Zoltan Kalman was born in Hungary. He received his training at the prestigious Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest and obtained his Masters in Clarinet Performance and Chamber Music. Before his arrival to Canada, he served as principal clarinet with the Hungarian Opera House in Budapest.
Mr. Kalman is principal clarinetist with both, the Niagara Symphony and  Burlington Symphony, and appears regularly with the Southern Ontario Lyric Opera Company. He is currently the clarinet, saxophone and chamber music instructor at McMaster University in Hamilton, and conductor of the University Wind Ensemble at Brock University in St. Catharines, where he teaches clarinet, saxophone, and Woodwind Techniques.

Learn more about Zoltan at Zoltan Kalman

Zoltan is sponsored by McMaster University

Alba Chen graduated from Shanghai Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music Education and received a Master Degree in Choral Conducting from Memorial University. She was recently accepted into University of Toronto’s Doctorate of Musical Arts program. She is the musical director at Nomad Stages in Stephenville, Newfoundland, where she won Best Choir at the Stephenville Rotary Music Festival and is a guest conductor for The Atlantic Boy Choir.  In addition to her extensive choir conducting experiences, she has worked as an improvisation actress, film producer and director for 5 years. She was one of the first members in the professional Chinese improv team under KaiXin MaHua.

Principal cellist of the Niagara Symphony Orchestra, Gordon Cleland has performed across North America. He teaches cello at Brock University and is an instructor with Suzuki Niagara and the Niagara Youth Orchestra.  Gordon has adjudicated music festivals across Canada and runs a private studio in the Niagara region. Gordon earned a Master of Music degree from Boston University.

Learn more about Gordon at Gordon Cleland

Waleed Abdulhamid is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, composer, vocalist, music and film producer, and is known for his striking vocals, innovative bass technique, and his speed and precision on percussion. He has been an active member of the Toronto music scene since his arrival from Sudan in 1992, and is the recipient of the Canadian New Pioneer Award, African Tama Award, Reel World Film Festival Award, Canadian Film Board of Excellence Award, and twice the DORA Award. He demonstrates his versatility playing 20 instruments: guitar; bass; drums; flute; harmonica; kirin; bass kirin; darabhuka; marimba; balimbo; congas; bongos; djembe; dumbek; aghera; tambour; cajun; denger; ekaa; tama. Waleed is currently a faculty member in
the music department of the University of Toronto. Formerly, he worked for twenty years as a professor in the Music Degree Program at Humber College.

Learn more about Waleed at Waleed Abudulhamid

Toronto-native Rosalind Zhang is a multi-instrumentalist, educator, and performer who credits her colourful experiences to her artistic upbringing. She spent her formative years immersed in a fast-paced curriculum that strived for both artistic and academic excellence at the Claude Watson School for the Arts, where she received additional training in acting, improvisation, movement, visual arts, creativity, and dance.  She obtained certification as an Associate of the Royal Conservatory in Toronto in Piano Performance before she officially accepted her admission to the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, majoring in cello alone. After receiving her Bachelor degree and an Advanced Certificate in Performance, she moved to New York and continued her cello studies at the Manhattan School of Music.

Learn more about Rosalind at Rosalind Zhang

Andrew Harris is Principal Timpani & Percussion with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and has performed regularly with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with ensembles including Ottawa Choral Society, Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, Touring Broadway Productions, and the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces. Andrew is Coordinator of the Percussion Sector at the University of Ottawa where he gives lessons and directs the percussion ensemble. He has been the percussion coach for the Ottawa Youth and Junior Youth Orchestras and frequently runs high school masterclasses and coaching sessions.

Learn more about Andrew at Andrew Harris

Andrew is sponsored by the University of Ottawa

A native of Toronto, Chris began playing tuba at the age of twelve at Winona Drive Senior Public School and instantly discovered a passion for performing.  After graduating from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, Chris’ formal education included studies at McGill, the Montreal Conservatoire and Indiana University. Chris’ professional orchestral tuba career began overseas in Spain, performing as Principal Tuba with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia for 2 seasons from 2001 to 2003 before returning to Canada to take up the same position with the Winnipeg Symphony in 2003.  Chris served as Principal Tuba with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for 15 seasons from 2003 until 2018, when he started as Principal Tuba with the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Learn more about Chris at Chris Lee

Chris is sponsored by the University of Ottawa

Douglas Burden has been the Bass Trombonist of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1972. He has taught at the University of Ottawa since 1975. He was the bass trombone instructor at the McGill Faculty of Music in Montréal for six years from 2001 to 2007. For a period of five years from 1987 to 1992, he travelled weekly to Kingston and taught at Queen’s University. He was also a member of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra for seventeen years from 1975 to1992.

