2025 Artists
Sarah loves J.S. Bach, and J.S. Bach loves Sarah. (She) played Bach beautifully. Then she introduced her audience to some sumptuous composers and explored their ties to Bach and each other. We heard far more than we expected to. Then...more Bach revealed even more richness and complexity. Thank you Sarah!
-- audience member, Tobermory, ON.
Photo Credit: Gary Moon
Sarah Pratt-Parsamian, violin
Originally from Listowel, ON, and currently based in New York, NY, acclaimed violinist Sarah Pratt-Parsamian enjoys a diverse and exciting musical career. She has been a prizewinner at the Jeunesses Musicales International Violin Competition, and Silver Medal winner in the Canadian National Music Competition. At the age of 14 she made her solo debut with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra at the Guelph Spring Festival in Ontario, and since has performed as soloist with orchestras in Canada and the U.S., including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Stratford Symphony Orchestra, and the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa.
An avid chamber musician and recital artist, Sarah has performed across Canada and the United States, including Stratford Summer Music Festival, the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society, the Arts and Letters Club, Heliconian Club (Toronto), the British Art Museum (New Haven, CT), Bargemusic (New York, NY), the Detroit Institute of Art (Detroit, MI), Clefworks (Montgomery, AB), and others. She performs regularly on the Musica Reginae series in Queens, NY, and is the founder and Artistic Director of Music on the Bruce.
Sarah is a temporary member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra. She also performs regularly as a substitute with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic, with whom she has traveled on tours across the United States, Europe and Asia. She is a member of the New York City Opera Orchestra, a position she has held since 2006. Sarah has served as guest concertmaster of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and others.
Sarah holds a Bachelor in Performance Degree from the University of Toronto, Master’s Degree and Artist Diploma from Yale University, and Doctor of Musical Arts from SUNY Stony Brook. When her violin is resting, Sarah can be found jogging on park trails, climbing trees with her children, hiking with her camera, or curled up on the couch with a good book and a glass of wine.
Caitlin Boyle, viola
A JUNO-nominated performing artist, Caitlin Boyle concertized extensively for thirteen years with the Cecilia String Quartet. She won several international awards including Banff, Bordeaux, and Osaka String Quartet Competitions. The quartet was the John D. Stewart String Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Toronto from 2015-2018, where they coordinated the chamber music program, as well as holding positions as Adjunct Professors.
Currently she plays with the Isabel String Quartet, string-quartet-in-residence at Queens University and is a member of Sinfonia Toronto and the Niagara Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed and toured with orchestras such as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Symphony Orchestra, and the Schleswig-Holstein Orchestral Academy.In addition to her performance schedule, she teaches at the Hamilton Suzuki School of Music and through the Hamilton Music Collective, An Instrument for Every Child.
Rachel Desoer, cello
Rachel Desoer is a Canadian cellist. She studied at the Juilliard School, Oberlin College, McGill University and the Banff Centre. She graduated from Oberlin in 2008 with a Bachelor of Music degree.
Rachel was the cellist of the Cecilia String Quartet from 2010 to 2018. In this ensemble Rachel toured extensively around the world, recorded 4 albums on the Analekta label and taught chamber music at the University of Toronto.
Touring has allowed Rachel to perform at such inspiring venues as Wigmore Hall, The Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Konzert Haus Berlin and many more.
The Cecilia Quartet also made educational programming a priority and performed hundreds of presentations for schools. In 2014, the quartet created a concert series called Xenia concerts specifically designed for children on the autism spectrum and their families. Exemplifying their commitment to the equal representation of women in music, Rachel spearheaded the commissioning of 4 string quartets by Canadian women composers in 2016.
Rachel continues to play recitals and concertos with orchestra regularly. She has worked in orchestras, most notably, the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company. Currently, Rachel is the principal cellist of Symphony Nova Scotia. She performs on a Vuillaume from ca. 1850, generously loaned by the Symphony Nova Scotia Society.
Robert Tite, Clarinet
Robert Tite has been Principal Clarinet of the Georgian Bay Symphony since 2003 and is an active performer and educator. He studied with Charles Bell, Terrance Basom, and Peter Stoll, and has participated in masterclasses with James Campbell. Robert founded the Georgian Bay Symphony Clarinet Choir and the Great Lake Winds concert band, both currently on hiatus. He has performed as a soloist with the GBS, including Copland’s Clarinet Concerto and Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie. He teaches clarinet, saxophone, and recorder in Owen Sound and online, and serves as the Royal Conservatory of Music Representative for the region.
Dominik Franken, viola
Dominik Franken was born and raised in Germany and studied the violin and viola with concertmaster Erich Brand. Dominik played in the German Youth Orchestra, Bonner Sinfonietta and the Brand Quartet. After immigrating to Canada in 1987 he pursued a career in farming and as an Investment Advisor. The viola is always part of his life, playing in several orchestras, as a chamber musician and as the “Sow” in Cow and Sow (look it up on ITunes). Dominik retired to Myles Bay in 2019 to make more music in all different forms and shapes. In 2022 he started "Lions Head Summer Music", a one-week celebration of classical music!
Music on the Bruce gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts Council, and the government of Ontario
