WHISTLER

2012 Festival Adjudicators

Dr. Gordon Brock (concert band) is Chair of the Department of Music and Director of Bands at the University of North Florida, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble, performs in the Florida Saxophone Quartet, and instructs courses in conducting and woodwind performance. Prior to his present appointment, he was Director of Bands at the University of North Dakota, conductor of the Greater Forks Youth Symphony, the annual UND Regional Honor Band, and Grand Forks Chamber Ensemble. Under his direction, the UND Wind Ensemble performed at two Ohio Music Education Association/North Central MENC Professional Conferences, and a joint concert series in Great Britain with the Central Band of the White Russian Army. In addition to an annual CD project dedicated to recording the best in traditional and contemporary wind literature, Dr. Brock instituted an annual Conducting Symposium which attracted both regional and international participants. His career as a music educator encompasses elementary through university levels. Honored by the Alberta Government for his nationally recognized ensembles and contributions to music education throughout Canada, he was also included in the fifth edition of Who's Who Among American Teachers. A frequent guest clinician/conductor throughout the US and Canada, Dr. Brock has also been a Rothschild Foundation artist in residence for the Israeli Youth Band Teachers and Directors Association in Zichron Ya'acov, Israel. Most recently, he has served as a guest clinician/lecturer for the American School in Japan. Dr. Brock continues to serve as a Research Associate and author for the instrumental music education series, Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. The series now serves as a primary text in more than 300 universities in the United States and 20 other countries. An active performer as a woodwind specialist and guest conductor, he has performed with internationally recognized organizations within the mediums of chamber music, jazz, band, theater, dance, and orchestra.
Dr. Wayne Jeffrey (concert band), recognized as one of Canada’s leading music educators and conductors, draws on a vast range of experiences in the performing arts and education.  Presently, he is Director of Instrumental Studies at the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Department of Music.  He is Artistic Director of the Kwantlen University Wind Symphony, Music Director of the Pacific Chamber Winds, and since the 2007/08 season as Co-Artistic Director/Hornist with the Canada West Chamber Orchestra/Kwantlen Polytechnic University Orchestra-In-Residence. Dr. Jeffrey’s unique background includes studies in Education, Aesthetics, Performance and Entrepreneurial Management.  He has studied Music Education, Horn and Conducting at the Universities of Toronto, Western Ontario and Rochester, culminating in a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Education and Conducting from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.  European studies and performance opportunities have occurred in England, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Italy. Dr. Jeffrey’s studio and classroom teaching experience includes all levels in various educational environments, summer music camps and masterclasses in Canada, United States, Europe and the United Kingdom. He has served as Artistic Director of the Courtenay Youth Music Centre, and as Festival Director of Summer Music from the Comox Valley.  He has also served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto, the University of Cincinnati (College Conservatory of Music), and a guest Lecturer at the University of British Columbia and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.  Private students and music education majors occupy professional positions in all Canadian provinces and abroad. Orchestral and chamber performances occur across Canada, including Victoria, Vancouver, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Windsor, London, Hamilton, Toronto, Kingston, Montreal, Fredericton and Halifax. In addition he appears frequently as horn instructor, lecturer, performer, guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator of music festivals throughout North America and Europe. Presently located in the Vancouver area, he performs as a freelance hornist regularly with orchestras on Vancouver Island and throughout the lower Mainland including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Recent guest conducting appearances include the Toronto Wind Orchestra, the Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra, the Surrey Youth Orchestra, Irish Youth Wind Ensemble, and the Upper Rhine Youth Symphony in Germany. In 2009 Dr. Jeffrey was the guest horn instructor in Stauben, Germany. In 2010, he was the guest conductor of the National Youth Band of Canada. In 2011, he was guest conductor at an International Festival in Ireland, Summer Music from Galway. In 2012, he will appear as a guest conductor in Malta and France. He is very active in promoting Canadian music, pedagogy and repertoire development and arts advocacy at provincial, national and international conferences. As a music director his recent experiences have been in all aspects of programming, broadcasting, recording, as well television and radio interviews.
