Meet the Finalists
Andrei Feher
Masterworks 4 & Sinfonia 1
Andrei Feher has already earned a reputation for his musical maturity and integrity, natural authority on the podium, and an imaginative and intelligent approach to programming. At the age of 26 Feher was appointed as the new Music Director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, a position effective from August 2018.
Having gained early experience as assistant to Fabien Gabel at the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, at the age of 22 Feher joined the Orchestre de Paris as Assistant Conductor to its Music Director, Paavo Järvi. During this time he collaborated with conductors including Zubin Mehta, Valery Gergiev, Christoph von Dohnányi, Thomas Hengelbrock and Jaap van Zweden, as well as regularly conducting the orchestra in their popular Young Public concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris.
In addition to his commitments with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, recent and upcoming highlights include performances with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Les Violons du Roy, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Orchestre National d’Ile de France, Orchestre Métropolitain Montréal and Romanian Radio National Orchestra.
Andrei Feher
Masterworks 4 & Sinfonia 1
A strong advocate of contemporary music, Feher has recently performed works by Eric Champagne, Pierre Mercure, George Dimitrov, Ciprian Pop and Abigail Richardson, as well as the world premiere of Thierry Besancon’s opera for children Les Zoocrates with Opéra de Lausanne. In November 2015, Feher conducted the world premiere of Soleil Noir by Pierre Jodlowski with the Orchestre de Pau-Béarn, which resulted in an immediate invitation to conduct the work in Toulouse in November 2016.
Born in Romania into a family of musicians, Feher began his musical education as a violinist in his hometown Satu-Mare before continuing his studies at the Montreal Conservatoire when his parents relocated to Canada.
Dina Gilbert
Masterworks 2 & Sinfonia 4
Regularly invited to conduct in Canada and overseas, Dina Gilbert attracts critical acclaim for her energy, precision and versatility. From Québec, she is currently Music Director of the Kamloops Symphony where she is known for her contagious dynamism and her audacious programming. Dina Gilbert is passionate about communicating with audiences of all ages to broaden their appreciation of orchestral music through innovative collaborations. This commitment, as well as Dina Gilbert’s extensive knowledge of repertoire has shaped her career and the orchestras she has worked with.
Dina has conducted leading Canadian orchestras such as Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre métropolitain, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. She is frequently invited to conduct in France and also has conducted orchestras in the United States, Colombia, Spain and in Japan.
Dina’s 2022-2023 season included debuts with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire, and a tour with the Orchestre national de Metz as well as reengagements with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. As the Principal Conductor of the Orchestre des Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, she conducted the premières of Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto, Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite, Prokofiev’s Cinderella as well as performing Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.
Dina Gilbert
Masterworks 2 & Sinfonia 4
Her innate curiosity towards non-classical musical genres and willingness to democratise classical music has sparked collaborations with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Orchestre national de Lyon in several Hip Hop Symphonic programs featuring renowned artists I AM, MC Solaar, Youssoupha, Arsenik and Bigflo & Oli. She has also conducted the world premiere of the film The Red Violin with orchestra at the Festival de Lanaudière and has conducted the North American premiere of film The Artist with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.
As the founder and artistic director of the Ensemble Arkea, a Montreal-based chamber orchestra, Dina premiered over thirty works from emerging Canadian composers. Committed to music education, she has reached thousands of children with her interactive and participative Conducting 101 workshops.
From 2013 to 2016, Dina Gilbert was the assistant conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal and Maestro Kent Nagano, also assisting notable guest conductors including Zubin Mehta and Sir Roger Norrington. In April 2016, she received great acclaim for stepping in to replace Maestro Alain Altinoglu with the OSM in a program showcasing Gustav Holst's The Planets.
Featured in the recent documentary “Femmes symphoniques”, Dina Gilbert earned her doctorate from the Université de Montréal, where she studied with Jean-François Rivest and Paolo Bellomia and she polished her skills in masterclasses with Kenneth Kiesler, Pinchas Zukerman, Neeme Järvi and the musicians from the Kritische Orchester in Berlin. Awarded the Opus Prize of "Découverte de l'année" in 2017, Dina Gilbert also was one of the 50 personalities creating the extraordinary in Québec in 2018 by the Urbania Magazine. She has also received support from the Canada Arts Council, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and from the Père-Lindsay Foundation.
