Two New Pianists Invited to COC's Ensemble Studio

The Canadian Opera Company welcomes Elisabeta Cojocaru and Kimly Mengyin Wang to the company’s Ensemble Studio as pianist coaches for the 2025/2026 season.

Cojocaru is currently a pianist with McGill-Université de Montréal Vocal Arts Residency who has recently participated in festivals across North America and Europe including l’Académie vocale internationale de Lachine in Montréal, SongFest in Nashville, Opera Nuova in Edmonton, and Exzellenz Labor Oper in Germany. Wang’s extensive career spans solo recitals, chamber music, and opera performances across North America, Europe, and China; recently she served as a vocal coach at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and as a répétiteur for opera productions at the Boston University Opera Institute.

“We are delighted to have Elisabeta and Kimly joining our program,” says Dorian Cox, Director of the Ensemble Studio. “Our pianist coaches serve a vital role, not only in day-to-day sessions with our Ensemble Studio training staff, but also throughout preparations for mainstage and concert performances at the COC. With such a breadth of experience behind them, our graduate pianists have gone on to hold music staff and repetiteur positions across North America and in Europe. I look forward to working with Elisabeta and Kimly and seeing their continued development!”

Ensemble Studio pianists receive the same blend of intensive coaching and practical experience provided to vocalists in the program and take a leading role alongside the company’s music staff in coaching artists in the rehearsal room for performances on the COC mainstage. They, too, are given one-on-one time with acclaimed visiting artists and work directly with the COC’s executive and artistic leadership through every stage of their creative development.

Cojocaru and Wang join five recently announced singers who also begin their tenure in the season ahead—Ariana Maubach, Angelo Moretti, Nicholas Murphy, Emma Pennell, and Ben Wallace—alongside two returning Ensemble studio artists, Emily Rocha and Duncan Stenhouse. Final auditions for the critical role within the program were recently completed in Toronto with offers being sent and accepted this past week.

National auditions for the 2026/2027 Ensemble Studio will be announced in the spring, with the next COC Ensemble Studio Competition scheduled for October 23, 2025.

For more information on the Ensemble Studio and its artists, please visit coc.ca/Ensemble

Romanian-Canadian pianist Elisabeta Cojocaru is deeply committed to sharing her love for music as a collaborative pianist, soloist, and educator. An alumna of Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Ottawa, she is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Université de Montréal (UdeM). Cojocaru’s research takes a personal twist, delving into the performance practice of Romanian Art Song, reflecting her dedication to interpreting and preserving her cultural heritage. During her studies, she participated in summer festivals such as the Franz Schubert Institute in Austria, l’Académie vocale internationale de Lachine in Montréal, SongFest in Nashville, Opera Nuova in Edmonton, and Exzellenz Labor Oper in Germany. In Montreal, Cojocaru served as a collaborative pianist for the premiere of Sortilegio and productions with Opera McGill.

Kimly Mengyin Wang is an accomplished pianist with a Doctor of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano from Boston University. Born in China and educated in Germany, Canada, and the United States, she holds a Graduate Diploma in Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, a master’s degree in collaborative piano, and a bachelor’s degree in solo piano performance from the University of Western Ontario. Her career spans solo recitals, chamber music, and opera performances across North America, Europe, and China. She has extensive experience in vocal coaching and operatic work and has served as a vocal coach at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and as a répétiteur for opera productions at the Boston University Opera Institute. Beyond performance, Mengyin Wang is a passionate arts administrator, serving as the Artistic Director of the International School of Art Canada and as a board member of the Chinese Artists Society of Toronto.

Season Sponsor: BMO Financial Group

The COC Ensemble Studio is Underwritten By: Arrell Family Foundation, The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, with major support from Marjorie Linden in memory of Roy Linden, Patrick and Barbara Keenan Foundation, The MacNeill Family Foundation, Brian Wilks, Wendy J. Thompson, The Azrieli Foundation, RBC Foundation, and Stingray with additional support from ARIAS: Canadian Opera Student Development Fund, Marcia Lewis Brown, Neil & Blanche Carragher, Catherine Fauquier, Dr. Eudice Goldberg, Joy Levine, Patricia & Frank Mills, and the Government of Canada.