Outside Hollow

Saturday, April 11 at 8pm
Teen Composer Award Presentation at 7:45pm
St. George’s Grange Park 
30 Stephanie Street, Toronto

Featuring Rob MacDonald, guitar

This special concert features the remarkable artistry of Toronto’s own Rob MacDonald together with the Continuum ensemble. Rob takes centre stage for wide-ranging guitar concertos by Francisco Coll and Tomi Räisänen, as well as a solo work by Amy Brandon. These works are complemented by ensemble works by Yaz Lancaster and Jesse Plessis. We also feature a new work by the recipient of the 10th annual Teen Composer Award.

Amy Brandon (CA) Slancio
Jesse Plessis (CA) Ishnala 
Francisco Coll (SP) Turia
Yaz Lancaster (US) Shed Velvet   
Tomi Räisänen (FN) Sea of Tranquility 

Tonight’s Musicians

Rob Macdonald, guitar

While he plays the most ubiquitous instrument in the world, guitarist Rob MacDonald digs incessantly to find some of the least known repertoire. This focus comes from a keen interest in composers who generally risk taking things too far – and occasionally offer listeners a glimpse into new worlds of sound. He teaches at the University of Toronto.

Leslie Newman, flute / alto flute

Leslie is the principal flute with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, a post she has held since 2008. As guest principal flute, she has played with the Hallé Orchestra under Kent Nagano, the Bournemouth Symphony, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, National Ballet Orchestra and Esprit. She has toured through Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Europe and the U.S. with Sir Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

As soloist, Leslie has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Toronto and the Montreal Chamber Orchestra. She has presented recitals across the UK, with numerous BBC Radio 3 broadcasts, including two live recital broadcasts from the world-famous Wigmore Hall, and throughout Canada, including Jeunesses Musicales and Debut Atlantic tours and numerous national and regional CBC broadcasts. Other notable recital engagements include at the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago, Taipei’s National Concert Hall and the National Museum in Bogotá, Colombia. Festival appearances include Banff, Belle-Ile (France), Bogotá, Salzburg, Sorrento, Sweetwater, the Stratford International Flute Festival (UK), Ottawa’s Chamberfest and the Oregon Bach Festival.

Leslie lives in Toronto and teaches at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music.

Anthony Thompson, clarinet / bass clarinet

As a freelance clarinetist, Anthony Thompson performs with many Toronto-based ensembles. As an orchestral musician, Anthony has appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company, and the Esprit Orchestra.

Anthony has a deep passion for contemporary music, performing regularly with many of Canada’s premier new music ensembles. He has toured across Canada and parts of Asia with Soundstreams, Continuum Contemporary Music, and the Thin Edge New Music Collective.

In addition to his performance career, Anthony has a large private teaching studio. Away from the clarinet, he enjoys spending time with his family, practicing yoga, and triathlon training.

Carol Lynn Fujino, violin

Carol Lynn Fujino joined the TSO in 1991 and made her solo début with the Orchestra two years later, playing in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins. Prior to her joining the TSO, Carol served as Assistant Concertmaster for the National Ballet of Canada orchestra.

Carol has concertized throughout North America, Europe and Asia. She has also been heard on CBC Radio as a soloist with Esprit Orchestra and is an active chamber musician, performing regularly as a member of the Accordes String Quartet and Continuum Contemporary Ensemble.

Aside from playing in the violin section, Carol’s duties also involve keeping her colleagues well caffeinated backstage. She also enjoys spending great amounts of time discussing and making baked goods.

Clara Nguen-Tran, viola

A native of Toronto, violist Clara Nguyen-Tran is a versatile performer of a wide range of genres that include classical, contemporary, baroque, tango and pop.

As an orchestral musician, she regularly performs with orchestras across Ontario including the Canadian Opera Company, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, and Esprit Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she plays in the all-female, Canadian tango group Solidaridad and is a member of the string collective to gather string, whose focus is on writing original works and collaborating with other artists.

Clara completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Eric Nowlin and Teng Li. She also holds an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School where she studied with Steven Dann.

Paul Widner, cello

An active cellist in Toronto, Paul Widner is resident cellist of several contemporary music ensembles, including Continuum Contemporary Music and Arraymusic. He is also principal cellist of the Esprit Orchestra and performs regularly with New Music Concerts.

He has toured throughout Canada and Europe with these groups and appears on several recordings of contemporary Canadian music.

Paul is also the assistant principal cellist of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and performs with the Amadeus Ensemble and the National Ballet Orchestra.

Jesse Plessis, piano

Pianist and composer Jesse Plessis grew up in small town British Columbia, Canada. As a pianist he currently performs classical and contemporary music across Canada, Europe, and the United States. His compositions have been commissioned and performed by Canadian artists and ensembles including the Fibonacci Trio, Luminous Voices, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Brittany Rae, Jonathon Adams, Continuum Contemporary Music’s HATCH! ensemble, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Upcoming projects include works for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Standing Wave, Quasar, a concerto for Canadian pianist Jarred Dunn, and several solo piano compositions. He is also a devoted educator, and has taught at the University of Lethbridge, College Stanislas, Lower Canada College, and McGill University.
He holds a doctorate in piano performance from the Université de Montréal, and in 2020 he developed a neuromuscular condition called focal dystonia which disabled his right hand. During his recovery, he focussed more time and energy on composing music and entered doctoral studies in composition at McGill University supported by the Schulich Excellence Fellowship.
He enjoys distance running with his dog Aida, swimming, surfing, art, and poetry in his spare time.

Gregory Oh, conductor / piano

Gregory Oh tends to wander the genres, appearing in places from the legendary Berlin techno club Berghain to Lincoln Centre. He conducted RUR A Torrent of Light (Nicole Lizée/Nic Billon) for which he received the 2022 Dora Mavor Moore award for Outstanding Musical Direction, as well as The Cave (Tomson Highway/John Millard) and Bearing (Michael Greyeyes/Signal Theatre) for the Luminato Festival, and the recording Ride the Wind with Roscoe Mitchell and the Montreal-Toronto Jazz Orchestra. On piano he premiered Scott Good’s Hands of Orlac with the London Symphonia and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, toured Rwanda and the UK with Neema Bickersteth and Century Song (Volcano), and was featured as conductor and pianist at the Shanghai New Music Festival. He has worked with hundreds of composers including Steve Reich, Phillip Glass, Kaija Saariaho and Jörg Widmann. He teaches at the University of Toronto and NYO Canada and programs Summer Music in the Garden at Harbourfront Centre.

Ryan Scott, percussion

Dr. Ryan Scott (he, him) has performed extensively as a marimba and multi-percussion soloist in contemporary music festivals in Europe, Japan, China, Indonesia, South Africa, the UK and The Netherlands. He has also performed as guest soloist in over 25 different percussion concerti with the Esprit Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, The Hyogo Performing Arts Centre Orchestra, The Austin Symphony and numerous other orchestras and chamber ensembles across North America.

Ryan is a stalwart figure in the Toronto contemporary music community and has performed in over 400 world premieres. In addition to his work as a regular guest artist with NEXUS, Principal Percussionist of the Esprit Orchestra and Percussionist in the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra since 1996, he is also a sought-after chamber musician and teacher. A core member of Continuum Contemporary Music (founded 1985), he also serves the organization as Artistic Director.

Outside Hollow

production sponsors

Dr. Peter Burns

The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation

Metcalf Foundation

Epstein Family Foundation