Allison Cecilia Arends - Voice
Allison has taught private voice and theory for over fifteen years and takes a great deal of joy in imparting her musical knowledge to students from various musical backgrounds of all age groups. While she is most active in the classical music community, she is also experienced teaching students from other singing traditions, including jazz, musical theatre, popular music, and singer-songwriters. Since music has always been a source of great joy in her life, she aims to provide a fun, open, and encouraging environment in which her students can freely explore, experiment, and discover.
Skills she may seek to improve include pitch recognition and accuracy, breath control, vocal range, vocal timbre and production, musical style, posture and alignment, and diction. Allison’s strong background in languages enables her to teach her students to sing in English, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin, and French. Allison is also able to prepare her students for Royal Conservatory examinations, auditions, and performances. Her students have been accepted into many prestigious programs, including the Royal Northern College of Music, the University of Toronto, the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the University of Western Ontario, Wilfred Laurier University, York University, the Randolph Academy for the Arts, the Etobicoke School for the Arts, Cardinal Carter School for the Arts, Claude Watson Secondary Arts Program, Acting Upstage, the Stratford summer training program, Cowtown Opera Summer Academy, Long Reach Opera Workshop, Ontario’s Provincial Choir, the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus, and the Toronto Children’s Bach Choir.
Formerly a faculty member of St. Michael’s Choir School and Timothy Eaton Memorial Church’s Choir School, she is a registered member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS – International and Ontario chapters), Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association (ORMTA), and the Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators Association. She has conducted public masterclass and workshops for the music department at the University of Mississippi, Opera Atelier, the Saskatchewan Music Festival, the British Columbia Provincial Music Festival, the Regina Conservatory of Music, Ryerson Oakham House Choir, the Royal Canadian College of Organists, the voice studio of Diana Woolrich in Regina, Grande Prairie’s Registered Music Teachers’ Association, and the Edna Manley Music College in Kingston, Jamaica. A member of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s College of Examiners, she has adjudicated on various occasions for the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association and the Regina Conservatory of Music; as well as for the British Columbia Provincial Music Festival and the Port Coquitlam Music Festival; the Scarborough Music Festival, Kips Music Festival in Markham, ORMTA – Etobicoke/Mississauga Chapter, and Pembroke Music Festival in Ontario; the Carleton County Music Festival in New Brunswick; the Corner Brook Music Festival in Newfoundland; and the NATS Ontario auditions. Allison looks forward to adjudicating at music festivals this season in Mississauga, Newmarket, and Chatham, Ontario, and Unity, Saskatchewan, as well as conducting a masterclass in Hamilton, Ontario.
Allison completed a Bachelors of Music in Voice Performance at the University of Victoria, a Masters of Music in Opera at the University of Toronto, and an internship through the Calgary Opera Young Artists Program. Further studies have taken her to prestigious summer programs across Canada, as well as in England, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Israel. In addition to a strong background in languages through high school French Immersion studies (International Baccalaureate) and post-secondary German and Italian courses, she has studied Italian, German, French, Spanish, and Russian on an ongoing basis at the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, the Alliance Française, the Goethe Institute, the Spanish Centre, and privately, respectively. Her various teachers and mentors have included W. Stephen Smith, Mary Morrison, Timothy Noble, Wendy Nielsen, Selena James, Alexandra Browning, Diana Woolrich, and Norma Bertsch.
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Skills she may seek to improve include pitch recognition and accuracy, breath control, vocal range, vocal timbre and production, musical style, posture and alignment, and diction. Allison’s strong background in languages enables her to teach her students to sing in English, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin, and French. Allison is also able to prepare her students for Royal Conservatory examinations, auditions, and performances. Her students have been accepted into many prestigious programs, including the Royal Northern College of Music, the University of Toronto, the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the University of Western Ontario, Wilfred Laurier University, York University, the Randolph Academy for the Arts, the Etobicoke School for the Arts, Cardinal Carter School for the Arts, Claude Watson Secondary Arts Program, Acting Upstage, the Stratford summer training program, Cowtown Opera Summer Academy, Long Reach Opera Workshop, Ontario’s Provincial Choir, the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus, and the Toronto Children’s Bach Choir.
