Sunday, August 23, 2026
Duncan McDougall, violin
Elliot Sloss, cello
Yanfeng (Tony) Bai, piano
The Olivier Music Barn, 11:00 AM
Program
JOHN HARBISON: Trio No. 2 (“Short Stories”)
Tale
Ballad
Rumors and Reports
Enigma
FRANZ SCHUBERT: Notturno in E-flat Major, Op. 148, D. 897
FELIX MENDELSSOHN: Piano Trio No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 66
Allegro energico e con fuoco
Andante espressivo
Scherzo: Molto allegro quasi presto
Finale: Allegro appassionato
Duncan McDougall
Based in Los Angeles, California, the Canadian violinist Duncan McDougall is an Artist Diploma candidate and graduate of the Colburn School, where he studies with Martin Beaver. He previously studied with Kelly Parkins-Lindstrom and Jonathan Crow at the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists in Toronto.
McDougall was honored to receive the National Gold Medal for Violin Performance and Violin Pedagogy from the Royal Conservatory of Music. A passionate chamber musician, he is a founding member of Trio Azura, winners of the Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions and grand prize winners of the 51st Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Trio Azura is the current ensemble in residence at Young Concert Artists and the Colburn School.
McDougall believes strongly in the transformative power of community engagement through music, and he has led classes—alongside Trio Azura—for more than 2,000 students (elementary through high school) across the United States.
He is grateful to play on a 1900 Scarampella violin on generous loan from the Colburn Collection. Outside of his musical life, he enjoys trail running, hiking, canoeing, skiing, and baking with his friends and family
Elliott Sloss
Elliot Sloss began his cello studies at age four, and, in the 18 years since, his artistry has taken him to stages and institutions around the world. Currently a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, he benefits from the mentorship of a distinguished faculty, including Peter Wiley, Gary Hoffman, Nick Canellakis, Yumi Kendall, and Christine Lee. His training was shaped at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy in Toronto, where he studied under Paul Widner and Joe Johnson.
A recipient of a 2026 Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award, Sloss has earned top honors on international competition stages. He was a prizewinner at the 2026 Classic Cello International Competition in London, performing with The Philharmonia Orchestra under conductor Tomàs Grau, and won fourth prize at the 2026 Irving M. Klein International String Competition. He was also a finalist at the 2025 Shean Strings Competition in Edmonton and recently represented Canada at the 2025 Isang-Yun Competition in South Korea.
Sloss is a three-time first-place winner in the national strings division of the Canadian Music Competition. He has also won the concerto competition of the North York Music Festival Competition, the Taylor Academy Concerto Competition, and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition.
He performs on a 1706 Giuseppe Guarneri ‘filius Andreae’ cello crafted in Cremona, paired with a 1925 Victor Fétique bow made in Paris.
Yanfeng (Tony) Bai
The Chinese pianist Yanfeng (Tony) Bai has earned numerous international distinctions, such as first prize at the China Shenzhen International Piano Concerto Competition, third prize and the Audience Award at the Olga Kern International Piano Competition, third prize at the Grotrian International Piano Competition in Germany, and first prize at the China Central Television Piano Competition. Strings Magazine praised his “gorgeous playing.”
An accomplished chamber musician, Bai is a founding member of Trio Azura, which was recently named Young Concert Artists’ inaugural ensemble in residence after the 2025 Susan Wadsworth International Auditions. In 2024 Trio Azura swept the 51st Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, winning the grand prize, the gold medal, the Lift Every Voice Prize, and the Horszowski Trio Prize.
Bai has performed with the Calgary Philharmonic, the China Philharmonic, the Orchestra Antonio Vivaldi, and the New Mexico Philharmonic, among others. He has given recitals across the United States, Italy, Spain, and China and has appeared at major international music festivals.
He is currently chamber musician in residence at the Colburn Conservatory and a YCA artist. He completed his Artist Diploma at the Colburn School in Los Angeles under Fabio Bidini. Before moving to Los Angeles in 2017, he studied with Jin Zhang at the Central Conservatory of Music in China.
