Piano
Karen Lee-Morlang
Karen is an award winning performer, educator and producer who you may have heard locally at the Silk Purse, Harmony Arts Festival, the Centennial Theatre and the Kay Meek Center. She has also been featured with her musical colleagues at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, MusicFest Vancouver, the World Peace Forum, Women’s Worlds Conference, the Vancouver Folk Festival and has broadcast on CBC Radio and local television.
After specializing in art song and chamber music for her post-graduate degree from the University of British Columbia Karen has championed music in BC with zeal and passion for over two decades. This includes co-producing recital and lecture series for organizations such as CBC Radio, Vancouver Art Gallery, UBC Main Library, Vancouver Opera, Vancouver Public Library and in the Downtown East side. In addition to playing and touring with many different musicians and ensembles, she is also a founding member of several vocal groups and has enjoyed working with many other musicians, ensembles and local choirs.
Karen is also committed to her role as the Artistic Director of Health Arts Society of BC, which curates and delivers many professional performances annually for elders living in long-term health care and retirement communities, as well as weekly online concerts. Recently Karen became the Music Director at St Francis-in-the-Wood Anglican Church in West Vancouver.
Noel McRobbie
Born in Winnipeg, Canada, pianist Dr. Noel McRobbie first received national attention after receiving top prize at the Eckhardt-Grammatté Piano Competition. In addition, he has received prizes at the CBC Début Concert Artist Series, Grand Konzerteum International Piano Competition, Seiler International Piano Competition, and the University of Michigan Concerto Competition. Mr. McRobbie’s solo performances include the Steinway Series at the University of South Florida, Vancouver Chopin Society, Eastport Arts Centre in Maine, Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Kumho Art Hall in Seoul, and a recital for the Asian Composers League at Sejong Chamber Hall in Seoul. As concerto soloist, he has performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Bulgarian Chamber Orchestra, Jeonju Philharmonic Orchestra, Westcoast Symphony, and the New Westminster Symphony. His performances have been broadcast on CBC radio, and he was recently featured in International Piano magazine and KBS television’s Classic Odyssey.
For many years, Mr. McRobbie was a student of Lee Kum-Sing at VAM and UBC, where he received an Artist Diploma and Bachelor of Music respectively. Other teachers include Arthur Greene, Patricia Zander, and Svetozar Ivanov. He received a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Pedagogy and Performance from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory. From 2009-2017 Mr. McRobbie was Assistant Professor of Piano at Dongduk Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea. He is also a piano faculty member at the Summer Music Festival for the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, and at the St. Andrews Piano Festival in Canada.
Website: https://www.noelmcrobbie.com/
Sergei Saratovsky
A winner of numerous awards including the First Place at the Porto International Piano Competition and the prize for Best Canadian Artist at the Montréal International Musical Competition, Sergei Saratovsky is recognized both in Canada and abroad as “a player of gargantuan proportions” and a “pianiste extraordinaire.” This exceptional and versatile performer has a gift to take audience on a breathtaking voyage through the essence of music to the essence of beauty. The artist touches listeners with the sensitivity of his interpretations and impressive technique; his energy, focus and musicianship blend into a spectacular tour de force in performance.
Sergei Saratovsky has performed for audiences in Russia, Europe, Australia, and North America, and has been the featured artist on radio and television broadcasts aired across the world. His concert engagements have included appearances with the European, Canadian, and Russian orchestras such as State Symphony Orchestra of Karelia, Portugal National and Chamber Orchestras, Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, Orchestre symphonique de Laval, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
His fascination with chamber music has led the artist to establish a four-hand piano duo with his younger brother Nikolai Saratovsky, an internationally acclaimed pianist (Moscow-Taipei). Their dynamic ensemble has performed in Russia and completed three concert tours of British Columbia.
In addition to his performing career, Saratovsky enjoys giving master classes and is in demand as a guest clinician and jury member of international and national competitions and festivals. After the completion of the doctoral studies, he has continued his scholarly research activities through journal publications and participation in the international conferences. Currently, Saratovsky mentors and guides the advanced students in their musical studies at the VSO School of Music.