Learn more about Douglas at Douglas Burden

Douglas is sponsored by the University of Ottawa

Ottawa trumpeter Steven van Gulik joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2009. He began learning the cornet at age eight with his uncle Kenneth Moore and performed in the local Salvation Army church. An active chamber musician, he performs annually at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and regularly joins Ottawa’s Capital BrassWorks brass ensemble. Steven van Gulik has been principal trumpet of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with this orchestra, as well as with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Learn more about Steven at Steven van Gulik

Steven is sponsored by the University of Ottawa

Principal Horn with the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 2002, Lawrence Vine has also served as Principal Horn with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. He regularly performs at home and on tour with the National Arts Centre Wind Quintet, a highly acclaimed ensemble that has recorded for the Naxos label. As a soloist, he has appeared with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and Ottawa’s Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra.

Learn more about Lawrence at Lawrence Vine

Lawrence is sponsored by the University of Ottawa

Victor Herbiet studied saxophone with Peter Smith and Noël Samyn and composition with Steven Gellman at the University of Ottawa where he obtained a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in saxophone performance. His most recent compositions for solo saxophone and clarinet were featured as compulsory works for the 2019 Saxiana International Competition in France, to which he was invited as adjudicator. Victor is currently adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of Music. He publishes his compositions through Gérard Billaudot, Dorn Publications and the Canadian Music Centre. Victor has been playing principal saxophone with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra since 2007.

Learn more about Victor at Victor Herbiet

Victor is sponsored by the University of Ottawa

Montreal-born Richard Hoenich enjoys a distinguished career as a performer, conductor, and educator. He has conducted professional orchestras on four continents and at such prestigious venues as the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the Zarzuela Theatre in Madrid, and the Salle Pleyel in Paris. In Canada, he has conducted the Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, among others. During his tenure as principal bassoon with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1979 to 1991 he was appointed associate conductor of the MSO by music director Charles Dutoit.

Learn more about Richard at Richard Hoenich

Richard is sponsored by the University of Ottawa

Kimball Sykes joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra as principal clarinet in 1985. Born in Vancouver, he received a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of British Columbia.  He has performed and toured with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and was a member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. While in Vancouver, he was a founding member of the Vancouver Wind Trio. From 1983 to 1985 he was principal clarinet of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.

Learn more about Kimball at Kimball Sykes

Kimball is sponsored by the University of Ottawa

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Charles “Chip” Hamann earned a Bachelor of Music and the prestigious Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in 1993. He was appointed to the principal oboe chair of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in 1993 at the age of 22. Mr. Hamann has also served as guest principal oboe with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Quebec’s Les Violons du Roy.  Mr. Hamann is Adjunct Professor of oboe at the University of Ottawa School of Music and was on the faculty of the NAC Summer Music Institute for twenty years.

Learn more about Chip at Chip Hamann

Chip is sponsored by the University of Ottawa

Carolyn Christie won the Second Flute Chair of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) in 1978, after beginning her orchestral career with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. With the OSM she toured 40 times, performing in Europe, Asia, South America and North America. Ms. Christie performed in Carnegie Hall on many occasions and has appeared on about 100 recordings.  Ms. Christie taught on the faculties of the University of Alberta, Concordia University, and the Conservatoire de Quebec à Montréal, as well as Domaine Forget and The National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Learn more about Carolyn at Carolyn Christie

Carolyn is sponsored by the University of Ottawa

Shawn Spicer has been a professional trumpet player and educator since 1990. He has played in orchestras across Canada and was principal trumpet of Orchestra London Canada from 1999 to 2014. Shawn is the principal trumpet of the London Symphonia and is in demand as a freelance player across Ontario Canada.

