The Garneau String Quartet has delighted audiences in their home of Edmonton and at festivals across Canada. From 2022 - 2025, the GSQ was the Quartet-in-Residence at the MacEwan University Conservatory of Music, and starting in the 25/26 season moves to the Winspear Centre for Music Conservatory, where they will perform their concert series and direct the Chamber Music Academy for Young Artists.

 

The quartet is comprised of violinists Robert Uchida and Laura Veeze, violist Keith Hamm, and cellist Julie Hereish, all active soloists, chamber musicians, and members of your Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

 

The GSQ has collaborated with Tom Allen, Angela Cheng, Philip Chiu, Cameron Crozman, Steven Dann, Lori Gemmel, Desmond Hoebig, Jessica Linnebach, the New Orford String Quartet, Rosebud String Quartet, and other world class artists. They have been featured by the Banff International String Quartet Festival, Canmore ArtsPlace, ChamberFest West, Edmonton Recital Society, Longshadow Music Festival, Music by the Sea, PRISMA, and the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival.

 

Robert, Laura, Keith, and Julie gratefully acknowledge the support of the descendants of Eleanor and Laurent Garneau, for whom music and music making was, and is, a great source of inspiration and expression.

Robert Uchida (Violin): Robert joined the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) as concertmaster in 2013, having held the same position with Symphony Nova Scotia for seven years. A passionate teacher, Robert serves on the faculty at the University of Alberta and has held teaching positions at Acadia University, the Manhattan School of Music and the National Arts Centre of Canada’s Young Artists Program.

​

Laura Veeze (Violin): Dutch violinist and violist Laura Veeze has reached audiences on three continents as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She has held principal second violin positions with the Radio Chamber Philharmonic in the Netherlands and with Symphony Nova Scotia. In addition to her position with the first violins of the ESO, she is concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Edmonton, and principal second violin of the Alberta Baroque Ensemble.

​

Keith Hamm (Viola): Keith joined the ESO in September 2019 as principal violist, a position he held with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra for eight seasons. A native of Rosebud, Alberta, Keith received his training at the Glenn Gould School of Music under the instruction of Steven Dann, and at the Mount Royal Conservatory with Nicholas Pulos. Keith is founder and artistic director of the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival in Rosebud, Alberta. He is also co-founder and violist of the Rosebud String Quartet.

​

Julie Hereish (Cello): Julie Hereish joined the ESO as assistant principal cello in 2019. She previously held the same position with the Québec Symphony Orchestra. Born in Montreal, Julie pursued her studies in her hometown, and then in Vienna, Austria. Julie is a co-founder and member of the Edmonton-based High Level Trio, comprised of members of the ESO. Alongside her husband, Keith Hamm, she founded The New Cohort at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The duet went on tour in the Maritimes with Debut Atlantic in September 2022.