JOYCE LAI, artistic director and concertmaster

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.