Born in Windsor in 1984, Darrett Zusko began his studies with Ronald Turini; he is currently studying with Julian Martin at Juilliard in New York. His many prizes include firsts at the Oberlin International Competition in 2001 and at the Canadian Music Competition’s Stepping Stones in 2002; he is also a laureate of the Concours Musical International de Montréal and the New Orleans International, both in 2004. Darrett Zusko has appeared throughout Canada, the US, Spain and the UK, including with the Montreal, Toronto and Cincinnati symphonies. He is planning a CD of works of the late Canadian composer Oskar Morawetz. La Nueva Espana heard such exceptional musicality and virtuosity that it concluded he is perhaps one of the most promising performers of the 21st century.

This is the 3rd of 3 seasons in which MTO has presented the Cecilia on this series. Formed in fall 2004 at U of T, the quartet worked with the Emerson, the Tokyo, the Penderecki and the St. Lawrence. After benefiting from support from both U of T and the Royal Conservatory, the Cecilia is enjoying a residency at San Diego State University. Sarah Nematallah and Min-Jeong Koh, violinists, Caitlin Boyle, violist, and Rebecca Wenham, cellist, won the CBC’s Galaxie Rising Star Award in 07, and had a busy summer, including the Juilliard Quartet Seminar in New York and the Aspen Music Festival, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and Toronto’s Music Garden. Claude Gingras of Montreal’s La Presse described the Cecilia as a very serious and a tremendously coherent ensemble whose astounding complicity, tuning, ideas and focus capture the audience.