Creative Committee
Jessie Brooks
Jessie has held the position of Principal Horn of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra as well as Principal Horn of the National Ballet of Canada since 2017. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from McGill University in 1999 while studying with James Sommerville. She went on to complete her Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois in 2002.
Prior to her current positions, Jessie played Third Horn in the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra from 2011-2016 and was the Principal Horn of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra from 2003-2009.
Jessie has been a regular substitute with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 2009 and the Canadian Opera Company since 2015. She has enjoyed playing in many Ed Mirvish Productions over the years: Spamalot, Billy Elliot, Cats, Little House on the Prairie, Sound of Music, Wizard of Oz, as well as shows at the Stratford Festival: Man of La Mancha, Jesus Christ Superstar, Tommy, Crazy for You, and most recently, Billy Elliot.
Jessie maintains an active teaching studio in the Toronto area and has been a guest mentor at the National Academy Orchestra.
Karen Donnelly
Following three successful seasons (1996-1999) as Acting Principal Trumpet of the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, Karen Donnelly was unanimously appointed Principal Trumpet in October 1999, and continues to enjoy each year with this wonderful ensemble.
A native of Regina, Saskatchewan, Karen started the trumpet in her elementary school, an active high school band program propelled her into a Bachelor of Arts in Music program at the University of Regina. Her education continued at McGill University where she completed a Master of Music in 1991. Freelancing in Montreal, she quickly became one of the most sought-after trumpet players in the area performing many concerts with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.
Karen held the position of Principal Trumpet with Orchestra London (Canada) from 1994-1996, and performed with many ensembles in southwestern Ontario during her time there.
Since arriving in Ottawa in 1996, Ms. Donnelly has participated in concerts and interviews for CBC (French and English), performances with the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Rideau Lakes Brass Quintet, and the large ensemble, Capital BrassWorks. In 2008, Capital Brass Works released its third album, “Gabriel’s Sister” featuring Ms. Donnelly as soloist.
Karen has been featured with professional orchestras, community amateur orchestras, and many local school bands. These include Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, Kington Symphony, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra London, McGill Symphony Orchestra, Hannaford Silver Street Band, Maple Leaf Brass Band, Parkdale Orchestra and the Regina Catholic Schools Honour Band.
Music education has always been, and continues to be, very close to Karen’s heart. She has given master classes and workshops in Switzerland, Mexico, China, United States, United Kingdom and Canada from coast to coast.
Ms. Donnelly joined the teaching staff at the University of Ottawa in 2002, and since 2009, Karen has been assisting with the Leadingnote “Orchkidstra” program, the local ‘El Sistema’ inspired program.
While influenced by so many great musicians, Karen has been very fortunate to study with James Thompson, Robert Earley, Barbara Butler, Michael Sachs, Phil Smith and the late Mr. Arnold Jacob and Vincent Chicowicz. And of course her first trumpet teacher Dr. Ed Lewis who helped keep the trumpet in her hands.
Vanessa Fralick
Vanessa Fralick joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Trombone in 2013. Prior to her current position, Ms. Fralick played three seasons as Acting Associate Principal Trombone of the St. Louis Symphony. She won her first orchestral position with the San Antonio Symphony in 2009, while pursuing her Master’s degree at The Juilliard School. Ms. Fralick completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, studying with Jeffrey Hall and Gordon Wolfe, and also spent one year at McGill University. She has performed with major orchestras in the Netherlands, San Francisco, Montreal, Boston, Malaysia, Utah, and Jacksonville. She played two summers in the prestigious Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland. An active educator, Vanessa is on faculty at the University of Toronto and Southampton Summer Music Camp, and has coached the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Vanessa also performs frequently as a soloist, most recently as a guest artist at ITF 2019 in Indiana, Trombonanza 2017 in Argentina, ITF 2016 in New York and at the 2015 American Trombone Workshop in Washington, D.C. She has won first prize in several major competitions, including the 2012 Elora Festival Competition, 2011 Montreal Symphony Concerto Competition and 2010 Susan Slaughter International Solo Brass Competition, where she also performed as a guest artist at the International Women’s Brass Conference. In 2009 she won concerto competitions both at Juilliard and at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California.
While in the United States Vanessa received two generous grants from the Canada Council of the Arts. She is an alumna of the National Youth Orchestra and National Academy Orchestra of Canada, and also occasionally plays alongside her brass-playing parents in the Niagara Symphony Orchestra in her hometown of St. Catharines, ON. She is also a core member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s premiere beach volleyball team, the Gustav Bahlers.
In 2013, during her time as a member of the Trombones of the St. Louis Symphony, Vanessa recorded a full length album of trombone quartets entitled Fleur de Lis. More currently, she is a founding member of the Canadian Trombone Quartet.
Luise Heyerhoff
Trumpeter Luise Heyerhoff is an active presence in the music scene in Toronto and Southern Ontario. She regularly performs with groups such as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and Hamilton Philharmonic.
