Rachel McFarlane, composer

Rachel “Ray” McFarlane is an exceptional upcoming composer whose extraordinary talent and achievements have propelled them to the forefront of the music industry at a remarkably young age.

She displays a level of artistry and craftsmanship that surpasses many seasoned composers. Her compositions demonstrate a remarkable fusion of classical sophistication and contemporary innovation, leaving audiences in awe of their maturity and depth.
Rachel is a dual major student at Berklee College of Music, majoring in Film Scoring and Video Game Scoring. She has studied under Kevin Lau and is currently a composer for Orchestral Tools, Spitfire Audio, Sonixinema, and The Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra.

Website: https://raymcfarlane.carrd.co/

Anika-France Forget

French-Canadian mezzo-soprano and composer Anika-France Forget has been noted for her exemplary stage presence, and for being playful and vocally impressive.  In 2022, she was the recipient of a Leverhulme Arts Scholarship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, U.K., where she obtained a Master of Music in Voice Performance studying with soprano Marilyn Rees. In the same year, Anika-France was commissioned by Slow Rise Music and her work premiered during the Hanging by a Thread inaugural concert at the Canadian Music Centre in Toronto. Thanks to a mentoring partnership between the Diaspora Dialogues and the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, Anika-France’s choral piece “Prayer for Return” was commissioned and got its world premiere at the 2019 Raising Her Voice and 2019 Toronto’s Nuit Blanche. Her work received many praises: “Passion is at the core of Forget’s score, lush harmony, emotional questioning and a deeply felt synergy with Eskandani’s poem” (Robert Cooper, conductor). 


In the fall 2024, she will be working with the Myriad Ensemble and their artistic director, Elise Naccarato, towards the premiere of her SSA piece “Of A Demon In My View”. Continuing her musical journey, she will commence an Intensive Profile Masters of Music in Composition at the University of Ottawa in September, supported by a full Arts Merit Scholarship.

Website: https://anikafrance.com/

Danielle MacMillan, mezzo-soprano

Canadian-Italian Mezzo Soprano, Danielle MacMillan was a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio and Palm Beach Opera’s Benenson Young Artist Program where she performed and covered the roles in: Britten’s Peter Grimes; Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, (COC); Carmen, Bizet; Ariadne auf Naxos, Strauss; Madama Butterfly, Puccini; Rigoletto,
Verdi; Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan; Le nozze di Figaro, Mozart; Don Giovanni, Mozart (PBO).

Ms. MacMillan holds a BFA, with honours, from York University, and ADV from The Glenn Gould School. Other credits include: La Calisto, Cavalli; The Magic Flute, Mozart; Le docteur Miracle, Bizet (GGS); La clemenza di Tito, Mozart (COSI); Le nozze di
Figaro, Mozart; Faust, Gounod (HOS); Vivier’s Kopernikus (Against the Grain Theatre’s Dora Award winning production). Awards include: IRCPA Maureen Forrester Scholarship, St. Andrews Arts Council Aria Competition, Regional Finalist prize winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Clifford Poole Vocal Competition (CBSO), and the Rumbold Vocal Prize (2023).

Concert work includes: Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the NYCO; NAC’s chamber festival; eleven seasons with the Toronto Classical Singers; Handel’s Messiah (NSO 2022). Ms. MacMillan made her Opera Atelier debut in October 2020, in their filmed production of “Something Rich & Strange” and returned in 2022 with a live audience in their production of “All is Love.” Her most recent debut was with Opera Nashville as Wellgunde in Das Rheingold; roles in Dido and Aeneas, Purcell, (Opera Atelier); and Dorabella, Così fan tutte, Opera Manitoba (2023). Ms. MacMillan will be returning to Opera Atelier in their production of “All is Love” and will launch her very first album, titled “Songs of Hope,” with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra (April 2024). The remainder of the 2024/2025 season will include Beethoven’s 9th with the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra, a main stage debut with Edmonton Opera, a return to Opera Atelier in “David and Jonathan” and Verdi’s Requiem with
the Kindred Spirits Orchestra (2025).

Maghan McPhee

Maghan McPhee is a revered lyric coloratura soprano thanks to her sensitive artistry, precise musicianship, and luscious instrument. She is adept with standard rep and highly sought after for premiering new works by established contemporary composers such as Monica Pearce, Andrew Ager and Daniel Mehdizadeh. Her soaring soprano suits the difficulty and high tessitura of many Mozart roles including his concert arias and main characters from his most notable operas. Other signature roles include Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen, and Berta in Rossini’s Barbiere di Siviglia where she made her mark and “immediately had the public holding their
breath during her brief but remarkable solo”(LeDroit).


