2009 Festival Adjudicators
Dr. Glenn D. Price(concert band)
- Dr. Glenn D. Price is recognized as one of the leading international
conductors of today. He has conducted in over 20 countries on
five continents, covering the gamut from professional chamber
players to 450 piece string orchestra, symphony orchestras and
wind ensembles to mass bands of over 1500 musicians.
He is best-known as a major authority on music for wind groups
and in this capacity he has appeared as featured conductor for
many professional organizations. These include the World Association
for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE), the College Band
Directors National Association (CBDNA), the American Bandmasters
Association (ABA), the MidWest Clinic, the Music Educators National
Conference (MENC), the Encontro Latino Americano (Brazil), the
Shizuoka Festival (Japan), the British Association for Symphonic
Bands and Wind Ensembles (BASBWE) and others. Dr. Price has
conducted many renowned soloists, such as Evelyn Glennie, Christian
Lindberg, Ney Rosauro, Jens Lindemann, Alain Trudel, Roger Webster,
Rick Todd, John Marcellus, Simone Rebello and Michael Burritt.
Under his direction, the University of Calgary Wind Ensemble
developed into an organization of international prominence.
Their nine cds on five commercial labels have been heralded
for their technical precision and musical artistry. They are
heard regularly on radio and serve as performance models for
ensembles worldwide. Conference performances at such events
as WASBE and CBDNA in addition to their Canadian guest appearances
at the Esther Honens International Piano Competition and Celebrity
Series in Calgary, plus the Cantando (Edmonton), MusicFest (Calgary,
Edmonton, Winnipeg), OBA (Toronto) and Rocky Mountain (Banff)
Music Festivals, have brought great acclaim and a wide audience.
A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, he pursued further
conducting studies at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Japan
and the Tanglewood Music Centre in the U.S. as well as in Europe
and Russia. A noted percussionist, he has performed with the
Canadian Opera Company, National Ballet, Calgary Philharmonic
and Alberta Ballet as well as numerous contemporary music ensembles.
He recently recorded Ney Rosauro’s Concerto for Timpani, at
the invitation of the composer.
Dr. Price has devoted much of his life in service to the profession
and the training of young conductors. As a renowned pedagogue
he has led conducting symposia throughout Europe, Asia and the
Americas. His students now occupy leading positions in Canada,
the U.S. and around the world. Following six years on its Executive
Board, he was elected to the post of President of WASBE, dedicated
to the improvement of all aspects of the profession.
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| Allan McMurray (concert band) - is the Robert
and Judy Charles Endowed Professor of Music, Chair of the Conducting
Faculty, and Director of Bands at the University of Colorado-Boulder,
a position he has held since 1978. Prior to this position, he
was on the faculty of the University of Michigan. Considered
one of the world’s leading teachers of conducting, Professor
McMurray has guest conducted and taught conductors in 45 states
and 15 foreign countries. He has been a featured visiting professor
at over 200 universities and conservatories nationally. He has
authored two groundbreaking DVDs on the art of conducting that
have been received with international acclaim.
Since Professor McMurray’s arrival in 1978, the University
of Colorado Bands have distinguished themselves with performances
at major conferences and conventions, including The First
International Conference for Symphonic Bands in Manchester,
England; the All-Japan Band Conference in Nemo Nu Sato, Japan;
the College Band Directors National Association Convention
(twice); and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and
Ensembles in Hamamatsu, Japan.
Considered an authority on conducting pedagogy and wind repertoire,
Professor McMurray has been a guest conductor, lecturer, and
clinician throughout the United States and 13 foreign countries.
He is the host for the College Band Directors National Association
National Conducting Symposium in Boulder. Former conducting
students now hold high school, college, and professional conducting
positions throughout North America
With a strong commitment to new music, Allan McMurray has
been a leader in commissioning numerous compositions by American
composers. He has won praise for his interpretive and expressive
conducting by many composers including Pulitzer Prize winners
John Harbison, Joseph Schwanter, Karel Husa, Michael Colgrass
and George Crumb. Professor McMurray has performed with the
St. Louis Symphony, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Los
Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Debut Orchestra and has guest
conducted the Colorado Symphony in performance at the 50th
Anniversary of the Colorado Music Educators Convention in
Colorado Springs. He recently completed his third season with
the Colorado Ballet Orchestra as principal guest conductor
of “Dracula”
Allan McMurray is a Past-President of the College Band Directors
National Association and a member of numerous professional
organizations including the American Bandmasters Association.