In the fall of 2016, Luise performed as part of Adele’s North American tour in Montreal and Toronto. She has also performed with the Hamilton-based band The Arkells at the Juno Awards.
Luise teaches lessons to students of all ages and levels. She teaches out of her home, and she is also the trumpet instructor at Royal St. George’s College and Branksome Hall in Toronto.
Luise attended the Boston Conservatory receiving a Graduate Performance Diploma and a Performance Certificate in Orchestral Studies. She completed a Performance Diploma at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Her principal teachers have included Steve Emery, James Gardiner, Andrew McCandless, and Ben Wright.
Megan Hodge
Megan Hodge is an active freelancer on tenor and bass trombone, and has made Toronto her home for the past fourteen years. Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Megan studied at the Glenn Gould School and McGill University. She performs regularly with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company, the Esprit Orchestra, The National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, and the Hamilton Philharmonic, and is a founding member of the Toronto Brass Quintet. She has also held positions as Principal Trombone with the Victoria Symphony and as a trombonist in The Royal Canadian Artillery Band with the Canadian Armed Forces. She is the Director of Music for the Regimental Band of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada where she conducts and leads a 35 piece military band. As a teacher, Megan is on faculty at the University of Toronto where she instructs trombone and orchestral studies.
Amy Horvey
Amy Horvey is inspired to wear many hats as a 21st century trumpet player. She is active as a creator/interpreter of new and experimental music, as a performer of modern orchestral music, and as a researcher of the baroque trumpet.
A champion of Canadian contemporary music, she has performed with Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and Arraymusic and has commissioned works by Nicole Lizee, Cassandra Miller, and Christopher Butterfield, among many others. She has recorded three albums – Interview, Catchment, and Mille Bayous. As guest director of the Montreal ensemble Novarumori she led Still Listening : a Tribute to Pauline Oliveros at the 2017 Suoni per Popolo Festival. Her solo projects have been featured in festivals across Canada, and in the Netherlands, Lithuania, Italy, and the US.
On the orchestral stage, Horvey has appeared as a soloist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Center Orchestra, in whose trumpet sections she also regularly plays, working with many of the world’s greatest conductors including Pierre Boulez, Zubin Mehta, and Roger Norrington.
Her research and experimentation with early instruments has resulted in performances with Arion Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Caprice, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, and Les Violons du Roy.
Carina Lam
As the first Canadian euphoniumist to study at the Royal Northern College of Music, Carina Lam attained her Master’s degree in Euphonium Performance under the tutelage of world-renowned soloist, Steven Mead. Carina completed her Honours Bachelor degree in Music Education at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, after which she received a Bachelor in Education at the University of Toronto. Carina strives to continue to develop as a musician and to share her passion for music with others. During her time in Manchester UK, Carina performed in several ensembles including the Fairey Brass Band, Pemberton Old Wigan Brass Band, and the Lancashire Artillery Volunteer Band. While at the RNCM, Carina won the Terence Nagle Prize in the RNCM Solo Competition performing a piece that she commissioned, which was published shortly after it was premiered.
Upon returning to Canada, Carina presented at the International Women’s Brass Conference in 2017 and has been featured as a soloist in the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Band, the Wilfrid Laurier University Wind Orchestra, Pemberton Old Wigan Brass Band, Weston Silver Band, Markham Concert Band, and Southampton Summer Music Festival Winds. Currently, Carina performs throughout the Greater Toronto Area, as a member of the Euba Quartet, the RHLI Band, and the Hannaford Street Silver Band. Carina is the founder of the Toronto Tuba Euphonium Symposium (TOTES) and is a Buffet Crampon/Besson Artist as well as a LeFreQue Artist.
Anita McAlister
Anita McAlister received a BMus in Performance from the University of Toronto and a MMus in Solo Performance and Literature from the University of Western Ontario. An active freelancer in the Toronto area, Anita has an interesting and varied career performing with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and National Ballet Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. Anita is a member of the Esprit Orchestra, the ARRAYMUSIC Ensemble and the Hannaford Street Silver Band, and has been a contracted member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Stratford Festival. She has toured as Principal Trumpet of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Orchestra, and performed with a number of theatre productions such as Phantom of the Opera.
As a student, Anita studied with the Canadian Brass in Banff and went on to be a member of the Great Lakes Brass Quintet, the Composers Brass, and for many years performed with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Brass Quintet. As a soloist, Anita won the National Competitive Festival of Music at age 18, and has since performed as a soloist with a number of orchestras and in recital.
Anita has taught at Interprovincial Music Camp, the Scarborough Board of Education Music Camp, the Mount Allison Summer Music Program, and is on faculty at the National Music Camp of Canada. Anita is an active adjudicator and clinician, has taught for the Royal Conservatory, was on trumpet faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University for eleven years, and is presently on faculty at the University of Toronto as Acting Brass Chair, teaching trumpet and orchestral studies, coaching chamber music and teaching music education classes. Dedicated to the development of brass education, Anita is the Director of the Hannaford Youth Program and conducts the Junior, Community and Youth Bands.
