(pronounced "nat vee-YET fee" - in certain Anglophone circles)

Nhat-Viet Phi began making his nationwide mark in music early in life, beginning piano lessons at age six at the Notre dame d'Acadie music school in Moncton. Under the careful guidance of Sisters Bernadette LeBlanc and later Claudette Melanson, he began to win awards and critical acclaim at local, provincial and national competitive events. Most notably, he won first prize in the Open Category at the National Competitive Festival of Music at age 11, and also made his debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at age 13 by winning his category in the Concours OSM. Since then he has performed in solo with Symphony Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the PEI Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the JISA Summer School Orchestra and also the University of Calgary Camerata Strings.

Mr. Phi began post-secondary studies at the University of British Columbia under Singaporan master Lee Kum-Sing. He continued his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at the University of Calgary, where he enjoyed the detailed insights and care of Marilyn Engle. It was in Calgary that Mr. Phi began establishing his nationwide reputation for collaborative artistry, improving on his chamber music experiences with this brothers in the Phi Trio and with his wife, flutist Angela Mosher Phi. In addition to accompanying for the renowned Mount Royal College Conservatory and teaching independently, he has made major appearances on four choral music CD's, country and pop demo recordings, as well as independent movie and computer game soundtracks on Kurzweil synthesizer.

Other teachers with whom Mr. Phi has studied include Dang Thai Son, Boris Lysenko, Irina Kugucheva, Jane Allen, Claude Frank, Eugene List and Gwen Beamish. Star performers with whom Mr. Phi has collaborated include violinists David Stewart and CPO concertmaster Cenek Vrba, cellist Paul Marleyn and baritone Kevin MacMillan.

"Toto," as he is known by his friends, keeps busy with his family of three young children, along with his new appointment as accompanist for the Music Department at the Université de Moncton. He takes over important duties supporting the students of Lisa Roy, Isabelle Fournier, Karin Aurell, Richard Simoneau, Bob Lewis and others. In the process, he leaves his music directorship at the organ of Emmanuel (Anglican) Church in Spryfield, and bids a fond good-bye to his colleagues at both the Canadian Conservatory of Music and the Maritime Conservatory for the Performing Arts. Mr. Phi is becoming well-known as an adjudicator, with a reputation for entertaining and informative commentaries at music festivals, in both French and English.

Previous positions held in Moncton include: St. George's Anglican Church, where he directed music for three years from a fine, two-manual Casavant pipe organ; the Chocolate River Conservatory of Music, in Dieppe, New Brunswick,.where Toto taught piano and accompanied voice/choir for nearly two years;.the Hillsborough Girls Choir under Dr. Ruth Schiller, for whom Mr. Phi performed various accompaniment and pedagogical roles; and finally, Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada, who engaged Toto as warmup pianist for various sessions between 2006-07.

Toto enjoys experimenting with new digital keyboard technology, and is working to perform progressive rock music in a quartet/quintet band setting, covering material by such groups as Liquid Tension Experiment and Derek Sherinian. His other hobbies include gastronomy (not gastrostomy!), audio gadgetry, blogging, flight simulation and computer technology in general. For more information on Toto's interests, log in or register at Facebook.com.

INTERESTING FACT: During the Vietnamese colonization by France, "Toto" was reportedly a common name for pets. Connection? Toto was born in the Year of the Dog.

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Originally from Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia, Angela Mosher Phi began lessons with Sandra Britten. She participated in Kiwanis and Scotia Festivals of Music, as well as in both the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Youth Orchestras. After secondary school she studied with Professor Belinda Code while undertaking a Bachelor of Music at Mount Allison University. Summer studies included the renowned Orford camp under Robert Cram.

After advancing to the final rounds in the 1995 National Competitive Festival of Music (where she met her accompanist and future husband), Angela began post-graduate studies at McGill University with Carolyn Christie, then completed a Master of Music at the University of Calgary under CPO principal flutist Philippa Fitzgerald-Finch. During this program she also played with the U of C Wind Ensemble, in the Full Fathom Five wind quintet, and as a chamber musician with the hubby.

Since returning to her native Maritime provinces, Angela has taught at the Dartmouth Summer Flute Camp and Dartmouth Beginner Band Camp, as well as at the Acadia Summer Band Camp. She enjoys teaching private students and playing flute in church. As a busy mother, she enjoys joining her three boys in reading children's books, humming tunes from Disney movies and playing with 'unleaded' Thomas the Tank Engine train sets.

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Chi-Minh Phi represented New Brunswick in strings at the National Festival, first in 1989 in Toronto, then in 1992 in Charlottetown, P.E.I. In 1996, he performed solo in Tchaikovsky's violin concerto under Georg Tintner at Dalhousie University. He has toured Japan and Europe as a two-year member of the National Youth Orchestra. Earlier, Chi-Minh earned the Star title at the provincial Festival of Music in 1989 in Fredericton. Current activities: practicing pediatrics in Montreal and playing occasionally in the I Medici orchestra.

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Lac-Hong Phi won a Junior Star Award at the Saint John Festival, and together with older brothers Nhat-Viet and Chi-Minh (effectively forming the Viet-Minh-Hong Trio), won a prize for best chamber music ensemble at the NB Festival in Saint John. Also with the VMH Trio, Lac-Hong gave the world premiere of Richard Gibson's Trio for Piano and Strings in 1997. He has soloed in concerto appearances with Orchestra London and Symphony New Brunswick under Nurhan Arman, and was a recording artist for EMI as cellist of the UK group The Planets (2001-2003). Furthermore, Lac-Hong holds an MMus degree from UWO and an advanced degree from the Royal College of Music. Current activity: teaching and playing with Orchestra London, in London, Ontario.

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Tan-Trao Phi represented New Brunswick at the 1997 National Festival in Saskatoon and won the second prize in piano. He has toured Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in solo concerto appearances under the directions of Georg Tintner and Nurhan Arman. Also, he performed the world premiere of Kevork Andonian's Concerto in 1999 with Symphony New Brunswick.Current activity: teaching piano and pursuing a Doctorate in piano performance in Montreal.

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