An accomplished concert performer, she has sung at Carnegie Hall, and with notable orchestras including Thirteen Strings, Symphony Nova Scotia, The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the American Symphony Orchestra. A regular with the National Art Centre Orchestra, she worked with Alexander Shelley in Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream along with acclaimed actor Colm Fiore, was the soprano soloist in their Messiah and was recently featured in their recent Christmas Playlist concert with Jean-Marie Zeitouni. Ms. McPhee launched her debut recording “Portrait” with pianist Parvaneh Eshghi, to great reviews: “[Maghan has] full command of her instrument, precise in her attacks, and stylish in her approach to the songs…” -Barcza Blog.


Maghan is a curious artist and forever dedicated to her passion for exploring the human voice’s power and possibility. She imparts the training she received in New York and holds a virtual studio with students all over the country and abroad. She is the founding executive director of Breno Italy International Music Academy. BIIMA is celebrating its 10th season enabling participants to awaken their artistry in an idyllic and nurturing setting in voice, piano, choral and composition. biimaperformance.com

Elienna Wang, composer

Elienna is a Toronto-based composer studying with Professor Norbert Palej at the University of Toronto. Her songs, choral works, and chamber music have been performed at the University of Toronto, the Women’s Art Association of Canada, the Neighbourhood Unitarian Universalist Church, and retirement homes across the GTA. This year, her art song, “Promise Me A Moment” premiered at the University of Toronto’s New Music Festival while her choral piece, “Wings,” was premiered by the Spirit Singers Choir at the “Come In From the Cold” fundraising concert this March. Her composition for piano solo, “Butterfly,” was performed at the University of Toronto’s Student Composers Concert and was awarded gold at the 2024 Toronto Kiwanis Festival. This April, her art song, “Rosé Leaves,” will be premiered by Daniel MacMillan as part of the New Generation Composers program, and her choral piece “Words Unspoken,” will be workshopped by the Elmer Iseler Singers at the CMC. Elienna is also a collaborative pianist, accompanying the University of Toronto’s Graduate Voice Pedagogy Program and the Spirit Singers Choir this year. At the same time, her work organizing concerts at retirement homes, including the Bradgate Retirement  home and Richmond Hill Retirement Residence shows her passion for promoting well-being as a performer and composer. By sharing her musical voice, Elienna hopes to bring joy, hope, and belonging to her listeners. Elienna’s music is available through her Youtube channel, showcasing her work in the past 4 years.

Gilles Thibodeau, French Horn

Gilles Thibodeau grew up in the small Northern town of Kapuskasing, Ontario.  Having discovered the horn at the age of 14, he instantly fell in love with the instrument, and never looked back.  From the University of Western Ontario to the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory, he honed his craft and learned the ropes. An active orchestral freelancer, teacher and chamber musician, Gilles is also a senior administrator in the post-secondary education sector. Mr. Thibodeau would like to encourage everyone to speak up for the support of music in our public schools, without which he, and many of his colleagues, would have never discovered the magical world of classical music.

Matt Antal

Matthew Antal is a violist born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He attended Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts where he began playing viola at age 12 because he was told “you look like a violist”. He holds a bachelor’s degree in viola performance from the University of Toronto under Katharine Rapoport and a master’s degree in viola performance from the University of Victoria under Joanna Hood. Matthew is a regular performer with several music ensembles including Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra/Opera Atelier, Theatre of Early Music, Elixir Ensemble, and Odin Quartet. He also holds an advanced certificate in early music performance from the University of Toronto where he studied with Patrick Jordan and Stefano Marcocchi.

Vanessa Yu, pianist

Named one of CBC Music’s top 30 emerging musicians under 30, Toronto-based pianist Vanessa Yu is establishing herself as a sensitive and vibrant musician. As the Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Pacific Rim International Music Festival, she was invited to perform at Carnegie’s Weill Hall in New York City.

Vanessa has presented solo and chamber programs for the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra’s NewGen series, Confluence Concerts, Chautauqua Institution, and the University of Toronto’s Thursdays at Noon series. Most recently, Vanessa gave solo recitals for the International Holland Music Sessions in the Netherlands and the Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation in Canada. Other performances have taken her to Italy, Germany, Spain, Austria, the United States, and across Canada. Vanessa has had recordings nationally broadcasted on CBC Music, in addition to being featured on OMNI Television and 680 News. As a finalist at the Classicalia competition, her performance at the Vienna Konzerthaus was televised by PBS SoCal and Stingray Classica.

