The team:

VICTOR CHENG - Conductor, Co-Founder and Artistic Director

Born in 1983, Victor Cheng has already established himself as a talented and multi-faceted musician. Inspired by Ivars Taurins, he decided to pursue orchestral conducting. In 2007, Victor, along with composer Kevin Lau, founded Sneak Peek Orchestra, an endeavor to showcase young talent and premiere new works by young Canadian composers. Since then, SPO has performed in such venues as the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts, the Chinese Cultural Centre, and has had the honour of performing with world-renowned artists such as cellist Shauna Rolston, jazz vocalist Molly Johnson, mezzo soprano Lucia Cesaroni, and violinist Conrad Chow.

Victor's passion in conducting stemmed from piano lessons with conductor/composer An-Lun Huang as well as his experience as a choir boy at St. Michael's Choir School, where he specialized in voice, piano and organ. Currently Victor is the assistant conductor of Vocal Horizons Chamber Choir and a member of the newly formed Toronto Philharmonia Chorus. He is also the Principal Organist of Our Lady of Annunciation Church and Musical Director of the Youth Choir.

In addition to his conducting accomplishments, Victor graduated from University of Toronto with a B.Mus in Jazz Piano Performance. He studied with Gary Williamson, Dave Restivo, performed with jazz icons Dave Young and Terry Clarke, and has had the opportunity to work with Lee Konitz and Renee Rosnes. In 2006, Victor was invited to perform in Kenny Barron's clinic at the National Arts Centre. As a freelance conductor and pianist, Victor is in popular demand for recording sessions, recitals and concerts, having worked with the University of Toronto Wind Symphony, members of the Madawasaka String Quartet and Toronto Wind Quintet, and the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Victor was also invited by concert pianist Haiou Zhang to perform in Bremen, Germany in 2010.

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KEVIN LAU - Composer in Residence, Co-Founder and Artistic Director

Kevin Lau has written over ten orchestral works and dozens of chamber pieces. His music has been commissioned and performed by several major orchestras and ensembles, including the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, the Esprit Orchestra, the Georgian Bay Symphony, the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Toronto Philharmonia, and the Cecilia String Quartet.

Kevin has written music for the theatre, video games, and over a dozen films, including the History Channel documentary UFOs: A Secret History, and Gooby(with Canadian composer Ronald Royer), a Canadian children's feature film starring Eugene Levy and Robbie Coltrane. In addition to his compositional ventures, Kevin is an accomplished pianist and arranger. He has performed in a variety of series and venues (Arts and Letters Club, Heliconian Hall, Liberty Village) and has collaborated with several non-classical ensembles on a number of live orchestral arrangements (Rant Maggie Rant, Code Blue.) 2009 saw his debut as a guest conductor for the Mississauga Symphony on his own composition, "Sea of Blossoms."

In 2007 Kevin co-founded the Sneak Peek Orchestra with conductor Victor Cheng, which premiered has premiered four of his works, including, most recently, "The Water of Life," which was performed at the George Weston Recital Hall (with violinist Conrad Chow) as part of the international charity "Free the Children." Kevin lives in Toronto and is currently pursuing his doctorate degree in music composition at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Christos Hatzis. For more info, see kevinlaumusic.com.

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TIMOTHY CROUCH, Executive Director

Timothy Crouch is an exciting up-and-coming flutist currently in demand in the Toronto area. He has performed with numerous local orchestras, including the Oshawa Durham Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marco Parisotto, Orchestra Toronto at the Toronto Centre for Performing Arts under Errol Gay, the Mooredale Youth Orchestra under conductors Bill Rowson and Anton Kuerti, and most recently as Principal Flute with the Sneak Peek Orchestra under Victor Cheng. Recent solo and chamber work has included Principal flutist for the 'Bach in the City' festival, A Winter's Tail musical benefit for Toronto Wildlife Centre, World Aids Day benefit, the Windago Summer Serenade, Sunday Afternoon Concerts at Mount Pleasant Cemetary and numerous recitals at the University of Toronto. Timothy also performs at home in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, including with the Peterborough Symphony, at the Academy Theatre in Lindsay ON and solo recitals through the Bobcaygeon Music Council. He also attended the esteemed Domaine Forget retreat the past two summers in Quebec, studying and performing with venerated flutists Susan Hoeppner, Denis Blutot, Carolyn Christie, Michel Debost and Mathieu DuFour. He has also participated in Masterclasses with Paul Edmund-Davies and Louis Moyse.

Mr. Crouch grew up in Fenelon Falls, a small town in central Ontario in the heart of the Kawarthas. He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Western Ontario where he studied with Fiona Wilkinson. In addition to receiving the UWO Gold Medal for highest academic average in his graduating class, he also came 2nd place in the esteemed London Music Scholarship Foundation competition. Mr. Crouch holds an ARCT Performance degree from the Royal Conservatory of Music. He recently completed his Masters of Music degree at the University of Toronto, during which he received a Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for research into the accessibility of classical music in Canadian society. Timothy is currently Executive Director and Principal Flutist of the Sneak Peek Orchestra. He is very excited to be attending the Glenn Gould School and studying with Leslie Newman.

