Larry Larson has been Principal Trumpet of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony since 1993. He is a graduate of DePaul University of Chicago and was a student of Adolph Herseth, legendary Principal Trumpet of the Chicago Symphony. As a soloist, Larry has been featured with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London, and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, and has been featured on CBC Radio in performances of trumpet concertos by Malcolm Forsyth, Johnny Cowell and R. Murray Schafer. In May, 2009, Larry performed the world premiere of Scott Good’s “between the rooms: Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra” with the KWS. He has just released his first solo CD of music for trumpet and harp with harpist Lori Gemmell.

In addition to performances of the classical repertoire, Larry has developed eight critically-acclaimed Pops programmes for orchestra with conductor/trombonist David Martin. Larry is in much demand by Toronto recording studios for his work on motion picture soundtracks and commercial jingles. He has had the great pleasure to work in back-up orchestras for Diana Krall, Brian Wilson, Jann Arden, Holly Cole, Anne Murray, Dennis DeYoung, Roger Hodgson, and Yes.

After a dormancy of about 20 years, and with great encouragement from pianist and composer Glenn Buhr, Larry has enjoyed re-awakening the sleeping giant that was his jazz playing with his own combo, “Larry’s Jazz Guys.”

Larry is very proud to be a member of the faculty of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, sharing his knowledge and experiences with the next generation of orchestral trumpet players. Performances at the Stratford Festival, the Elora Festival and the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival round out his summer playing.

Ottawa-born trumpet player Steven van Gulik became a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2009. He began playing the cornet at the age of eight studying with his uncle Kenneth Moore and performing with the local Salvation Army church band.

Having won the National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary in 1993 and competing successfully at many regional, provincial and national music festivals, Steven decided to pursue studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy and then at McGill University with former NAC Orchestra principal trumpet Douglas Sturdevant and Montreal Symphony principal trumpet Paul Merkelo. An active chamber musician, he has performed in every season of the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and can be heard regularly performing with Capital BrassWorks, an Ottawa-based brass ensemble. Steven can also be heard performing on CBC Radio as recital soloist, chamber musician and on stage with various orchestras across Canada.

Steven held the position of principal trumpet of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and has performed as a soloist with the Thunder Bay Symphony, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Steven served as a member of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 2000-2007 and performed on international tours and recordings before moving west to become a member of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra from 2007 to 2009. He has now returned to his hometown of Ottawa with his wife Lianne and their daughter Maria.

Michael holds the position of Principal Trumpet with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, and can also be heard in regular performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Canadian Opera Company. While primarily an orchestral player, Michael’s solo playing has been described as being “delivered with style and care” and possessing a “haunting” quality (Hamilton Spectator, Toronto Star). Recent recordings include "From Russia with Brass"(2005), with Capital BrassWorks, and Owen Pallett's latest release "Heartland"(2009).

A student of Robert Oades, Vincent Cichowicz, and Andrew McCandless, Michael Fedyshyn began playing the trumpet at the age of 12, in an elementary band room in Cornwall, Ontario. A graduate of the University of Ottawa and an alumnus of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, as well as the National Academy Orchestra, Michael was invited to play in the inaugural summer season of Helmut Rilling’s FestivalEnsemble in Stuttgart, Germany, while finishing his studies at the Glenn Gould School of the RCM.

Michael has taught trumpet privately since 1995, and has given clinics and coachings in a variety of settings for trumpet and brass students of the Ottawa Youth Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, RCM Glenn Gould School, Ottawa University, and ScotiaFest. He has been Instructor of Trumpet for Canterbury High School, Instructor of Brass for Grenville Christian College, Instructor of Trumpet for Royal St.George's College, and is currently an Adjunct Instructor in the Music Department of Redeemer University College.

Associate Principal Horn since 2003, Chris has been a member of the Toronto Symphony since 1998, Chris has also held the positions of Principal Horn of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Associate Principal Horn of the Winnipeg Symphony, and Second Horn of the Hamilton Philharmonic.

Educated at the University of Alberta and McGill University his teachers were Kay McCallister and John Zirbel. Chris is an alumnus of Tanglewood, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. He is extremely proud of his many horn students at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music, and at the University of Toronto.

Since September of 2001, Steven Dyer has held the positions of Trombonist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Instructor of Trombone/Euphonium and Chamber Music with the University of Manitoba Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music. Prior to his arrival in Winnipeg, Steven was Principal Trombonist with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and Instructor of Low Brass at Lakehead University. A past recipient of the Boosey & Hawkes Ltd. Prize for excellence in brass playing, he has appeared as soloist with the symphony orchestras of Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, and also with the Northern Ontario-based early music ensemble Consortium Aurora Borealis. He has toured internationally as both a chamber and orchestral musician, and has presented recitals and master-classes in both Canada and the United States.