Dr. Fraser Linklater (concert band) is presently an Associate Professor in the Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba, where he directs the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band and Chamber Winds and teaches courses in music education and conducting. A native of Winnipeg, Dr. Linklater holds a Master’s degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas and a Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Michigan. He has published articles in the Journal of Research in Music Education, the Music Educators Journal, and the Canadian Music Educator. He has also presented at national music education conferences. A trumpet player, Dr. Linklater has performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Genève (Switzerland), and the Ron Paley Big Band, as well as being a founding member of the Winnipeg Brass Quintet. His trumpet teachers have included Vincent Cichowicz, Armando Ghitalla, and Edward Tarr. Dr. Linklater has studied wind conducting in numerous workshops with clinicians such as Frank Battisti, Eugene Corporon, Craig Kirchhoff, Allan McMurray, Larry Rachleff, and Mallory Thompson, as well as with H. Robert Reynolds at the University of Michigan. Dr. Linklater has guest conducted and adjudicated at various festivals and music camps across Canada as well as the United States. A co-director of the Canadian Wind Conductors Development Program, Dr. Linklater is also Secretary of the Manitoba Band Association and coordinates all three levels of honour bands for the MBA. In October 2002, he received the MBA Award of Distinction for his services to music education in Manitoba. Dr. Linklater is an assistant editor of Canadian Winds, the national journal of the Canadian Band Association. In May 2006 Dr. Linklater was the guest conductor of the National Youth Band of Canada and has also guest conducted at the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s New Music Festival in February 2008 and 2009. Creative and Research Activity: Under Dr. Linklater’s direction, the University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble has released three CDs devoted to Canadian wind band music — North Winds I, II and III. Dr. Linklater is also interested in transcribing orchestral works for wind ensemble and has completed transcriptions of Four Fragments from Wozzeck by Alban Berg, Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland, Frenergy by John Estacio, Symphonic Metamorphosis by Paul Hindemith, Tabuh-Tabuhan by Colin McPhee, and portions of Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. Frenergy has been performed on three continents, including performances by the World Youth Wind Ensemble at the WASBE Conference in Ireland in July 2007 and by the Latin American Honour Band in Caracas, Venezuela in June of 2008. At the CBDNA National Conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan in March 2007 Dr. Linklater gave a presentation entitled “The Wind Music of Colin McPhee.” In July 2009 at the WASBE Conference in Cincinnati, Dr. Linklater again gave a presentation on Canadian band music, this time on the music of Bruce Carlson.
Brian Unverricht (concert band) Born, raised, and educated in Saskatchewan, Brian pursued further studies in New Jersey, Australia, Strasbourg, and the University of Calgary. For many years he taught band, choir, jazz studies, guitar, and general music to students from grades seven through university level in Saskatoon, Australia, PEI, and the DND schools in Germany. He is currently a sessional lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan, teaching music education classes. While at Evan Hardy Collegiate Brian was music director for 15 musicals and commissioned eight composers from Saskatoon to write music for various performing groups.  As a writer he has been published in Cadenza, the International Trombone Association Journal, and Canadian Winds, was editor of the Sask. Band Association journal, contributed to local music curricula, and wrote a high school guitar course. Outside of school, Brian has often served as a low brass clinician, a director and coordinator for band camps and brass days or Jazz Days at Hardy, an adjudicator for music festivals, and the regional rep for the Saskatchewan Music Educators Association.  In 2004 he received SMEA’ s outstanding Achievement Award that recognizes outstanding accomplishment and an ongoing dedication to excellence in music. As a trombonist, Brian has been a member of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra since the late sixties, and has performed with numerous groups in a wide variety of genres over the years, including the Metro Jazz Ensemble and the Saskatoon Klezmer band.
