Christopher Gongos is one of Canada's most respected horn players. Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Christopher received his formal education at the University of Alberta where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Performance, as a student of Kay McCallister. He then pursued graduate studies at McGill University where he studied with John Zirbel. He was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and a Fellow at the Tanglewood Institute. Additionally, he studied with Philip Farkas, Michael Holtzel and John MacDonald.
Following his studies in Montreal, Christopher began his professional orchestral career as Principal Horn of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. In Kitchener he gained valuable experience in chamber music performance as a member of the Canadian Chamber Ensemble. Christopher also served as Associate Principal Horn of the Winnipeg Symphony and as Second Horn of the Hamilton Philharmonic.
In 1998 Christopher joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where holds the position of Associate Principal Horn. He continues to enrich his career with chamber music, new music and studio work.
Christopher is a dedicated teacher, and has studios at the Glenn Gould School, and at the University of Toronto. Many of his students have gone on to study at North America's most prestigious music schools and have embarked on careers as professional musicians.
Christopher is very proud to be Artist in Residence with the Silverthorn Symphonic Winds for the 2011-2012 season.
Known for his virtuoso energy on stage as well as an easy and entertaining way of speaking with the audience, Peter Stoll was a prizewinner in the International Clarinet Society Competition, and also Solo Clarinetist with the World Orchestra of Jeunesses Musicales in Berlin and Vienna, which was broadcast on live television across Europe. Peter won First Prize in Chamber Music at the National Competitive Music Festival, for whose 50th Anniversary edition he was invited back as Woodwind Adjudicator and as soloist in the Gala Celebration Concert in Winnipeg. A graduate of the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, he received his Master's of Music degree in Performance from Indiana University, where he studied with renowned soloist James Campbell.
Peter has been guest soloist with orchestras in Canada and the United States, and was invited to Saratov, Russia for solo performances with the Saratov Philharmonic's Volga Wind Ensemble and to present master classes at the State Conservatory.
Featured on several CD releases with the ERGO and Continuum ensembles, as well as with the Canadian Brass and composer John Gladwell, Peter's recording Bits 'n Pieces was broadcast on CJRT-FM and the English and French CBC, and he has been heard in solo performance on CBC-FM's Arts National, Music Around Us, Music Alive and DiscDrive. Peter was featured in a showcase performance at the Ontario Arts Council's Contact conference, and now tours extensively throughout the province presenting solo and ensemble concerts. Summer festival performances have included The Banff Centre for the Arts, the Ottawa Valley Festival, the Niagara International Chamber Music Festival, and as a Mentor at the Boris Brott Music Festival in Hamilton.
A frequent performer of new music, the Ontario Arts Council awarded Peter and composer Randall Smith a Commissioning Grant for a new solo bass clarinet piece Borealis, premiered in Toronto. He twice travelled to Munich, Germany with the ERGO ensemble to take part in the AdeVant Garde festival. Other tours with ERGO have included New York City, Finland and Lithuania. Additional recent trips as a core member of the Talisker Players have been to perform at the Ottawa International and Vancouver Chamber Music Festivals. Contemporary chamber music touring in Europe also included broadcasts on the BBC and Radio Netherlands.
Orchestral performances have been as Principal Clarinetist of the Toronto Philharmonia, as well as with many other local and regional orchestras including the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, as well as with Opera York and Maestro Kerry Stratton's new Grand Salon Orchestra as solo clarinet and saxophonist.
Peter recently joined flutist Sibylle Marquardt and pianist Kathryn Tremills to form the exciting new group Trio D'Argento, which is already touring two full-length concert programmes, as well as a noon-hour recital at several university campuses. These feature the group's mix of classical and jazz-inspired works, along with their varied instrumentation including saxophone.
Peter teaches privately and at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. He is also a member of the Royal Conservatory of Music's National College of Examiners and is much sought after as an adjudicator at music festivals across the country.
Peter Stoll