The Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society (KWCMS) will present the grand finale of their Complete Beethoven Violin-Piano Sonata Cycle on January 11, 2026. The concert, the last in a cycle of three, will be performed by Canadian musicians Corey Gemmell (violin) and Benjamin Smith (piano) at First United Church in Waterloo.
The series was launched in November 2025 with the goal of presenting all ten of Beethoven’s violin-piano sonatas. The works represent music that encompass Beethoven’s entire career as a composer, showcasing his evolution and development of the form.
The third and last concert in the series will begin with Sonatas 6 and 10, and end with the iconic No. 9, the Kreutzer Sonata, also known as the Kreutzer-Bridgetower Sonata.
The Artists
Gemmell and Smith have performed together as a duo with a shared passion for Beethoven’s music. Here’s a glimpse of their performance of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 7 in C Minor:
Corey Gemmell, violin
Corey Lyle Gemmell is a native of Hamilton, and he began his study of the violin with a local private teachers. He performed with the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (HPYO) as concertmaster under the baton of Glenn Mallory. Corey continued his music studies at the University of Toronto.
From his current home base in Markham, he has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout North America, in Germany, and in China. He is the concertmaster for the Burlington Symphony Orchestra, Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Toronto, Esprit Orchestra, and Sinfonia Ancaster. Corey has previously served as concertmaster of the Scarborough Philharmonic, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Brott Music Festival/National Academy Orchestra, the Elora Festival Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Orchestra, the Ontario Philharmonic, and the Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra.
Corey often performs in Toronto’s musical theatre scene, and has been concertmaster in productions of Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, the Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton, the Hugh Jackman Show, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, among others.
As a chamber musician, he has performed as a member of Ensemble Vivant, the Elgin String Quartet, and the National Piano Trio, and is a frequent guest artist with New Music Concerts.
In addition to his performing career, Corey is a passionate educator, currently a member of the faculty for the National Music Camp of Canada as well as a member of the Royal College of Examiners.
He is also a recording artist, and his contributions can be heard on a 2023 release with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as three albums with Ensemble Vivant, among others.
Corey performs on a violin made in Milan in 1907 by Cipriano Briani, and a violin made for him in 2005 by renowned Toronto luthier, Hratch Armenious, as well as bows by Lamy, Martin and Voirin.
Benjamin Smith, piano
Benjamin Smith is based in Toronto. He studied music at the University of Toronto, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree, followed by an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School, a Masters from Juilliard, and a DMA from Stony Brook University.
As soloist, Benjamin has performed under conductors Rossen Milanov, Marco Parisotto, and Yunior Lopez, and made guest appearance with the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, the New Juilliard Ensemble, the Las Vegas Young Artists Orchestra, the Ontario Philharmonic, Orchestra London, the Burlington Symphony, the Windsor Symphony, and the University of Toronto’s Hart House Orchestra. In the US, he’s performed recitals for the Texas Chopin Society and Chicago’s Landowska Harpsichord Society. In recent seasons, he has appeared twice at Carnegie Hall, including as a soloist performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue with the Hart House Orchestra, and a prior performance in recital with Canadian cellist Dongkyun An.
Benjamin is also a recording artist, and his contributions can be heard on a 2016 release with Dongkyun An of music by Saint-Saens, Schumann, and Beethoven, and on the 2107 release Aboriginal Inspirations, along with several recordings for the 2022 Royal Conservatory Celebration piano series. In 2025, Benjamin’s work can be heard on two album releases under the Orchid Classics label, one with cellist Daniel Hamin Go and the other with oboist Ari Cohen Mann.
As a chamber musician, Benjamin has partnered with a number of artists in recital, including Martin Beaver, Timothy Chooi, Colin Carr, Narek Hakhnazaryan, Jacques Israelievitch, Jinjoo Cho, Stanislav Pronin, Gábor Tarkövi, Øystein Baadsvik, and William VerMeulen, as well as with ensembles such as the Penderecki, Cecilia, Annex, and Tokai string quartets. He also performs regularly with Esprit Orchestra.
As an educator, he is an active adjudicator and juror for festivals and competitions, including the CFMTA National Festival, and recently for the OPUS competition in the US. He is currently a faculty member at The Glenn Gould School and The Taylor Academy with specialties in chamber music and performance studies.
Concert Details
The concert takes place January 11 at the First United Church in Waterloo.
- Find tickets and other details [HERE].
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