Hillary Simms
Hillary Simms is a young dynamic trombonist from Torbay, Newfoundland and Labrador. Praised as one of the rising strs in the trombone world for her stellar playing, infectious personality and deep musicianship, Hillary was featured as one of CBC’s 30 under 30 Classical Musicians of 2020. In the same year, Hillary was also a featured guest soloist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada making her solo debut on the Tomasi Trombone Concerto.
Hillary’s previous accolades include winning the second place prize for brass at the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Concours Manuvie, being named Stratford Symphony’s 2020 Emerging Artist, winning the Division II Solo Competition at the American Trombone Workshop, being a finalist in both the Latzsch Trombone Solo Competition and the International Trombone Festival Robert Marstellar Solo Competition as well as being named a recipient of the prestigious Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award.
As an active freelance musician, Hillary has played with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and can be heard playing lead trombone on the CD Then is Now, recorded at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity with the Canadian All Star Jazz Band. Hillary is also an active educator to a private studio of young brass players and has led workshops and masterclasses on brass performance and techniques.
Hillary holds a Bachelor’s in Music Performance from McGill University, a Master’s in Music Performance from Yale University, an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern University.
Jennifer Stephen
Jennifer Stephen grew up in Yellowknife, NT, where she began playing the tuba in grade 11 at Sir John Franklin Territorial High School. She pursued her studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland, under the direction of bass trombonist Kenneth Knowles, before attending Bowling Green State University, where she studied with renowned tubist and trailblazer Velvet Brown. Upon returning to Canada, Jennifer furthered her education at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where she studied with Sasha Johnson.
Prior to joining the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony as Principal Tubist in 2020, Jennifer was and remains an active freelance tubist in Ontario and across the country, performing with ensembles such as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, National Ballet Orchestra of Canada, the Calgary Philharmonic, the Esprit Orchestra, and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. She is a member of the Hannaford Street Silver Band and a founding member of the Toronto Brass Quintet. She is an accomplished brass arranger with many of her works performed by brass ensembles in and around the GTA.
Jennifer is a highly sought after chamber and session musician in Ontario, prolific in a wide variety of styles and genres, and has recorded for film and television as well as on a diverse range of studio recordings. With a passion for teaching, Jennifer has a busy private studio, is an in-demand clinician and has coached at the University of Toronto, University of Calgary and the Glenn Gould School. She has been on faculty at the National Music Camp of Canada since 2009.
Rachel Thomas
Raised in a musical family, Rachel Thomas began playing at age ten and never looked back. She attended the University of Toronto as a student of Gordon Sweeney, Principal Trombone of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Upon graduation, she joined the Great Lakes Brass Quintet, a highly acclaimed national touring ensemble. In addition, Rachel was a regular extra with the TSO for over twenty years, joining them on two European tours, several trips to Carnegie Hall, and can be heard on two Finlandia recordings.
After receiving a Canada Council grant to study with Joseph Alessi in New York City, she won the position of Second Trombone with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, where she has performed for over 25 seasons.
Rachel continues to be a highly sought-after freelancer. She performed with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra as Acting Principal and played with the Monarch Brass Ensemble at the International Women’s Brass Conference on several occasions. She has worked with numerous orchestras and festivals including the Hamilton Philharmonic, the Elora Festival, the Festival of the Sound, Stratford Summer Music, and esteemed brass groups, True North Brass and the Hannaford Street Silver Band.
Among the myriad of interesting freelance gigs, Rachel can be heard on an episode of the hit show Murdoch Mysteries and made a brief (!) appearance in the Netflix series, The Umbrella Academy. In 2003 Rachel joined the faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University where she brings energy and enthusiasm to her trombone studio, coaches chamber brass and conducts the WLU Trombone Choir.
Guests
Claire Amiro
Claire Amiro was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. After falling in love with the euphonium in high school, she pursued a Bachelor of Music in Education and Performance at Acadia University under the instruction of Dr. Jack Brownell. In 2015 she completed a Master’s of Music in Euphonium Performance at the Université de Montréal, studying with David Martin, and in 2017 completed an Artist Diploma at McGill University with Trevor Dix.
Claire has been a member of the Canadian Armed Forces as a musician since 2007. During this time she has been an instructor at the CFLTC Music Division in Borden, Ontario and has worked with the LFAA Band, the Musique ELRFC, the Musique de la Garde en Rouge, the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces, and the Band of the Ceremonial Guard. She is currently living in Montréal and working with the Musique 6R22eR.