A seasoned concerto soloist, Vanessa has performed Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Rimsky-Korsakov concerti with the Central Texas Philharmonic, Vienna Opera Ball, Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber, Mississauga Symphony, Oakville Chamber, York Symphony, Burlington Symphony, North York Concert, and Etobicoke Philharmonic orchestras. Upcoming engagements include performances of Saint-Saëns’s Fifth Concerto with the Toronto Concert, Scarborough Philharmonic, and Kindred Spirits orchestras.
Garnering awards in Canada and beyond, Vanessa has received top prizes at the Chicago and Città di San Donà di Piave international competitions, among others. Recently, she was the youngest contestant and prizewinner at both the 2023 Eisemann International Young Artists Competition and the 2022 Thousand Islands International Piano Competition, as well as the Grand Prize winner of the 2023 International Music Festival and Competition held in Ontario.

Vanessa recently graduated from the BMusPerf program at the University of Toronto where she was a full merit scholarship student under the tutelage of Steven Philcox and formerly Enrico Elisi. She will be starting graduate studies at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University this fall as a student of Boris Slutsky.

Inspired by her mentors, Vanessa enjoys teaching; her students have won awards at competitions including the OMFA provincials. She has recently taught masterclasses at the Orrett Music Academy and Berkovsky-Solomon Academy of Music, and adjudicated for the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association (ORMTA)’s Central Toronto auditions.

As an avid designer, Vanessa is also a calligrapher and bullet journalist, and has taught workshops for partners including Google.

Yuhan Zhou

Yuhan is a Chinese-born composer and pianist based in Toronto. She recently won the Ann H Atkinson Prize in 2023 and currently serves as the composer-in-residence at the University of Toronto Wind Symphony and Chamber Choir. Her winning composition, performed with the Bedford piano trio, titled “The Not-yet,” premiered at the 2023 UofT New Music Festival. Yuhan’s work has been showcased across East Asia and North America, including soundtracks for visual media like Hulu’s 2021 id Artists showcase advertisement, as well as award-winning films such as “Oop” and “Gamble”. In 2021, she assumed the role of music producer and team lead at ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company in Beijing. Yuhan is presently pursuing a composition doctorate at the University of Toronto under the guidance of Professor Christos Hatzis.”

Patrick Wu, composer

Taiwanese-born Canadian, Hsiu-Ping Patrick Wu, is an award-winning composer, violinist, and multimedia artist who is constantly on the search for musical language that bridges his multicultural
identity. Patrick’s music ranges from his own style of neo-romanticism to avant-garde soundscapes; fusing theatrical elements and improvisational techniques.
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In the upcoming season of 2023-2024, Patrick will be launching his solo violin work “EN ROUTE” on Gillian Smith’s upcoming album with Leaf Music. Some highlights of the season include: a new string quartet for Boston-based Gaia Quartet, an aria for LYSISTRATA Reimagined to be premiered in
January 2024, and various chamber music works in Toronto and Boston.
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Patrick has worked with renowned ensembles such as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Hypercube Ensemble, The Julius Quartet, Loadbang, Alkali Collective, Neave Trio, Gaia Quartet, and nexbloom.


His works have premiered at highSCORE Composition Festival, Zodiac Music Festival, Uzmah Upbeat Composition Program, Atlantic Music Festival, Scotia Festival of Music, Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival, and most recently, Mostly Modern Festival. Patrick has worked with composers Jérôme
Blais, Alexandra du Bois, Vivian Fung, Amy Beth Kirsten, David Ludwig, and Dinuk Wijeratne. 


In addition to composing, Patrick performs actively on the violin from solo performances to chamber music and orchestral repertoire. Patrick has studied the violin with I-Ching Li, Philippe Djokic, Mark Lee, Sean Wang, and Jesse Mills. In 2016, he served as concertmaster of the Evergreen
Symphony Orchestra Summer Festival in Taiwan, as well as concertmaster of the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra.

Patrick is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre and an affiliate member of the Canadian League of Composers. His music is represented by SOCAN and ASCAP. Patrick is currently pursuing his Doctoral of Musical Arts at the University of Toronto under the guidance of Dr. Norbert
Palej. Patrick holds his Master of Music in Composition and Violin Performance as well as a Graduate Diploma in Composition from Longy School of Music of Bard College. He earned his
Bachelor of Music from the Fountain School of Performing Arts, Dalhousie University.

https://www.patrickwumusic.com/