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Summer String Academy - Professors
Meet the esteemed professors of our Summer String Academy, where you'll learn from world-renowned musicians and educators dedicated to nurturing your talent.
Meet the professors
Jinjoo Cho, guest artist
Violinist Jinjoo Cho is a versatile classical virtuoso of the 21st Century. 1st Prize Winner of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in addition to Montréal, Buenos Aires, Schoenfeld, and Stulberg International Competitions, Jinjoo has performed on concert stages worldwide since the age of 11. Today, she continues to captivate audiences at renowned venues and festivals such as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, the Aspen Music Festival, the Gilmore Festival, La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest, the Banff Centre, Festival de Lanaudière, La Seine Musicale, the Kronberg Academy, Schwetzingen Festspiele, Herkulessaal, Teatro Colón, and the Seoul Arts Center.
A charismatic soloist, Jinjoo has appeared with leading orchestras such as The Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Deutsche Radio Philharmonic, Orquesta Clásica Santa Cecilia de Madrid, Ensemble Appassionato, Seoul Philharmonic, North Carolina, Phoenix, and Charlotte Symphonies, collaborating with renowned conductors such as James Gaffigan, Kent Nagano, JoAnn Falletta, Karina Canellakis, Mathieu Herzog, Peter Oundjian, Michael Stern, Tito Munoz, Michael Francis, Moritz Gnann, Shi-Yeon Sung, Pietari Inkinen, and Clemens Schuldt. Jinjoo has deep love and appreciation for the chamber music repertoire, and cherishes sharing the stage with prominent artists of the globe such as Gary Hoffman, Andreas Ottensamer, Ray Chen, Itamar Golan, Roger Tapping, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Vadim Gluzman, and Clive Greensmith. In 2021, Jinjoo formed Trio Seoul with pianist Kyu Yeon Kim and cellist Brannon Cho.
In addition to being an active performer, Jinjoo is a dedicated educator. She is currently an Associate Professor of Violin at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. Her previous teaching positions include the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Oberlin Conservatory. Jinjoo frequently serves on the jury panels of international competitions such as the Sibelius Competition (Finland, 2025), Indianapolis Competition (USA, 2022), and Schoenfeld Competition (China, 2024), as well as on screening committees for the Isang Yun Competition (Korea, 2024), Premio Paganini (Italy, 2023), and Montréal Competition (Canada, 2019). Her commitment to nurturing young musicians is inspired by her own mentors, Paul Kantor and Jaime Laredo.
Jinjoo’s dedication to music extends beyond performance and teaching. In 2015, she founded the ENCORE Chamber Music Institute in Cleveland, Ohio, a summer festival and seasonal residency series that brings together international artists and talented students for intensive learning and performance experience. Her creative ventures also include commissioning new works from composers Juri Seo and Andrew Rindfleisch, as well as collaborating with artists from other disciplines, such as dancer/choreographer Jinyeob Cha. In 2021, her debut book, Shine Someday, became a bestseller on major Korean book platforms.
A distinguished recording artist, Jinjoo has released six albums: Novella (SONY), Toy Store (Carrier Records), Saint-Saëns (Naïve Classique), La Capricieuse (SONY Classical), The Indianapolis Commissions (Azica), and Jinjoo Cho (Analekta). Described as “a delectable curtain-raiser” (Strad Magazine) and “finest silk thread of a violin tone” (Rondo Magazine), Jinjoo’s discography has garnered critical acclaim worldwide as well as commercial success.
Timothy Chooi, violin
Powerful and finely nuanced interpretations, sumptuous sonorities, and a compelling stage presence are just a few of the hallmarks of internationally acclaimed violinist Timothy Chooi. A popular soloist and recitalist, he is sought after as much for his passionate performances as for his wide-ranging repertoire. Recent honors include Second Prize, Belgium’s world-renowned 2019 Queen Elisabeth Competition, First Prize, the 2018 Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Germany, and the First Prize, the 2018 Schadt Violin Competition in the USA, In 2018 Chooi also won the ‘Prix Yves Paternot’ of Switzerland's Verbier Festival, a prize which recognizes the most promising and accomplished musician of the annual Academy for young professional musicians, earning Chooi his future debut as a solo artist in the 2022 Verbier Festival.
Future engagements include returns to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with Peter Oundjian, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa, and the Belgian National Orchestra, as well as his debuts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra and Mikhail Pletnev, DSO Berlin, Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt, Saarländisches Staatsorchester, and the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra. Upcoming recitals see Chooi performing in cities worldwide, including a European tour with Anne-Sophie Mutter.