Audray Boivin-Laframboise
After beginning her studies at the Conservatoire de Gatineau in 2002, Audray Boivin-Laframboise transferred to the Conservatoire de musique de Québec in the fall of 2009. Under the tutelage of Mr. Angus Armstrong, Mr. Nick Atkinson and Mr. Lance Nagels she is the first woman to be awarded the Conservatory Prize for specialising in tuba in 2011. Audray also holds with great pride the Conservatory Prize for Chamber Music in 2012 as well as a Masters in Interpretation (University Laval-2013).
Over the years, Audray has had the opportunity to work with several great tuba masters including Roger Bobo, Øystein Baadsvik, Gene Pokorny, Greg Irvine, Rex Martin, Carol Jantsch and Douglas Hunt. In addition, she has participated in several musical programs, including Domaine Forget, Pierre-Monteux School, the ITEC 2019-2020, ScotiaFest, amongst others. Having a big interest for orchestral repertoire, she also obtained an orchestral excerpts diploma from the CMQ in 2013.
To add to her fulfilled freelance career she began her career with the Canadian Armed Forces in 2014 with the Voltigeurs de Québec and is now a full time tuba player for The Central Band based in Ottawa. You can watch her playing with various ensembles for the province of Québec and in the NCR such as the Gatineau Symphony Orchestra, TuBas de Page Tuba Quartet, B.L.U.S.H. Collective and soon to come the Tuba and Euphonium choir of Québec.
Karen Bulmer
Karen Bulmer is a versatile tuba player, educator, writer, and podcaster. She is active as a tuba soloist and improviser and has performed her original one-woman show, Girl Meets Tuba, which chronicles her on-again off-again relationship with the tuba, in venues across Canada.
In addition to serving as Associate Professor of Low Brass at MUN’s School of Music, Karen is a movement educator and meditation facilitator. Her unique Mind/Body Tools for Musicians program combines mindfulness with movement and self-regulation strategies to help musicians access a greater sense of their innate capacity for expression, mastery, and resilience. She is the creator and host of the Music, Mind, and Movement Podcast and maintains a blog about practice, performance, and self-care for musicians at www.musicmindandmovement.com
Karen holds a Bachelor of Musical Arts from the University of Western Ontario, a Professional Studies Diploma from the HARID Conservatory, and both a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from Yale University. Karen trained in meditation facilitation under the mentorship of Michael Stone and is a certified yoga instructor with additional training in biomechanics, anatomy, and movement for trauma.
Miranda Cairns
Miranda Cairns joined the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016. She holds an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music where she studied with Andrew McCandless. Prior to attending the prestigious conservatory she completed an undergraduate degree at Sir Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario with Anita McAlister.
Before moving to Calgary, Miranda was an active freelance musician in Toronto. She has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, and the Niagara Symphony Orchestra.
Miranda is now happy to pass on all she has learned and enjoys teaching.
Gabrielle Carruthers
Gabrielle Carruthers grew up in Bathurst, New Brunswick, and began studying tuba in high school at age thirteen. She has been a member of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra since 2013 and has recently became orchestra manager. Currently finishing her Bachelor of Music degree at the Université de Moncton with Gregory Irivine, Gabrielle plans to continue her studies at the Masters level next fall. She has played with other local orchestras, such as Tutta Musica and Symphony New Brunswick, and she is also one of the five members in the East Coast Brass quintet.
This past year, Gabrielle was accepted to several summer programs, such as the Domaine Forget academy and Canada’s National Youth Orchestra. Through these summer programs, Gabrielle was given the opportunity to play for renowned tuba players like Carol Jantsch, Sasha Johnson and Øystein Baadsvik. Gabrielle has also been featured on CBC Radio 2's list of 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30 on their 2020 edition.
Alana Despins
Alana Despins has been the principal horn of the Victoria Symphony since 2009 where she is regularly featured as a soloist. She joined the faculty at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in 2011 and enthusiastically shares her passion for music with her students. She is also active throughout Victoria playing chamber music. Before joining the Victoria Symphony, Alana held the position of third horn with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. Additionally, she has participated in numerous summer festivals across North America, Europe, and Asia. Alana received her Master of Music from Northwestern University in Chicago, and her Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria. When she is not with horn in hand, Alana is either working on her copyediting and proofreading business or is out exploring beautiful Vancouver Island with her husband and two young sons.
Megan Evans
Megan Evans is the Assistant Principal Horn with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and section horn for the Colorado Music Festival. Her career has taken her to perform with many ensembles including l'Orchestre Symphonique du Montreal, the Windsor Symphony, the Thunder Bay Symphony, the Niagara Symphony, and the Alberta Baroque ensemble. Additionally, she has appeared as a featured soloist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Alberta Baroque Ensemble and as a guest artist for the Rafael Mendez Brass institute and the All Star Brass. Outside of music she can be found in Boulder, Colorado training for triathlons or in the winter months, in Edmonton, Canada, at the curling club.
