Gordon D. Mansell with Tamara Hrycak

Gordon Mansell is Music Director, Choir Director, Composer and Titular Organist at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Toronto, Canada. He is also Executive Producer and Artistic Director of ORGANIX CONCERTS, an on-going year over year international organ festival series established in 2005. In 2017, ORGANIX CONCERTS was a recipient of the national Royal Canadian College of Organists Award of Excellence for its part in creating greater awareness of organ repertoire and organ performance. Mr. Mansell has performed with fellow organists David Briggs, Patricia Wright and Thomas Fitches in the 2015 documentary “Beating Heart” produced by Scott Deathe. Mr. Mansell is the Ontario dealer for Allen Organ Company, the world’s largest and most respected builder of digital classical and theatre organs.

As a concert organist, Mr. Mansell has performed organ and choir concerts in Europe, most notably in Italy (2013, 2015, 2017), at the Vatican (2013) and in Poland (2013, 2015, 2016). In the summer of 2017, Gordon performed a solo organ concert in Italy at the finalé event of the 11^th Porto San Giorgio International Organ Festival. In 2019, Mr. Mansell toured the middle-east with his choir in collaboration with the men of St. Michael’s Choir School Alumni performing organ and choir concerts in Israel. In 2020, Mr. Mansell returns to Italy and will perform at Luca Cathedral. Mr. Mansell is a well known and respected organist and is considered one of the leading musicians in Church music. Mr. Mansell has been a participant in the Vatican discussions Musica eChiesa, a Pope Francis initiative to update and clarify the Vatican II document, Musicam Sacram (1967).

Gordon Mansell holds a Bachelor degree in Science from the Rochester Institute of Technology (1979), a Diploma in Information Technology from the Faculty of Architecture, University of Toronto (2001), Bachelor of Music (2006) and Masters in Music (2008) degrees in organ performance from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music.

For more information: www.glionnamansell.com or www.organixconcerts.ca

Tamara Hrycak began her musical studies at an early age in Regina, Saskatchewan. Throughout her musical studies, she has won numerous provincial and national competitions. Upon her graduation from the Conservatory of Music in Regina, she won the prestigious Presidents Gold Medal. Tamara completed her Bachelor of Music with honours from the University of Saskatchewan and went on to complete a Masters of Music under Lorand Fenyves, as well as a Bachelor of Education at the University of Toronto.

Based in Toronto, Tamara Hrycak is a much sought after violinist and educator. As a performer, her award-winning talent has earned her positions with many orchestras including Hamilton Philharmonic, Toronto Philharmonia and the Windsor Symphony (where she has recorded composers such as Mozart, Haydn, and Chopin) and has toured throughout Europe, Asia, and North America with various world-renowned conductors. Her diversity as a musician makes her equally comfortable on stage with music of all genres; she has performed along side artists such as Andre Bocelli, Josh Groban, Anne Murray, David Foster, Peter Gabrielle, The Tenors, Il Divo, and Joni Mitchell. She recently was concertmaster for the 2cellos, as well "Hanson", String theory, for their Toronto and Hamilton performances.

As a teacher, Tamara has enjoyed sharing her knowledge with children across the GTA as well as inspiring and guiding music students at the University of Toronto. Tamara is an advocate for education in the arts and an active string clinician throughout Ontario.