ARTHUR LEBLANC,
REDISCOVERED

A passionate advocate for the transformative power of music, Taiwanese-born violinist Sheng-Ching Hsu has built a vibrant, multifaceted career as a performer, educator, and creative collaborator. Based in Los Angeles, she is a core member of Delirium Musicum, the California Symphony, and the New West Symphony, and serves as concertmaster of the Iranshahr Orchestra. She is also guest principal second violin of the St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hsu launched S-C Sidewalk Performance, a grassroots initiative that brought live weekly music to the street corners of West LA, offering solace and connection in a time of isolation. The project garnered widespread attention, featured on KTTV Fox 11 Los Angeles, EliteGen Magazine (Toronto), and in a documentary by Aria’s Lens (China). Equally at home in solo and collaborative settings, Hsu has performed across Europe, North America, South America, and Asia. She is deeply engaged in contemporary music, frequently working with living composers and recently recording two works by Robert Sirota for commercial release. Her interest in music for the screen led to her appearance in the premiere of BBC Frozen Planet Live, scored by George Fenton. An active educator and mentor, she is on faculty at California State University–Long Beach and the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts. Her creative versatility also extends to arranging; her recent commission of the U.S. National Anthem for the New York Knicks’ Lunar New Year Game at Madison Square Garden is a testament to her wide-ranging artistry. Hsu holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from SUNY Stony Brook University, a Master’s from The Juilliard School, and a Bachelor’s from the Mannes School of Music. Her principal mentors include Catherine Cho, Christina Khimm, Itzhak Perlman, Aaron Rosand, and Philip Setzer. www.shengchinghsu.com

Pianist, writer, and arts leader Pierre-André Doucet is recognized as a singular voice in Canada’s artistic landscape. Noted for the emotional depth and refined control of his performances, he has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician, and vocal collaborator across North America, Europe, and South Africa, as well as aboard Holland America Line ships as a Lincoln Center Stage artist. An active artistic curator, he serves as Artistic Director of Barachois Summer Music, in his native New Brunswick, and steered the Frye Festival—Atlantic Canada’s largest literary festival—through a time of transition as Interim Executive Director from 2021 to 2022. In 2023, he was also the artistic director of Une maison traversée at Montréal’s Festival international de littérature. He is currently the coordinator of the McGill-UdeM Piano-Vocal Arts Residency, a unique program which he also ompleted as part of its first cohort (2022-2023). Winner of the Knigge Piano Competition and the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition (with soprano Alexandra Smither), he has also received prizes at the Prix d’Europe, the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto’s Career Development Award, and the Ibiza International Piano Competition. A celebrated author, Doucet has published two critically acclaimed books with Prise de parole—Sorta comme si on était déjà là (2012) and Des dick pics sous les étoiles (2020)—and became the first writer to be a three-time finalist in literature at the Jeux de la Francophonie (Beirut 2009, Nice 2013, Kinshasa 2023). His work has also appeared in Ancrages, Art Song Canada Magazine, Impossible Archetypes, Opera Canada, and Voix plurielles. Doucet holds a Doctorate in Piano Performance from the Université de Montréal and a Graduate Diploma in Collaborative Piano Performance from McGill University. A former resident at the Franz-Schubert-Institut, Music Academy of the West, and Tanglewood Music Center, he has been a guest professor at l’Université de Montréal and is well in demand as an adjudicator across the country. His artistic projects have received support from the Canada Council for the Arts, CALQ, the New Brunswick Arts Board, SSHRC, and FRQSC.

Violist Susan Sayle received her musical training in her hometown of Victoria, British Columbia, and later at McGill University, where she studied under Steven Kondaks and earned a Bachelor of Music degree with honours in performance. Since 1986, Susan has been a valued member of Symphony Nova Scotia, and in 1994, she was appointed Principal Viola—a position she has held with distinction ever since. During her extensive career in Halifax, Susan has made significant contributions as a performer both as a soloist and chamber musician. She has performed with esteemed ensembles such as the Dalhousie Chamber Players and Artemis (Toronto), and has been featured in concert series including St. Cecilia Concert Series, Under the Spire, and Barachois Summer Music. Susan’s talents have also taken her to festivals across Canada and abroad, including Concerts aux Îles du Bic in Rimouski, the New Brunswick Summer Music Festival, and Connexions Culturelles in France. Susan has frequently appeared as a soloist with Symphony Nova Scotia, demonstrating her skill and artistry to wide acclaim. In addition to her performing career, she has been a dedicated educator, teaching at Dalhousie University and serving as an adjudicator for music festivals such as those in Charlottetown and Kings County. Her artistry has been widely recognized through regular broadcasts on CBC Radio and her contributions to numerous recordings and film scores. During summers, Susan continues to share her talents with the Charlottetown Festival Orchestra in Prince Edward Island.

Jaeyoung Chong is a versatile Canadian cellist, composer, and researcher based in Montreal, Quebec. His creative practice merges contemporary classical performance, improvisation, and electroacoustic experimentation. Currently pursuing a Doctorate in Music Performance at McGill University under the supervision of Brian Manker, his research explores the development of improvisational methodologies for solo cello and live electronics, with a focus on accessibility, embodiment, and innovation in experimental music contexts. Born in South Korea and raised in New Brunswick, Chong began playing the cello at age eight. He is a prizewinner of numerous local, provincial, and national competitions, including the FCMF National Music Festival and the NAC Orchestra Bursary Competition. He has served as principal cellist with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and Symphony New Brunswick, and has performed as a soloist with the University of Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Chong holds performance degrees from the University of Ottawa and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. As an educator, he has worked with Sistema NB and the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, where he developed a passion for inclusive, creativity-driven approaches to music pedagogy. In 2022, he released Nostalgia, a self-produced debut album blending classical, ambient, and electronic influences. The recording earned “Recording of the Year” at the Music New Brunswick Awards. He continues to explore interdisciplinary performance, collaborating with producers, visual artists, and composers across genres. He has appeared at festivals such as RE:FLUX, where his performances frequently integrate live visuals, improvisation, and immersive sound design. Committed to forging new sonic languages while remaining grounded in classical tradition, Jaeyoung Chong is carving a distinct path at the intersection of technology, expression, and experimentation.