.jpeg)
Neda Yamach is a sought-after chamber musician, soloist, and teacher known for her captivating performances and innovative collaborations. With over a decade of experience as a member of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, she has established herself as one of the city’s most respected and valued musicians.
Neda received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Performance at McGill University and continued her studies at the Manhattan School of Music. Additional training and development was pursued at Meadowmount School of Music in New York, and the Banff Centre for the Arts, under the guidance of world-renowned instructors.
Although classically trained, Neda is equally adept at playing pop, eastern, and jazz styles of music. Her versatility and range have allowed her to collaborate with many Edmonton-based ensembles, including the Alberta Baroque Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra of Edmonton, New Music Edmonton, Obsessions Octet, and Candlelight Concerts.
​
In addition to performing across Canada, Neda has also traveled the world, sharing her music with audiences in Poland, Greece, Turkey, and the Czech Republic. She has performed twice at Carnegie Hall, once with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and once with Juno-nominated Obsessions Octet, led by Kent Sangster.
In recognition of her outstanding contributions to the arts, Neda was awarded the 2013 Arts and Culture Performance Award from the City of Edmonton. She continues to inspire audiences with her passion, skill, and dedication to music.
Ronda Metszies was born and raised in Edmonton, where she studied cello with Sheila Laughton. After receiving her Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Victoria, she continued her studies in Edmonton with Tanya Prochazka and then in Germany and Austria, where she worked with Julius Berger, Friedrich Sellheim and Heinrich Schiff.
Ronda has released two CDs of music for cello and piano on the Arktos label, both of which are frequently played on CKUA and CBC radio, as well as a music video for Bravo! Television.
Before moving back to Edmonton, Ronda lived in Los Angeles, where she performed regularly at the University of Southern California and in several local chamber music recital series.
In addition to playing with the ESO, Ronda has a special interest in early music, and is a member of the Alberta Baroque Ensemble. She has appeared as a featured soloist with both the Edmonton Symphony and the Alberta Baroque Ensemble. Ronda is also a founding member of both Kent Sangster’s Obsessions Octet and Obsessions String Quartet.
Sarah Ho is an accomplished Canadian pianist who grew up in Edmonton, Alberta and has performed internationally as a soloist and ensemble player.
Sarah has performed in notable venues and summer festivals around the world, including the Shubert Theatre on Broadway in New York, the Kennedy Center, the Banff Festival for the Arts, the National Arts Centre Young Artists Programme, the Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, Weekend of Chamber Music in New York, and Rudersdal Sommerkoncerter in Denmark. Sarah also travelled to China with Edmonton’s WindRose Trio, where they became the first Canadians to perform at the Harbin Summer Music Festival in Harbin, China.
She has performed as a guest artist with orchestras in Canada including the Edmonton Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra, and also enjoys playing orchestral piano with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
A two time winner of the Sir James Lougheed Award of Distinction from the Government of Alberta, Sarah holds degrees from Indiana University and Yale University, where she studied under renowned pianists Menahem Pressler and Claude Frank. In Edmonton, Sarah’s teachers included Wolfram Linnebach and Stéphane Lemelin, and Marek Jablonski.
She is a founding member and the Artistic Director of the Edmonton Recital Society, an organization she is passionately committed to. A dedicated teacher, Sarah is on the faculty of the MacEwan University Conservatory of Music, where her students have won prizes at the local and national level.
Sarah currently resides in Edmonton, Canada with her husband Colin and their two sons, Markus and Sebastian. An avid runner, Sarah has completed 13 marathons, including the 2022 and 2023 Boston Marathons.
Concert Sponsors: John & Terri Farlinger, Terjon Holdings