Canadian cellist Rachel Mercer, described as a “pure chamber musician” (Globe and Mail) creating “moments of pure magic” (Toronto Star), has performed across five continents as a soloist and chamber musician. She is Principal Cello of the NAC Orchestra in Ottawa and Co-Artistic Director of “5 at the First” Chamber Music Series. A former cellist of the JUNO Award-winning piano quartet Ensemble Made in Canada (2008–2020), Rachel has commissioned and premiered over thirty works by Canadian composers. She plays a seventeenth-century cello from Northern Italy.
Violinist Scott St. John, from London, Ontario, is Concertmaster of the ROCO Chamber Orchestra in Houston and teaches chamber music at the University of Toronto. He performs regularly with the St. John-Mercer-Park Trio and frequently returns to the Marlboro Music Festival. A JUNO Award winner for recording Mozart with his sister Lara St. John, Scott was previously Artist-in-Residence at Stanford University. He also co-founded the Felix Galimir Award for chamber music students at the University of Toronto.
Pianist Angela Park has earned a reputation as one of Canada’s most sought-after pianists, praised for her “stunningly beautiful pianism.” A founding member of the JUNO Award-winning Ensemble Made in Canada, she regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician. Angela is currently Assistant Professor of Piano and Collaborative Piano at Western University.