The Kiwanis Music Festival reserves the right to substitute or appoint other adjudicators.
SENIOR PIANO & CONCERTOS - MICHEL FOURNIER (Sherbrooke, PQ)
Praised both as a soloist and a chamber player, Canadian pianist Michel Fournier has performed with a number of orchestras and is widely appreciated for the many recitals he has given in Canada, Europe and United States. His repertoire covers a broad spectrum of keyboard music from different eras and styles. He has a special fondness for French music and has earned critical acclaim for the originality of his interpretation and his refined sound. Michel Fournier toured extensively with the world-class ensemble Quartango. The group won "Prix Opus" (a prestigious award from Conseil Québécois de la Musique) for best performance in 2005. In June 2006, Michel Fournier was invited to give a TV performance for Telethon Operation Enfant Soleil, a well-known organization raising funds for sick children. He also has several Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) recordings and movie soundtracks to his credit. His CDs feature piano works by Debussy, Prokofiev, Bartok and Stravinsky.
Michel has shared his artistry with numerous musicians and ensembles, including the acclaimed "Les Chambristes de Montreal" whose members also play with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. A regular performer in regional and inter-provincial festivals, he can be heard in Montreal's Mozart Plus festival, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and various Quebec-sponsored events.
He is renowned for his extensive knowledge of the violin-and-piano repertoire and eagerly sought after as a player in this formation. Michel has made a series of recordings dedicated to composers of Central Europe, highlighting the works of Szymanowsky, Janacek, Dvorak and Suk.
As a student of French pianist Yvonne Hubert, Michel completed a master’s degree in Montreal before continuing his studies abroad, primarily in France and Austria. He also attended the University of Indiana, where he studied under Menahem Pressler. Michel completed a doctorate in performance with Marc Durand and is currently associate professor at the University of Sherbrooke. Highly appreciated as an educator, he gives regular master classes and promotes his love of music by presenting frequent lectures and workshops. He also adjudicates numerous competitions and Festivals across Canada. His 2009-2010 tour includes recitals, lectures and masterclass in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and New Brunswick.
Michel Fournier's latest CD 17:05, under MYR label is received by its listeners as "the most fantastic musical experience ever". Fournier's mastering of musical tones and colors is rendering a unique approach to classical and jazz.
INTERMEDIATE PIANO - STEVEN FIELDER (Coldwater, ON)
After completing degrees at the University of Waterloo, and the Faculty of Music at The University of Western Ontario, and the Diploma in Piano Performance at what is now Conservatory Canada, Steven Fielder continued studies in Theory & Composition at the University of Durham, England with Dr. James Murray Brown and in London, UK with composer Anthony Milner. He taught piano and theory at the Conservatory for over 20 years, and continues to be a member of the Board of Examiners at the Conservatory in both piano and theory. He is author of recommended textbooks for the Conservatory for both Keyboard Harmony and Theory. He is active as a performing musician and clinician, and has adjudicated local and provincial music festivals across Canada. Steven is currently President of the Federation of Canadian Music Festivals, and Executive Director of the Barrie Music Festival Association, Barrie, ON.
His strong support of the important role that music festivals play in the life of aspiring young Canadian musicians is well known in the Canadian music community, and he gives constant encouragement both to competitors and to the volunteers who organise and run the festivals across the country, with these words: “Remember…we do it all for the young musicians!”
JUNIOR PIANO - JOHN BROUGH (Edmonton, AB)
February 16 - February 26
John Brough holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Ottawa, and a Masters and Doctorate from the University of Alberta, where he has taught as a sessional instructor since 1997. He studied piano in Ottawa with Edith Orton and Douglas Voice, Organ with Frances Macdonnell and Karen Holmes in Ottawa and Marnie Giesbrecht in Edmonton. He also studied piano pedagogy with Cynthia Floyd at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Brough also holds Associate diplomas with the Royal Conservatory of Music, as well as the Royal Canadian College of Organists.
An award-winning teacher, Dr. Brough is an instructor at Concordia University College in Edmonton where he teaches conducting and musicology courses. He is Artistic Director of Da Camera Singers, Edmonton’s longest standing chamber choir, Associate Conductor of the Richard Eaton Singers, Organist and Choirmaster at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, as well as Director of Edmonton’s newest professional chamber choir, the Scona Chamber Singers. Dr. Brough has appeared on many commercial CD recordings, most recently, he completed a recording project with Da Camera Singers, featuring a CD of choral music of Canadian composers John Estacio, Eleanor Daley, Frances MacDonnell and Leonard Enns. He is also well known around the Edmonton area as a freelance accompanist, and also as an organ, piano and voice teacher, as well as a choral clinician. Dr. Brough is comfortable teaching music from all eras, but considers early music his specialty, and is often sought after as continuo keyboard player and conductor for music of the early baroque.
His adjudicating travels have taken him as far east as New Brunswick and as far north as Whitehorse Yukon, where he has adjudicated in the disciplines of piano, organ, voice and choral music. Dr. Brough sits on the board of examiners for Conservatory Canada, examining all levels of piano and voice.
