George Cleland (Violin and Viola)

George Cleland, violinist, violist, conductor and teacher, has been active in the music scene in Niagara and Ontario for the last 12 years. He plays regularly with the Niagara Symphony and other regional ensembles, such as the Brantford Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Concert Orchestra and the World Rock Symphony Orchestra.

George was the concertmaster of the Garden City Productions’ Fiddler on the Roof and was a member of the Bangkok tour of Return to Grace in 2015. He has played with Opera Hamilton, Opera York and was privileged to play in the orchestra in Toronto for the Bolshoi Ballet’s tour of North America in a production of Swan Lake in 2012.

George has been the conductor of the Peninsula Orchestra since 2007 and the viola coach and an assistant conductor for Niagara Youth Orchestra since 2003. He maintains a private studio in Niagara and is s coordinator for Suzuki Niagara and on staff at Brock University. Before moving to Niagara, George was an instructor for the Medicine Hat College Conservatory of Music and Dance, the conductor of the Medicine Hat College Junior Strings Orchestra, the founder and director of the Medicine Hat Community Orchestra and the concertmaster of the Medicine Hat College Academy Strings Orchestra.

He holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Music from the University of Akron.