Formerly a faculty member of St. Michael’s Choir School and Timothy Eaton Memorial Church’s Choir School, she is a registered member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS – International and Ontario chapters), Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association (ORMTA), and the Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators Association. She has conducted public masterclass and workshops for the music department at the University of Mississippi, Opera Atelier, the Saskatchewan Music Festival, the British Columbia Provincial Music Festival, the Regina Conservatory of Music, Ryerson Oakham House Choir, the Royal Canadian College of Organists, the voice studio of Diana Woolrich in Regina, Grande Prairie’s Registered Music Teachers’ Association, and the Edna Manley Music College in Kingston, Jamaica. A member of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s College of Examiners, she has adjudicated on various occasions for the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association and the Regina Conservatory of Music; as well as for the British Columbia Provincial Music Festival and the Port Coquitlam Music Festival; the Scarborough Music Festival, Kips Music Festival in Markham, ORMTA – Etobicoke/Mississauga Chapter, and Pembroke Music Festival in Ontario; the Carleton County Music Festival in New Brunswick; the Corner Brook Music Festival in Newfoundland; and the NATS Ontario auditions. Allison looks forward to adjudicating at music festivals this season in Mississauga, Newmarket, and Chatham, Ontario, and Unity, Saskatchewan, as well as conducting a masterclass in Hamilton, Ontario.
Allison completed a Bachelors of Music in Voice Performance at the University of Victoria, a Masters of Music in Opera at the University of Toronto, and an internship through the Calgary Opera Young Artists Program. Further studies have taken her to prestigious summer programs across Canada, as well as in England, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Israel. In addition to a strong background in languages through high school French Immersion studies (International Baccalaureate) and post-secondary German and Italian courses, she has studied Italian, German, French, Spanish, and Russian on an ongoing basis at the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, the Alliance Française, the Goethe Institute, the Spanish Centre, and privately, respectively. Her various teachers and mentors have included W. Stephen Smith, Mary Morrison, Timothy Noble, Wendy Nielsen, Selena James, Alexandra Browning, Diana Woolrich, and Norma Bertsch.
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Coral Solomon, Piano
"Young Canadian pianist Coral Solomon demonstrated a remarkable maturity of interpretation, musicality and sensibility which proved a great talent and an intelligent and original approach”- (Libertatea, Bucharest Romania)
Israeli born pianist, Coral Solomon has been praised for her “distinct sensibility” and “original view” (Radio Romania Musical) and has performed numerous solo recitals throughout Canada, USA, Italy, France, Spain, Romania, and Israel. She has appeared as soloist with over a dozen orchestras across Canada, Italy, and Romania- where she performed with the state philharmonic orchestras of Sibiu, Timisoara, Brasov, Bacau, Arad, Tergu Mures, Ploiesti, Ramnicu Valcea, among others. She returned to collaborate with the Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra for the 3rd time, as she debuted a piano concerto transcription of Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme by Corelli. The work was written and dedicated to her by conductor emeritus of New Jersey Plainfield Symphony, Sabin Pautza, who also conducted the premier.
Actively engaged in creative projects in her hometown, this season highlights include serving as artistic director for the first Canadian edition of the George Enescu International Festival (originating in Romania, it is one of the largest classical music festivals in the world) and performing in the Festival’s opening concert with the concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Jonathan Crow; working with Academy Award winning actress Cate Blanchett, as her piano coach for the upcoming TV series: “Mrs. America” (shot in Toronto and set to be released in 2020); and appearing as the piano soloist in Toronto’s internationally acclaimed Fall for Dance North Festival that took place in the Meridian Hall (formally known as the Sony Centre).
Devoted to her community’s musical education scene, Solomon currently maintains a full-time private music studio at her home in North York. She is also the director of the “Berkovsky-Solomon Academy of Music” founded last year by her and her husband, Michael Berkovsky, which offers additional instructors for piano, theory, and violin lessons in her home studio. Solomon regularly adjudicates festivals such as the Pickering Rotary Music Festival, Unionville Music Academy Competition, Ann Southerland Award (part of the Canadian Contemporary Showcase), as well as the ORMTA Central Toronto, Scarborough, Newmarket, Barrie, and Oshawa branches.
After moving with her family to Toronto in 2004, Solomon was a student at the Young Artist Performance Academy of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Prizewinner of several competitions, Solomon was interviewed by numerous North American and European television channels and has participated in intensive international summer festivals such as the Pianofest in the Hamptons (Long Island, NY), the Morningside Music Bridge Institute (Calgary), and the Toronto Summer Music Institute.
She has completed her undergraduate degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music and her Master’s degree at Boston University, under the tutelage of Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Pavel Nersessian respectively. During her studies in the United States, she was a recipient of the generous Canada Council for the Arts’ Musician Grant. Solomon is currently pursuing her Doctoral of Music degree in piano performance at the University of Toronto with Enrico Elisi, on full scholarship.