Learn more about Shawn at Shawn Spicer

Shawn is sponsored by Western University

Canadian flautist Stephen Tam is equally comfortable as soloist, chamber musician or orchestral player, performing repertoire ranging from the baroque to the contemporary.  First-Prize Winner of the 32nd CBC/Radio-Canada National Competition for Young Performers, Stephen has appeared as concerto soloist in recent seasons with the Canadian Sinfonietta, the Ontario Philharmonic and Counterpoint Community Orchestra. Past concerto engagements included collaborations with the Calgary Philharmonic, the Banff Festival Orchestra and the Toronto Senior Strings.

Learn more about Stephen at Stephen Tam

Stephen is sponsored by Western University

Dan Fortin was born and raised in Peterborough, Ontario. His eclectic tastes and stylistic flexibility have led to work with a wide variety of artists in the jazz, rock and pop worlds, including Bernice, The Allison Au Quartet, Queer Songbook Orchestra, Emilie-Claire Barlow, John Southworth, Serena Ryder, July Talk, Devon Sproule, Mike O’Neill, Bryn Roberts, David Occhipinti, Tara Davidson, Harley Card, Michael Davidson, Alex Goodman, and many others.
Dan is a co-leader of the trio MYRIAD3, along with pianist Chris Donnelly and drummer Ernesto Cervini. Together, they’ve released five albums for Alma Records: Tell (2012), The Where (2014 – Juno nominee), Tell((Chip)) (2015 – Donnelly’s electronic reimagining of their debut record), Moons, (2016), and Vera (2018.) 

Learn more about Dan at Dan Fortin

Dan is sponsored by the University of Toronto

Learn more about Chris at Chris Donnelly

Chris is sponsored by the University of Toronto

Trombonist William Carn has emerged as one of Canada’s leading contemporary jazz trombonists and composer. He has performed internationally as well as throughout Canada. His recordings, Carn Davidson NINE and Other Stories, have been nominated Juno Awards in 2014 and 2007 respectively. Most recently, he was nominated for a Down Beat Magazine Rising Star award in 2015.  As a bandleader, William currently leads several groups; the William Carn Quintet, his quartet Run Stop Run, and most recently, a co-lead ensemble with saxophonist Tara Davidson, named the Carn Davidson 9.

Learn more about William at William Carn

William is sponsored by the University of Toronto.

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.

JAMIE HILLMAN is a Canadian and American musician, active as a conductor, music educator, singer, pianist, and composer-arranger. He holds the endowed Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting at the University of Toronto where he is Director of Choral Studies and an Associate Professor. He conducts the U of T MacMillan Singers and leads the master’s and doctoral degree programs in Choral Conducting. Professor Hillman is also cross listed as a faculty member in Emmanuel College’s Master of Sacred Music program. In 2024, Dr. Hillman received the Faculty of Music’s Teaching Award which recognizes excellence, commitment, and innovation in teaching. Professor Hillman has served on the faculties of Boston University Metropolitan College/Prison Education Program, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Kodály Music Institute, Longy School of Music of Bard College, and Tyndale University. As a Boston University Prison Arts Scholar, he co-initiated an innovative vocal music program in the Massachusetts prison system. He is launching a similar program at a women’s prison in Kitchener, Ontario. Dr. Hillman earned an associate diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) and a Bachelor of Music from Western University (London, Canada). In 2024, he was inducted to Western’s Don Wright Faculty of Music’s Alumni Wall of Fame. He completed the Master of Music at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Doctor of Musical Arts at Boston University, where he studied with Ann Howard Jones. He is the 2012 laureate of the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting from the Ontario Arts Council.

Learn more about Jaimie at Jamie Hillman

Dr. Janet Song Kim serves as the Director of Wind Bands at the University of Connecticut where they are the director and conductor of the UConn Wind Ensemble, while teaching private lessons in conducting, instrumental pedagogy and literature. Kim is an active guest conductor and clinician who works with schools, honour bands, music camps, and also leads clinics in the United States, Canada, and South Korea.  Janet earned their doctorate in conducting from The Herb Alpert School of Music at the University of California.  They also led a fully virtual ensemble through the pandemic. 

