VIVEZA ISGwen Thompson (Violin)
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Gwen Thompson (Violin)C.M., B.Mus. She was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada in 2003. |
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Wilmer Fawcett (Double Bass)Canadian double bassist Wilmer Fawcett studied at the University of Alberta, the Juilliard School in New York under scholarships from the Canada Council and Frederick Zimmermann, and Indiana University with Murray Grodner. He toured Europe as a member of the National and International Youth Orchestras and the Purcell Ensemble, and toured Korea with Viveza during Expo 93. A founding member of Viveza, Fawcett has recently retired as Principal Bassist with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra and Associate Principal with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared frequently in the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival and the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, and as a studio and chamber music player (including concerts with the Melos Quartet and the Vogler Quartet). Previous playing positions have included the National Arts Centre Orchestra (as a guest performer) and the Edmonton Symphony, and his teaching positions have included the University of BC, Douglas College, the Vancouver Academy of Music, the Courtenay Youth Music Camp, the Banff School of Fine Arts and Indiana University (as a teaching assistant). Fawcett has performed and recorded many solos in the bass repertory, including Mozart's Per questa bella mano (K612), a baroque concerto for violone by Karl Kohaut, and the Canadian premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' Strathclyde Concerto No.7 for Double Bass for CBC broadcast. Wilmer also enjoys playing jazz guitar. |
![]() Robert Holliston (Piano) Robert Holliston studied at the Victoria Conservatory of Music under Robin Wood and Winifred Scott Wood, and at the University of British Columbia under Robert Rogers. As an accompanist and chamber player he has performed throughout Canada and the USA, England and New Zealand, and has been heard frequently on CBC-Radio. He has recorded CDs with the popular salon ensemble Viveza, trombonist Ian McDougall, clarinetist Patricia Kostek, tenor Ken Lavigne, his brother Tom Holliston, Show Business Giants, and members of the Hornby Island Ensemble. Robert has collaborated with many of Canada's leading singers, including Richard Margison, Benjamin Butterfield, Judith Forst, Nathalie Paulin, Susan Platts, Barbara Livingston and Peter Barcza; string players Eugene Fodor, Marc Destrubé, and Paul Marleyn; and dancers Karen Kain and Evelyn Hart. A popular public speaker, Robert has given pre-performance lectures for Pacific Opera Victoria since 1993 and is the host of the Victoria Conservatory of Music's Brown Bag Lunch series. Still an active performer, he is currently Head of Collaborative Piano Studies at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, where he also teaches piano and music history. Robert has worked with the VCM Opera Studio since its inception, and served as Chorus Master and Répétiteur for Pacific Opera Victoria. |
Salvador Ferreras (Percussion)Versatile percussionist, producer and performance collaborator, frequently featured on national radio as host and commentator. Recorded with artists such as Safa, Robbie Robertson, Raffi, Chicago and Viveza, and three solo recordings: To Drive in L.A., Invisible Minority and Woodcuts. |