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Photo Credit: J Henry Fair
“Tonally, technically, and musically superb,” Canadian cellist Luka Coetzee (b. 2004) “plays sublimely, with an interpretative grasp [and] phenomenal musicianship [that] should on no account be missed” (Fanfare Magazine). Since her professional debut at age 11, Luka has appeared as soloist with orchestras worldwide including the Helsinki Philharmonic, Lahti Symphony, Cape Town Philharmonic, National Philharmonic, Stuttgart Chamber, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Hradec Kralove Philharmonic, National Orchestre de Cannes, and more.
Luka received numerous awards including First Prize in 2023 at the eminent 7th International Paulo Cello Competition. In November 2022, she was recognized as the First Prize Winner at the Pablo Casals International Award, and in September, she received the Frans Helmerson Promotional Award at the Kronberg Academy, as well as First Prize in the 2022 Johansen International Competition in Washington, DC, garnering further attention for her exciting introduction as an international soloist.
As a member of the Echo Klassik-nominated LGT Young Soloists, Luka performed in concert halls around the world including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Berlin Philharmonie, Tonhalle Zürich,Victoria Hall Singapore, Rheingau Musik Festival, and Woordfees Festival in Stellenbosch, South Africa. With LGTYS, Luka’s critically acclaimed Naxos recording of the Beethoven A Major Cello Sonata, arranged for cello and strings, was No. 1 on the Apple Music Classical Video Charts in more than 40 countries, including the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan.
Luka collaborates regularly with distinguished artists including Johannes Moser, Frans Helmerson, David Geringas, Nicolas Altstaedt, Jens Peter Maintz, Laurence Lesser, and Hans Jorgen Jensen, as well as the Calidore String Quartet, the Kronos Quartet, and the Schumann Quartet. In November 2021, Luka attended the Rutesheim Cello Akademie where she worked with Danjulo Ishizaka and Claudio Bohorquez, and more recently the Prussia Cove Masterclasses under the guidance of Steven Isserlis. An avid chamber musician, Luka participated in the Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival Young Performer’s Program in 2019 and 2018. Luka frequently performs at schools, hospitals, senior homes, and community events. She was the Calgary Regional Director of the Back to Bach Project, “a global initiative to inspire music and arts education to young children.”
At the age of one, Luka had her first cello lesson with Christine Bootland. Other previous mentors include John Kadz, Johanne Perron, and Horacio Contreras. Luka also started playing piano at the age of three and finished the Royal Conservatory of Music ARCT piano exam with First Class Honours under the instruction of Derek Chiu.
Luka Coetzee is an Endorsing Artist for Thomastik-Infeld strings (Vienna), and plays a 1763 Ferdinando Gagliano from the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar where she studies with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt.
Luka Coetzee also performs on a Matteo Goffriller cello, Venice, c. 1707, ex-Lorne Munroe, which is on loan to her from Mr. Higgin Kim, Chairman of Byucksan Engineering Co. Ltd through Sejong Soloists.
Luka Coetzee is represented worldwide by Jonathan Wintringham & Doug Sheldon at Sheldon Artists. lukacoetzee.com
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Quoted by the Chronicle Herald as “A superb musician”, Swedish-born pianist Susanne Ruberg-Gordon is a highly regarded and sought after chamber-musician and collaborative pianist. She is recognized for herbartistry, nuance and interpretation, and has performed in Canada, the US,
China and UAE with artists such as Dame Evelyn Glennie, Andras Diaz,bRon Leonard, Ian Swensen, James Campbell, Timothy Chooi, Nikki Chooi, Desmond Hoebig, John Kimura Parker, Josh Jones, Arnold Choi, Ben Reimer, Sydney Lee and Xavier Foley.
Susanne is the pianist and core member of the Juno nominated Land’s End Ensemble, a piano-trio that is dedicated to excellence in performance and recording of Canadian and International new music, and to enriching collaborations with eminent composers and artists. The ensemble has premiered over 125 new chamber works and is featured on 8 commercial recordings. The newest release, coming out July of 2024 on Naxos features John Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man (soprano and sextet version) and Gryphon Realms (piano trio) by Vincent Ho. www.landsendensemble.ca
“This was only one work of many in which Ms. Ruberg-Gordon achieved the finest balance acting as both the core sound and the glue of Land’s End Ensemble, absolutely ideal playing all night” - Stephan Bonfield
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“Her pianism everything the composer could wish for” - Calgary Herald
As a passionate educator and adjudicator, Susanne is a faculty member and facilitator at the Mount Royal University Conservatory Academy and APP Programs. She is also on faculty at the Valhalla Summer School of Music in New Denver, BC.
Since 2001, she has been a Collaborative Artist for the prestigious and acclaimed Morningside Music Bridge program in Canada, US, China and Poland.
Concert Sponsors: Dennis & Joyce Vass