The Trio

Trio Exchange has quickly established itself at the forefront of Manitoba's finest chamber music groups. The combined forces of Micah Heilbrunn (clarinet) and Elation Pauls (violin), both principal players of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and Madeline Hildebrand, local champion of Phillip Glass' Piano Etudes, creates a sonic experience that has gathered a dedicated following.

The trio has been bringing classic repertoire by Khachaturian and Stravinsky alongside klezmer and tango influenced genres to audiences since making their debut in June of 2016 on the Millennium Concert Series in the heart of Winnipeg's downtown Exchange District. This initial appearance was followed by a successful concert on the Skywalk series, another downtown venue. Always including solo and duo repertoire in the mix, 2017 marked a return to the Millennium Concert Series as well as a debut on Brandon University's Pro concert series. In 2018 they performed on Winnipeg’s Music N’ Mavens series at the Rady Jewish Community Center and were part of the Manitoba Museum for Human Rights International Holocaust Remembrance Day Program at the University of Winnipeg's Eckhardt Gramatté hall on January 27th 2019.

True to the origin of the term “chamber music”, Trio Exchange has also enjoyed performing sold out shows within the more intimate house concert setting, for such audiences as the Women's Musical Club of Winnipeg, with consistent standing ovations. Trio Exchange delivers an experience of discovery, finely crafting programs to highlight distinctive skill and artistry.

Micah Heilbrunn, Clarinet

Born in London, Ontario, Micah Heilbrunn is currently Principal Clarinet of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, and his principal teachers include Jerome Summers, Deborah Chodacki, Robert Crowley and Joquin Valdepeñas.

​Micah has served as Principal Clarinet with Symphony Nova Scotia and has been on the clarinet faculty of Brandon University, the University of Windsor, and at the University of Manitoba. He has been a featured artist at the Aspen Music Festival, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Agassiz music festival, the Las Vegas Music Festival, the Winnipeg New Music Festival, and the Scotia Festival of Music, and has been heard in broadcasts both on the CBC and National Public Radio.

Micah has been an active orchestral and chamber musician, and has appeared playing principal clarinet as a guest with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company and the National Arts Center Orchestra. Micah has also been a member of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Brave New Works ensemble, and has performed in Toronto New Music concerts and Winnipeg's Groundswell.

Madeline Hildebrand, Piano

Acclaimed Canadian pianist Jon Kimura Parker describes Madeline Hildebrand as “an extraordinary young artist whose communicative skills convey the essence of all that she plays. Her pianism is of the highest level, and she has an instinctive understanding of beautiful sound.”
Madeline began her serious piano studies with Judith Kehler Siebert at the University of Manitoba, and graduated with a Masters of Piano Performance from the University of British Columbia following her studies with distinguished pianist, Jane Coop.

Her piano career has taken her coast to coast in Canada and the U.S.A, to Italy, and to Romania upon invitation of the European Cultural Arts Festival. Recent concert highlights include a solo performance of Philip Glass’s music along with Glass himself, featured composer with the WSO’s celebrated New Music Festival 2018, a concerto performance with the Thunder Bay Orchestra, a cross-Canada tour with soprano Sarah Kirsch, and a premier of Pat Carrabre’s piano quintet 100,000 Lakes​ at the Agassiz Chamber Music Festival. She has appeared numerous times in the WSO Soundbytes series.

​Madeline plays regularly with Manitoba’s foremost classical players in established series such as the Virtuosi Concerts, the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg, Agassiz Chamber Music Festival, the Millennium Centre’s summer chamber concerts, and with the Brandon Chamber Players, to name a few. She was awarded first prize for her solo performance with the WSO in the Women’s Musical Club’s McLellan Competition (2012), and a silver standing in Canada’s prestigious Eckhardt Gramatté National Competition 2013. She is the pianist in Manitoba’s newly formed Trio Exchange.
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In demand as a teacher and clinician, Maddy maintains a large studio of vibrant, enthusiastic piano students and is a regular faculty member at the Rosamunde Summer Music Academy and Festival in Winnipeg. She serves on the board of Virtuosi Concerts where she spearheads their Young Artists Program, and as an adjudicator she has appeared at numerous festivals throughout Manitoba. Upcoming engagements can be found on her website calendar.

Elation Pauls, Violin

Elation Pauls is Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the Rosamunde Summer Music Academy and Festival, and has served as Assistant Principal Second Violin with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra since 2009. She is in constant demand for her lush sound and expressive solo and chamber music performances, is violinist with Trio Exchange (clarinetist Micah Heilbrunn, pianist Madeline Hildebrand) and has enjoyed recent collaborations with Andrew Wan, Martin Beaver, David Harding, Ariel Barnes, Paul Marleyn and Martin Roscoe. January of 2018 included a self-directed residency in Israel with support from the Manitoba and Winnipeg Arts Councils. February of 2019 brought Ms. Pauls back to her home province for concerts and master classes with the Rosamunde Festival Players at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina's Conservatory of Performing Arts.
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Following studies with the great Hungarian pedagogue Lorand Fenyves at the University of Toronto, Ms. Pauls obtained the highly sought-after Solo Performance (Konzertexamen) degree from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Rostock, Germany, where she studied with Petru Munteanu. As well as playing in the Kammerphilharmonie Berlin-Brandenburg and the Hamburger Symphoniker while under the direction of Andrey Boreyko and Jeffrey Tate, she has performed as soloist with the Neinstedt Chamber Players (Germany), Rosamunde Festival Strings, Banff Festival Chamber Orchestra, and the Mooredale Concerto Players in Toronto. As a chamber musician, performances in this capacity have taken her from Toronto to Berlin, as well as the Schleswig-Holstein, Banff, Domaine Forget, and Kent/Blossom music festivals. She has performed in many of the major concert halls of North America and Europe, including Carnegie Hall (NY), Jordan Hall (Boston), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Leiszhalle (Hamburg) and at the Philharmonie (Berlin), and is looking forward to the WSO's tour to Holland and Belgium in May of 2020.