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 Jean MacRae: Born in Victoria, British Columbia, and studied violin, piano and voice at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Winner of many awards for excellence, in 1976 she received a grant from the Canada Council to study violin with the renowned teacher Frederick Grinke, in London, England. Upon returning to Canada, Jean continued her studies with Sydney Humphreys, Gwen Thompson, and Rivka Golani. Much in demand as a chamber musician, Jean performed in the ‘Faculty Chamber Music Series’ of the Victoria Conservatory of Music, then in Toronto for CBC Arts National broadcasts, where she was also soloist for several world premiers of works for viola by young Canadian composers. Jean MacRae has been a member of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, l'Orchestre symphonique de Québec, l’Orchestre Métropolitain, La Pietà with Angèle Dubeau, and was principal viola of the Montreal Chamber Players. She has played with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Société de Musique Contemporaine du Québec, l’Orchestre Baroque de Montréal, the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, as well as in the Allegra Chamber Music Series. Jean has taught violin, viola and chamber music at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, Ecole Secondaire Pierre Laporte in Montréal, and at CEGEP Vincent D’Indy. She shares her passion and enthusiasms for music with young musicians of all levels, and among her students are found winners of national and international competitions. In January 2000, with Margaret Lysy and James Darling, Jean founded the Westmount String Ensemble for beginning musicians, and then in September 2003, she founded Ensemble Dolce Musica, a string orchestra for musicians at the intermediate level. In 2006, Jean was director of the Youth Programme at the International Viola Congress.
Peter Purich, string coach: Equally at home in the in the styles of classical music as well as the down home feel of folk, violinist Peter Purich has made it a life long passion to explore the diverse elements of as many kinds of music that he can. This search for the essence of all art has led him to play and record with everybody, from symphony orchestras to jazz ensembles, from baroque concertos to Klezmer fiddle. As well as playing the violin, Purich is also a luthier working in the traditional style as well as designing new instruments. |