Le Dr Janet Song Kim est directrice des orchestres d’harmonie de l’Université du Connecticut. Dans ce rôle, elle est professeure adjointe de musique, directrice et chef d’orchestre de l’UConn Wind Ensemble.  De plus, le Dr Kim donne des cours privés de direction d’orchestre, de pédagogie et de littérature instrumentale. Chef d’orchestre invité et clinicienne en demande, le Dr Kim travaille dans les écoles, dirige des groupes honorifiques, participe à des camps musicaux et donne des cliniques aux États-Unis, au Canada aussi bien qu’en Corée du Sud. Kim a obtenu son doctorat en direction d’orchestre à la Herb Alpert School of Music de l’Université de la Californie.  Janet a aussi dirigé un ensemble entièrement virtuel pendant la pandémie.

Learn more about Janet at Janet Kim

Jill Ball is an award-winning teacher and an accomplished solo, chamber and orchestral musician as well as an active adjudicator, conductor, and clinician. Her responsibilities include the Undergraduate and Graduate percussion studio, directing the Western University Percussion Ensemble, and Division Coordinator for Winds, Brass and Percussion.

She has performed with a variety of professional orchestras in the United States and Canada, including the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London, and the Windsor Symphony. Other solo appearances include the Northwestern University Wind Ensemble, the Oklahoma City University Percussion Ensemble, and the Western University Percussion Ensemble. Jill is a frequent recitalist and advocate of contemporary music. She has recorded with the Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble on the Albany and DMP labels. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University, a Master of Music from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Music Education from Central Michigan University and has also taught at the University of Windsor and at the University of New Brunswick. She is Past President of the Ontario Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society.

Jill is sponsored by the Don Wright Faculty of Music, Western University

Helen Geng has been teaching with the York Region District School Board since September 2018. A graduate from the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, Helen is an avid trumpet player and currently performs with the Metropolitan Winds of Toronto. Helen has participated in conducting symposia with York University, the University of Toronto, and the University of California Los Angeles. She has been a clinician for trumpet and wind band at many schools in the Greater Toronto Area, and for several years, she was a member of the trumpet section and the Personnel Manager of the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra (TYWO).

Since 2018, Helen has been an elected member of the TYWO Board of Directors, currently serving as the chair of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee. In 2020, Helen was awarded the Ontario Band Association’s Conducting Excellence Award for her work with the Richmond Hill High School Symphonic Winds. ​

Peggy Hua is a conductor and music educator based in Vancouver, Canada. Their Taiwanese heritage and strong connections to Chinese culture inspire their work as a staunch supporter of Vancouver’s vibrant music scene. She currently serves as the Artistic Director of the BC Chinese Orchestra and Downton Singers, Choral Director of St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church and West End Singers, Resident Conductor of BC Chinese Music Ensemble and Left Coast Labour Chorus.  In 2014, Peggy directed Cor Flammae as the inaugural guest conductor and holds the position of associate conductor with the choir. Since 2016, Peggy has been a frequent guest conductor of the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO). Peggy has also previously taught as sessional faculty in choral conducting at the University of British Columbia (UBC) School of Music.  Actively engaged in Vancouver’s cultural community, Peggy has served on numerous boards in Vancouver, namely the Vancouver Women’s Musical Society, as well as currently serving on the board of the Pride in Art Society (PiA).

Learn more about Peggy at Peggy Hua

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.

Corey is concertmaster of the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Hamilton Orchestra and the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra.  He has also performed in this role with the Boris Brott National Academy Orchestra, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Orchestra, and Esprit Orchestra.  He performs frequently with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. He is presently on faculty at the Western University, the National Music Camp of Canada and is a member of the Royal College of Examiners.

Corey has distinguished himself as a soloist and chamber musician with performances in Canada, Germany, the United States and China.  Concerto appearances include performances of such works as Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, Beethoven Triple Concerto, Beethoven Violin Concerto, Sibelius Violin Concerto, Brahms Violin Concerto and Brahms Concerto for Violin and Cello.  20th Century solos with orchestra include Mozetich’s Affairs of the Heart for Violin and Orchestra and Vaughn Williams’ The Lark Ascending.  He has performed as concertmaster for a number of musicals including recent productions of Beauty and the Beast, the Hugh Jackman Show and Next to Normal and has worked with such pop icons as Hugh Jackman and Chantal Kreviazuk.

