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Alex Chernata (clarinet) and Jany Lu (piano) are joined by Brian Lin (cello) performing:
Adagio e Tarantella by Ernesto Cavallini (1809-1874)
Sonata in E-flat major for Clarinet and Piano by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Trio in A minor for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Tickets
Available online or at the door:
- $25 general
- $15 students & seniors
- $10 6-12 yrs
Book your tickets now www.stmarysoakbay.ca/concerts
About the performers
Alex Chernata’s clarinet studies began shortly after emigrating to Canada in 2005. He has participated in many festivals such as the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Kiwanis festivals, the Russian Music Festival of Vancouver, Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival, and the Canadian National Music Festival. In 2023 Alex graduated from the performance program at the University of Victoria under the tutelage of professor Connie Gitlin and studied with Patricia Kostek at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Some of his previous teachers include Alex Maier, Bob Sheffield, Christopher Lee, and Shawn Earle.
As a member of the AJA Trio in 2015, the group placed first in the Friends of Chamber Young Artists competition, the BC Provincials in Powell River, and in Edmonton’s Canadian National Music Festival. In 2020 Alex was awarded a Johann Strauss Foundation Scholarship to study music in Austria. The following year he was nominated for the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation and won the University of Victoria's concerto competition. In 2022 he was one of the featured soloists at the Spark to Flame concert at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and the Celebrating Summer concerts with the Sooke Philharmonic. That same year he participated in Quartet Fest West as part of the Finnerty Trio where they were featured at the Gala concert and in September he organised a Ukraine benefit concert. Since graduation he has been teaching working, teaching privately, playing with various local ensembles such as Victoria Chamber Orchestra and Sooke Philharmonic, and enjoying the great outdoors that Victoria has to offer.
Jany Lu studied piano performance at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and University of Victoria with May Ling Kwok, and Piano Pedagogy and Performance with Midori Koga at University of Toronto. She is now based in Victoria, BC, where she works closely with the next generation of musicians.
She joined the VCM keyboard faculty in 2019 where she teaches the fundamentals of piano playing and enjoys helping students develop their natural musicality. Since then, many of her students have achieved distinction in the Royal Conservatory of Music examinations and won awards at local festivals. She is very thankful to be teaching a full studio of students, and to be surrounded by great musicians at the VCM who continue to inspire and support her music career.
In addition to teaching, she holds a position as collaborative pianist at the VCM and Young Artists Collegium program, and has been a part of the strings and woodwinds summer intensive programs. Outside of the VCM, she is frequently seen collaborating with local instrumentalists and vocalists. Some of her recent performances include Ukraine Benefit Concert with the Finnerty Trio, Carnival of Our Animals with the Victoria Symphony joined by her duo partner Aimi Howden, Emerging Alumni Concert Series at the University of Victoria, and Syria & Türkiye Earthquake Relief Benefit Concert at the Christ Church Cathedral.
Canadian-born Taiwanese cellist Bryan Lin is enjoying a career as performer, chamber musician, and teacher. Bryan started learning piano at the age of 6 and started his cello studies when he was 12. During his early studies in Taiwan Bryan won several local and national piano competitions. After moving back to Vancouver in 2011 he decided to focus mostly on cello playing.
During his studies, Bryan was involved in several music groups such as Surrey Youth Orchestra, VSO Sinfonietta, Semiahmoo Strings, and the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra. In 2015 he attended the University of Victoria to study music under professor Pamela Highbaugh-Aloni, cellist of the world-renowned Lafayette String Quartet. During his undergraduate time there Bryan developed a love for chamber music. He attended chamber music festivals such as The Quartet Fest West, Pacific Chamber Music Academy, Naolinco International Festival, and Castleman Quartet Program.
Currently Bryan Lin resides in Vancouver and works with orchestras such as the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra and BC Philharmonic Orchestra. Bryan is also a very active chamber musician and a cello faculty at the Pacific Chamber Music Academy. He also teaches cello, piano, and theory regularly, assisting students with RCM exams and competitions.