2025 is the 25th anniversary of the Tuckamore Festival! We are celebrating with 25 concerts in 25 regional venues across the provinces shared among three ensembles. One of the touring ensembles is the exciting new trio comprised of violinist Noor Rouhana, cellist Isaac Mailach, and pianist Lisa Santoprete, all of whom are Young Artists in this season’s festival. In addition to works by Bach, Scriabin and Mendelssohn, their concerts will feature a new work by the Tuckamore Young Artist composer Nicolas Ma, Through Thick and Thin.
They will be performing in St John’s (July 6 and 7), Pouch Cove (July 7), Heart’s Content (July 9), Port Rexton (July 10), and Admiral’s Cove (July 11). Please check our events listing for all the details.
The festival gratefully acknowledges the Perlin Family Trust for their help in making this tour possible.
Program:
Allemande from Suite no 4 in E flat, BWV 1010 Johann Sebastian Bach
Drammatico from Sonata no 3 Alexander Scriabin
Grave from Sonata no 2 in a minor, BWV 1003 Johann Sebastian Bach
Through Thick and Thin (2025) Nicolas Ma
-pause-
Piano Trio in C minor, op. 66 Mendelssohn
Biographies
Noor Rouhana
A native of Rochester, NY, violinist Noor Rouhana has played with the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, winning the concertmaster position from 2021-2023. Through the Eastman Community Music School, Rouhana was granted full scholarship with the Honors Chamber Ensemble, playing in both a string quartet as well as a piano trio. Rouhana received runner up for the Ruth and Sidney Salzman String Award in 2022 and 2023 for the Rochester Philharmonic League’s Youth Concerto Competition.
Rouhana attended the Bowdoin International Music Festival in the summer of 2022 under the tutelage of Renee Jolles. She currently attends Ithaca College under the Keilocker Scholarship–awarded to outstanding string instrumentalists–as well as the Ithaca College Scholarship. Rouhana won the concertmaster position of the symphony orchestra as a freshman, and also subbed for the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. She was the winner of both the 2024 and 2025 Concerto Competitions with the first movements of the Brahms Violin Concerto, Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos.
Isaac Mailach
Isaac Mailach is an LA-based studio cellist and music composer for film and TV. He received his Master’s in Screen Scoring from USC, and has since worked on the music for projects such as Netflix’s *The Kissing Booth 3* (2021), Paramount’s *Jerry and Marge Go Large* (2022), and National Geographic’s *Incredible Animal Journeys* (2023). As a highly sought-after studio cellist, Isaac’s performances can be heard on Hope Tala’s *Girl Eats Sun* (2020) album, Rosa Linn’s “Snap” performance at Junior Eurovision 2022, and Disney’s *High School Musical the Musical the Series* (2023).
Originally from Thornhill, Ontario, Isaac studied cello performance and composition at Wilfrid Laurier University under mentors Paul Pulford, Katie Schlaikjer, and Linda Catlin Smith. It was during this time that Isaac developed and refined his artistic identity. Isaac finds his creative impetus in the symbiosis of music and storytelling. Influenced by nature, science, mathematics, and computer science, his performances and compositions reflect a unique blend of these inspirations.
Lisa Santoprete
Originally from Waterloo, Ontario, pianist Lisa Santoprete holds a Bachelor of Music (BMus) in Piano Performance and a Diploma in Chamber Music from Wilfrid Laurier University, where she studied with Anya Alexeyev, as well as an Associate Diploma (ARCT) in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Lisa’s competition accolades include the Canadian Music Competition, the Ontario Music Festivals Association, the Muse International Music Competition, and the International Music Festival and Competition (Markham). She performed as a soloist with the Laurier Symphony Orchestra as the winner of the Wilfrid Laurier Concerto Competition, and performed at Carnegie Hall after receiving 1st Place in the Crescendo International Piano Competition.
She has participated in numerous international music festivals including the Orford Music Academy, Philadelphia International Music Festival, Virtuoso & Belcanto Festival in Lucca, Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival, Scotia Festival of Music, and Domaine Forget International Music Academy. Her masterclass performances include those for Janina Fialowska, Sara Davis Buechner, Ronan O’Hora, and Charles-Richard Hamelin.
Nicolas Ma
Nicholas Ma is a pianist-composer whose music explores a dialogue between rhythmic vitality, playfulness, and contemplative rigor. Some of his recent accolades include two SOCAN Foundation Young Composer Awards, McGill’s Luba Zuk Piano Duo Composition Competition Prize, commissions from Esprit Orchestra and the Coalition for Music Education in Canada, and composer-in-residence positions with McGill’s Schulich Singers, Chamber Music Area, and Saxophone Quartet.
He has served as the Vice-President of the McGill Association of Student Composers, co-founded the Off-Topic Ensemble’s Mentorship Program, and was the National 2022/23 Music Monday program composer. Additionally, he serves on the Vivier InterUniversitaire Committee, the NextGen Advisory Council, as a Composition Area Representative for the McGill Music Graduate Students’ Society, and is on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Composers Orchestra.
Nicholas holds a Bachelor’s degree from McGill University, where he double-majored in Piano Performance and Composition with a minor in Music Theory. His primary teachers include Marina Mdivani for piano and Eliot Britton, Jean Lesage, Chris Paul Harman, and Melissa Hui for composition. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Composition at McGill with a full scholarship.