2024 Stulberg Competition Judges

ANNALEE PATIPATANAKOON, violin
ROMAN BORYS, cello
JAMIE PARKER, piano

Gryphon Trio is firmly established as one of the world’s preeminent piano trios. For more than 25 years, it has earned acclaim for and impressed international audiences with its highly refined, dynamic, and memorable performances. The Trio’s repertoire ranges from traditional to contemporary, and from European classicism to modern-day multimedia. It is committed to redefining chamber music for the 21st century.

Violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon, cellist Roman Borys, and pianist Jamie Parker are creative innovators with an appetite for discovery and new ideas. They have commissioned over 85 new works, and they frequently collaborate with other artists on projects that push the boundaries of Classical music.

The Trio tours regularly throughout North America and Europe. It enjoys longstanding relationships with prominent festivals and arts incubators like Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Orford Music Academy, Music Toronto, Ottawa Chamberfest, and Festival del Lago International Academy of Music in Ajijic, Mexico. Gryphon Trio often performs triple concerti with the world’s major symphony orchestras and smaller chamber orchestras.

Gryphon Trio’s prolific recording catalogue includes 22 releases on Analekta, Naxos, and other labels; it is an encyclopaedia of works for the genre. Honours include 11 nominations and three Juno Awards for Classical Album of the Year in 2004, 2011, and most recently in 2019. In 2013, Canada Council for the Arts presented Gryphon Trio with the prestigious Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts.

The Gryphons are deeply committed to community engagement, education, and the development of next generation audiences and performers. They conduct masterclasses and workshops at universities and conservatories. They are ensemble-in-residence at the Isabel Bader Centre for Performing Arts in Kingston, Ontario, and artists-in-residence at Trinity College, University of Toronto. Since 2010, the Trio’s ground breaking outreach program, Listen Up!, has inspired 16 Canadian communities to collaborate on large-scale multifaceted arts creation projects. The Trio leads Orford Music Academy’s Piano Trio Workshop and directs the Classical Music Summer Programs at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

From 2007 to 2020, Roman Borys was Artistic Director of the Ottawa Chamber Music Society; Annalee Patipatanakoon and Jamie Parker served as OCMS’ Artistic Advisors. Mr. Parker is the Rupert E. Edwards Chair in Piano Performance at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. Ms. Patipatanakoon is Associate Professor of Violin and Performance Area Chair of Strings.

Violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon is one of Canada’s most respected performing artists. A graduate of Indiana University and the Curtis Institute of Music, Annalee is a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, and a first prize winner of both the Canadian Music Competition and Eckhardt Gramatté National Music Competition.

Annalee is a founding member of three-time Juno Award-winning Gryphon Trio. She can be heard on 22 recordings on Analekta, Naxos, and other labels.

Annalee maintains a busy touring schedule across North America and Europe. From 2007 to 2020, she served as Artistic Advisor to the Ottawa Chamber Music Society. Annalee is currently Associate Professor of Violin and Performance Area Chair of Strings at University of Toronto Faculty of Music. She and Gryphon Trio members Roman Borys and Jamie Parker are ensemble in-residence at the Isabel Bader Centre for Performing Arts in Kingston, Ontario and artistsin-residence at Trinity College, University of Toronto.

Equally in demand as a teacher of violin and chamber music, Annalee has conducted masterclasses at Rice University, Stanford University, Royal Conservatory of Music, Hochschule für Musik Mainz, Domaine Forget, Orford Music Academy, Tuckamore Festival and School, Mount Royal University, and many more.

With Gryphon Trio members Roman Borys and Jamie Parker, Annalee leads educational projects in music schools and communities across the country. These include the ensemble’s flagship Listen Up! arts outreach program, with permanent hubs in Ottawa and Etobicoke; Orford Music Academy’s Piano Trio Workshop; and the Classical Music Summer Programs at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Jamie Parker’s achievements are both lengthy and impressive. His musical roots can be traced to the Vancouver Academy of Music and University of British Columbia, where he studied with Lee Kum Sing. He then went on to complete his master’s and doctorate with Adele Marcus at The Juilliard School. Jamie continues the teaching tradition as the Rupert E. Edwards Chair in Piano Performance at University of Toronto Faculty of Music.

Beginning in 1984 with a first prize at the Eckhardt Gramatté National Music Competition, Jamie served notice that he was a rising star. The CBC concurred, selecting him winner of the 25th National Competition for Young Performers. The Virginia P. Moore Prize (known today as the Virginia Parker Prize) soon followed, further solidifying Jamie’s place as one of Canada’s best young classical musicians.

On-air programs repeatedly seek out his performances. Jamie has made frequent appearances on CBC, Bravo, Global Television Network, Much, and media platforms around the world.

Jamie’s style has earned The Globe and Mail’s praise as “one of the most searching musical intellects and 10 of the nimblest fingers in the business.” He has enthralled audiences in North America and Europe, counting diplomats and dignitaries among his rapt listeners.

A consummate professional, Jamie is critically acclaimed as both a soloist and as a chamber musician. He tours as the pianist for Canada’s foremost chamber ensemble, Gryphon Trio, and performs with major Canadian and international symphony orchestras. With three JUNO recording awards and many other nominations from his vast discography, Jamie Parker continues to graciously strive to do it all.

For more than two decades, cellist and producer Roman Borys has distinguished himself as one of Canada’s leading artistic voices. A founding member of the three-time Juno Award-winning Gryphon Trio, Roman has released 22 acclaimed recordings on Analekta, Naxos, and other labels; toured internationally since 1993; and broken new artistic ground through cross-genre collaborations and multimedia performances.

Honours include 11 nominations and three Juno Awards for Classical Album of the Year. In 2013, Canada Council for the Arts presented Gryphon Trio with the prestigious Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts. In 2015, Roman received an Honorary Doctorate from Carleton University, in Ottawa, as recognition for his contributions to the community.

As Artistic Director of the Ottawa Chamber Music Society, from 2007 to 2020, Roman programmed the summer Ottawa Chamberfest (among the world’s largest chamber music festivals); a highly successful fall-winter concert series; and a suite of community engagement and education initiatives, which included sensory friendly concerts for families with children on the autism spectrum.

Deeply committed to classical music outreach and audience development, Roman conceived, developed, and produced the Gryphon Trio’s flagship educational program, Listen Up!, in communities across Canada. Listen Up! now has two permanent hubs in Ottawa and Etobicoke, Ontario.

With Gryphon Trio members Annalee Patipatanakoon and Jamie Parker, Roman leads Orford Music Academy’s Piano Trio Workshop, and the Classical Music Summer Programs at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Gryphon Trio are ensemble-in-residence at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts in Kingston, Ontario and artists-in-residence at Trinity College, University of Toronto. Roman lives and works in Toronto.