Joonghun Cho

Praised by El Comercio as a "pianist with a masterful display of artistry," Joonghun Cho is a dedicated performing artist known for his versatility as a pianist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. He has concertized widely giving performances across South Korea, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Slovakia, the UK, Canada, Japan, and the United States. In addition to solo appearances with orchestras, such as the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo Philharmonia, Brescia Master Orchestra and Flint Symphony Orchestra, Joonghun has given solo recitals at numerous festivals including Gijón International Piano Festival, Yeon-Eum Summer Music Festival, Porto Pianofest and Palmetto International Piano Festival.

Joonghun's passion for collaborative music extends to his flourishing career as a chamber musician. He has performed as a guest artist at festivals such as the Chatter, International Cello Institute, Caledon Music Festival and Happenstancers. His chamber playing has been praised for "phenomenal syncopations and musical sensitivity" (Journal of the Society for American Music) on his recent CD release of works by William Horne by the Blue Griffin label.

A prizewinner at numerous competitions, including the Vienna Music Competition, William C. Byrd Competition, the USASU International Piano Competition and the Glasgow International Piano Competition, Joonghun earned his Bachelor of Music at the Eastman School of Music and his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Michigan. Based in Toronto, Canada, he currently serves as Artistic Director of the Gibson Classical Concert Series.

Luri Lee

Luri Lee has been deemed "the perfect chamber music partner" (Bachtrack) whose playing is "spotlessly clean and with never a routine phrase" (The Calgary Herald). Appearing as soloist with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Lee has performed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia as a soloist and chamber musician.

As a founding member of the Rolston String Quartet, she received Chamber Music America's prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, First Prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition, and Grand Prize at the 31st Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition and the Astral Artists National Auditions.
The quartet are associated artists at the Queen Elizabeth Music Chapel, and completed a two-year term as the Yale School of Music's fellowship quartet-in-residence in spring 2019. Previously, they were the graduate quartet-in-residence at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. Keeping in the teaching tradition, they have taught at the Yale School of Music, the University of Toronto, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival among others. Their début album, Souvenirs, an all-Tchaikovsky recording released in 2020, was named Recording of the Year by BBC Music Magazine. The quartet has performed at some of the most prestigious concert venues on the globe, including Carnegie Hall, the Louvre, the Kennedy Center, Koerner Hall, and Wigmore Hall.

Her diverse chamber music career has led to collaborations with many world-renowned artists such as Paul Neubauer, Yura Lee, Gary Hoffman, Cho-Liang Lin, Miguel da Silva, and Jon Kimura Parker. Lee holds degrees from the University of Toronto, Glenn Gould School, Peabody Conservatory, and Rice University.
Lee recently joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2022, and has been appointed Assistant Principal Second Violin in 2023.
She plays on a Carlo Tononi violin, generously on loan from Shauna Rolston Shaw.
During her spare time, Lee loves to travel with her husband, violist Hezekiah Leung, exploring and finding hidden food gems.

Hezekiah Leung

Praised for his "lovely lyricism" by The Calgary Herald, and hailed for his "intelligent and
diverse treatment of vibrato... tailored to the individual personality of any given theme or
moment" by Chicago Classical Review, Hezekiah Leung has been featured as a performer
throughout North America and Europe, both as a soloist and as the founding violist of the
Rolston String Quartet, winner of the First Prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet
Competition.

Leung has shared the concert stage with renowned artists such as Tabea Zimmermann, Leif Ove
Andsnes, Gilbert Kalish, Jon Kimura Parker, Miguel da Silva, James Dunham, Paul Neubauer,
Yura Lee, Donald Palma, Joel Quarrington, Andrés Díaz, Gary Hoffman, Sheku Kanneh-Mason,
Cho-Liang Lin, Tara Helen O'Connor, David Shifrin, Sharon Kam, and James Campbell.

As a founding member of the Rolston String Quartet, he was also awarded Grand Prize at the
31st Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition and the Astral Artists National Auditions. The
quartet has performed at some of the world's most prestigious concert venues, including
Carnegie Hall, the Louvre, the Kennedy Center, Koerner Hall, and Wigmore Hall. Their debut
album Souvenirs, an all-Tchaikovsky release in 2020, was named Recording of the Year by BBC
Music Magazine.

Leung served as the violist of the Dover Quartet during the 2022–2023 season and has held
faculty positions at both the Curtis Institute of Music and the Bienen School of Music at
Northwestern University. He is currently a member of the viola faculty at the University of
Toronto and a Chamber Music Coach at the Phil and Eli Taylor Academy of the Royal
Conservatory of Music. Following his recent appointment, Leung will join the viola section of
the Toronto Symphony Orchestra this fall.

Joseph Johnson

Joseph Johnson has been heard throughout the world as a soloist, chamber musician and educator. His festival appearances include performances in all classical genres at the American festivals of Santa Fe, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Bard, Cactus Pear, Grand Teton, and Music in the Vineyards as well as the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and the Virtuosi Festival in Brazil.

Highlights of Joseph Johnson's 2023/2024 season include concerto performances of the Brahms Double Concerto with Symphony Nova Scotia, CPE Bach Concerto in a minor at U of T, Strauss Don Quixote with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Beethoven Triple Concerto with Jonathan Crow and Jan Lisiecki with the Toronto Symphony. Recent recital and chamber music appearances include performances at the Faculty of Music Walter Hall series at the University of Toronto, the Chatter series in Albuquerque, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, as well as the Shostakovich Cello Concerto with the Niagara Symphony.

A champion of new Music, Joseph has played the Canadian Premiere of the Unsuk Chin Cello Concerto with the Esprit Orchestra, Canadian Premiere of the Miguel del Aguila Cello Concerto with the Toronto Symphony and Edmonton Symphony, North American Premiere of the Peter Oetvos Cello Concerto with the Toronto Symphony, and the Marc-Andre Dalbavie Cello Concerto with the Esprit Orchestra.

Principal cellist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since the 2009/2010 season, Mr. Johnson previously held the same position with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as Principal Cellist of the Santa Fe Opera, and during the 2008-2009 season, was acting Principal Cellist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Johnson has also performed as guest Principal Cellist with the San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Trondheim Symphony. Prior to his Milwaukee appointment, Joseph Johnson was a member of The Minnesota Orchestra cello section for eleven years. He was a founding member of both the Prospect Park Players and the Minneapolis Quartet, the latter of which was honoured with The McKnight Foundation Award in 2005.

A gifted and inspiring teacher, Mr. Johnson is the newly appointed Associate Professor of Cello at the Eastman School of Music. He previously held the position of Associate Professor of Cello at the University of Toronto. Mr. Johnson was the cello coach for the Toronto Youth Symphony for ten years, and is a regular coach and teacher at the New World Symphony in Miami. He has conducted numerous master classes for a wide range of institutions and ensembles, including The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Northwestern University, the youth orchestras of the Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Chicago, Madison, and Toronto symphonies, as well as The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Joseph Johnson earned his Master's degree from Northwestern University. Awards and honours include a performer's certificate from the Eastman School of Music and first prize from the American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition.

Mr. Johnson performs on a magnificent J.B. Vuillaume cello crafted in 1840.