In addition, he is a recipient of the Bohumil Makovsky Award
for Outstanding College Band Directors from the National band
fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi, and has been recognized by California
State University Long Beach as “Distinguished Artist in Classical
Music.”
Professor McMurray’s first DVD on the Art of Conducting
entitled “Conducting from the Inside Out: Gesture and Movement”
was released in December of 2002 and has received international
acclaim. His second DVD, “Conducting from the Inside Out:
Conductor and Composer with Frank Ticheli” is published by
Manhattan Beach and was released in 2004 at the Midwest Band
and Orchestra Conference in Chicago.
In December 2004, the Board of Regents designated Allan
McMurray as “Distinguished Professor”. He is one of only 25
faculty in the history of the University of Colorado to receive
this honor, the first in the College of Music and is the only
one from the Arts to hold the title. |
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Don Owens(concert band and jazz band) - Don
Owens, Coordinator Emeritus of the Jazz Studies and Pedagogy Program,
Director Emeritus, Contemporary Music Ensemble, and the National
High School Music Institute at Northwestern University, began
his tenure at Northwestern University in 1979. Before coming to
Northwestern, he taught for twelve years at Evanston (Illinois)
Township High School where his duties included directing band,
brass ensembles, and jazz band, as well as teaching classes in
music theory, popular music, and composition. He created the Electronic
Music Studio at ETHS in 1971. Many of his ETHS students went on
to become music majors at many of the major Schools of Music in
the United States and Canada.
Owens received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from North
Texas State University, where he also studied Composition and
Jazz. His Master of Musical Arts degree is from the University
of Illinois, where he majored in Composition. He studied composition
with Morgan Powell, Merrill Ellis, Samuel Adler, and Salvatore
Martirano. He has won several grants and awards, and is regularly
commissioned for new works.
In his first few years at Northwestern, Mr. Owens conducted the
Nationally renowned Jazz Ensemble, directed the "Wildcat”
Marching Band and Symphonic Band, and taught advanced Method classes
for undergraduate Music Education Majors. He eventually was appointed
Coordinator of the Jazz Studies and Pedagogy Program, teaching
courses in Jazz Writing, Seminar in Jazz Pedagogy, Jazz in the
Public Schools, and conducted the Jazz Ensemble. Under his leadership,
the Northwestern Jazz Program grew to offer the B.M. in Jazz Studies
and the M.M. in Jazz Pedagogy.
In addition to Owens' responsibilities in the Jazz area, he served
as Director and Primary Conductor of the internationally acclaimed
Contemporary Music Ensemble for over 20 years. This group performed
over 200 world premiers, as well as the standard 20th century
repertory. In 1991, the Northwestern CME served as the primary
chamber music ensemble for the John Cage Now World Festival. In
the spring of 1995, the NUCME served as one of two visiting Artist
Ensembles for the National Meeting of the Society of Composers
at the University of Iowa. In 2002, the CME played a major part
in the Stephan Wolpe Festival, sponsored by the School of Music.
During the summers, Owens served as Director of the National
High School Music Institute, from 1991 to 2004. Under his leadership,
the enrollment increased by 100%. NHSMI continues to thrive as
a Pre-Collegiate Music Major Experience for high school-aged students.
With a curriculum that requires the attending students to declare
a Major - Classical Guitar, Composition, Jazz Studies, Music Education,
Piano, Strings, Voice, or Winds and Percussion- NHSMI has consistently
attracted students from all 50 states, as well as many foreign
countries.
Mr. Owens is an internationally recognized clinician/conductor.
