Bill Linwood
Artistic Director
A native of Saskatoon, Bill Linwood is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Aventa Ensemble. He has conducted such classic repertoire as Boulez’ Derive I, Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto and Ferneyhough’s Flurries, as well as Canadian premieres of a wide variety of Canadian and international repertoire. Highlights include the Canadian premieres of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' De Assumtione Beatae Mariae Virginis, Thomas Ades' Concerto Conciso with Louis Lortie as piano soloist and the November 2007 North American premiere of Pierre Boulez’ Dérive II (2006). A champion of the music of Quebec composer Gilles Tremblay, Bill has conducted several programs and recordings devoted to his music. Other recent conducting highlights included the North American premiere of Norwegian Rolf Wallin’s Appearances, the North American premiere of Anders Nordentoft’s opera On this Planet, the US premiere of Poul Ruders Abysm in New York City and a concert dedicated to Mauricio Kagel with Calgary's Land’s End Ensemble. In 2009, Bill led Aventa in an international tour that introduced Canadian new music to audiences in New York City, Munich and Copenhagen.
Mark McGregor
flute
Mark McGregor is a Vancouver native, holding music degrees from the University of B.C., le Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia. He has performed with many of the province’s major music institutions, including the Vancouver Symphony and Opera Orchestras, the Vancouver New Music Ensemble, the Aventa Ensemble, as well as the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa) and the Sydney Sinfonia (Australia). A passionate advocate of new music, Mark gave the North American premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Ypsilon for solo flute in 2005, and has also given the local premieres of important works by Brian Ferneyhough and Kaija Saariaho.
AK Coope
clarinet
Clarinettist AK Coope is frequently heard with the Vancouver and Victoria Symphonies, the CBC and Vancouver Opera Orchestras, the Turning Point Ensemble and the Vancouver New Music Ensemble. She is a member of contemporary music ensemble Standing Wave with whom she has recently completed a soon-to-be-released CD, and is a founding member of the Ad Mare Wind Quintet, specializing in new music. She has also recently completed two albums and an NFB documentary film soundtrack for folk rock artist Veda Hille . This summer, AK traveled to Bali, Indonesia to take part in a collaboration with traditional Gamelan musicians. She holds degrees in performance from UBC and from Northwestern University in Chicago.
Russell Bajer
oboe
Russell Bajer has been a member of the Victoria Symphony as oboist and english hornist for 13 years. he has appeared as soloist with the orchestra on both instruments. He has played concerti of Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi and Marcello with such groups as the Galiano Ensemble, the Sidney Classical Orchestra among others. He has recorded solos with Capriccio choir and the Linden Singers. Russell has been guest principal oboist with the Vancouver Symphony , The Vancouver Opera and the CBC Radio Orchestra. He has toured as principal oboist with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Canada and the western US and in 2007 enjoyed a very successful tour of eastern Canada and New York with Aventa.
Darnell Linwood
horn
Originally from Saskatoon, Darnell Linwood was Principal Horn with the Regina Symphony Orchestra and taught at the University of Regina. Since moving to Victoria in 2002, Darnell has been active as both a chamber and orchestral musician playing with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Calgary Philharmonic and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. A strong advocate for new music, she is co-founder of Aventa Ensemble, where she has been featured on local concerts, tours and recordings. Recent highlights include the world premiere of Giorgio Magnanensi's Ethuia V for horn and electronics, as well as recordings of Gilles Tremblay's Le signe du lion (Centredisc) and Pierre Boulez' Derive II (CBC). Darnell continues to work with composers in developing the horn repertoire and has recently commissioned a new work from renowned British composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.
Louis Ranger
trumpet
Studied with Armando Ghitalla ( Boston University) and William Vacchiano (Juilliard). From 1970 to 1978, Mr. Ranger performed internationally as a brass chamber music clinician with the American Brass Quintet. He has also performed with such orchestras as the New York City Ballet, the New York City Opera, Radio City Music Hall, the Boston Symphony, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the New York Philharmonic where he was co-principal trumpet. He was also first trumpet with the Musica Aeterna orchestra. During the summer he is principal trumpet of the Aspen Festival Orchestra.
