Introducing the 2025-26 Rebanks Fellows of The Royal Conservatory's Glenn Gould School
Introducing the 2025-26 Rebanks Fellows of The Royal Conservatory's Glenn Gould School
Published on July 9, 2025
The Royal Conservatory is pleased to announce the six exceptional artists accepted into the prestigious Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program for the 2025-26 academic year.
Unique in Canada,
The Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program is a one-year postgraduate program of The Royal Conservatory’s
Glenn Gould School. Created in 2013 for artists poised for professional success, it offers a rich curriculum for career development including private study with exceptional faculty and guest artists; concert presentations and career coaching; and marketing training and support. Additionally, each Rebanks Fellow also participates in a funded European residency.
The continued success of The Rebanks Family Fellowship Program is possible thanks to the unwavering support of the Rebanks Family and the Weston Family Foundation.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE REBANKS FAMILY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
James Coole-Stevenson, baritone (Canada)
James Coole-Stevenson, baritone, has impressed audiences in a number of operatic roles including Sydney Carton in Arthur Benjamin's A Tale Of Two Cities, Demetrius in Britten's Midsummer night's dream, and Don Giovanni in Mozart's Don Giovanni. His sensitivity and nuance in art song, opera and sacred music, as well as his wide reaching musical interests has been a defining characteristic in his career. Currently living and working as a musician in Toronto, he strives for authenticity in each performance.
In the Spring of 2024, James had his professional debut as Ping and the Mandarin in Puccini’s Turandot, through the Gate City Bank Fargo-Moorhead Young Artist Program. It was there that he fostered a love for Puccini, and developed a serious interest in the role of outreach as a tool to educate and introduce people to opera. With his newfound desire to broaden Opera’s reach, James had the honor of participating in Manitoba Opera’s Digital Emerging Artist’s Program, where he worked with several industry talents to create a video project tracing his Newfoundland heritage through the lens of traditional folk songs collected by Maud Carpeles and Ralph Vaughan-Williams. He was able to travel to his grandfather’s ancestral home where he met and interviewed long lost relatives about the importance of music in the small village of Newman’s Cove, Newfoundland. He hopes that through his music, he can share his passion with the world.
Jonathan Mak, piano (Canada)
Winner of the 2024 inaugural Concours international de musique de Sorel-Tracy, pianist Jonathan Mak made his orchestra debut at the age of 4. Since then, he has been a guest soloist with numerous orchestras, most notably the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Recent engagements include performing Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 with the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, Kingston Symphony Orchestra and the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to his win at the Bader competition, Jonathan's accomplishments include the Grand Prize at the 2023 Bader & Overton Canadian Piano Competition, Grand Prize at the 2023 Plowman Chamber Music Competition with Trio Menil, the First Prize at the 2024 Tuesday Musical Club’s Young Artists Competition, and the third prize in the OSM competition. He is a recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts-Michael Measures award and the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award. Currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at Rice University with Jon Kimura Parker, Jonathan also holds degrees from the Yale School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Juliana Moroz, cello (Canada)
Canadian cellist Juliana Moroz is increasingly recognized as a rising young artist in North America. Named to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's “30 under 30” in 2021, Juliana is originally from Winnipeg, Canada. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings in 2023, as well as her Master’s degree from Rice University in 2025. Juliana has participated in the Aspen Summer Music Festival, Morningside Music Bridge, Orford Arts Festival, Rome Chamber Music Festival, and was a participant in the inaugural Josef Gingold Chamber Music Festival in Miami, Florida. In 2024, she was a finalist in the Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition, and was a Fellow at Toronto Summer Music.
Most recently, Juliana performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra on their Masterworks Series. In the 2025-2026 season, she will be based in Toronto as a Rebanks Family Fellowship Artist. An avid chamber musician, Juliana has performed with acclaimed musicians including Amy Schwartz-Moretti, Andrew Wan, Yura Lee, Lawrence Dutton, Angela Cheng, and Orion Weiss. She loves to play with her family as a member of the JAGD Quartet and enjoys baking desserts, especially macarons.
Astrid Nakamura, violin (Canada)
Toronto-born violinist Astrid Nakamura is a recipient of the 2024 Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award, and was featured as one of CBC’s 2024 “30 Canadian classical musicians under 30.” Astrid is devoted to multidisciplinary performances in Canada and abroad. Recent collaborators include the University of Houston BRAIN Center, NobleMotion Dance, Musiqa Houston, Loop38 and Dacamera. She has been invited to summer festivals such as Yellow Barn, Music Academy of the West, and the McGill International String Quartet Association. Astrid has substituted with the Houston and Montreal symphonies, and notably served as concertmaster for the Shepherd School of Music’s performance of Ein Heldenleben in 2023.
As a soloist, Astrid has won top prizes at Canadian competitions, including third place at the 2024 Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition and second place in the 2022 Golden Violin Competition at McGill University. In 2021, she won the McGill Concerto Competition with her performance of Prokofiev’s second concerto. Astrid completed her master's degree with Kathleen Winkler at Rice University with support from the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation. She is an alumna of The Phil and Eli Taylor Academy, as well as McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. Astrid currently performs on the c.1830-1850 ’Eckhardt-Gramatte, Joachim’ Georges Chanot I violin, generously on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.
Canon Shibata, cello (Japan)
Canon Shibata is a Japanese cellist acclaimed for her “technically flawless and extraordinarily expressive playing” (Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi). A prizewinner of major competitions in Japan and North America, she has performed with orchestras including the Tokyo Philharmonic, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, collaborating with conductors such as Joshua Weilerstein and Naoto Otomo. In 2023, she gave the Japanese premiere of Fazıl Say’s Never Give Up concerto. A 2025 CHANEL Pygmalion Days Artist, Canon earned her Master’s degree with honors from Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree in music from the Glenn Gould School.
Teresa Tucci, soprano (Canada)
Described as “a compelling and versatile performer with diverse talents,” Italian-Canadian soprano Teresa Tucci is gaining recognition for her dynamic stage presence and vocal agility across operatic and theatrical repertoire. She recently completed her Artist Diploma in Operatic Performance at the University of Toronto, holds a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Musical Theatre Performance from Sheridan College. In the 2025/26 season, Teresa joins The Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program at The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School, where she will be featured in a variety of concerts, chamber collaborations, and operatic projects.
Recent engagements include covering Asprano in Vivaldi’s Motezuma (Opera Neo) and performing Moira in Poul Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale at the Banff Centre. Operatic highlights include role debuts as Despina (Così fan tutte), La Fée (Cendrillon), and Elena (Il cappello di paglia di Firenze) with U of T Opera, as well as Diana in Martín y Soler’s L’arbore di Diana at NEC, conducted by Robert Tweten. Early in her career, she starred as Christine in Opera on the Avalon’s The Phantom of the Opera. Teresa was recently awarded with third prize in the 16th International “City of Brescia – Tribute to Maria Callas” competition and was a past Arizona District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Additional honors include awards from Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques, the Camille Coloratura Awards, and Nouvelles Étoiles Competition. Teresa Tucci embodies a vibrant, multidimensional artistry—where expressive depth, technical finesse, and bold versatility unite to captivate audiences across opera, theatre, and screen.