Swan Lake

The National Ballet of Canada Orchestra

Harrison James and Jurgita Dronina in Swan Lake.

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
Aya Miyagawa, Acting Assistant Principal 2nd Violin
James Aylesworth
Jennie Baccante* 
Bethany Bergman+ 
Allene Chomyn+ 
Terri Croft+ 
Patrick Goodwin+ 
Sheldon Grabke
Xiao Grabke
Hiroko Kagawa+ 
Nancy Kershaw
Sonia Klimasko-Leheniuk
Csaba Koczó
Dominique Laplante
Yakov Lerner
Jayne Maddison* 
Wendy Rogers
Christopher Whitley+ 
Hee-Soo Yoon+ 
Joanna Zabrowarna
Paul Zevenhuizen

Violas
Shelia Jaffe, Principal
Joshua Greenlaw, Assistant Principal
Carolyn Blackwell+ 
Emily Eng
Catherine Gray+ 
Brenna Hardy-Kavanaugh+ 
Valerie Kuinka
Johann Lotter
Nickolaos Papadakis+ 
Angela Rudden

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

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

Flutes
Leslie J. Allt, Principal‡*
Shelley Brown, Piccolo
Maria Pelletier

Oboes
Mark Rogers, Principal
Aleh Remezau, Acting Principal +
Karen Rotenberg
Lief Mosbaugh+
Lesley Young

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

Bassoons
Chia-Yu Hsu, Principal
Thomas Roy-Rochette

Horns
Jessie Brooks, Principal*
Carlie Bigelow
Christine Passmore+
Gary Pattison
Courtney Prizrenac+
Scott Wevers

Cornets
Richard Sandals, Principal
Mark Dharmaratnam

Trumpets
Charles Watson
Andrew Mendis

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
Michael Murphy+

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.