On November 25, 2004, Music Around Us featured Sarah Jeffrey, oboe with Gabriel Radford (horn), Jenny Thompson (violin), Karen Moffatt (viols), Roberta Janzen (cello), Gregory Oh (piano).

Marin Marais (1656-1728)
Variations on La Folia

Erik Ross (1875-1937)
Chaconne for oboe, horn and piano
(World première)

Maurice Ravel
(1875-1937)
Sonatine (arr. D Walther)

1. Modéré
2. Mouvement de menuet
3. Animé

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756-1791) Quartet in F for oboe and strings, K. 370

1. Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Rondeau

Excerpt from the La folia variations by Marin Marais, on-stage interview with Sarah Jeffrey and two variations from Chaconne by Erik Ross.
REALPLAYER   WINDOWS MEDIA   QUICKTIME
(runs 12:58)

A native of Toronto, oboist Sarah Jeffrey is in great demand as a performer across Canada. Ms. Jeffrey began her studies at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Richard Dorsey, Principal Oboist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. As a recipient of the Chalmers Award from the Ontario Arts Council, she continued her studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, achieving a Masters degree with Laura Ahlbeck.

Ms. Jeffrey is currently performing as Principal Oboe of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, while continuing to hold her position as Principal Oboe of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. She most recently held the position of Principal Oboe of the Quebec Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Jeffrey performs regularly with many Canadian orchestras including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra London, and has performed as Principal Oboe with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. She has participated in numerous music festivals including the Tanglewood Music Center, the National Orchestral Institute in Maryland and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada with which she toured Japan, Canada and Europe. As a member of the Paragon Winds, she was awarded the Grand Prize at the Coleman Chamber Music Competition in Pasadena, California in 2000. Ms. Jeffrey was a featured soloist during the Windsor Symphony's 2003-2004 season performing the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto, broadcast on Music Around Us.

She currently lives in Toronto with her husband Gabriel and her cat Jack.

Gabe was born and raised in Toronto. For the past two seasons, he has been Acting Third Horn of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and is proud to join the orchestra officially as Third Horn beginning in September 2004.

His musical career began at a young age as a boy soprano, appearing as a soloist in the Canadian Opera Company's production of Mozart's Magic Flute. Choosing horn while still in primary school, he went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Performance at the University of Toronto. Moving to Boston, Massachusetts, he studied at the New England Conservatory of Music under Boston Symphony Orchestra member Daniel Katzen.

At the age of 23, Gabe successfully auditioned for Associate Principal Horn of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Following three years in that position, he accepted an offer to become Acting Principal Horn. While in Winnipeg, he also held the positions of Principal Horn of both Music Barock and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. Gabe currently holds the position of Principal Horn of the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, a summer festival near Columbus, Ohio, where he has the opportunity to play chamber music and solo works in addition to orchestral repertoire.

Gabe is a devoted teacher. While in Winnipeg, he was Horn Instructor at the University of Manitoba, and traveled to North Dakota in the summers to instruct at the International Music Camp. Since moving to Toronto, he has given masterclasses at the University of Toronto and at the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, as well as teaching a studio of private horn students. He joins both the faculty of the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music in September, 2004.

Jenny Thompson, a native of the U.S., graduated from the University of Michigan and Rice University. She has performed at the Aspen Music Festival and the Tanglewood Music Center and she currently performs at the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Jenny has been a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 1999. She has also appeared with a variety of other ensembles and artists including New Music Concerts, Via Salzburg and John McDermott. Jenny also teaches at the Regent Park School of Music.

Winnipeg born violist Karen Moffatt holds a Master of Music from the University of Victoria, where she served as a Teaching Assistant under the Lafayette String Quartet. Active as an orchestral musician, Karen has been a member of the New Zealand Ballet Orchestra, the Victoria Symphony, the Okanagan Symphony, and has acted as principal violist for the Prince George and Vancouver Island Symphony. As a chamber musician, Karen has traveled to France, New Zealand, and throughout Canada, and has studied with world renowned Masters such as Lorand Fenyves and Lawrence Lesser. Currently, she is a member of the newly formed Rocca String Quartet, with whom she recently returned from an eight-week residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts, and performed in concert with pianist Bernadine Blaha and as the guest violist with the Hoebig/Moroz Trio. Karen has been living in Toronto for the past year where she is active as a freelance musician, performing regularly with the Toronto Sinfonia, the Windsor Symphony and teaching violin and viola students.

Cellist Roberta Janzen is a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Until recently, she has been with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. She has appeared as principal cellist with numerous ensembles including the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, and most recently in the Canadian Opera Company's production of Dido and Aeneas. She completed a DMA at the State University New York at Stony Brook, a Master of Music at New England Conservatory, where she won the concerto competition, and also studied at the Tanglewood Music Centre, the Steans Institute for Young Artists at Ravinia, and the Banff Centre. Roberta is currently on the faculty of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto where she teaches in the Young Artists Performance Academy program.

Building a career with an eye towards versatility, Canadian pianist Gregory Oh is making his third appearance in this series. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Toronto, and the University of Michigan. He has appeared as a soloist with the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Graz Hochschule Orchestra, Orchestra London and the Festival Players, and has given recitals throughout Canada and the United States. As a chamber musician, he has shared the stage with many notable musicians. He is active as an opera coach, has served as music director of the San Diego Opera Ensemble, and has also worked with Florida State Opera, the University of Michigan Opera Program, Michigan Opera Works and Lyric Opera San Diego. He has held faculty positions at the Banff Centre for the Arts, both in Music and Sound, and Theatre Arts, where he worked with the Contemporary Opera and Song Training Program. He is active in contemporary music, and has premiered works by Glenn Buhr, Heather Schmidt, Walter Buczynski and Erik Ross, and plays in the new music group Toca Loca with Simon Docking and Aiyun Huang. He has toured with cabaret performer Patricia O'Callaghan, and has also performed for the Festival of the Sound, Two New Hours, Brave New Works, Esprit Orchestra, Nouvelle Ensemble Moderne, the Music Gallery, Tapestry New Opera and the Soulpepper Theatre Company. His performances have been heard on CBC Radio One and Radio Two, and seen on CBC Television, TV Ontario and on Bravo's Live at the Rehearsal Hall.