The Antigua Team: National Youth Orchestra of Canada
NYO Canada: four musical journeys to Antigua and Barbuda
Four musicians from the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada) are due to join The Commonwealth Resounds in Antigua and Barbuda this November for the musical programme accompanying the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Meet violist Adélaïde Cadour, horn player Mathilde Lepage, trumpeter Toby Mar and trombonist Ilan Mendel.
The Commonwealth Resounds’ programme includes a World Orchestra, bringing visiting musicians together with members of the Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra. NYO Canada has been preparing young musicians for orchestral careers through training, recording and touring since 1960. Ahead of the visit, we asked the four how they found their instruments and what they hope to share and discover in Antigua and Barbuda.
Adélaïde Cadour, viola
Adélaïde discovered the viola at six and went on to become the only musician in her family. She credits the people around her with supporting her on the way to her NYO Canada audition. Her first summer with the orchestra in 2025 made such an impression that she signed up for the 2026 tour.
My mother made me take some music courses at the age of six where I discovered music and especially the viola, an instrument for which I fell in love. I then continued my journey as the only musician in my family. I was lucky enough to be well surrounded until I managed to audition for the NYO in 2025, which led me to live the best summer of my life and therefore to register again for the 2026 tour.
I am very much looking forward to learning about the music of Antigua and Barbuda and to the cultural exchange of the forum.
I am very much looking forward to learning about the music of Antigua and Barbuda and to the cultural exchange of the forum.
Mathilde Lepage, horn
Mathilde followed a family connection to the music programme at Joseph-François-Perrault high school. After about eight years on the piano, she took up the horn there, and her love of orchestral playing led her to the Conservatory of Montréal. Her teacher introduced her to summer programmes, and several players she admired had already spent summers with NYO Canada. She earned a place in 2024 and returned for the next two summers.
I come from a classical music family: my parents played piano for ten years when they were kids and my dad went to the Joseph-François-Perrault high school, which still has a really strong public music program. I followed the same path and after playing piano for about eight years, I decided to play the horn at that same high school. I really fell in love with the instrument and particularly the orchestral world and decided to continue my studies at the Conservatory of Montréal. My teacher there sent me and my horn friends a bunch of summer programs to look into and that’s where I discovered NYO Canada. Some of the players I looked up to the most during those first years at the Conservatory all went there for a couple of summers and so I got really inspired by them. I auditionned a couple of times before getting selected for the first time in 2024, and I loved it so much that I decided to spent my 2025 and 2026 summers there again.
Toby Mar, trumpet
Toby played piano and viola before choosing the trumpet, with his older brother as his first musical role model. The instrument appealed to him for the range of moods it could convey, and its sound in an orchestra was what drew him most. Teachers introduced him to NYO Canada, where he was drawn to the recordings and faculty. He credits the training and the demands of touring in 2025 and 2026 with helping him grow as an artist.
I began my musical journey on piano at a young age and quickly transitioned to the viola. I was fortunate to have a older brother who remains a passionate musician and who became my earliest musical role model. Inspired by his dedication and love for music, I strived to follow in his footsteps. I eventually chose the trumpet as my primary instrument! I enjoyed the many genres and moods that the trumpet can convey, but the orchestral trumpet sound was the most convicing to me. I first heard of NYO Canada through my private teacher and my high school band directors. I was inspired by NYOC’s online recordings and was drawn to the program for its world-class faculty. I am honored to have participated in NYOC’s 2025 and 2026 programs. The exceptional training I received and the demands of the touring program allowed me to grow as an artist, and the experience remains one of my fondest musical memories.
Ilan Mendel, trombone
Ilan took up the trombone through a public school music programme in Nova Scotia. He first worked with Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser in the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra, and they continued to work together after Ilan moved to Toronto to study. Ilan now combines playing with conducting, having taken up the Resident Conductor post at the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2026/27 season. The Antigua visit offered another chance to work with Daniel, NYO Canada’s Music Director for 2026 and 2027.
