The Best Kept Secret in
Classical Music

Terry Holowach was already studying the violin at the age of 6. By age 11, he was studying at The Royal Conservatory of Music with John Moskalyk. Mr. Holowach has been a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 1970, except for a leave of absence in 1972-1974, when he studied at the Kiev Conservatory with Oleh Krysa. He has also performed with Trio Da Capo and served as concertmaster of the Pro Arte Orchestra under the direction of Victor Di Bello. In 1982, he was concertmaster for a Sony recording of Wagner's Siegfried Idyll conducted by Glenn Gould. He continues to take part in chamber performances, enjoys teaching, and is on faculty at the Algonquin International Music Institute. In 2015, Mr. Holowach joined with cellist Edward Hayes and pianist Ilona Damasiute-Beres to form the Zephyr Piano Trio. The trio has performed on two previous occasions in the ATSO Small Concert Series.

Edward Hayes began piano lessons with his father and composed his first piece at the age of seven. In Toronto, he furthered his composition studies with Sam Dolin at the Royal Conservatory. Mr. Hayes was a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for seventeen years, as well as Trio da Capo and the Pro Arte Orchestra. Ed performs with the Greater Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra, has acted as principal of the Richmond Hill Philharmonic. He has also taught cello and bass with the Toronto District School Board for 20 years. He is currently a member of the cello octet Cellovision, The Twyford Quartet, and the Zephyr Piano Trio.

Ilona Damasiute-Beres was born and educated in Lithuania where she completed her Bachelor’s and Masters’s degrees at the prestigious Lithuanian Academy of Music in Vilnius. There she received formal training in both solo performance and as a collaborative pianist, chamber musician and teacher. In 1995 Ms. Beres moved to Canada where she has been active as a vocal coach and piano accompanist for well-known instrumentalists and various ensembles including Toronto's famed Volunge Lithuanian Choir. She also manages a successful private piano studio in Toronto. Ms. Beres has served as Artistic Director of the Humbercrest Concert Series, was a member of the Calyx Chamber Ensemble, joined the faculty of the Midsummer Music by the Lake Festival, and performed at the Niagara International Chamber Music Festival.

A long-time member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian-born Canadian Violinist Atis Bankas is the first violinist of the Gould String Quartet, a member of the Potsdam Trio, leader of Ensemble CamerAtis. He is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Music Niagara and was inducted into the International Knightly Order of St. George in recognition of his musical contributions.

Principal cellist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 2009, Joseph Johnson has been heard throughout the world as a soloist, chamber musician and educator. Recent Joseph Johnson highlights include the Canadian Première of the Unsuk Chin Cello Concerto with the Esprit Orchestra, as well as Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Kingston Symphony and Etobicoke Philharmonic. Mr. Johnson performs on a magnificent Paolo Castello cello crafted in Genoa in 1780.

Russian born Victoria Korchinskaya-Kogan is praised as “an admirably gifted performer” by Yuri Temirkanov, “a pianist of great talent, having extraordinary skills and boundless musicality” by Mikhail Pletnev, and a “true artist ” by Yefim Bronfman. Victoria is the winner of The Stravinsky Piano Competition, Andorra Piano Competition, E-Piano Competition in Minneapolis and the International Piano Competition in Korea, among others.