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.
Robert Woolfrey, Clarinet
Robert Woolfrey joined the clarinet section of The Cleveland Orchestra in November 2008. Prior to his appointment, he was the Principal Clarinet of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra (2007-2008) as well as a member of the IRIS Chamber Orchestra.
As a chamber musician, Mr. Woolfrey has collaborated with Michael Tilson Thomas, Dawn Upshaw and musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra. In previous summers, he has participated in a variety of music festivals, including Tanglewood Music Center and the Aspen Music Festival.
Performances by Mr. Woolfrey have been heard on National Public Radio's Performance Today, classical music station WQXR and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio Two. As an educator, he serves as a coach of The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and he is on the faculty of the Kent Blossom Summer Music Festival.
Woolfrey has presented lessons and masterclasses at many schools including Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, University of Michigan, University of Toronto, University of Miami, San Francisco Conservatory and the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Mr. Woolfrey studied with Joaquin Valdepeñas at the University of Toronto and at Yale University with David Shifrin, where he received a master's degree in music. He is also an alumnus of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida, where he performed as the soloist for Nielsen's "Clarinet Concerto." He returns frequently to Miami as a coach. Robert is married to Cleveland Orchestra cellist Tanya Ell, and they have two young children.
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.
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
