SFCM Strings Student Performs in Norway with Trio
Violinist Daniel Dastoor and his trio were selected to perform at the Trondheim International Chamber Competition and Academy.
Daniel Dastoor (violin) performing on stage in Trondheim, Norway. (Photo Credit: Ole Wuttudal)
By Mark Taylor
For one SFCM student, his strings have taken him across the pond.
Violin player Daniel Dastoor just performed in Trondheim, Norway with his trio, the Mykola Trio, as part of the Trondheim International Chamber Competition and Academy. Held from September 20-25, the annual music festival selected only four young piano trios to participate in the academy.
“It went great! For me, the chamber music hall in Trondheim has one of the most enjoyable acoustics to perform in,” Dastoor said of his time in Norway. Dastoor is a violin student at SFCM in the String and Piano Chamber Music Program working with professor Ian Swensen.
Formed in 2021 in Toronto, the Mykola Trio consists of Dastoor on violin, David Liam Roberts on cello and Godwin Friesen on piano. In their short time together they’ve already won competitions and performed several concerts in the Toronto area. Dastoor holds an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School, where, most recently, the trio won first prize at The GGS Chamber Competition.
Dastoor's journey to the Nordic country actually started some four years ago, when he participated in the same academy with a different trio: “Seeing that we felt serious as a group, I brought it up to the rest of the Mykola Trio back in the spring, and we decided to apply!” Dastoor said. In addition to masterclasses with world-renowned musicians, the Norwegian academy also included performances together with members of the Tetzlaff Quartet. “It was wonderful to perform alongside an artist like Elisabeth Kufferath!” Dastoor added.
The Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition and Academy focuses especially on advanced student ensembles and young professional ensembles, and is open for chamber ensembles from all over the world. Since its inception in 1996, the Competition and Academy has always been arranged during the Trondheim Chamber Music Festival.
Dastoor’s time in Norway is far from over, he and his trio have already been preselected for the 2023 Trondheim International Trio Competition, which can come with a 15,000-euro prize.
Learn more about studying chamber music or violin at SFCM.