Michael Esch holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from Rice University where his teachers included Robert Roux and Jon Kimura Parker. His other major influences include his first teacher, Rosemary Collins, and coachings with Lazar Berman and Anton Kuerti.
Dr. Esch has been featured in numerous recitals throughout Canada including the Glenn Gould Studio for the CBC, and for the Canadian University Music Society. He has also appeared in concert throughout Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the United States and Germany, as well as various centers in the far east. He has performed with numerous orchestras in Canada, and has collaborated with a number of acclaimed artists including the Belgian violinist Michael Guttman and the eminent violist, Rivka Golani, as well as the Canadian Sinfonietta Chamber Players. The Canadian Composer Robert Rival has composed and dedicated the work 6 pieces for Piano (found in the ARCT and LRCM repertoire lists) for Michael.
Dr. Esch is a featured pianist on the RCME 2015 Piano Syllabus CD set.
Michael has enjoyed grant support from the Chalmers Foundation, and is a multiple grant recipient from the Canada Council for the Arts. A sought after adjudicator in Canada, Michael has adjudicated festivals at the Provincial level for the O.M.F.A., ORMTA, SMFA, NSMFA, PABC, the Canadian Music Competition 50’th Anniversary National Tour and the Glenn Gould School Concerto Competition, the Cresendo International Piano Competitions among many others. He is a senior examiner for RCM examinations and is a regular masterclass clinician for the Taylor Young Artist Performance Academy at the RCM.
A sought after teacher, Dr. Esch’s students have been featured in major GTA recital venues including Koerner Hall, Classical 96.3fm, The Glenn Gould Studio, the University of Toronto Arts and Letters Club, Markham Theatre, as well as Carnegie Recital Hall in NYC. They have been featured in concert with important orchestras Ontario and Europe, and in masterclasses with major artists in prestigious international music festivals such as the Morningside Music Bridge and John O’Conors ‘Beethoven Boot Camp’.
Recent achievements of Dr. Esch’s students include: winner of the CFMTA National Piano Competition, First Prize winners in the Crescendo International Competition, Winner of the ORMTA Young Artist Tour (2),National Gold medal Winner for the RCM Licentiate Diploma, the youngest candidate to have earned the LRCM with Distinction, and as well as Prize Laureates at the Berlin and Boston Intl Amateurs competition.
Dr. Esch has taught at Wilfrid Laurier University and has served on staff at the Glenn Gould School/RCM since 2007. In September of 2010 Michael and his wife opened the Esch Music Academy in Markham Ontario. Michael is a “Top Teacher Award” recipient from Steinway and Sons.
Joyce Lai enjoys a career as a violin soloist and chamber musician. She has been featured as a guest artist with orchestras around the world, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Szeged Symphony Orchestra of Hungary, the Canadian Chamber Academy, and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. Locally, Joyce has been guest soloist with, among others, the Stratford Symphony Orchestra, Etobicoke Philharmonic, Scarborough Philharmonic, as well as the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra. As an avid chamber musician, Joyce performs regularly in chamber settings and has been participated at various festivals including the Clear Lake Chamber Music Festival in Manitoba, the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Festival and the Pender Harbour Chamber Music Festival in B.C. In 2017, Joyce, along with pianist Erika Crino, presented a series of duo recitals featuring all Canadian works in Croatia, Serbia and Italy. These concerts were hosted by the Canadian Embassy in celebration of Canada’s 150th.
Joyce was first violinist in the Riverdale Ensemble, a chamber group that specialized in performing rare and unique works, as well as premiering new Canadian works. The Riverdale Ensemble’s highly praised CD, Twelve by the Moon-dial, was released in 2008. In addition to her performing career, Joyce is also an enthusiastic educator as well as a pianist and has a private studio of violin and piano students ranging from ages 3 to 73. She has taught at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts and the Hong Kong Baptist University, in addition to giving violin clinics in the Ontario area. She is currently the conductor for the Canadian Sinfonietta Youth Orchestra (CSYO) Junior Strings. Joyce holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a Masters of Music Degree and Performer Diploma from the Indiana University.
