OUR MUSICIANS

XIAOHAN GUO, Concertmaster ~ Born in Shenyang, China, Xiaohan Guo began studying the violin at age six. After training at the Shenyang Conservatory, she earned her Bachelor’s Degree at the Shanghai Conservatory, winning first prize in the 2001 Mozart Violin Concerto Competition and performing with the Shanghai Youth Symphony Orchestra. She then joined the Shanghai Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with master musicians including Itzhak Perlman, Seiji Ozawa, and Mstislav Rostropovich. 

Moving to Canada in 2004, Xiaohan studied under Mrs. Eleonora Turovsky at the University of Montreal, earning her Master's Degree. Xiaohan has performed extensively in solo and chamber recitals, and currently serves as Concertmaster of Sinfonia Toronto. completed her Master’s Degree. Xiaohan has given many solo and chamber music recitals at Chapel de Bon-Pasteur and Université de Montréal, and has been a soloist with I Musici de Montreal and Sinfonia Toronto.    

EIKO HOSAKA, Principal Second Violinist ~ Born in Japan, Eiko Hosaka began playing the violin at the age of 3. She received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the Tokyo College of Music. She was awarded fellowships to attend the Mozarteum International Summer Academy and scholarships for the Symphony Academy of the Pacific and the Asian Youth Orchestra, and was selected to participate in master classes conducted by the concertmasters of world-renowned orchestras, including Rainer Kuchl (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra), Roland Daugareil (Orchestre de Paris), Liviu Prunaru (Royal Concertgebouw).

Eiko was a member of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta for over a decade, performing with the ensemble in major concert halls around the world including Carnegie Hall, La Maison Symphonique (Montreal), Taipei National Concert Hall (Taiwan) and Takemitsu Memorial Hall (Japan), among others. She has also taken part in many recording projects. 

DAPHNE BOURBONNAIS, Violinist ~ Born in Rimouski, Québec Daphné completed her master’s degree at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, where she also obtained a Chamber Music Diploma. Daphné has played with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Orchestre de la Francophonie and is Concertmaster of l'Orchestre Symphonique de l’Estuaire. She has toured across Canada, Spain and South Korea.  A new music enthusiast, Daphné loves to work with contemporary composers. She enjoys exploring different facets of the impact that music can have on everyone. 

SARAH BOYER, Violinist ~ Sarah Boyer was born in Toronto and began her musical studies at the Royal Conservatory and summer schools such as Domain Forget, Quebec; Courntney B.C.; Interlochen, Michigan; and the Quartet Program, Pennsylvania via numerous scholarships. Her teachers included Jacques Israelievitch, Camilla Wicks, Charles Castleman and Oleg Krysa. She graduated from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester N.Y., attended the fall and winter residency program at the Banff Centre for the Arts, and the European Mozart Academy in Krakow, Poland. Her solo and chamber music career has included performances in Europe under Luciano Berio, concerts at the Incontri di Canna music festival in Italy where she was featured in a documentary which is being shown all over North America on the Bravo Channel. As a freelance musician she has worked in most of the cities in upstate New York, Pennsylvania and Toronto.  Sarah Boyer also has been very active as a teacher where she taught at Mercyhurst College in Erie PA, and was the director of the String program at the Conservatory Young Artist Program in the D'Angelo School of Music.

SHARON CHAN Violinist - Born in Hong Kong, Sharon received full scholarships to study at Wells Cathedral School in the UK at the age of 14. She has won numerous prizes in competitions including champion and first runner-up in the Barbara Fei Instrumental Scholarships and the Seasound Scholarships. 

During her 5 years at Wells, Sharon toured in London, Germany, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Beijing with Wells’ String Chamber and Symphony orchestras. She played for the Princess of Denmarkand appeared as soloist in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in Wells and Llandaff Cathedrals. An invitation to play the Mozart Concerto No.5 in St. Cuthbert's Church with the Mid Somerset Orchestra followed the year after.

Sharon continued her study at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts under the guidance of Professor Michael Ma. She had the privilege to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the School’s Symphony Orchestra at her graduation. 

Sharon began teaching at various schools, music centres and in private while pursuing her Bachelors degree. She is generous in sharing her experience with her students.

