Angela Schneider viola

Born in Montreal to German parents, Angela grew up surrounded by classical music – her father played piano and her mother sang. Early on she developed a passion for playing music, reading, dress design, history, and travel. By high school, Angela was playing viola in several orchestras in Vancouver (where the family relocated), and was selected for the National Youth Orchestra in Toronto.

After graduating high school, Angela headed to Germany to study with world renowned performers including Bruno Giuranna and Sandor Végh in Detmold, Düsseldorf and Cornwall. She earned her Masters of Music at the Aachen Hochschule für Musik, with a minor in History, during which time she was also a member of the Rheinisches String Quartet and the Aachen Symphony Orchestra. This was followed by two years as Principal Viola of the Essen Volkwang Chamber Orchestra.

After close to a decade abroad, Angela returned to Vancouver to join the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and continues to play viola with the orchestra. Despite a busy teaching schedule, she completed a degree with honors in Internet Publishing in 2001 and continues her studies in history. An authority in the relatively new field of culinary history, she's researched the relationship between food, culture, politics, technical innovation and history since 1995. She wrote an 8-part documentary on the History of Food which was optioned by Insight Entertainment. Unfortunately, in the post 9/11 climate, where reality shows rule, funding was not forthcoming to complete the project. Instead, the script became the basis for a series of Culinary History PowerPoints given at Capilano University Continuing Education to a very enthusiastic and positive response.

In addition Angela, lectures on Music History and Appreciation at the Vancouver Symphony School of Music and spends her summers as an Enrichment and Destination lecturer on cruise ships. She works with the travel company, Great Expeditions, as a tour host and has led several very successful Music & Cultural tours to Europe. Her next tour in May 2012 will take guests to the Spring Festivals of Europe and Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.

Angela's proudest achievement is raising her son, Matti, who is currently studying kinesiology.

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