Ray Baril (concert band) Raymond Baril is Section Head of the Wind and Brass Department at MacEwan. He is in his thirteenth season as principal conductor and musical director of the New Edmonton Wind Sinfonia. He has, for the past 25 years, been the director of the University of Alberta/MacEwan jazz ensemble. Prior to his appointment at MacEwan, he taught at Ross Sheppard High School and W.P. Wagner High School and was conductor of the University of Alberta Concert Band. Before that period, he was the Executive Director of the Alberta Band Association, and for many years taught woodwinds, music history and jazz studies at MacEwan as a sessional instructor. He was also a conductor for the Cosmopolitan Music Society in Edmonton for fifteen seasons. Mr. Baril continues to work as a saxophonist and woodwind player and has performed with Doc Severinsen, the Harry James, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman Tribute Orchestras, Manhattan Transfer, Dionne Warwick and Rod Stewart. He was a regular member of the Tommy Banks Big Band for 25 years and has appeared with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions. He was a guest soloist with the Edmonton Symphony during 2005 Symphony Under the Sky and in the past two seasons, he was a guest conductor with the ESO for the Enbridge Symphony Under the Sky, the Rexall Symphony for Kids series, the Holly Cole ‘Night Before Christmas’ concert, the AlPac Country series and the 2005 Royal Visit. In 2005, Mr. Baril’s ensembles released two CD’s First Time Out with the University of Alberta / MacEwan Big Band and Among Friends with the New Edmonton Wind Sinfonia. In addition, he has directed pit orchestras for shows such as Sweet Charity, On The Town and Candide. Raymond attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where he received a Master of Music degree in conducting. He holds undergraduate degrees in both music and education from the University of Alberta. In 2004, Mr. Baril was honored with the “Tommy Banks Award” by The Alberta Foundation for the Arts for his contribution to music and music education. In 2001, he received the “Elkhorn Award” for director of the year by the Alberta Band Association. He was also a recipient of the “Best Teaching Practices Award” from the Alberta Teachers’ Association, a “District Service Award” from Edmonton Public Schools and an “Excellence In Teaching Award” from Alberta Learning.
Fred Stride (jazz band) finds himself writing many forms of music. Although he is principally known for his many compositions and arrangements for jazz ensemble, he has also written countless arrangements for various entertainers and performers for almost every musical setting, from chamber ensembles to big bands, concert bands, theatre orchestras and symphony orchestras. Fred is also active as a band leader and guest conductor. He currently leads his own Fred Stride Jazz Orchestra which, besides playing his own work, also performs classic jazz repertoire such as the Stan Kenton/Johnny Richards Cuban Fire Suite, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s arrangement of The Nutcracker Suite, Ron Collier’s arrangement of Oscar Peterson’s Canadiana Suite and Duke Ellington’s major opus Black, Brown and Beige. Several of these performances have been recorded and broadcast on CBC radio. The Fred Stride Jazz Orchestra has also recently released the CD Forward Motion (Cellar Live) containing 6 compositions by Fred, including the multi-movement Machina: A Concerto for Jazz Orchestra. Fred Stride was also the winner of the 2007 International Jazz Arranging Competition for his arrangement of Michael Brecker's Peep. Fred also received the 2008 SOCAN/IAJE Phil Nimmons Established Composer Award. The commissioned work for this award, By All Accounts, was premiered in Toronto at the 2008 IAJE Conference. As well as his very busy professional writing career, Fred also finds time to direct a jazz ensemble and teach jazz theory and arranging at the University of British Columbia School of Music. He also works as a clinician, adjudicator and teacher at various music festivals, summer camps and jazz workshops across the Canada and the US. Fred Stride is an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers. Many of his jazz compositions are published by Sierra Music Publications.
Scott Leithead (choral) - Kokopelli's artistic director, Scott Leithead, B.Mus. is the founder of the Kokopelli and TIME Jazz Associations. . Scott is in demand as a clinician, guest director, and evaluator at events in North America, Europe and Africa. He has conducted provincial/state honour choirs in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Montana.  Scott has a passion for music from southern Africa and he has been hired to work with choirs in South Africa and Namibia on numerous occasions. In 2008/09, Scott was on sabbatical in Namibia, where he worked with the Mascato Youth Choir and numerous other choirs in southern Africa. Scott’s passion for innovative and unique choral music experiences has shaped the direction of the Kokopelli Choir Association and was the founder of Òran as the alumni ensemble for the Kokopelli Youth Choir. This season Scott has been invited to conduct the Saskatchewan and New Brunswick Youth Choirs for the second time.  On July 1st, he will lead the Unisong National Choir Festival on Canada Day with the National Arts Orchestra.  In addition he will be presenting at Festival 500 in Newfoundland as a festival clinician and he will adjudicate the Ontario Vocal Festival,  the Vancouver Kiwanis Festival, and the Edmonton Cantando Festival.   He will be presenting major concerts with the Amabile Choirs in London Ontario, The Bach Children's Choirs of Guelph, The Toronto Children's Choir, The Hamilton Children's Choir, and The High Park Children's Choirs.  He is also looking forward to conducting a summer program in Naramata BC in August 2011.  He has been invited to work with ensembles and institutions in 9 provinces this year, as well as in the United States, the Cayman Islands, Thailand and in Africa.

