Sydney Trotter

Soprano Sydney Trotter possesses a broad love for music and art making, instilling the same love for her craft whether it be singing, playing piano, crocheting, teaching, or drawing . She enjoys performing a range of repertoire, from the dramatic works of Massenet to comedic Mozart, to the intricacies of contemporary music.

In 2021 she was awarded a scholarship by Early Music Vancouver which granted her the opportunity to study repertoire and hone her vocal technique. As a soloist, she was awarded First Place in the Vancouver Westcoast Music Society’s 2022 Vocal Competition and performed with the West Coast Symphony Orchestra in the Beethoven Symphony No. 9, 2022-23 Season Opener. Additionally, Sydney adores her role as Soprano Lead with the Vancouver Bach Symphonic Choir.

Sydney collaborates as a member of Lake & Ocean Collective to compose and perform new works of digital opera. Lake & Ocean’s first project, titled how are you?, was created during the 2021 Lucky Penny Opera 48-hour opera creation project, and was premiered during Re:Naissance Opera’s Indie Opera Festival where it won the Audience Choice Prize.

Sydney’s passion for performance is complemented by her love of administration and teaching. As an arts administrator, she has worked to develop and support youth programs at both the Canadian Opera Company and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music. Her passion for early-childhood music education has led her to pursue a degree in music education and she is currently a teaching assistant with the VSO School of Music, Mini Music Maker program.

In addition to her passion to music, Sydney has a deep love for nature and forestry, she spends her summer months planting trees in beautiful Northern British Columbia.

Sydney graduated from her M.Mus. degree in Voice Performance at the University of Toronto in 2020. Currently residing in British Columbia, she studies with Soprano, Robyn Klassen and Collaborative Pianist, Maria Jung.

Julie Begg

Originally from Scotland, Julie began her musical training at Napier University in Edinburgh. Her education continued at Trinity College of Music, London where she studied clarinet with John Stenhouse and saxophone with Chris Gradwell. In the UK, Julie freelanced as a clarinetist and saxophonist for many years, performing in symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles and West End musicals, before emigrating to Canada.

Julie is currently a freelance clarinetist playing principal clarinet with Lions Gate Sinfonia and second and bass clarinet with Kamloops Symphony Orchestra and Okanagan Symphony Orchestra. She is an extra musician with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and a core member of Erato Ensemble. Julie also performs regularly as a soloist for Health Arts Society and with Wind Song Trio and Trio Primario.  She owns and manages Accent Music Studios (music school) in North Vancouver, is a clarinet instructor at Vancouver Academy of Music and is the music director for Rising Tide Beginner Band and Accidental Jazz Band (both adult community groups) on the north shore.

Julie is a passionate educator and is in demand as a clinician working both independently and for VSO Connects along with Long and McQuade and Tom Lee education departments.

Maria Jung

Maria Hwa Yeong Jung is an active vocal collaborative pianist from Burnaby.Maria has worked at University of Toronto Faculty of Music as a vocal coach and staff accompanist, and accompanied the renowned Oriana Women’s Chorus and Acquired Taste Choir with conductor Mitchell Pady. She also worked as a music director and repetiteur for the Summer Opera Lyric Theater for the productions of Handel’s Cesare, and Marschner’s Der Vampyr. Maria is a graduate of University of Toronto, where she earned her Master’s degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, and Bachelor’s degree in Music Education under the tutelage of Lydia Wong and Dr. James Parker. Recently graduated from New England Conservatory of Music, she studied with Dr. Cameron Stowe and John Moriarty in the Collaborative Piano Graduate Diploma program. As a collaborative pianist, Maria has performed in many prestigious venues such as Jordan Hall, Walter Hall, Boston Atenaeum, Isabella Gardner Museum, Robert Gill Theater and Museum of Fine Arts. She also took part in eminent summer festivals such as Toronto Summer Music Festival Academy of Songs, Aspen Music Festival, Opera Nuova, Opera on the Avalon and Vancouver international Song Institute. As an emerging repetituer, she has worked with conductors such as Evan Mitchell, Stephen Lord, Jordan de Souza, and Judith Yan.

She has performed with Music friends recital society as a collaborative artist, worked closely with Opera Mariposa for their production of Puccini's Gianni Scchichi and debuted as a music director for their opera scenes concert. She is a faculty member at VSO school of music, a vocal coach at Vancouver Academy of Music for their college department and a staff pianist at Shadbolt Center for the Arts Dance department.