Announcing the 2025 London Symphonia Fellows

London Symphonia and the Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University are pleased to announce the four exceptional students who have been appointed to the London Symphonia Fellowship with Western University for the orchestra’s 2025-26 artistic season:

  • +Yanet Campbell-Secades, violin
  • Julian Trippell, violin
  • Lincoln St. John, viola
  • Abigail Greenland, cello

+ Returning Fellow. First appointed in 2022-23

Created in 2022, the Fellowship program provides up to five full-time Western string students considering a career as a professional orchestral musician with a rich package of professional training, performance experience and mentoring, starting with a highly competitive audition process that mirrors the established practice of professional orchestral auditions. The initiative is funded by the Don Wright Faculty of Music Dean's fund.

"Each year, the Fellowship program with London Symphonia profoundly enriches the educational journey of our string students,” said Dean Michael Kim, Don Wright Faculty of Music. “Working alongside such accomplished professional musicians provides an immersive experience that bridges academic study with real-world performance. We are proud to nurture this meaningful partnership, which reflects our shared commitment to musical excellence and to cultivating the next generation of performers and educators."

“London Symphonia musicians are delighted to welcome the 2025-26 Season cohort of Fellows,” said Andrew Chung, Artistic Producer, London Symphonia. “Providing these accomplished young musicians with mentoring, a highly relevant training program and experience playing in a professional orchestra is an invaluable next step in their development.

“The experience starts with a rigorous audition process, one that all professional orchestral musicians are familiar with. We try to make the Fellowship audition a learning experience based on a professional audition day. An audition is often an uncomfortable performing situation, so we provide a workshop to provide candidates with valuable tips on how to improve their mental preparation and performance on the day. We also give helpful feedback after their performance so that they can grow, learn about how they react under pressure and develop their resiliency in a competitive environment. Bravo to all who participated.”

Paired with London Symphonia mentors who share strategies on how best to prepare for concerts, the Fellows will perform with the orchestra in three concert programs in the 2025-26 season:

London Symphonia is one of the finest professional regional orchestras in Canada. Its reputation for artistic excellence and high calibre musicianship attracts outstanding guest artists and conductors.

With a core of 30 players, London Symphonia concerts feature talented London Symphonia musicians, spotlight international and Canadian guest artists and guest conductors, premiere commissioned and other new works by Canadian composers, and showcase local artists and ensembles through creative collaborations.

A successful, flourishing organization, London Symphonia is committed to artistic excellence and experience, deepening music education through mentorship and training for emerging artists, improving the quality of life throughout the community, engaging new audiences, and fostering creative partnerships.

2025-26 London Symphonia / Western University Fellows

+Yanet Campbell Secades, violin

Born in Camagüey, Cuba, violinist Yanet Campbell Secades is an accomplished soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. Her skilled and sensitive playing has enabled her to perform in some of the most important venues in Cuba, Europe, North America, and the Caribbean. In 2015, she won the first prize at Cuba’s prestigious Unión de Artistas y Escritores Cubanos competition, and in 2019 she was awarded second prize in the strings category in the Federation of Canadian Music Festivals’ National Competition. Yanet has performed in major international music festivals such as the Rheingau Musik Festival in Germany and the Mozartwoche in Austria. She received a Master of Music from Memorial University of Newfoundland and an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Currently, Yanet is pursuing doctoral studies at Western University, under the tutelage of Professor Annette Barbara Vogel. Her past mentors include her own father, Sydney Campbell and violinists Nancy Dahn, Erika Raum and Paul Kantor.

Julian Trippell, violin

Julian Trippell is a violinist from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Currently studying violin performance at Western University with Mel Martin, Julian regularly performs with the Western University Symphony Orchestra as well as the Early Music Studio under the direction of Joe Lanza. In addition, Julian is involved with smaller ensembles such as the Palasad Piano Quintet, in which he plays viola. Julian is driven by historically informed performance in all time periods, from baroque to contemporary.

Lincoln St. John, viola

Lincoln St. John is a 17-year-old violist from Vancouver, Canada. A first-year student at Western University, he is pursuing a double degree in music and business at the Ivey Business School. In high school, Lincoln served as Principal Violist for several of the Vancouver’s leading youth orchestras, including the Vancouver Academy Symphony Orchestra (VAMSO) and the Lord Byng Senior Honour Orchestra. Lincoln has built a strong foundation as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral performer. After winning the school’s concerto competition, he appeared as a soloist with the Lord Byng Symphony Orchestra in June 2025. He has received multiple first-place awards at the regional Kiwanis and Alto Clef Festivals and was awarded the 2024 VAM Exam Gold Medal for viola. In 2024, he competed in both solo and chamber categories at the BC Provincial Festival of the Arts and recently completed an international tour of Italy with his orchestra. Lincoln studies piano at an advanced level. He won his division at the 2024 Richmond Music Festival, was a finalist in the Vancouver International Music Competition and placed runner-up at the Pacific International Youth Music Festival Gala Round. He is completing ARCT diplomas in both viola and piano and teaches in his private studio, where he enjoys mentoring younger musicians. He began studying music at age three with piano and discovered the viola at seven, drawn to its warm tone. Outside of music, Lincoln was the Lord Byng Student Council President. He now plays on the Western Varsity water polo team, and is an avid sailor, outdoorsman, and marine technician.

Abigail Greenland, cello

Abigail Greenland is a cellist from Toronto, Ontario currently pursuing a master’s degree in Cello Performance at Western University under the direction of Professor Thomas Wiebe. She is passionate about ensemble playing and is an active member of many different orchestral programs and chamber ensembles throughout her schooling and summer festivals. During her undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa she held positions as section leader in the University of Ottawa Orchestra, Ottawa POP’s Orchestra and was chosen as a mentor for the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra Fellowship Program. Her chamber group, winner of the 2024-25 uOttawa Chamber Competition has performed at the National Arts Centre. More recently she also had the opportunity to perform the first movement of Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B Minor with the PRISMA Festival Orchestra as a winner of the festival’s 2025 Concerto Competition.