JUNIOR PIANO - KAREN ANN SCHUESSLER (London, ON)
Karen Ann Schuessler is a native of Lansing, Michigan. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Michigan State University and a Master of Music degree in Organ Performance from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Among her teachers: Corliss Arnold and Robert Glasgow.
Since 1981, she has lived in London, Ontario, where she has conducted the Cantorion Cymraeg Canada (Canadian Welsh Choir) and its chamber choir, Côr Bach, and the Conservatory Choir of Men and Boys. She has been musical director for several shows mounted by London Musical Theatre, and has served as Director of Music at Centennial United Church where she established a still-thriving handbell program. Currently, Karen is Director of Music at Wesley-Knox United Church, London, where she conducts the junior, youth, senior and handbell choirs, conducts the church orchestra, and plays the organ.
Karen is founder and conductor of the Karen Schuessler Singers—a thirty-eight-voice mixed choir well known in the London area for its high standards and varied repertoire, and its London and Detroit performances of Paul Winter and Paul Halley’s Missa Gaia/Earth Mass. A Karen Schuessler Singers’ performance of this work was featured at the 2005 National Convention of the Royal Canadian College of Organists. This work has been recorded and is available on CD.
For several years, Karen was part-time faculty at the University of Western Ontario and conductor of that university’s award-winning women’s choir, Les Choristes. Karen has presented many choral workshops including a major workshop on choral rehearsal techniques at the 2005 National Convention of the Royal Canadian College of Organists. She has performed organ recitals in Canada, the United States and South America. She is a frequent solo recitalist and recital accompanist. She teaches voice, piano, organ, conducting and theory, and is frequently asked to adjudicate choir, voice, piano, handbells and organ at music festivals.
ELECTRONIC KEYBOARDS - WILLIAM O'MEARA (Toronto, ON)
William O’Meara has performed at festivals and concert series throughout North America, South America and Europe. His many engagements include St. Paul’s Cathedral (London, UK), Toronto International Bach Festival, Harvard University Organ Society (Cambridge, USA), Trnava Organ Days (Slovakia), Warsaw International Festival of Organ Music (Poland), Turin International Organ Festival (Italy), Sao Bento International Organ Festival (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Perm Organ Festival (Perm, Russia), Piccolo Spoleto Festival (Charleston, USA). Closer to home, he has performed at Fédération québécoise des amis de l’orgue (Québec), repeat engagements at Jack Singer Hall (Calgary) and Roy Thomson Hall (Toronto), the International Congress of Organists (Montreal), Royal Canadian College of Organists national convention, and as soloist or with ensembles in hundreds of concerts throughout Canada.
From 1990 to 2003, he toured throughout North America with the Laughton & O’Meara trumpet and organ duo under management with Colwell Artists Management (Canada) and Philip Truckenbrod Concert Artists (U.S). The duo performed over fifty concerts in 22 states and four provinces as well as on radio and television. He was also organist/pianist for the music theatre piece with brass quintet “Time for Christmas” which toured to fifteen communities throughout Ontario in 2000 and 2001.
O’Meara has commissioned and premiered many Canadian compositions and has performed the Canadian premieres of many works by foreign composers. In 2006 in Toronto he performed with the renowned German choir RIAS Kammerchor in a concert honouring the 75th birthday of Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina, with the composer in attendance. The same year he gave the world premiere performance of Paul Frehner’s Lila for two orchestras and organ with Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal and Norway’s BIT20 orchestra and also performed in The Toronto Fanfare Project featuring brass players from Canada and Sweden.
He is also in demand as an accompanist (piano & organ) for many choirs in the Toronto area, appearing regularly in concerts by the Victoria Scholars (Jerzy Cichocki), Toronto Choral Society (Geoffrey Butler), Cantores Celestes (Kelly Galbraith) and Achill Choral Society (Dale Wood).
O’Meara’s interest in improvisation led him to study silent films (i.e. pre-1930) and their musical accompaniment. This became a very creative and unique outlet for his improvisation skills and led to many appearances on Canadian radio and television as well as lectures and newspaper articles on this special art. He is accompanied over 200 silent films for Cinematheque Ontario alone as well as for Le Giornate del Cinema Muto (Italy) the largest annual festival of silent films in the world, Toronto International Film Festival, the National Gallery of Canada, Jack Singer Hall (Calgary), Goethe Institute (Toronto), Pacific Cinematheque (Vancouver), the Perm International Festival (Perm, Russia), the Piccolo Spoleto Festival (Charleton, S.C.) and for many festivals and concert series across Canada and the United States.
O’Meara is the founder and co-director of ORGANIX , an annual festival held every May throughout Toronto since 2006 that features innovative programs showcasing Toronto’s pipe organs with the aim of building awareness of the organ among the concert-going public as well as performance opportunities for young organists.