He has served as an adjudicator and has conducted Festival and
All-State Concert and Jazz Bands in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, New Mexico,
North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Washington,
Wisconsin, Canada, Greece, Germany, and Norway. As a conductor,
he has shared in the art of music making with world famous figures
from both the Jazz and Contemporary Classical idioms. His compositions
have been performed across America, as well as in Canada, England,
Greece, Germany, Japan, Norway, and South America.
Mr. Owens is the composer/arranger of over 100 works, including
those for band, jazz band, orchestra, choir, and chamber music.
His music is available from the composer via Phramus Music Publications.
Owens is the author of several articles dealing with contemporary
music. He is a member of M.E.N.C, Illinois Music Educators Association,
International Association for Jazz Education (Past President for
the Illinois State Unit), Pi Kappa Lambda (Past President of Alpha
Chapter), and Phi Mu Alpha.
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Wendy J. Grasdahl (concert bands) - Wendy
Grasdahl is well known across Canada as a conductor, teacher,
and trumpet performer. Her professional experience encompasses
teaching at university and college levels, as well as provincial
workshops, clinics, festival adjudication, private teaching
and military band work. She is a Visiting Assistant Professor
at the University of Alberta, teaching brass and conducting
the Concert Band.
As an officer in the Canadian Naval Reserve, Wendy conducted
military bands in Alberta, B. C., and Ontario. She is in demand
as a clinician and guest conductor for school programs, as well
as summer music programs, including the International Music
Camp at the Peace Garden on the Manitoba/U.S. border. She received
the prestigious Distinguished Service Award from the International
Music Camp for ten years of conducting and promoting band in
North America. Previous awards include the Faculty Association
Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of P.E.I.
Wendy has appeared as a trumpet soloist and in professional
ensembles throughout Canada. She is a clinician for Yamaha Canada,
is a founding member of the brass quintet "Five of a Kind",
and has played Solo Cornet with the Mill Creek Colliery Brass
Band. Wendy is the Trumpet Instructor at Concordia University
College of Alberta. Wendy is the founder, Artistic Director
and principal conductor of Festival City Winds Music Society,
a comprehensive adult community band programme which is comprised
of three Concert Bands.
Ms. Grasdahl holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music History
from the University of Alberta, a Master of Music degree in
Trumpet Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Calgary,
and a graduate level Fine Arts Diploma in Symphonic Band and
Wind Ensemble Conducting and Literature from the University
of Calgary.
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WILLIAM STREET (concert band) - joined
the University of Alberta in 1988 as saxophone and chamber music
professor and wind band conductor. Formerly Wind and Percussion
Coordinator of the Department of Music and Conductor of the
University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Professor Street is now
Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies of the Department
of Music. He has presented concerts throughout Europe, North
America, Japan and Thailand and has recorded héliosaxo, twentieth
century music for axophone and piano, My Very First Solo (Arktos
- SRI- CD 200367), - with Roger Admiral featuring works by Heider,
Jan Bach, Swerts, Albright, Fisher and Denisov and Westwind
a recording of new works for saxophone - solo and in duos with
piano, organ and percussion - by Western Canadian composers.
He recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, a CBC 5000
compact disc recording Electra Rising by Malcolm Forsyth. This
disc
was awarded a JUNO: Best Classical Recording of 1997. Tre Vie,
Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra was runner up for Best
Classical recording of 1998. His teachers and mentors include
George Etheridge, Frederick Hemke and Jean-Marie Londeix. He
performs frequently with pianist Roger Admiral and saxophonist
Jean-Marie Londeix and tours bi-annually. He has presented master
classes (and was a 2004 adjudicator) at the Conservatoire National
Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, The Royal College
of Music in London, Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand
and he has been a member of the European Saxophone University
faculty. He adjudicated for the 2007 music examinations at the
Conservatoire National de Musique de Bordeaux. Street performs
regularly with the Edmonton Saxophone Quartet and Edmonton's
Improvisation Group Flux and tours internationally annually
with the Quatuor International de Saxophones, composed of colleagues
from France, the USA and Japan. He is a past president of the
North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) and just completed
his third term as Secretary of the World Saxophone Congress.
