About the Trio

Israeli pianist Itamar Prag made his orchestral debut at the age of eleven with the Tel Aviv Soloists Ensemble and has since appeared as a soloist with the Israel Symphony Orchestra, the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and the McGill Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with conductors including Lahav Shani, Omer Welber, Frédéric Chaslin, Vag Papian and Alexis Hauser. Selected by Zubin Mehta in a competitive audition, he performed as a soloist under the baton of Yoel Levi.

He won the Classical and Romantic Concerto Competitions at the Schulich School of Music. A first prize winner at the Pnina Salzman Piano Competition and a longtime recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship, he has also received support from the Zefunot Culture Foundation and the Mushkin Memorial Scholarship for young musicians.

He has given recitals across Israel, Europe and North America and participated in the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival. He has taken part in masterclasses with Murray Perahia, Eliso Virsaladze, Richard Goode, John Perry, Piotr Paleczny and Gabriel Kwok.

He studied with Hannah Shalgi, Asaf Zohar, Vadim Monastyrski, Arie Vardi, André Laplante, Kyoko Hashimoto and Ilya Poletaev, and holds degrees from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University and McGill University's Schulich School of Music, where he is completing his Doctorate in Piano Performance.

Originally from Seoul, South Korea, June Lee is a rising violinist based in Montreal. She strives to inspire audiences with compelling interpretations and imaginative sound, drawing on a wide range of musical styles and cultures.

Her achievements include Second Prize at the Schulich Golden Violin Competition and a performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Paju Philharmonic Orchestra. She won the Grand Prize at the Coltman Chamber Music Competition and a Bronze Medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and has earned recognition at the Mary Lane Memorial Violin Competition and the Ronald Sachs International Music Competition.

She has performed internationally, serving as Assistant Concertmaster on a European tour with Martha Argerich and attending masterclasses with Gerhard Schulz and Mihaela Martin. June has taken part in IMS Prussia Cove, the Schiermonnikoog Festival, the Encore Chamber Music Institute, MISQA and the Trondheim String Quartet Academy, among others.

A graduate of McGill University's Schulich School of Music, she studied with Jinjoo Cho.

François Lamontagne began his cello studies with David Ellis at the Conservatoire de Musique de Saguenay, and continued at McGill University under Elizabeth Dolin, where he received the Student Excellence Award scholarship and the Frank Mills Prize. In 2022 he earned his bachelor's degree with the distinction of outstanding achievement in cello performance, followed by his master's degree in 2025.

Since 2025 François has been principal cellist of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Symphony Orchestra and assistant principal of the Orchestre symphonique de l'Estuaire. He also plays with the Orchestre de l'Agora and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec.

He has distinguished himself in competitions including the Festival du Royaume and the Canadian Music Competition, and won the Jeunes solistes competition of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Youth Orchestra. In 2018 he was awarded the Lieutenant Governor's Medal and the Governor General's Medal as part of his collegial diploma at the conservatory.

Passionate about chamber music, he studied string quartet under renowned ensembles including the Alban Berg Quartet, Quatuor Ébène and Quatuor Danel at the McGill International String Quartet Academy. François has also performed internationally at the Fischoff Competition in the United States, the Schiermonnikoog Festival in the Netherlands and the Trondheim Chamber Music Academy in Norway.