STRINGS - MARTHA GREGORY (Pickering, ON)
February 16 - February 26
Martha Gregory was raised in Rochester, N.Y. and studied violin, piano and singing at the Hochstein School of Music, Eastman School of Music and Roberts Wesleyan College. As a student she performed several years with the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and later the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Martha started her teaching career with a U.S. Government Program in Inner City Schools. When she moved to Canada in 1974 she continued her studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Martha has coached music in both the Toronto and Durham School Boards. She has maintained a private studio in Pickering for 25 years teaching strings, piano and singing. With an active freelance career, Martha performs with the Oshawa-Durham Symphony Orchestra, and is first violinist with the Hamstrings of Durham Trio. She has been involved with festivals for 20 years, first as president of the Pickering Metro East Music Festival and presently as Executive Director of the Pickering GTA Music Festival. She is currently president of the Ontario Music Festival Association.
CELLO - WILLIAM FINDLAY (North York, ON)
Born in Toronto, Mr. Findlay was trained via numerous scholarships and awards at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto. His first fully professional job was in the Quebec Symphony in 1962, although he performed as a Toronto freelance musician in the Hamilton Philharmonic since he was sixteen years old. In 1963, he won a position in the Toronto Symphony (under Walter Susskind), becoming its youngest member. A year leater, he was awarded a four-year scholarship to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. and so he left the orchestra. He had sepnt that TSO year commuting every two weeks to Rochester for cello lessons. His teachers include Donald Whitton and Isacc Mamott of Toronto; Ronald Leonard and Josef Gingold in the USA. Subsequently, he became Principal Cellist of the National Ballet of Canada orchestra, the New Chamber Orchestra of Canada, the CJRT Orchestra of Toronto, the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra and various other groups, In 1969, at the invitation of Seiji Ozawa, he rejoind the Toronto Symphony and he continues to perform there today.
As a soloist and chamber musician, many of his performances were recorded and have been broadcast both on radio and television, by the CBC.
As a teacher, he has served on the faculties of music at the University of Toronto, The Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, George Brown College, and at numerous summer schools and his students are legion; one is a soloist in Europe, two hold Principal chairs in the Toronto Symphony and the National Ballet Orchestra. Others are in significant positions all over Canada and in the USA
His current passion is for a summer chamber music festival in Canna, Italy, which he has been running with his son, a prominent celliest based in Europe, for the least eleven years. This festival was featured in a one-hour documentary made both in Toronto and in Italy which first aired last June on BRAVO and which, periodically, is still being shown.
NON-WESTERN STRINGS - DR. KIM CHOW-MORRIS (Toronto)
February 16
Kim Chow-Morris is the leader of the Yellow River Ensemble, and has been playing flute for over twenty years. An honours graduate of the University of Toronto’s music programme, Dr. Chow-Morris is a PhD recipient from York University’s graduate programme in Ethnomusicology, where she specialized in Chinese instrumental music. She has a particular love of the traditional silk and bamboo music of Shanghai, which she studied over six years with the foremost masters of the genre: she is an authority on this style. Dr. Chow-Morris founded and conducts the Chinese music programmes at both the University of Toronto and York University. She has also taught private western flute, private xiao, private dizi, chamber music, the western Symphony Orchestra, musicianship, harmony, counterpoint, music history, and other courses for the York U. Music department and the University of Toronto. She performed dizi (transverse reeded bamboo flute) and xiao (vertical notched flute) for the Toronto Chinese Orchestra since its inception in 1993, and throughout her career has engaged in numerous international appearances with Canada’s and China’s leading artists. Chow-Morris has also accepted invitations to play for former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Chinese Premier Wen, the mayor of Zhouzhuang in mainland China, and other prominent dignitaries. During the last two years, she has been featured on Omni TV, in York U. Magazine, and in Flute Talk magazine. Her teachers include the famous mainland China dizi masters Yu Xun Fa and Lu Chun Ling, and the western flautists Douglas Stewart (Principal Flute, Canadian Opera Company, Les Miserables, Esprit Orchestra, Miss Saigon, and others) and Anne Emond (Principal Flute, London Symphony Orchestra). Dr. Chow-Morris is a virtuoso on both Chinese and Western flutes, and has been commended for her musical sensitivity, ability to achieve delicate timbral nuance, technical mastery, and profundity of expression. Her knowledge, interpretation, and technique have won her many awards and accolades: those of particular prestige include the Canada Council Grant to Individual Musicians, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and two years of the prized Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Grant. Her fiery dizi solo Glad Tidings brings audiences to their feet, while the mournful Lady Meng Jiang is pensive and sorrow-laden.
SENIOR VOICE - SUSAN EICHHORN (New York, NY)
February 22 - February 26
Susan Eichhorn Young ontinues to wear many artistic hats – from actor to singer to director to casting director to artistic director to adjudicator and workshop clinician!!! Her foot hit the stage at age 5 and her teaching career has spanned some 22 years.
She has walked the boards in productions of Shakespeare, Moliere, Shaw, Tennessee Williams and Neil Simon; she has created operatic heroines from Mozart to Puccini and music theatre roles have included women from Rodgers and Hart to Sondheim to Kurt Weill. Susan is also a noted recitalist and cabaret artist with repertoire that encompasses five languages and numerous dialects from baroque through contemporary song literature including a specialization in French and German cabaret. She has performed throughout North America, in Europe and more recently in mainland China.