Recent performances include engagement with The Belgian National Orchestra, Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, and l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal; a live on-air recital on New York City’s WQXR classical radio station; and recital tours of Belgium and the United States. In addition to having already performed with every major orchestra in his home country of Canada, Timothy Chooi has also played with the Brussels Philharmonic under Stéphane Denève, with Santa Barbara Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Liége, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also made an extensive recital tour with Jeunesses Musicales du Canada, appeared at the Ravinia Festival, and made his Carnegie Hall debut.
In addition to his 2019 and 2018 awards, Timothy Chooi’s numerous honors include the third prize at the 2015 Michael Hill Violin Competition in New Zealand and Grand Prize at the 2010 Montreal Symphony Manulife Competition in Canada. He also won the EMCY Prize at the 2014 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition. and the Vadim Repin Scholarship Award in New York.
As a founding member of The VISION Collective, a three-year-old ensemble of musicians and composers that utilizes music to highlight refugee and immigrant voices and stories, raising awareness for the global refugee crisis, and brings together individuals from all walks of life together to create diverse and meaningful art, he is also a recipient of the 2020 Harold W. McGraw Family Foundation's The Robert Sherman Award for Music Education and Community Outreach.
Chooi studied at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Catherine Cho. His mentors include Ida Kavafian, Pamela Frank, Pinchas Zukerman, and Patinka Kopec. He currently is enrolled in Juilliard’s prestigious Artist Diploma program studying with Catherine Cho and a Professional Studies candidate at the Kronberg Academy with Christian Tetzlaff and lives in Philadelphia, USA.
Timothy Chooi is a Professor of Violin at the University of Ottawa. He performs on the 1717 Windsor-Weinstein Stradivarius on a generous loan from the Canada Council for the Arts and is a recipient of the Nippon Music Foundation Rare Instrument Project from the Government of Japan.
Michael van der Sloot, viola and Artistic Director
Michael van der Sloot's first twelve years of study on the violin and then on the viola were with his brother William at the Medicine Hat College. He then completed his Bachelor and Masters of Music degrees on the viola at the University of British Columbia studying with Gerald Stanick. Other instructors include internationally renowned musicians such as Martha Katz, Karen Tuttle, Bernard Zaslav, Andrew Dawes and Donald McInnes Michael van der Sloot has had success at various solo and chamber competitions and toured throughout Western Canada as a soloist and chamber musician.
In addition, van der Sloot was awarded the Johann Strauss Foundation Scholarship for study in Austria, where he pursued doctoral studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Thomas Riebl. Michael van der Sloot played in various orchestras across Western Canada. While in Europe, he continued to perform with the Salzburg Chamber Soloists throughout Switzerland, Austria, Italy and France including a performance at the Theatre Rue Champs Elysee in Paris and the Musikverein in Vienna.
In addition to his performing, van der Sloot is a passionate teacher. He taught on faculty at the Medicine Hat College as Academy Director for 11 years; instructing violin, viola, chamber music, and chamber orchestra. Under his guidance, the institution gained international recognition through the success of its students at National and International competitions.
van der Sloot then moved to Victoria, BC to take become Professor of Viola at Camosun College and String Department Head at the Victoria Conservatory of Music from 2010-2017. He also became Artistic Director of the Collegium Program for gifted young musicians. This program progressed to a standard receiving and international recognition.
Many of his former students can now be found in music schools, symphonies and chamber groups throughout North America. Michael van der Sloot has had the pleasure of being a guest instructor at various institutions across Canada, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Central Conservatory in Beijing. He has instructed at summer camps and festivals, and enjoys adjudicating festivals at various cities throughout Canada. Michael joined the faculty of the University of Ottawa in 2017.
Frédéric Lacroix, pianist
Frédéric Lacroix has performed in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia as a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative pianist. As such, he has performed with many important musicians, including Branford Marsalis, Johannes Moser, Kathleen Battle, Alexander Rudin, and some of Canada’s most noted musicians. He has made regular radio appearances on CBC and Radio-Canada in Canada as well as NPR in the U.S. Frédéric is also active as a composer, having composed for Ottawa Chamberfest, the Society of American Music, the Canadian University Music Society, the Chœur Classique de l’Outaouais, and other noted Canadian musicians.
Intrigued by the seemingly infinite diversity of new music, Frédéric has enjoyed collaborating with composers and performers in the premiere of a number of Canadian and American works. Frédéric is also active as a composer, having composed for the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Society of American Music, the Canadian University Music Society, the Choeur Classique de l’Outaouais and other noted Canadian musicians. One of his latest works, a sonatina for oboe and piano is featured on a collection of Canadian of music for oboe and piano with Chip Hamann that was released in June 2017. He is since performed and composed on a few other more recording projects, mostly devoted to the works of Canadian composers.