Yves Laroche is a Performance Instructor in Jazz Piano at Carleton University and Carleton Jazz Camp, and has been a part-time faculty member at the School of Music at the University of Ottawa for over 20 years, teaching Arranging and Jazz Ensemble. He also appeared as guest performer at an alumni gala concert, and has performed at convocation at Saint Paul University. As well, he has lectured on jazz harmony and improvisation.

In 2007, he received a Great Grant Award from the Trillium Foundation for his excellence in jazz education at the elementary school level. Yves Laroche helped establish jazz programming for Café Nostalgica and the Jazz Vespers Series at All-Saints Anglican Church in Westboro.  Yves worked as an arranger for CBC Radio’s Ottawa In Concert featuring Vanessa London. Recently, his jazz composition “For Oscar” was aired on the CBC Radio jazz music program Tonic. He has performed with the Ewashko Singers, the Cantata Singers of Ottawa, Capital Vox and the Orpheus Theatre Company, and he was musical director and pianist for the National Arts Centre production of Angel Square by Brian Doyle.  His vast musical theatre experience includes productions of Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell and Once Upon A Mattress. As a jazz sideman, he plays regularly with the Pollcats, the Peter Liu Trio, the Rick Rangno Project and the Doug Martin Quartet. He regularly plays private engagements at Rideau Hall, the Rideau Club, and the Chateau Laurier, and is featured at the Brookstreet Hotel, Zolas and Vineyard’s Wine and Bar Bistro. 

Yves is sponsored by Carleton University Music.

Eric is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto.  He earned a MM from the Juilliard School, a BM and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music.  He is the principal bassoon position in three different organizations: the Canadian Opera Company, the Hamilton Philharmonic and the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago.  As a soloist, Eric has performed with the Niagara Symphony, the New World Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado and the Waterloo Symphony in Iowa.

Eric has performed on recordings with the Canadian Opera Company and the Grammy-nominated Grant Park Orchestra as well as on radio broadcasts for CBC radio and Classical WFMT in Chicago. As well, he has been involved in numerous film scores and recordings for the CBC, and has performed at festivals in Banff, Heidelberg, Spoletto, Edinburgh, Japan, Taiwan and Korea.

Eric is sponsored by the University of Toronto.

Brennan is a Percussion Instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University.  He holds a Master of Music degree in Performance from Oklahoma City University and a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance from the University of Western Ontario.  He directs the Wilfrid Laurier University Percussion Ensemble and is on faculty at the Inter-Provincial Music Camp and Southampton Summer Music. In the broader arts community of Waterloo Region, he also directs the Percussion Ensemble at Cameron Heights CI in Kitchener and the Drumline at Sir John A. MacDonald SS in Waterloo.

As an orchestral musician, Brennan perform regularly with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra and Jeans ’n’ Classics Rock Symphony. He has also performed with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra London (Canada) and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.  As a theatre musician, Brennan has appeared both onstage and as a pit musician at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and played numerous other community theatre shows with Drayton Entertainment, Theatre Woodstock, Theatre Ancaster and Theatre Norfolk.  His chamber ensemble, Duo Percussion has toured the province of Ontario performing concerts for general audiences as well as numerous school shows.

Brennan is sponsored by Wilfrid Laurier University.

Jim Catalano earned a BS in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He was Graduate Assistant Band Director at The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN, earning his Masters in 1977. Jim taught music at the middle, high school and community college level.  He has been on the leading edge of percussion instrument development, sales, education and marketing for Ludwig / Musser from 1983 until his retirement in 2019.  Jim has served on the board of directors of the Percussive Arts Society from 1999-2002 and received the 1998 PAS President’s Industry Award and the 2010 Midwest Music Industry Award.

Jim has recorded several CDs with “The “Keystone Wind Ensemble”. He plays drums with “Truth in Jazz”, “Jazz Assemblage” big bands in Indiana, vibes with his own jazz group “VibeNation” and conducts recreational percussion workshops. As an active percussion clinician Jim has recently been featured at the 2001, 2006 & 2012 Midwest Band Clinic, Pennsylvania MEA – 2005, Texas MEA – 2009 & 2014, American Band College in Ashland, OR – 2003, 2006 & 2013 and Conn-Selmer Institute from 1998 – 2014.