Tale
Ballad
Rumors and Reports
Enigma
FRANZ SCHUBERT: Notturno in E-flat Major, Op. 148, D. 897
FELIX MENDELSSOHN: Piano Trio No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 66
Allegro energico e con fuoco
Andante espressivo
Scherzo: Molto allegro quasi presto
Finale: Allegro appassionato
Duncan McDougall
Based in Los Angeles, California, the Canadian violinist Duncan McDougall is an Artist Diploma candidate and graduate of the Colburn School, where he studies with Martin Beaver. He previously studied with Kelly Parkins-Lindstrom and Jonathan Crow at the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists in Toronto.
McDougall was honored to receive the National Gold Medal for Violin Performance and Violin Pedagogy from the Royal Conservatory of Music. A passionate chamber musician, he is a founding member of Trio Azura, winners of the Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions and grand prize winners of the 51st Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Trio Azura is the current ensemble in residence at Young Concert Artists and the Colburn School.
McDougall believes strongly in the transformative power of community engagement through music, and he has led classes—alongside Trio Azura—for more than 2,000 students (elementary through high school) across the United States.
He is grateful to play on a 1900 Scarampella violin on generous loan from the Colburn Collection. Outside of his musical life, he enjoys trail running, hiking, canoeing, skiing, and baking with his friends and family
Elliott Sloss
Elliot Sloss began his cello studies at age four, and, in the 18 years since, his artistry has taken him to stages and institutions around the world. Currently a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, he benefits from the mentorship of a distinguished faculty, including Peter Wiley, Gary Hoffman, Nick Canellakis, Yumi Kendall, and Christine Lee. His training was shaped at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy in Toronto, where he studied under Paul Widner and Joe Johnson.
A recipient of a 2026 Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award, Sloss has earned top honors on international competition stages. He was a prizewinner at the 2026 Classic Cello International Competition in London, performing with The Philharmonia Orchestra under conductor Tomàs Grau, and won fourth prize at the 2026 Irving M. Klein International String Competition. He was also a finalist at the 2025 Shean Strings Competition in Edmonton and recently represented Canada at the 2025 Isang-Yun Competition in South Korea.
Sloss is a three-time first-place winner in the national strings division of the Canadian Music Competition. He has also won the concerto competition of the North York Music Festival Competition, the Taylor Academy Concerto Competition, and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition.
He performs on a 1706 Giuseppe Guarneri ‘filius Andreae’ cello crafted in Cremona, paired with a 1925 Victor Fétique bow made in Paris.
Yanfeng (Tony) Bai
The Chinese pianist Yanfeng (Tony) Bai has earned numerous international distinctions, such as first prize at the China Shenzhen International Piano Concerto Competition, third prize and the Audience Award at the Olga Kern International Piano Competition, third prize at the Grotrian International Piano Competition in Germany, and first prize at the China Central Television Piano Competition. Strings Magazine praised his “gorgeous playing.”
An accomplished chamber musician, Bai is a founding member of Trio Azura, which was recently named Young Concert Artists’ inaugural ensemble in residence after the 2025 Susan Wadsworth International Auditions. In 2024 Trio Azura swept the 51st Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, winning the grand prize, the gold medal, the Lift Every Voice Prize, and the Horszowski Trio Prize.
Bai has performed with the Calgary Philharmonic, the China Philharmonic, the Orchestra Antonio Vivaldi, and the New Mexico Philharmonic, among others. He has given recitals across the United States, Italy, Spain, and China and has appeared at major international music festivals.
He is currently chamber musician in residence at the Colburn Conservatory and a YCA artist. He completed his Artist Diploma at the Colburn School in Los Angeles under Fabio Bidini. Before moving to Los Angeles in 2017, he studied with Jin Zhang at the Central Conservatory of Music in China.