Sergei Saratovsky was born in a family of musicians in Karelia, Russia. He received his university education at the Petrozavodsk State Conservatory of Music, graduating with a Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance in 2004. Saratovsky became a resident of Canada in 2002. He completed a Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance with Alexander Tselyakov at Brandon University, where in 2006 he received the gold medal for academic excellence and graduated with Greatest Distinction. In 2012, Sergei Saratovsky was granted the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of British Columbia where he had studied with Jane Coop.
Strings
Domagoj Ivanovic
Domagoj Ivanovic moved to Canada in 2007, after graduating with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Violin Performance at the University of Miami, where he held the post of a Teaching Assistant, as well as served as an Assistant Concertmaster for the Miami Symphony Orchestra.
Since then, he has quickly established himself as a violinist and an educator in the greater Vancouver area. As a performer he has shared the stage with some of the top ensembles in Vancouver, such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Opera Orchestra, and Turning Point Ensemble. He also adjudicated a number of festivals and competitions, such as the North Shore Music Festival, Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, Surrey Youth Symphony Concerto Competition, and University of British Columbia Concerto Competition, to name a few.
Originally from Zagreb, Croatia, he began studying violin at the age of seven. During his studies he was the recipient of numerous prizes and awards in violin competitions at the national and international level, the most important being First Prize in the National Violin competition and First Prize in the National Chamber Music competition.
As a soloist he appeared with several orchestras, most notably with the Zagreb Philharmonic orchestra, and the Miami Symphony orchestra. Described as a player with “clear technique and great sensitivity” he has performed all over Europe and North America, as well as China, Taiwan and Singapore.
Website: https://www.domagojivanovic.com/
Guitar
Itamar Erez
Itamar’s music holds a depth and sensitivity that touches listeners deeply.
It blends the delicateness of Middle Eastern music, the freedom found in jazz and the passion of
flamenco, creating a unique sound all his own.
Recipient of the 2014 ACUM Prize for Special Achievement in Jazz and the prestigious 2014
Landau Prize, Itamar Erez is an internationally renowned composer and guitarist who has shared the stage with such musicians as Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Tomatito, Avishai Cohen, Jean-
Louis Matinier, Zohar Fresco, and others.
Itamar has released Six albums to date, including “Desert Song” (2006) and “Hommage” (2010)
with the Adama Ensemble, “New Dawn” (2013) with percussionist Yshai Afterman and special
guest Antonio Serrano on harmonica, and “Mi Alegria” (2019). “May Song,” was released in October 2022 and features music written during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Migrant Voices”, Itamar’s 6th album was released in 2024. It is an collaboration album with Hamin Honari (Iranian-Canadian percussionist). This unique project blends diverse cultural influences, highlighting the spontaneous interplay between guitar and percussion.
In recent years, Itamar performed in Canada, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Cyprus,
Israel, India, Tunisia, Colombia & Surinam. Itamar made his Carnegie Hall (NY) debut Apr 2018
performing with the Omar Faruk Tekbilek Ensemble with Ara Dinjkian & Brian Keane as special
guests. Among the venues and festivals that Itamar played throughout his career were: Barbican Hall
(London UK), Sydney Opera (Sydney, Australia), the Jerusalem Jazz Festival (Israel), Oman
Opera House, The Megaron (Athens, Greece), Schauspielhaus Leipzig (Germany), Amsterdam
Jewish Music Festival (Holland), the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and others.
As a workshop facilitator and masterclass teacher, Itamar shares his unique approach to music
and instrumentation with students around the globe. Recent gigs for Itamar included showcasing his quartet at the JazzAhead music conference. April 2022 in Bremen, Germany and touring in Israel with his quartet in November 2022, playing with International Guitar Night (2023). 2024 brings a variety of performances in Canada, US & Europe, including gigs at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Penticton’s Dream Cafe, Bellingham’s Jazz Center, Edmonton’s Yardbird Suite, and many others. A new collaboration with Guitar Poet Brian Gore will see more
concerts in the US and Canada in 2024.
In addition to his performing and teaching career, Itamar has also composed music for various
chamber ensembles and classical guitarists, as well as for film. He has written commissioned
works for the ‘Sound of Dragon Ensemble’ and other groups, and his compositions for classical
guitar, including “Yahli’s Lullaby,” “Morning Song,” “Choro for Lulo,” and “Choro Sentimental,”
have been played by concert guitarists around the world. Itamar has also written music for the film “Greek To Me,” directed by Harry Killas. He is currently on faculty at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music, teaching
guitar, jazz, and world music.