Hart House Chamber Strings
Hart House Chamber Strings is one of the music ensembles at Hart House, at the University of Toronto. Conducted by Paul McCulloch, we perform two concerts a year, in fall and in spring, and a pops concert in the late winter. Starting in the fall, we are conducted by Oliver Balaburski.
We currently have about forty members, more than most chamber music groups, which enables us to occassionally divert from the realm of "standard" chamber music and take on an eclectic repertoire. The concerts page has a list of performed pieces, indicating a variety in styles and time periods. For further information contact the Chamber Strings Programme Advisor at (416) 978-5362.
Oliver Balaburski
Oliver Balaburski had many successful concerts with very distinguished orchestras and ensembles such as Symphony Orchestra of Royal College of Music, London- UK, Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Opera of Macedonian National Theatre, University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Opera of the National Theatre in Belgrade, Nish Symphony Orchestra.
He had flourishing performance of La Forza del Destino at the Sofia National Opera and Ballet and Turandot at Sava Centre in Belgrade. Also he has done many successful premieres such as La Forza del Destino, La Bohéme -Puccini, Don Giovanni, Turandot, La Traviata, Cavalleria rusticana, Aida, Tosca etc.
He has received many awards such as...
- Arthur Plettner Graduate Fellowship(UofT)
- University of Toronto Fellowship
- Norman Del Mar Junior Fellowship at Royal College of Music, London UK
- Scholarship from Macedonian Government for specialization in conducting
- Macedonian National Scholarship for Talented Students
In 1999 he was awarded with the Norman Del Mar Junior Fellowship in Conducting at the Royal College of Music in London, UK, specializing symphonic repertoire studying with the distinguished conductor and Professor John Carewe.
After his returning from UK he was appointed as Artistic Manager of the Opera of Macedonian National Theatre, where he manages significant to increase the budget and enlarge the repertoire of the Opera House. Until 2004 he was the Principal Conductor at the same Opera Company.
In 2006 seeing the opportunity to go deeper into the secrets of the wide symphonic repertoire, he started his Master studies in Performance at University of Toronto, with his mentor and teacher, the eminent conductor, Prof. Raffi Armenian. He also studied with Prof. Dr. Doreen Rao at University of Toronto, fulfilling necessitate for the philosophical and practical approach and knowledge of the extensive vocal- instrumental music.
He has had an honor to actively participate at the Master Classes with Sir Roger Norrington and Michael Thilson Thomas and with one of the greatest Bach authorities, Helmuth Rilling.
From September 2008 he is Conductor of the Hart House Chamber Strings.
Past Conductors
Angel Chen
Angel Chen began her piano studies at the age of four, and later violin under the tutelage of Alec Hou at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Currently finishing her Master's Degree in Conducting at University of Toronto, Ms. Chen holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from U of T and a Piano Performance Diploma from the RCM. In both 2006 and 2007, Ms. Chen was the recipient of the National Elmer Isler Conductor's Fellowship and had since then worked with the Canadian Korean Youth Orchestra and the University Women's Chorus. Ms. Chen is currently conductor of the Hart House Chamber Strings, the Bridgepoint Hospital Choir, assistant conductor of the McMillan Singers and founder and music director of the Rocsaut Choir at U of T. As a former violinist in the Hart House Chamber Strings, Ms. Chen enjoys learning and growing with this diverse group of musicians.
Paul McCulloch
Paul McCulloch completed his Masters in Orchestral Conducting with Raffi Armenian at the University of Toronto in 2003. He is currently music director and conductor of the Hart House Chamber Strings at U of T, the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the Academy Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Conservatory of Music, the Corktown Chamber Orchestra, and director of the strings program at Havergal College. His conducting studies also include master classes at the Accadamia Musicale Chigiana with Gianluigi Gelmetti and at the Institut Musical d' Aubagne in Aix -En-Provence with Yves Cohen. As a cellist, Paul has studied at the University of Western Ontario with Malcolm Tait, McGill University with Antonio Lysy and Walter Joachim, the University of British Columbia with Eric Wilson, the Accademia Musicale Chigiana with Amedeo Baldovino and the University of Toronto with Shauna Rolston. In his spare time he also plays guitar and bass with "the Nines", more information can be found at www.ninespop.com.