A Virtuosic Afternoon with Nikki Chooi and the Amici Chamber Ensemble Dazzles Toronto Audiences

08 October 2025

One of the great pleasures in attending a concert by the aptly named Amici Chamber Ensemble is the feeling of amiability that pervades the Jeanne Lamon Hall as the music is performed.

The Amici trio — cellist David Hetherington, clarinetist Joaquin Valdepenas and pianist Serouj Kradjian — have been making music together for decades and the feeling they convey is one of intelligent, joyful sharing. Their programs are playfully put together with oddities and discoveries from the classical canon mixed with recognizable masterpieces to satisfy the most discerning of listeners. Adding to the pleasure of their concerts is their selection of guest artists to perform with them — some famous, some less so.

In the well-known category is Canadian violinist Nikki Chooi, who is a Laureate of the Queen Elizabeth and Tchaikovsky Competitions, and a First Prize Winner of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition among many accolades.

He’s the Concertmaster for the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and has performed as a soloist in many symphonies including the Boston, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Sydney. Amici dubbed their concert with Chooi a “virtuosic afternoon,” and, indeed, it was.

Bach To Kukal To Sarasate
When you are going to feature a fine musician, it’s a great idea to have them perform a stunning solo piece. Amici did just that, showcasing Chooi’s prowess with the Chaconne from Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D Minor. Chooi played it with precision and subtle power, ringing through the emotional and technical challenges with depth and understanding.

Speaking to Chooi after the concert, he said, “I’ve worshiped the chaconne since I was a kid. It’s not only a masterpiece — it’s a feat for humanity to write something so meaningful. The structure, the organization of the composition, it’s just so remarkable. We’re lucky to have it.”

Chooi followed that masterpiece with a lovely — but certainly less significant — composition by Pablo de Sarasate, Zigeunerweisen, performed as a duo for violin and Serouj Kradjian’s piano.

The composition was one of the most popular in the latter part of the 19th century and is overwhelmingly Romantic. One can imagine couples swooning to it back then, taken in by the beauty and melancholia expressed through the nearly weeping violin and the flamboyant piano. Heard today, it affords the opportunity for a couple of fine performers to evoke the past while working through a still enjoyable piece.

The program had begun before the Bach centrepiece with a contemporary composition by the Czech Ondrej Kukal, Presents, which gave Chooi the chance to play a duo with David Hetherington. The two know each other very well, as Chooi’s wife studied cello with Hetherington, and that’s how the violinist first heard the Ensemble in concert.

Chooi told Ludwig Van, “We love the group’s chemistry, the music that they play, and the interaction with the audience.” The Kukal composition is propulsive and charming, undoubtedly a pleaser when it’s performed mainly in Czechia.

Second Half
After an intermission, Amici offered the third of their trio, clarinetist Joaquin Valdepenas an opportunity to showcase a composition. Valdepenas found a piece by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a pioneering Black composer of the 19th century, which subtly positions the clarinet as the leading instrument in a string quintet. Chooi refers to the piece as “really cool” while Valdepenas acknowledges that it is influenced by Brahms but has elements of the gospel as well.

Coleridge-Taylor’s Quintet in F-sharp minor, Op. 10 is a delightful piece — and it received its Toronto premiere at the concert, over a hundred years after it was composed.

Final Thoughts
Amici means friendship — a name that harmonizes with the meaning of this distinguished ensemble’s programming and performance style.

Speaking to Ludwig Van, Serouj Kradjian says that the group’s musical curiosity leads them “to explore the repertoire outside of the traditional.” Quietly avant-garde, the Amici should — and most likely will — continue to be a voice for progressive values in North American music and culture.

By: Marc Glassman for Ludwig-Van