viña del Mar to perform in La Calera (Chile) as part of an introductory program to classical music for young students. In Canada, her appearances include recitals at the Lanaudière International Music Festival, the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Les Concerts de la Chapelle and the Orford International Music Festival. In June 2016, she recorded the Prokofiev Cello Sonata for CBC (Radio-Canada) with pianist Lysandre Ménard and was heard soon after on ICI Musique and CBC Radio. As a soloist, she was invited to perform with the National Arts Center Orchestra, the Francophonie Orchestra, the Longueuil Symphony Orchestra, the Mansfield Orchestra, the Carlos Costa Chamber Orchestra, the Agora Symphony Orchestra, the Montérégie Youth Orchestra and the Montreal Conservatory of Music Orchestra with whom she performed a cello arrangement of Sarasate’s famous violin piece Zigeunerweisen. She was also invited to play the solo cello part in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins and Cello with Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Center Orchestra, the maestro himself playing the first violin. Ms. Raymond-Friset had the chance to work with many internationally renowned cellists. In 2014, Noémie performed in a master class led by Yo-Yo Ma at Claude-Champagne Hall in front of an audience of more than 1000 people, a performance that was warmly acclaimed by the public and described as a “beautiful and sensitive performance” – The Scena Musicale. She also worked with Lynn Harell, Philippe Müller, Ralph Kirshbaum, Garry Hoffman, Johannes Moser, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Richard Aaron, Raphael Wallfish, Andreas Diaz, Paul Katz, Michel Strauss, Colin Carr and Laurence Lesser. Comfortable under the spotlight, Noémie acted as Ambassador of the New England Conservatory at the Amsterdam Cello Biennale Festival in 2014 and has served as an Ambassador for the Orford International Academy between 2015 and 2017. Ms. Raymond-Friset is also an accomplished and experienced educator. Currently Steve Doane’s Teaching Assistant at the Eastman School of Music, she is pursuing her Doctorate of Musical Arts and has previously earned a Graduate Diploma and Master’s Degree from the New England Conservatory and the University of Montreal, respectively. During her studies at the New England Conservatory, she was awarded one of the coveted Community Performances and Partnerships Program Fellowship, for which she presented recitals throughout the city of Boston and its surrounding areas to promote classical music in the community.
Tony Rymer
Cello
Cellist Tony Rymer has performed major concerti to critical acclaim with the Atlanta Symphony, Boston Pops, Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, and Pittsburgh Symphony, among others. He was the first prize winner in the Washington International Competition and the Sphinx Competition Senior Division, Second Prize Winner in the Enescu Competition, and took third place in the Stulberg International String Competition. A native of Boston, Tony began playing cello at age five, attended the Walnut Hill Arts School, was a Project STEP scholarship student from 1996-2007, and was awarded the prestigious Kravitz scholarship in 2007. One of the first recipients of the Jack Kent Cooke Award on the NPR national radio show From the Top, he has also been heard as soloist on WGBH Boston, WCLV Cleveland, and NPR's Performance Today. He received a scholarship from the DAAD to study in Berlin. An avid chamber musician, Tony has performed at many festivals and concert series throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Most recently he has performed at the Marlboro Music Festival, Krzyzowa Music, Eufonia Music Festival, Perlman Music Program, Bard Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, and Incontri Musicali. Tony has performed chamber music with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Midori, Ani Kavafian, Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, Paul Katz, Martin Helmchen, Dénes Várjon, and members of the Guarneri, Takacs, Juilliard, and Cleveland Quartets. Tony has worked privately with Yo-Yo Ma and performed in master classes with Anner Bylsma, Gary Hoffman, Steven Isserlis, and Pieter Wispelwey. He completed his BM and MM at the New England Conservatory where he studied with Paul Katz and Laurence Lesser while holding the Laurence Lesser Presidential Scholarship. Tony then received a Masters of Music, with highest marks, as a student of Frans Helmerson at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin.
Past Faculty
Paul Wiancko
Cello
Paul Wiancko has led an exceptionally multifaceted musical life as a composer and cellist. As a performer, Paul has shared the stage with Midori, Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Goode, Mitsuko Uchida, Nico Muhly, and members of the Guarneri, Takács, JACK, Parker, Orion, Kronos, Pro Arte, and Juilliard quartets. Chosen as one of Kronos Quartet’s “50 for the Future”, Paul’s own compositions have been described as “dazzling” and “compelling” (Star Tribune) as well as “vital pieces that avoid the predictable” (Allan Kozinn). His quartet LIFT “teems with understanding of and affection for the string-quartet tradition” (New York Times) and is featured on the Aizuri Quartet’s Grammy-nominated album Blueprinting, one of NPR’s top 10 classical albums of 2018. As a college student, Paul was simultaneously winning international cello competitions (which led him, most notably, to Poland to perform the Lutoslawski Cello Concerto with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra) and recording strings for local punk bands in his dorm room. That duality is embedded in Paul's artistic DNA, and over the years has resulted in close collaborations with a wide range of artists, from Chick Corea, Etta James, Norah Jones, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and Max Richter, to members of Arcade Fire, The National, Blonde Redhead, Dirty Projectors, Wye Oak, and many others. An avid chamber musician, Paul’s performances with Musicians From Marlboro have been described as "utterly transparent" and "so full of earthy vitality and sheer sensual pleasure that it made you happy to be alive" (Washington Post). In 2009, he joined the award-winning Harlem Quartet, with whom he spent 3 years performing and teaching extensively throughout the US, Europe, South America, and Africa. Paul currently writes and performs as a member of the viola and cello duo Ayane & Paul and appears regularly with the International Contemporary Ensemble and American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME). Winner of the S&R Foundation's Washington Award for Composition, Paul has been composer-in-residence at the Caramoor, Spoleto USA, Angel Fire, Twickenham, Newburyport, Portland, and Methow Valley Festivals. Recent commissions include works for the Aizuri, Parker, St. Lawrence, Kronos, Eybler, Calder, and Attacca Quartets, yMusic, Alexi Kenney, Tessa Lark, David Byrd-Marrow, and the Raleigh Civic Symphony. NPR writes, “If Haydn were alive to write a string quartet today, it may sound something like Paul Wiancko's LIFT.” Paul Wiancko performs on a 2010 Mario Miralles violoncello and lives in New York. He is passionate about woodworking and hiking, and never travels without a tenkara fly-fishing rod. Paul Wiancko composer & cellist www.paulwiancko.com