High Notes

A quick interview with Dan Hill

A quick interview with Dan Hill

Legendary Grammy-awarded Singer/Songwriter Dan Hill has participated and supported us with his appearance several times. First time was in 2017, last in 2024. Here is a brief interview we did with him just before his apearance at THESE ARE THEIR STORIES at the Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts on April 4th at 7:30 pm. We […]

Luba Goy

BY Ingrid Taheri NOTE: this piece was written before ‘The queen of comedy’  Luba Goy appeared at THESE ARE THEIR STORIES with cellist Erika Nielsen and singer/songwriter Dan Hill on April 4m 2019. “I have never experienced anything else like them,” she says about High Notes Avante’s events. “They bring the community—not only in Richmond […]

Lloyd Robertson

Our Founder, Ingrid Taheri, still remembers meeting Lloyd Robertson in the CTV studios when he first created a video message for one of our first galas. High Notes Avante was honoured to have Lloyd Robertson appear live in our 2018 High Notes Gala as well as via video in our first Concert of Hope. For […]

Charissa Vandikas

Charissa Vandikas is a Unionville High School Class of ’15 graduate who is surrounded by music. Second oldest of a musical family in Newmarket she somehow finds time to practice anything between two to six hours of piano every day, despite having to share the pianos with three brothers and a mother and father who […]

Meet Ric Galvez

One Of HNA’s Guitar Teachers Ric Galvez understands anyone who ‘marches to the beat of their own drum’. He has been doing just that since he first discovered music and the same rock influences that his Dad enjoyed. When Ric took to guitar seriously in middle school, he saw his passion, but his parents saw […]

Vlad Solokhine has a lot of big ideas

“I always believed in the future of profit and non-profit working together, explains HNA’s outgoing Chair who initially met our founder, Ingrid Taheri, through the Markham Board of Trade. After learning more about the charity, Vlad saw the opportunity to co-mingle the two in a way that could help High Notes Avante reach new opportunities. […]

Meet Sina

Sina Fallah’s life story is one told in music, with a particular focus on helping those touched by mental illness. As a child in Iran, his mother sought out a piano teacher who could teach him classical music – a love he carries through to this day. After arriving in Canada and later finishing high […]

Meet HNA’s Founder Ingrid Taheri

SHARING THE GIFT OF MUSIC TO HELP OTHERS Ingrid has created a fulfilling life for herself in Canada. Originally from Sweden, she had wanted to attend Oxford University after highschool. Instead, inspired by a friend, she came to Canada to improve her language skills in both English and French while working as a nanny. She […]

Meet Emmanuel Lopez

Leader of the High Notes Movie Club It’s no secret that Emmanuel Lopez loves movies. In fact, they saved his life. Emmanuel, who goes by the nickname Motivatorman, went through a serious bout of clinical depression in 2000. The episode lasted an entire year, and predated his diagnosis. Without medication or therapy in his toolkit, […]

Can you believe it has been 10 years?

If we have been quiet lately, it is because we are gearing up to celebrate this special milestone with an amazing gala concert on May 6th, 2024 at the Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts. To commemorate this, we have written a beautiful mental health anthem together with the super-talented composer Alan Shiner. Writing the […]