MARCUS SCHOLTES, VIOLIN
Marcus Willem Scholtes is currently the Associate Concertmaster of Sinfonia Toronto, a Juno-award-winning ensemble. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where he graduated with a Doctor of Music degree in Violin Performance in the studio of renowned pedagogue Mimi Zweig. A multi-talented artist, Marcus is an active soloist on both the violin and piano, at times even performing as a soloist on both instruments on the same concert program. As pianist, he has most recently performed Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto, and has performed solo piano programs in South Korea. As Concertmaster, Marcus has led the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival orchestra in Germany, and has performed and toured much of Europe with this ensemble, including concerts in Spain, Turkey, Poland, Budapest, the Czech Republic, and Denmark. Marcus is also an original member of Aldeburgh Strings based in the UK, which has recently recorded two CDs, both released to critical acclaim in the UK and Germany. Outside of his musical interests, he is a driving and automotive enthusiast.
Toronto violinist and violist, Ian Clarke is a member of the viola section in the Canadian Sinfonietta (CS), in addition to being concertmaster of the York Chamber Ensemble, he is also a frequent guest soloist. Ian was concertmaster of the Matsumoto Symphony Orchestra in Japan from 1998-2000 and still returns several times a year to perform. Ian is an avid chamber musician and in addition to working regularly with members of the CS and other prominent Canadian musicians. Ian enjoys performing in summer festivals and has participated in the Kitchener- Waterloo Chamber Music Festival, the Clear Lake Chamber Music Festival in Manitoba and the Pender Harbour Music Festival in B.C. In addition to his musical career, Ian also holds an engineering degree from the University of Waterloo and is currently Director of the Software Research & Development department at EPSON.
András Weber received his musical training in Budapest, Hungary. His mentor, Janos Starker, has been a major influence in his work. He has been principal cellist with orchestras in Hungary, Mexico City and Canda. Has given concerts in North America, Europe, and Korea. He was the winner of DEBUT in Montreal where The Gazette called him a “generously gifted” musician who plays with a “nicely colored and singing tone.”
Mr. Weber has recorded in Hungary and Canada and plans to release some CD’s: music for cello and organ with his wife Ran Kim, works for harp and cello with the acclaimed Mexican harpist Mercedes Gómez and solo cello works.
Mr. Weber is the founding artistic director of the Toronto series ‘Music Alive!’ and teaches at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He is a member of Sinfonia Toronto and Canadian Sinfonietta chamber orchestras. He has played concertos with many orchestras around the world.
In May 2005 he toured in Hungary, appearing in recitals and chamber music ensembles and giving master classes. Over the summer he played in Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City in chamber music festivals. Mr. Weber plays the 17th century Mariani cello.
Michael Esch holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from Rice University where his teachers included Robert Roux and Jon Kimura Parker. His other major influences include his first teacher, Rosemary Collins, and coachings with Lazar Berman and Anton Kuerti.
Dr. Esch has been featured in numerous recitals throughout Canada including the Glenn Gould Studio for the CBC, and for the Canadian University Music Society. He has also appeared in concert throughout Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the United States and Germany, as well as various centers in the far east. He has performed with numerous orchestras in Canada, and has collaborated with a number of acclaimed artists including the Belgian violinist Michael Guttman and the eminent violist, Rivka Golani, as well as the Canadian Sinfonietta Chamber Players. The Canadian Composer Robert Rival has composed and dedicated the work 6 pieces for Piano (found in the ARCT and LRCM repertoire lists) for Michael.
Dr. Esch is a featured pianist on the RCME 2015 Piano Syllabus CD set.
Michael has enjoyed grant support from the Chalmers Foundation, and is a multiple grant recipient from the Canada Council for the Arts. A sought after adjudicator in Canada, Michael has adjudicated festivals at the Provincial level for the O.M.F.A., ORMTA, SMFA, NSMFA, PABC, the Canadian Music Competition 50’th Anniversary National Tour and the Glenn Gould School Concerto Competition, the Cresendo International Piano Competitions among many others. He is a senior examiner for RCM examinations and is a regular masterclass clinician for the Taylor Young Artist Performance Academy at the RCM.
A sought after teacher, Dr. Esch’s students have been featured in major GTA recital venues including Koerner Hall, Classical 96.3fm, The Glenn Gould Studio, the University of Toronto Arts and Letters Club, Markham Theatre, as well as Carnegie Recital Hall in NYC. They have been featured in concert with important orchestras Ontario and Europe, and in masterclasses with major artists in prestigious international music festivals such as the Morningside Music Bridge and John O’Conors ‘Beethoven Boot Camp’.
Recent achievements of Dr. Esch’s students include: winner of the CFMTA National Piano Competition, First Prize winners in the Crescendo International Competition, Winner of the ORMTA Young Artist Tour (2),National Gold medal Winner for the RCM Licentiate Diploma, the youngest candidate to have earned the LRCM with Distinction, and as well as Prize Laureates at the Berlin and Boston Intl Amateurs competition.
