Mozart & Haydn

If you missed April's concert, where the young cellist, Mira Kardan stunned the audience with her performance of Haydn's C major cello concerto, you are afforded a reprieve! Here is another opportunity to witness the virtuosity and sensitivity of this rising star as she and the Lavinia Ensemble perform Haydn's D major cello concerto, paired with Mozart's Symphony, No. 29 in A major.

Program

Haydn Cello Concerto no. 2 in D major Hob. VIIb:2

Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A major, K.201

Mira Kardan attends the Glenn Gould School as a recipient of the Temerty Foundation Scholarship, where she studies with Hans Jorgen Jensen and Andres Diaz. She previously was a member of the Colburn Music Academy, where she studied with Clive Greensmith and served as principal cellist of the Colburn Academy Virtuosi chamber orchestra. An avid chamber musician, Mira performed as a member of the Olive Piano Trio, which won the Gold Medal first prize at the 2022 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and the First Grand Prize in the 2022 Chicago International Music Competition. The Olive Piano Trio went abroad to Finland in 2023, participating in an exchange program with the Sibelius Academy. Mira’s current string trio won first place in the 2025 Glenn Gould School Chamber Competition. Mira most recently won first place in the 2025 Shean Strings Competition, and will perform as soloist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at a future date. Mira has won numerous other prizes including second place in the 2025 International Young Artist Concerto Competition, first prize in the 2022 Bellflower Symphony Competition, and first prize laureate in the 2020 Sound Espressivo Competition. She has been featured on the NPR nationally syndicated radio program, From the Top, on two occasions. Mira has performed in master classes for Gautier Capuçon, Steven Isserlis, the Calidore Quartet, and the Takacs Quartet. In 2024, Mira participated in the Heifetz Institute’s Ensemble In Residence program, performing concerts in Virginia and Washington DC. Mira has attended the Heifetz International Music Institute, Meadowmount School of Music and the Young Artists Program at YellowBarn. Mira performs on a Montagnana model Grubaugh & Seifert cello made in 2019, and a Sylvan Bigot bow.

The Lavinia Ensemble was founded by musical director, Mark Whale, in December 2023, performing its first concert, Baroque Brilliance – in the Spirit of Christmas, in Bloor West Village/Swansea at Morningside Presbyterian Church. Taking its name from Lavinia Avenue, the heart of Swansea (and Mark's home street), the ensemble's "mission" is to bring quality musical performance to the neighborhood. The Lavinia Ensemble comprises professional and semi-professional musicians. Many are members of the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra where Mark is concertmaster.

Mark Whale, PhD, is a violinist and fulltime Professor of Liberal Studies at Humber College, Toronto. He teaches courses in music, philosophy and general education and is currently involved in developing Humber's climate educational program. Mark studied the violin in London, England, at the Royal Academy of Music, and in Freiburg, Germany at the Musikhochschule. After a career in Europe as a violinist, teacher, conductor and concert organizer, Mark completed his PhD in music education at the University of Toronto in 2009. A published researcher, he has presented at conferences around the world on the question of musical meaning. In 2014 he gave a TED Talk at Guelph University entitled "Music: Is it just a matter of personal taste?" In 2018 he conducted a research project, funded by Humber College, which included a series of podcasts called "The Music Listening Project." In the series, which is regularly updated, Mark explores what is going on in music from a practical (rather than theoretical) listening perspective. Mark continues to play the violin professionally. He is currently concertmaster of Toronto’s Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra. Other musical engagements are varied, ranging from solo Bach in Humber's Arboretum, Quartets in Cafes, Piazzola on YouTube, to improvisation and the folk music of Bosnia.

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