Simon Rivard is one of the most sought-after conductors on the Canadian music scene.

Since 2018, he has been the conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. In 2022–23, he will make his debut with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestre classique de Montréal. In addition, he will conduct the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke, and the Edmonton Opera in Puccini’s Tosca. 

Between 2018 and 2022, he held the title of RBC Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. At the TSO, he was mentored by Music Director Gustavo Gimeno. In addition to leading concerts throughout the season, he has been assisting world-class conductors such as Sir Andrew Davis, Peter Oundjian, Donald Runnicles, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, John Storgårds, Barbara Hannigan, Xian Zhang, and Eun-sun Kim. Since 2019, he has been an Equilibrium Young Artist, as part of Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan's internationally acclaimed mentorship program for early-career professional musicians. 

Simon Rivard is also an excellent choral conductor. Since 2020, he has been involved with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Canada’s largest choral organization. He served as Associate Conductor (2020–2022), and as Artistic Collaborator (2022–present).

As a guest conductor, he has conducted orchestras in North America and Europe. He recently made his début with Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Orchestre symphonique Sherbrooke, and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. In February 2022, he made his début at the Edmonton Opera in Puccini's La Bohème. He also recently collaborated with the celebrated Toronto-based opera company Against The Grain, in Holst’s Sāvitri.

In 2018, he was invited to participate in the first Conducting Mentorship Program at the Verbier Festival Academy (Switzerland), at the conclusion of which he was awarded a Special Prize. In 2022, he was invited by the Verbier Festival to be a coach of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra.

In 2017–18, he served as Resident Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra (Ontario, Canada). In 2017, he stepped in for Jean-Philippe Tremblay as Interim Music Director of the Orchestre de la Francophonie.

TSYO Conductor generously supported by the Toronto Symphony Volunteer Committee

Toronto-born violinist Shane Kim has been a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 2012.

Prior positions include Principal violinist of the IRIS Chamber Orchestra and concertmaster appearances with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and at the Aspen, Spoleto-Charleston, and Lakes Area music festivals.

Winner of the Orford String Quartet Award, Shane is a founding member of the XIA String Quartet, with fellow TSO musicians Theresa Rudolph and Joseph Johnson, and Robert Uchida of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Shane has performed chamber music at the Ravinia Festival, Taos Chamber Music Festival, and Encuentro de Musica in Santander, Spain; and has served as a resident artist at the Toronto Summer Music Festival.

Shane received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto, where he studied with noted pedagogue David Zafer and chamber music with Lorand Fenyves. Mr. Kim continued his studies at the Yale School of Music with Peter Oundjian and the Tokyo String Quartet. Other important teachers include Paul Kantor, Gerard Kantarjian, and TSO violinist Mi-Hyon Kim.

A native of Toronto, Peter Seminovs is currently in his sixth year as violinist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Prior to joining the TSO, Peter performed with the Utah Symphony, where he had the opportunity to travel on a month-long tour throughout Germany, Austria, and Slovenia in 2005. In 2011, Peter performed in the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in Sun Valley, Idaho and will be returning in 2012.

Peter began playing the violin at the age of five. His studies led him to a Violin Performance Degree at the University of Toronto (where he also minored in Fine Art History) and from there to a Master's diploma at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. His principal teachers include Yaakov Geringas, Atis Bankas and Sally Thomas. From an early age, Peter won competitions and scholarships throughout North America including prizes at the Kiwanis International Music Festival, The Royal Conservatory of Music, the University of Toronto, the Mannes College of Music, and First Prize at the National Canadian Music Competition.

As a soloist and chamber musician, Peter is particularly interested in the music of his Latvian heritage and has performed at various Latvian Concert Association programs throughout Canada and the United States. An avid chamber musician, each year Peter enjoys playing with fellow colleagues from the TSO in the Five Small Concerts series held by the Toronto Symphony Associates.

In the community, he is a member of the Bach Consort, a charity ensemble that performs works by J.S. Bach and others to raise money for local not-for-profit organizations, including the TSO for its education programs. Peter regularly coaches the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra as well as the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, and is in his fifth season participating in the TSO's Adopt-A-Player program. Peter enjoys teaching privately, and specializes in helping other aspiring violinists prepare and take orchestral auditions.

