Laurence Kayaleh, violin

International concert performer, Laurence Kayaleh is an artist of deep musical insight, possessing a rich, singing tone and a natural feeling for style. Ms. Kayaleh’s early career took her to prestigious music centers in the world : Paris, Prague, Brussels, Zurich, Sofia, Bern, Moscow, Modena and Geneva, where she was soloist with such well-known orchestras as Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra, Geneva’s Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the RTBF Symphony Orchestra (Belgium) and the Basel Symphony Orchestra, performing the Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto in B minor.

Having accomplished her artistic training in the Stage Performance Classes of the prestigious Kayaleh Violin Academy in Switzerland (Performer Diploma), she won First Prize with distinction at the Swiss Competition for Young Soloists, and was awarded the Grand Prize by unanimous decision of the Jury at the Stresa International Competition, Italy. At her Paris debut at the Théâtre du Châtelet, the world-renowned critic of Le Figaro, Pierre Petit, described her playing as regal, praising her wonderful sound and her innate sense of phrasing. Following this event, she performed at the Gaveau Hall in Paris, has been a guest of the Lucerne Festival, and played as soloist under such well-known conductors as Pavel Kogan, John Carewe and Hiroshi Wakazugi.

Elizabeth Dolin, cello

Since her Carnegie Recital Hall debut in 1985, Elizabeth Dolin is recognized as one of Canada’s finest cellists, in demand as a recitalist and chamber musician throughout Canada and the United States, and as soloist with major Canadian orchestras under such conductors as Mario Bernardi, Yannick Nezet-Séguin and Simon Streatfield. Referring to her Mendelssohn recording with Bernadene Blaha on the Analekta label, The Strad writes that she “performs these works with technical finesse and just the right level of delicacy that Mendelssohn…demands. Highly recommended” 

A founding member of several highly regarded ensembles (Les Cordes Romantiques, Duo Fouquet-Dolin, Reiner Trio), she has collaborated with such artists as Martin Beaver, Bernadene Blaha, Steven Isserlis and Pinchas Zuckerman. Her regular appearances at Festival of the Sound, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Orford Festival, Chamber Music Kincardine and the Fredericton Chamber Music Festival, among others, have been enthusiastically received. In addition to being an active member of Montreal’s chamber music scene, Ms. Dolin is Assistant Professor of Cello at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University, as well as Professor of Cello at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. She is also on faculty at Domaine Forget.

Mathieu Gaudet, piano

A versatile, passionate musician, Mathieu Gaudet has pursued a remarkable career as a soloist, chamber musician, and conductor for the past twenty years. He commands a vast repertoire of works and has performed across Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia. His concerts and recordings are regularly broadcast on the French and English services of the CBC. Since 2019, Mr. Gaudet has been recording the complete piano music of Franz Schubert on the Analekta label, a project that will include fifteen albums. 

This season Mathieu Gaudet is playing at the Cecilia Concerts series in Halifax, NS, at the DOMS series in Ottawa ON and was at the center of a Schubert festival at the Concerts et rencontres champêtres in Abercorn, QC. He has recently played Schumann piano Concerto with the Saguenay Symphonic Orchestra and Chopin concerto no. 2 with the Kamloops Symphonic Orchestra. Mathieu Gaudet obtained the Master of Music degree from the prestigious Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he studied with Julian Martin, subsequently perfecting his training with Leon Fleisher. In 2007 he graduated Doctor of Music in Performance from the Faculty of Music of Université de Montréal under Paul Stewart.