Lydia Munchinsky, cello
Lydia Munchinsky, Cello
Cellist Lydia Munchinsky is originally from Straffordville, Ontario. She began her piano studies at the age of 4, and cello when she was 10. She completed her ARCT in performance for both piano and cello before coming to Toronto in 2000 to study cello with Simon Fryer and piano with Peter Longworth at The Glenn Gould School of Music. Her previous teachers include Dorothy Jones and Karen Rowell (piano), and Amanda Keesmaat and Julia MacGregor (cello). At the ages of 10 and 12, Lydia participated in the International Suzuki Conventions in Australia and Korea, where she performed for Dr. Sininchi Suzuki and worked with Haruko Kataoka. She spent 3 months as a language exchange student in France when she was 16 years old and, the year after graduating high school, backpacked across Europe with her cello for 5 months. While in Europe, she spent 3 months in Switzerland at the International Christian Study and Philosophy Centre l’Abri, where she met her husband Marty.
Since completing the Performance Diploma Program at the GGS, Lydia’s eclectic performance experience has included playing for Stage West and Theatre Aquarius, Dr. Draw, and Sarah Slean. She is a member of Ensemble Vivant, the Array Ensemble, and former member of the Venuti String Quartet and the Canadian Folk Music Award nominated chamber-folk group Ozere. Lydia also toured extensively across North America and Korea with Quartetto Gelato, usually with her baby daughter in tow, and is featured on their album, “All Original, 100% Canadian”. She can often be found in a recording studio and has recorded soundtracks for films and TV scores including “Percy”, “The Breadwinner”, “The White Lie”, and “Astronaut”. Besides recording albums with Ozere and Quartetto Gelato, Lydia has also recorded with, among others, Alessia Cara, Jesse Cook, Sarah Slean, Mike Janzen, The Great Lake Swimmers, Royal Wood, The Weather Station, and Laila Biali. Since purchasing her own recording equipment at the beginning of the lockdowns, Lydia has discovered a passion for writing and recording her own music. Since 2002, she has been collaborating with BC pianist Cory Alstad, with whom she has released 3 co-written albums and a number of singles through the Aemeralds record label and for Songs for the Morning. Lydia has premiered solo cello and chamber music works by many Canadian and Austrian composers and gives recitals regularly, some of which have been recorded by CBC and CIUT radio.
Lydia taught for two years with Sistema Toronto in Parkdale and, thanks to a Toronto Arts Council grant, spends much of her time writing original music for cello students. She has two children and enjoys making sourdough bread and ice cream or biking around the city when she’s not making music.