Much in demand as collaborative artist, teacher, adjudicator and composer, he currently teaches piano and composition at the University of Ottawa. He holds degrees from the University of Montreal, the University of Ottawa, and Cornell University, where he completed his Doctorate degree in keyboard performance practice with Malcolm Bilson. His other teachers include Marc Durand, Cynthia Floyd, Andrew Tunis, Jean-Paul Sévilla and Monique Collet-Samyn.
Jessy Kim, violinist
Jessy Kim h the violin section of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2024. She is a graduate of the Glenn Gould School, the University of Toronto, and the Yale School of Music, and appeared with the Nashville Symphony during the 2023–24 season. Her principal teachers include Ani Kavafian, Jonathan Crow, Barry Shiffman, and Paul Kantor.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Jessy began her musical training at the Vancouver Academy of Music with Lawrie Hill. She is a recipient of prestigious awards including the Hnatyshyn Foundation Developing Artist Grant, the Sylva Gelber Award, and the Yale Oneppo Chamber Music Prize. Her orchestral and solo performance credits include appearances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Symphony, and other major ensembles across North America.
Jeremy Mastrangelo, violinist
Jeremy Mastrangelo grew up in a musical household, and after his formative years of private violin lessons went on to study at the Interlochen Arts Academy, Cleveland Institute of Music, and University of Michigan. His primary teachers were Rafail Sobolevsky, Hal Grossman, James Krehbiel, William Preucil, and Paul Kantor.
Following one season in Miami with the New World Symphony, he was appointed Associate Concertmaster of his hometown Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, where he performed for ten seasons. Subsequently, he joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, where he currently resides.
In addition to his regular orchestral work, Jeremy often performs as a chamber musician and recitalist and has had a number of concerto performances throughout his career. He has also been a guest principal with orchestras throughout North America as well as on faculty at Syracuse University and University of Ottawa.
Paul Marleyn, cello
Cellist Paul Marleyn tours regularly in North America, Europe and Asia. As a frequent participant in summer festivals including the Prussia Cove, Busan, Festival of the Sound, Domaine Forget, Casalmaggiore, Leicester and Ottawa international festivals, he collaborates with artists such as Boris Berman, Miriam Fried, James Somerville, Paul Neubauer, Marc-André Hamelin, Steven Dann, Joshua Bell, and with members of the Tokyo, Vermeer, New Zealand, St. Lawrence and Hagen quartets. He has appeared as soloist with the London Philharmonia, Belgrade Philharmonic, European Chamber, Winnipeg Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Thunder Bay Symphony and Manitoba Chamber orchestras. The Artistic Director of Winnipeg’s Agassiz Chamber Music Festival since 2000, and the International Cello Festival of Canada since 2011, Paul was the cellist in Trio Hochelaga from 2006-2012. He has made several compact disc recordings on the United Records, CALA, ATMA, Signum Classics, CBC and RCA Victor labels. From 1993-7, Paul was principal cellist of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and has served at professor of cello at the University of Manitoba, and more recently at the University of Ottawa, where he now mentors an award-winning studio of young cellists.
Carson Becke
Born and raised in Ottawa, Canadian pianist Carson Becke has performed worldwide. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, UK, and at the University of Oxford, where he attained a doctorate in musicology. As a chamber musician, Carson enjoys frequent collaborations with sopranos Lavinia Dames and Meghan Lindsay, violinist Carissa Klopoushak, pianist Suren Barry as Duo Octavian, and cellist Julia MacLaine. As an arranger, he written transcriptions of music by Mendelssohn (Hebrides Overture – solo piano), Puccini (Fantasy on themes from Tosca – solo piano), Holst (The Planets – piano duo), Richard Strauss (Vier Letzte Lieder – piano and voice), and others.
Carson is committed to creating structural changes to the music industry in response to climate change, and the resulting need to create more sustainable systems. His TedX talk on this can be heard here. He is enacting those ideas through his directorship of the Collines-en-musique (formerly Pontiac Enchanté): environmental sustainability is one of the cornerstones of its mission, and it is the first classical concert series in Canada with a detailed Green Policy. Carson lived in the United Kingdom for fifteen years. In 2019 he moved home to Ottawa, and now lives in Wakefield, Quebec, with his partner Madeline, their son Solomon, and their dogs Jerry and Neumann. In 2024, he was inducted into the Chelsea Wall of Fame for his contributions to the cultural life of the Gatineau Hills region.
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Pérez Hall
University of Ottawa
50 University Private
Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5
Canada
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