Renowned Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt and broadcaster, writer, speaker Eric Friesen have curated a series of classical music concerts that will take place in Toronto’s intimate Hugh’s Room Green Sanderson Hall. The next performance will feature prize-winning pianist Carter Johnson on May 13.
Hewitt herself has performed in the venue, and as she explained in a Ludwig-Van interview earlier this year, classical music programming at Hugh’s Room has evolved from a single performance to a series gradually.
Hugh’s Goes Classical was first launched when Board member Barbara Jesson invited Hewitt and Friesen to both perform and curate the first season in 2024.
After Angela performed at Hugh’s Room for the first time in December 2024, she and Eric were inspired by the venues acoustics and atmosphere. The small venue is a change from the usual concert halls she’s accustomed to performing in around the world. That ambience is a big part of its appeal.
As she noted, “It’s like playing in somebody’s living room.”
Here’s a look at their first full season of programming.
Carter Johnson performs during the semifinal round of the Van Cliburn International Competition in 2025:
Carter Johnson became the first Canadian finalist in the Van Cliburn International Competition in 2025. The same year, he was named silver laureate of the Honens International Competition, and was the first prize winner of the Dublin International Competition.
A native of Vancouver Island, Johnson began to play the piano at age five, and took private studies in performance and pedagogy for over 12 years before studying at the University of British Columbia (Bachelor of Music), the Juilliard School (Master of Music), and Yale University (Master of Musical Arts), where he is currently a doctoral post-resident
Carter has performed with orchestras in Canada and internationally, including the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal , the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony, the Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra. He has taken the stage at The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, The Shenzhen Concert Hall, Salle Bougie and the Warsaw National Philharmonic Hall.
Carter is known for his close affinity to the music of J.S. Bach and Robert Schumann, as well as the work of many early 20th century composers such as Paul Hindemith, Dmitri Shostakovich, Francis Poulenc, Charles Ives, Alfred Schnittke, Grazyna Bacewicz and Karol Szymanowski.
Ryan Huang plays Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 16 in G Major, Op 31 No. 1: I. Allegro vivace at the Aarhus International Piano Competiton in 2025:
In 2024, at just 14 years old, Ryan Huang was admitted to the Lang Lang International Music Foundation as a Young Scholar. In September 2025, he performed at Lang Lang’s gala concert with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Previously, he studied at The Taylor Academy of the Glenn Gould School with Dr. Michael Berkovsky, where he won the 2023 The Royal Conservatory of Music The Taylor Academy Concerto Competition.
Ryan has competed in numerous piano competitions, and taken home several prizes, including:
In 2023, Ryan attended Morningside Music Bridge as the youngest piano full scholar at the New England Conservatory.
He has performed with Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra (Russia), Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra (Canada), Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra (China), Vienna Operaball Orchestra (Austria), The Royal Conservatory of Music Orchestra (Canada), Oakville Chamber Orchestra, North York Concert Orchestra, and Burlington New Millennium Orchestra.
Brett Polegato performs Schubert’s Winterreise 1. Gute Nacht with pianist Kathleen van Mourik in January 2026:
Italian-Canadian lyric baritone Brett Polegato routinely performs on some of the most renowned stages in the world, including New York’s Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, the Concertgebouw, the Opéra National de Paris, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, the Teatro Real, Roy Thomson Hall, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and Wigmore Hall. He has worked with noted conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Daniele Gatti, Andris Nelsons, Bernard Haitink, Seiji Ozawa, Jeffrey Tate, Marc Minkowski, and Martyn Brabbins.
Brett is known for dramatic roles, including the title roles in Don Giovanni and Eugene Onegin, which his has sung at the Canadian Opera Company, the New Israeli Opera, Grange Park Opera and Vancouver Opera, and Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca for Grange Park Opera (UK).
Brett was a soloist in the 2003 recording Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony (Telarc) with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Robert Spano, which won the GRAMMY Awards’ Best Classical Recording for that year.
Highlights of his 2025/2026 season include performing as soloist in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Grand Philharmonic Choir and the Kitchener-Waterloo Orchestra, in the Off Centre Music Salon program Life + Death. Genius + Jealousy, and a reprisal of his acclaimed performance as Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca for Pacific Opera Victoria. In March 2026, Brett made his Salle Bourgie recital debut with pianist Stephen Hargreaves.
Pianist Robert Kortgaard was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and grew up in Calgary, Alberta. He completed his Bachelor and Master degrees at the Juilliard School in New York City, followed by additional musical studies in Italy and England.
As an accompanist, Kortgaard has performed with sopranos Isabel Bayrakdarian, Sumi Jo and Measha Brueggergosman, violinist Joshua Bell, and with Peter Tiefenback and prima ballerina Veronica Tennant in a premiere production titled Invitation to the Dance.
Robert has collaborated with mezzo-soprano Jean Stilwell to record French and German Cabaret programs with for CBC Records, and his CD with soprano Wendy Nielson was nominated for both JUNO and East Coast Music Awards. He has toured with artists and ensembles such as
mezzo-soprano Susan Platts and the Elmer Iseler Singers, and both performs and records with cabaret artist and soprano Patricia O’Callaghan.
Cheng2 Duo performs Wijeratne’s Portrait of an Imaginary Sibling at the 2025 Rockport Chamber Music Festival
Cheng2 Duo is siblings Silvie and Bryan Cheng. The Canadian pianist and cellist duo perform classical and contemporary music. Silvie completed her Masters Degree at the Manhattan School of Music, and Bryan Bryan Cheng completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with highest marks at the Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK Berlin). He is currently studying in Berlin’s Professional Studies program at the Kronberg Academy.
The brother and sister were born and raised in Ottawa. When Bryan was just 10 years old, the duo competed at Rising Stars, a regional showcase where students vie for scholarships. They made their duo stage debut at Ottawa’s Chamberfest in 2013.
Cheng2 Duo has won major international competitions, and received a JUNO nomination in 2024 in the category Classical Album of the Year; Small Ensemble. Cheng2 Duo performs regularly at major concert halls throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
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