About Us
Royale String Quartet
Royale String Quartet is one of the most sought-after Montréal QC based ensembles for weddings, corporate events, and parties. The group performs both classical music, as well as original arrangements of popular contemporary songs,
bringing a level of artistry and professionalism your guests are sure to notice!
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Braden McConnell
Cello
Braden McConnell is a cellist in Montreal. He studied wit Amir Eldan at the Oberlin Conservatory, Susan Moses at the Indiana University String Academy, and Richard Aaron at the University of Michigan before attending McGill University
to study with Brian Manker. Braden toured Brazil and
Argentina with the Indiana University Violin Virtuosi and
performed at Carnegie Hall with Gilles Apap. As a member of the New York String Orchestra Seminar, he performed two more times in Carnegie Hall with Leon Fleisher. Braden earned first prize at the David Popper International Cello Competition in Várpalota, Hungary. He has also won first prizes in the McGill Concerto Competition, the Sigma Alpha Iota Competition and the Cleveland Cello Society Competition. A National Merit Scholar, Braden received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, triple-majoring in Cello, Mathematics, and Economics and a Master of Music from McGill University. A passionate chamber musician, Braden has been a part of both the Persée String Quartet and the Myriade String Quartet, and has collaborated with artists including Andrew Wan, Philip Chiu and Jamie Parker.
Russell Iceberg
Violin
Montréal-based violinist Russell Iceberg has recently won the Golden Violin Competition, the Peter Mendell award, and top prizes at the Allentown Symphony Orchestra’s Schadt String Competition, including the audience award. A graduate of McGill University’s Schulich School of Music’s Artist Diploma Program, Russell studied with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Concertmaster Andrew Wan. Other significant teachers include Phyllis Freeman, Blair Milton, Naoko Tanaka, Scott Yoo, Robin Scott and Ian Swensen. Russell has also extensively studied string quartet literature with his chamber music mentor, Professor André Roy. Russell’s previous solo engagements include performances with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, the Northwestern University Alumni Symphony, the Colorado College Summer Music Festival Orchestra, and L’orchestre I Medici de McGill. Russell has been fortunate to collaborate with amazing conductors, including Elizabeth Schulze, Adam Johnson, Scott Yoo, Hoh Chen, and Nicholas Koo. As a passionate chamber musician, Russell has advanced to live rounds and semi-finals of prestigious competitions including the Young Concert Artists Competition, Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, Premio Paolo Borciani, Trondheim, Chesapeake, and WDAV as a member of the Iceberg, Persée and Myriade string quartets. Russell has also been fortunate to collaborate with many esteemed artists in chamber music performances, including Andrew Wan, Philip Chiu, Phillip Ying, David Ying, Robin Scott, Juan-Miguel Hernandez, Yegor Dyachkov, Eric Nowlin, Jennifer Frautschi, Scott St. John, Sharon Wei, and Charles Richard-Hamelin. Russell’s musical interests extend beyond his love of the violin and the classical music literature. From a young age, Russell has performed and recorded extensively as a Rock guitarist, singer, flutist and mandolinist with various bands in the United States, most notably as part of the Tomy Wright String Orchestra.