He is a member of the advisory committee of the World Saxophone
Congress to be held in 2009 Bangkok, Thailand.
During the 2006-2007 academic year, he performed a concert tour
in the US with Roger Admiral and a concert tour in Japan, Thailand
and France with the Quatuor International de Saxophones. Mr.
Street has a Selmer clinician with a strong interest in music
education and appears frequently as recitalist, adjudicator
and conductor throughout Asia, North America and Europe. He
has recently adjudicated at Festivals around the world including
Belgium, Canada, France, Russia, Thailand, the United States
of America and the Ukraine.
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| Trent Worthington (choral) - holds a Masters Degree in Instructional Technology, a Bachelor Degree in Education and an Honours Diploma in Computer Systems Technology. He has taught with the Edmonton Public School Board in music, math and computing, and has conducted and taught music at Alberta College Conservatory of Music and at The King’s University College. Trent has been a clinician and adjudicator for music programs and festivals for more than 20 years.
Trent has been involved with Pro Coro since 1981 - first as a member of the tenor section, and currently serving as Associate Conductor.
Trent’s work in choral music has included almost 100 original works and arrangements performed by VOCE (5 and 6 part a cappella male ensemble); a series of five sets of arrangements published by Gracenote Inc. for rhythm section education (including more than 50 vocal and rhythm section arrangements of traditional hymns and contemporary Christian songs); and numerous arrangements for children’s choirs. Pro Coro Canada has performed over a dozen of Trent’s arrangements.
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Marvin Eckroth (Professor Emeritus, University of Saskatchewan) (concert band) - has taught instrumental and choral music in the United States and Canada including Millikin University (Illinois), Edmonton Public Schools, the University Alberta and the University of Saskatchewan where he recently retired as Professor of Music and Conductor of the Wind Orchestra.
While at the U of S he performed at the World Saxophone Congresses in Germany, Maryland and Montreal and at the US Navy International Saxophone Symposium in Washington, DC. Under his leadership the U of S Wind Orchestra was chosen to perform at the World Association of Symphonic Bands Conference in The Netherlands (1989) and Austria (1997) as well as at national music conferences and on CBC Radio.
Professor Eckroth was a four time recipient of the Dwaine Nelson Memorial Teaching Award and the 2001 Excellence in Teaching Award presented in the College of Arts and Science at the U of S. He was also presented the Distinguished Band Director Awards by the Canadian Band Association and the Saskatchewan Band Association.
Marvin has presented clinics and master classes in such diverse settings as the Rotterdam Conservatory, Brandon and Acadia University and the Universities of Calgary and Manitoba. He has served as clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor in many parts of the US and Canada including Houston Texas, Phoenix (Arizona State University), Halifax, Vancouver (UBC), and Honolulu, Hawaii.
His publications include an article and CD on Saxophone Tone Production published by the Saxophone Journal. The Saxophone Journal also featured his Saxophone activities in a cover story.
His recent professional activity has included conducting the National Youth Band of Canada, guest conductor with the UBC Wind Symphony and serving as adjudicator/clinician at the Washington State University Wind Ensemble Festival, the Whistler Band Festival, the Association of Canadian Music Festivals national finals, the ABA Festival of Bands, the Cantando Festival and the BC provincial music festival finals. |
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Dr. Aaron Au (orchestra) - A native of Lethbridge, AB, Aaron is currently a first violinist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and a sessional instructor of violin and viola at the University of Alberta. In demand as a violinist, violist, teacher and adjudicator, Aaron has performed and taught in Canada, the US, Europe, Japan and Cuba. He recently completed his Doctorate in Music at the University of Alberta in String Performance and Pedagogy. Aaron is also active as a concert presenter through his role as President and Artistic Director of the Edmonton Recital Society. As a conductor, Aaron has served as Resident Conductor of the Mill Creek Colliery Band and as a Guest Conductor with the University of Alberta Academy Strings Orchestra. He attended the 2007 American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and School where he worked under the guidance of Maestros David Zinman and Murry Sidlin.
