“I always hope that my students will continue living with music regardless of whether they will become professional musicians or not. Music instills spiritual harmony and a creative attitude to life allowing us to gain a deeper understanding of the world around.“

Holding the Master of Music degree from Glinka State Conservatory in Russia, Anna performed with the Nizhny Novgorod State Philharmonic Orchestra for several years as First Violinist. She also taught violin to secondary school students and worked with other orchestras touring France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and the Scandinavian countries. Among the highlights of her artistic career are joint performances with M. Rastropovich and Y. Bashmet. In Canada, Anna continued teaching at musical schools, delivering private lessons, and performing with Sinfonia Toronto, Oshawa Symphony, Brampton Symphony, Oakville symphony, Koffler Chamber orchestra and others.

Talented violinist, her passion for music began at the age of 5 in the music for children program in the Conservatory of Music Aragua State (Venezuela) where she was introduced to the Dalcroze eurhythmics method. At the age of 7 she began her violin studies with Carlos Riazuelo in Caracas and one year later was accepted into The Conservatory of Music Juan Manuel Olivares, with the recognized Venezuelan violinist Domingo Garcia as her tutor.

Years after, as a gifted and distinguished violin student, she was awarded with a   scholarship from the National Institute of Culture and Arts (INCIBA) to study violin in Brussels, Belgium. To complement her violin studies, Maria studied choral music and pedagogy concentrated in childhood music. Maria is also an accomplished composer.

In 1975, Maria became one of the founding members of the Venezuelan youth orchestra “JUAN JOSE LANDAETA”, which evolved as the well-known Music-Education Program “El Sistema”.  At that time, violinist and conductor Pablo Herrera and violinist Carlo Suzi were strings instructors. The experience as an orchestral musician was invaluable for Maria. Being a member of the first generation of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra EL SISTEMA and interacting with younger musicians, her interest in teaching increased while attended Suzuki-method instruction for strings seminars led by violinist and educator Shigetoshi Yamada.

The EL SISTEMA program has been awarded with the most prestige prizes worldwide like the Prince of Asturias, Spain (2008) and “The Polar Music Prize, Sweden (2009).

Maria performed in gala concerts in Venezuela and taught violin for several years.  She moved to Canada in 2009 and is an active performer and a violin instructor. She has been invited to participate in gala concerts in Gatineau City Hall Quebec and special events in Ottawa, Ontario.

Evan Runge has been teaching violin lessons for over 20 years. He grew up in Quebec and was admitted to the Conservatory of Music in Rimouski at age 11. In 2013, Evan obtained his Master’s in music performance from UOttawa. Evan has played with the OSE symphony orchestra as well as the Ottawa and Gatineau symphonies. He regularly performs in Ottawa and Gatineau as a soloist and has made several recordings with local bands. Although classically trained, Evan plays a wide variety of music, from progressive metal to fiddle and more recently has started playing Indian music. He intends to tour Canada in the near future.

Connor Cornick is a young professional cellist from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Connor completed his undergraduate studies at Acadia University and is a recent graduate of Memorial University where he completed his MMus in cello performance.

Connor enjoys performing in both chamber groups and orchestras and has been an active member of a number of youth and community groups throughout his career. While studying in Newfoundland, Connor held a seat with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. Connor has extensive experience teaching both privately and through organizations such as the Halifax Music Co-op and the Halifax Regional School Board. Connor is an avid believer in music as a creative tool for personal growth and strives to help all of his students on their own musical journey.