Hannah Grey
Hannah began her career in the fitness industry in 2006, after losing more than 100lbs in order to be a better role model for her two daughters. She was looking for a career change at that point, and she felt that if she could help other people find a better quality of life through getting strong and fit, then her job would never feel like work! Since then she has helped hundreds of people take control of their health and get strong and fit at any age.
One of the fitness industry’s leading authorities in women’s health, Hannah specializes in pelvic floor rehabilitation and maintenance, pre- and post-natal fitness, birth coaching, and menopause. She is also a sought-after strength coach in Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting, working with athletes of all ages and stages from kids to world champion weightlifters. Hannah is a competitive weightlifter herself and was a bronze medallist at the World Masters Weightlifting Championships in 2019.
When she isn’t in the gym coaching her clients or training herself, she can be found presenting at industry events, writing for a wide range of publications, or playing the tuba with the Bok Brass.
Kathleen Griffiths
Kathleen Griffiths is a music educator and E flat horn player in several Salvation Army brass bands, including the Mississauga Temple Band and the Canadian Staff Band. Kathleen is also a former member of the award-winning Weston Silver Band and has had the privilege of competing in the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) Contest on three different occasions, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Growing up in Mississauga, Ontario, Kathleen began her musical journey learning different brass instruments beginning in middle school. She learned the E flat horn so that she could play in her church’s brass band at the Mississauga Temple of the Salvation Army, and graduated from the Regional Arts Program at Cawthra Park Secondary School as a French Horn major. Kathleen holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto as a French Horn major, and Bachelor of Education degree from York University, specializing in Music Education.
Kathleen currently teaches elementary instrumental music in the Peel District School Board, making the most of the grade 8 music curriculum through virtual learning this year. In her downtime, Kathleen enjoys watching her favourite TV shows and movies and spending time with her husband, Daniel.
Allene Hackleman
Allene Hackleman has been principal horn of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra since 2004. A native of Vancouver, B.C., Allene studied horn with Martin Hackleman, and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Cincinnati. Ms Hackleman has performed concerti with the Edmonton Symphony, Alberta Baroque Ensemble, Red Deer Symphony and the Victoria Symphony, and has also played with the Montréal and National symphonies, as well as the Colorado Music Festival. She is a member of the Canadian National Brass Project and the Summit Brass, and is on the most recent CD recordings with both groups. Allene enjoys chamber music and has been a guest artist at the Festival of the Sound, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music, the Edmonton Recital Society, and the Pender Harbour Chamber Music Festival, and was a featured artist at the International Women's Brass conference in 2010. In 2015, Allene was invited to teach masterclasses at the Musikacademy in Belgrade, Serbia. Allene also teaches at the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute in Denver, Colorado in the summers, and during the year teaches horn at the University of Alberta.
Alana Johnson
T’alang kaayxal ga. T’alang kyaanuusali ga
Alana belongs to the Raven matrilineage of Haida Gwaii, specifically to the kyaanuusali house, and is also the granddaughter of British settlers in Canada. She is privileged to be mother to an Ehattesaht daughter and is actively pursuing language studies in both nuučaan̓uł and xaayda kil.
Alana has been a musician since she can remember. Piano was her first love at the age of five and she began singing in choirs at the age of four. She picked up the trumpet in her elementary school's beginning band. After being involved in outstanding middle and high school music programs, she completed a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet performance from the University of Victoria under the direction of Louis Ranger. Her experiences in these music education spaces inspired her to pursue a career of teaching music.
She is currently the choir teacher at Pkols (Mount Douglas) Secondary in the Victoria School District and also teaches piano lessons from her home. She is an Aboriginal Role Model in the Sooke School District, sharing her story of reclaiming her Haida language, stories, songs and other important aspects of her cultural identity. She is grateful to her many Indigenous mentors over the years and is excited to see this important initiative equip music educators and musicians to walk in a good way as we teach and perform in community.
Lauren Helmer
Lauren Helmer is a music educator, and trombonist from Kitchener Ontario, Canada. She has been a Director of Bands, and history teacher at Eastwood Collegiate Institute in Kitchener, ON since 2018. Previously, Lauren was a band, and history teacher at Preston High School in Cambridge, ON, where she taught for 6 years. Throughout the years, her bands have consistently achieved the highest honours at the provincial and national level, competing at various festivals, and competitions, both locally and abroad.
As a performer, Lauren was the associate principal trombonist, and 2nd trombonist of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra from 2006-2014, joining the Stratford Symphony Orchestra in 2012. Lauren retired from the Canadian Army Reserve Forces in 2020, and was the trombone section commander of the internationally honoured Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Band since 2007. Prior to joining the RHLI, Lauren spent four summers performing on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, with the Band of the Ceremonial Guard, from 2007-2010.
