The Nutcracker

The National Ballet of Canada is privileged to be one of the only ballet companies in the world to have its own full Orchestra. With over 60 members, The National Ballet of Canada Orchestra is led by Music Director and Principal Conductor David Briskin and has performed in each of the National Ballet's seasons since the company's inception in 1951. The Orchestra has toured extensively with the company through Canada, US and Europe. Over the years, the Orchestra has received much acclaim from audiences and critics alike and is an indispensable part of The National Ballet of Canada.

Music Director and Principal Conductor
David Briskin

Conductor
Julian Pellicano

Violins
Aaron Schwebel, Concertmaster
Lynn Kuo, Assistant Concertmaster
Jamie Kruspe, Principal Second Violin
James Aylesworth*
Jennie Baccante
Bethany Bergman+
Allene Chomyn+
Joelle Crigger+
Terri Croft+
Patrick Goodwin+
Sheldon Grabke
Xiao Grabke
Hiroko Kagawa+
Nancy Kershaw
Sonia Klimasko-Leheniuk
Csaba Koczó
Dominique Laplante
Clara Lee+
Yakov Lerner
Momoko Matsumura+
Jayne Maddison*
Aya Miyagawa
Emilie Pare+
Lyssa Pelton+
Wendy Rogers
Jung Tsai+
Christopher Whitley+
Rebekah Wolkstein+
Hee-Soo Yoon+
Joanna Zabrowarna
Paul Zevenhuizen

Violas
Shelia Jaffe, _Principal
Joshua Greenlaw, Assistant Principal
Carolyn Blackwell+
Woosol Cho+
Brandon Chui+
Emily Eng
Catherine Gray+
Brenna Hardy-Kavanaugh+
Valerie Kuinka
Johann Lotter
Nicholas Papadakis+
Angela Rudden

Cellos
Maurizio Baccante, Principal
Marianne Pack, Assistant Principal
Drew Comstock+
Alastair Eng+
Mary-Katherine Finch+
Bryan Holt+
Olga Laktionova
Andrew McIntosh
Shira Mani+
Elaine Thompson
Jill Vitols+
Paul Widner

Basses
Tony Flynt, Principal
Jonathan Yeoh, Assistant Principal
Michael Cox+
Talia Hatcher+
Samuel-San Vachon

Flutes
Leslie J. Allt, Principal‡*
Leslie Newman, Acting Principal+
Shelley Brown, Piccolo
Kevin O’Donnell, Piccolo+
Maria Pelletier

Oboes
Mark Rogers, Principal
Aleh Remezau, Acting Principal+
Karen Rotenberg*
Jasper Hitchcock+
Lief Mosbaugh, English Horn+
Lesley Young, English Horn*

Clarinets
Max Christie, Principal
Gary Kidd, Contra Bass Clarinet
Emily Marlow, Bass Clarinet

Bassoons
Chia-Yu Hsu, Principal△
Thomas Roy-Rochette

Horns
Jessie Brooks, Principal
Carlie Bigelow
Christine Passmore+
Gary Pattison
Courtney Prizrenac+
David Quackenbush+
Micajah Sturgess+
Scott Wevers

Trumpets
Richard Sandals, Principal
Mark Dharmaratnam
Andrew Mendis+
Charles Watson+

Trombones
David Pell, Principal
David Archer
Luke Roussy+

Tuba
Sasha Johnson, Principal

Harp
Clara Wang, Principal

Tympani
Andrew Rasmus, Principal

Percussion
Kristofer Maddigan, Principal
Mark Mazur

Celeste
Ed Connell
Zhenya Vitort

Music Librarian
Christopher Reiche

Orchestra Personnel Manager and Music Administrator
Raymond Tizzard

* On Leave of Absence
+ Additional Musician
‡ The Principal Flute position is endowed by The Herridge Family Fund.
△ The Principal Bassoon Position is endowed by The Herridge Family Fund.