Kevin Chen

Canadian pianist Kevin Chen has quickly established himself as one of the most distinctive voices of his generation, praised for his poetic sensitivity, natural eloquence, and remarkable technical command.

Most recently, in October 2025, Kevin won the Second Prize at the 19^th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. His decision to perform the complete set of Chopin Études Op. 10 in the second stage drew wide attention and praise, with Polish critics calling his interpretation “a complete musical story, not a show of virtuosity.”

He is also the First Prize winner of several consecutive international competitions, namely the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition (Tel Aviv 2023), the Concours de Genève (2022), the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition (Budapest 2021), the Hilton Head International Piano Competition (2020), and the International Piano-e-Competition (Minneapolis 2019). His artistic maturity and individuality have been widely recognized by audiences and juries alike.

Kevin has appeared with major orchestras including the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Hungarian National Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been featured at international festivals such as La Roque d’Anthéron, Chopin and His Europe (Warsaw), and Duszniki-Zdrój, and has performed in leading venues including Carnegie Hall (New York), the Berliner Philharmonie, the Prinzregententheater (Munich), St. John’s Smith Square (London), and the Taipei National Concert Hall.

Born in Edmonton, Kevin began his piano studies at the age of five and soon attracted national attention, winning first place at the Canadian Music Competition at eight. He was later named one of the CBC’s “Top 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30” and one of Maclean’s magazine’s “100 Remarkable Canadians.”

He currently studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover with Professor Arie Vardi.

Hao Zhou

As the only violinist to be both a Grand Laureate of the Montreal International Violin Competition and a First Prize winner of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, American violinist Hao Zhou rose to unique international acclaim in 2019, captivating audiences with performances that are "personal, impassioned, courageous, and unostentatiously brilliant” (Musical America). An accomplished soloist and chamber musician, Hao has since appeared all over the world in cities such as Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Osaka, New York City, Beijing, Montreal, Banff, and London.

Raised in Southern California, Hao made his solo debut with the Four Seasons Symphony Orchestra at the age of 9 and his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 12. Since then, he has performed with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Downey Symphony Orchestra, and Peninsula Symphony Orchestra alongside conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alexander Shelley, and Thierry Fischer. He has performed in concert alongside internationally distinguished artists such as Emanuel Ax, Elisso Virsaladze, Orion Weiss, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Roberto Diaz, Clive Greensmith, and Paul Coletti.

Hao is a founding member of the award-winning Viano Quartet, currently in-residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as Bowers Artists and one of the youngest winners of the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2019. Committed to engaging with communities outside the concert hall, the Viano has collaborated with actors and scriptwriters in a theater show called "Over The Top," a Musical Encounter Interactive presentation they scripted, developed and performed at the Colburn School for inner city school children. His many awards with the Viano Quartet also include the Grand Prize at the ENKOR Chamber Music Competition as well as Third Prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.

Hao currently resides in Philadelphia and is a graduate of the Curtis Institute and the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles, where he studied extensively with Martin Beaver and was the first recipient of the Frances Rosen Violin Prize. He was invited to the Kronberg Academy Festival in 2019, and has spent past summers at the Ravinia's Steans Institute for Young Artists and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.

Victor Fournelle-Blain

Biography:

A versatile and much sought-after musician, Victor Fournelle-Blain is equally at home playing the violin or the viola in the capacity of soloist, chamber musician or orchestral player. Currently Associate Principal Viola of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, he first studied the violin at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal under Johanne Arel. Subsequent studies under Ani Kavafian brought him to the Yale School of Music, after which he entered the class of André Roy as a viola student at McGill’s Schulich School of Music. Winner of the 2012 Prix d’Europe, of McGill’s 2014 Golden Violin Award, and second prize winner of the 2010 OSM Standard Life Competition, he has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Orchestre Métropolitain and the Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil. He is the violinist of the Grand-Duc Trio and performs regularly with renowned artists such as Charles Richard-Hamelin, Andrew Wan and Brian Manker. Victor Fournelle-Blain currently plays a violin made by Carlo Tononi and a viola by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, both generously loaned to him by Canimex.