As a conductor, Lauren has studied wind ensemble conducting with Dr. Denise Grant, the late Michael Purves-Smith, and has attended conducting clinics throughout North America. Lauren holds the position as the Assistant Conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Youth Concert Band, she is the Assistant to the Artistic Director of “Summer Music” Camp in Southampton Ontario, is the Brass coach for the Grand River Blues Camp, and has co-directed the “Intro to Jazz” Camp through the Beckett School at Laurier. When she is not teaching, Lauren enjoys both performing with, and directing local wind ensembles, big bands, and brass groups. Lauren holds an Honours Bachelor of Music Education from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Western Ontario. Lauren enjoys her down-time exercising, running, snowboarding, golfling, and spending time with her husband Andreas, and their daughter Nora.
Merrie Klazek
Merrie Klazek is a versatile and respected trumpet artist in the world of performance and education. Fluent in orchestral, chamber, solo, traditional, and popular music, Merrie joined the full-time faculty at the University of Victoria’s School of Music in 2016. Merrie holds a BMus from her native Calgary and a MMus from Northwestern University where she studied with the late Vincent Cichowicz. Her musical travels have taken her around the globe with performance highlights including Spoleto Festival Italy, Musik Contemporaire Strasbourg France, Tokyo's Bunka Kaikan hall, Stratford Festival, Hungary's Niyrbator Festival, and many solo appearances with Canadian orchestras. Merrie’s solo recording “Songs to the Moon” has been featured on TVO Studio 2 and CBC Radio and she is currently working on a recording to highlight the trumpet in settings of world music. Merrie has appeared as a presenter and adjudicator at the International Trumpet Guild Conference, International Women’s Brass Conference, and Canadian Women’s Brass Collective. Principal trumpet with the Thunder Bay Symphony from 1999-2018, Merrie has held the same position with the Victoria Symphony and Orchestra London Canada. Merrie is an endorsing artist for Wedge Mouthpieces and is a Bach trumpet artist for Selmer-Conn.
Vivian Lee
Vivian Lee was born and raised in Montreal and did most of her university studies at McGill University and L'université de Montréal. She began her career as a freelance musician in the early 1980’s, and, amongst other gigs, made her OSM debut in the off-stage brass ensemble for Mahler’s 8th symphony at the Montreal Forum. She moved to London, Ontario in 1986 with her baby daughter, Erica, and husband, David Martin, (also a noted trombonist and teacher), after he won the position of principal trombone with Orchestra London, Canada. In 1987 Vivian won the position of second trombone with the Hamilton Philharmonic. In 1990, she moved her family (by then another child, Travis, had been added) back to Montreal after winning an audition for a one-year position as second trombone with the OSM, subsequently winning a permanent position in 1992. Beyond participating in all the OSM activities during the subsequent 26 seasons, she has played as a soloist and chamber musician at International Trombone Festivals, and as a chamber musician at the Women’s Brass Conference as well as giving several master classes and teaching trombone both at McGill University for several years, and privately.
Gillian MacKay
Gillian MacKay is Professor of Music of the University of Toronto, where she conducts the Wind Ensemble and teaches conducting. Gillian has an active professional career as a conductor, adjudicator, clinician and trumpeter. She has conducted honour ensembles throughout Canada and the United States, and is Associate Conductor of the Denis Wick Canadian Wind Orchestra. Dr. MacKay has adjudicated Canadian band festivals at local, provincial, and national levels in Canada. She has conducted honour bands and judged competitions in the US, Singapore, Thailand, and Korea.
Dr. MacKay enjoys presenting clinics and workshops at provincial and state conferences in Canada and the United States, and is known for her work on the relationship between conducting and mime. Currently, she is investigating the application of the Michael Chekhov acting technique to movement and meaning in conducting. Recognized as a conducting pedagogue, Gillian leads the University of Toronto Wind Conducting Symposium each July, and has been the guest instructor at other symposia in Canada and the United States.
Gillian holds degrees and diplomas from the University of Lethbridge, McGill University, the University of Calgary, and Northwestern University.
Nikki McCaslin
Nikki DoBell McCaslin is an active freelance trombone player and teacher in Calgary, Alberta. She is the Principal Trombone in the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra and is on faculty at the Mount Royal University Conservatory. She is the former Instructor of Trombone at East Carolina University and The University of North Carolina Pembroke. Nikki has been the Principal Trombonist in the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and the Second Trombonist in the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra.
Originally from Minnesota, Nikki holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Trombone Performance from Boston University and a Master’s Degree from Arizona State University. Nikki has performed at the International Women’s Brass Conference, with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Calgary Pro Musica, Foothills Brass Quintet, the North Carolina Symphony, the North Carolina Opera, the Carolina Brass, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony, the Albany (NY) Symphony, and the Aukland (New Zealand) Philharmonic. She has recorded with the North Carolina Symphony, the North Carolina New Music Initiative, the Standard of Excellence music education project, and has toured with the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra. She has been a S.E. Shires performing artist since 2019.
Nikki completed her 200-hour yoga teacher-training program at the Yoga Studio College Calgary in March 2020 and is excited to integrate some yogic principles from her yoga practice into her music practice and teaching.