2012 CLINICIANS

Don Berner (jazz improv) - Juno Award winner P.J. Perry has called Don Berner "one of Canada's fastest rising saxophone stars. Reads, doubles, solos, he does it all." and jazz icon Hugh Fraser has stated ,”Don’s talent as a great saxophonist is supported by his compositional and band leading talents.”  In addition to appearing alongside such notable jazz luminaries as P.J. Perry, Bobby Shew, Hugh Fraser, Slide Hampton, Bob Stroup, Chu Cho Valdez, Lew Tabackin, Guido Basso, Tommy Banks, and Hillario Duran and commercial talents E.C. Scott, Bobby Curtola, Dan Aykroyd, and the Temptations,  he has performed at  numerous concert halls, jazz clubs, and festivals throughout Canada and the U.S. and can be heard on numerous CD’s. He has performed at multiple embassies as well as international performances abroad.  In addition, he has performed on numerous radio and TV recordings and maintains a busy performing, lecturing, and teaching schedule. In addition to appearances with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Berner is also formerly the announcer and producer of “A Time For Jazz”,on CKUA and the writer of the “Jazz Standards” column in Edmonton’s SEE magazine and is the subject of a recent CBC recording. He has also been nominated for the TD Canada trust Jazz award, the Galaxie rising star award, and several mayoral arts awards.

Doug Berner (bass) - Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Doug has been an active part of the musical community since his mid-teens. He studied trumpet and jazz performance at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton and Moorehead State University in Kentucky. Doug has been privileged to perform with many great musicians, including Peabo Bryson, Aaron Neville, and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and has traveled widely working as a Bandmaster for Princess Cruises and as Musical Director aboard Cunard's Queen Mary 2. Currently Doug resides in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, and can be found performing and teaching throughout western Canada.

Dan Davis (saxophone) graduated with a Masters degree in Jazz Performance from the University of South Florida in 2009.  Since returning to Edmonton, Dan has worked with P.J. Perry, Jim Head, Mo Lefever, Kent Sangster, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Ubiquitous Orchestra, Anne Vriend, the Fusionauts and the Marty Majorowicz Syndicate amongst many other groups and artists.  Dan is also a member of the ABtrio who recently finished recording their debut album Take No Prisoners, which will be released in March 2012.  To hear see where they will be playing next and hear a sample of their music, visit www.abtrio.com.  As a pedagogue, Dan leads master classes all over the province of Alberta, and is the saxophone instructor at Alberta College Conservatory of Music in Edmonton.

