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Ambrosia Chamber Ensembles are the result of a new initiative in the autumn of 2023 involving chamber music enthusiasts in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. We are professional, semi-professional, and skilled amateur musicians who play chamber music together in various combinations for our own enjoyment and well-being and to share it with others. We rehearse on Thursday evenings throughout the year and also on some Tuesday evenings during the summer. Some of our groups have consistent members working toward future performances, and others with varied members meet on an ad hoc basis to read through some of the great repertoire. Which group plays at each rehearsal depends on who is available then. Our ensembles include string quartets (standard, and two cellos), clarinet quartet, piano quartet, clarinet quintet (string quartet and clarinet), piano quintet (string quartet and piano), string quintet with two violas, string quintet with two cellos, string sextet, and occasional trios.

In classical mythology, ambrosia is the food of the Greek and Roman gods, thought to confer immortality. As life on Earth becomes increasingly sobering with escalating threats to the continued existence of humanity including wars, climate change, extinction of numerous species, and artificial intelligence, alongside widespread diminishing ability to read, think, and value science and truth, we look to the beauty of music as a source of replenishment and nourishment to uplift ourselves and others. Our musicians value the art of playing chamber music enough to make time for it in our lives and occasionally share it with others. Just as ambrosia confers life-enhancing benefits on those who partake of it, playing and listening to music confers life-enhancing benefits on those who partake in it.

We are: Yiyang Shi, violin/viola (tenor); Carmen Miron, violin/viola; Caleb Olesen, viola (bass); Mary Steele, cello (soprano/alto); Michelle Kyle, cello/piano (soprano/alto); and Ginny Scarfino, clarinet. Musicians who have played with us include Jackie Wall, violin, Pawel Pomorski, violin, and Cesar Carreno, viola.