Our Beginnings
The history of Listen Up!
Listen Up! began through the vision of world-renowned professional chamber ensemble the Gryphon Trio. Throughout this award-winning Trio’s tours across the country, they connected with local presenters and community leaders, and observed the inequities of arts access in communities, most specifically for young people in under-resourced schools. Listen Up! was conceived as a response to that gap in access. Click below for more…
Our Team
Patty Jarvis
Roman Borys
Artistic Director
Program Director
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Patty has worked for more than 35 years with arts organizations, schools and communities in developing meaningful partnerships and programs that support accessible and relevant arts engagement. Past positions include; Interim Associate Director, Education and Outreach, Canadian Opera Company; Executive Director, Prologue to the Performing Arts; Director of Education/Outreach - Canadian Stage. Patty was the co-author (with Creative Trust) of The Performing Arts Education Overview Report (2011), a first-time analysis of arts education programming in arts organizations in Toronto.
Patty is a co-founder and past Chair of Professional Arts Organizations Network for Education (now AENO) and has held Board and Advisory positions with Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement in Ontario (CPAMO), Canadian Network for Arts and Learning, Toronto Theatre Alliance (now TAPA) and Ontario Presents and currently sits on the Board of Studio 180 Theatre. She is a faculty member in the Arts Management and Arts Education and Community Engagement Programs at Centennial College.
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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.
Our Artists 2022-23
Gryphon Trio
Chris Thornborrow
Dwayne Morgan
Jeff Newberry
Lee Higginson
Lucas Marchand
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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.
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Chris Thornborrow is an award-winning composer for film, theatre, and the concert stage. His work has been described as “heightened and brashly percussive” (Variety), “urgent, masterful” (Now Magazine), and “elegiac music that casts a spell” (Hollywood Reporter). He has been awarded the Karen Kieser Prize in Canadian Music, multiple SOCAN Awards for Audio Visual Composers, two Dora Award nominations, and the Louis Applebaum Composers Award Nomination.
Chris film composition credits include Sleeping Giant, which was nominated for the Critics Week Grand Prize and Golden Camera Award (Cannes Film Festival), three Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Motion Picture and won the Best Canadian First Feature Award (TIFF). It has been broadcast internationally in 40 countries.
We Ate the Children Last, a film based on a story by Yann Martel (Life of Pi) for which Chris composed a unique noise-inspired electronic-classical fusion score, premiered at the Claremont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and was honoured as one of Canada’s Top 10 short films at TIFF along with The Camera and Christopher Merk for which Chris collaborated with Brandon Cronenberg.
His first full-length hybrid-musical Hook Up, commissioned and produced by Tapestry Opera, premiered to critical acclaim in 2019 and was nominated for Outstanding New Opera at the Dora Awards. Firmly established as a leading composer and facilitator in contemporary music theatre for young people, Chris works regularly with school boards and top arts organizations across Ontario. Through his work with the Canadian Opera Company’s After-School Opera Program, Chris has collaborated directly with thousands of students and co-written over 60 musical theatre works.
His instrumental music has been performed, recorded, and commissioned by Array Ensemble, the Bicycle Opera Project, Ensemble Paramirabo, Esprit Orchestra, junctOin keyboard collective, Tapestry Opera, the Thin Edge New Music Collective, and The Toy Piano Composers, of which he was the Co-Founder and Artistic Director for eight seasons.
As an avid fan of tabletop games, Chris composes original orchestral music for Dungeons and Dragons campaigns while serving as a game master.
Port Hope, Ontario
Jackie Hawley
Kelly-Marie Murphy
Jamaal Jackson Rogers
Claudia Salguero
Gatineau, Quebec
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Dwayne Morgan began his career in the spoken word in 1993. Affectionally called the Godfather of Canadian spoken word by his peers, Dwayne is the author of 14 published and 9 audio collections of his work. Dwayne is a 2022 winner of the Toronto Arts Foundation Celebration of Cultural Life award, 2016 finalist for the Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and a 2013 inductee into the Scarborough Walk of Fame. To date Dwayne has shared his work in 18 countries internationally.
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Jeff Newberry is a musician and educator with a reputation for his engaging and energetic style. As a composer and arranger, his work draws from a diverse background in classical, pop, and theatre resulting in music that is dynamic and layered. He has a growing number of published choral works available through Canadian and US distributors, and is a 2022 recipient of an Ontario Arts Council grant to record 8 of his original works with a choir of 16 professional singers.
As the 2023 inaugural Resident Music Director at the Capitol Theatre (Port Hope), Jeff will music direct Little Shop of Horrors, produce an original concert series, and do outreach with local schools. Jeff’s work as a musical director and arranger of new works includes Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang (Britta Johnson/Anika Johnson), Blood Ties (Anika Johnson/Barbara Johnston) and Summerland (Anika Johnson/Barbara Johnston/Suzy Wilde).
Jeff was a high school music teacher for the Toronto District School Board for 10 years and has facilitated workshops in schools, universities, and conferences, and as a researcher on the UNESCO project Arts for Transformative Education.
Jeff holds a Bachelor of Music (University of Toronto), a Bachelor of Education (Queen’s University), an Honours Specialist in Vocal Music (OISE) and will complete a Master of Education (York University) in 2023.
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After earning a BMus with distinction (University of Victoria), Lucas moved to Toronto and began singing tenor with the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, performing with them for six seasons. During his tenure, The Chorale had the honour of performing at Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration in Washington DC.
As Lucas established himself as a performer and teacher, he studied vocal pedagogy with renowned instructor Seth Riggs (Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross) in Los Angeles. He received his Master's degree in music education (University of Toronto) in 2011 before joining Canada's premier vocal group, Cadence. The group maintained a busy international touring schedule until the onset of COVID including performances with Bobby McFerrin, David Clayton-Thomas, and Take 6.
