A native of Calgary, violinist Cory Balzer completed a Bachelor of Music Performance degree at McGill University, played in Les Jeunes Virtuoses de Montreal and was a winner in the Debut Young Concert Artists Series. He received a Master of Music degree from Rice University in Houston, Texas, before moving to Victoria in 1997 to join the Victoria Symphony. In April 2000 Cory joined the Trius String Quartet for a quartet-in-residence program at the Shaw Theatre Festival, performing bi-weekly concerts in addition to being heard in various plays and musicals during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. The Trius quartet also embarked on a Rocky Mountain Tour bringing music to many smaller towns in Alberta and BC. Cory played at the Charlottetown Festival in the 2002 season and has participated in festivals at the Banff Centre, Snowbird (Utah) and Meadowmount School of Music. In 2006, Cory was a co-founder of the Emily Carr String Quartet.