Cellist Fiona Robson and pianist Raymond Truong met at Scotia Festival of Music in 2017, united by Brahms’s magnificent piano quintet. Since then they have performed together often as a duo in masterclasses, house concerts, and recitals in London, Halifax and Toronto, including at the St James Westminster Chamber Music Series. Excited by the exploration of contemporary music and Canadian composers in particular, in 2024 they gave the North American premier of Murch Studies, a piece written for them by Canadian composer Christopher Goddard, while on tour in Ontario and Nova Scotia. This five-stop concert tour was generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, and you can read more about the program, Sound and Colour: Pictures at a 21st Century Exhibition, here. In 2018, they premiered an original piano reduction for Philip Glass’ Cello Concerto No. 1 for the composer himself at Scotiafest. They plan to continue their musical collaboration performing an ever-expanding collection of classical and contemporary repertoire for cello and piano across Canada and beyond.

Collaborative pianist Raymond Truong received his Doctorate in collaborative piano at Western University in 2021, under the tutelage of John Hess. He has also had the opportunity to work with renowned singers and collaborative pianists, including Andrew Armstrong, Rudolf Jansen, Julius Drake, Robert Holle, and Emily Ameling at the Franz-Schubert-Institut. One of Raymond’s passions is to work in settings that involve the local community so he can share his craft and love for music. He is the founder of one of Ontario’s most successful music schools: The Little Chopin Academy (www.littlechopin.ca).

Photo by Henry Truong.