Introducing the 2021-22 Rebanks Fellows
Introducing the 2021-22 Rebanks Fellows
Published on September 3, 2021
Unique in Canada, The Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program is the one-year postgraduate program of The Royal Conservatory’s
Glenn Gould School. Created in 2013 for artists on the cusp of a professional career, it offers a rich curriculum for career development, including private study with exceptional faculty and guest artists; concert presentations and career coaching; and marketing training and support. Additionally, each Rebanks Fellow also participates in a funded international residency.
The continued success of The Rebanks Family Fellowship Program is possible thanks to the unwavering
support of the Rebanks Family and the Weston Family Foundation.
Buy tickets to a Rebanks Concert
Joanne Choi, cello (Canada)
Korean-Canadian cellist Joanne Yesol Choi is an avid chamber musician and founding member of the Dior Quartet. The ensemble was the Bronze Medalist at the 2019 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, prize winners at the 2021 Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition and the 2019 Plowman Chamber Music Competition, and the new Quartet-in-Residence at The Glenn Gould School. Joanne has participated in several international festivals and residencies such as the Banff Centre International String Quartet Festival, the McGill International String Quartet Academy, the Toronto Summer Music Festival, the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme, and the Beethoven-Haus residency. She has also performed in masterclasses for Mischa Maisky, Alisa Weilerstein, Colin Carr, Andres Diaz, Joseph Johnson, and collaborated with Orion Weiss, Phillip Setzer, Andrew Wan, Owen Dalby, Stephen Lemelin, Douglas McNabney, and Eric Silberger. Joanne completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and studied with Eric Kim, Brandon Vamos, and the Pacifica Quartet. She was a scholarship student at The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists for six years until 2014.
Peter Eom, cello (USA)
Armed with the versatility of creative interests, cellist Peter Eom has been recognized for his “flowing, lyrical quality of sound,” and an eclectic musical approach that aims to present a vivid, authentic, and personal rendering of works ranging the gamut of classical music. Peter is a top prizewinner of competitions including the Quebec International Music Competition, the King’s Peak International Music Competition, the Klein International String Competition, the YoungArts National Arts Competition, and the Alexander & Buono International String Competition, and in 2013 was chosen as one of three classical musicians representing the United States of America’s class of graduating seniors as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts. In addition to early music, Peter feels strongly about the importance of engaging with music of our own time. In this vein, he has delved into fascinating works of composers including Marcos Balter, Chen Yi, Felipe Lara, Marc Mellits, Salvatore Sciarrino, Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Zorn, and others. Peter completed a Master’s degree with Hans Jørgen Jensen at Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree with Clive Greensmith at the Colburn Conservatory of Music.
Jaclyn Grossman, soprano (Canada)
Jaclyn Grossman is defining what it means to be a portfolio artist. Hailed for her “unique voice type” and “command over a powerful range of expressive emotion,” as co-founder of Likht Ensemble, this season Jaclyn will perform in the Shoah Songbook, a concert series of music by Jewish composers from the Holocaust, with the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company. Jaclyn is the program associate at the Association for Opera, and the founder of the Phoenix Leadership Project, a Canadian charity that promotes youth leadership education. She is also the 2020 winner of the Ben Steinberg Musical Legacy Award with Temple Sinai, and a graduate of McGill University’s Opera and Voice program. Recent performances include Vitellia (La Clemenza di Tito), Lady Billows (Albert Herring), and Madame Lidoine (Dialogues des Carmélites) with Opera McGill, and excerpts of Lady Macbeth (Macbeth) and Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the OperaFest at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.
Camila Montefusco, mezzo-soprano (Brazil)
Originally hailing from Brazil, Camila Montefusco started her musical journey at the age of six as an instrumentalist and earned a Bachelor's degree in Violin Performance from the University of São Paulo. She holds a Master’s degree in Voice Performance from Western University and attended the Dolora Zajick Institute for Young Dramatic Voices in the summer of 2021. Since starting her vocal studies in Canada three years ago, she has been awarded several prizes and scholarships including Second Prize at the Galina Pisarenko Youth Competition, and the Revelation Prize at the Linus Lerner International Vocal Competition. In 2020, Camila debuted in the role of Katisha in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, and the 2021 season saw her featured as La Zia Principessa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, as well as a soloist in Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Western University Symphony Orchestra. This year, Camila will perform as Nada in Ana Sokolovic’s Svadba, and as Goffredo in Handel’s Rinaldo.
Jean-Luc Therrien, piano (Canada)
Named one of Canada's 30 hot classical musicians under 30 by CBC Music in 2020, Jean-Luc Therrien has stood out over the years in many competitions such as the Orford Music Awards, the Mauro Paolo Monopoli Prize, and the Canadian Music Competition’s Stepping Stone event. He was also selected for the prestigious Honens International Piano Competition, which will be held in 2022. Jean-Luc has also been awarded the Governor General’s Academic Medal, a Wilfrid Pelletier Foundation scholarship, and a grant from the Canadian Council for the Arts. As a chamber musician, Jean-Luc has collaborated with several ensembles and musicians including the Quatuor Claudel-Canimex, Mai Tategami, and Zlatomir Fung. In 2017, he formed the Duo J², with French violinist Jean-Samuel Bez, with whom he has toured in Eastern Canada and Europe. Together, the duo also won the Grand Prize for chamber music at the Luigi Zanuccoli International Competition in Italy. To support the release of their 2021 debut album, J² will once again tour Europe in March 2022. Jean-Luc is a graduate of the Conservatoire de Musique de Trois-Rivières, the University Mozarteum Salzburg, the University of Toronto, and The Glenn Gould School.
Bruno Tobon, cello (Canada)
Bruno Tobon studied at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal with Denis Brott. He also is an alumnus of the acclaimed New York String Orchestra Seminar at the Mannes School of Music. From 2012 to 2016, he was a member of the Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Louis Lavigueur, and has appeared as a soloist with several orchestras in Quebec including the Orchestre Symphonique de Longueuil. Recipient of prizes for chamber music concerts, emeritus scholarships, career development grants, and art recognition awards, Bruno has participated in prestigious music programs such as the Banff Centre Master Classes for Strings and Winds, the OSM Manulife Competition, and the National Arts Centre’s Summer Music Institute. In 2018, he was a guest artist in the renowned Montreal Chamber Music Festival, and played in the Virée Classique festival as a member of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Bruno’s other accolades including the prize for the best interpretation of a Canadian-commissioned work at the 2017 Canadian Music Competition’s Stepping Stone event, and being named as a finalist at the Louis Vuitton Foundation’s 2019 “Classe d'Excellence de Violoncelle” event in Paris. He has collaborated with international artists as Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Jacques Lacombe, Glen Montgomery, Timothy Chooi, and Carter Johnson.
Hope Wilk, harp (USA)
A highly regarded musician and artist, Hope Wilk has played harp with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Additionally, she has participated in music festivals such as the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Bang on a Can Summer Festival at MASS MoCA, and the Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice. Hope holds degrees from The Royal Conservatory's Glenn Gould School and the New England Conservatory of Music, where she was awarded The John Cage Award for her commitment to contemporary music. As a soloist, she has garnered acclaim for her performance of Ginastera’s Harp Concerto, being titled first runner-up in concerto competitions with The Boston Pops and The New England Conservatory Symphony. Additionally, Hope was a prize winner in the American Harp Society National Competition: Young Professional Division.