Peter enjoys playing tennis, golf, collecting antique watches, traveling, relaxing at the cottage and taking his dog, Harley (Pug and Jack Russell Terrier mix) on long walks.

Miles Jaques has been serving as clarinetist and solo bass clarinetist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since the 2017 season, after serving as acting associate principal for the 2016-17 season. Before moving to Canada, Mr. Jaques was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida.

An accomplished orchestral musician, Jaques has performed and toured across North America in many ensembles, including The Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Santa Fe Opera, Florida Orchestra, and Florida Grand Opera.

As a chamber musician, Jaques regularly performs as a part of the TSO Chamber Soloists and has appeared in numerous festivals and societies throughout the US and Canada, including Toronto Summer Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Amici Ensemble, ChamberFest Dubuque, Baltimore Chamber Music Society, among others.

A committed educator, Jaques serves on the clarinet faculty of the University of Toronto and as the woodwind coach for the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. Additionally, he has presented masterclasses at the Royal Conservatory, Iberacademy, University of Antioquia, and the University of South Dakota.

Mr. Jaques is a Buffet-Crampon Artist playing exclusively on Buffet-Crampon instruments and a D’Addario Woodwind Performing Artist.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra Horn Nicholas Hartman joined the TSO in 2017, after previously serving with the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

He has performed with orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout the United States and Canada, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Houston Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Richmond Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Houston Grand Opera, Breckenridge Music Festival, and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony. In 2012, Nicholas was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC as part of their ongoing Conservatory Project. He was a 2011 and 2012 Tanglewood Music Center fellow, a 2010 National Repertory Orchestra fellow, and in 2009, he was invited to Québec to record the complete Beethoven symphonies with the Orchestra de la Francophonie Canadienne.

Nicholas is a 2012 graduate of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, where he studied with Houston Symphony principal horn William VerMeulen.

Joseph Kelly joined the TSO in 2018 as Assistant Timpani and Section Percussion. He is also a coach of the percussion section for the TSYO.

Previously, Joe was a member of the percussion section at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. Mr. Kelly has performed with the Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Malaysia Philharmonic, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and Fort Worth Symphony.

In 2013 and 2014, Mr. Kelly was selected to be a member of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, where he performed orchestral and chamber works and was the soloist in Evan Antonellis’s Multiple Histories. In 2014, Joe joined the Lucerne Festival Academy and toured Europe under the direction of Matthias Pintscher, performing works by Lachenmann, Berio, and Pintscher. When he returned to Lucerne in 2015 as a member of the Academy, he was also invited to perform as an Alumni Guest at the Tanglewood Festival during its Festival of Contemporary Music. The following summer, Joseph was invited to be the solo percussionist of the Lucerne Festival Alumni Ensemble. This included being the resident ensemble for a composer workshop run by Wolfgang Rihm, as well as the set group for a large commissioning project from the festival. The Alumni Ensemble gave 21 world premières during the 2016 Lucerne Festival.

Mr. Kelly received his bachelor’s degree in percussion performance and master’s degree in orchestral performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a recipient of the Elizabeth Beineke Scholarship and the Outreach Award at the 2015 Commencement. He was awarded the 2012 Kerope Zildjian Concert Percussion Scholarship. Mr. Kelly holds a professional diploma in orchestral studies from Roosevelt University and was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Former teachers include Christopher Lamb, Duncan Patton, She-e Wu, Erik Charlston, Vadim Karpinos, and Ed Harrison.

Trevor Wilson is an Ottawa-born conductor and composer who has been praised for his “close rapport with his players” and the “passion and clarity” he brings to performances. During the 2021–22 season, Trevor participated in the Orchestre Métropolitain’s Orchestral Conducting Academy under the mentorship of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and will assist in performances with the Orchestre Métropolitain during the 2022–23 season. Trevor has been active in the Ottawa musical community, having conducted performances with the University of Ottawa orchestra and many other local ensembles. In 2017 Trevor co-founded the Ottawa Pops Orchestra, an organization which aims to redefine the concert experience and attract diverse audiences, serving as its music Director until 2019. He also served as the Assistant Conductor of the National Academy Orchestra of Canada under the late Boris Brott in summer 2019. Having attended numerous masterclasses and festivals, Trevor has had the opportunity to study under internationally renowned conductors such as David Zinman, Gerard Schwarz, Neil Varon, David Effron, and Markus Stenz, and in 2018 he performed with the Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok in Budapest, Hungary. Trevor completed his graduate studies in orchestral conducting under Marin Alsop at the Peabody Conservatory, where he also served as Assistant Conductor to the Peabody Choruses.

