Janet Roy -  Concertmaster

Born in Ottawa, Janet gained her ARCT and a three-year scholarship to the University of Toronto Artist Diploma course in 1950.  While in Toronto, she sang with Healey Willan at St. Mary Magdalene's, was a founding member and soloist with the Festival Singers and played at the Royal Alexandra Theatre for the beginning of the Opera Company of Toronto.  She has been a yearly CBC soloist on violin and came back to Ottawa to play with the New Ottawa Philharmonic with Thomas Mayer as conductor with concerts at the old Capitol Theatre.  With its demise, she stayed to become concertmaster of the CBC Studio Ensemble with Frederic Karam and spent 30 years as principal second violin of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. With the NACO she has played solos around Europe and at Carnegie Hall.  She has played viola with the NACO and has also performed as soprano soloist. Several times she played with the Ottawa Symphony as concertmaster and twice as violin soloist. She is now singing as a member of Opera Lyra Chorus.  Last year she sang in Carmen and The Masked Ball.  She spends August in Minnesota where she enjoys playing chamber music concerts with players invited from around the world. She is hoping for good things from the Strings of St John's.

Sylvia Middlebro

Sylvia grew up in a musical family in Barrie Ontario.  Most of her violin training was taken with Eli Spivak at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.  She played bassoon at the Barrie Collegiate and subsequently at the University of Toronto, but happily returned to the violin after graduation. Her orchestral experience includes one year with the Orchestre Universitaire de Rennes, France, two years with the Saskatoon Symphony, and many years with the Ottawa Symphony. When Sylvia isn't playing her violin, travelling with her husband or visiting with her three grown children and five grandchildren, she works as a librarian with the Ottawa Public Library.

Gelena Nekrasova - Gelena has been studying and playing the violin since the age of six. She received her early instruction at the Stolyarskij School of Music in Odessa, Ukraine. She learned to conduct at the Nikolaev Music College, in the Ukraine, where she received her Bachelor’s degree.   She completed her formal violin studies under the guidance of Professor M. Turchinsky at the Odessa State A.V. Nezhdanova Music Academy, where she received her academic credentials as a “Professional Violinist”. In 1999, she received her Masters at the Odessa Conservatory of Music, where she completed her original work on the technical nature of vibrato. From 1999 to 2005, she held the position of assistant professor of violin at the Kiev National University of Culture and Art.  Throughout her education, she was assistant concertmaster and soloist for the Nikolaev chamber and symphonic orchestras. In 1990 and 1991, she was invited to travel to Italy where she performed in a violin ensemble at the Festival of Chamber Music in Santa Margarita and Portogruaoro. In 1995, she had the great pleasure of performing with Sergei Stadler in Freiburg, Germany. She was also guest concertmaster with the city orchestra of Rouen, France, in 2000 and 2001.

Carolyne Sumner - bio coming soon

Claudia Brown - pic and bio coming soon