Celebrating Spring with Vivaldi and Dionysus

I’ve posted before about how fulfilling it is to collaborate with former students as featured soloists, but it is just as exciting to work with soloists for the first time, musicians I didn’t know previously or knew only by reputation or passing acquaintance. Earlier this month, I got to meet and perform with violinist Tiffany Yeung, a friend of a friend and an extremely talented musician, who was named one of CBC’s “30 Under 30” in 2023. She travelled from Montreal, where she is pursuing a master’s degree at McGill University, to perform two of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with the Milton Philharmonic Orchestra, for their “Classical Gems” concert. Working with Tiffany on the Vivaldi was a joyful experience: she is generous as an artist but also spontaneous, with a clever and contagious creativity that was fun to play off of.

Me and violinist Tiffany Yeung after our performance with the Milton Philharmonic Orchestra on March 6, 2026

Next Saturday evening, the UofT Wind Ensemble will be joined by recent grad Ethan Whitlow to perform John Mackey’s Harvest: Concerto for Trombone. I knew of Ethan but never had the opportunity to work with him while he was a student at the faculty, and I am very much looking forward to putting together this piece with him. Harvest was inspired by the ritual worship of the Greek god Dionysus, and the music ranges from frenzied to contemplative to yearning to celebratory. Also on the program is Julie Giroux’s masterful Symphony No. 5, “Elements”, which has been on my bucket list ever since it was released in 2018. It is extremely demanding for the musicians but I have great faith they will knock it out of the park! Concert details are available here.

Trombonist Ethan Whitlow, featured soloist for the UofT Wind Ensemble’s upcoming concert