Strings at Western

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Don Wright Faculty of Music students Marianna Grigg, Dorothy Lin, Christian Wrona, Bingxin Yang and Darren Mak were members of the sesquicentennial National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and performers in the 2017 Edges of Canada Tour

The Don Wright Faculty of Music offers strings students diverse course options and performance opportunities including solo and studio recitals, weekly faculty-led masterclasses, and ensembles (including symphony and chamber orchestras), plus competitions and awards including the Maritsa Brookes Concerto Competition, Young-Ja Park Chamber Music Competition and the London Music Scholarship Foundation Endowment Award.

Western Music also offers learning opportunities and masterclasses with international guests of renown. Annual Artists in Residence have included New Orford String QuartetTafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Ensemble Made In Canada.

The Music Building and Talbot College house over 100 practice rooms, studios, and large and small rehearsal spaces, plus three modern performance venues with concert pianos and state-of-the-art recording capabilities. 

Western's String Instrument Bank is a collection of more than 40 fine Italian, French and English instruments and bows, which are available for loan to select string students in Music Performance and are carefully maintained by our resident luthiers.


In the Spotlight

October 2023
Announcing the 2023 London Symphonia Fellows

August 2023
Guitarist, composer Madeline Hall, current BMus student, named to CBC Music's annual classical "30 under 30" list

April 2023
Take a bow! Western well represented in NYO Canada 2023 program

March 2023
Doctoral student Ethan Allers joins Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

September 2022
Western string students awarded five Fellowships with London Symphonia

In Performance

Symphony Orchestra

2020-21 Season Recording featuring works by Beethoven, Grieg, Schubert, Debussy, Copland, Mahler and Barber
Conductor, Simone Luti
Recorded on December 5, 2020 and April 1, 2021 (rehearsal)

Excerpt from “Symphony No. 7 (III. Presto-Assai meno presto)”, Ludwig van Beethoven
Conductor, Simone Luti
Recorded in 2019

Chamber Music

Young-Ja Park Chamber Music Award 2021 Winners Recital
Recorded on February 24, 2021


Alumni of Note

Sharon Wei, BMus’00 (Performance - Viola)
Western Music faculty member, co-founder and member of JUNO Award-winning chamber group Ensemble Made In Canada, and current member of the New Orford String Quartet.