Brenda Uchimaru graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education. Her thirty-seven-year career as an instrumental and vocal teacher. provided her with many opportunities to share her passion with high school students, music educators and community ensembles. Working with the Hamilton, Waterloo and York Region Boards of Education, she experienced diverse roles as department head, consultant and curriculum author. During her first decade, Brenda’s specialty with choirs was acknowledged with invitations for her concert, chamber and jazz choirs to do workshop demonstrations at schools, music conferences, universities and Boards of Education. Her choirs were consistently awarded gold standards in MusicFest Canada National Festivals and Kiwanis Festivals. Brenda’s last twelve years were at Unionville High School in Markham, in the regular and Arts York and Arts Unionville music programs. She directed the concert, chamber, jazz and showchoir and some musicals.
For over seventeen years, Brenda was course director of the Secondary School Music Course for the Ontario Educational Leadership Centre. She also taught the Vocal Music Additional Qualification Parts 1, 2 and 3 courses for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. As a freelance musical director, she has collaborated with community music theatre organizations, including New Faces Theatre, Hamilton Theatre Inc, Burlington Light Opera Society, Theatre Aquarius Summer Program, WEST Studio Theatre, The Oakville Players, The Player’s Guild of Hamilton, and Unionville Theatre Company. Brenda has enjoyed and learned through her directorship journey with the Rotary Youth Choir of Hamilton Mountain, The Harlequin Singers, Vox Nouveau Singers, and Toronto’s Bell’Arte Singers. In addition to Kokoro, Brenda is artistic director of the Cambridge Male Chorus.
