Bruce Vogt, piano Concerts Café Classico SeriesSunday, November 29, 2026 – 2:30pm
July 15, 2026
Concerts Café Classico Series Opener
LCMS Celli Reunion
With LCMS Faculty members Joel Stobbe, Nico Stephenson, Surim Cha and Yu Yu Liu
Back by popular demand, LCMS cello faculty reunite for a rich celebration of the cello. Joel Stobbe, Nico Stephenson, Surim Cha and Yu Yu Liu will showcase the instrument’s warmth, depth, and versatility with a program ranging from lyrical elegance to dazzling virtuosity. Soaring in harmony and spirited dialogue, the cellists promise an unforgettable feast of sound.
The concert will open with an informal conversation between LCMS’ Artistic Director Elizabeth Bergmann and the artists, followed by complimentary coffee, tea and refreshments before the performance. The performance will take place in the Rose Gellert Hall and will last approximately 60 minutes, with no intermission.
Commentary & Coffee – 2:30pm, Concert – 3:15pm
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Concerts Café Classico Series
Single Tickets: Adult $29 / Senior $27 / Student $10
Flex Pass (4 concerts of your choice): Adult $104 | Senior $97
Season Subscription (6 concerts): Adult $148 | Senior $138 | Student $59
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To place an order, or if you have any questions, please call the Box Office at 604-534-2848. You can also purchase online at Eventbrite.
About Joel Stobbe, cello
Born and raised in Prince George, BC, Joel Stobbe was active in the local music scene with music festivals and orchestras. Since then, he has received his Artistic Diploma of Music Performance from the Augsburg Conservatory of Music in Germany, regularly performing as soloist and with chamber groups in Germany, France and Italy. Upon his return to Canada, Joel was a founding member of the Borealis String Quartet (2000-2005). He toured with the quartet, giving performances throughout Canada and the United States, with frequent broadcasts on radio and television. In addition to regular quartet activities, Joel enjoyed giving educational concerts and masterclasses together with the quartet to young people from Dawson City to New York City.
Joel was the Principal Cellist of the Vancouver Island Symphony from 2006-2014, and artistic director of its Noteworthy Kids program from 2012-2014. During this time he continued to be active as both a soloist and chamber musician in regular recitals and concerts. Joel is currently a cello teacher at the Langley Community Music School where he holds a substantial class of private cello students and serves as coordinator for LCMS’s advanced progams. In 2014, Joel expanded his career to conduct the Surrey Youth Orchestra and to serve as its Artistic Director. In addition to his busy teaching, administrative and conducting schedule, Joel enjoys regular adjudicating, teaching masterclasses and summer chamber music programs. He lives in Langley, BC, with his wife and young son, to whom he hopes to pass down his life-long hobby of classic automotive restoration.
About Nico Stephenson, cello
Nico Stephenson is a cellist and teacher from Vancouver BC, Since graduating from the University of Montreal in 2014 where he was a student of Johanne Perron, Nico has devoted himself to fostering high-quality music education in the lower mainland. In addition to his work with LCMS, he is also on the faculty of the Langley Fine Arts School as an orchestras and chamber music teacher, and the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra as a string assistant. He spends his summers teaching cello at the Yukon Summer Music Camp in Whitehorse.
Nico has performed in masterclasses at the Banff Centre, the Domaine Forget festival, the National Youth Orchestra, and the MusicAlp festival for such teachers as Emmanuelle Bertrand, Hans Jorgen Jensen, Stefan Kropfitsch, and Ronald Leonard. His performance highlights include concerts at some of Canada’s most prestigious halls.
In his free time, Nico enjoys hiking, climbing, skiing and camping around BC.
About Surim Cha, cello
Surim Cha is a highly accomplished cellist, instructor, and conductor. Surim received her Bachelor of Performance degree and a minor in piano performance from the Akademie fur Tonkunst in Germany, where she studied with Professor Peter Wolf and Carina Stangorra. She then went on to earn her Master of Performance degree from the Hochschule fur Musik Nurnberg, Germany, where she studied with Professor Jakob Spahn and Professor Alexander Ruder.
Since then, Surim has performed in many prestigious concert halls in Germany and Italy, such as the Meistersingerhalle, Heilig-Geist-Saal, Kurhaus Wiesbaden, Frankfurt Cathedral and Teatro Curci. Surim has also participated in many international music competitions and masterclasses, winning awards such as the Franz-Hoffman Award in the Mozart Kammermusik Competition and the Second Place Award in the Citta di Barletta International Competition.
As a teacher and conductor, Surim values the importance of developing a strong relationship with each of her students and strives to create an encouraging and fun learning environment. She recognizes that every student is unique and aims to tailor her teaching approach to each student’s individual needs and learning styles. She believes that music is an ever-evolving art form and that it is important to keep up with the latest trends and developments. Whether a student is a beginner or an advanced musician, her goal is to help them reach their full potential and achieve their musical aspirations.
In addition to her teaching, Surim is also the conductor of the Coquitlam Youth Orchestra, where she continues to inspire and mentor young musicians, fostering both their technical abilities and artistic expression.
About Yu Yu Liu, cello
Taiwanese cellist Yu Yu Liu is an avid musician based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She joined the cello section of the Vancouver Opera in 2025. In the 2024–2025 season, she served as a member of the cello section with the Victoria Symphony. Prior to this appointment, she held the Principal Cello position with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra and a Section Cello position with the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra.
An active chamber musician, Ms. Liu has collaborated with ensembles such as Vetta Chamber Music, Vancouver Cantata Singers, and Allegra Chamber Orchestra. In addition to her performance career, she is a dedicated educator, and has presented masterclasses at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and served as an adjudicator for the Vancouver Academy of Music in 2022 and 2024. Ms. Liu has also coached chamber music for the Surrey Youth Orchestra and the Orchestra North Summer Program.
Ms. Liu performs regularly with leading Canadian ensembles, including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Island Symphony, and Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra.
She holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied under Astrid Schween and Fred Sherry. She also earned a Master’s degree in Orchestral Performance from the Manhattan School of Music under the mentorship of Qiang Tu. During her studies, Ms. Liu performed under esteemed conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Semyon Bychkov, Marin Alsop, and Alan Gilbert in prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, and Alice Tully Hall.
Ms. Liu has premiered and recorded numerous contemporary works, including the New York premiere of Yoshirō Irino’s Three Pieces for Cello Solo (1969), the world premiere of Saad Haddad’s Thulathi, and a featured performance in actress-director Fala Chen’s award-winning short film Passenger.
While based in New York City, Ms. Liu was deeply engaged with the local music community. She served as Principal Cello of Ensemble 212 from 2016 to 2022 and performed regularly with Bare Opera, Riverside Choral Society, the New York Concerti Sinfonietta, and Opera Italiana Orchestra, among others. Her festival appearances include the Composers Conference: Contemporary Performance Institute, Interlochen Arts Camp, Music@Menlo, and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan.
