Jan Lisiecki’s interpretations and technique speak to a maturity beyond his age. At 29, the Canadian looks back on a career encompassing a decade and a half on the world’s greatest stages, on which he performs more than a hundred concerts a year.

Lisiecki works closely with the most eminent conductors and orchestras of our time. Last season saw his début with the Berlin Philharmonic as well as a recital in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium. He also performed at Vienna Musikverein’s Goldener Saal, with Bamberg Symphony and Manfred Honeck, and began a cycle of all five Prokofiev concertos, which he will complete this season.

In June 2023, he concluded a season as Artist in Residence both at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie and at Cologne Philharmonie. The recital program with which he concluded the Elbphilharmonie residency was celebrated in more than 50 cities around the globe, including at Konzerthaus Vienna’s Main Hall, Chicago’s Symphony Center, La Scala in Milan, and Seoul Arts Center, and in São Paulo.

Recent return invitations include the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and Staatskapelle Dresden. Lisiecki is a fixture at major summer festivals across Europe and North America, has performed at the Salzburg Festival, and made his third appearance at the BBC Proms in July 2023.

Jan Lisiecki was offered an exclusive recording contract by Deutsche Grammophon at the age of 15. Since then, he has recorded nine albums, which have received a JUNO Award, ECHO Klassik, Gramophone Critics’ Choice, Diapason d’Or, and Edison Klassiek.

At 18, he received both the Leonard Bernstein Award and Gramophone’s Young Artist Award, becoming the youngest-ever recipient of the latter. He was named UNICEF Canada Ambassador in 2012.

One of Canada’s brightest talents, violinist Jonathan Crow exudes “masterful coolness” (Montreal Gazette) as Concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. A native of Prince George, British Columbia, Crow earned his Bachelor of Music degree in performance honours from McGill University in 1998, at which time he joined the Montreal Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Second Violin. Between 2002 and 2006, Crow was the Concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, becoming the youngest concertmaster of a major North American orchestra. Crow continues to perform as guest concertmaster with orchestras around the world, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia de Lanaudière, and Pernambuco Festival Orchestra (Brazil). 

Crow has performed as a soloist with most major Canadian orchestras including the Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, the National Arts Centre and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestras, the Victoria and Kingston Symphonies, and Orchestra London, under the baton of such conductors as Charles Dutoit, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Andrew Davis, Peter Oundjian, Gustavo Gimeno, Kent Nagano, Mario Bernardi, and João Carlos Martins. 

An avid chamber musician, Crow has performed at many chamber music festivals in Europe and North America and is the Artistic Director of Toronto Summer Music. He is a founding member of the JUNO Award–winning New Orford String Quartet, a new project-based ensemble dedicated to the promotion of standard and Canadian string quartet repertoire. Crow is currently Associate Professor of Violin at the University of Toronto.

Principal Cello of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since the 2009/10 season, Joseph Johnson previously held the same position with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as Principal Cellist of the Santa Fe Opera, and, during the 2008/09 season, was acting Principal Cellist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. Johnson has performed as Guest Principal Cellist with the Detroit Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony for their Carnegie Hall/Europe Tour last spring. Prior to his Milwaukee appointment, Johnson was a member of the Minnesota Orchestra cello section for 11 years, during which time he performed numerous chamber music works in the orchestra’s Sommerfest, both as a cellist and as a pianist. He was a founding member of the Prospect Park Players and the Minneapolis Quartet, the latter of which was honoured with The McKnight Foundation Award in 2005.

A champion of new music, Johnson has played the Canadian Première of the Unsuk Chin Cello Concerto with the Esprit Orchestra, the Canadian Première of the Miguel del Aguila Cello Concerto with the Toronto Symphony and Edmonton Symphony Orchestras, the North American Première of the Peter Eötvös Cello Concerto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Marc-André Dalbavie Cello Concerto with the Esprit Orchestra.  

A gifted and inspiring teacher, Johnson is Assistant Professor of Cello at the University of Toronto, the cello coach for the Toronto Youth Symphony, and a regular coach and teacher at the New World Symphony in Miami. He has conducted numerous master classes for a wide range of institutions and ensembles, including the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, the Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Northwestern University, the youth orchestras of the Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Chicago, Madison, and Toronto Symphonies, as well as The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. 

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Johnson earned his master’s degree from Northwestern University. Awards and honours include a performer’s certificate from the Eastman School of Music and first prize from the American String Teachers Association’s National Solo Competition. Johnson performs on a magnificent Paolo Castello cello crafted in Genoa in 1780.