Ben Bolt-Martin is pleased and excited to join London Youth Symphony this evening principal conductor. Ben is past conductor of the Waterloo Chamber Players, Mississauga Youth Orchestra, Stratford Perth Youth Orchestra and Georgian Bay Symphony Youth Orchestra.

As a cellist, Ben Bolt-Martin has performed 20 seasons with the Stratford Festival of Canada, performing live and recording incidental music. He is a founding member of INNERchamber, an inventive and intimate chamber music series in Stratford. Ben has also featured as a soloist across Canada with a special interest in new music reflecting humanity's search for meaning. Ben was the featured performer on the Juno nominated recording Notes Towards.

As an arranger, Ben's projects have twice been nominated for Canadian Folk Music Awards and are regularly performed in orchestras across Canada.

Ben teaches chamber music at University of Waterloo.

Patricia Wrigglesworth, soprano, originally hails from Markham, Ontario. Recent highlights include performing Countess Liza in Kalman’s Countess Maritza (Toronto Operetta Theatre), Romilda in Handel’s Xerse (Summer Opera Lyric Theatre), Miss Wordsworth in Britten’s Albert Herring (Western University Opera), and serving as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Vespers. As the winner of the 2024 London, Ontario Kiwanis Rose Bowl, she is thrilled to be returning to London as a guest soloist with the London Youth Symphony and the London Symphonia in 2025. Patricia is pursuing a master’s degree in Opera and Voice at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, studying with Dr. Tracy Smith Bessette. This spring, she will portray Rosmene in Opera McGill’s production of Handel’s Imeneo.

Kiko Oya began playing the violin at the age of 7 through the Suzuki Method in Japan. She is currently a Grade 8 student at University Heights Public School, where she balances her academic and musical pursuits.

Since moving to London in 2022, Kiko has studied under Jillian Yang, and in 2024, she began lessons with Professor Annette-Barbara Vogel.

Kiko is the recipient of the Magisterra Young Soloist Award, recognized as a soloist in 2023. She performed Corelli La Folia for solo violin with the Magisterra Soloists during their annual Christmas Baroque Concert. In 2024, she was also honored as a member of a chamber quartet and performed the first movement of Vivaldi Concerto for Four Violins at the following year’s concert.

Her achievements include multiple first- and second-place awards at the Kiwanis Music Festival, second-place finishes at the provincial level for the Ontario Music Festival Association, and first-place wins at both the Outstanding Young Musicians International Music Festival and the Elite International Music Competition.

In 2024, Kiko joined the London Youth Symphony, further enriching her musical journey.

Kiko is the 2024-25 winner of the LYS Concerto Competition, closed class