PRESENTS LEONIDAS VARAHIDIS Artistic Director/Conductor

THE TORONTO COMMUNITY ORCHESTRA
Leonidas (Louis) Varahidis, Artistic Director/Conductor
PRESENTS
VIOLIN I
Alessia Disimino,
Concertmaster
Jerry Brail
Doug Cuttell
Iosif Deac
Katelynn Laarakker
Grace Law
Christine Moon
Nicole Morino
Natasha Tennant
VIOLIN II
Bill McMillan, Principal
Joyce Allen
Holly Boyne
Fong Di Caterina
Solomon Hoasjoe
Christina Kim
Amy Nishio
Susan Ross
Sharon Scanlan
Michael Schneider
Lorette Steenman
Naomi Zahavi
VIOLA
Meredith Crouch,
Principal
Catherine Inglis
Marianne Khurana
Mary Nishio
Sue Pember
Kathy Robson
Steffanie Tam
Pamela Young
CELLO
David Lopez, Principal
Lesley Bartlett
Owen Griffiths
Dale Hildebrand
Susan Kopulos
Jane McKinney
Lesley Mead
Eleanor Moore
Robert Rinkoff
Bonnie Sheckter*
Rita Shahin
Marion Wilk
BASS
Kevin Hurley, Principal
Dylan Gamble
Radek Puky
BASSOON
Anne Whiteside*, Principal
Leon Li
Nora Mular-Richards
FLUTE
Marie Campbell
Michele Frensch
Rosalie Goldberg*
TRUMPET
Darrin Hicks, Principal
Edwin Lang
OBOE
Jennifer Jones
Eric Chow
CLARINET
Rebecca Naylor, Principal
Irv Brown
FRENCH HORN
Tim Mallory, Principal
Hilary Dawson
Dawn Hanley
Olivier Laquerre
Barb Rice
TROMBONE
Richard Pereira
Becky Stewart
TIMPANI
Marlene Sagada
PERCUSSION
Gord Falk
Marlene Sagada
KEYBOARD
Marion Wilk
*on temporary leave
The TCO gratefully acknowleges Eastminster United Church for its generous support and patronage.
LEONIDAS VARAHIDIS
Artistic Director/Conductor
EASTMINSTER UNITED CHURCH • MAY 5, 7:30 PM
torontocommunityorchestra.org
T R AV E L
I TI N E R A R Y
CZECH REBUBLIC
Antonín Dvořák, Slavonic Dances Op. 46 “No. 8 Furiant”
ENGLAND
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Norfolk Rhapsody
AUSTRIA
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony No. 40
I: Molto Allegro
ITALY
Aram Khachaturian, “Adagio” from Spartacus
NORWAY
Edvard Grieg, Four Norwegian Dances
I. Allegro marcato
II. Allegretto tranquillo e grazioso
III. Allegro moderato alla Marcia
IV. Allegro molto
Please join us after the concert
for a reception in the Auditorium.
LEONIDAS VARAHIDIS Artistic Director/Conductor
LEONIDAS (LOUIS) VARAHIDIS is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s
Concurrent Teaching Education Program (B.Mus ’12, B.Ed’12), in which he was the
recipient of the Neil D. Graham Scholarship for the graduate attaining the highest
proficiency in his or her field. His principal instrument during his studies was the
euphonium.
Now in his third year as a teacher within the Toronto District School Board, he has had the opportunity to
teach music, English and other subjects to junior high, high school and adult students. He has led jazz bands,
orchestras, bands of all levels, and a men’s choir. He currently teaches English and geography at Sir John A.
MacDonald Collegiate Institute. Outside of the classroom, Leonidas is a teacher facilitator for the Ontario
Educational Leadership Centre’s Intermediate Arts Camp, where students learn leadership skills through a
focus on the arts.
This is Leonidas’s third season as Conductor/Artistic Director of the Toronto Community Orchestra (TCO).
He is very proud of the work and dedication the members of this orchestra have put towards the music, and
looks forward to his continuing association with the TCO.
ALESSIA DISIMINO Concertmaster
Toronto-based violinist ALESSIA DISIMINO, who began studying the violin at the
age of two, is recognized for her thoughtful musicality and instinctive interpretations. A
scholarship student at the University of Toronto since her first year, Alessia has recently
been Concertmaster of the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra and principal
second violinist of the University Opera. In the past, Alessia has performed as a featured
soloist at Carnegie Hall in New York with her high school’s Senior String Orchestra (2011), was a member
of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Young Artist’s Performance Academy (2009-2011), and was a member
of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra for two seasons (2010-2012). She has attended summer study
programs including the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, the Orford Academy, and the Domaine Forget
Academy.
Alessia has performed solo repertoire in master classes for Jonathan Crow, Timothy Ying, Erika Raum, Mark
Fewer, Jeanne Lamon, Rachel Barton-Pine, Stefan Jackiw, and Lara St. John, amongst others. As an active
chamber musician, Alessia has performed in Quebec and throughout Ontario in public concerts and outreach
performances as a member of the Chagall Trio (2012) and the Chiron String Quartet (2013-15), both formed
at the University of Toronto. Alessia is the recipient of numerous awards at the Faculty of Music, and was most
recently awarded the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto Centennial Scholarship (2014), a generous award for
musical and academic merit.
Alessia is currently completing her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at the University of Toronto as a
scholarship student of Annalee Patipatanakoon, along with a Minor in English. Apart from her studies, Alessia
is passionate about teaching and community outreach. She volunteers her time with the Toronto Community
Orchestra, which she joined as Concertmaster in January 2015. She performs regularly in music ministry at her
parish, and teaches violin on a private basis. Alessia is excited to join the TCO for her first concerts with the
orchestra this season.