Arizona and Canadian artists share music, visual art and international friendship
SEDONA, Ariz. — A packed audience and standing ovations marked the October 24, 2026, Rising Stars Concert at artsPlace in Canmore, Alberta, bringing together exceptional musicians and young visual artists from Arizona and Canada.
Presented by Canmore and Sedona Sister Cities and artsPlace, the concert featured Phoenix violinist Jayden Yoneyama, internationally acclaimed cellist Luka Coetzee, and Canmore pianists Vasylisa Nikolenko and Rowan Dial. Pianist Susanne Ruberg-Gordon served as artistic director, producer and collaborative pianist.
The exchange also celebrated young visual artists May Turner of Sedona and Selah Raynolds Knechtel of Canmore, who worked with professional artist and mentor Patti Dyment. “Heather Walter, a Canmore Sister Cities board member, and artistic director Susanne Ruberg-Gordon brought extraordinary care and commitment to this exchange,” said Winnie Muench, board member and Rising Stars program coordinator of the Sedona Sister Cities Association. “We are deeply grateful to our Canmore counterparts and the entire local team for welcoming our Arizona artists and creating such a memorable experience. Heather and Susanne will also join us in planning the 2027 Sedona Rising Stars Concert.”
Sixteen-year-old Yoneyama now lives in Vienna, Austria, where he attends Musikgymnasium Wien and studies in the pre-college program at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He began playing violin at age five and made his orchestral solo debut in 2024. His accomplishments include recognition at Arizona Musicfest and the Opus Music Competition, first prize in his category at the 2024 Vienna International Classic Strings Competition, and a finalist placement in the Anton Rubinstein International Competition. In March 2026, Yoneyama performed the first movement of Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto in B minor with the Phoenix Symphony at Symphony Hall as the Clotilde Otranto Second Prize winner. His Canmore program, performed with Ruberg-Gordon, featured Elgar’s concerto and Fritz Kreisler’s Marche miniature viennoise.
Appearing as the Rising Stars special alumni guest, Canadian-South African cellist Coetzee brought an international performing career to the Canmore stage. Since her professional debut at age 11, she has appeared as a soloist with orchestras across Europe, North America and Africa, including the Helsinki Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic and Cape Town Philharmonic. In 2023, at age 18, Coetzee became the youngest winner and first Canadian to win the International Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki. Her honors also include first prizes at the Pablo Casals International Award and the Johansen International Strings Competition in Washington, D.C. Her Beethoven recording with the LGT Young Soloists, released by Naxos, topped Apple Music’s classical video charts in more than 40 countries. Coetzee’s Canmore program included music by Gaspard Cassadó, Beethoven,
Amy Beach and Astor Piazzolla. Nikolenko and Dial presented solo piano programs featuring works by Debussy and Chopin, among other composers. Ruberg-Gordon, a respected educator at Mount Royal University Conservatory and member of the Juno-nominated Land’s End Ensemble, has mentored numerous accomplished young musicians, including Coetzee during her studies in Calgary.
For the visual artists, the exchange offered opportunities to learn and create together. Dyment introduced Turner and Knechtel to plein air painting—working outdoors in response to the surrounding landscape. She also donated two paintings for a Sister Cities fundraiser supporting future exchanges.
Turner lived in Pasadena until the devastating 2025 Eaton fire. She has since painted portraits of homes destroyed in the fire and given those paintings to families who lost their homes. Working across a variety of styles and materials, she also helped create Gallery 928’s public mural at the Sedona Arts Center.
The Canmore gathering built on the connections celebrated at Sedona’s 2025 Rising Stars Concert, which also featured Yoneyama. Through performance, mentorship and community hospitality, the exchange helps young artists develop their talents while building friendships between the two communities.