Kathleen Solose is an accomplished solo pianist,
an experienced chamber musician, and a dedicated teacher. She continues the legacy of her teachers: Adele Marcus,
(The Juilliard School, New York), Dorothy Taubman, Stanislav Neuhaus (Moscow
Conservatory), Guido Agosti (Accademia Chigiana, Siena, Italy) and Carlo Zecchi
(Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome). She received numerous Canada Council
grants for study abroad. Kathleen has performed solo, chamber music and concerti
in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia, Italy, the United States, and
Canada. Prof. Solose has been the founding member of several chamber ensembles,
including the Toronto Kammertrio and Musici Amati. She recorded a solo CD
of Chopin’s first two Piano Sonatas and the Polonaise-Fantaisie in conjunction
with CBC. In the 2005-6 season she performed all five Beethoven Piano Concerti and
the Triple Concerto with the Saskatoon Symphony Chamber Orchestra. Research has
taken her to St. Petersburg, Russia where she was invited to perform a recital at the St.
Petersburg University for Culture and Art. In 2008 the Solose Piano Duo (with Jane
Solose) performed at the American Liszt Society Festival in Washington and at the St.
Petersburg Conservatory International Festival. In April 2010 she performed an all-
Chopin concert commemorating the 200th anniversary of his birth. She is Artistic Director
and pianist of the Elixir Ensemble.
Her students have been successful at local, provincial and national festivals and
competitions. Kathleen Solose is Professor at the University of Saskatchewan where she
teaches both graduate and undergraduate students.
Webpages: http://homepage.usask.ca/~solose/
http://elixirensemble.com
Mr. Victor Sawa
Mr. Victor Sawa brings a powerful combination of talent,
experience and personal dynamism to the podium whenever he conducts. Currently, he is Music Director of the Saskatoon
Symphony, Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and Regina Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he was a former Resident Conductor with
the CPO (1993-1997), and Music Director with the North Bay Symphony, Guelph Youth Orchestra and Kitchener-Waterloo Orchestra.
He also served as Principal Clarinet with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony for many years and has guest-conducted orchestras
across Canada.
Guest appearances all over the world. Countless awards, including the Queen's Jubilee Medal ,three Canada Council Awards
for Conducting; the Kitchener-Waterloo Community Arts Award for Music; a Grand Prix du Disque -- Best Chamber Music
Recording (with the Canadian Chamber Ensemble); a Grammy Award for Best Music Recording (with the New England Ragtime Ensemble);
and Outstanding Musician Award at the Tanglewood Festival.
A native of Montreal, Victor Sawa holds a Bachelor of Music with Distinction from McGill University and an Honours Masters of
Music Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. He is also a graduate of the Pierre Monteux School for Advanced
Conductors in Maine
Kathleen Solose
Mr. Victor Sawa