Julia Mirzoev
Violin
Violinist Julia Mirzoev is noted for her warm tone, grace, and fierce attack (California Music Center). A native of Toronto, Canada, Julia has been featured on the Canadian Broadcasting Center’s “Top 30 Classical Musicians Under 30”, CBC radio 94.1, and classical 96.3 FM. Her awards include top prizes at the Irving M. Klein international competition including the Susan Weiss prize for the commissioned work, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal competition, grand prize at the Canadian Music Competition, and first prizes at the Crescendo International competition and Cremona music festival competitions. As a soloist, Julia has performed with the Montreal Chamber Music Festival’s Jeunes Virtuoses orchestra, the Scarborough Philharmonic, Sinfonia Toronto, the Canadian Sinfonietta, the University of Toronto Symphony, Orchestra Toronto, the Colorado College Summer Music Festival Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony. A passionate chamber musician, Julia has been a winner of the Yale Chamber Music competition, and has been invited to participate in the Sarasota, Manchester, Toronto, Yellow Barn, and Perlman Music Program festivals. Her notable collaborations include performances with Roger Tapping, Anthony Marwood, Natasha Brofsky, Barry Shiffman, Alexander Kerr, Julie Albers, and members of the Danish, Escher, and New Orford String Quartets. Julia is also a founding member of the Myriade String Quartet, coached by André Roy, who have been selected to compete in the live rounds of the Wigmore Hall and Trondheim String Quartet competitions. A graduate of the University of Toronto, Mcgill University, and the Yale University school of music, Julia has received the Broadus Erle graduating prize at the Yale School of music, and the Golden Violin award at Mcgill University. Her mentors include Andrew Wan, Ani Kavafian, Jonathan Crow, and Jacob Lakirovich. Having grown up in a family of musical pedagogues, Julia takes pride in sharing her devotion to creative music-making with her students. In addition to her private studio, Julia has taught at the Arcadia Music school in Toronto, the JVL Music in Summer festival, and has led violin sectionals for the Mount Royal Youth orchestra of Montréal, and the McGill University school of music. Julia looks forward to participating in the live rounds of the upcoming Elmar Oliveira and Michael Hill International Violin Competitions in 2023.
Cynthia Blanchon
Viola
Dividing her time internationally, French violist Cynthia Blanchon devotes her efforts to artistic projects both in Canada and Europe. This coming summer, she is invited to perform at the Music & Beyond festival, Music at Port Milford festival, Centre Musical CAMMAC, Concerts aux Îles du Bic and Rencontres Musicales de Laterrière. She performed last summer at the Entre Vents Et Marais Festival in France as part of the Osmose Ensemble. She plays regularly with the VoxPopuli quartet as guest violist, ensemble with which she already toured in England back in 2019. Born in 1994, she has been seen taking part in the Bach Festival, AuditionPerform Festival, Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence, ISA festival and the Rencontres Musicales de St-cézaire. Her passion for chamber music started early when performed at the CNSMD in Lyon alongside Marc Danel and Yovan Markovich from the Ysaÿe quartet, an experience which lead to several others. She has collaborated with Rainer Küchl, Kevin Lin, Scott St.John within the Colburn Chamber Music Society and the Talich quartet at the ISA festival. She also took part in the serie UdeM @ Bon Pasteur at the Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur in Montreal. She recorded the Dvořák piano quintet in April 2021 with ATMA Classique and her colleagues from l’Orchestre de l’Agora. Last June, she was invited to perform in the Festival Classica and performed during season 21-22 at the Le Baptême serie in Chicoutimi (QC) as well as in the ProMusica serie in Montreal. An experienced orchestra musician, she is currently principal viola with the Orchestre de l’Agora and is regularly guest principal with the Thirteen Strings orchestra. During the summer 2018, she participated in the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan where she was co-principal. She has collaborated with conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Kent Nagano performing in Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Maison Symphonique in Montreal, National Arts Center in Ottawa and the Auditorium in Lyon (France). She performs regularly with the Montreal Symphony. She has completed her doctorate with high distinction under the supervision of Jutta Puchhammer and Juan-Miguel Hernandez. Previous studies include the Colburn School in Los Angeles and the CNSMD in Lyon where she began her undergraduate at age 16. Her eagerness to learn led her to work with the finest violist such as Maxim Rysanov, Hartmut Rhode, Barbara Westphal, Gilad Karni, Garth Knox or Hariold Schlichtig. She was supposed to participate at the Prussia Cove festival back in 2020 (cancelled due to COVID-19). A prize-winner in many national competitions (Lempdes, Toulouse, Mouans-Sartoux), she also won the Mécénat Musical Société Général competition in 2015 which allowed her to play on a Von Baehr viola for three years. Cynthia plays today on a Fagnola viola and a Hills & Sons bow graciously loaned by Canimex Inc. in Drummondville (QC) Canada, as well as on a Kalata viola made in 2016 and on a bow made by Arnaud Suard in 2008.