Toronto Harpist 2

Applauded by the National Post as “a rare charisma”, this Toronto Harpist has performed across Canada, USA, and in China as a solo, concerto, orchestral and chamber musician. For nine seasons, he performed successfully as Principal Harp under the baton of the late Kerry Stratton, who repeatedly featured him as a soloist performing concertos by Debussy (2014, 2018), Handel (2013, 2018), Mozart (2017) and Ravel (2014). He currently is the Principal Harp of the Toronto City Philharmonic.

Toronto Harpist performance

This Toronto Harpist also performs as Principal Harp with the Brantford Symphony Orchestra since 2008. The highlights of his solo appearances with them include the Harp Concerto by Vancouver’s Juno-Award winning composer Michael Conway Baker in 2018. He was selected by the composer to present the same work in Vancouver as part of the celebration concert for his 86th Birthday in 2022, where he additionally introduced a new work: Three Meditations for solo harp and orchestra, written for him by Constantine Caravassilis.

Enthusiastic to expand the harp’s repertoire, this Toronto Harpist works with composers closely, premiering and advocating new Canadian works. He was invited to present Canadian music in front of an international audience at the World Harp Congress 2017 in Hong Kong, premiering “Three Dances for Ocyrrhoe” by Constantine Caravassilis. Also written for him, Caravassilis’ Illuminatum for Two Harps and Men’s Chorus was premiered in 2012 at the Harps on the Hill Festival. Caravassilis’ latest project, Hiraeth — a four movement Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, has recently been completed.

<3>Toronto Harpist compositions

Triptych, a collection of his original compositions, has been published and sold worldwide by Lyon & Healy Publications (Chicago). Also published after being inspired by the isolation during Christmas 2020, this Toronto Harpist creation and virtual-performances with 3 of his students, “Bells of the Winter Moon” for harp quartet, received significant attention on social media.

As a collaboration with the Town of Richmond Hill, this Toronto Harpist founded the Harps on the Hill Festival to advocate the appreciation of the harp both in its performance and teaching. He is the Artistic Director and principal teacher at the Harps on the Hill School in Markham where he established and conducts the Harp Sinfonia to provide ensemble training for harp students.

Since 2000, this Toronto Harpist enthusiastic pedagogy has inspired many of his students to become winners of various awards, scholarships and auditions to pursue the harp professionally. Acceptances with extensive scholarship packages have been offered to his students by prestigious universities, they include the Cleveland Institute of Music, Colburn School, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, McGill, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Peabody Institute of Music, Temple University, and the University of British Columbia. Other acceptance offers to this Toronto Harpist students have come from the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (through national audition), Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Orchestral Institute (through international audition) and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (through provincial audition).

Harp teachers, schools and organizations have sought his advice on teaching and developing their own harp studios; these have come from around Ontario, Greater Vancouver area of British Columba, cities of Shanghai, Shenzhen and Harbin in China, and others. Striving to strengthen the local community through music, this Toronto Harpist has organized harp workshops in different communities and schools around Ontario since 2005, educating the public of all ages and from all walks of life about the harp.

To enhance and broaden harp students’ horizons, he has held harp maintenance workshops and the monthly Performance Class at the Harps on the Hill School, giving students from beginner to college levels insight into all aspects of harp performance. This Toronto Harpist has organized annual masterclasses by international artists, they included faculty members from renowned institutions like the Juilliard School of New York, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, New York University, Peabody Institute of Music, Yale University, University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, Glen Gould School, and many others.

This Toronto Harpist credits his inspirations from his teachers, they include legendary Alice Chalifoux at the prestigious Salzedo School in Camden Maine USA, renowned Catherine Michel of Paris France, and Elizabeth Volpé Bligh of Vancouver British Columbia where he started playing the harp.

This Toronto Harpist resides in Toronto and during the pandemic, he continued to share his passion in harp pedagogy with students around and beyond Canada on virtual platforms.