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MARGARET LAM - Orchestra Librarian

Margaret is currently pursuing a Master's in Information Studies at the University Toronto as a part-time student, formulating a research topic around the idea of "Music Knowledge Sharing". In her spare time, she works as a graphic designer at colourphill design, and at the Robarts library processing new music materials. She is learning on the job as the orchestra librarian, with the support of an enthusiastic group of individuals at the SPO. In the mean time, she is putting her iSchool education to use by facilitating SPO's communication needs and planning with an eye for the future of the organization. You can learn more about her at margism.com.

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ANDREW ASCENZO - Director of Development

Andrew's passion for music began very early in his life. He began his formal cello studies at the age of 4 with Wendy Smith and later with Mary Fisher at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, until his teenage years, during which he studied with Andras Weber. Andrew has participated in numerous ensembles including principal cellist of the Mooredale Youth Orchestra and the York Symphony Orchestra, and he appeared this spring as principal cellist of the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Andrew has participated in master classes for distinguished artists such as Chris Costanza, Anthony Elliott, Daniel Domb, Paul Katz, Andres Diaz, Aldo Parisot and Raphael Wallfisch.

Andrew's first public appearance came at the age of 10, performing selections from the solo Bach Suites in Toronto. Since then he has performed in numerous solo and chamber music recitals at the University of Toronto, the Rolston Recital Hall at the Banff Centre, with Performing Arts York Region, with the Newmarket Young Artists series, and most recently as part of Chamber Music Hamilton with Trio Luna. Andrew appeared as a soloist with the York Symphony Orchestra in the 2006-07 season performing Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, as well as this past September performing Beethoven's Triple Concerto with Trio Luna. Andrew has been invited back to perform the Dvorak Cello Concerto in the fall of 2009.

Among Andrew's regular concert schedule, he has participated in a number of outreach events, including many performances at hospitals, nursing homes, and social clubs in the Greater Toronto Area, and most recently, Andrew was invited to perform at the 20th anniversary of the Club of Cordovado. Andrew has also been the founding Music Director for Music for Change since 2007, and has since directed two shows featuring acts such as the Penderecki String Quartet, Shauna Rolston, Brubeck/Braid, and Molly Johnson. The shows so far have raised over $30,000 each for the Toronto based foundation Free the Children.

Andrew recently completed his undergraduate degree in performance at the University of Toronto, and is currently pursuing his Master's of Music degree in performance, studying with Shauna Rolston. Andrew has also attended the Banff Centre's Chamber Music Program with his piano trio, Trio Luna, as well as the Master Class program.

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NATASHA ROLLINGS - Director of Development

Natasha Rollings' love of music began early in life, when she started both piano and violin lessons at a young age. Throughout the years, Natasha has been the recipient of many competition awards including the Most Promising Student in Music Educationscholarship at the University of Toronto. Natasha holds her grade ten Royal Conservatory of Music Certificates in both piano and violin.

Natasha has performed with Orchestra London, the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Bach Festival Orchestra, and the Sneak Peek Orchestra. In 2002 she made her solo orchestral debut with the London Central Symphony Orchestra, and the London Youth Symphony with whom she also performed in a European concert tour.

Natasha holds her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto. After years of private teaching alongside her mentor and teacher Sharie St. John, Natasha founded the Summer Music Academy - a summer institution for violin studies. Natasha is the co-Music Director of 'Music for Change', a concert for Free the Children, and is also the co-founder of the University of Toronto Faculty of Music's Students for Equity foundation. Natasha is thrilled to continue her involvement with the Sneak Peek Orchestra, as a violinist, and now a board member.

Natasha is in the process of completing a Masters of Arts degree, in the field of Music Education at the University of Toronto.

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SAMUEL BISSON - Financial Director

Samuel Bisson is a Toronto based cellist who recently completed a Master's degree at the University of Toronto under the direction of Roman Borys. He has previously studied with Julian Armour and Paul Marleyn at the University of Ottawa, where he earned his Bachelor's degree. He has had the pleasure to play for many renowned cellists and chamber musicians including Janos Starker, Hans Jorgen Jensen, Paul Katz, the St-Lawrence String Quartet, Mark Fewer, and Angela Hewitt.

Samuel performs frequently as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. He has performed with renowned Canadian piano trio, the Gryphon Trio and performs regularly as part of the Passport Duo with pianist, Nadia Boucher. Samuel currently holds the position of principal cellist with both the Kindred Spirits Orchestra in Markham, Ontario and the Sneak Peek Orchestra in Toronto. He has also appeared as principal and section cellist with Orchestre de la Francophonie Canadienne and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and has played under the direction of Timothy Vernon, Pinchas Zukerman and Jean-Philippe Tremblay.

Samuel has performed and participated in festivals across Canada including the National Arts Centre Young Artist Program, Scotia Festival of Music, and the Toronto Summer Music Academy and Festival. He has also been a guest of the Toronto Arts and Letters Club, and the Midday Music with Shigeru concert series in Barrie, ON. Samuel has also been the recipient of many awards over the years as a solo performer as well as with chamber groups and as a composer.

Samuel has a special interest in new and unknown music and has an ease with a broad range of musical styles. He regularly performs premieres of new works and has been a guest of Toronto's New Music Festival for two years. Beyond cello performance, Samuel is a composer and has had many works performed by ensembles across the country and recently completed scoring music for a short film for the National Film Board of Canada. For more information about Samuel, please visit www.samuelbisson.ca

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