Chamber Music Residency Program
The Fountain School’s Chamber Music Residency Program welcomes world-class artists for weeklong residencies throughout the year. This program inspires through chamber music coaching, masterclasses, open rehearsals, and career discussions with students, culminating in thrilling performances by guest artists with Fountain School faculty and alum.
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Come hear internationally renowned chamber music guest artists Ara Gregorian, Hye-Jin Kim and Rachel Desoer alongside Fountain School faculty Leonardo Perez and Peter Allen in two gems of the chamber music repertoire, the piano quintets of Robert Schumann and Antonin Dvorak. This performance also feature’s the fiery intensity of Canadian Kelly Marie-Murphy’s “Dark Energy” for string quartet - commissioned by the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the CBC as the imposed piece for 2007.
Artistic Director: Dr. Leonardo Perez, viola
Guest Artists:
Peter Allen, piano
Rachel Desoer, cello
Ara Gregorian, violin
Hye-Jin Kim, violin
EVENTS open to the community
Violin and Viola Masterclass with Ara Gregorian
Thursday, March 28th, 4:30-7:00pm
Joseph Strug Concert Hall, 1385 Seymour St. Halifax, N.S.
Violin Masterclass with Hye-Jin Kim-
Saturday, March 30th, 2:00-4:00pm
Room 406, Dal Arts Centre, 6101 University Ave. Halifax, N.S.
Thrilling Quintets Residency Concert
April 2 | 7:30pm
Joseph Strug Concert Hall, 1385 Seymour St. Halifax N.S.
Entrance by donation - all proceeds going to Fountain School music students.
Concert Repertoire:
Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44- Robert Schumann
Dark Energy for String Quartet- Kelly Marie-Murphy
Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81- Antonin Dvorak
Praised for his “assured and lovely” playing (Classical Voice of North Carolina), director Dr. Leonardo Perez is currently the Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Previously, he held the position of Instructor of Violin and Viola at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
An avid chamber musician, Leonardo has made numerous appearances at concert series throughout North America. Engagements include performances with the Music Room Chamber Players in Halifax, NS, Antigonish Performing Arts Series, Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance, and Musique Royale. He has appeared regularly as a Next Generation Artist of the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival in Greenville, NC, and as residence-in-artist at the University of Iowa String Quartet Residency Program in Iowa City, IA.
Peter Allen is one of Canada’s most respected and talented musicians. He is known nationally as a concert pianist, composer, conductor, and teacher. As a concert pianist, he has been heard for years on CBC regional and national radio performing solo recitals, chamber concerts and concertos with orchestra. Peter is also a highly respected and sought-after composer, having fulfilled dozens of commissions. Peter is an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre and Associate Professor of music at the Fountain School of Performing Arts at Dalhousie University, where he teaches piano, orchestration, and coaches chamber music.
Rachel Desoer is a Canadian cellist. She studied at the Juilliard School, Oberlin College, McGill University and the Banff Centre. She graduated from Oberlin in 2008 with a Bachelor of Music degree.
Rachel was the cellist of the Cecilia String Quartet from 2010 to 2018. In this ensemble Rachel toured extensively around the world, recorded 4 albums on the Analekta label and taught chamber music at the University of Toronto.
Touring has allowed Rachel to perform at such inspiring venues as Wigmore Hall, The Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Konzert Haus Berlin and many more. The Cecilia Quartet also made educational programming a priority and performed hundreds of presentations for schools. In 2014, the quartet created a concert series called Xenia concerts specifically designed for children on the autism spectrum and their families. Exemplifying their commitment to the equal representation of women in music, Rachel spearheaded the commissioning of 4 string quartets by Canadian women composers in 2016.
Known for his thrilling performances and musical creativity, violinist/violist Ara Gregorian made his New York recital debut in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and his debut as soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra in Symphony Hall. Since that time, he has established himself as one of the most sought-after and versatile musicians of his generation with performances in New York’s Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center and in major metropolitan cities throughout North America, Hong Kong, China, Mongolia, Israel, and Europe. He is the founder and artistic director of the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival and has appeared at festivals worldwide including the SpringLight (Finland), Storioni (Holland), Summer Solstice (Canada), Casals (Puerto Rico), Taos, Bard, Bravo! Vail Valley, Santa Fe, Skaneateles, Music in the Vineyards, and Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, among others. He is a member of the Cooperstown Quartet, has performed extensively with Concertante and the Daedalus Quartet, and has recorded for National Public Radio, New York’s WQXR, and the Bridge and Kleos labels.
Known for her musical sensitivity and deeply engaging performances that transport audiences beyond mere technical virtuosity, violinist Hye-Jin Kim leads a versatile career as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician since her First Prize win at the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition at the age of nineteen and a subsequent win at the Concert Artists Guild International Competition. Kim has performed as soloist with major orchestras worldwide including the Philadelphia, New Jersey Symphony, New Haven Symphony, BBC Concert (UK), Seoul Philharmonic (Korea), Pan Asia Symphony (Hong Kong), and Hannover Chamber (Germany) orchestras. At the invitation of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, she performed at the U.N. Headquarters in both Geneva and New York and served as a cultural representative for Korea in Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan through concerts and outreach engagements. A passionate chamber musician, Kim has appeared in notable chamber music festivals including Marlboro, Ravinia, Four Seasons, Music from Angel Fire, Music@Menlo, Taos School of Music, Seoul Spring, Bridgehampton, Music in the Vineyards chamber music festivals and Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music in England.