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Sinfonia Toronto will present a Masterpiece Series concert featuring the brilliant Canadian cello sensation Denise Djokic. Orchestra’s Music Director Nurhan Arman will conduct.

The soaring melodies of Saint-Saens’ Cello Concerto in A Minor and Shostakovich’s Sinfonia op. 73 will be heard, along with Sonatina and Partita Danzante by Czech composer Jan Slimacek.

One of the most captivating young artists of her generation, Cellist Denise Djokic has thrilled audiences and critics worldwide with the passion, vigor, and sensitivity of her playing.

Already one of North America's most sought after soloists, she has performed as guest soloist with every leading orchestra in Canada, including the orchestras of Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. She has also appeared with many orchestras in the United States and in Mexico, including the Buffalo Philharmonic, Omaha Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, and the Orquesta Filharmonica UNAM of Mexico City.

As a recitalist and chamber musician, Denise performs throughout North America and Europe. She has performed at the Phillips Collection and the museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and has also performed in San Francisco, Cologne, Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende, at Chicago's Dame Myra Hess Series, at Bargemusic and with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players in New York, in addition to all major Canadian centers. Her avid involvement in chamber music brings her to many festivals yearly, including the chamber festivals of Caramoor, Ottawa, Vancouver, Park City, Parry Sound, Domaine Forget, and Ravinia.

Denise has toured Canada extensively, during which she was featured as the subject of the documentary film "Seven Days, Seven Nights", which aired on Bravo TV and was screened at the Atlantic Film Festival. She was also named by MacLean's magazine as one of "25 Young Canadians who are changing our World", and by ELLE magazine as one of "Canada's 30 most Powerful Women".

Denise's debut recording was released in 2002 on the Sony Classical label to great critical acclaim, and won her an East Coast Music Award for "Best Classical Recording of the Year". During the same year, Denise was a featured performer at the 2002 Grammy Awards. She recently released her second recording, entitled "Folklore", on the Allegro/Endeavor label, which was featured on NPR's renowned "All Things Considered" program.

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, into a large musical family, Denise began her studies with Olive Shaw and Shimon Walt. She is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music's "Young Artist Program", where she was a student of Richard Aaron, and later continued her studies in Boston with Paul Katz and Laurence Lesser.

There will be a free post-concert reception, giving audience members a chance to meet the orchestra members, conductor and soloist.

Getting there: To get to Grace Church by public transport, use the subway to get to the St. Clair station on the Yonge line. Transfer to the streetcar and travel west on St. Clair to Russell Hill Road. Then walk north 2 blocks to Lonsdale Road. Or travel to the St. Clair West station and use the streetcar to travel east to the corner of Russell Hill and St. Clair. On weekdays only, the Forest Hill bus leaves the St. Clair West station every 20 minutes and travels north on Spadina, stopping at the corner of Lonsdale one block from the church. Parking can be found on-street at most times of day. Paid parking is available on Lonsdale, and free parking on Russell Hill southbound weekdays and weekends, or northbound after business hours on weekdays. On Sunday, the parking places in front of Bishop Strachan School on the northeast corner of Lonsdale are also available for use by churchgoers.

For more information contact: Margaret Chasins
Phone: 416-499-0403
Email: sinfoniatoronto@sympatico.ca

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