Julian Pellicano
Masterworks 3 & Sinfonia 3
Known for his versatility across a broad spectrum of genres, dynamic interpretations and meticulous technique, American-Canadian conductor Julian Pellicano is the Music Director and Principal Conductor of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Associate Conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Bringing an incisive musicality and collaborative spirit to every performance, he has built a wide-ranging international career leading the Winnipeg Free Press to proclaim that “his versatility is truly astonishing.”
As a guest he has conducted orchestras in North America and abroad including the Seattle Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Orquestra de Valencia, Edmonton Symphony, the Louisiana Philharmonic, The Florida Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre, the Hartford Symphony, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and the Vermont Symphony among others.
Passionate about the intersection of music and dance, Pellicano has collaborated with internationally renowned dancers and choreographers. Upcoming ballet performances include return engagements with the National Ballet of Canada and Orlando Ballet, a debut with Hong Kong Ballet, as well as extensive performing and touring with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
Julian Pellicano
Masterworks 3 & Sinfonia 3
A specialist in performing films live with orchestra, Mr. Pellicano’s catalogue of film projects encompasses over 20 titles including the Star Wars and Harry Potter series, E.T. The Extra-terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Home Alone, Miloš Forman’s award-winning film Amadeus, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis with its original 1927 score, Casablanca, Singin’ in the Rain, The Wizard of Oz, Disney’s Fantasia, The Nightmare Before Christmas, plus several of Charlie Chaplin’s silent classics.
Julian Pellicano studied conducting at the Yale School of Music, the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, and has conducted in masterclasses with Kurt Masur, Peter Eötvös, Zsolt Nagy, Martyn Brabbins, Carl St. Clair, L’Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He was a recipient of the Presser Music Award, prizes from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and Yale’s Phillip F. Nelson Prize for Musical Entrepreneurship.
Julian Pellicano’s career grew out of unconventional beginnings, performing as a primarily self-taught percussionist, timpanist, drummer and accordionist, in styles ranging from folk music to blues and jazz, rock and punk, as well as more traditional ensembles and orchestras. He studied percussion at the Peabody Conservatory, the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden, and at the Yale School of Music where he was a member of the critically acclaimed Yale Percussion Group directed by Robert Van Sice. As a percussionist, he has performed in concert halls and festivals in North America, Europe and Asia and was notably the percussionist for the legendary composer/conductor Mauricio Kagel during one of his final concert tours throughout the Netherlands. He also holds a degree in philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University.
Simon Rivard
Masterworks 1 & Sinfonia 2
Simon Rivard has been the TSVC Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra since 2018. Recent highlights include productions of Bizet’s Carmen and Puccini’s La bohème and Tosca with Edmonton Opera, as well as Handel’s Messiah with both the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre classique de Montréal.
The 2023/24 season sees Rivard on the podium with I Musici de Montréal, Orchestre symphonique de Laval, Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, and Orchestre classique de Montréal, while leading the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra’s 50th anniversary season and Edmonton Opera’s productions of Bizet’s Carmen, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Wagner’s Das Rheingold. He also looks forward to collaborations with Toronto-based chamber ensemble The Happenstancers in projects spanning from early baroque to modern experimental.
The summer of 2023 saw Rivard make his Orchestre symphonique de Montréal début, conducting their celebrated series OSM in the Parks. He also joined the OSM as chorus master for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Festival international de Lanaudière, and returned to assist OSM music director Rafael Payare for their Virée classique summer festival.
Simon Rivard
Masterworks 1 & Sinfonia 2
In 2022/23, Simon made débuts with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre classique de Montréal, and Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, alongside reengagements with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke, and serving as assistant conductor to Barbara Hannigan at Orchestre philharmonique de Radio-France. As a guest conductor, he has joined orchestras across North America and Europe, such as Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Göteborgs Symfoniker (Sweden). In 2022, he was also a finalist of the Princess Astrid International Music Competition of the Trondheim Symfoniorkester (Norway).
From 2018 to 2022, he held the title of RBC Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where he was mentored by Music Director Gustavo Gimeno and Conductor
Laureate Sir Andrew Davis, and assisted world-class conductors such as Peter Oundjian, Sir Donald Runnicles, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, John Storgårds, Barbara Hannigan, Xian Zhang, and Eun-sun Kim. He acted as Sir Andrew Davis’ assistant conductor on TSO’s JUNO award-winning recording of Massenet’s Thaïs and TSO’s recording of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique.
