Intimate Voices

Beth made her soloist debut at the age of 16 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. The Los Angeles Times described her as a “prodigious talent, poised, introspective and very impressive.” She has performed throughout the Americas and Europe as a soloist chamber musician and orchestral player and performs on 15 recordings, two receiving Grammy nominations.

As an avid chamber musician and member of Duo46, she is an advocate of music by living composers and has commissioned with her spouse, guitarist Dr. Matt Gould, over 100 pieces. Duo46’s performances are characterized by a deep musical understanding and a commitment to new music. Their eclectic repertoire reflects their passion for exploring new sounds and styles.

Formerly a member of the San Antonio Symphony and assistant professor at Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus, Schneider-Gould’s technical excellence, musicality, and innovative programming have earned her critical acclaim. Her recordings have been praised for their artistry and their ability to capture her unique sound and energy. Whether performing on stage, recording in the studio, or teaching the next generation of musicians, Beth continues to push the boundaries of classical music and inspire audiences with her artistry, passion, and dedication to new music. She is currently Concertmaster of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and teaches violin and viola in the Sudbury Symphony Music Conservatory. Although Beth has received many awards and honours, she considers her children Sophia and Max to be her finest achievement to date.

Melissa was born in Sudbury and is a former student of Mary Kozak. A violin performance graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University under professor Jerzy Kaplanek, Melissa also completed a specialization in chamber music under the renowned Penderecki String Quartet. During her years at Laurier, she also had the pleasure of studying with Moshe Hammer and Stephen Sitarski. Melissa attended many summer music festivals worldwide, including the Toronto Summer Music Festival, Burgfeistriz (Vienna, Austria), Casalmaggiore International Music Festival (Italy) and Orford Centre for the Arts (QU). She pursued her postgraduate studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam under the tutelage of Peter Brunt (former student of Dorothy Delay and principle second of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra). While in Amsterdam, she worked under great conductors such as, Maestro Franz Bruggen (Orchestra of the 18th Century) and Reinbert de Leeuw (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Residencie Orchestra The Hague, Dutch Radio Orchestra).

Melissa’s versatility on her instrument led her to explore the world of popular, folk, and electronic styles of music throughout her time abroad. She toured with the electric string quartet, The Exclusive Strings for six years, playing for audiences from Asia to the Middle East, Australia, Europe, South America and Canada. Later forming the duo Electra, with colleague, Tamara Savic, both girls were featured in the hit single/video, “Envole-moi” (Sony, France) alongside Almazian’s Pop Symphony. Notably, Melissa collaborated with the Dutch rock band, Navarone in the creation and release of the live DVD ‘A Date at the Chapel’, alternative rock meets orchestral sonorities. She has shared the stage with renowned artists such as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Josh Groban, Michael Bublé, Disturbed, Salvatore Adamo, Richard Desjardins, Idina Menzel, Johnny Logan, Natasha Bedingfield, Evanescence and Chaka Khan, to name a few.

Erick Oliver Wawrzkiewicz is a Polish Brazilian violinist, violist and baroque violinist based in Toronto. He is currently in his 7th season as the Principal 2nd Violin of the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed as guest Principal Violist at the Ontario Philharmonic and guest Concertmaster for the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra and Counterpoint Community Orchestra. He performs regularly with orchestras and ensembles around  Ontario. Born in London, England to Polish and Brazilian parents he started studying the violin in Poland at age 4. He studied with Israeli violinist, Eyal Kless, at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and with TSO Associate Concertmaster, Mark Skazinetsky, at the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto Faculty of Music where he also took viola lessons with Eric Nowlin and learned Historically Informed Performance Practice with Jeanne Lamon and Ivars Taurins of Tafelmusik. Wawrzkiewicz recently recorded new works by Canadian composers Kevin Zi-Xiao He and Felix Arifin.

Yu Pei has been appointed Principal Cello of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. A Chinese-born cellist and teacher based in Ontario, she previously served for several years as Principal Cellist of the Timmins Symphony Orchestra and has also appeared with the SSO as Guest Principal Cello.

She holds a Master of Music in Cello Performance from Brandon University and a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Her background includes participation in the National Youth Orchestra of China (NYO-China) and the inaugural Youth Music Culture Guangdong (YMCG), under the artistic direction of Yo-Yo Ma. She was awarded Second Place in the Young Cellist Group at the Hong Kong International String Competition.