Members

Justine Auger

Coming soon

Daniel Lehman - Trumpet

Coming soon

Rachel Côté - Horn

Born and raised in Montréal, hornist Rachel Côté has appeared with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Kingston Symphony, and the Royal Canadian Air Force Band, among others. She is an avid chamber musician, and has collaborated with the Amici Chamber Ensemble, the Sō Percussion Quartet, and the Freesound Series. She was a finalist in the 2023 Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition with her brass quintet, Talos. She has been a fellow at the 2019 Tanglewood Music Festival, and a two-time member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, in 2017 and 2018. Rachel is an active pedagogue, maintaining a full private studio as well as being a substitute teaching artist at Sistema Winnipeg.

Rachel has a Bachelor’s of Music from The Glenn Gould School, where she studied with Chris Gongos and Gabe Radford. In 2023, she obtained a Masters in Music from Northwestern University, where she studied with Gail Williams and Jonathan Boen.

Eric Prodger - Trombone

Eric Prodger is a bass and tenor trombonist from Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. He currently holds the Principal Bass Trombone position with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and formerly held the same position with the Kingston Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he maintains an active and diverse freelancing schedule throughout Manitoba, Quebec, and Ontario.

Eric has completed studies at McGill University, the New England Conservatory, the Glenn Gould School, and the University of Ottawa. His principal teachers have included James Markey, James Box, Pierre Beaudry, Jeffrey Hall, and Douglas Burden.

As a freelance orchestral musician, Mr. Prodger has performed with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Orchestre Classique de Montréal, the Ontario Philharmonic, the Orchestre Symphonique de Drummondville, and the Orchestre Symphonique de Sherbrooke. During his studies, he was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada for four seasons, participating in several recording sessions and extensive tours across Spain and Canada.

As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in recitals across eastern Canada. Eric was a featured soloist with the Ottawa Youth Orchestra and the Intrada Brass of Oakville. In 2022, he was the first alternate in the prestigious Donald Yaxley Bass Trombone Solo Competition through the International Trombone Association.

An award-winning bass trombonist, Mr. Prodger was a recipient of the Friends of the National Arts Centre Orchestra Award, the Crabtree Foundation Award, the Sturdevant Prize for Orchestral Excerpts, the Rich Little Endowment Fund, as well as the Jacob Siskind and Friends of the NAC Orchestra Scholarships.

Eric is honored to be a bass trombone artist for the Edwards Instrument Company and performs exclusively on their instruments.

Justin Hickmott - Tuba

Justin Hickmott is a tubist and music educator in high demand across Canada, and is the interim Principal Tubist of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for the 24/25 season.

Formerly the solo (principal) tubist of the Orchestre symphonique de Laval, Justin has performed with orchestras across Canada, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and the Thunder Bay Symphony, among others. As a soloist, Justin has performed concerti with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as well as the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and has been a featured artist at music festivals across North America.

As an educator, Justin teaches at the Marcels Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba, and is an active clinician throughout Manitoba. A former tuba instructor at Vanier College in Montreal, QC, Justin also actively maintains a private studio of students of all ages, and instructs at summer music camps across North America.

Justin began his music studies at a young age as a chorister with the Brandon Conservatory Chorale in Brandon, MB, and later began studying tuba privately with acclaimed tubist Chris Lee. As a student Justin played in various ensembles with Brandon University, and began his formal music studies at the University of Manitoba. He later transferred to McGill University studying with the late Dennis Miller, before concluding his studies with Sasha Johnston and obtaining a Performance Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music.

In his free time, Justin enjoys studying movie soundtracks, cycling, and relaxing with his cat, Bear.