I first started in music with piano lessons as a young child, and then playing trombone through the public school program in Nova Scotia, Canada, which is lucky to have strong public music system. While studying piano, I wasn’t very enthusiastic but once I started trombone something clicked and I realized this would be a big part of my life. When I was in the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra, I had my first chance to work with Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, who was one of our guest conductors. I enjoyed working with Daniel so much, and when I moved to Toronto to study at the University of Toronto and The Glenn Gould School at The Royal Conservatory of Music, I had the chance to work with him more. Now I work as the Resident Conductor at the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and remain active as a trombonist. I am looking forward to working with Daniel again and joining the NYO Canada team at CHOGM.
Listening and learning
The invitation took Mathilde by surprise. She was particularly keen to discover more about the musical traditions of Antigua and Barbuda and the history behind them. For Ilan, who had never visited the Caribbean, the trip offered a chance to hear how local musicians and colleagues from across the Commonwealth approach orchestral playing. Both looked forward to the conversations and friendships that could grow out of making music together.
When I first got offered to go to Antigua and Barbuda with NYO Canada, I honestly thought this wasn’t real. I feel so privileged to go to a new country and meet so many different musicians with tons of different musical backgrounds. I think being chosen for this project showed me that I’m someone who loves connecting with people both on the musical and the personal spheres and that the team at NYO really saw it too. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all of us and I’m extremly excited to make the most out of it, both by playing with new colleges from all around the commonwealth, but also by discovering a new country and its history and traditions.
To be completely honest, I discovered just recently that Antigua and Barbuda had such a rich music tradition. I’m extremly excited to discover more about it and learn from the local musicians there. I’m someone who’s always looking forward to learn more about musical traditions and ideas different than mine; I think this can only enrich the musical vision of every musician present there and just knowing more about the history and musical background of the country is for sure going to enrich my own vision of music.
Finding a sound together
Mathilde wanted to share the flexibility she hears in Canadian orchestral playing. Ilan was interested in what happens when musicians compare their ideas about sound and create something none could have made alone. For Adélaïde, whose first language is not English, the promise of collaboration was especially personal: musicians could share an intense feeling and understand it together without exchanging a word.
What it meant to represent Canada
For Toby, representing Canada meant turning up ready to contribute and helping make the performance enjoyable for everyone involved. He was interested in how Canadian and Antiguan musicians might recognise a shared Commonwealth heritage while bringing different approaches to the music. Ilan traced his own openness to growing up in an international family. He saw playing together as a direct way for musicians to build on the links their countries already share.
I am so honoured to have this opportunity to collaborate with my NYOC colleagues and with this international orchestra! I look forward to representing Canada, which, to me, means bringing a spirit of collaboration and a commitment to making the performance an exciting and enjoyable experience. I am also excited to serve the Commonwealth as a whole, offer my artistry, and learn from those around me.
Having grown up in a commonwealth nation, this trip presents an opportunity to personally connect with artists who share that experience. Despite being far from home, Antigua shares this cultural heritage and I am keen to celebrate the diversity and continuity between the ways Canadians and Antiguans make music.
What they hoped would last
Adélaïde hoped young people would leave with good memories and a reason to keep making music for the pleasure of sharing it. She also wanted Commonwealth leaders to recognise the effort behind a performance and what they could do to make music more accessible. Toby hoped the exchange of ideas would give him a fresh approach to his own playing. That was the measure they set for the visit: people they would want to stay in touch with and ideas they could try at their next rehearsal.
Adélaïde Cadour
I hope to be able to live beautiful memories with these young people and the desire to continue making music for the pleasure of sharing
I would like this experience to remind leaders, with all the responsibility they must assume, that the simplicity of music is only possible thanks to the passion and effort of young people and that as a figure of their states, they can make it accessible
I would be happy to know that I had a unique experience and that I would have gotten to know musicians throughout the Commonwealth
Since English is not my mother tongue, a successful musical collaboration would be to experience intense shared emotions without exchanging a single word…
Adélaïde Cadour, viola
When I first got offered to go to Antigua and Barbuda with NYO Canada, I honestly thought this wasn’t real.
Mathilde Lepage, horn
The potential to bring home a renewed approach to music makes this trip such an exciting opportunity.
Toby Mar, trumpet
No matter someone’s background, culture, language, or country, we can all connect over music.
Ilan Mendel, trombone