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CLINICIANS
Doug Berner (trumpet) - 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.
Eva Bostrand (vocal coach) - Ms. Bostrand began her musical training and performing career in Stockholm, Sweden, where she attended Musikhögskolan, University of Stockholm and Stockholms Musikpedagogiska Institut. Parallel with her vocal, pedagogical and operatic studies, she performed as soloist and ensemble singer with professional and semiprofessional vocal groups. Ms. Bostrand was a member of the Swedish Radio Chamber Choir under the direction of Eric Ericson and toured, performed and recorded extensively with the choir. Ms. Bostrand has had the pleasure to sing under conductors Anders Öhrwall, Ricardo Muti, Sir David Willcox, James de Priest and Nikolaus Harnoncourt..
Since coming to Canada, Ms. Bostrand has appeared in solo and chamber music recitals and performed with symphony orchestras.
Ms. Bostrand has been voice instructor at the Alberta College Conservatory of Music, University of Alberta and Augustana University College. She is currently voice teacher at Concordia University College and teaches from her own music studio, the storefrontstudio in Edmonton. Ms. Bostrand has a passion for voice education and takes great pleasure in leading workshops for voice teachers, music teachers, choirs and voice students of all ages and levels. She is also a choral/vocal adjudicator and clinician at festivals across Canada.
Paul Buckingham (euphonium/tuba) - Paul learned to play the tuba in the UK where he grew up, and is grateful to have belonged to a wide variety of musical groups, from symphony and wind orchestras to brass bands and chamber ensembles. This included performing the Gregson Tuba Concerto with the Durham University Symphony Orchestra, and spending nine years playing works from the symphony orchestra canon.
Having moved to Edmonton in July 2008 to take up an assistant professorship in mathematics at the University of Alberta, Paul's focus has returned to the brass and wind scene and, as well as being a member of the Mill Creek Colliery Band and Festival City Winds, has also been active in setting up a new tuba quartet in Edmonton.
Dr. Chris Diaper (euphonium/tuba) - Chris is a native of the UK and learned to play euphonium in the brass band tradition of The Salvation Army. He divides his time between his two passions: science and music. He obtained a PhD in chemistry from Sheffield University (UK) and holds positions as a research scientist and as a scientific editor.
Since his move to Canada in 2001, he has continued his long association with brass bands and is currently the principal euphonium with the Edmonton Salvation Army and Mill Creek Colliery bands. He is active locally as a low brass clinician and freelance musician, which has allowed him to perform with many different ensembles including the ESO (tuba) and the Royal Canadian Artillery Band (euphonium).
Mary Fearon (french horn) - Mary Fearon was born in Edmonton and has a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta. While living in Toronto she performed with many groups including the Canadian Opera Company, the Toronto Symphony, the Toronto Pops Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the York Brass.
Since returning to Edmonton in 1989 she has been a regular performer with the Edmonton Symphony, the Citadel Theatre, Alberta Baroque Ensemble and numerous chamber ensembles. She is a founding member of “Wind, Women and Song’, an eclectic chamber group who are recording a new children’s CD set for release in September 2009. As a soloist she has been heard in recital at Alberta College, All Saints' Anglican Church, Festival Place, and the McDougall at Noon concert series. Ms. Fearon has been a guest artist at "The Call of the Wild" Horn Festival in Cold Lake since it's inception in 1998. At the festival she has shared the stage as a soloist with Phillip Meyers from the New York Philharmonic, Richard Sebring from the Boston Pops, and Jeff Nelsen from the Canadian Brass. She has been heard on Our Music, CBC1, and performed in the Wednesday at Winspear series with Take Three Plus One.
Ms. Fearon has been the horn instructor at Alberta College since 1994. Her students regularly perform and are awarded scholarships in Contemporary Showcase, the Fall Music Festival,and Kiwanis Festival. Ms. Fearon has had five students qualify for Silver Medals with the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music, signifying that they have achieved the highest mark for Winds and Brass in the prairie provinces. Mary is also in demand as a clinician and adjudicator. She enjoys gardening and cooking, and is married with three daughters, and an energetic Brittany Spaniel named Beau.