Academically, Susan holds three ARCT diplomas from the Royal Conservatory in piano performance, vocal performance and vocal pedagogy; a Bachelor of Music in voice with great distinction from the University of Saskatchewan and a Master of Music in Voice Performance and Literature with Honours from the University of Western Ontario.
She has held positions in voice at the University of Western Ontario (London) and Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville NY). While at UWO, Susan was assistant director to Professor Ted Baerg and the UWOpera and was artistic director for Music Theatre-Theatre Western. She continues to adjudicate in both Canada, the US and overseas and is a senior examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Susan is now based in New York City. She currently in on the voice faculty of New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, CAP21 MusicTheatre Conservatory. Her thriving private studio in New York City is full of professional singers and actors in theatre, music theatre and opera. Her students perform on Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off Broadway, on national and international tours, regional and summer stock, and in opera houses throughout North American and Europe.
Her private studio in NYC now has satellite studios in Toronto and Los Angeles. While in NYC, Susan has been voice coach for the PBS Great Performances Special “Tenors Cook Dixon & Young Volume 1”, directed by Tony-award winning director/choreographer, George Faison; She has worked as a casting director for the premiere recording and performance of “The Jesus Roast” composed by Los Angeles-based award-winning composer, Larry Farrow.
Susan released her debut CD in 2007 with long-time collaborator, pianist Alan Johnson called “Taking My Turn” of cabaret and theatre music to critical acclaim:
She also writes an acclaimed blog about voice and theatre business www.susan-oncemorewithfeeling.blogspot.com and will be taking many of these ideas and writing a book in 2010. Her CD is available on www.cdbaby.com.
JUNIOR VOICE - MISTY BANYARD (Ottawa, ON)
February 16 - February 19
A gifted soprano exuding charm, passion, and charisma, Misty Banyard’s beautiful coloratura voice has been described as “a stunning instrument of great value on the national and international stage.” Possessing the unique ability to capture the moment, Ms. Banyard is quickly establishing herself as an outstanding soloist, having been critically acclaimed on CBC Radio by Laurence Wall for her “fine voice and touch for the theatrical.”
After completing Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees at Acadia University, Misty went on to work as a music teacher, arts administrator and touring jazz soloist before returning to serious vocal study with internationally renowned vocal coach Laurence Ewashko at the University of Ottawa, where she earned her Masters of Music degree in 2009. Ms. Banyard continues to work as a voice teacher, adjudicator and arts administrator when she is not on stage or in the studio herself.
Recent engagements have included solo recitals at Christ Church Cathedral (Dublin, Ireland) and the Grange School (Hartford, England), “Gabriel” in The Creation (York University) and the roles of “The Sandman” and “The Dew Fairy” in Hansel und Gretel (Opera Lyra Ottawa’s Young Artists Training Program).” Ms. Banyard’s upcoming performances include engagements with Coro Vivo, Opera Lyra Ottawa, the Ewashko Singers, Bytown Operaworks and as part of a series of upcoming recordings which feature Handel, Bach and Scarlatti virtuoso repertoire.
BOYS' VOICE - DOUGLAS JAMIESON (Toronto)
February 16
Tenor DOUGLAS JAMIESON began singing at an early age in the boys’ choir of the Basilica of St. John the Baptist, in St. John’s. He was subsequently an organ scholar there, studying with Patricia Young. While continuing to sing, Mr. Jamieson served as assistant organist at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, and later was organist at Gower Street United Church, also in St. John’s.
Mr. Jamieson holds degrees in European History, Music and Music Education. Since his youth, he has been active as a singer and actor in amateur and professional music and theatre productons, most notably as Moebius in the Canadian premiere of Friedrich Dürrematt’s The Physicists and as Tex in the award-winning play, Regatta Day. In music theatre and operetta, Mr. Jamieson has sung a range of roles from Ralph in HMS Pinafore, to Woody Mahoney in Finian’s Rainbow. He has also been featured in many musical reviews and original works for both live performance and radio and television. Mr. Jamieson also served for two seasons as music director of the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre “Cabaret Theatre”.
As a student in the Opera Division of the Univeristy of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, Mr. Jamieson studied with noted tenor William Neill. After leaving the Opera Division, he continued studies with renowned Canadian soprano, Lois Marshall and maintained an active singing career, appearing as a chorister with the Canadian Opera Company and Opera Hamilton and as a soloist with the Newfoundland Symphony, Atlantic String Quartet, Terra Nova Chamber Players, North York Philharmonic Choir, Niagara Symphony , Musica Antiqua, The Bach Consort, and Etobicoke Chamber singers. He served for four years as the director of the Toronto Diocesan Choir Camp for Boys and has been a choirmaster and organist in a number of Toronto churches. In 1995, Mr. Jamieson was appointed assistant choirmaster at Royal St. George’s College, a choir of men and boys in Toronto, with whom he has toured throughout Great Britain and Europe. In 1998, he succeeded Dr. Giles Bryant as the college Organist and Master of the Choristers.