DIANE DAHYEON KIM Violinist - Diane Dahyeon Kim is a Korean-Canadian violinist who is actively performing worldwide. She was part of the National Youth Orchestra in 2022 and 2023 where she received the Stephen Sitarski Leadership Award and served as a Co-Concertmaster. In 2019, she was a member of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and was also a substitute violinist at the Millenium Symphony in Seoul, South Korea, the SFK Euro Symphony and the Kärnten Symphony Orchester in Klagenfurt, Austria. 

She teaches privately and as a faculty member at the Musical Arts Academy. 

ALEX TOSKOV, Violinist -  A member of the first violin section of Sinfonia Toronto since 2012, Alex has performed as soloist with the Serbian Radio Symphony Orchestra and has served as concertmaster of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra (2006), German-Scandinavian Youth Philharmonic (2009) and was a member of Santiago de Chile Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007/2008. During his studies in Norway 2008-2010, Alex regularly played with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra.

Alex was the winner of The Glenn Gould School Chamber Music Competition 2011, and has received various scholarships such as Norwegian Government scholarship, The Royal Conservatory full tuition scholarship, and Serbian Fund for highly gifted students. Alex studied with some of the greatest violin pedagogues and soloists such as Pierre Amoyal (Lausanne), Ruben Aharonian (Borodin Quartet Moscow), Isaac Shuldman (Oslo), Michael Frischenschlager (Vienna), Joel Smirnoff (New York), James Boyd (London). Mr. Toskov graduated violin at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Serbia. In 2003/04 he was a student at the University of Music in Vienna, Austria with Professor Ernst Kovacic. In June 2010 he received a title Master of Music Performance at Agder University in Norway. Alex received his Artist Diploma in June 2013 from The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory in Toronto

Alex Toskov also serves as Concertmaster of the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, Oakville Symphony and is Music Director of the Odin Quartet which he established in 2015. The Odin Quartet has performed at Music Toronto, Music Niagara and Luminato festivals. The Quartet maintains a busy artistic schedule, premiering new music, as well as recording. Alex speaks English, Spanish, Russian, German, Norwegian 

YANG ZHENG Violinist Has served as the Associate Concertmaster of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (2020 to 2025); Guest Concertmaster of the Saigon Philharmonic Orchestra and performed as a freelance musician with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Macao Orchestra, the Shenzhen Symphony and the Hong Kong String Orchestra. In addition, he is a founding member of the Bauhinia Trio, a group dedicated to chamber music performance and education.

Zheng has an extensive and celebrated performance career. As the first violinist of the Gloucester String Quartet, he won First Prize at the Schoenfeld International String Competition in 2013. He has performed in master classes organized by the Hong Kong Arts Festival and HKAPA, working with world-renowned artists such as Silvia Rosenberg, Donald Weilerstein, Earl Carlyss, Günter Pichler, Gerhard Schulz, James Dunham, Cho-Liang Lin, Leonidas Kavakos, Renaud Capuçon, Ning Feng, Zhu Dan, Borodin Quartet, Emerson String Quartet, Miró String Quartet and Miami String Quartet. His festival appearances include the Kent Blossom Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the McGill International String Quartet Festival, the Tongyeong International Music Festival, the French May Festival and the Taiwan Kuandu Arts Festival. He also played with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Korean Hankyung Arte Philharmonic Orchestra, and the French Divertimento String Orchestra. In 2017, he was invited by the Hong Kong Government to perform in the HKSAR 20th Anniversary Concert Series in London.

Yeng Zheng received his master’s degree with distinction and bachelor’s degree with first-class honours from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where he studied under Michael Ma and Ivan Chan. He graduated from the Primary School and the Middle School at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

ANTHONY RAPOPORT, Principal Violist ~ Anthony Rapoport is principal violist of Sinfonia Toronto and a founding member of the Windermere String Quartet and the Aradia Ensemble, with whom he has recorded over a dozen internationally released CDs. On tour as soloist with Aradia, he was acclaimed as “a splendid violist” by the New Zealand Herald. Anthony received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Juilliard School in New York.

GRACE KYUNGROK MOON, Violist - Grace Kyungrok Moon is a Korean Canadian violist that obtained her master’s in Music Performance at the University of Toronto under Remi Pelletier. In 2017, she received her Master's degree in violin performance from the University of Alberta with Robert Uchida and Guillaume Tardif. In 2022, Grace’s string quartet won the University of Toronto Felix Galimir Chamber Music Award. Grace is also the winner of the Alberta Baroque Ensemble Competition. 

