releases April 14, 2023

Japanese-Canadian pianist Yoko Hirota is a specialist of Schoenberg’s music and a recognized performer of contemporary piano repertoire. Ms. Hirota received her doctorate in performance from Louis-Philippe Pelletier at McGill University. Grants from the Canada Council for the Arts have enabled her to study in Europe with Gabor Eckhardt in Hungary, Herbert Henck in Germany and Florent Boffard in France. She has also participated in two editions of Manifest at IRCAM in Paris. Ms. Hirota is a strong advocate of Canadian contemporary music and has performed in recital on several occasions in Canada at festivals and with contemporary music organizations.

The First-Prize Winner of the 32nd CBC/Radio-Canada National Competition for Young Performers, flautist Stephen Tam is a faculty member at both the University of Toronto and at Western University.

As a freelance clarinetist, Anthony Thompson performs with many Toronto-based ensembles. Anthony has a deep passion for contemporary music, performing regularly with many of Canada's premier new music ensembles.

A champion of new music, oboist Ron Cohen Mann is a graduate of the prestigious Artist Diploma program at the Yale School of Music. Ron was a prizewinner at the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Manulife Competition, and the winner of the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition and Ben Steinberg Musical Legacy Award. He has served as guest principal oboe with the Esprit Orchestra.

Bassoonist Kevin Harris has been a prodigious chamber musician for many years, performing with a variety of groups in venues all over the Toronto area. Kevin completed his post-secondary music studies at The Glenn Gould School.

Composer Robert Lemay has composed numerous works and received many international awards. His music is mainly inspired by poetry, literature, cinema, visual arts, politics, social events and includes two series of tributes; one to filmmakers and another to abstract painters. Wind instruments play a predominant role in his work.

His music has been performed in over 30 countries: Canada, the United States, Asia, Europe, South America, Israel, Mexico and Australia. Several of his pieces have been broadcast on radio in Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Austria and Australia. Twenty-six of his works are featured on 21 different CDs in Canada, Europe and the United States.