Timothy Dawson joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1980. At age 21, upon graduating from the University of Toronto, he became the youngest member of the TSO at that time.

He has played under TSO Music Directors Sir Andrew Davis, Gunter Herbig, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Peter Oundjian, and is now looking forward to working with Gustavo Gimeno.

Over the years, Timothy has been instrumental in starting several chamber music groups. BASStiality, or the Toronto Symphony Double Bass Quartet was an opportunity to have a lot of fun and explore many styles of music—classical, jazz, and pop. That group began with one concert and lasted for 15 hilarity-filled years. The Bach Consort represented the other side of Tim’s personality. This musician-organized group was a musical and philanthropic success. Every performance raised money for a different Toronto charity, thus its mantra, “Giving Bach to the Community”. The group performed with conductors such as Bernard Labadie, Nicholas McGegan, Dame Jane Glover, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Harry Bicket. In addition to giving musicians and local audiences a chance to experience Bach’s profound music, the Bach Consort raised over $400,000 for local charities over a span of 20 years.

Currently, Timothy is the founder and music director of the Kingston Road Village Concert Series. This Series presents four exciting fundraising concerts per season at Kingston Road United Church.

Teaching is a big part of Timothy’s life. He is busy at the University of Toronto, and has just finished his almost 40-year tenure at National Music Camp of Canada. For 20 years, he was involved with the TSO Adopt-a-Player program, acting as its music director in its last three years. This innovative music program brought TSO musicians into the classroom where they guided young students into creating their own compositions.

Timothy lives with his wife Kim in The Beach, and together, they enjoy their active family life.

As a successful freelance musician, Canadian violist Ivan Ivanovich has performed with the Canadian Opera Company, National Arts Centre, National Ballet, Esprit, and Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestras.

Active as a chamber musician, he has performed many recitals with the Sonora String Quartet under the mentorship of the former Orford Quartet violist Terrence Helmer. Mr. Ivanovich studied violin with the late Lorand Fenyves, and viola with Steven Dann at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. He also holds a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School in New York, as a scholarship student of Masao Kawasaki.

Emmanuelle Beaulieu Bergeron, the Associate Principal cellist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, enjoys a diverse career as a recitalist, chamber and orchestral musician, and teacher.

An accomplished chamber musician, Emmanuelle is a member of the Tokai String Quartet. She is regularly invited to perform in festivals and series across Canada. She has participated in a Debut Atlantic tour in the Maritimes; played at the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Ahuntsic en Fugue, and Concerts aux Iles-du-Bic in Quebec; Sound at Parry Sound, Toronto Summer Music, and Stratford Music Festival in Ontario; and Music-by-the-Sea and the Pender Harbour Music Festival in British Columbia.

She has also performed as guest principal cellist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and Les Violons du Roy in Quebec City.

As a teacher, Emmanuelle has collaborated with students at the Yellow Barn Young Artists Program in Vermont, Music at Port Milford, and at the Toronto Summer Music Festival.

Emmanuelle is a graduate of the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, the Juilliard School and Rice University. Her teachers have included Denis Brott, Joel Krosnick, Bonnie Hampton, and Norman Fischer. She is a prizewinner of the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, Prix d’Europe Competition, and Radio-Canada’s Young Artist Competition. She is a twice-awarded laureate of the Canada Council Bank of Instruments competition.

She is also an alumnus of the Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Sarasota Music Festival, Yellow Barn Music Festival, UCLA Piatigorsky Seminar for cellists, and the International Musicians Seminar in Prussia Cove, England.

Emmanuelle was born in rural Quebec, grew up in Montreal, and currently lives in Toronto, where she listens to French radio every day often while eating cheese and baguette.