Grace has received several distinctions, including the Beryl Barns Memorial Scholarship, Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship, Alberta Graduate Student Scholarship, and Kathy Hogan Memorial Scholarship.

In  addition to Sinfonia Toronto, Grace is currently the principal violist of the Kingston Symphony. She plays regularly with the Toronto Symphony's viola section.

ANDRAS WEBER, Principal Cellist ~ András Weber received his musical training in Budapest, Hungary. His mentor, Janos Starker, has been a major influence in his work. He has been principal cellist with orchestras in Hungary, Mexico City and Canda. Has given concerts in North America, Europe, and Korea. He was the winner of DEBUT in Montreal where The Gazette called him a “generously gifted” musician who plays with a “nicely colored and singing tone.”

He has performed in master classes with Siegfried Palm, William Pleeth, and Joel Smirnoff. At the Canadian Festival in Budapest, Andras performed in the world premiere of John Oliver’s Cello Concerto. He has played with the Toronto Piano Trio, the National Chamber Orchestra (principal), the Estonian Chamber Orchestra, the Arthur LeBlanc quartet, Orchestre des jeunes du Québec and Orchesta Mexicana de la Juventud.

Mr. Weber is the founding artistic director of the Toronto series ‘Music Alive!’ and teaches at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He has played concertos with many orchestras around the world.

SARAH STEEVES, Cellist  ~ Sarah Steeves is a graduate of McGill University with a Master of Music in Performance where she studied with Brian Manker. She previously completed her Bachelor of Music with Honours in Performance at the University of Toronto. As a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player, Sarah has performed at the Aldeburgh, Banff, Domaine Forget, Orford, Toronto Bach, Toronto Summer Music, and Windy Mountain Music Festivals. She has performed with the Disney’s Young Musicians Symphony, Mississauga Symphony, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Orchestra London, Sudbury Symphony, and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. Keenly interested in contemporary music, Sarah has performed at McGill University’s MusiMars and the University of Toronto’s New Music Festivals. She has premiered new works by many young Canadian composers, including a commission of Kevin Lau’s Starsail in March 2008.  Since beginning cello lessons with Tom Mirhady of Calgary Philharmonic at the age of three, Sarah has worked with many great musicians including Rivka Golani, Lawrence Lesser, Edgar Meyer, Aldo Parisot, and Janos Starker as well as the Leipzig and St. Lawrence String Quartets. As a registered Suzuki teacher, Sarah has maintained studios at the Wychwood Music School and the McGill Conservatory. As an avid chamber musician she currently is a cellist with the Ton Beau String Quartet.

JESSE DIETSCHI, Principal Bass ~ Called a “virtuoso” by DownBeat Magazine and an “eloquent musical contrabassist” by The WholeNote, Swiss-Canadian upright and electric bassist, composer, and bandleader Jesse Dietschi is equally fluent in the jazz, classical, and funk/RnB idioms. He performs frequently with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, Mirvish Productions, and as a freelance jazz musician across Canada. He is the Principal Bassist of Sinfonia Toronto and leader of the modern jazz group the Jesse Dietschi Trio. With multiple performances at New York’s Carnegie Hall, he is an international touring artist with jazz ensembles, RnB bands, and orchestras alike. His music can be heard regularly on the CBC, Toronto’s JazzFM, and stations across North America.

Dietschi has performed and toured across North America, Europe, and the Middle East, being featured on renowned stages including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Centre’s Rose Theatre, Chicago’s Symphony Centre, Toronto’s Massey and Roy Thompson Halls, and Southam Hall in Ottawa's National Arts Centre. He has recorded with artists across many styles, from the Toronto Symphony to Luminato to The Headstones, and released Gradient, his debut album as a leader, to great critical acclaim in 2023. He has performed and toured with such Canadian jazz figures as Rich Underhill, Daniel Barnes, Brownman, Andrew Downing, Jeremy Ledbetter, Alexander Brown, and New York saxophonist Russ Nolan, to name a few. As an orchestral performer, he has appeared in concert with artists like Carly Rae Jepsen, Andrea Bocelli, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Yuja Wang, and Marc-André Hamelin, among others.

Sinfonia Toronto respectfully acknowledges that we work in the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee peoples