The best in their field
Selected by the respective Festival Chair, these individuals evaluate, encourage, enhance and broaden the musicality of each group and every individual participating in the national festival. These people are the foremost in their fields, and represent the highest standards of their profession, be it in a classroom setting or on a performance stage.
Andy Morris
Director
As owner of Woodshed Percussion, Andy Morris has been a freelance musician in the Toronto area for over 20 years. Because of his extensive experience in the music business, he is able to offer sound advice on choosing the right instrument for a group or individual.
Andy is sponsored by Woodshed Percussion
Bob Denney
Bob Denney was the Head of Fine Arts and Technology at John McCrae S.S in Ottawa. The JMSS Guitar Ensemble was awarded the Canadian Music Educators’ Association Wilfred Harvey Small Ensemble of the Year award in 2007. Bob served for 9 years as the Canadian Representative and Lead Instructor for Teaching Guitar Workshops Canada, where he instructed guitar pedagogy and technique to music educators. Bob continues to promote guitar education as a guest lecturer at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Education.
Bryan Stovell
President
Bryan taught music in Nanaimo for 50 years. Since 1997 he served as Chair of MusicFest Canada’s Jazz and Concert Band Divisions and is currently a Board member. He also taught Jazz Pedagogy at Vancouver Island University and was Chairman of the Music Department until he retired again in 2015. Bryan is a MusicFest Canada Hall of Fame member, recipient of the Marshall McLuhan Distinguished Teacher Award for both BC and Canada, BCMEA’s Professional Music Educator Award, and the City Of Nanaimo Excellence in Culture Award.
Learn more about Bryan at Bryan Stovell
Cheryl Ferguson
Co-Director, Canadian Honour Band Project
Learn more about Cheryl at Cheryl Ferguson
Christine Jensen
Montreal-based saxophonist and composer Christine Jensen has been described as, “an original voice on the international jazz scene… [and] one of Canada’s most compelling composers,”- The Globe and Mail. According to Downbeat Magazine, “Jensen writes in three dimensions, with a quiet kind of authority that makes the many elements cohere. Wayne Shorter, Maria Schneider and Kenny Wheeler come to mind.” Jensen took home the 2024 Jazz Album of the Year (s0lo) for Day Moon and the 2011 Juno Award for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year for Treelines. She currently holds the position of conductor of the orchestre national de jazz de Montréal, and is on faculty at University of Sherbrooke and McGill University, where she teaches composition and small and large ensembles.
Learn more about Christine at christinejensenmusic.com
Christine Vlajk
Violist Christine Vlajk has performed extensively in North and South America, Europe, much of China, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Originally from Denver, Colorado, Vlajk has Bachelor degrees in Viola Performance (B.M.) and Music Education (B.M.E.) from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a Masters degree in Viola Performance (M.M.) from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. She has been guest soloist with the West Virginia Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Peterborough Symphony and the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra.
Learn more about Christine at Christine Vlajk
Christine is sponsored by Laurier University
Colin Clarke
Director
Colin is in demand as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator and composer/arranger. His conducting credits include collaboration with world-renowned artists and ensembles including the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Symphony Orchestra of Sofia, Bulgaria, United States Air Force Band of Liberty, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Canadian Brass and the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, the official fanfare ensemble for the President of the United States. Colin was recognized in 2017 as a Molson Great Canadian, celebrating Canadians citizens who made a difference in their community, and was recently given an Honorary Lifetime Membership Award by the Ontario Band Association.
Learn more about Colin at Colin Clarke
Cynthia Peyson Wahl
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Cynthia Peyson Wahl holds a Bachelor of Music Education (University of Regina), a diploma in Contemporary Music, Jazz Voice (Grant MacEwan University), and a Master of Music Education (University of Toronto). For fourteen years she taught choir, vocal jazz, and musical theatre at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and directed the jazz choir at Canadian Mennonite University. She currently teaches choir, orchestra, vocal jazz and musical theatre at Campbell Collegiate in Regina, Saskatchewan. She teaches piano and voice at the Conservatory of Performing Arts at the University of Regina. Cynthia is the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards for choral excellence, and is published in two books – The Palgrave Handbook on Race and the Arts in Education, and Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir, vol. 5. She is also on faculty with the School for Music Vocations Jazz Choir camps and International Music Camp summer faculty. Cynthia enjoys a busy schedule as a clinician/workshop.