Lucas spent 11 years as the music director of multiple ensembles at the Regent Park School of Music, a non-profit music school providing programming to low-income families in Toronto neighbourhoods. In June 2022 he became the Artistic Director of Sounds of the Next Generation (SONG). Lucas is thrilled to help bring fun, free music programming to students in Northumberland County and help grow SONG’s presence and impact in the community he now calls home.
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Lee Higginson is a community artist working and living in Northumberland County. Her work demonstrates a deep commitment to the celebration of art, community and connections with her mission is to make art (and life) fun, healing and joyful. As founder and owner of Fluke Craft Art since 2017, Lee has facilitated workshops, created numerous art installations and shows and partnered on large-scale projects with many organizations including the Municipality of Port Hope, Cornerstone Family Violence Prevention Centre, Kawartha Pine Ridge School Board and the Capitol Theatre. She worked as the lead facilitator for a therapeutic art pilot project with Green Wood Coalition, a not-for-profit program supporting 18 – 30 year olds with mental health challenges. Lee also works as a photographer and social media coordinator for a number of local businesses.
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With music described as “breathtaking” (Kitchener-Waterloo Record), “imaginative and expressive” (The National Post), “a pulse-pounding barrage on the senses” (The Globe and Mail), and “Bartok on steroids” (Birmingham News), Kelly-Marie Murphy’s voice is well known on the Canadian music scene. She has created a number of memorable works for some of Canada’s leading performers and ensembles, including the Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, The Gryphon Trio, James Campbell, Shauna Rolston, the Cecilia and Afiara String Quartets, and Judy Loman.
In addition to many academic scholarships awarded in Canada and England, Dr. Murphy has also won prizes for her music, dating back to 1992. Her career was launched when she won first prize and the People's Choice Award at the CBC Young Composer's Competition in 1994 (string quartet category). Since then, Dr. Murphy’s music has been performed around the world by outstanding soloists and ensembles, and has had radio broadcasts in over 22 countries. Her music has been interpreted by renowned conductors such as Sir Andrew Davis, David Brophy, Bramwell Tovey, and Mario Bernardi, and has been heard in iconic concert halls, such as Carnegie Hall in New York and The Mozarteum in Salzburg.
Kelly-Marie Murphy was born on a NATO base in Sardegna, Italy, and grew up on Canadian Armed Forces bases all across Canada. She began her studies in composition at the University of Calgary with William Jordan and Allan Bell, and later received a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Leeds, England, where she studied with Philip Wilby.
After living and working for many years in the Washington D.C. area where she was designated "an alien of extraordinary ability" by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, she is now based in Ottawa.
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JustJamaal ThePoet is an award-winning poet, arts educator, creative entrepreneur, songwriter and recording/performance artist. He has brought his work to audiences nationally and abroad and served as Ottawa’s poet laureate from 2017-2019 as well as Carleton University’s Music Program Artist in Residence for the 2019-2020 school year. He also founded the Origin Arts + Community Centre with fellow artist Jacqui Du Toit. His defining moments occur when he makes intimate connections with his participants during workshops and performance sets. His topics range from emotional maturity to world issues, from parenting to the human condition. He resides in Ottawa, Canada, with his wife and six children.
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Claudia Salguero is a Colombian-Canadian multidisciplinary, community-engaged artist working with multicultural groups and communities at risk. Working in collaboration with diverse social institutions, she has created almost 30 community murals in the Ottawa area since 2014. These include the two tallest murals in Ottawa: Transformation, the WOW Mural and The Wisdom Mural, created with the participation of more than 150 people from all ages, genders and backgrounds, and the only 3D mural in Ottawa: Canadian Pride, Harmony in Cultures as part of Canada’s 150 Anniversary celebrations. She was the recipient of the 2021 Ottawa Arts Council’s Peter Honeywell Mid-Career Artist Award, recognizing her extraordinary contributions to the community.
Claudia is also a Latin folk and jazz singer and raises funds for children’s foundations in her home country Colombia through her annual sold-out concerts at Canada’s National Arts Centre since 2011. She is a member of the Arts Network Ottawa’s Board of Directors.
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Jackie Hawley is the founding Artistic Director of the Cantiamo Choirs of Ottawa. She has conducted and toured internationally with adult, youth and children’s choirs and has been a clinician for choirs and schools throughout Canada for nearly 30 years.
Jackie has presented at numerous events including Festival 500, Podium and the International Symposium of Singing and Song II. She was on the ACCC Podium committee (Ottawa), wrote the children’s choir column for Anacrusis from 2013 to 2016 and is a Choir’s Ontario Board member. She has adjudicated for the Alberta Choral Federation Choralfest South and was a recent jury member for the National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs. Ms. Hawley was also the Artistic Director of the Ottawa Children’s Choir and Music Director of its Chamber Choir from 2008 – 2015.
For the National Arts Centre, Jackie is the Music Director of the NAC’s 500 voice annual Music Monday Choir and is the founder of the Nipiit-Katittut- Voices United (NKVU), an educational engagement project which connects choristers with youth in Iqaluit to build community, promote leadership skills, musical artistry and cultural enlightenment.
Ms. Hawley was also a teacher with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board and is dedicated to the mission of having all children singing in schools every day.
Chamber Factory
Chamber Factory is a registered charitable organization supporting chamber music performance, composition, and audience development by:
Promoting the creation of new works of chamber music to be performed by Canadian ensembles;
Providing education and supporting the increased public awareness about chamber music across Canada’s diverse society through in-school residencies, composer workshops, and concert promotion;
Awarding grants or bursaries to qualified ensembles or individuals
