Music brought us together more than thirty years ago and we are fortunate to have shared so much time playing together – as a duo, in Avery Ensemble for 20 years, and now as members of Cuatro Puntos Ensemble (videos here). We are also grateful for all the wonderful teachers, colleagues and students we have learned from along the way.

Steve Larson & Annie Trépanier – Winsted, Connecticut

For many years now we have made our home in beautiful Northwest Connecticut, though neither of us is originally from the United States. We grew up in different parts of Canada – Annie in Montreal, Quebec and Steve in Regina, Saskatchewan. While none of our parents were professional musicians we were fortunate that they valued musical education and enrolled us with wonderful violin teachers. More information about our teachers and about violin or viola lessons can be found on our Teaching page. Find our performing bios for inlcusion in concert programs here.

We first met in the summers of 1985 and 1987 at the National Youth Orchestra of Canada in Kingston, Ontario (truly life-changing experiences) and then spent the next four years studying together at McGill University, where we again benefited from dedicated teachers as well as the inspiration of our peers and the rich cultural life of Montreal.

Royal Victoria College at McGill – Later the Music Building
…photo taken perhaps a bit (!) before we studied there

Towards the end of our time at McGill, Steve took up the viola and, after graduation and a short tenure as Principal Viola of Les Jeunes Virtuoses de Montréal, moved two hours north of Quebec City to join the Alcan String Quartet (later renamed the Saguenay Quartet in honor of the city’s support). After three exciting years of performances with the quartet (including regular national radio broadcasts and several CD recordings), he returned to Montreal to pursue a Masters degree at the Université de Montréal during which time he also had the opportunity to perform with incredibly inspiring ensembles such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, l’Ensemble contemporain de Montréal, Les Violons du Roi, Musica Camerata Montréal, and the National Arts Center Orchestra.

Meanwhile, Annie finished her undergraduate studies at McGill (with a year abroad at the University of Houston), and started a Masters degree at the University of Ottawa. She also partipated in intensive solo and chamber music studies at the Encore School for Strings, the Orford Festival, and the Domaine Forget International Festival.

Around this time Steve and two old friends, violinist Emlyn Ngai and cellist Mark Fraser, formed the Adaskin String Trio, and two years later had the opportunity to do graduate work as an ensemble with the world renowned Emerson String Quartet at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford (where Steve now teaches…more about that later).

Annie also decided to do further graduate work and was accepted into Hartt’s prestigious Artist Diploma program as a member of the Performance 2020 ensemble.