Learn more about Cynthia at Cynthia Peyson Wahl
Darryl Ferguson
Co-Director, Canadian Honour Band Project
Darryl Ferguson received a Bachelor of Music (Applied Trumpet) from Brandon University, a Master’s of Music (Trumpet Performance) from the University of South Florida, and a Bachelor of Education (After Degree) from the University of Manitoba. He currently teaches at Acadia Junior High School in Winnipeg, MB, where he directs four concert bands and a jazz ensemble. In 2021, Darryl was awarded the Manitoba Band Association’s Award of Distinction in recognition of his outstanding contribution to music education in Manitoba. In 2018, Darryl was awarded the Fort Richmond MLA Community Hero Certificate for his service in the community. Darryl is involved in many Manitoba Band Association initiatives, including serving as the MBA representative for the Tempo Music Conference, chairperson for the Manitoba provincial Junior and Intermediate Honour Bands, chairperson for the MBA Jazz Festival, and co-chair of the MBA’s Solo Challenge.
Learn more about Darryl at Darryl Ferguson
Dr. Dylan Maddix
Originally from Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Dr. Dylan Rook Maddix is Assistant Professor of Instrumental Conducting and Community Engagement at Memorial University in St. John’s, NL. In this role, he conducts the Memorial University Wind Ensemble and teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting. Previously, he headed the wind and brass studies department at Cambrian College in Sudbury, Ontario. He also served on the conducting faculty at Laurentian University. Dylan is actively involved on the board of directors of the Newfoundland and Labrador Band Association and the Canadian Band Association. He is also the founder and host of “The Band Room Podcast”, alongside composer Cait Nishimura, and hosts the conducting leadership podcast titled “Changing Your Pattern.” Dr. Maddix’s academic journey includes a Bachelor of Music degree from Mount Allison University, a Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of Toronto, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from Arizona State University.
Learn more about Dylan at Dr. Dylan Maddix
Dr. Elroy Friesen
Described as “innovative, expressive, and dynamic,” Dr. Elroy Friesen is Director of Choral Studies at the University of Manitoba, where he conducts numerous choirs and teaches graduate conducting. His award-winning ensembles tour nationally and internationally, and are frequently recorded and broadcasted by the CBC. Friesen’s award-winning ensembles tour nationally and internationally, and are frequently recorded and broadcasted by the CBC. He has appeared as guest conductor with the Winnipeg Symphony and the National Arts Centre Orchestras.
Friesen is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator, and conductor throughout North America and Northern Europe. He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Schooner Cove Singers, a professional chamber choir based in Parksville, B.C. He is the co-founder of fikamusik, a Choral Conducting Intensive taught in the Desautels Faculty of Music. Friesen is also the past Artistic Director of Prairie Voices and has held positions of Artistic Director of the Mennonite Community Orchestra, Director of Choirs at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Urbana, Illinois, and Director of the University Chorus in Champaign, Illinois. He is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor throughout Canada, the United States, and Northern Europe.
Dr. Gillian MacKay
Denis Wick Canadian Wind Orchestra Director
Dr. Gillian MacKay holds degrees and diplomas from the University of Lethbridge, McGill University, the University of Calgary, and Northwestern University. Previously, she served as Instructor of Brass at Medicine Hat College, and Director of the School of Music at the University of Windsor. Gillian MacKay is an Associate Professor of Music of the University of Toronto, where she conducts the Wind Ensemble and teaches conducting and trumpet. She is also Associate Dean of Graduate Education. An award-winning teacher, Gillian has an active professional career as a trumpeter, conductor, adjudicator, and clinician.
