Canada's Rising Stars Head South

Quoted by the Chronicle Herald as “a superb musician”, Swedish-born Susanne Ruberg-Gordon is a highly regarded and sought after chamber-musician and collaborative pianist. She is recognized for her artistry, nuance and interpretation, and has performed in Canada, the US, China and UAE.

As a passionate educator, Susanne is a faculty member at the Mount Royal University Conservatory Academy and APP Programs. She is also on faculty at the Valhalla Summer School of Music in New Denver, BC. Since 2001, she has been a Collaborative Artist for the prestigious and acclaimed Morningside Music Bridge program.

“Her pianism is everything the composer could wish for” - Calgary Herald

Violinist Maria van der Sloot enjoys a diverse career as a performer and educator. She has appeared as soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and Calgary Civic Symphony and performs extensively throughout North America.

Maria is a tenured violinist in the Calgary Philharmonic and on faculty at Mount Royal University, where she is the Violin Facilitator for the Advanced Performance and Academy programs. In 2022, Maria joined the Juno-nominated contemporary piano trio, Land’s End Ensemble.

Their most recent recording of John Corigliano’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” and Vincent Ho’s “Gryphon Realms” was released on the Naxos label in 2024 to critical acclaim.

Vasylisa Nikolenko is a 16-year-old pianist from Dnipro, Ukraine who moved to Alberta in 2019. She began studying piano at the age of five, coming from a non-musical family. She has studied with Ukrainian teacher Natalia Klymenko since 2014 and Susanne Ruberg-Gordon since 2023.

Vasylisa is a member of the Senior Academy Program at the Mount Royal Conservatory in Calgary, where she regularly performs in masterclasses and for visiting guest artists. Vasylisa is a two-time winner of the Alberta Music Festival (2024 and 2025) in the Grade 10/ARCT category.

In all-Ukrainian competitions, she earned the Grand Prix at the “Neygaus” competition in Kropyvnytskyi and Second Prize at the “Obriyi Classiky” Competition in Kyiv. Outside of music, Vasylisa enjoys painting, astronomy, and spending time outdoors.

Alysse Li is 12 years old and is going into grade 8 in a french immersion program in the coming fall. She started playing violin when she was 6 years old and developed a deep passion for it.

She studies violin at the Mount Royal University Academy program in Calgary and has been coached by many outstanding violinists such as Ms. Maria Van Der Sloot, Ms. Barb McDougall, and Mr. Eric Auerbach from whom she has learned a lot.

During her musical journey, she has won several awards and scholarships in BC and in AB. Alysse wants to carry on her passion of violin and is studying towards getting her ARCT certificate to help kids who have the same passion. Besides playing violin, she also immensely enjoys speaking French and practicing rock climbing.