Discovering Musical Gems: Megan Lo and Junia Friesen

April 11, 2026
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Discovering Musical Gems: Megan Lo and Junia Friesen

    

About The Artists

Megan Lo - piano

Megan started playing piano at the age of five. She is currently studying under the tutelage
of Anton Nel and James Anagnoson at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto, Canada on full
scholarship. Megan is an alumni of the The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy in
Toronto where she studied with Lang Ning Liu. She has worked with many distinguished
pianists including John Perry, John O’Conor, Robert Mcdonald, Kevin Kenner, Ronan
O’Hora, Jeremy Denk, and Michelle Cann in masterclasses. She has participated in the
Orford Music Academy with full scholarship.
Following the award of the Grand Prize of the 2022 OMNI Music Competition by The
Orchestre Metropolitain of Montreal, Megan has made her Montreal debut recital at The
Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur in the 2022-2023 season. Megan has also performed at
Koerner Hall and Mazzoleni Hall of the Royal Conservatory of Music, Flato Markham
Theater and PC Ho Theater in Toronto and Gilles-Lefebvre Concert Hall in Quebec.
Megan has been a prize winner in many international piano competitions, the most recent
being the 4th prize winner of the Nashville Chopin International Piano Competition and the
1st prize winner of the Sherer International Piano Competition and the inaugural University
of Louisville International Piano Competition. She was also the 2nd prize winner in the Arte
International Piano Competition and the StayHome Young International Piano Competition.
Her other awards from 2020 to 2024 include 1st Prize in the Canadian Music Competition,
1st Prize in the Piano Competition for Canadian High School by Western University’s Don
Wright Faculty of Music and Gold Medal in Steinway Canada Young Artist Piano
Competition. She was a top 10 finalist in the 2023 Aarhus International Piano Competition.
Other competition credits include the 5th Canadian Chopin Competition, International
e-Piano Junior Competition, Canada International Piano Competition, Seattle International
Piano Competition and Claudette Sorel Piano Competition.

Junia Friesen - violin

Violinist Junia Friesen has developed wide versatility on her instrument, from classical music
to jazz, fiddle tunes, and historically informed baroque performance. She is currently in the
first year of her bachelor's degree in violin performance at The Glenn Gould School on full
scholarship, studying with Erika Raum and Min-Jeong Koh. A previous winner of the Taylor
Academy Concerto Competition, Junia performed Vivaldi’s “Summer” in Koerner Hall with
orchestra. She has played in masterclasses for artists such as James Ehnes, Mihaela
Martin, and Ida Kavafian. Junia served as concertmaster for the Toronto Symphony Youth
Orchestra in 2023-2024, and for the Academy Chamber Orchestra in 2024-2025. She spent
summer 2025 in Germany as a member of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra,
performing in venues including the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. In
her free time, she enjoys drawing, watercolour painting, and spending time in nature.

 

Program

This program features lesser known piano and violin works that are sure to inspire. It explores unique emotional depths and offers wonderful expressiveness

Request Tickets

Tickets to the event are offered without cost. Donations are invited. Charitable tax receipts will be issued for donations over $20. All donations go to support emerging artists and future programming at the Academy.