Learn more about Gillian at Gillian MacKay
Dr. Gina Ryan
Dr. Gina Ryan is a professor of percussion and music education at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Before returning to Canada, she worked for 10 years at the Prem Tinsulanonda International School in Chiang Mai, as the Senior School music teacher and director of bands. She was also an Honorary Professor at Payap University from 2019-2021. She co-founded the Chiang Mai New Music Ensemble and the International Schools of Chiang Mai Concert Band Music Festival. Gina has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in Canada, Japan, China, Mexico, Thailand, France, and the United States. She has also been an adjudicator at several international music festivals, including the Chiang Mai Ginastera International Music Festival and the Thailand International Percussion Festival. Dr. Ryan holds music performance and music education degrees from McGill University, the University of Toronto, and Memorial University.
Learn more about Gina at Gina Ryan
Dr. Jeff Reynolds
Jeffrey Reynolds teaches trumpet and conducting at the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto, as well as conducting the Wind Symphony. He holds a Ph.D. in the philosophy of music education and a M.M. in trumpet performance. Dr. Reynolds has performed and recorded as a trumpeter with the Calgary Philharmonic, Victoria Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Hannaford Street Silver Band, the Stratford Festival Ensemble and the Orchestra of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, as well as many other orchestral, chamber and solo performances.
Learn more about Jeffrey at Jeff Reynolds
Dr. Mark Hopkins
Director
Currently, Dr. Hopkins is an Assistant Professor in the School of Music at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He is responsible for overseeing the Music Education area, teaching conducting, and is Director of Bands at Acadia University. Dr. Hopkins is very active as a guest conductor of professional and collegiate ensembles, having led performances across Canada and the United States, Bermuda, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, and Romania.
Learn more abotu Mark at Dr. Mark Hopkins
Dr. Noam Lemish
Dr. Noam Lemish holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Jazz Performance and a Masters degree in Composition from the University of Toronto. He joined York University as Assistant Professor of Jazz Instruction and Pedagogy in 2020. He has appeared in numerous performances and conducted workshops across Canada, the US, Europe, Israel, and in Bhutan and has released multiple albums, including most recently Pardes (2018) and Sonic Truffles (2018). His teaching interests cover a wide variety of areas within jazz studies, composition, Jewish music, polyidiomatic improvisation and the practice of Deep Listening.
Learn more about Noam at Noam Lemish
Noam is sponsored by York University
Dr. Tony Leong
Chair, Orchestra/Strings
Educator and conductor, Dr. Tony Nam-Hai Leong completed his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto. An advocate for well-being and social change through accessible and lifelong music-making, community engagement is central to his work. Dr. Leong serves as MusicFest Canada’s Chairman of the Orchestra/Strings Division; Executive Member of the Canadian Music Educators’ Association; Past-President and member of the Ontario Music Educators’ Association Board of Directors; co-founding director of the Ontario Strings Association; Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician; and past Board Member of the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. With a passion for public and post-secondary education, Dr. Leong is an assistant professor, teaching stream at the University of Toronto Scarborough; an instructor at Queen’s University; and Head of the Arts Department at Sir Oliver Mowat C.I.. His research includes the intersections of string music education, technology, adolescents, and community music.
Learn more about Tony at Dr. Tony Nam-Hai Leong – Biography (tonyleong.ca)
Dr. William Lake
Dr. William L. Lake, Jr. is the Director of Concert Bands at the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music at George Mason University. In this role, he conducts the George Mason University Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band, and teaches conducting and wind literature classes. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Instrumental Conducting from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Lake is the recipient of two master’s degrees, the first from Boston University in Music Education (2011) and the second from the University of Maryland in Wind Conducting (2014). In May 2006, He received the Bachelor of Music Liberal Arts – Jazz Studies Piano Performance Degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dr. Lake has presented numerous seminars across the United States on inclusive practices in music education and performance. He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association and serves as the National Vice President for Professional Relations for Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc., Pi Kappa Lambda, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He is also honored with membership in Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc., and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Learn more about William at Dr. William Lake
Francois Dorion
François Dorion has been the Director of Music of the Regimental Band of Les Voltigeurs de Québec and of L’Harmonie de Charlesbourg for the last 30 years. He recently retired from a career as a high school teacher and is a composer of music for beginning band, some of which is published by Hal Leonard. He currently serves as principal conducting instructor at the Canadian Forces School of Music, and is the teacher for the Master’s Degree in Conducting at Université Laval. He has developed an innovative online program for continuing education in music entitled ‘Expressive Conducting’. Mr. Dorion regularly appears at conducting workshops and works as a Yamaha Artist Conductor-Educator.
