Dear Collegium community, I just want to give you a heads up about a couple special guests that we have coming into town on weekends in the new year. As they are not normal dates for our master classes, please take note of them and place them in your calendar. These will be exceptional classes and I strongly advise you to audit all classes! Michael van der Sloot, Artistic Director William van der Sloot Sat. January 21st times TBA and Sun. Jan. 22nd 1-5:00pm Taras Gabora Sun. February 5th 1pm-3pm and Mon Feb 6th 5-6:30pm (regular MC time) Taras Gabora enjoys a worldwide reputation as a violinist and teacher of great distinction. As soloist and chamber musician throughout his career, Taras Gabora performed in major cities in Canada, USA, Italy, France, England, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Japan and China. He is the founder and former music director of “Casalmaggiore International Music Festival, Summer Music in Italy”. He was also founding member “Trio Tre Musici” (Milan), Chamber Music Chicago, Le Groupe Baroque de Montréal, Vienna Academy String Quartet and the Gabora String Quartet. He was professor of violin (emeritus) at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, McGill University (Montreal), Conservatoire de Montréal, St. Louis Conservatory of Music, University of British Columbia and the Vancouver Academy of Music. He gives master classes in major music institutions in the world including Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Oberlin, Mainz, Montreal, Toronto, Milan, etc. In 2011-2012 he gave master classes at UCLA (Los Angeles), the Unversität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst (Vienna), Academy of Music (Odessa, Ukraine), McGill University (Montreal), Gutenberg Universität (Mainz Germany). Taras Gabora frequently represents USA and Canada on juries of national and international competitions including the Tchaikovsky International Competition (Moscow), Paganini International Violin Competition (Genoa), 1989, 1996, 2001, the Sarasate International Competition (Bilbao, Spain), 1989, 2003, 2011, the Ifrah Neaman International Violin Competition (Mainz), the Yenkelevich International Violin Competition (Omsk, Russia), the Whitaker International Competition (St. Louis, USA) and others. Numerous prize-winning students in national and international competitions studied with Taras Gabora. These include the Paganini Competition (Genoa), the Montreal International Competition, the Scheveningen International Competition (Netherlands), the Tchaikovsky Competition (Moscow), the Yuri Yankelevich International Violin Competition (Omsk, Russia), Jacques Thibaud Competition (Paris) and others. Several of his students are members of internationally known string quartets such as the Shanghai, Molinare and Alcan Quartets, many are professional orchestral players in many parts of the world including the First Concertmaster Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Former students are on the faculties of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Manhattan School of Music, New York, University of Arizona, McGill University, Montreal, Conservatoire de Montréal, University of Manitoba, Kent State University, Ohio. Taras Gabora is a graduate of the Vienna State Academy of Music. His teachers were Yuri Yankelevich (Moscow), Henryk Szeryng, Szymon Goldberg, Rene Benedetti (Paris), Ernst Morawec (Vienna). William van der Sloot has established a reputation as a leader in the development of young artists. His students have won international acclaim, having won prizes in many major national and international competitions, including Grand Prizes at the Canadian National Festival, the Canadian Music Competition, The Alberta Provincial Music Festival, the Montreal Symphony Standard Life Competition, Klein Competition (San Francisco), and prizes at the ASTA Competition (USA), the Michael Hill International Violin Competition (New Zealand), Concertino Praha (Prague), the Menuhin International Violin Competition, the Montreal International Competition, and the Tchaikovsky Competition (Moscow). His students are heard on concert stages throughout Canada and abroad. They have performed often as guest soloists with many of Canada’s major symphony orchestras. He is in demand as a guest clinician and judge at music schools and competitions in North America, China, and Europe. Mr. van der Sloot has given many masterclasses for major music organizations in Canada, the United States, Germany, Russia, Poland, Serbia, and China. He is a regular guest artist at the Central Conservatory (Beijing), the San Francisco Conservatory, Northwestern University (Chicago) and the Medicine Hat College Conservatory. He will again be a faculty member at Mount Royal College’s international Morningside Music Bridge program this summer, and is co-artistic director of the Valhalla Summer School of Music in Silverton, BC. Invitations for this season include The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Meadowmount Summer School of Music (NY), the Central Conservatory (Beijing), The Chopin University (Warsaw), Escuela Superior de Musica de Catalunya in Barcelona, as well as invitations to the jury of the Hong Kong International Violin Competition, the Johannes Brahms International Chamber Music Competition, and the Wieniawski Competition. William van der Sloot began his violin studies at the age of seven. His principal teachers include Mary Shortt, Dr. Lise B. Elson, and Gerardo Ribeiro. He also worked in extensive masterclass seminars with Max Rostal, Tibor Varga, Yehudi Menhuin, Joseph Gingold, and members of the Juilliard, Hungarian, and Alban Berg String Quartets. As a former violinist of the Villa Marteau Quintet (artist in residence at the Haus Marteau in Germany), he has toured extensively in Eastern and Western Europe and North America and has recorded for German, American, and Canadian National radio. Before moving to Calgary to teach at Mount Royal, he was instrumental in the development of the Conservatory at Medicine Hat College and its program for gifted youth. Mr. van der Sloot is presently Manager of The Academy for Gifted Youth, Choral Programs, and is the distinguished instructor of violin at Mount Royal University, Calgary. .