Jim is sponsored by Conn-Selmer.

Saxophonist Bobbi Thompson currently serves as Assistant Professor of saxophone at Western University. She has performed with a wide range of organizations including Orchestra London (Canada), Irving Symphony Orchestra, Plano Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Wind Orchestra, Dallas Jazz Orchestra, Grand Theatre (Canada), Drayton Entertainment, and the world-famous University of North Texas Lab Bands.  Outside of her role as a performer and educator, Dr. Thompson serves on the Editorial Board of the North American Saxophone Alliance’s journal The Saxophone Symposium. She previously taught saxophone and chamber music at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, graduate Music Certificate from Bowling Green State University, Master of Music Education from the University of North Texas, and Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Performance from the University of Idaho.

Bobbi is sponsored by Western University

Matthew Marsit is an active conductor and clarinetist that has led ensembles and performed as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician throughout the United States. He became Chair of Instrumental Studies at Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2018, and also serves as artistic director of the Charles River Wind Ensemble. Matthew previously held conducting positions at Dartmouth College, Ithaca College, Cornell University, Drexel University, Symphony Nova, Chestnut Hill Orchestra, Bucks County Youth Ensembles, Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming Seminary, and Eastern U.S. Music Camp. He served on the clarinet faculty at Plymouth State University.  Matthew first completed his studies in music at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he graduated summa cum laude.  He completed a M.M. in conducting from Boston Conservatory in 2012.

As a clarinetist, Matthew has performed with many ensembles, including the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Fairmont Chamber Orchestra, and Cornell University’s Ensemble X, and has made solo appearances with the Keene State College Concert Band, Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble, Handel Society of Dartmouth College, Cornell University Jazz Ensemble, Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming Seminary, Drexel University Symphony Orchestra, and Chestnut Hill Orchestra.

Matthew is sponsored by Conn-Selmer.

Russell DeVuyst  has performed as Associate Principal Trumpet with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra since 1992.  He teaches trumpet, coaches small ensembles and conducts the Orchestral Repertoire class at the Schullich School of Music at McGill University.  Russell received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the Boston Conservatory of Music and a Master of Trumpet performance (with Distinction) from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

Previous to his Montreal appointment, Russell held positions as Principal Trumpet with several orchestras including the Israel Philharmonic, Boston Opera Company, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Symphonica della RAI in Torino, Italy,  the Orquestra Sinfonica de Mineria in Mexico City, Venezuela Symphony, and the Caracas Philharmonic in Venezuela. Additionally, he has performed as principal trumpet and section with the Indianapolis Symphony, Vermont Symphony and the New York Philharmonic.  Russell has conducted trumpet/brass masterclasses internationally including Japan, Malaysia, Peru, Brazil, United States and Canada.

Russell is sponsored by Conn-Selmer.

Cellist Alastair Eng joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2017. Born and raised in Toronto, he also serves as the Assistant Principal Cello of the Santa Fe Opera Company Orchestra.  Prior to joining the TSO, he was the Associate Principal Cello of the Canadian Opera Company for seven seasons. He has also performed as Guest Principal Cello with the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa, Canada).  Alastair earned his Master of Music degree with honours from the New England Conservatory, and holds a Performance Diploma from the RCM.

Alastair has led string and cello sectionals for the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Boston Youth Philharmonic, and the Taylor Performance Academy of The Royal Conservatory (RCM), and has served as Assistant Conductor of the RCM’s Community School Orchestra. In September 2020, he joined the faculty of Axis Music, a tuition-free music program for children and youth living in Toronto Community Housing.  As a composer/arranger, Alastair has received commissions from violinist Augustin Hadelich, guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas, ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, and A Far Cry, among many others. His arrangements have been called “sweet” (The Boston Globe), “delightfully schmalzy” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer), and “serious and surreal” (Strings Magazine).