Learn more about François at François Dorion
Greg Jasperse
Adjudicator/Concert Artist/Clinician
A world-renowned composer, arranger, vocalist and pianist, Greg Jasperse is the Director of Vocal Jazz at Western Michigan University. He is also the director of the award-winning Gold Company vocal jazz ensemble. His credits include numerous movie soundtracks including “Jurassic World”, “Epic”, “Oz, The Great and Powerful”, “The Campaign”, “Star Trek” and “Star Trek 2” as well as the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Monarchy of Roses” and “The 2nd Law”, the recent release from Muse. His conducting credits include all-state jazz choirs in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, North Dakota, New York, California, Oklahoma, Indiana, Missouri, Colorado, New Hampshire, Illinois, Iowa as well as the British Columbia Honors Jazz Choir and Musicfest Canada’s Ellison Honour Choir,
Learn more about Greg at Greg Jasperse
Heather Bambrick
Heather Bambrick is a JUNO-nominated vocalist who has collaborated with Phil Nimmons, Fred Hirsch, Gene DiNovi, Guido Basso, Lea Delaria, Rob McConnell, Peter Appleyard, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, and others. She has released three solo recordings, including You’ll Never Know, which was nominated for Vocal Jazz Recording of the Year at the 2017 JUNO Awards and Jazz Recording of the Year at the
2018 East Coast Music Awards. Heather hasbeen a featured guest on numerous projects, and has been awarded Canada’s National Jazz Award for Vocalist of the Year. Beyond singing, Heather is an award-winning broadcaster on JAZZ.FM91 (Canada’s only all-Jazz radio station), and a highly regarded adjudicator and clinician, working at schools and festivals across Canada.
Learn more about Heather at Heather Bambrick
Jacqueline Dawson
Jacqueline Dawson received undergraduate degrees in music and music education from Memorial University of Newfoundland and holds a masters degree in conducting from the University of Manitoba. She has attended the Conductor’s Art Symposium at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, The Art of Wind Band Teaching at the University of Minnesota and completed the Canadian Wind Conductor’s Development Program in Winnipeg. Jacquie is currently Assistant Professor and Director of Bands at the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music where she conducts the Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, coaches chamber ensembles and teaches courses in music education. She also serves as Faculty Advisor for music education student teachers. Prior to this appointment Jacquie taught in public school for twenty years, primarily at Vincent Massey Collegiate in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Learn more about Jacquie at Jacquie Dawson
Janet Song Kim
Dr. Janet 성은(Song-eun, or Song, for short) Kim (any pronouns) is the Assistant Professor of Music and director of the Wind Ensemble at the University of Connecticut. In this role, they conducts the UCONN Wind Ensemble in addition to teaching conducting and wind literature classes. Kim earned their doctor of musical arts degree in conducting from The Herb Alpert School of Music at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to this, they earned a master of arts degree in instrumental conducting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and their bachelor of music degree in music education and jazz studies, magna cum laude, from Montclair State University.
Learn more about Janet at Janet Kim
Jennifer Bell
Saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist and conductor Jennifer Bell has been active on the Montréal scene since 1985. Jennifer is the co-founder of the groups Streetnix, (FIJM 1987-2017) and Altsys Jazz Orchestra, with whom she has performed hundreds of concerts throughout North America and Europe. Jennifer Bell is also a clinician and adjudicator throughout North America and has taught at the McGill Conservatory since 1985.
