Exciting news from Joshua this evening!

“I’m very happy to announce that I have joined the Montreal Symphony Orchestra as 2nd Assistant Principal Second Violin! It’s a real privilege to work with this orchestra that I have admired as long as I can remember.”

Joshua Peters – violin – has won many competitions including the 2015 Eckhardt Gramatte National Music Competition which the WMC hosts as part of the competition’s cross country tour as well as first prize ($10,000) in the biennial 2014 WMC McLellan Competition.

Congratulations Joshua!

Birchwood Jaguar 107 LIVE! Presents 2016 WMC Scholarship Winner Emily Rekrut- Pressey – Viola.

Written by Claudia Garcia de la Huerta
Published: 17 December 2016

**Hope you had a chance to hear her interview and her performance this morning!  Was an amazing chat and performance!**  If you missed her performance – check this out! https://youtu.be/MT5–MX8xNI

Tune in Monday morning @ 8:30 when host Michael Wolch will welcome the 18-year-old violist live in studio.

Currently studying at the University of Toronto, Emily began violin lessons in the Suzuki program with Laurel Howard at the age of 6. When she was ten she was inspired by Laurel and Joanne Martin to begin playing the viola. For the past 3 years she’s been studying with the WSO’s Daniel Scholz.
This summer Emily played with l’Orchestre de la Francophonie in Montreal and attended the international Morningside Music Bridge program in Calgary the previous two summers, as well as the Rosamunde Summer Music Academy here in Winnipeg. She now studies with Teng Li, principal violist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Emily recently won the Aikins Memorial trophy at this year’s Winnipeg Music Festival and received the Berythe Birse Scholarship through the Women’s Musical Club scholarship competition this May.

On Thursday December 29th, all 5 winners of this year’s WMC scholarships will be performing in a special recital at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The concert begins at 7PM. For more information and tickets, go HERE.

Birchwood Jaguar 107 LIVE! With 2016 WMC Scholarship Winner Gregory Lewis
Written by Claudia Garcia de la Huerta
Published: 16 December 2016

Friday afternoon in the Diamond Lane we were treated to this fantastic young violinist who you might have seen sitting in with Manitoba Chamber Orchestra for their last concert with soprano Andriana Chuchman. Missed it? Watch the video at http://bit.ly/2gUPqu5

Gregory is the winner of the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg $3000 – 2016 WMC Scholarship. The top prize in fact! He was also the 2nd place finisher in the 2016 WMC McLellan Competition!

On Thursday December 29th, all 5 winners of this year’s scholarships will be performing in a special recital at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The concert begins at 7PM. For more information and tickets, go http://womensmusicalclubofwpg.ca/scholarships/2016-winners/

Praised for his “brilliant technique and control” (Chronicle Journal) and “wonderful musical personality” (Winnipeg Free Press), violinist Gregory Lewis has established himself as one of central Canada’s most prominent rising musicians. Growing up in Thunder Bay, Ontario studying with Olga Medvedeva, Gregory is now pursuing an undergraduate degree in Violin Performance at the University of Manitoba with Dr. Oleg Pokhanovski. He has also worked with many of the world’s top pedagogues and artists, including Midori Goto, James Ehnes, Giora Schmidt, Paul Kantor, the Pacifica Quartet, and the Gryphon Trio.

An avid chamber musician, Gregory is a founding member and first violin of the Chroma Quartet, a student ensemble formed in 2014. Quickly gaining a reputation as Manitoba’s premier student chamber group, the Chroma Quartet frequently performs in recital throughout Winnipeg, being featured by Virtuosi, the Skywalk Recital Series, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and the Simkin Centre Recital Series. A competitive ensemble, the Chroma Quartet was selected to represent Manitoba at the 2016 Canadian Music Competition National Finals.

Aside from violin, Gregory formally studied piano performance for sixteen years, and is an accomplished composer, having a symphony premiered by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra in 2013.