Alastair is sponsored by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Jeremy Mastrangelo has performed regularly with NACO since the end of 2011 and was appointed as a full-time member in 2014. Previously, Jeremy was the associate concertmaster of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra from 2001 until 2011, and designated to be the orchestra’s next concertmaster in 2010. During his tenure with the SSO, he was a featured soloist on multiple occasions, including performances of Bach’s Concerto for two violins with Jaime Laredo, Brahms’ “Double“ Concerto, the Sibelius violin concerto, and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.  He has been a guest concertmaster with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Omaha Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, and the National Ballet of Canada. Prior to his work in Syracuse, Mastrangelo was co-concertmaster of the New World Symphony in Miami. Mr. Mastrangelo has been a finalist in the Julius Stulberg competition and was also the top prize winner in the National Federation of Music Clubs student auditions. From 2004 until 2009, he was an Affiliate Artist faculty member at Syracuse University.

Jeremy holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of Michigan, where he studied with William Preucil and Paul Kantor, respectively. Mastrangelo presently resides in Ottawa with his wife and two children, both of whom play piano and violin in addition to their  interests in baseball, basketball, dance, art, and most anything Star Wars related.

Jereny is sponsored by the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Violinist Leah Roseman has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1997. In fact, she grew up in Ottawa, and was inspired by many concerts growing up. She studied for several years with NACO retired member Keiko Hutchenreuther, and then travelled to Montreal for lessons with the well-known violin pedagogue Mauricio Fuks. She completed her B.Mus. at McGill University in Violin Performance with High Distinction, and went on to Indiana University to complete her M.Mus. where she studied with Paul Biss, and baroque violin with Stanley Ritchie. She broadened her studies at many summer music festivals: Orford, Sarasota Music Festival, Encore, Tanglewood, Schleswig-Holstein, and the Soundfest Institute of String Quartets. She was a member of the Carmel Bach Festival Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, and Les Violons du Roy before joining NACO. She’s always been active as a chamber music player, and teaching is one of the great joys of her life. In 2020 she started her YouTube channel  ViolinLessonOnline as a way of posting videos for her students, and it’s now grown to over 1,000 videos organized into 60 playlists, for players of all levels (and their teachers). She regularly hosts free international violin masterclasses over Zoom to particpants all over the world, and also does presentations on teaching  and practicing music.

In 2021 she began a new creative chapter as the producer and host of the podcast and video series “Conversations with Musicians with Leah Roseman”, which features in-depth conversations with a wide range of musicians talking about their lives and careers, with perspectives on overcoming challenges, and finding inspiration and connection through a life so enriched by music. Guests have included James Ehnes, Kerson Leong, Lynn Kuo, Carissa Klopoushak, Yosuke Kawasaki, Kirsty Money, Patty Chan, Alexis Chartrand, Aaron Schwebel, Roddy Ellias, Ellen Waterman, Subhadra Vijaykumar, Alicia Svigals, Veronica Thomas, Arna Einarsdóttir, Theo Marks, Eva Slongo, Sophie Lukacs, Kellylee Evans, Megan Jerome, Rachel Mercer, Gina Burgess, Jack Everly, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, and Hooshyar Khayam.

Leah is sponsored by the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Anna is a Coach-Accompanist, Voice; Instructor, Accompaniment and Keyboard Skills at Wilfrid Laurier University.  She am a graduate of the Music University of the Arts Vienna, and hold two masters degrees, one in Piano Performance and the other in Collaborative Piano.  Anna has held vocal and instrumental coaching and accompanying positions at the Vienna and Innsbruck Conservatories, and the Institute for European Studies, also in Vienna, and have played for masterclasses with esteemed artists including Brigitte Fassbaender, Christa Ludwig, Thomas Hampson and Linda Watson.\

Anna has collaborated with distinguished singers Michelle Breedt, Bernarda Fink and Robert Holl, and instrumentalists Ulrike Anton and Brooks de Wetter-Smith.  She has performed in venues across Europe, North America and China, including the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall in New York, Gläserner Saal, Musikverein and Schubert Saal, Konzerthaus in Vienna.

Anna is sponsored by Wilfrid Laurier University.

Kevin Turcotte is universally recognized as one of Canada’s major trumpet talents with an impressive list of recording and touring credentials as a prominent player with the elite of many Canadian jazz ensembles.

