Laura Backstrom
Laura began her musical life as a pianist, switching to cello in her teens.She studied cello at the University of Alberta with the renowned pedagogue Claude Kenneson, and later, with a full scholarship, with the Fine Arts Quartet at the University of Wisconsin. Laura followed up with two years in Toronto, studying performance at the Royal Conservatory of Music. The next step was a move to Ottawa, where she married oboist Pierre Cayer and enjoyed a rich musical life, including orchestral work. Laura attended the University of Ottawa where she completed a Bachelor of Education degree, Cum Laude. Since arriving in Victoria, Laura has devoted herself to a busy teaching schedule with the Victoria Conservatory, and to EKSM, as co-Artistic Director.and many chamber music concerts, recordings, and broadcasts.
Lorraine Min
Steinway Artist and critically acclaimed Canadian pianist Lorraine Min has dazzled audiences with her poetic artistry and brilliant virtuosity. Cited by the New York Times for her “impeccable phrase-shaping (and) crystalline sound,” and by the Washington Post for her “admirable technique,” Min has performed as a soloist extensively on five continents and in some of the world’s most important concert halls such as New York’s Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Town Hall, Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. She has performed chamber music at the Ravinia and Tanglewood Summer Festivals in the US, Amberley Festival in Perth, Australia, and across Canada at Orford, Fredericton, Halifax, Victoria Summer Music, Eine Kleine, and Music in the Morning Series in Vancouver. She can be heard regularly on CBC and ABC (Australian) radio. Min is a prize winner in numerous international piano competitions. She received her Bachelor degree from the Peabody Conservatory and Masters and Doctorate from the Juilliard School. She has been co-Artistic Director of Eine Kleine Summer Music since 2015.
Along with Terence Tam and Kenji Fuse, Laura and Lorraine comprise the Muse Ensemble.