Jeremy Bell
A native of Toronto, violinist Jeremy Bell earned a B. Mus degree from the University of Toronto, and from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he received his Masters and Doctor of Music. Dr. Bell is a recipient of numerous grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts and is a prize winner of the Eckhardt Grammatté National competition and the Conseil Québécois’ Prix Opus. He has studied with David Zafer, George Neikrug, Joyce Robbins, Metro Kozak and with members of the Orford, Juilliard, Tokyo, and Orion string quartets. Joining the Penderecki String Quartet in 1999, Dr. Bell is Artist in Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University where he teaches violin and chamber music.
Learn more about Jeremy at Jeremy Bell
Jeremy is sponsored by Laurier University
Jerzy Kaplanek
Jerzy is an Associate Professor, Violin, Strings and Chamber Music, and the String Coordinator at Wilfred Laurier University. He a member of the Penderecki String Quartet, artist in residence. Jerzy was born in Poland and began his musical training at the age of six on piano and transitioned to the violin at age ten. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Conservatory in Bytom and a Master’s Degree in Arts from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.
Learn more about Jerzy at Jerzy Kaplanek
Jerzy is sponsored by Laurier University
Joe Sullivan
Joe is an associate professor at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, where he teaches jazz composition, arranging and trumpet. Part of a musical family, Joe played the piano as a child and took up the trumpet in high school, going on to study classical trumpet at the University of Ottawa. His interest in jazz led him to Boston where he first studied at the Berklee School of Music, and then at the New England Conservatory of Music with George Russell and Jimmy Giuffre, receiving a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies. Since then, he has lived in the Montreal area, where he is an active performer, composer, arranger and bandleader. A prolific composer, Sullivan directs a jazz sextet and The Joe Sullivan Big Band, and has eight albums to his name as a leader, the most recent being Whiskey Jack Waltz with his small group, and Unfamiliar Surroundings with his big band.
Learn more about Joe at Joe Sullivan
Joe is sponsored by McGill University
John Chalmers
Chair, Choral/Vocal Jazz
John is active as an adjudicator and clinician throughout North America and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Vocal Festival and part of the Executive Committee of MusicFest Canada for over 30 years. He taught music at Humberview SS, Central Peel SS, Mayfield SS, Humber College and the University of Toronto Jazz Performance Program where his groups received national and international recognition, winning nine DOWN BEAT Magazine Student Music Awards. John has received the I.A.J.E. “Outstanding Jazz Director Award” for Canada, the Jazz Report Award for “Best Secondary School Jazz Program” and was inducted into the MusicFest Canada “Hall of Fame” for outstanding service to young Canadian musicians.
Josh Rager
Josh Rager is a pianist, arranger, composer, and teacher based in Montreal. In 2005, he was nominated for the Prix du Festival at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. In 2007, he played at Carnegie Hall with Nikki Yanofsky, and also appeared on her Juno-nominated release “Ella… Of Thee I Swing”. He also received a commission from the European Broadcasting Union in 2009 to compose a jazz suite for two pianos entitled “Menuet and Duo”, which was recorded by CBC at its premiere at Montreal’s Pollack Hall and broadcast internationally. Josh is an assistant professor in jazz studies at Concordia University, and his most recent CD, “Dreams and Other Stories” features new original music for his quintet. He has performed and recorded with Ingrid Jensen, Walt Weiskopf, Donny McCaslin, Joe Morello, Pat LaBarbera, Kevin Dean, Ranee Lee, and Dawn Tyler Watson.
Learn more about Josh at Josh Rager
Josh is sponsored by Concordia University
Karl Silveira
Karl Silveira is a Juno Nominated (Lemon Bucket Orkestra 2013) Trombonist from Toronto. He completed a Master of Music in Jazz Performance and Composition from the University of Toronto in 2019. Aside from his work as a freelance trombonist, Karl is a composer, educator and bandleader as well. Karl composes for and leads The Karl Silveira Quintet featuring Allison Au, Matt Newton, Dan Fortin and Nico Dann. He recently released his Debut album “A Porta Aperta” in April 2022. Karl is a devout educator and is an applied teacher in the Jazz Program at The University of Toronto where he has been teaching since 2019.