François Lévesque
trombone
François Lévesque was born in Rivière-du-Loup, Québec, and has played the trombone since the age of 12. He studied at the Conservatoire de Musique de Québec with Andrew Clayden for both his Collegial and Bachelor Degrees. François currently resides in Vancouver where he is pursuing a Masters degree in Music at the University of British Columbia with the renowned trombonist Gordon Cherry. In addition to Aventa, François have played also with many ensembles such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, il tromboni, L’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Sinfonia Orchestra and Vancouver Brass Project.
Muge Buyukcelen
violin
Muge Buyukcelen studied at Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul, Bilkent University in Ankara, and the Toulouse National Conservatory. She played in the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra from 1994-2000. She also won the 1999 Violin Competition of the Turkish Cultural Ministry. Muge is a member of the Victoria Symphony and performs with several groups such as the Victoria Bach Ensemble, St. Cecilia Orchestra, and The Galiano Ensemble.
Sharon Stanis
violin
Sharon Stanis has a multi-faceted career as a chamber musician, soloist and recitalist. As a founding member of the Lafayette String Quartet, she toured North America and Europe, performing in Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw and the Salzburg Mozarteum. Ms. Stanis has been a soloist with the Victoria Symphony, and performs recitals throughout the year.
Mieka Michaux
viola
Originally from Victoria, B.C., Mieka Michauxis an active chamber and orchestral musician playing both modern and baroque viola and violin. She performs regularly as a member of the Victoria Symphony, the Aventa Ensemble, the Galiano Ensemble, the Emily Carr String Quartet, Island Baroque and Co-Lab, a trio of artists dedicated to the production of an original art form that unites visual art and music. She has also toured internationally with the Aventa Ensemble and the Emily Carr String Quartet.
Alasdair Money
cello
Alasdair Money grew up in Victoria and studied with James Hunter at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. He graduated in 1991 from the Associate in Musical Arts Diploma program and went on to complete a Bachelor of Music degree at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he studied with Lawrence Lesser. After graduating from NEC in 1995, Alasdair went to England to study in London with Raphael Wallfisch at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he received a post-graduate diploma in performance. Alasdair currently performs with the Victoria, Vancouver Island and Vancouver Symphony orchestras.
Darren Buhr
double bass
Darren Buhr is a native of Regina and has been a member of the Victoria Symphony since 1994. Darren is a graduate of Indiana University where he was Principal Bass with the Philharmonic Orchestra as well as playing with the Evansville, Columbus and Terre Haute orchestras. Since 1994, Darren has been on the faculty of the Victoria Conservatory of Music.
Masako Hockey
percussion
Born in Tokyo, Japan, Masako Hockey received her formal training from two of Japan’s foremost music schools: her Masters Degree (MA) in Music Performance (Percussion) was obtained from the renowned “Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku” (Tokyo National University of Fine Arts & Music) and her undergraduate’s degree from The Musashino Academia Musicae. She has played and performed with a great variety of musical ensembles in situations ranging from Major National Symphony Orchestras (the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra) to opera houses and theater groups.
Corey Rae
percussion
Corey Rae is currently completing is B.Mus at the University of Victoria where he studies percussion with Bill Linwood. For the last two summers Corey has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and frequently performs with the Victoria Symphony. Corey recently performed with Aventa on their 2009 international tour to New York City, Munich and Copenhagen.
Miranda Wong
piano
Miranda Wong is on the faculty of both the University of British Columbia and the Vancouver Community Schools of Music. In addition to her solo recital work, she is also actively involved with several chamber music groups including the Aventa Trio where she performed Ligeti’s Trio for violin, horn and piano in May 2005. Miranda Wong has been the recipient of many awards, including major grants from the Canada Council, the B.C. government, and Rotary International. Her studies at the University of Victoria, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Peabody Conservatory of Music have brought her under the tutelage of such distinguished musicians as Leonard Shure, Leon Fleisher, Ellen Mack, Robin Wood, and Berl Senofsky.
