Principal Horn with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra since 2002, Lawrence Vine has also served as Principal Horn with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. A much sought-after chamber musician, he has performed with Lynn Harrell, Joseph Kalichstein, Anton Kuerti, David Schifrin, Joseph Silverstein and Pinchas Zukerman. His festival credits include the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Banff Centre for Fine Arts, Cleveland's Kent/Blossom Music, and the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. An active teacher, clinician and soloist, he has presented masterclasses at universities across North America, and he serves on the faculty of the NAC Summer Music Institute

Richard Hoenich is currently Artistic Director of the Brooke Valley Musical Retreat (BVMR), in Perth, Ontario.

It’s perhaps natural that with his 30-year career as performer, conductor, teacher and coach, Richard Hoenich has the ideal background to mentor professional musicians who seek orchestra positions, and offer them the unique BVMR experience.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute, Richard won his own position as principal bassoon with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in 1979. It didn’t come easily. The orchestra held four auditions in six months until finally selecting him, even though he had competed in the previous three. This is in part why Richard became so interested in the process of audition preparation and performance and in helping others to pursue and realize their dreams.

Richard has adjudicated thousands of professional and student auditions. He brings a broad perspective from the vantage point of both player and conductor that musicians, regardless of their level, have consistently sought out as they prepare for professional careers. These aspiring pros have found him to be a sensitive and caring coach who is able to zero in on what they need to do to raise their performance to the point where they can win auditions. Lessons at Brooke Valley Musicians' Retreat take a holistic approach, and focus on the technical, musical and psychological challenges of the individual's performing experience.

Jeffrey Miller obtained his Bachelor's degree in Music from Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon in 1982. He was the Northwest Young Artist Winner in 1983, and the recipient of the Petri Award in 1984. He pursued advanced university studies with Alain Marion in Paris. Mr. Miller plays solo flute in the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and in Virtuosi Productions, and is constantly in demand as chamber soloist. His performances, in recital or in chamber music programmes, have been broadcast on CBC and Société Radio-Canada.

A native of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Sean Rice has performed extensively throughout North America and around the world. His broadcasts include recitals with CBC National Radio, performances for Swiss Radio DRS, and Newfoundland’s weekly music program,Musicraft. At an early age, Mr. Rice was invited to perform a matinee concert with the National Arts Centre Orchestra during their 2002 Atlantic Tour and since then he has appeared as soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Axiom, The New Juilliard Ensemble, Symphony Nova Scotia, Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, and Memorial University Chamber Orchestra.

Gaining recognition as an exciting performer of contemporary music, The New York Times recently described Mr. Rice as a “technically precise, exuberant protagonist,” for his performance of Magnus Lindberg’s Clarinet Quintet. Mr. Rice has performed at Pierre Boulez’s Lucerne Festival Academy (2008-2010), New York City’s Museum of Modern Art Summergarden Series (2007-2009), The Juilliard School’s 2007 Chamberfest, The Juilliard School’s Focus! Festival, the National Arts Centre Young Artist Program (2005-2006), Banff Music Festival, and Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival. In addition, Mr. Rice has performed numerous chamber music recitals as a guest of Memorial University’s Faculty Recital Series.

Following his 2007 Montreal debut at Jeunesses Musicales, La Presse wrote: “…clarinettiste canadien Sean Rice y révéla une technique impeccable, une authentique musicalité, une sonorité tour à tour éclatante et chaleureuse, et un vrai talent de chambriste.” Mr. Rice continued the 2007/08 season in his first national tour with pianist Jean-Philippe Sylvestre for Jeunesses Musicales touring series. In addition to performances throughout Canada, Mr. Rice has performed in major cities in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Malaysia, Brazil, and most recently Japan where he presented recitals for the 2009 & 2010 Kyoto International Music Festivals.

Sean Rice is a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland where he received his Bachelor of Music while studying with Paul Bendzsa. Continuing his studies under the tutelage of Charles Neidich, Mr. Rice graduated with a Master of Music from The Juilliard School and has maintained his studies there as a Doctorate of Musical Arts candidate. As a student at music festivals, Mr. Rice has had the fortune of studying with prominent clarinetists Kimball Sykes, Alain Damiens, Alain Billard, and Fan Lei. The recipient of numerous awards, Mr. Rice received first prize at the 2006 Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec Canadian Concerto Competition.

A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and the University of Michigan, Douglas Payson Sturdevant began his professional orchestral career with the Toledo (Ohio) Symphony Orchestra, becoming Principal Trumpet at the young age of 22. In 1975 he was appointed Principal Trumpet of Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, a position he held for 23 years. He was often featured as soloist with the Orchestra, both in Ottawa and on its national tours, and with noted conductors such as Pinchas Zukerman, Trevor Pinnock, Mario Bernardi, Roger Norrington, Helmut Rilling, Alexander Schneider, Eduoardo Mata and Charles Dutoit.

Mr. Sturdevant has taught at McGill University, the University of Ottawa, le Conservatoire de Musique du Québec and the Crane School at the State University of New York at Potsdam. He has also taught as a guest at the Eastman School of Music. A renowned brass and wind instrument clinician, Mr. Sturdevant has adjudicated for the MusicFest Canada Nationals, the Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto and festivals in Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. He has been invited to present master classes throughout North America. Mr. Sturdevant has appeared as conductor with the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra, the University of Ottawa Orchestra, the Ottawa Youth Orchestra and the McGill Brass Choir.

As a faculty member of MusicGrid, he has reached many young musicians as well as professionals in urban and rural locations via broadband videoconferencing.

Mr. Sturdevant is currently the Manager of Artist Training in the Music Department of the National Arts Centre and the Director of Pedagogy of the Orchestre de la francophonie.

Cathy Baerg is a graduate of the University of Ottawa performance program where she studied flute with Robert Cram. As a student, she was awarded the Mrs. O.J. Firestone scholarship and later received a grant from the Floyd S. Chalmers fund which enabled her to study in England with William Bennett and Peter Lloyd. She held the position of principal flute with the Nepean Symphony Orchestra and also played with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Cathy has been a member of many chamber groups and has been heard in recital on CBC Radio with the Rollins Duo (flute and guitar) and the trio Trillium (flute, cello and piano). She continues to take great pleasure in playing with local musicians, usually in chamber music settings, and recently recorded a CD as a member of the flute quartet, Opus Four. She enjoys teaching, both in her private studio and as a flute performance instructor at Carleton University.