Mr. Jamieson is a passionate advocate for music education, particularly choral music and the vital role of the singing boy. He is delighted to be hearing the entrants in this year’s Kiwanis Festival of Toronto in the Boys’ Voice category.
MUSICAL THEATRE - GUY FEW (Elora)
February 23 - February 26
Guy Few is a gold medal graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University and a Fellow of Trinity College, London, England. His interest in Music Theatre began at a young age when he was introduced to the tradition of British pantomime, with productions of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella (Saskatoon Children’s Theatre). A continued fascination with music and theatre led to acting and singing roles in many productions including most notably at nine years old the role of ‘Edward’ in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail ( Gateway Theatre) as well as many leads in children’s productions of Gilbert and Sullivan and modern children’s musicals. During his university years, Guy renewed his vocal studies at Wilfrid Laurier University under the guidance of Victor Martens. He participated in both performance and production aspects of the opera and theatre programs at the university including: A Street Scene, Pilgrims Progress, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and A Tale of Two Cities. An affinity for vocal coaching led to many opportunities in the theatre. In 1992 Guy was engaged as a vocal coach for the world premiere of Florence, Lady With the Lamp (Elora Festival). This, in turn led to a four year contract as the music director for The Beaverton Summer Art’s Festival. Music Director/Coaching credits for Beaverton include: Little Shop of Horrors, A Marvelous Moment, Broadway I, Broadway II, Trixie True Teen Detective, and music selection for Amadeus where Guy also played the lead role of ‘Mozart’.
Since Beaverton, Guy has continued to pursue theatrical and cabaret opportunities. His interest in the combination of contemporary music and theatre led to the creation of special projects with narrator/director Kathryn DeLory for CBC radio, various universities and in New York City for the Trinity Series. He has commissioned new music/theatrical works from Canadian composers Peter Hatch, Linda Bouchard, and Alain Trudel, and has participated in new music/theatrical performances for Place Des Arts, NUMUS, The Winnipeg Contemporary Music Festival, CBC Radio and The Music Gallery. Recent productions include Murderous little World, (music, Linda Bouchard, text, Anne Carson), with Bellows and Brass as well as Phenomenological Love Songs with Kimberley Barber, Nadina Mackie Jackson, the Penderecki String Quartet and Glenn Buhr for NUMUS.
Guy lives in Elora, Ontario and is a part time faculty member, teaching trumpet, at Wilfrid Laurier University. He continues to coach music theatre repertoire, and prepares his own cabaret, recital, and staged programs with Canadian pianist, Stephanie Mara, Kiosque a Musique, and Bellows and Brass for performances in Canada and the USA.
SPEECH ARTS - CHICK REID (Warkworth, ON)
February 16 - February 17
A graduate of Queen's University, Chick Reid is entering her 34th year as a Canadian theatre professional. Her career includes performing in regional theatres nationwide and the U.S. as well as numerous television appearances. Chick is a seasoned veteran of classical work, having played major roles for eight seasons at the Stratford Festival of Canada (including serving as an Associate Artist to Richard Monette for two seasons), four seasons at the Shaw Festival and having been a core acting member for four seasons at Theatre Plus Toronto. Most recently Chick has played Helen in Helen's Necklace for The Grand Theatre, Stevie in The Goat for the Neptune Theatre, Felicia in The Unanswered Question at the NAC and Lady Markby in Ideal Husband for the Stratford Festival. Other notable appearances include the Stratford production of Much Ado About Nothing on Broadway, Shaw's Heartbreak House for the Actors' Theater of Louisville, Kentucky and For Whom the Bell Tolls with concert pianist Andre LaPlante for the Westben Festival. Ms. Reid also teaches Playing Shakespeare and Acting for the Department of Drama at Queen's University and has been a member of the Ontario College of Teachers since 1991. Chick lives on a farm with her husband, Tom McCamus, and breeds Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers.
WOODWINDS - DAVID GERRY (Hamilton)
February 22-26
Flutist David Gerry maintains a busy schedule as a teacher, performer and clinician. He holds a MMus and BMus.Perf. from the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto and an ARCT diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music, which also awarded him the gold medal in flute. David is also a graduate of the Talent Education Institute in Japan, where he studied with Shinichi Suzuki and Toshio Takahashi. He is a PhD candidate studying Music Cognition at The School of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University with Dr. Laurel Trainor.
The 2009-2010 season will find him playing and teaching in Argentina, Australia, Japan and England, as well as in numerous cities across North America. David is on the faculty of McMaster University, Mohawk College and the Great Lakes Flute Centre. He is also the music specialist at Trail Ridge Montessori School and is a Registered Teacher Trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas and the European Suzuki Association. David is the recipient of a 2008 award from the Grammy Foundation for excellence in the scientific study of music.