Learn more about Karl at Karl Silveira
Karl is sponsored by the University of Toronto
Katie Schlaikjer
Katie is Artist-in-Residence (Penderecki String Quartet), Cello, Strings and Chamber Music Instructor at Wilfred Laurier University. She received her Doctoral and Master’s degrees from Stony Brook University and Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory. Katie taught cello at the University of Connecticut from 2010-2013 while maintaining a private teaching studio in Stony Brook, NY for seven years.
Learn more about Katie at Katie Schlaikjer
Katie is sponsored by Laurier University.
Kelsley Grant
Chair, Instrumental Jazz
Trombonist, composer and arranger Kelsley Grant received his Bachelor of Music from McGill University and completed his graduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music. Shortly after leaving New York, he joined Maynard Fergusonʼs Big Bop Nouveau and toured the United States, Germany, Switzerland and England. Kelsley has performed with Aretha Franklin, Jackie Richardson, Frank Sinatra Jr., Michael Buble, Maria Schneider, Michel Legrand, Nicholas Payton, Sophie Milman, Ranee Lee, and Nikki Yanofsky. Kelsley has been twice nominated for trombonist of the year by the National Jazz Awards. The Jefferson-Grant Quintet won an Opus Award for their first recording and was nominated as Acoustic Ensemble of the Year by the National Jazz Awards.Kelsley has served as a faculty member at McGill University, University of Montreal, and University of Toronto. He is the musical director of the JAZZ.FM91 Youth Big Band. He has given master classes and clinics at universities across Canada and is currently the coordinator of Humber College’s introduction to commercial jazz music program.
Learn more about Kelsley at Kelsley Grant
Kent Sangster
Kent Sangster has been a prominent member of Canada’s jazz scene for over twenty-five years. Kent is a highly respected saxophonist, educator, bandleader, composer-arranger, and producer. His “Obsessions Octet” has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Rochester International Jazz Festival and completed 2 extensive tours in Europe. The European tours included performances in UK, Hungary, The Czechoslovakia, Greece and Poland. He has released 7 recordings, 4 of which are with the Obsessions Octet. In addition to the Juno nomination, Kent is a Western Canadian Music Award winning artist. Kent holds an Assistant Professorship at MacEwan University, in the areas of Jazz composition, arranging, improvisation and performance. Kent is also the executive and artistic director of the Edmonton International Jazz festival.
Kent is sponsored by Grant MacEwan University
Kevin Hamlin
Adjudicator/Clinician
Kevin was Arts Department Leader and Music Department Head at Collingwood Collegiate for 29 years, building one of the largest and most diverse programs in the province of Ontario. In 2015, Kevin was Awarded Keith Mann Outstanding Band Director by MusicFest Canada , along with the Collingwood Arts Award. In 2016 , he was awarded the Order of Collingwood. Kevin has been a presenter at Ontario Music Educators’ Association conferences on a wide range of topics. Chosen as Yamaha Music Canada’s first Educator-In-Residence, Kevin works across the country adjudicating band festivals, providing Board wide workshops, and individual school-based clinics.
Learn more about Kevin at Kevin Hamlin
Kevin is sponsored by Yamaha Canada Music
Maria Conkey
A native of Newfoundland and Labrador, Maria Conkey is an inspiring and innovative conductor, clinician, and pedagogue. In addition to beginning her Doctorate of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) at the University of Toronto, she is the Artistic Director of the Oakville Choir for Children & Youth and the Outreach Co-ordinator at St. Michael’s Choir School. Maria is also the 2023-24 recipient of the Elmer Iseler National Graduate Fellowship in Choral Conducting, and a nominee for the 2023 Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting. She has also received the Beryl Barnes Memorial Graduate Award and the Andreas Barban Memorial Scholarship. Past engagements include the Artistic Director of Young Voices Toronto, the Conductor of the award-winning senior choirs at St. Bonaventure’s College (NL), and the Choral Director at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist (NL). She has also worked with Shallaway – Newfoundland Youth in Chorus and several children’s, youth, and adult choirs, including the Alberta Youth Choir and the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers.
