Madoc Quartet
Who We Are
The Madoc Quartet: four accomplished string players with a passion for chamber music and the desire to share that passion with contemporary audiences. MQ's debut concert series, "The All Terrain Tour 2020," sponsored by the Quinte Society for Chamber Music, was an unmitigated success, earning accolades for excellence in performance and a warm, inviting presentation style. Committed to finessing the traditional string quartet repertoire and exploring new music by modern composers, recent performances include the premiere of a new work by Canadian Jacques Marchand scored specifically for this ensemble. MQ leader Sebastian Sallans says, "Canadian composers are writing the music for our time. The String Quartet is a sonorous, versatile and stunningly beautiful instrument for which the great composers wrote their best music. We want everyone to be able to hear and enjoy chamber music at its best.” Exciting performances can be expected from this ensemble of exceptional musicians.
Violinist Sebastian Sallans appears regularly as concert master, associate concertmaster and orchestral musician with the Niagara Symphony, Sudbury Symphony Orchestra, the North-Bay Symphony Orchestra (Principal 2nd) the l’Orchestre symphonique régional Abitibi-Témiscamingue and other orchestras across the GTA, Ontario and Quebec. Versatile and innovative, Sallans is a founding member of the Madoc Quartet, the piano trio, Driveshaft with pianist Todd Yaniw, the 6ix Quartet and jazz hybrid, Das Trio. His solo performance credits include appearances in the GTA, across the Quinte Region, and recitals in Salzburg, Austria. Collaborators include Canadian composers Patricia Moorehead, Andy Slade and Jacques Marchand.
A graduate of the University of Toronto's Violin Performance Bachelor of Music program, Sebastian studied under Mark Skazinetsky (TSO), Jonathan Crow (TSO) Karoli Sziladi (NACO), Michael Frischenschlager (Salzburg Mozarteum), Andrew Wan (OSM) and Victor Dernovski (l'Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse) and continues to pursue advanced instruction. He enjoys fiddle music, learning his tunes as a child from his grandfather, Bill Sallans and Ottawa Valley legend, Bruce Wilson. Artistic Director of the Quinte Society for Chamber Music, Sebastian promotes classical music culture across rural Ontario.
Sebastian Sallans, Violin
Violinist Leslie Townsend earned his B. Mus. Hons from Trinity Laban in the UK, his M. Mus from the Vienna Privat Universität, and a Violin Certificate from St. Petersburg, Russia. Originally from London, UK, Leslie is classically trained in violin and piano. His performing career has taken him on tour in Africa, Europe, Canada and Asia. He began his training when he was 8, at 14 played as soloist in Vivaldi’s ‘Winter’ and was described by Yehudi Menuhin as ‘a player of passion and interest’.
In search of his family and musical heritage, Leslie studied in Russia, where his great grandmother had studied piano. Returning to England, his string quartet won prizes at Trinity Laban and national competitions, then toured France and Switzerland. In Vienna he learned the precision and gracefulness of the Viennese style, before starting his professional performance career which includes Music Theatre tours in Holland and Belgium, working for the BBC and a full teaching studio.
Leslie Townsend, Violin
Canadian-American Violist Sarah de Niverville performs throughout the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario, and has been a core member of the Niagara Symphony Orchestra since 2018. Prior to pursuing graduate studies in Victoria, British Columbia, Sarah held a position in the viola section of Symphony New Brunswick during the 2013-14 season. In addition to performing with the Niagara Symphony, Sarah maintains a busy freelancing career, having played with the Esprit Orchestra, Sinfonia Toronto, the Ontario Pops Orchestra, the Toronto Philharmonic, the Ontario Philharmonic, the Toronto Sinfonietta, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, the Kingston Symphony Orchestra, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, the Timmins Symphony Orchestra, the North Bay Symphony Orchestra, the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra, the Scarborough Philharmonic, the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, and the Galiano Ensemble of Victoria. She was a four-time member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada between 2013 and 2016, acting as Co-Principal Viola for three summers.
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Although based in Canada, Sarah has also performed in the United States, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, China and Italy. Outside of classical music, Sarah has shared the stage with Michael Bublé, Josh Groban and Sarah Slean, and was a guest musician on OKAN’s Juno Award-winning album, Okantomi. Additionally, she has appeared as a featured musician extra on an episode of CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries.
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Sarah earned her Master of Music in Performance at the University of Victoria under the tutelage of Joanna Hood of the Lafayette String Quartet. She previously earned her Bachelor of Music in Performance from the Université de Moncton, studying with Nadia Francavilla and Isabelle Fournier.
Sarah de Niverville, Viola
Praised for his “deep and in-depth sound” by Kukmin daily newspaper of Korea, JunKyu Park is a Korean-born cellist who has immigrated to Canada and expanded his musical training and career.
His recognizable awards include first prizes in CMC Music Competition, Sookmyung Women’s University Music Competition, Nanpa Music Competition, Kukminilbo & Hansei University Music Competition, Seoul Student Chamber Music Competition, Hanyang University Music Competition, Seoul Symphony Orchestra Music Competition, CBS National Music Competition, Kyeongin Ilbo Music Competition, Catholic University Music Competition, and Bucheon-Si National Music Competition. Also, He is Recipients of the Felix Galimir Award for Excellence in Chamber Music. Park has appeared as soloist with renowned orchestras including Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul philharmonic orchestra and Kindred Spirits Orchestra where he was praised for his vibrant and charismatic performances
Park granted Master of Music degree from the University of Toronto as a full-scholarship scholar, Artist diploma as a full-scholarship student at the Hartt School, where he was chosen as a member of prestigious 20/20 ensemble program. He completed his undergraduate degree in cello performance at McGill University with Major Entrance Scholarship. He was accepted into the prestigious Yewon School and Seoul Arts High School.
He has served as a principal and a section leader in a number of orchestras such as Edmonton Symphony Orchestra as an Assistant Principal Cello in 2018 to 2019, Guest Principal Cello at Kingston Symphony Orchestra, Banff Festival Orchestra, Hartt Symphony Orchestra, Univesity of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Kindred Spirits Orchestra, Tongyoung Music Festival, and Bucheon Youth Orchestra.
Park is giving master class at University of Toronto regularly, and played in numerous festival as chamber musician including Banff Music Festival, Nice Music Festival and so on.
JunKyu Park, Cello
