Theremin & Piano duo, Ensemble-in-Residence (World-renowned performers from the Netherlands)

Thorwald Jørgensen is known as one of the leading classical theremin players in the world. After graduating from the conservatory he quickly established himself as one of the most prominent players of the instrument and made full time career of playing the instrument. Since the playing technique also resembles that of a string instrument, Thorwald was coached by Saskia Boon, former cellist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Having a busy concert schedule, Thorwald has played to great reviews as a chamber musician, soloist and orchestral thereminist in Europe, both North and South America, Asia, Australia, Canada and Russia. A remarkable highlight was the Dutch premiere of the theremin concertino by Anis Fuleihan.

Besides these concerts Thorwald also performed for radio and television and played at festivals, like Ravinia Festival (USA) Festival Classique (NL), Bach Festival (NL), Without Touch (DE) Hands Off (UK), Klassifest (NL), Node (CH), Music and Beyond (CA), Festival Electromagnética Santiago (CL), Klarafestival (BE), Fête de la Musique (CH), MAGFestival (HRV), Lunigiana International Music Festival (IT) International Film Festival Rotterdam / IFFR (NL) Gaudeamus Music Week (NL), November Music (NL), Wonderfeel (NL), Ars Musica (BE), Albury Chamber Music Festival (AU) New Music Festival Montréal (CA) and the Thereminology Festival in Moscow and St Petersburg (RU). He was also invited as a guest teacher/lecturer/performer at renowned institutions like the Conservatory of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, St. Petersburg (RU), Nizhny Novgorod (RU), Stanford University (USA) and Harvard University (USA) and the University of Havana (CU)

Thorwald played as a soloist with numerous orchestras around the world, like Philharmonie Zuid-Nederland, Brussels Philharmonic, Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Opera2Day, kammerphilharmonie bremen, Eskişehir Symphony Orchestra, Dutch Theatre Orchestra, Antalya Symphony Orchestra, Ottawa Chamber Players, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonie, Bursa State Symphony Orchestra, KODA Chamber Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Bremer Philharmoniker and the Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey.

As a chamber musician Thorwald works together with both pianist Kamilla Bystrova and the Utrecht String Quartet. A highlight was the world premiere of Canadian composer Simon Bertrand "The Invisible Singer - an album for theremin and string quartet" , performed during the Gaudeamus Music Week in the Netherlands.

Thorwald is an advocate for new theremin repertoire and composers from all over the world have written pieces for him. Recently Thorwald also started composing himself, resulting in several solo pieces for theremin. His first composition Distant Shores for theremin, voice and loop-station was an instant success and was recorded for TV and radio in Canada, Croatia, Turkey, Australia, Russia, USA and the Netherlands.

Thorwald currently plays a MOOG Etherwave Pro theremin.

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Kamilla Bystrova was born in Moscow and began studying piano with her mother, a music professor. She is a graduate of the famous piano school founded by Heinrich Neuhaus, who taught Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels and Radu Lupu. She earned a Master’s degree from the Conservatory of St. Petersburg and went on to perform with the Moscow Philharmonic Society across Europe. She attended master classes of Emanuel Ax, Mstislav Rostropovich and Ruth Nye.

After she received another Master’s degree from The Hague’s Royal Conservatory with Naum Grubert, Bystrova was invited to join the faculty, and performed as a soloist and with chamber ensembles. In 1992, she won The Link Prize for her performance of Pictures At An Exhibition.

She has transcribed songs by Schumann and Tchaikovsky, and has recently expanded the repertoire by adapting Schubert’s Winterreise for solo piano. Her performance of this new work will be released soon.

In addition to her busy teaching and performing schedule, Bystrova paints, draws and sculpts. Her work can be found in private collections. An avid outdoors enthusiast, she enjoys hiking and skiing.

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There is something vividly distinct about Mehdizadeh's music. This Canadian composer is revered for his intricate, unpredictable and haunting works. The sound and gesture of his pieces bury themselves deep in complex imagination—participating you in an exploration of uncertain visceral implications. His unique musical language is perceived as complex yet engaging, bringing together a hybrid of musical expression including the Mehdizadeh Modes, namely the Double- and Multi-Tonic modes.

Dr. Daniel Mehdizadeh (DMA, University of Toronto) is currently based in the Greater Toronto Area and is the Composer-in-Residence for the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been involved in both national and international festival series. He is regularly commissioned and holds numerous performances in Europe and North America. His works have had global exposure and have been broadcasted across Canada and US including appearance as guest composer on CBC Radio.

Mehdizadeh has worked closely with conductors Ronald Royer, Simon Rivard, Jeffrey Reynolds and pianist and conductor Jean Desmarais. Mehdizadeh has also served as Composer-in-Residence for University of Toronto and University of Toronto Schools. He has given lectures and composition workshops at UTS as well as adjudication and mentorship for the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra as part of their annual New Generation Composer Project.

Mehdizadeh has also partnered with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra and together kickstarted a new podcast series, SPOGreatMusic, during the pandemic, helping develop new community partnerships including Scarborough Arts, FabCollab, Stratford Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Music Centre, Canadian Sinfonietta, the Brantford Symphony Orchestra, and the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra.

Mehdizadeh’s works receive funding through commissions and private patrons (long-time donor and supporter Nicole Senécal), as well as institutions including the latest Ontario Arts Council studio recording grant. He has collaborated with Orchestre de la Francophonie, Winds of SPO, the Princeton Singers and the Ewashko Singers amongst many others. Notable world-renowned performers include Belgian flautist Marc Grauwels and Dutch theremin player Thorwald Jørgensen with multiple commissions and performances in festivals around the world.

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