Susan Farrell (vocal) - B.Mus. and B.A. (Mount Allison University, 2008), M.Mus.,Choral Conducting (University of Alberta, 2010), is beginning her first season with the Elk Island Intermediate Honour Choir. A proud native of Nova Scotia, Susan grew up in the Pictou District Honour Choir, where she acted as Head Chorister of the choir for four years. At Mount Allison, she was the Assistant Conductor for the Elliott Chorale and directed music for two bilingual plays put on by the Tintamarre theatre troupe. During her time at the University of Alberta, Susan has acted as assistant conductor for the Concert Choir, as well as leading the Recital Choir in her graduate conducting recital in February 2010, under the supervision of Dr. Leonard Ratzlaff and Dr. Debra Cairns. As a chorister, she has sung in many choirs and chamber ensembles, including the Bonnay Singers (Pictou, NS), the Strasbourg Cathedral Choir (Strasbourg, France), the Nova Scotia Youth Chamber Choir (Halifax, NS), and most recently the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers and Òran Chamber Choir (Edmonton, AB). In Spring 2010, Susan participated in a conducting masterclass at Podium with Julia Davids and the Canadian Chamber Choir as one of four young conductors chosen from around the country. Currently, Susan conducts for the Edmonton Girls' Choir, the Brail Tones Music Society, the Elk Island Intermediate Choir, and is the Music Director at St. Paul's United Church.

Margaret Fisher (horn) - has degrees from the University of Alberta and University ofSaskatchewan.  She's lived in Edmonton for twenty years and enjoys beingpart of the busy music scene.  In addition to freelance work Margaret spends her time teaching and servingas a clinician at band camps and clinics.  She is a regular performer with Opera Nuova and currently plays for the New Edmonton Wind Sinfonia and Concordia Symphony. 

Melissa Goodchild (clarinet) - came to Edmonton in 2008 from Ontario where she received her Master’s of Music in clarinet performance and Artist Diploma from the University of Western Ontario and Bachelor of Music from the University of Windsor. Throughout her studies she attended workshops and master classes lead by artists such as the Slowind quintet, Robert Riesling, Theodore Oien and Eddie Vanoosthuyse. Since moving to Edmonton she has performed in several ensembles and musicals. Currently she enjoys teaching privately at the Alberta College Conservatory of Music and works as a freelance musician.

Joel Gray (trumpet) – Joel Gray is a freelance trumpet player and educator based in Edmonton with 20 years of experience. Joel attended the music programs at MacEwan College and the University of Alberta, studying trumpet with William Dimmer of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and Dr. Fordyce Pier. Joel is a regular performer with many local artists and ensembles, including the the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, The Edmonton Jazz Orchestra, Edmonton Opera, Pro Coro Canada, the Tommy Banks Big Band, the Don Berner Sextet, the Retrofitz, the Polyjesters, and Capital Brass, to name only a few. He is a veteran in the orchestra pit, having performed many professional musical theatre productions at the Citadel Theatre, as well as in other venues. He has graced the stage alongside such greats as Tommy Banks, Arnie Chycowski, Guido Basso, Kent Sangster, Andrew Glover, and P. J. Perry. He has recorded on over 20 CDs and performed numerous times for CBC radio.

As a music educator, he teaches trumpet and brass at MacEwan College, Keyano College, the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta. He has been an adjudicator for the Rocky Mountain Music Festival, the Foothills Jazz Festival, and the Red Deer Kiwanis Music Festival. Since 2004, he has been the director of the Littlebirds Big Band. Under his direction, the Littlebirds have played concerts with P.J. Perry, Allen Jacobson, recorded for CBC radio, and performed concerts throughout Alberta.

Alden Lowrey (low brass) - is an enthusiastic performer, teacher and clinician.  He plays regularly
with a wide range of groups from symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles to jazz groups and salsa bands.  He teaches trombone, euphonium and tuba at the Alberta College Conservatory of Music, Red Deer College, Camp Nakamun and MusiCamp Alberta.

Mark Maynor (percussion) - received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in music performance from Baldwin Wallace College and the University of Akron.  Further instruction included Richard Weiner, principal percussionist of the Cleveland Orchestra, John Soroka, principal percussionist of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and Michael Burritt from the Eastman School of Music.  Mark  attended the Leigh Howard Stevens Marimba Seminar and competed in the first Leigh Howard Stevens International Marimba Competition.