BRASS - GUY FEW (Elora)
February 22
Guy Few is a virtuoso. As a pianist, trumpeter, cornist, and singer, he delights audiences with his intensity and charm. Montreal’s Le Devoir calls him “outrageously gifted” and “quite simply phenomenal”. It is no wonder that he is in demand as a soloist, performing with many orchestras and festivals in Canada and the USA.
Guy is equally at home in classical or contemporary genres. Through the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council, he has debuted new works by Canadian composers including Glen Buhr, Peter Hatch, Alain Trudel, Melissa Hui, Mathieu Lussier, Linda Bouchard, Boyd McDonald, Jacques Hétu and many others. He has recorded for S.N.E., Arsis Classics, CBC Musica Viva, CBC SM5000, ibs, Naxos, MSR and the Hänssler Classics labels. Recording awards include a Grammy for Credo of Penderecki (Hanssler) with the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, Helmuth Rilling conductor and a Just Plain Folks Music Award – Best Classical Orchestral Recording, 2009 for Bacchanale (MSR). Recent CD releases include Romanza, with Nadina Mackie Jackson and The Toronto Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan conductor, (MSR Classics).
Guy has been invited as a professor, adjudicator, soloist, principal and recitalist to many festivals including Festival of the Sound, Scotiafest, Orford Festival, Kiwanis National Music Festival, Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Vancouver Chamber Festival, Elora Festival, Tanglewood, Takefu International Music Festival and Oregon Bach Festival. Clinics and master classes have been presented worldwide for festivals including Scotiafest, Takefu International Music Festival, Orford Arts Centre and the Banff Centre for the Arts, as well as post-secondary institutions such as the Montreal Conservatory, University of Toronto, Memorial University of Newfoundland, State University of New York at Fredonia and Sonoma State University.
Guy is a gold medal graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, and holds a Fellowship Diploma from Trinity College, London, England. He performs and records on a regular basis with Nadina Mackie Jackson (bassoon), Stephanie Mara (piano) and Bellows and Brass. New groups include Project Aria with Donna Brown, Leslie Fagan and Stephanie Mara. Guy has appeared on CBC-TV, CTV, BRAVO, TV5 and European television broadcasts and is heard regularly on CBC Radio, Classical 96.3 and NPR.
Guy is a part time faculty member at Wilfrid Laurier University where he teaches trumpet and chamber music. He is artistic co-director of the Grand River Baroque Festival with Nadina Mackie Jackson. Guy is a Yamaha artist.
GUITAR - RAYMOND SEALEY (Arundel, PQ)
February 17 - February 18, February 26
Born in England, Raymond Sealey earned a degree in English Literature from the University of Western Ontario. Music, however, finally took the more important place in his life when he was studying guitar at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. This culminated in studies with Alexandre Lagoya in both Canada and France, the latter with support from the Canada Council for the Arts.
He taught music at the University of Western Ontario and subsequently at the University of Ottawa. Mr Sealey has made several recordings, is a published composer and has also worked as a host and documentary maker for CBC in Ottawa. It was during this period that he became increasingly active in production and arts management.
He produced concerts in Gatineau and the Outaouais and co-founded a music festival in that region. In 1997 he moved to Montreal to become Executive Director of CAMMAC (Canadian Amateur Musicians/Musiciens amateurs du Canada) a non-profit national service organization offering opportunities for music making in a non-competetive environment. He then served as Executive Director of l’Orchestre de chamber I Musici de Montréal for two years and for whom he still acts as a programming consultant.
He now freelances and consults in the world of culture while still keeping his special ties to the world of music.
COMPOSITION - ROGER BERGS (Toronto, ON)
February 16 - February 26
Composer Roger Bergs is a musician of diverse talents and activities. In 2005, he completed his Doctor of Music degree at the University of Toronto, studying under Chan Ka Nin. In 1994, he received his Master of Music degree in Composition at the Juilliard School in New York, where he studied with composer John Corigliano. Previously, he earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Composition at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, where his teachers included Gary Kulesha and Glenn Buhr. Upon graduation from WLU, he was awarded the WLU Alumni Gold Medal in Music. His musical education began at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he received his Associateship degree in Piano Performance in 1988. He has also received the Fellowship and Associateship degrees from the Royal Canadian College of Organists, winning the prestigious Willan Scholarship twice.
His compositions have been performed by such ensembles as the Symphony Orchestras of Toronto, Edmonton and Winnipeg, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, the Esprit Orchestra, the Composers Orchestra, the Hannaford Street Silver Band, the Festival Winds of the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, the Elmer Iseler Singers, the Aldeburgh Connection, the National Academy Orchestra of the Boris Brott Summer Music Festival, Continuum New Music (Toronto), NUMUS concerts of Waterloo ON, and the Galatea Ensemble (New York), and by such soloists as hornist James Somerville, trombonist Alain Trudel and organist Jan Overduin. He has been awarded prizes in composition competitions sponsored by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, SOCAN, CAPAC, PROCAN, Contemporary Showcase (Toronto) and the Canada Council.