Israeli born pianist, Coral Solomon has been praised for her “distinct sensibility” and “original view” (Radio Romania Musical) and has performed numerous solo recitals throughout Canada, USA, Italy, France, Spain, Romania, and Israel. She has appeared as soloist with over a dozen orchestras across Canada, Italy, and Romania- where she performed with the state philharmonic orchestras of Sibiu, Timisoara, Brasov, Bacau, Arad, Tergu Mures, Ploiesti, Ramnicu Valcea, among others. She returned to collaborate with the Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra for the 3rd time, as she debuted a piano concerto transcription of Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme by Corelli. The work was written and dedicated to her by conductor emeritus of New Jersey Plainfield Symphony, Sabin Pautza, who also conducted the premier.
Actively engaged in creative projects in her hometown, this season highlights include serving as artistic director for the first Canadian edition of the George Enescu International Festival (originating in Romania, it is one of the largest classical music festivals in the world) and performing in the Festival’s opening concert with the concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Jonathan Crow; working with Academy Award winning actress Cate Blanchett, as her piano coach for the upcoming TV series: “Mrs. America” (shot in Toronto and set to be released in 2020); and appearing as the piano soloist in Toronto’s internationally acclaimed Fall for Dance North Festival that took place in the Meridian Hall (formally known as the Sony Centre).
Devoted to her community’s musical education scene, Solomon currently maintains a full-time private music studio at her home in North York. She is also the director of the “Berkovsky-Solomon Academy of Music” founded last year by her and her husband, Michael Berkovsky, which offers additional instructors for piano, theory, and violin lessons in her home studio. Solomon regularly adjudicates festivals such as the Pickering Rotary Music Festival, Unionville Music Academy Competition, Ann Southerland Award (part of the Canadian Contemporary Showcase), as well as the ORMTA Central Toronto, Scarborough, Newmarket, Barrie, and Oshawa branches.
After moving with her family to Toronto in 2004, Solomon was a student at the Young Artist Performance Academy of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Prizewinner of several competitions, Solomon was interviewed by numerous North American and European television channels and has participated in intensive international summer festivals such as the Pianofest in the Hamptons (Long Island, NY), the Morningside Music Bridge Institute (Calgary), and the Toronto Summer Music Institute.
She has completed her undergraduate degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music and her Master’s degree at Boston University, under the tutelage of Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Pavel Nersessian respectively. During her studies in the United States, she was a recipient of the generous Canada Council for the Arts’ Musician Grant. Solomon is currently pursuing her Doctoral of Music degree in piano performance at the University of Toronto with Enrico Elisi, on full scholarship.
Meagan Turner, Violin
A violist with a powerful imagination and natural instinct, Toronto-native Meagan Turner was named one of Canada’s “top 30 under 30 musicians” (CBC).
A two-time recipient of the Felix Galimir Award for Excellence in Chamber Music, Meagan has collaborated with members of the Dover, New Orford, and St. Lawrence Quartets; renowned pianists Stephane Lemelin, Pedja Muziejvic, and Walter de la Hunt; and esteemed string players Ralph Kirshbaum, Miriam Fried, and Paul Biss. Meagan has appeared at the Toronto Summer Music Festival, the St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar, Tippet Rise Arts Center, the Luminato Festival, the Orford Arts Center, Tanglewood, and the Ravinia Festival (Steans Music Institute).
As an orchestral musician, Meagan has served as principal violist of the Juilliard Orchestra, Juilliard Chamber Orchestra, New York String Orchestra Seminar, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Centre Orchestra. In addition to an active freelance careers, she is currently on the Substitute rosters of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Solisti Ensemble, Shattered Glass Ensemble, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, and the Canadian Opera Company.
Meagan is the recipient of numerous awards, recently being named one of Canada’s “Hottest Musicians Under 30” by the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC). She was a recipient of a Rachel Elizabeth Barton Pine Foundation Career Grant in 2017 – an award intended for the advancement of young artists’ careers - and is a past scholar of the Virtu Foundation.
Meagan is currently based in New York City completing her second year of a young artists’ residency at Carnegie Hall (Ensemble Connect). Additionally, she works closely with the Carnegie Weill Music Institute as a teaching artist, actively striving to advocate for the place of music in a community. Most recently, Meagan joined Carnegie Executive and Artistic Director Clive Gillinson in a performance and workshop series at Sing Sing Correctional Institute in conjunction with Carnegie’s Musical Connections Program.
