Sharon Wei
Viola
Office: MB 335
Phone: (519) 661-2111 x81490
Email: swei48@uwo.ca
Canadian violist Sharon Wei is a dynamic and multifaceted artist, recognized for her excellence as a performer, educator, and dedicated contributor to Canada’s musical landscape. She has appeared as soloist with orchestras including Symphony of the Redwoods, Kingston Symphony, Sinfonia Toronto, Thunder Bay Symphony, and London Symphonia, where she premiered Richard Mascall’s Ziigwan concerto with Indigenous Elder John Rice and conductor Tania Miller. This season, she premieres a new viola concerto by Canadian composer Saman Shahi with the Obiora Ensemble in Montreal.
Sharon is the violist of the acclaimed New Orford String Quartet, comprising principal players from the Toronto and Montreal Symphonies. The quartet is deeply committed to highlighting Canadian compositions through frequent commissions and performances of works by Ian Cusson, Ana Sokolović, Dinuk Wijeratne, Dean Burry, Samy Moussa, Marjan Mozetich, and Kelly-Marie Murphy. Their extensive touring across Canada includes performances from Yukon to PEI, along with residencies at Mount Royal University, Western University, the Isabel Bader Centre, and Toronto Summer Music.
As a co-founder of Ensemble Made in Canada, Sharon has played a pivotal role in cultivating a distinctively Canadian voice in chamber music. The ensemble’s Mosaïque Project—winner of the 2021 JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year—brought together 14 Canadian composers and toured every province and territory. The project featured performances in venues ranging from major concert halls to natural landmarks like the seabed of the Hopewell Rocks, engaging audiences through interactive performances and original artwork submissions.
Over the past three years, violist Sharon Wei has led a unique interdisciplinary collaboration between Western University’s Don Wright Faculty of Music and the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP), merging music, science, and climate awareness. As part of Western’s Kaleidoscope of Creativity initiative, she curated a 2024 musical gallery that transformed campus spaces into immersive environments. Graduate student composers created original works based on NTP data, performed by faculty and guest artists, culminating in a panel discussion with scientists and musicians. The project uses music to interpret tornado data and environmental disruption, offering audiences both awareness and emotional resonance in response to Canada’s evolving climate landscape.
In 2025, the initiative expanded with a performance at the Ivey Business School, where the New Orford String Quartet premiered three new string quartets by Canadian composers Carmen Braden, Vincent Ho, and Cecilia Livingston. These works were later toured across Canada and the United States, broadening the project’s reach and impact.
The collaboration continues to evolve with a new viola concerto to be premiered this season, and a lecture-recital planned for the 50th International Viola Congress in Paris in 2026.
Sharon’s leadership in this project highlights how music can bridge disciplines, translating scientific research into meaningful artistic experiences that educate, inspire, and advocate for change.
Internationally, Sharon has performed at festivals including Verbier, Marlboro, Ravinia, Banff, Prussia Cove, and Giverny, and toured with Musicians from Marlboro to Carnegie Hall and other major venues. She has collaborated with artists such as James Ehnes, Marion Newman, Claude Frank, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. She is principal violist of the Verbier Chamber Orchestra and has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on their Grammy-winning recording of Ives symphonies.
As a passionate educator, Sharon is Associate Professor of Viola and was Acting Assistant Dean of Research at Western University. She previously taught at Yale and Stanford and has given masterclasses across Canada, the U.S., and China. At Western, she developed a pioneering course on entrepreneurial and career-building skills for musicians.
Her artistry and leadership have been recognized with Western University’s 2022 Faculty Scholar Award, the viola prize from Yale University, and numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and FACTOR. She has recorded for Centrediscs, CBC, Onyx Classics, and Warner Classics, and is frequently heard on CBC Radio and Air Canada’s Enroute Entertainment.
Media
Bohuslav Martinu: Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola, H.313
Scott St. John, violin; Sharon Wei, viola
Seattle Chamber Music Society, Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA
Dinuk Wijeratne: A Letter from the Afterlife
Start time on video: 22:25
End time on video: 28:00
New Orford String Quartet: Jonathan Crow and Andrew Wan, violins; Sharon Wei, viola; Brian Manker, cello
Toronto Summer Music, Koerner Hall Toronto, ON
Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Opus 13
Start time on video: 31:10
End time on video: 1:04:30
New Orford String Quartet: Jonathan Crow and Andrew Wan, violins; Sharon Wei, viola; Brian Manker, cello
Toronto Summer Music, Koerner Hall Toronto, ON
David Braid: Great Bear River Blues
Ensemble Made in Canada: Elissa Lee, violin; Sharon Wei, viola; Rachel Mercer, cello; Angela Park, piano
First Ontario Performing Arts Centre, St. Catharines, ON
Barbara Croall: Nbiidaasamishkaamin/We come paddling here
Ensemble Made in Canada: Elissa Lee, violin; Sharon Wei, viola; Rachel Mercer, cello; Angela Park, piano
First Ontario Performing Arts Centre, St. Catharines, ON
Sarah Slean: Jonny Pippy of Pouch Cove, on a bicycle at Dawn
Ensemble Made in Canada: Elissa Lee, violin; Sharon Wei, viola; Rachel Mercer, cello; Angela Park, piano
First Ontario Performing Arts Centre, St. Catharines, ON
Nicole Lizée: The Bessborough Hotel
Ensemble Made in Canada: Elissa Lee, violin; Sharon Wei, viola; Rachel Mercer, cello; Angela Park, piano
First Ontario Performing Arts Centre, St. Catharines, ON
Srul Irving Glick: Suite Hebraique No. 2, Cantorial Chant
Sharon Wei, viola
Centrediscs 2018
Felix Mendelssohn: String Octet in E flat Major Op. 20
Violins: Scott St John, Erika Raum, Annalee Patipatanakoon, Mark Fewer Violas: Annemarie Moorcroft, Sharon Wei Cellos: Thomas Wiebe, Mischa Meyer
Western University Von Kuster Hall, London, ON
Links
www.neworford.com
2022 Faculty Scholars Award - Office of the President