Joel Gray (Improvisation) - Joel Gray has spent 15 years as a freelance trumpet player and educator in Edmonton and its surrounding areas. Joel attended the music programs at MacEwan College and the University of Alberta. As a music educator, he teaches trumpet and brass at MacEwan College, Keyano College, the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta, and directs the Littlebirds Bigband.
Joel is a regular performer with many local artists and ensembles, including the the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Opera, the Tommy Banks Big Band, the New Orleans Connection, the Don Berner Sextet, the Urbanites, Trembita, Hot Cottage, and Capital Brass. 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, Kent Sangster, and P. J. Perry, to name a few.
Rhonda Henshaw (viola) - Rhonda Henshaw is a busy performer and teacher in the Edmonton area. She holds a bachelor of music degree from the University of Calgary, and an Artist Diploma from the Vancouver Academy of Music, where she studied with Gerald Stanick.
Rhonda’s studies have also taken her to the Banff Centre for the Arts, as well as several European and Asian tours with the World Youth Orchestra. Rhonda returned to her native Edmonton in 2002 to join the viola section of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. An active chamber musician, Rhonda freelances with diverse ensembles, and is a member of Kent Sangster's Obsessions Octet, a Juno nominated jazz octet.
Jolaine Kerley (vocal coach) - Jolaine Kerley is active as a soprano soloist, clinician, adjudicator, conductor, and vocal instructor throughout North America. Jolaine is currently a sessional instructor of voice in the department of music at the University of Alberta.Jolaine’s performance career centers around oratorio and concert repertoire. Jolaine has been featured as soloist in works by Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, M. Haydn, Schubert, Czerny, Ivan Moody, and Alan Bevan with musical ensembles throughout Canada and the United States. This past 2008/2009 performance season has included Haydn’s Harmoniemesse, and Kleine Orgelmesse Vaughan Williams Mass in g minor, Handel’s Solomon, J. S. Bach’s BWV 61, Zelenka’s Magnificat, and Handel’s Messiah. Jolaine will be featured as soloist in works for soprano and trumpet by Scarlatti and Melani in the 2009 Carmel Bach Festival.
Alden Lowrey (trombone) - Alden Lowrey 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. This year Alden was the featured guest soloist at the Cosmopolitan Music Society's spring concert. He teaches at the Alberta College Conservatory of Music, MusiCamp Alberta and out at Camp Nakamun.
Anne McDougall (violin) - Anne McDougall (violin) is an active performer and teacher in the Edmonton area. She received her M.Mus from the U of A, studying with Norman Nelson, and has also attended the Meadowmount School in New York, working with Sally Thomas and Ani Kavafian. Anne has performed extensively with the Edmonton Symphony, chamber orchestras such as Eclectica, Musici Allegri, the Arden Ensemble, Echo, and in numerous chamber ensembles. During the current season, she has been acting Concertmaster for the Sooke Philharmonic Chamber Players. She played for over 20 years in the Alberta Baroque Ensemble, both in the First Violin Section, and as leader of the Second Violins. Anne also taught violin for 24 years at the Alberta College Conservatory, heading the String Department there from 2002-2004. Currently, Anne teaches in her own private studio, is an adjudicator and workshop clinician, and an instructor at The King's University College.
Ronda Metszies (cello) - Ronda Metszies was born and raised in Edmonton, where she studied cello with Sheila Laughton. After receiving her Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Victoria, she continued her studies in Edmonton with Tanya Prochazka and then in Germany and Austria, where she worked with Julius Berger, Friedrich Sellheim and Heinrich Schiff.
Ronda has released two CDs of music for cello and piano on the Arktos label, both of which are frequently played on CKUA and CBC radio, as well as a music video for Bravo! Television. Until recently, Ronda was living in Los Angeles, where she performed regularly at the University of Southern California and in several local chamber music recital series.
In addition to playing with the ESO, Ronda has a special interest in early music, and performs regularly with the Alberta Baroque Ensemble. She is also a member of Kent Sangster’s Obsessions Octet, whose debut jazz CD was nominated for a Juno Award in 2007.