Learn more about Maria at Maria Conkey
Mark Caswell
Mark recently retired after a lifetime career of teaching music at Markham District High School; the MDHS music department was home to several concert bands, jazz ensembles, choirs and chamber ensembles, consistently earning Gold awards when attending Nationals at Musicfest Canada. In 2016, the MDHS music staff were collectively presented with the YRDSB Teaching Award of Excellence. Mark is a founding member of the Ontario Band Association, serving as President as well as his continuing role as Festival coordinator for the Provincial Band Festival for more than 20 years. He has also been an active adjudicator, conductor and clinician across the province for many years, and continues to be a member of Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Association, the OMEA and the Canadian Band Associations. Mark has also been the recipient of an Honorary Lifetime Membership Award by the Ontario Band Association. As recognition for his years of leadership and volunteer activities, Mark was recently privileged to be presented with the Canadian Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers by The Chancellery of Honours, Rideau Hall, Ottawa.
Learn more about Mark at Mark Caswell.
Michele Jacot
Michele holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Toronto and a Master of Music in Performance from Northwestern University in Chicago. She maintains an active schedule of performing, conducting, adjudicating, teaching and concert production. Besides being in demand for her skills as a clarinetist, Michele is equally at home as a saxophonist and flutist. She regularly performs with symphony orchestras and opera companies, as well as in theatre pit orchestras including Mirvish Productions and the Shaw Festival, and in many chamber ensembles. Michele has been the Artistic Director of Toronto’s Wychwood Clarinet Choir since its inception in 2009. She is proud to be a Yamaha Canada Spotlight Artist, and an Artist at Vandoren, Paris, France.
Learn more about Michele at Michele Jacot
Moeen Hosain
Moeen Hosain is the District Manager for Canada for Conn-Selmer Musical Instruments. He has been involved in the many facets of the music industry and music education for over 20 years. He is a sought after Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble clinician in Quebec. He has also worked in for the Canadian Armed Forces as a Brass Instructor at CFB Borden, Ontario (1991-92). Presently Moeen Hosain is on the Board of the NSMEAC (Nova Scotia Music Educators Association Conference)
Learn more about Moeen at Moeen Hosain
Pratik Gandhi
Vice-Chair, Concert Band
Pratik Ghandi received a B.Mus. in music education and an M.Mus. in conducting from the University of Western Ontario. He is currently a doctoral student at York University in Toronto, researching issues of equity and representation among wind band composers in Canada. His article, “Composer Representation in Canadian Wind Band Festival Lists”, was published in the Fall 2020 issue of Canadian Winds. For more information, please visit www.pratikgandhi.ca .
Learn more about Pratik at Pratik Gandhi, Conductor
Rebecca Hennessy
Rebecca Hennessy is an award-winning Canadian trumpeter, vocalist, composer and bandleader. She has jazz performance degrees from University of Toronto and Vancouver Island University. As a leader and co-leader, Rebecca has released eight albums to date and has toured Mexico, Panama, Sri Lanka, Europe, USA and extensively in Canada. In June 2018, Rebecca was presented with the Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Jazz Artist Award. In July 2016, Rebecca Hennessy’s FOG Brass Band was nominated for both the Montreal Jazz Festival’s Grand Prix de Jazz and the Galaxie Rising Star Award at the Halifax Jazz Festival. Rebecca co-leads Way North, which features herself on trumpet, Petr Cancura on tenor saxophone, Michael Herring on bass and Richie Barshay on drums. In 2016, Way North was invited to perform and teach workshops at Danilo Perez’s Jazz Festival in Panama. Rebecca is also a co-leader and composer of Toronto’s chamber-jazz quartet, Hobson’s Choice. Hobson’s Choice has been performing and recording since 2008 and has since released three independently funded EP’s and a full length album “Of The Waves” released on Barnyard Records with the support of the OAC. “Of The Waves” was rated 4/4 by Toronto’s Now Magazine.