Dr. Esch has taught at Wilfrid Laurier University and has served on staff at the Glenn Gould School/RCM since 2007. In September of 2010 Michael and his wife opened the Esch Music Academy in Markham Ontario. Michael is a “Top Teacher Award” recipient from Steinway and Sons.
MARCUS SCHOLTES, VIOLIN
Marcus Willem Scholtes is currently the Associate Concertmaster of Sinfonia Toronto, a Juno-award-winning ensemble. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where he graduated with a Doctor of Music degree in Violin Performance in the studio of renowned pedagogue Mimi Zweig. A multi-talented artist, Marcus is an active soloist on both the violin and piano, at times even performing as a soloist on both instruments on the same concert program. As pianist, he has most recently performed Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto, and has performed solo piano programs in South Korea. As Concertmaster, Marcus has led the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival orchestra in Germany, and has performed and toured much of Europe with this ensemble, including concerts in Spain, Turkey, Poland, Budapest, the Czech Republic, and Denmark. Marcus is also an original member of Aldeburgh Strings based in the UK, which has recently recorded two CDs, both released to critical acclaim in the UK and Germany. Outside of his musical interests, he is a driving and automotive enthusiast.
Joyce Lai enjoys a career as a violin soloist and chamber musician. She has been featured as a guest artist with orchestras around the world, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Szeged Symphony Orchestra of Hungary, the Canadian Chamber Academy, and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. Locally, Joyce has been guest soloist with, among others, the Stratford Symphony Orchestra, Etobicoke Philharmonic, Scarborough Philharmonic, as well as the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra. As an avid chamber musician, Joyce performs regularly in chamber settings and has been participated at various festivals including the Clear Lake Chamber Music Festival in Manitoba, the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Festival and the Pender Harbour Chamber Music Festival in B.C. In 2017, Joyce, along with pianist Erika Crino, presented a series of duo recitals featuring all Canadian works in Croatia, Serbia and Italy. These concerts were hosted by the Canadian Embassy in celebration of Canada’s 150th.
Joyce was first violinist in the Riverdale Ensemble, a chamber group that specialized in performing rare and unique works, as well as premiering new Canadian works. The Riverdale Ensemble’s highly praised CD, Twelve by the Moon-dial, was released in 2008. In addition to her performing career, Joyce is also an enthusiastic educator as well as a pianist and has a private studio of violin and piano students ranging from ages 3 to 73. She has taught at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts and the Hong Kong Baptist University, in addition to giving violin clinics in the Ontario area. She is currently the conductor for the Canadian Sinfonietta Youth Orchestra (CSYO) Junior Strings. Joyce holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a Masters of Music Degree and Performer Diploma from the Indiana University.
Toronto violinist and violist, Ian Clarke is a member of the viola section in the Canadian Sinfonietta (CS), in addition to being concertmaster of the York Chamber Ensemble, he is also a frequent guest soloist. Ian was concertmaster of the Matsumoto Symphony Orchestra in Japan from 1998-2000 and still returns several times a year to perform. Ian is an avid chamber musician and in addition to working regularly with members of the CS and other prominent Canadian musicians. Ian enjoys performing in summer festivals and has participated in the Kitchener- Waterloo Chamber Music Festival, the Clear Lake Chamber Music Festival in Manitoba and the Pender Harbour Music Festival in B.C. In addition to his musical career, Ian also holds an engineering degree from the University of Waterloo and is currently Director of the Software Research & Development department at EPSON.
András Weber received his musical training in Budapest, Hungary. His mentor, Janos Starker, has been a major influence in his work. He has been principal cellist with orchestras in Hungary, Mexico City and Canda. Has given concerts in North America, Europe, and Korea. He was the winner of DEBUT in Montreal where The Gazette called him a “generously gifted” musician who plays with a “nicely colored and singing tone.”
Mr. Weber has recorded in Hungary and Canada and plans to release some CD’s: music for cello and organ with his wife Ran Kim, works for harp and cello with the acclaimed Mexican harpist Mercedes Gómez and solo cello works.
Mr. Weber is the founding artistic director of the Toronto series ‘Music Alive!’ and teaches at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He is a member of Sinfonia Toronto and Canadian Sinfonietta chamber orchestras. He has played concertos with many orchestras around the world.
In May 2005 he toured in Hungary, appearing in recitals and chamber music ensembles and giving master classes. Over the summer he played in Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City in chamber music festivals. Mr. Weber plays the 17th century Mariani cello.