The Hannaford Street Silver Band’s recording of his commissioned work Attractive Metal with hornist James Somerville was recently released by Opening Day records. His work Elements for eight cellos was recorded by the NUMUS ensemble and released recently on the Eclectra label. He also has several choral works published by Hal Leonard.
He currently teaches composition at the University of Toronto, and has taught composition and music theory for the Juilliard School, Mohawk College in Hamilton, Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City Tennessee and at the North Toronto Institute of Music. He servevd as Composer-in-Residence for the 2009 Scotia Festival of Music in Halifax NS.
CHOIRS - GLORIA GASSI (London, ON)
February 16 - February 26
Lyric soprano, Gloria Gassi, is an accomplished singer, voice teacher and conductor. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario, Ms. Gassi holds a Masters in Music with Honours in Voice Performance and Literature, a Licentiate in Voice Performance, an Associateship of Music in Voice Performance and an ARCT in Piano. She was the only Canadian chosen to sing at the International Master Classes with Elly Ameling and Rudolf Jansen at the Hochschüle für Musik, in Munich, Germany. In England, Ms. Gassi studied Voice with Jessie Cash in London and sang at the Britten Pears School for Advanced Studies in Aldborough. She has worked with distinguished Canadian teachers and coaches such as Mary Morrison and Jacqueline Richard.
Ms Gassi sang as soloist and in ensemble with the acclaimed Elmer Iseler Singers. She performed in concerts, broadcasts and recordings throughout Canada, the US, Europe and the Orient, and had the distinct privilege of singing under such renowned conductors as Dr. Elmer Iseler, O.C., Sir Andrew Davis, Sir David Willcocks and Helmuth Rilling. She is recorded with the Elmer Iseler Singers in Laudate Dominum and Handel's Messiah.
Ms. Gassi brings a wealth of experience to her teaching. Her students have successfully attained university degrees in Voice Performance and Music Education, sung professionally in opera, choirs, musical theatre, and have won awards at the local, provincial and national levels. In her teaching, Ms. Gassi believes in developing the unique gift of each individual voice while building a strong foundational technique and sensitive artistry.
As Associate Teacher in Music Education with OISE, University of Toronto and York University, from 1990-2003, Ms. Gassi has served in mentoring future music teachers. With experience at all levels of education, she has conducted children’s, youth and adult choirs. Notably, she initiated the Voice and Choral Program at Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts, Toronto’s leading high school for the Performing Arts. Under her direction, the CCAA Singers consistently won top awards in major festivals, and participated in concert tours in Canada and England.
A frequent presenter of workshops in Voice and Choral Techniques, she has adjudicated festivals in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Alberta. Presently, Ms. Gassi is appointed to both the Departments of Performance Studies and Music Education at the Don Wright Faculty of Music, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, where she teaches Voice, Vocal Methods, and conducts the St. Cecilia Singers.
CHOIRS - DR. JOHN WIEBE (Edmonton, AB)
February 16 - February 26
Dr. John Wiebe has studied at Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Alberta and in Vienna, Austria. He is the founder and director of the AbendMusik Ensemble, director of the Edmonton Youth & Children’s Choir program and Music Director at St. Paul’s United Church in Edmonton. Choirs under his dynamic leadership have received numerous awards, including finalists and semi-finalist in the prestigious CBC competition, consecutive first place prizes at the Saskatoon Unifest competition, and during a tour to Wales and England multiple awards at the Llangollen Music Festival. John is a regular clinician and adjudicator for choirs across Canada, has presented at Podium, the bi-annual conference of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors and has published musicology articles, including a chapter in a recently published book. To keep in shape for his music schedule John enjoys exploring Edmonton's river valley trail system with his family, cycling, and playing squash.
JAZZ - DR. SUNDAR VISWANATHAN
February 19
Sundar has shared the world stage with local and international artists alike over his 25 years as a professional woodwind artist and jazz vocalist. He has performed extensively in Europe (including stints with the Grammy-nominated Charles Tolliver Big Band at several major Jazz Festivals), Japan, South Africa, Canada, the Caribbean, and the USA, in venues that include the Blue Note, Birdland, St. Nick’s, Dizzy’s at Lincoln Center, and Shinjuku Pit Inn (Tokyo). Sundar has appeared in concert or recorded with artists that include Wynton Marsalis, Sun Ra, Kenny Wheeler, Anita O’Day, John Abercrombie, Terry Clarke, Joe Lovano, John Hicks, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart, Jim McNeeley, Hip Hop artist GURU, Kiran Ahluwalia, TASA, and Dave Douglas. With Sundar’s Induswest Project, Sundar released Hope and Infinity, an album of original music inspired by South Asian music and Jazz that includes heavy-hitters from the Canadian and New York scenes. His latest cd (What a Dream I Had…) features Sundar on sax and vocals showcasing an all-star trio and a fresh interpretation of the standard and popular song. Sundar is Associate Professor of Jazz Studies in the Department of Music at York University in Toronto, where he makes his home.
