21 Students and Alumni on CBC Top 30 List of Young Classical Musicians

Published on July 27, 2021

CBC has published the 2021 edition of its top 30 classical musicians under 30 years old and, once again, Royal Conservatory of Music students and alumni dominate this annual list.

Sydney Baedke

The RCM artists included on this prestigious list include numerous pianists, string players, and vocalists, as well as a harpist, trombonist, and guitarist. They all share the experience of pursuing musical studies through the RCM Certificate Program – The Royal Conservatory's acclaimed system of private education and examinations – or through the professional programs of The Glenn Gould School including The Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program, and/or The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists.

According to the article "30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30, 2021 Edition" by CBC Music: “The 2021 edition includes musicians who've grabbed our attention over the past 12 months by winning competitions and awards, graduating from top music schools, making exciting debuts and releasing new albums — all while a global pandemic was raging. No small feat.”

We congratulate and look forward to seeing what the future holds for all of these individuals "burning up Canada's classical music scene" this year.

Here are The Royal Conservatory Students and Alumni on CBC’s “30 Under 30” List (2021 Edition):

Leslie Ashworth, violinist and violist (Oakville, ON) RCM Certificate Program, The Glenn Gould School & The Taylor Academy graduate

Sydney Baedke, soprano (Medicine Hat, AB) 2019-20 Rebanks Fellow

Robert Conquer, trombonist (Scarborough, ON) RCM Certificate Program

Rebecca Cuddy, mezzo-soprano (Brampton, ON) RCM Certificate Program

Ryan Davis, violist (Saskatoon, SK) 2019-20 Rebanks Fellow

Ben Diamond, guitarist (St. John's, NL) RCM Certificate Program

Jacques Forestier, violinist (Edmonton, AB) RCM Certificate Program

Gabrielle Gaudreault, choral conductor, pianist (Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, QC) RCM Certificate Program

Lincoln Haggart-Ives, violinist (Vaughan, ON) RCM Certificate Program

Arlen Hlusko, cellist (Lowville, ON) The Taylor Academy graduate

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko, pianist (Salmon Arm, BC) RCM Certificate Program

Christina Kant, harpist (Edmonton, AB) RCM Certificate Program

Juliana Moroz, cellist (Winnipeg, MB) RCM Certificate Program

Royce Rich, violinist (Richmond, BC) The Glenn Gould School student

Charlotte Siegel, soprano (Toronto, ON) RCM Certificate Program

Julien Siino, cellist (Quebec City, QC) RCM Certificate Program

Alexander Soloway, pianist (Ottawa, ON) RCM Certificate Program

Korin Thomas-Smith, baritone (Toronto, ON) 2020-21 Rebanks Fellow

Eugene Ye, cellist (Richmond Hill, ON) Taylor Academy graduate

Jessy Je Young Kim, violinist (Vancouver, BC) 2020-21 Rebanks Fellow

Ryan Zhu, pianist (Vancouver, BC) RCM Certificate Program

Korin Thomas-Smith

Leslie Ashworth

Ryan Davis

Sydney Baedke

Jessy Je Young Kim