On November 03, 2005, Music Around Us featured The Rocca String Quartet in concert. This performance was broadcast on CBC Radio Two Sunday, November 13, 2005.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Quartet in F, K. 465 ("Dissonance")
i.   Adagio-allegro
ii.  Andante cantabile
iii. Menuetto and Trio allegretto
iv.  Allegro molto

Dmitri Shostakovich
(1906-1975)
Quartet No. 7, in F sharp minor, Op.108
i.   Allegretto
ii.  Lento
iii. Allegro

Excerpt from Finale to Mozart's Dissonance Quartet, K. 475
REALPLAYER   WINDOWS MEDIA   QUICKTIME
(03:19)

The Rocca String Quartet was formed in 2003 and has existed in its current configuration since the fall of 2004. The Quartet received great reviews after début performances in Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo. Upcoming engagements in the fall of 2005 include a Brandon University Pro Series concert, and possible performances in Regina, Winnipeg, Kitchener-Waterloo, and London. The name of the quartet derives from the 1902 Enrico Rocca violin on loan to Kerry DuWors from the Canada Council.

Violinist Kerry DuWors has earned accolades for her "poise and maturity" and "spellbinding expression." Currently a full-time professor of violin and chamber music at Brandon University, Kerry is also the concertmaster of the Brandon Chamber Players. First-prize winner of the 26th Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition, Kerry undertook an extended Canada-wide recital tour with pianist Lydia Wong, and was a featured soloist with the Montreal Chamber Orchestra in 2003. She was a top finalist in the Canada Council for the Arts' Fine Instrument Bank Competition, winning the 3-year loan of the 1902 Enrico Rocca violin on loan to the Canada Council from an anonymous donor.

Kerry holds her Master's degree from the University of Toronto where she studied with Lorand Fenyves under the prestigious Eaton Graduate Scholarship, Yo-Yo Ma Fellowship for Strings, and a Canada Council for the Arts Professional Development Grant. She completed undergraduate studies in 2001 at the University of Victoria as a student of Ann Elliott-Goldschmid of the Lafayette String Quartet. 2005 engagements include appearances in the Agassiz Chamber Music Festival, the Gustin House Centennial Homecoming Concerts, and chamber music performances with James Ehnes.

Jenny Thompson, a native of the U.S., graduated from the University of Michigan as an Angell Scholar under the tutelage of Paul Kantor. She furthered her studies with Kathleen Winkler as a Brown Fellow at Rice University. She has performed at the Aspen Music Festival and as concertmaster at the Tanglewood Music Center and currently spends her summers 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, The Bach Consort and John McDermott. As a chamber musician, she has performed on the Five Small Concerts series and also appeared in this series last season.

Winnipeg-born violist Karen Moffatt received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Manitoba under violinist David Stewart and her Master's degree from University of Victoria where she served as Teaching Assistant under the Lafayette String Quartet. In addition she earned an Honors Degree from the University of Wellington in New Zealand under the New Zealand String Quartet. An avid chamber musician, Karen has performed with pianist Bernadine Blaha and as guest violist with the Hoebig/Moroz Trio. As a resident at the Banff Centre for the Arts, she has worked with Kryzstof Penderecki, Gary Kulesha, Laurence Lesser and Karen Tuttle. An active orchestral musician, Karen currently plays with the Windsor Symphony and the Aradia Ensemble, and freelances with groups such as the Canadian Opera Company. Karen is also an active teacher of both the violin and viola and also appeared in this series last season.

Born in Waterloo, John Marshman received his bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto, where he studied with Shauna Rolston and Kim Scholes. After a winter at the Banff Centre for the Arts as an artist in residence, Mr. Marshman continued his studies in Amsterdam with Pieter Wispelwey. As an orchestral musician, Mr. Marshman performs regularly with ensembles across Ontario including The Toronto Symphony Orchestra and The Via Salzburg Chamber Orchetsra, as well as in summer festival orchestra including The Grand Teton Music Festival. As a chamber musician, Mr. Marshman has performed at numerous festivals with a variety of artists including Shauna Rolston, Mayumi Seiler, John Perry and Heinz Holliger and is a founding member of the Quaternion Ensemble. An active teacher, Mr. Marshman has served on Faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University and The Royal Conservatory of Music.