BMA Festival of the Bay: Festival Strings

Cameron Crozman

“With a rich imagination and a keen mind” (Diapason Magazine), Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman maintains a vibrant international career as a soloist and chamber musician across Canada, the USA, and Europe. He has performed with the Orchestre National d'Ile-de-France (Paris), Montreal, Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Vancouver Island Symphonies, at venues ranging from the Philharmonie de Paris and Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre to St. John’s Qidi Vidi Brewery. A dedicated chamber musician, he has collaborated with James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Louis Lortie, Gérard Caussé, James Campbell, and members of the Ébène, New Zealand, and Penderecki String Quartets.

Winner of the 2021 Canada Council for the Arts Virginia Parker Prize, Crozman was CBC/Radio-Canada’s 2019 Classical Revelation artist and a laureate of Gautier Capuçon’s Classe d’Excellence at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. His debut album, Cavatine (2019), recorded on the ca. 1696 “Bonjour” Stradivarius with pianist Philip Chiu, was praised for “technical perfection with a personal style” (Classica Magazine). He has since recorded with ATMA Classique and Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, most recently releasing Haydn’s Cello Concertos and Jacques Hétu’s Rondo with Les Violons du Roy (May 2024). His performances are broadcast on CBC, BBC, RTÉ Radio, Radio France, and Medici.tv.

Committed to contemporary music, Cameron commissions and premieres works by Canadian composers including Alexina Louie, Allan Gordon Bell, Liam Ritz, James O’Callaghan, and Kelly-Marie Murphy. He studied with Paul Pulford in Canada, then at the Paris Conservatoire with Michel Strauss, Claire Désert, and Ami Flammer, earning the “Prix de violoncelle” with highest honours. In 2018, he received mentorship from James Ehnes via the André-Bourbeau award. He has given masterclasses at the Académie Rainier III (Monaco), Lawrence University, University of Montreal, Conservatorio Joaquín Rodrigo (Valencia), and Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa.

Alongside performing, Crozman produces concerts and festivals. He co-founded ClassicalValley in the Okanagan Valley, BC, and, with pianist Meagan Milatz, produces HausMusique, a chamber series in Montreal’s Art Deco Grande Salle. Since 2024, he serves as Assistant Artistic Director of Festival of the Sound alongside James Campbell. He plays a 1734 Domenico Montagnana cello and a Georges Léon Lamy bow, generously provided by CANIMEX Inc., Québec.

Luri Lee

Described as “the perfect chamber music partner” (Bachtrack) with playing that is “spotlessly clean” (Calgary Herald), violinist Luri Lee has performed as a soloist with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and across North America, Europe, and Asia. A founding member of the Rolston String Quartet, she has received Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award, First Prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition, and Grand Prize at the 31st Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition and Astral Artists National Auditions.

The quartet, affiliated with Queen Elizabeth Music Chapel, served as Yale School of Music’s fellowship quartet-in-residence (2019) and previously at Rice University. Luri has taught at Yale, University of Toronto, and Bowdoin International Music Festival. Their debut album, Souvenirs (Tchaikovsky, 2020), was named Recording of the Year by BBC Music Magazine. She collaborates with artists including Paul Neubauer, Yura Lee, Gary Hoffman, Cho-Liang Lin, Miguel da Silva, and Jon Kimura Parker. Luri plays a Carlo Tononi violin, generously on loan from Shauna Rolston Shaw, and enjoys traveling with her husband, violist Hezekiah Leung.

Julia Mirzoev

Violinist Julia Mirzoev is recognized for her warm tone, grace, and dynamic stage presence (California Music Center). Featured among CBC’s “Top 30 Classical Musicians Under 30,” she has performed across North America, Europe, and New Zealand, with solo appearances alongside the Toronto Symphony, Sinfonia Toronto, and Montréal Bach Festival Orchestra. Awards include top prizes in Michael Hill, Irving M. Klein, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Crescendo International, and Cremona competitions.

A passionate chamber musician, she is a founding member of the Myriade String Quartet, coached by André Roy. Julia has collaborated with Roger Tapping, Anthony Marwood, and members of the Doric, Danish, Escher, and New Orford String Quartets. She teaches at the Royal Conservatory’s Taylor Academy, L’Orchestre des Jeunes du Mont-Royal, Arcadia Music School, and JVL Music in Summer, and performs on a 1747 “Palmason” Janarius Gagliano violin via the Canada Arts Council instrument bank.

Russell Iceberg

Violinist Russell Iceberg, award-winning in multiple competitions including Golden Violin and Prix d’Europe, has performed with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, L’Orchestre du Festival Bach International de Montréal, and I Musici de Montréal. He co-founded the Myriade, Persée, and Iceberg String Quartets and Ensemble Urbain, and performs with Trio 888, Tahanan Trio, and Duo Chromatika.

Russell’s collaborations span Andrew Wan, Phillip Ying, Robin Scott, and Mark Fewer. He plays a 1761 Nicolò Gagliano violin and bows by Étienne Pajeot, François Malo, and Sandrine Lhermenier. His work spans classical, jazz, blues, folk, and rock genres.

David Harding

Violist David Harding has performed throughout Europe, North America, Central America, and Australia at venues including Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw, and 92nd Street Y. Praised for “eloquent viola playing” (The Scotsman), he has collaborated with Pacifica, Shanghai, Cypress, Dover, Fine Arts, and Miro Quartets, as well as Gryphon Trio. He is a member of Trio Verlaine with flutist Lorna McGhee and harpist Heidi Krutzen.

David has recorded works by Debussy, Ravel, Bax, Jolivet, Glass, Schoenberg, and Brahms. Formerly Assistant Principal Viola of the Canadian Opera Company, he teaches viola and chamber music at Carnegie Mellon University and has given masterclasses at institutions including University of Michigan, Oberlin, Glenn Gould School, and Banff Centre. He studied at Juilliard under Tibor Vagy, Paul Doktor, and Emmanuel Vardi, performing on violas by Nicolas Gilles and Pietro Antonio Della Costa.

Hezekiah Leung

Praised for “lovely lyricism” (Calgary Herald) and “intelligent and diverse vibrato” (Chicago Classical Review), violist Hezekiah Leung is a founding member of the Rolston String Quartet, winner of First Prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition. He studied violin at University of Michigan, then viola at Rice University and Royal Conservatory of Music.

Leung has performed with Tabea Zimmermann, Leif Ove Andsnes, Jon Kimura Parker, James Campbell, and more. He served as violist of the Dover Quartet (2022–2023) and teaches at the University of Toronto and Phil & Eli Taylor Academy, joining the Toronto Symphony Orchestra viola section in 2025/26.

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Use for any combination of Festival of the Bay concerts! July 11, 17, 31, August 6 & 9

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Presented by Brookside Music Association