Musical Director

Robert Filion’s choirs are celebrated across Canada, earning top awards at the local, provincial and national level. M. Filion is the Artistic Director of the celebrated Ottawa Children’s Choir and also conducts the University of Ottawa Choir and the Chorale du Conservatoire de musique de Gatineau. The ensembles he directed at the Centre d’excellence artistique de l’Ontario won six national championships. The vocal program he directed there was three times designated Best Music Programme in the National Capital Region by the Kiwanis Music Festival and the CBC—in 2008, 2012 and 2017.

A talented musician and artistic director, in 2011 Robert Filion was appointed Artistic Director of Unisong, the annual Canada Day festival of Canadian choirs at the National Arts Centre. He works with the National Arts Centre Orchestra on concerts involving youth choirs. He focuses on new works and music from around the world, and has collaborated on productions of original Canadian works by, among others, Ruth Watson-Henderson, Laura Hawley, Kelly-Marie Murphy, Stephen Hatfield, Donald Patriquin, Frédéric Lacroix and Clifford Crawley.

Since 2019 Mr. Filion is the Conseiller pédagogique en arts et culture and continues his work to lead the next generation of choral conductors across Canada. In 2013 he received the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence and the “Intervenant en education” award at the Robert-Grandmaitre Awards Gala 2024.

Accompanist

Victor Toma is a third-year Dean’s List student at the University of Ottawa pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance under the guidance of Professor David Jalbert. He is the recipient of the Nora Hickson-Kelly Scholarship in Music and the Leekor Engineering Scholarship in Music. As a voice student, Victor was awarded the University of Ottawa Anthony King Memorial Scholarship.

Victor is a recent graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto, having received the ARCT Diploma in Piano Performance and the National Gold Medal for Theory. Adjudicators have praised him for his "impressive musical maturity, technical command, and outstanding artistry”. Through his masterful style, Victor has maintained a continued First-Class Honors with Distinction standing up to and including ARCT level.

Victor strives to achieve academic and musical excellence. In February 2025, he won 1st Place in the University of Ottawa Concerto Competition. As a uOttawa Chamber Music Competition finalist, he performed at the National Arts Centre Fourth Stage chamber music showcase. In 2024, he received a gold medal at the Ottawa Piano Festival, and in 2022, he was one of the Junior winners of the Ottawa Chamberfest "Rising Stars" Competition.

After completing his undergraduate studies, Victor plans to apply to graduate school to advance his artistic pursuits. His goal is to reach his full potential as a pianist and enhance his professional knowledge and skills through master's and doctoral degrees. Victor envisions a career as a piano soloist, chamber and collaborative pianist, and educator.

Assistant Director

A native of Quebec City, Maxime Bégin has been performing on Ottawa stages as a choir conductor for over ten years. He holds two master’s degrees in music from Université Laval, a bachelor’s degree in music from Université de Montréal and a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Ottawa. He is currently completing a master’s degree in choral conducting at Université de Sherbrooke.

During his career, he has received numerous awards and distinctions, including at the Solo Competition with Orchestra of the Université Laval Faculty of Music and at the Canadian Music Competition. He is the recipient of a 2017 CEPEO Bâtisseurs d’excellence award and the 2018 Bernard-Grandmaître Award for Education Intervenant of the Year. He has performed on several stages and at a multitude of events of all kinds, as a choir conductor, soloist, chamber musician, musical director and accompanist. He has collaborated with, among others, Le Cirque du Soleil, the Segal Centre for Performing Arts and the Centre for Musical Theatre Education of Montreal.

Since 2021, Maxime Bégin has directed the CEAO Vocal Ensembles. Entirely dedicated to music, he strives to pass on his passion to his students by offering them multiple opportunities to contribute to the growth of their Francophone community. His ensembles have won numerous competitions and perform on regional, national and international stages.