Concertmaster of the Victoria Symphony since 2008, Terence Tam is one of Canada’s preeminent violinists. He is a frequent recitalist and chamber musician in Canada and the U.S.A., and has also performed in England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Australia. He has appeared as soloist with most of the major Canadian orchestras as well as orchestras in the USA, France and Australia. His performances have been regularly broadcast on Canadian and Australian radio and television.
Prior to his arrival in Victoria, Tam held the positions of concertmaster of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in Australia as well as Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax. Recent guest appearances include performances at the Montreal Symphony Orchesta’s ‘La Viree Musique’, the Orford Arts Centre in Quebec, Vancouver’s Music in the Morning, the Sweetwater Chamber Music Festival and the Pender Harbour Chamber Music Festival.
Laura Backstrom began her musical life as a pianist, switching over to cello in her teens. She studied cello at the University of Alberta with the renowned pedagogue Claude Kenneson. Upon graduation from the U of A, Laura was invited to study with the Fine Arts Quartet at the University of Wisconsin. Subsequent years were spent pursuing studies in Toronto, completing two intensive courses: the Orchestral Training Program, and the Musical Performance and Communication Program, both offered jointly by the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music. Love then brought Laura to Ottawa, where she married oboist Pierre Cayer. She enjoyed a rich musical life there, including many chamber music concerts, recordings, and CBC broadcasts. She also completed a Bachelor of Education degree, Cum Laude, at the University of Ottawa. Laura and Pierre relocated to Victoria in 1997, where Laura immediately began teaching in school strings programs, in her home studio, and in 2000 joined the faculty of the Victoria Conservatory of Music.
Laura has been co-artistic director of Eine Kleine Summer Music since 1999.
Steinway Artist and critically acclaimed pianist Lorraine Min has performed as a soloist extensively on five continents and in some of the world’s most important concert halls such as New York’s Avery Fisher, Carnegie’s Weill, Town, and Merkin Halls, and the Kennedy Center in
Washington DC. Recent highlights this season include concerto and solo recitals throughout the US and in Italy. She has performed chamber music at the Ravinia and Tanglewood Summer
Festivals in the US, and across Canada at Orford, Fredericton, Halifax, Victoria Summer Music,
Music in the Morning Series in Vancouver, and in Australia. Min is a prize winner in numerous international competitions. She received her Bachelor degree at Peabody Conservatory, and her
Masters and Doctoral degrees from the Juilliard School. She has been co-Artistic Director of Eine Kleine Summer Music since 2015.
Kenji Fusé continues to enjoy an active career as soloist, chamber musician and teacher. He is the principal violist of the Victoria Symphony, and also often plays in the Vancouver Symphony. He has performed and shared the stage with some of the world’s greatest musicians, ensembles and conductors, including Pierre Boulez, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jonathon Crow, Ariel Barnes, and Daniel Lapp. Kenji recently performed Berlioz’ viola concerto/symphony, Harold in Italy, with the Victoria Symphony and their charismatic new music director, Christian Kluxen. He has also performed Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, with bothVS principal second violinist Tori Gould and former VS concertmaster