Musicien polyvalent, le violoniste et altiste Victor Fournelle-Blain mène une carrière active de soliste, chambriste et musicien d'orchestre. Alto associé à l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, il étudie d'abord le violon au Conservatoire de musique de Montréal avec Johanne Arel, puis à la Yale School of Music avec Ani Kavafian, avant de se perfectionner en alto auprès d’André Roy à l'École de musique Schulich de l’Université McGill. Gagnant du Golden Violin Award 2014 de l’Université McGill, du Prix d'Europe 2012 ainsi que du deuxième prix du Concours OSM Standard Life 2010, Victor Fournelle-Blain a été soliste invité de divers orchestres dont l'Orchestre Métropolitain et l'Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil. Violoniste du Trio Grand-Duc, il collabore régulièrement avec des musiciens de renom tels que Charles Richard-Hamelin, Andrew Wan et Brian Manker. Victor Fournelle-Blain joue actuellement sur un violon de Carlo Tononi et un alto de Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume généreusement prêtés par Canimex.

Cameron Crozman, cello

“With a rich imagination and a keen mind” (Diapason Magazine), Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman leads an active performing career as a soloist and chamber musician in Canada, the USA, and Europe. He has appeared as a soloist with the Orchestre National d'Ile-de-France (Paris), Montreal, Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Vancouver Island Symphonies among others, and performances have taken him everywhere from the Philharmonie de Paris and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, to the Qidi Vidi Brewery of St. John’s, Newfoundland. An avid collaborator and chamber musician, Cameron shares the stage with eminent artists such as 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, the Council’s largest award for emerging classical musicians, Cameron 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. Cameron’s debut album, Cavatine, recorded on the ca. 1696 “Bonjour” Stradivarius cello with pianist Philip Chiu, was released in 2019 and described by the French publication Classica Magazine as displaying “technical perfection with a personal style that leaves us wanting to hear more.” He has since recorded a number of CDs for the labels ATMA Classique in Canada and Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo in Monaco. His most recent release from May 2024 of the Haydn Cello Concertos and Jacques Hétu’s Rondo performed with Les Violons du Roy and conductor Nicolas Ellis has garnered international praise. Cameron’s performances are broadcast on CBC, BBC, RTÉ Radio, Radio France, and Medici.tv.

· Deeply committed to the music of today, Cameron is active in leading projects commissioning and premiering new music by some of Canada’s most recognized composers including Alexina Louie, Allan Gordon Bell, Liam Ritz, James O’Callaghan, and Kelly-Marie Murphy. After studies in Canada with Paul Pulford, Cameron was a student at the Paris Conservatoire and received his “Prix de violoncelle” with highest honours studying in the class of Michel Strauss and chamber music with Claire Désert and Ami Flammer. In 2018, he received a one year mentorship with violinist James Ehnes as part of the André-Bourbeau award from the Jeunesses Musicales Canada. Passionate about teaching the next generation, he has been invited to give masterclasses at the Académie Rainier III in Monaco, Lawrence University (Wisconsin), University of Montreal, Conservatorio Superior de Música Joaquín Rodrigo Valencia, and the Escola Superior de Music de Lisboa, among others.

· Alongside his performing activities, Cameron finds himself abosrbed by the rewarding challenges of producing concerts and musical events. He is co-founder of ClassicalValley, a festival bringing together chamber music and wine in Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada, and along with pianist Meagan Milatz, produces a series of chamber music concerts in Montreal called “HausMusique” in one of North America’s landmark Art Deco spaces, the Grande Salle of 9th floor of the Eaton Centre.

· Since 2024, he has had the incredible joy to work alongside Canadian musical legeng, James Campbell, as Assistant Artistic Director of the Festival of the Sound, one of Canada’s premiere classical music festivals now in it’s 46th year.

· Cameron currently plays on a 1734 Domenico Montagnana cello and a bow by Georges Léon Lamy generously provided by the company CANIMEX INC. of Drummondville, Québec.

Flex Package Available - Buy 4 get one free!

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

Available at Midland Cultural Centre box office or at the door

(Not available online)

Presented by Brookside Music Association