Learn more about Rebecca at Rebecca Hennessy
Rebecca is sponsored by the University of Toronto
Rich Brown
Along with being one of the most called upon electric bass players in Canada, Rich Brown is a composer, producer, bandleader, educator and clinician, broadcaster, and voiceover artist. He has recorded three albums as a leader, including his critically acclaimed album of solo bass compositions ‘Between Heaviness & Here.’ Rich appears on a plethora of recordings ranging from Jazz to traditional Arabic and Asian music. Rich leads two groups—rinsethealgorithm and The Abeng —and was nominated for a Juno Award in 2016 for his latest album, ‘Abeng.’ As an educator, Rich Brown is well-known for his work as a faculty member with the popular online bass education website Scott’s Bass Lessons. He teaches at the University of Toronto. You can also hear Rich every Saturday as the host of his own show ‘New Origins’ on jazzcast.ca.
Learn more about Rich at Rich Brown
Rich is sponsored by the University of Toronto
Scott Leithead
Vice Chair, Choral/Vocal Jazz
Scott Leithead is the founder and Artistic Director of Edmonton’s Korora Choir Association and TIME Association. Under his direction, Korora was the winner of both the 2015 CBC National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs and both the 2015 and 2016 Canadian National Music Competition. In the summer of 2019, Korora was invited to perform at the IFCM World Choral Expo in Portugal, where they represented Canada on the world stage. Scott has a passion for music from southern Africa, and he has been invited to work with choirs in South Africa and Namibia on numerous occasions. In 2008–2009, Scott was on sabbatical in Namibia, where he worked with the Mascato Youth Choir and many other choirs in southern Africa. In February 2023, he conducted the ISSEA Mass Choir in Johannesburg, South Africa, featuring international schools from across the African continent. In 2015, Scott was awarded Choir Alberta’s top honour, the Richard S. Eaton Award. He also received Edmonton’s Salute to Excellence award in 2016. In 2024, he will conduct the 40th Anniversary Manitoba Sings Adult Choir, the Ellison Canadian Honour Choir (Toronto), the Eastman Honour Choir and the Nova Scotia Youth Choir. He will also adjudicate the 2024 Ontario Vocal Festival.
Learn more about Scott at Scott Leithead
Scott is sponsored by Korora Choirs
Sharon Fitzsimmins
Chair, Concert Band
Sharon Fitzsimmins, Mus. Bac, B.Ed, is a respected educator, international adjudicator, clinician and conductor. She is past president of The Ontario Music Educators’ Association (OMEA) and was co-editor of The Recorder for 8 years, conductor at National Music Camp of Canada and examiner for The Royal Conservatory of Music. She taught for thirty years at Barrie North Collegiate where she conducted award winning bands and choirs. She has written three teacher resources and is working on a fourth.
Learn more about Sharon at Sharon Fitzsimmins
Tara Davidson
Tara Davidson is a JUNO Award-winning alto and soprano saxophonist who has performed around the world at such prestigious venues as New York City’s Carnegie Hall, the acclaimed North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, the JZ Jazz Club in Shanghai, China, and The Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C. As a bandleader, Davidson has produced seven recordings since 2004 and performed on approximately forty recordings as a side musician. Five of her seven recordings as a leader or co-leader (Carn Davidson 9) have been nominated by the JUNO Awards for “Jazz Album of the Year”. In 2020, Davidson won a JUNO Award for Jazz Album of the Year: Group as a member of Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop. Tara also enjoys a diverse freelance career as a woodwind player (saxophones, clarinet, and flute). She has worked with musical theatre companies such as the Stratford Festival, the Musical Stage Company, and Drayton Entertainment, and with such symphonies as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the National Ballet Orchestra. Tara is an active educator on faculty at the University of Toronto and York University.
Learn more about Tara at Tara Davidson