Mark’s performing experience includes many years as a member of the Akron Symphony, Cleveland Chamber Symphony and the New Music Associates, a professional new music ensemble in residence at Cleveland State University.  Mark has recorded with Telarc International and GM Recordings Inc.
In Ohio, Mark taught percussion lessons and directed the percussion ensemble at Ashland University, Malone College and he maintained a studio of 30-40 private students.

In New York, Mark taught music classes at Nazareth College and Rochester Institute of Technology while performing with the Oratorio Society Orchestra and Mercury Opera.

Since moving to Edmonton in July, Mark has performed with a wide variety of groups including the Royal Canadian Artillery Band and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.  He teaches percussion techniques at the University of Alberta and also private lessons at Brandenburg Music.

Jennifer McMillan (accompanist) - Òran and Kokopelli accompanist Jennifer Kinghorn McMillan is an active member of the Edmonton musical community. She is a graduate of the Music Composition and Piano Performance programs at MacEwan College and has since developed into a sought-after accompanist, composer and arranger, with particular interest in vocal jazz arranging. As an accompanist, she has played for Kokopelli, Òran, Shumayela, Brail Tones, Wagner High School, Victoria High School, Lindsay Thurber High School, Mascato Coastal Youth Choir from Namibia and most recently for a brand new musical, Wedlocked, at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre. Jennifer's choral arrangements and compositions have been heard across North America and have even reached audiences in Namibia and South Africa. As a vocalist, Jennifer lends her talents to the Òran Choir - of the Kokopelli Choir Association and 'Nuf Sed - of Today's Innovative Music Edmonton (TIME Association). This marks Jennifer's 11th year of involvement and membership in the Kokopelli Choir Association.

Diane Persson (bassoon) - Diane Persson is a professional bassoonist, conductor, and music educator. A recipient of a Master of Music degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, in addition to a Bachelor of Science in Music Education, Ms. Persson has also studied in London, England with William Waterhouse and in Tel Aviv, Israel with Mordecai Rechtmann.
Ms. Persson is a frequent performer with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the New Edmonton Wind Sinfonia, and numerous chamber ensembles in Edmonton. As a music educator, Ms. Persson has worked with Edmonton Public Schools, Elk Island County, Kings' College, and Grant McEwan College, and is currently a sessional instructor at the University of Alberta. A clinician with Windworks, a past instructor at West Coast Amateur Music Festival, and Alberta Summer Music Workshops, Ms. Persson also adjudicates at music festivals throughout Alberta. As conductor of the Edmonton Philharmonic Orchestra Ms. Persson presents several concerts to the community throughout the season.

Ken Read (trombone) - studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto. He is the founder of the Edmonton Trombone Studio, the Ritchie Trombone Choir (www.ritchietrombonechoir.com), and the Northern River Karate School (www.threebattles.com). Ken has performed with many Canadian orchestras, bands and chamber ensembles and he has premiered numerous new works written for him and his ensembles. He is recorded by CBC and Arktos Recordings.

Don Ross (clarinet) - Clarinetist Don Ross is the leader of Saint Crispin’s Chamber Ensemble. Since 1994 the group has been broadcast frequently on CBC radio and has recordings on the Clef Records, Arktos and Eclectra labels. In the last while the group has appeared at New Music in New Places, New Works Calgary, Wednesdays at Winspear and CBC’s Canada Live. Recently Don appeared as the Wolf in the ESO/ Magic Circle Mime Company’s Peter and the Wolf, played with a hurdy-gurdy at North Country Fair, improvised with the Edmonton Art Ensemble and produced the multimedia End of time project. In January he appeared with dancer Eryn Tempest in Saint Crispin’s at Amber’s Brewery. Don also appears regularly as a soloist and orchestra player, most recently with the Edmonton and Prince George Symphonies and the Edmonton Opera. He is at the forefront of the Edmonton new music scene and is a frequent collaborator with Mile Zero Dance, the Edmonton Composers’ Concert Society and the Boreal Electroacoustic Music Society. He is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre.

