Canadian violinist and pedagogue Gwen Thompson began her professional career in 1971 with a dual appointment as Professor of Violin at the University of Western Ontario and Concertmaster of Orchestra London. Her formal training took place with S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatte in Winnipeg, Josef Gingold, Jascha Heifetz and Ivan Galamian in the United States and Henryk Szeryng in Switzerland.
She has performed and coached solo, orchestral and chamber music at festivals throughout Canada, the Pacific Northwest and Europe. She was associated with the Vancouver Academy of Music as Head of the String Department for twenty five years, as well as holding a teaching position at the University of British Columbia. She has performed as soloist and member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the CBC Chamber Orchestra and has led the Baroque Strings. For fourteen years she was an Artist-in-Residence at the Vancouver Chamber Music Series - Masterpiece Music.
Since stepping down from the Vancouver Academy position, she has taught at the University of Manitoba and continued her association with the University of Western Ontario as visiting Professor of Violin from 1998 to 2004.
As a violin coach with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada for twenty five years, she mentored many students into the professional milieu. Ms. Thompson has been a member of the group VIVEZA since the start, travelling to Korea, the United States and throughout Canada to perform. Their many CDs have received international success.

She was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada in 2003.

David Harding has an extensive solo and chamber music career, having performed throughout Europe, the United States, Canada and Central America, in such venues as the Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw, and Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall. His performances have been broadcast on BBC, NPR and Deutschland Radio. David is frequently featured on CBC Radio in Canada. He regularly performs at chamber music festivals throughout North America including amongst others the Seattle Chamber Music Society, Strings in the Mountains, CO, Sitka Chamber Music Festival, AK, Festival of the Sound, ON, and the Cactus Pear Chamber Music Festival, TX.
David is a member of Trio Verlaine and the American String Project, (a collaboration between quartet players, soloists and concertmasters.) David is a seasoned chamber musician, having been a former member of the Chester String Quartet, Toronto String Quartet and Triskelion String Trio. He has collaborated with members of the Cleveland, Tokyo and St. Lawrence quartets, and has made chamber music recordings for Sony, Crystal, Chesky, Innova and New Albion record labels.
David’s latest CD projects include a recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, with Triskelion for CBC records, Brahms’ Viola Sonatas and Horn Trio for Skylark Music and an innovative disc of flute, viola, harp works by Ravel and Debussy with Trio Verlaine for Skylark Music. A graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, David’s principal teachers were Paul Doktor, Emanuel Vardi and Tibor Vaghy. He was the winner of the Sir John Barbirolli award at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. David has given master classes at the Banff International Centre for the Arts and numerous universities throughout North America. Having served on the faculty of Indiana University South Bend, he is currently Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at the University of British Columbia. David plays on a viola made by Pietro Antonio della Costa, Tresviso Italy, circa 1750.

Eric Wilson was awarded the Bronze Medal (1971) in the Geneva International Competition and co-winner of the Morris Loeb Prize for Strings (1973) at the Juilliard School. Eric Wilson was solo cellist of the Ensemble of New York in residence at the Lincoln Centre, New York. He was also a founding member of the Emerson String Quartet that won in 1978 the prestigious Walter W. Naumberg competition Prize for Chamber Ensemble.
Wilson has performed with such eminent artists as Menahem Pressler and Walter Trampler and with the Boston Chamber Soloists, New York Chamber Soloists, Lyric Piano Quartet, Quartet Canada, Pro Arte Quartet and the Melos Quartet. As guest artist, Wilson has appeared at the Wolf Trap; Newport (R.I.); Katonah (N.Y.); Banff, Alberta; Scotia; Meadow Brook and Vermont Mozart Festivals among others.
With pianist Patricia Hoy, Professor Wilson has performed extensively and received critical acclaim with the release of their CD of Rachmaninov's Sonata for Cello and Piano and Stephen Chatman's Sonata for Cello and Piano. In March 2004, Wilson gave a series of masterclasses and recitals in Taiwan including lectures at the National Teacher's University in Taipei and a recital at the Taiwan National Theatre, also in Taipei.
Wilson was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to a family of musicians. His father, baritone Kerr Wilson, and pianist mother Thelma, had their own radio program on CBC while still in their teens. As a boy, he performed from memory with his brother Carlisle and sister Kerrine. His niece Kerri Lynn Wilson has an international career as a conductor. Why so much music from this Winnipeg family? "Beats the heck out of freezing!" as Winnipegers would say.