Mr. Dyer is a dedicated and sought-after instructor whose students have shown success in both major solo competitions and in auditioning for music organizations of national prestige; others have gone on to meaningful careers as music educators throughout Canada. During the summer months, Steven enjoys time spent in the Pacific Northwest USA working as Assistant Director for Young Musicians and Artists in Salem, Oregon.

Steven earned a bachelor of music degree from McGill University (Montreal), graduating with high distinction in performance; and, with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, furthered his studies in Chicago where he obtained a masters degree from DePaul University. He has shared the concert stage, as a former member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, with many world-renowned conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Zubin Mehta, Donald Runnicles and Christopher Wilkins. On returning to Canada, Steven has performed with many of the country's top ensembles, which include the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra London and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.

Steven resides in Winnipeg, Canada with his wife Liz and his sons Miles and Felix.

Chris Lee holds the position of Principal Tuba with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. He previously held the same position with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia (Spain) and was Professor of Tuba at the ESMAE School of Music in Porto (Portugal). With degrees from both McGill and Indiana University, Chris is currently Instructor of Tuba at the University of Manitoba. An avid chamber musician, Chris performs regularly as a member of Winnipeg's Metalmorphosis Brass Quintet, the Forest Festival Brass Quintet and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared with the Indianapolis and Tenerife Symphonies and toured North and South America with the Verbier Festival Youth Orchestra under James Levine. Chris has recorded with the Winnipeg Symphony, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Real Philharmonic de Galicia, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Brass and numerous studio recordings in the US. Chris has appeared as a soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony many times including performing the orchestral premiere of the Victor Davies Concerto for Tubameister in 2009. When he is not playing tuba, Chris enjoys playing basketball and chess.

Andrew is the Music Director of Silverthorn Symphonic Winds, the Scarborough Concert Band, the Canadian Chinese Choir of Toronto and The Brass Conspiracy. He has served as the Music Director for the Pickering Philharmonic Orchestra, the Halton Chamber Youth Orchestra, University Settlement Orchestra and the Scarborough Choralairs. While attending the University of Toronto, he was the Assistant Conductor for the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Music Assistant at the Opera Mississauga (now Royal Opera Canada).

He has attended the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the University of Hong Kong, the University of Toronto and the University of Freiburg, Germany. His trumpet teachers include Stephen Chenette, Robert Nagel, Henry Nowak, Jeffrey Reynolds and Larry Weeks. He also studied privately with Arnold Jacobs and Murray Crewe. A scholarship from the Centre d'Arts Orford allowed him to study conducting with Raffi Armenian and Agnes Grossman. He has also participated in the Conductors Apprentice Program with the Huntsville Festival of the Arts Orchestra. His other conducting teachers include Dwight Bennett and Kerry Stratton.

Andrew Chung has guest-conducted the Hart House Orchestra, the North York Concert Orchestra, the Toronto Philharmonia, Korean Canadian Symphony Orchestra, Northdale Concert Band, the Toronto Chinese Youth Orchestra, the Mississauga Youth Orchestra, the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra and the Milton Youth Choir.

As an orchestral musician, he was the principal trumpet with the Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra, the Hong Kong Youth Symphony, the Asian Youth Orchestra (under the direction of Yehudi Menuhin and Alexander Schneider) and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. He made his solo debut with the Mooredale Festival Orchestra. He has also played with Hamilton Philharmonic and Talisker Players.

After studying classical piano and looking to expand his interest in music, Travis had the opportunity to study instrumental music in grade seven. Although his wish was to play the French Horn, he was forced to learn the Alto Saxophone. In high school, after much nagging, a teacher offered to lend him a Horn to learn at home and so began Travis' musical journey with the Horn.

Travis graduated from the University of Windsor with a Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education. At Windsor he studied horn with Mr. Martin Limoges and Dr. Bernadette Berthalotte. While studying his playing opportunities included Wind Ensemble, small ensemble, orchestral and solo playing repertoire.

Upon his return to Toronto, Travis has continued his studies and work in both music performance, education and conducting. He has had the opportunity to work with Dr. Gillian Mackay and Dr. Denise Grant to continue honing his conducting skills and rehearsal techniques. Along with directing many ensembles at work, Travis has also conducted the Thornhill Community Band and continues to do conducting workshops throughout the G.T.A.

An active musician, he is a proud founding member of the Brass Conspiracy and is principal horn with Counterpoint Community Orchestra and has played with the Festival Wind Orchestra, Brassfully Yours quintet and Orchestra Toronto. Travis is currently the Head of Music at Westmount Collegiate Institute in York Region where he teaches instrumental music.