Kevin Turcotte has been regarded as one of Canada’s most proficient performers for nearly two decades. He studied music at the prestigious Banff School of Fine Arts and later, at the University of Toronto, where he joined the faculty in the 1990s. He has performed on over 75 recordings and in countless club and concert appearances. He has toured extensively throughout North America as well as with the Dave McMurdo Jazz Orchestra on the band’s 1991 Russian tour, in South America with Time Warp, with Don Byron in Italy.

Learn more about Kevin at Kevin Turcotte

James McGowan is an educator, music theorist, pianist, and composer. In addition to teaching music theory, musicianship, composition, Dr. McGowan serves as Carleton University Chair in Teaching Innovation, in which he administers the PLACE project supporting pedagogical connections between Music and the Sprott School of Business, research in Global Music Ensembles, and arts on campus by administering a Songwriting and Poetry Competition. He has also served as Assistant Director of the Carleton Jazz Camp, Supervisor of Performance Studies, Supervisor of Ensembles, Masterclasses and Practica, and Undergraduate Supervisor. He was the recipient of a Carleton Teaching Achievement Award (2013), as well as multiple “Favourite Faculty”residence awards, Carleton New Faculty Excellence in University Teaching Award, “Raving Raven Teaching Excellence” award, a Carleton University Student Association Teaching Excellence Award, and MSU Teaching Award for Humanities (2007, McMaster University). He has been a clinician and adjudicator for different arts organizations (Junos, Kiwanis, Lions, Canadian Music Showcase, City of Ottawa Arts Grants, etc.), and given workshops on topics including introductory improvisation, choral singing, jazz piano approaches, jazz music theory, and managing performance anxiety.

As a pianist, he specializes in improvised musics, and has performed in Canada, the United States, and Europe. In recent years, he has released four albums as co-leader: 4K (2020) and Two Intents (2017) with Modasaurus (a jazz-fusion quartet that performs Dr. McGowan’s compositions), Songs from the Bridge (2018) with EvenSong (a jazz-gospel quintet, funded by a grant from the United Church of Canada), and Over the Mountain(2017) with percussionist Dong-Won Kim, (who performs with Yo-yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble). His compositions and arrangements have been performed (or selected for performance) by the Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra, Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, Coro Vivo, Atlantic Voices of Ottawa, Carleton University Choir, Alexander Singers and Players (Toronto), and others. 

James is sponsored by Carleton University Music.

Born in Toronto, Marjolaine Fournier was raised in Chicoutimi after her family moved to the Saguenay in 1974. Long-standing principal double bass with the Orchestre Symphonique du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, she was a founding member of its Orchestre de Chambre in 1986. A bass student at the Conservatoire de musique de Chicoutimi and Trois-Rivières, she graduated with a Premier Prix in double bass and a Premier Prix in chamber music in 1989.

In 1991, after having been solo-double bass with the Jeunes Virtuoses of Montreal and the New York Chamber Soloists, she won a position with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Marjolaine was appointed Assistant Principal Bass with NACO in 1997. In addition to playing in Ottawa, she enjoys teaching double bass at the Conservatoire de musique à Gatineau and is a member of the Kikyo Ensemble. The quartet, composed of friends from the NAC Orchestra, performs works written or arranged for its unusual formation: violin, viola, cello and bass, in a wide diversity of repertoire, combinations and styles.  Marjolaine is a very proud recipient of the National Arts Centre’s “Good Ambassador Award”.

Marjolaine is sponsored by the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Ian has been a Double Bass instructor the Faculty of Music at Wilfred Laurier University since September 2012 and has been involved with the KWS Youth Orchestra program as a coach since 2010.  He earned a Bachelor of Music degree at McGill University and a Master of Music is from Yale University School of Music. Ian made his debut at Carnegie Hall in New York and Symphony Hall in Boston, and has appeared as a soloist with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra, performed with the Penderecki String Quartet, the NUMUS Ensemble.  He has performed with l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Calgary Philharmonic. Recently, he has been invited to play as guest principal bass with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, and the Niagara Symphony.

Learn more about Ian at Ian Whitman

Ian is sponsored by Wilfrid Laurier University.