BANDS - MICHAEL PURVES-SMITH (Waterloo, ON)
February 16 - February 26
Michael Purves-Smith retired recently from two important positions in the Ontario Band movement. As associate professor in the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier he founded both the orchestra and the wind ensemble and conducted the latter for thirty years. For most of that same time he was also musical director of the outstanding Kitchener/Waterloo ensemble, the Wellington Winds. He is a noted and prolific composer including of many works for wind and brass ensembles. He has adjudicated bands widely in Canada as well as in France, Norway and Latvia. He continues to perform as an oboist, recorder player, and keyboardist.
BANDS - SCOTT HARRISON (Toronto, ON)
February 22 - February 26
Scott Harrison began studying trumpet in Toronto at the age of 14. After graduating from Etobicoke School of the Arts, Scott continued his studies at the University of Toronto, and toured Canada as a member of the National Youth Orchestra.
Scott is a founding member of the Trillium Brass Quintet (trilliumbrass.com). Described as “one of the most exciting ensembles to come along in many years”, the Trillium Brass Quintet has released two CDs, and has developed a dynamic stage presentation.
As a freelance musician, Scott has performed with a number of ensembles and productions, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and The Phantom of the Opera.
Scott has written a number of transcriptions and arrangements, mostly for TBQ. He has also composed trumpet descants for two CD projects with the Hosanna Choir.
Scott is in demand as a private trumpet instructor and clinician, and is on the faculty of the National Music Camp.
BANDS - CHRISTINE HANSEN (Ottawa, ON)
February 16 - February 20
Christine Hansen retired after 33 years as an Intermediate and primarily a High School music teacher. As Head of Department at Canterbury High School in Ottawa, Christine helped initiate and administer the specialty music portion of the successful Eastern Ontario Programme of the Arts at Canterbury. After her retirement from secondary school teaching, Christine taught Intermediate and Senior Music as a Part Time Professor in the University of Ottawa Education faculty.
Christine, an Ottawa native, obtained Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education degrees at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and her Master of Music Education at State University, Potsdam, New York. She is an affiliate member of C.M.E.A., O.M.E.A., C.B.D.A., O.B.A.
Currently, Christine performs on French Horn with the National Capital Concert Band and the Manotick Brass Ensemble in Ottawa.
ORCHESTRAS - WILLIAM ROWSON (Toronto,ON
February 16 - February 26
Canadian conductor and composer William Rowson has had his music featured at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, the Niagara on the Lake International Chamber Music Festival, the Brott Music Festival, and in Switzerland at the prestigious UBS Verbier Festival.
As a conductor William has worked with The Symphony Orchestra of The Curtis Institute of Music, The International Symphony Orchestra, The National Academy Orchestra of Canada, and The Scarborough Philharmonic among others.
Orchestras that have recently programmed Mr. Rowson’s works include the McGill Chamber Orchestra, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, and Toronto’s Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra. William has also written scores for Tapestry New Opera works, and has composed for film. In 2003, Mr. Rowson participated in the first ever National Arts Centre Orchestra’s Young Composers Program. He is also an alumnus of the Aspen Music School.
As a violinist, William has played under some of the greatest conductors of our time, including Andrew Davis, Charles Dutoit, James Levine, Simon Rattle, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and many others.
William is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music. He is currently completing his doctorate at the University of Toronto where he studies with Gary Kulesha. Since 2008, William has been the resident conductor of the Mooredale Youth Orchestras in Toronto
ORCHESTRAS - KEVIN MALLON (Toronto, ON)
February 16 - February 26
The Irish musician Kevin Mallon, now resident in Canada, is quickly developing a worldwide reputation. With an impressive background that includes conducting studies with John Eliot Gardiner, composition with Peter Maxwell Davies, with training at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and at Dartington College of Arts, Mallon learned his craft as a violinist with such orchestras as the Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic, and later as concertmaster with Le Concert Spirituel and Les Arts Florissants in Paris. With these groups he has recorded extensively and toured the world. He has performed concerts all over Europe, including Vienna, London, Berlin and Paris, with appearances in Russia, the Baltic States, China, Japan, New Zealand, the United States and Canada.
Before moving to Canada to take up positions with the University of Toronto and the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Kevin Mallon was active both in his native Ireland and throughout Europe. He was conductor of the Irish Baroque Orchestra as well as Musical Director of the Harty Ensemble in Belfast. He also conducted numerous orchestras and opera companies in Ireland, including the Ulster Orchestra, Castleward Opera and the National Chamber Choir.
Kevin Mallon formed and became the Music Director of the Aradia Ensemble in 1996. This vocal and instrumental group has achieved extraordinary successes. They have made numerous recordings for Naxos, all of which have received international praise. The ensemble was featured in 2000 at the New Zealand International Chamber Music Festival, and in 2003 at the Musica nel Chiostro festival in Tuscany.
Although Kevin Mallon specializes in music of the Baroque period, he is in demand to conduct a wide repertoire. As part of his recording contract with Naxos, he is Music Director of the Toronto Chamber Orchestra, a group made up of some of Toronto’s best orchestral musicians, with whom he has already made fifteen recordings.