Vivien Illion, soprano. Soprano Vivien Illion combines sensitive musical interpretation with a fervent interest in the languages and histories of the vocal repertoire. She is passionate about performing a wide range of repertoire, and believes that a commitment to new music is vital for musicians today. In Summer 2021 she prepared an outdoor, COVID-safe performance of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. In addition to performing the role of Cherubino, she is co-directed the production, which received a Matchmaker MicroGrant from the Mississauga Arts Council.
Vivien recently completed her third year at the Royal Conservatory of Music Glenn Gould School, where she was the recipient of numerous scholarships, pursuing a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Voice Performance. She studies with soprano Monica Whicher and coaches with Peter Tiefenbach. During her time at GGS she has performed in masterclasses for artists such as Adrianne Pieczoka, Lynne Dawson, and John Hess. In the winter of 2019, she prepared to appear as Suor Dolcina in the Glenn Gould School’s Spring Opera, Suor Angelica, in Koerner Hall, conducted by Nicolas Ellis and directed by Michael Cavanaugh, although this performance was ultimately cancelled in March of 2020.
Growing up, Vivien sang in the Toronto Children’s Chorus (TCC). In 2016, she was part of an ensemble of TCC choristers selected to perform the treble voices in the chorus of Opera Atelier’s production of Dido and Aeneas. As a result of this experience, she developed a particular interest in early music, along with a love of opera that inspired her to pursue a post-secondary education in voice. Vivien is currently knitting a purple sweater with a scalloped hemline, and looks forward to completing its final sleeve soon.
Maria Kremenetskaya, Soprano. Maria is a Russian soprano who graduated with honours from the Russian University of Theatre Arts prior to which she studied for 4 years at a guitar college. Maria was interested in music, singing, theatre, and dancing from an early age and pursued all of these performing arts for many years. While studying at university, she participated in theatrical productions and musicals as an actress and dancer. In 2014, she participated in the dance ensemble in the musical Tick, Tick… Boom! Her graduation works were the role of Pamina in Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute and the role of Donna Anna in Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. After graduating from university, Maria worked at the Moscow Opera Theater. There she performed the roles of the First witch in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Soprano solo in Orff’s Carmina Burana, the First lady in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Christmas Eve, Brigitta in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, Geraldine in Barber’s A Hand of Bridge. From 2018 to the present, Maria has been working at the Moscow Contemporary Art Theater as an actress. She has always been interested in the synthesis of theatre and music in which she might combine her acting and vocal skills.
Adam Kuiack, Baritone. Canadian Baritone Adam Kuiack recently completed his Master of Music – Opera Performance at the University of Toronto, studying with renowned artists countertenor Daniel Taylor and baritone Russell Braun. In June of 2021, he completed a Quebec tour of the new Aureas Voces opera ‘Jimmy & Rosalia’ – a blend of Canadian folk music and music from Handel’s ‘Acis and Galatea’ that was met with enthusiasm by audiences and included a sold-out premiere at Salle Bourgie in Montreal. Highlights of last season include Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and the roles of Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and Sir Thomas Bertram in Mansfield Park. He has sung numerous operatic roles and is regularly featured as a soloist with choirs in Ontario. Since March, he’s begun to get back into writing and performing his own songs on guitar and piano and is enjoying some free time to explore new music. He’s thrilled to be a new member of the Arcady RBC Emerging Artist Program!
Camila Montefusco, mezzo-soprano. Storytelling and connecting through music marked the beginning of Camila Montefusco’s journey as a singer. The Brazilian mezzo-soprano holds a Master’s degree in Voice Performance from the University of Western Ontario, and a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance from the University of Sao Paulo. Since starting voice studies in Canada, some of her greatest achievements include an Encouragement Prize from the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions, the Revelation Prize at the Linus Lerner International Vocal Competition, First Prize at the Maritsa Brookes Concerto Competition and Second Prize at the Galina Pisarenko Youth Competition (Russia). In 2020 Camila debuted in the role of Katisha in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, and the past season featured her as La Zia Principessa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica and as soloist in Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Western University Symphony Orchestra. In the Summer of 2021 Camila joins the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices in Nevada to continue her studies under the tutelage of mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick. During the 2021-2022 season Camila will be featured as a member of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program at the Glenn Gould School.
Tate Pumfrey, composer. Tate Pumfrey, (b. 1998) from Thamesville, Ontario, is a composer with a strong interest in Catholics sacred music, organ and chamber works, as well as Gregorian chant and Celtic music. He currently studies in a Master’s of Composition at York University in Toronto, Ontario, under the supervision of composer Stephanie Martin. Before that, he completed a Bachelor of Arts in 2020 at Western University in London, Ontario. Tate also studies the pipe organ, and organist-composers Gilles Maurice Leclerc and Rachel Laurin have been mentors over the years, as well as composer Jeff Smallman. He has completed two of three planned hymnals in collaboration with Australian lyricist-organist Christian Catsanos. In addition to composition, Tate enjoys writing prose, attempting to write his own poetry, and making Rosaries by hand.
Rose Soenen, harpist. Rose Soenen is a professional Harpist based in Toronto. She received her Bachelor of Music in Orchestral Harp Performance under Lori Gemmell at Wilfrid Laurer University in 2016, where she was a winner of their 2015 Concerto competition. She also holds her grade 9 Royal Conservatory of Music certificate in piano and her grade 8 Canadian Conservatory certificate in voice.
Rose is a busy performer and private harp instructor. She is the Stratford Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Harpist, and frequently plays with the Etobicoke Philharmonic, the Ancaster Symphonia, and the Fanshawe Chorus London Orchestra players, as well as being a substitute player with the Kitchener Waterloo Orchestra and the Cambridge Symphony. Rose also works as the Harp Instructor for the Niagara Symphony’s Summer music camp, and is a busy chamber musician, performing with a variety of vocalists and instrumentalists, including Duo Niro, a harp duo specializing in pop music covers. Rose began pursuing her Masters of Instrumental Performance at the University of Toronto in 2020.
Anna Wojcik, soprano. Anna Wojcik is a young Polish-Canadian soprano who has already performed for audiences across Canada, the US, Poland, and Germany. She is hailed as “one to watch” (Opera Ramblings, 2019). In 2021, Anna plays Susanna in a self-produced backyard production of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and will be a soloist with the Oakville Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Charles Demuynck.
Anna has won countless competitions including the 69th ACPC Marcella Kochańska-Sembrich Vocal Competition and the Doreen Chaddock Memorial Vocal Scholarship Competition. She has appeared with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, Toronto Sinfonietta, Camerata Ensemble, and the Celebrity Symphony Orchestra. In 2015, Anna sang in Carnegie Hall for the American Protégé Competition Winners Recital. The following year, she received the 2016 Emerging Music Artist MARTY Award from the Mississauga Arts Council for her accomplishments. Within the past two years, Anna has performed multiple opera roles including: 2nd Spirit in Mozart’s Magic Flute (GGS), Annina in Verdi’s La Traviata (SOLT), Nora in Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea (SOLT), and Sister Osmina in Puccini’s Suor Angelica (GGS).
Anna is working towards her Bachelor of Music degree at the Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music, where she is studying with Jean Macphail and Peter Tiefenbach. As a first-generation Canadian, Anna is happy to maintain her Polish culture through regularly singing within the Polish community and discovering the little-known repertoire of Polish composers.
https://www.annawojciksoprano.com/