Brian Sand (trumpet) - Dr. Sand has appeared regularly as soloist, recitalist, orchestral performer, chamber orchestra performer, brass quintet performer, singer, clinician, and adjudicator.  He began playing the trumpet at the age of 8 in the music program of his local school in Jasper, Alberta, Canada, where he became the Band President, soloist and part-timeconductor.

Dr. Sand has appeared as guest performer with many of Canada's leading musical organizations including l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, l'Opera de Montréal, Edmonton Symphony, Edmonton Opera, Alberta Ballet, Victoria Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, and has served as first trumpet with the Société de musique contemporaine de Québec (SMCQ), solo trumpet with the McGill Chamber Orchestra, solo trumpet with Les Violons du Roy, and has performed as principal trumpet with the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada. Brian has performed under several of the world’s great conductors including Kent Nagano, Charles Dutoit, Donald Hunsberger, Lorin Maazel, Norma Panula, Eduardo Müller, Simon Preston, Howard Shore, Carl Topilow, Rafael-Frühbeck de Burgos, Emmanuel Villaume, Jeffrey Tate and Eliahu Inbal among others.  As a chamber musician he has performed with Capital Brass Works (Ottawa Boreale Brass (Montreal), Bow Valley Brass Quintet (Calgary), Calgary Brass Quintet, Foothills Brass (Calgary), Victoria Symphony Brass, and the Music Academy of the West Faculty Quintet (California). In addition to established groups he has also performed chamber music with many of the world’s finest brass instrumentalists including members of the OSM, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, NAC, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, St. Louis Brass Quintet, American Brass Quintet, New York Brass Quintet, and the Canadian Brass. He founded and leads the Boreale Brass Quintet - a dynamic ensemble that performs contemporary works for brass as well as classical and jazz standards. He has presented concerts and master classes at numerous Colleges, Universities and High Schools including the University of Western Ontario, McGill, University of Alberta, University of Saskatoon, University of Regina, Portland State, University of Montana, Interlochen Academy, Acadia, Mount Allison, UPEI, Mount Royal College, Medicine Hat College, University of Lethbridge, and the Banff Centre for the Arts and well over 700 schools. He has adjudicated Orchestras, Wind Ensembles, Jazz Bands, Marching Bands, Colour Guards, and Choirs in festivals in St. John's, Quebec City, Montreal, Boston, and Toronto.

Brian taught trumpet at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, the McGill Conservatory of Music, and the Alberta College Conservatory of Music and was Professor of trumpet at Memorial University where he also directed the Jazz Ensemble.  He has been broadcast on National Public Radio (NPR) in the U.S. and has appeared several times on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Television and on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio.

Glenn Skelton (trumpet) – was born in Edmonton in 1991, and currently resides in Calgary when not attending university.  He is completing a Bachelor of Music at the University of Alberta and is in his 3rd year of study in performance majoring on trumpet under Alvin Lowrey.  Along with Alvin, Glenn has studied with many other prominent local and international artists such as; Bob Day, Gerry Herbert, Al Muirhead, Gareth Jones, and Adam Rapa.  Along with studying, he has also performed with many recognized soloists including Jens Lindeman and Wycliffe Gordon.  During his time playing, he has won multiple awards for his academic and musical endeavours, such as the John Nickle scholarship and other festival related awards.  Glenn is currently a member of both the University Symphonic Wind Ensemble and the University Symphonic Orchestra.  When he graduates next year, he is planning on pursuing his masters.

Kathleen Skinner (vocal) - Kokopelli Choir Association's executive director Kathleen Skinner, B.Mus. (University of British Columbia, 2003), M.Mus. Choral Conducting (University of Alberta, 2005), is the conductor of the Oran Choir. Prior to finishing her post-secondary education, Kathleen spent two years as the assistant conductor of the U of A Madrigal Singers under the direction of Dr. Leonard Ratzlaff. Kathleen was the music director at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church until recently, where she led two adult choirs and a children’s choir. Now Kathleen is pleased to be taking on a new role as the executive director for the Kokopelli Choir Association. An emerging conductor and composer on the Alberta choral scene, Kathleen has been engaged as a clinician and vocal coach for high school and youth groups around B.C. and Alberta. Her compositions have been published and performed widely in North America.