Vanessa Ng
Vanessa Ng is an avid trombone player and music educator in the GTA. She has been a member of many ensembles such as the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra, Rouge River Winds, Ontario Provincial Honour Band, and Denis Wick Canadian Wind Orchestra. She travelled to Spain in 2019 with the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra and is an active member of the organization as the Librarian of the Wind Orchestra and Coach of the Low Brass section of the Symphonic Winds, guiding them in online sectionals and giving feedback on recordings. She has been a student mentor of the Weston Silver Band and enjoys playing in a variety of musical settings. She has competed on trombone in both solo and chamber groups regionally and provincially at the Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival and Ontario Music Festivals Association. She has also competed and won piano competitions such as the Adagio Music festival, in both solo and duet competitions with her sister Serena.
She first began her musical journey at a young age when her parents enrolled her in piano lessons. From there, she was handed the trombone at age 10 in elementary school and has never put it down since. She is currently attending the University of Toronto and is set to complete her Bachelor of Music – Music Education (Trombone) in 2023. She is currently studying privately with Megan Hodge and is an active member of Vanessa Fralick’s trombone studio. She enjoys teaching both trombone and piano and got her first taste of Music Education in Grade 10 as a piano teacher of young children and toddlers. In the upcoming academic year, she will be the Vice-President Communications of the Faculty of Music Undergraduate Association at the University of Toronto. In her free time, she enjoys walking her dog Cookie, taking care of plants on her windowsill, and playing piano.
Audrey Ochoa
Trombonist Audrey Ochoa is a rising star on the Canadian jazz scene. Her second album, Afterthought, is an extension of her compositional skill and talent on her instrument and was awarded the Edmonton Music Prize in 2020. She was most recently awarded a Western Canadian Music Award for Jazz Artist of the Year for 2020. Mentor and trombone master Hugh Fraser describes her as “an inspired emerging artist that embodies the talent, inspiration and focus to make a major contribution at the highest level.” Having performed professionally both nationally and internationally with multiple ensembles, Audrey has found a home in jazz and contemporary music composing her own tunes that often have a Latin feel, and definitely convey her sense of humour.
Denise Simpson
Being the first member of her family to pursue postsecondary studies, Denise has her Master’s degree in music performance from the University of Toronto (UofT) after attaining an Honours Bachelor’s degree in music education (UofT), and a Bachelor’s degree in education (OISE).
During her undergraduate and graduate studies, Denise studied with Canadian euphonium soloist Robert Miller, and also had the opportunity to perform for world-renowned euphonium soloists Steven Mead and David Childs. In 2012, Denise studied and performed in Rome, Italy through the RomeSMART summer program at UofT, and taught at various music camps including the Durham Intergraded Arts Camp and National Music Camp.
Following her graduate studies, Denise’s passion for fostering the love of music in students inspired her to go to the United Kingdom to teach music at an all-boys secondary school in Hertfordshire and returned to Canada in 2017 to continue her career as a music educator.
Being a euphoniumist and baritonist has lead Denise to perform with various groups in the Toronto area including the Hannaford Street Silver Band, the Weston Silver Band, Kingston Brass, and is currently a founding member of the Euba Tuba Quartet. Presently, Denise is teaching music at The Sterling Hall School and with the Hannaford Youth Brass Band Program, conducting the new concert band at Ryerson University, and will be starting her Ph.D. in music education at the University of Toronto in September 2019.
Michiko Singh
Michiko Singh returned to Canada to join the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as 4th Horn in 2010, after playing in the Honolulu Symphony for 11 years. She was the International Horn Society representative for Hawaii, and performed with Chamber Music Hawaii and the Royal Hawaiian Band. She previously held positions in the Hong Kong, Vancouver, Memphis, and Hartford Symphonies. As a soloist, she won first prize for the Horn Competition at the International Women’s Brass Conference, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce National Brass Competition, and the General Motors Solo Competition. She was awarded the Jr. Arts and Letters Award from the Canadian Club of New York.
From Carnegie Hall crowds to Rusti the Orangutan, Michiko has played for diverse audiences and in various ensembles, all over the world. Described as “skilled” by the New York Times, Michiko received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Juilliard School through the support of the Hearst Foundation and Canada Council. She studied with Jerome Ashby, associate principal horn of the New York Philharmonic.
Michiko has recently been appointed to the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s Diversity Committee. She was one of 25 musicians selected from orchestras around the world to participate in a professional development course provided by the Juilliard Evening Division this spring, with the help of funding from the Manitoba Arts Council. The course, Advancing an Anti-Racist Orchestra Model, was led by Alexander Laing, who is an alum of the Detroit Symphony Mentor Program and Sphinx Orchestras.
