Janelle Nadeu, Harp & ASton Lim, Cello
Janelle Nadeau, Harp
Janelle Nadeau is a nationally renowned harpist who has shared the stage with music luminaries including Joshua Bell, Diana Krall, Andrea Bocelli, The Who, Kanye West and more. Her awe-inspiring performances led to her role as the principal harpist with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and the Turning Point Ensemble. She performs regularly with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and past performances include: TED, the World Harp Congress, American Harp Society Conference, Celebrity Cruises, the National Youth Symphony of Canada, Winter Harp and beyond. Janelle has been touring since she was 19 years old and has made her way across Canada and has toured internationally to the United States, Asia and Europe. She believes in the healing power of music and through her work with Health Arts Society, she has performed more than 400 concerts in hospitals, palliative units and care homes. She holds a degree from the University of British Colombia has studied with Heidi Krutzen, Rita Costanzi, Richard Turner, Kim Robertson. She has travelled to Chile, France and Scotland to study with the leading harpists of those countries. Born and raised on a farm in Manitoba, Janelle returns every year to work on the farm during harvest with her two young sons.
Ashton Lim, Cello
Ashton Lim is a Canadian cellist with extensive experience as an orchestral player, chamber musician, soloist, teacher, and administrator. He has performed regularly with the Canadian Opera Company (COC), National Ballet of Canada, Santa Fe Opera, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Opera Orchestra, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Previous positions include the Sarasota Opera Orchestra and New World Symphony in Miami Beach, under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas.
Performances have taken Ashton to venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (USA), Lishui Grand Theatre (China), and Prince Mahidol Hall (Thailand); closer to home, he has performed in the Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall and COC’s Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre in Toronto, and the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver.
A passionate advocate for arts education and community engagement, Ashton was actively involved in New World Symphony’s community, education, and audience outreach programs in Miami. He coached students at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico and mentored students at the Academia Filarmónica de Medellín in Colombia, where he taught private lessons, masterclasses, and coached chamber ensembles. As an administrator, Ashton oversaw the Solo and Small Ensemble Festival of the Vancouver Kiwanis Music Festivals for three years, helping to guide it out of the pandemic to celebrate its centenary anniversary, with registration numbers at an all-time high. In the 2024/25 season, Ashton stepped into the role of Executive Director of the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra. As a teacher, Ashton is on faculty at the Vancouver Academy of Music.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Ashton studied with Audrey Nodwell at the Vancouver Academy of Music and completed his ARCT in Cello Performance. He holds degrees from Mount Royal Conservatory, University of Calgary, Northwestern University, and the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music. His principal teachers were John Kadz, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Andrés Diaz, and Desmond Hoebig. Ashton has been generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.