Dorothy Speers (flute) - received her Bachelor of Music in Performance from Queen’s University and her Master’s of Music degree in Performance from the University of Alberta. She was the recipient of the Beryl Barnes Scholarship for Excellence in Performance from the University of Alberta and was the recipient of the prestigious Kingston Symphony Scholarship while in attendance at Queen’s. Dorothy has studied and performed in masterclasses with Aurele Nicolet, William Bennett, Louis Moyse, Julius Baker, James Walker and Camille Churchfield. She has performed with the Kingston Symphony, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony, Alberta Baroque Ensemble, Edmonton Wind Sinfonia, many musical theatre productions, and in numerous small ensembles. In addition to being on staff at Grant McEwan College, Dorothy has a large private flute studio. Dorothy is in constant demand as a solo performer and is a member of the trio Terzetto. She remains busy as an adjudicator and clinician throughout western Canada and has toured extensively in France, Germany and Italy over the past ten years.

Jeremy Spurgeon (accompanist) - British-born Jeremy Spurgeon won scholarships to study both piano accompaniment and organ at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester and later studied organ with Lionel Rogg at the Geneva Conservatoire where he gained the Premier Prix de la Classe de Virtuosité. In 1980 he came to Edmonton as director of music at All Saints' Cathedral and has since appeared in concert with many Canadian and international ensembles, singers and instrumentalists, including the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Richard Eaton Singers, Pro Coro Canada and Edmonton Opera. Jeremy has performed as piano accompanist and organist across Canada and Europe.

Charles Stolte (saxophone) - Described by Classical Music magazine as a musician of “dazzling commitment and versatility,” Charles Stolte enjoys a career as a saxophonist and composer that takes him throughout the world. Glowing reviews in the Chicago Tribune laud him as a “talented performer with glossy technique and bluesy charm,” and he enjoys frequent support from the Canadian provincial and national governments for his composition projects and performance tours. CBC radio has broadcast his performances and compositions nationally and he and his music enjoy performances across North America and in Europe. He can be heard on a variety of recordings as a saxophone soloist, in the Stolte/Segger Duo with pianist Joachim Segger, as alto saxophonist with the Edmonton Saxophone Quartet and as a member of Ensemble Mujirushi, Edmonton’s “New Music Supergroup” (Edmonton Journal). Dr. Stolte is Associate Professor of Saxophone, Music Theory and Composition at The King's University College in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and Instructor of Saxophone at Grant Macewan Alberta College Conservatory of Music. He has served on the faculties of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Roosevelt University and the University of Alberta and his teachers include William H. Street and M. William Karlins. He holds a Doctor of Music degree in Saxophone Performance from Northwestern University, where he was the first Canadian accepted to the doctoral program in saxophone performance with renowned saxophonist Frederick L. Hemke.

Hiromi Takahashi (oboe) – Mr. Hiromi Takahashi's primary teacher was late Perry W. Bauman. During his student days, he played in NYOC and CCO. Mr. Takahashi has performed with professional orchestras in Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C. as a freelance oboist since 1974 and has performed in Japan, France and Sweden. He is sought after for recordings by CBC, CKUA, CFRN, documentary films and private productions.  Hiromi has taught for institutions such University of Alberta., Augustana University,  Alberta College, Mount Royal College and King's University.

Brian Thurgood (percussion) - B. Mus., M. Ed. (Jazz Studies), obtained his Master of Music Education degree from the University of Victoria, BC and his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Alberta after which studied at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA. He has been a member of Edmonton Symphony Orchestra since l977 and on the faculty of MacEwan since 1981. Brian proudly endorses drums made by EPEK Percussion. Their webpage is www.epekpercussion.com