Melissa Sumpton
Melissa Sumpton is a euphonium player and high school music teacher from Surrey, BC. She was born in Vancouver, BC and grew up in Burnaby, BC where she attended high school. She attended Douglas College (New Westminster, BC) in 2007 as a part of the Music Diploma Program and completed a Bachelor of Music at UBC in 2012. She completed a Bachelor of Education in Secondary Music Education at UBC in 2013 and recently completed a Master of Education at Thompson Rivers University in 2020. She joined the Canadian Armed Forces as a musician in 2011 and served in The Band of the Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa in the summer of 2011, 2012, and 2014. She is currently a sergeant with The Band of the 15th Field in Vancouver, BC and has been a member of the band since 2011. She is also currently a high school music teacher in Surrey, BC where she teaches Concert Band, Jazz Band, and Philosophy.
Catherine Turner
Originally from West Chester, Ohio, Catherine Turner has been the Second Horn of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal since 2010. Before joining the OSM, she held the position of Fourth Horn in the San Antonio Symphony and Assistant Principal Horn in The Florida Orchestra. In addition, she has performed as guest Associate Principal with the Cincinnati Symphony, has toured and recorded as Principal Horn with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and has performed with numerous other groups, including the Richmond Symphony, the Sarasota Orchestra, and the San Antonio Opera. Catherine began her studies with Greg Snyder and Karen Schneider, before attending Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she was a student of William VerMeulen. Her studies have also taken her to many summer programs, including the Tanglewood Music Center and the Aspen Music Festival, where she studied with John Zirbel and was the winner of the Brass and Percussion Concerto Competition in 2009.
Catherine has been featured in solo recitals at the University of Akron and Colorado State University, and in 2014 she was the winner of the Horn Division of the Susan Slaughter Solo Competition at the International Women’s Brass Conference. She has been a featured soloist on Public Radio International’s “From the Top,” and has also performed internationally as a soloist, giving both the U.S. and European premieres of Brant Karrick’s “Taranto Reflections” for Horn and Wind Symphony. She has also given masterclasses at the University of Akron, Colorado State University, the University of Montreal, and Montreal Horn Day, and she is currently an instructor of horn at McGill University. Since her appointment with the OSM, she has performed internationally in the orchestra on major tours in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. She can be heard on the OSM’s recent recordings of Beethoven’s Symphonies and Mahler’s Orchesterlieder.
Lise Vaugeois
Composer, musician, academic, educator and workshop leader Lise Vaugeois has a Diploma in Performance and Communication Skills from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, a Masters of Education from Lakehead University and a PhD in Philosophy of Music Education from the University of Toronto.
She has been composer-in-residence for the Ontario Arts Education Institute and has traveled throughout Canada, on behalf of Orchestras Canada, to lead workshops on creative music projects for professional musicians. She has been leading creative music projects in schools since 1994, working through the Ontario Arts Council, the Community Arts and Heritage Project of Thunder Bay (CAHEP) and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.
She has composed music for film, theatre, full orchestra, small ensemble, and students performing together with professional musicians. Amongst her works are Under the Moon with Aunt Birdie (commissioned by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra); Borealis (commissioned by Thunderstone Pictures), the political cabaret piece Tales of the Great White North and her piece for strings, Through Ice, Fracturing.
Samantha Whelan Kotkas
Samantha Whelan Kotkas is a professional trumpet player, teaching artist, storyteller and award-winning children’s book producer with over 20 years working in the Alberta, Canada and International Arts communities. She is the second trumpet player in the Red Deer Symphony and performs regularly with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Rosa Barocca, Altius Brass. She has authored several works which she narrates with Symphony Orchestras and Canada’s top jazz and classical musicians. She was very honoured to be asked to serve as the "Distinguished Graduate" at the University of Calgary’s convocation ceremony in June of 2018.
In conjunction with her active career as a performer, Samantha is the education advisor for Calgary Pro Musica and a teaching artist for the National Arts Centre of Canada (NAC) where she finds the cross-cultural work she does with Walter MacDonald White Bear, as part of the Music Alive Program, very meaningful. She has written outreach and music teaching guides for the NAC, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. She is currently writing and producing ‘Wandering with Wonder’: an immersive outdoor musical storytelling experience with original live and recorded music, story, puppetry and dance which will be premiered in September 2021 at the Leighton Arts Centre. For more information about Samantha please visit her website at www.samanthawhelankotkas.com
Valerie Whitney
Valerie Whitney serves as Assistant Professor of Horn and Brass Area Coordinator at the University of British Columbia. Prior to her appointment at UBC, Valerie performed for audiences across the Midwestern United States for over a decade, with regular appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, and Lyric Opera Orchestra. She appears regularly with performing organizations in the United States as an orchestral and chamber musician, and is earning an international reputation with recent and upcoming engagements in China and Korea. She served as hornist of the acclaimed Fifth House Ensemble from 2013-2016, and is a founding member of the newly formed Vancouver Brass Orchestra.
Valerie holds a DMA in Horn Performance from Northwestern University, and is a graduate of Northwestern University (MM) and Wheaton College (BM).