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PACIFIC RIM STRINGS

This group of like-minded string players joined together as a string quartet. They play regular concerts in Vancouver, exploring the music written especially for this combination of instruments. They are versatile musicians, and also enjoying forming into duos and trios. The players are:

LI-LING LIAO, violin

Ms. Liao attended Ecole d’Humanite in Switzerland at the age of sixteen, and also studied violin at the Lucerne Conservatory. She went on to study violin at the Boston Conservatory, and violin and chamber music at the New England Conservatory of Music. She received her Doctoral of Musical Arts degree at the University of Maryland. She performs as both a soloist and chamber player in North America and Asia, including with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the North Shore Sinfonia, and is currently associate concertmaster of the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra and a member of the Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra. She works with young talent as a faculty member at the Vancouver Academy of Music.

RUTH HUANG, violin

Ruth Huang, a certified Suzuki Teacher and former student of
Robert Davidovici, Andrew Dawes and Nancy Di Novo, earned her Master's Degree in Violin Performance from the Universityof British Columbia. Ruth has performed in numerous orchestras and chamber ensembles, winning awards at the Kiwanis Festival and Friends of Chamber Music Competition. Ruth is currently a member Pacific Rim Quartet and directs a private violin studio in Vancouver.

ROBIN STREB, viola

Robin is an active performer and teacher in Vancouver and other parts of B.C. She is assistant principal viola of the Vancouver Island Symphony, and has performed with the Victoria Symphony, Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Kamloops Symphony, and the New West Symphony. She is a member of Melange Chamber Ensemble based in North Vancouver, has performed with the North Shore Sinfonia, and in Los Angeles with the Tonoi Ensemble.

Robin completed her studies at the University of Victoria, and Rice University. In addition to her performing schedule, she teaches at the Vancouver Waldorf School and the Vancouver Academy of Music.

BRIAN MIX, cello

Brian Mix has been a freelance cellist in Vancouver since 1992, performing nearly all aspects of music-making. He is the cellist of the Pacific Rim String Quartet, performs often with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and has also played with Vancouver Opera, the National Ballet of Canada, and many other professional ensembles. He has participated in numerous CBC recordings, film soundtracks, and CDs of pop, rock, folk, and children’s artists, and has even appeared on stage with the rock groups Yes and the Moody Blues. Alongside performing, Brian writes program notes and gives pre-concert talks for the Vancouver Recital Society, teaches cello, and conducts the Langley Community Music School Symphony Orchestra. Brian received the degrees of B. Mus. and M.Mus. from the University of British Columbia, and has also studied at the Banff Centre, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, the University of Ottawa, and the University of Cincinnati. He lives in Vancouver with his wife, pianist Brenda Campbell, and their two young children.