Diane Persson (double reed) - 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.
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.
Don teaches at Alberta College Conservatory and The King’s University College and he is much in demand as a clinician, adjudicator, conductor and composer. He holds music degrees from the Universities of Alberta and Toronto, as well as a Master’s from Northwestern University in Chicago.
Sylvia Shadick-Taylor (assisting pianist) - Edmonton pianist Sylvia Shadick-Taylor is known for her diverse talents. She excels as a soloist, yet is equally comfortable as a chamber musician, accompanist and teacher. As a soloist Sylvia has a strong interest in contemporary music. Premiering many Canadian and American works, she has performed in Canada and the United States, including her highly successful New York concert debut in 1997.
Ms. Shadick-Taylor has also performed as a chamber musician with many ensembles. Recent performances include concerts in Canada, Thailand, Germany, France, Japan, and a performance at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York City with Hungarian violinist Nándor Szederkényi. A popular accompanist, she adeptly spans opera classics to demanding contemporary concert repertoire, and her work can frequently be heard on CBC Radio.
A respected name in the musical community, Sylvia works as a private teacher, vocal coach, adjudicator and clinician, and has worked for the University of Alberta, Edmonton Opera, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Alberta College and Pro Coro Canada.
Sylvia has released three CDs on the Arktos label: Caprice; Intimate Impressions (winner of the 2000 Alberta Recording Industry Award for Best Classical Artist); and At Your Service, which focuses on the art of accompanying. She can also be heard on several other CDs, including Northern Arch, soundland alberta and Lucidae.
Jeremy Spurgeon (assisting pianist) 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.
Dr. 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.
John Taylor (double bass) - has been the assistant principal Bassist in the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra since 1983, prior to which he was the Principal Bassist with the Thunder Bay Symphony. He has also performed with The Toronto Symphony, Canadian Opera Company, the Hamilton Philharmonic, Orchestra London Canada and New Music in Toronto. Mr. Taylor has studied at the University of Toronto in the Faculty of Music, the Orchestral Training Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, the Banff Centre School of Music, private studies with Tom Monahan (Toronto Symphony), and Thorvald Fredin (Stockholm Opera. In addition to being the Head of the Bass Department at MacEwan, he has been a faculty member at Alberta College and has taught privately for over fifteen years.
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
Russell Whitehead (trumpet) - has been a featured soloist with the Edmonton, Saskatoon and Red Deer Symphonies, the Edmonton Cantando Band Festival, the Edmonton Wind Sinfonia, Alberta Baroque Ensemble and recorded solo and chamber concerts for CBC radio. Presently, he plays with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Flux (a free improvisation group) and the Capital Brass, and teaches at the University of Alberta, King's College University and through his home. He recently released his debut CD entitled, Prairie Scene, in the fall of 2006.
Shelley Younge (flute) - is Assistant Principal flutist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, originally from Alberta, received her Bachelor of Music degree from the prestigious Indiana University School of Music. Her work there led her to master classes with notable flutists such as Julius Baker (former principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra) James Galway, Walfred Kujala (piccolo player of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra), Peter Lloyd and Jean Pierre Rampal.
She has performed as a soloist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, Alberta Baroque Ensemble, Edmonton Chamber Orchestra, and with such notable performers as Celtic harpist Mary O’Hara and soprano Lois Marshal. Shelley’s orchestral career has included work with as principal flutist of the Banff Ballet Orchestra, as well as performances with the Banff Festival Orchestra, Pro Coro Canada and the Alberta Baroque Ensemble, and numerous chamber music performances.
Renowned for her teaching, Ms. Younge held the distinguished position of Francis Winspear Visiting Professor at the University of Alberta Department of Music for several years, where she continues to teach. Her other activities as flute instructor have included the Music Camrose and MusiCamp Alberta provincial music camps, the Alberta College Conservatory of Music and the Banff International Music School. Shelley has championed the music of new composers and has recorded several discs for the Edmonton Composers’ Concert Society.
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