Carole Bestvater, Director & Founder

Carole Bestvater founded the Strong Harbour Strings program after spending a long time thinking about and experiencing how music and community are connected.  After completing undergraduate studies at Brandon University in music, Carole moved to Providence, RI to participate in a unique Fellowship at Community Music Works.  CMW is an after school program hailed for its innovative approaches to music education and performance, and being part of the Fellowship inevitably steered Carole to initiate a project based on similar values and philosophies about music, education, and social change.

When Carole moved to St. John’s in 2011 to pursue graduate studies at Memorial University, the idea to start a community music program was already starting to develop.  As was always her vision, Carole created the Strong Harbour Strings Program, a program modeled closely after CMW.  Strong Harbour Strings is a mentoring artist program based in the belief that communities in need can be strengthened through the learning and sharing of music. Strong Harbour Strings endeavors to create equal access to music enrichment for children and youth, providing experiences that will inspire and impact the lives of everyone involved.

Maria Cherwick, Violin/Viola

Music has taken Maria Cherwick from coast to coast and around the world as a performer of both classical and folk music. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Brandon University, and is currently pursuing her Masters of Music at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She has performed with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, and is a member of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra.

Daniel Fuchs, Violinist

Daniel Fuchs, Montreal-born violin performer and teacher, recently moved to St. John’s in order to pursue his Master’s degree at Memorial University. Since the completion of his undergraduate degree at McGill’s Schulich School of Music, Daniel has performed in numerous professional ensembles including the Sherbrooke Symphony Orchestra, and currently performs regularly with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. Throughout his undergraduate studies, Daniel held numerous leadership roles and was appointed concertmaster of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, McGill Sinfonietta and Montreal Youth Orchestra. An avid chamber music player, Daniel has participated in several chamber music festivals such as the Toronto Summer Music Program and the Tuckamore Young Artist Program, during which he performed frequently, sharing the stage with notable musicians such as Mark Fewer and Jonathan Crow. Outside of classical music, Daniel is a member of ensemble Siach Hasadeh that arranges and performs traditional Jewish music from Eastern Europe. Daniel joined the team at Strong Harbour Strings in Fall 2016 where he enjoys sharing his passion for music through teaching.

Amy Collyer-Holmes, Cellist

Amy Collyer-Holmes, a cellist originally from Toronto, has made Newfoundland her home since 2016. A Tuckamore Young Artist Program alumna, she performs regularly with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and Opera on the Avalon. Amy received her Bachelor of Music from Queen’s University studying with Wolf Tormann, and completed her Master of Music in Cello Performance
& Pedagogy at Memorial University under the direction of Vernon Regehr. In her time at Queen’s, Amy acted as Musical Director for Queen’s Players, Blue Canoe Productions, and Queen’s Musical Theatre. During her studies at Memorial, she joined Dr. Christine Carter’s work in performance psychology research, and completed the review of a provincial syllabus for music festivals in Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition to performing and teaching in St. John’s, Amy works as an arts administrator and can be found enjoying the outdoors with her dog Bonnie.