Meagan completed her studies violin and viola at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Erika Raum and Eric Nowlin, and at The Juilliard School as a full-Scholarship student of Samuel Rhodes.
A two-time recipient of the Felix Galimir Award for Excellence in Chamber Music, Meagan has collaborated with members of the Dover, New Orford, and St. Lawrence Quartets; renowned pianists Stephane Lemelin, Pedja Muziejvic, and Walter de la Hunt; and esteemed string players Ralph Kirshbaum, Miriam Fried, and Paul Biss. Meagan has appeared at the Toronto Summer Music Festival, the St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar, Tippet Rise Arts Center, the Luminato Festival, the Orford Arts Center, Tanglewood, and the Ravinia Festival (Steans Music Institute).
As an orchestral musician, Meagan has served as principal violist of the Juilliard Orchestra, Juilliard Chamber Orchestra, New York String Orchestra Seminar, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Centre Orchestra. In addition to an active freelance careers, she is currently on the Substitute rosters of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Solisti Ensemble, Shattered Glass Ensemble, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, and the Canadian Opera Company.
Meagan is the recipient of numerous awards, recently being named one of Canada’s “Hottest Musicians Under 30” by the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC). She was a recipient of a Rachel Elizabeth Barton Pine Foundation Career Grant in 2017 – an award intended for the advancement of young artists’ careers - and is a past scholar of the Virtu Foundation.
Meagan is currently based in New York City completing her second year of a young artists’ residency at Carnegie Hall (Ensemble Connect). Additionally, she works closely with the Carnegie Weill Music Institute as a teaching artist, actively striving to advocate for the place of music in a community. Most recently, Meagan joined Carnegie Executive and Artistic Director Clive Gillinson in a performance and workshop series at Sing Sing Correctional Institute in conjunction with Carnegie’s Musical Connections Program.
Meagan completed her studies violin and viola at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Erika Raum and Eric Nowlin, and at The Juilliard School as a full-Scholarship student of Samuel Rhodes.
Jillian Carney, Woodwinds
Jillian Carney is a graduate flute student at the University of Ottawa where she studies with Camille Churchfield. She has been a member of the University of Ottawa Symphony Orchestra for the past year and performed with the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra for their 2019/20 season. She has been actively involved with the University of Ottawa Wind Ensemble, where she was employed as the ensemble librarian and performed as a member of the ensemble for the past year. Prior to beginning her studies at the University of Ottawa, Jillian earned a BMus with High Distinction in flute performance from Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) where she studied with Dr. Amy Hamilton. She was a member of the WLU Symphony Orchestra for three years and spent one year as a member of the WLU Wind Orchestra. Throughout her undergraduate studies Jillian was the recipient of several scholarships, including the Dorothy M. Elliott Music Scholarship granted to a student who demonstrates outstanding talent in performance, and the Dr. John E. Brent Scholarship granted to the top student based on academic achievement and musical performance.
From 2016-2019, Jillian held the position of principal flute with Vera Causa Opera, a newly established Kitchener-Waterloo based opera company. Other orchestral experiences include performing on several occasions in the Kitchener-Waterloo Youth Symphony Orchestra and Spiritus Baroque Ensemble. In 2017, Jillian was selected as the winner of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra Under-23 Concerto Competition and as a winner of the Kitchener-Waterloo Kiwanis Concerto Competition. In addition to her studies at University, in 2016 she spent two weeks at Orford Summer Music Academy studying with Denis Bluteau. Hailing from Pickering, Ontario, Jillian first studied with Donna Sykes. Jillian looks forward to completing her Master’s degree and furthering her career in flute performance.
From 2016-2019, Jillian held the position of principal flute with Vera Causa Opera, a newly established Kitchener-Waterloo based opera company. Other orchestral experiences include performing on several occasions in the Kitchener-Waterloo Youth Symphony Orchestra and Spiritus Baroque Ensemble. In 2017, Jillian was selected as the winner of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra Under-23 Concerto Competition and as a winner of the Kitchener-Waterloo Kiwanis Concerto Competition. In addition to her studies at University, in 2016 she spent two weeks at Orford Summer Music Academy studying with Denis Bluteau. Hailing from Pickering, Ontario, Jillian first studied with Donna Sykes. Jillian looks forward to completing her Master’s degree and furthering her career in flute performance.