Marie Anderson (Vocal, 8, 10, 12, 14 years and under) is currently completing a Masters program at the Education Department, Queen’s University.  She is presently assistant conductor for Cantabile Choirs, under the artistic direction of Dr. Mark Sirett in Kingston, ON. and is developing and teaching a program of Group Vocal Technique at Queen’s Conservatory, Kingston.  She was co-founder and director of La Jeunesse Youth Choirs: a youth choral program in Northumberland County ON that has grown to include four choirs, ranging in age from four to nineteen years.  Under her direction, the choir toured Europe five times, receiving four gold medals in International competition.  They have five CDs and can be heard on CBC radio and American Public Broadcasting.  Marie has directed the children’s choir portion of several Murray Schafer productions, in particular, the children’s opera, The enchanted forest, and The palace of the cinnabar phoenix, both performed at the Wolf Center in Haliburton, under the artistic direction of the composer.  She developed a multi-choir children’s program at Trinity United Church, Cobourg ON, and directed the Oriana Singers of Coboug.  She is in demand as an adjudicator and conductor, most recently having conducted the children’s choirs at the Nova Scotia Choir Camp in August, 2007.  She has taught private singing lessons for 25 years. Marie lives in Kingston ON, and has two wonderful children.

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Elise Bédard (Vocal, Grade A, Grade B, Grade C, Honours and Adult), described by the critics as “a marvelous singer-performer with a glorious, powerful and pristine voice”, has sung across Canada, in France, Spain and the Netherlands, a wide repertoire ranging from the Baroque to New-Jazz.  She has given numerous solo recitals, live, on CBC and Radio-Canada and on Spanish Radio, has appeared with major orchestras and choirs including the Montreal Symphony, with opera groups in varied roles from Purcell to Puccini, has performed at international festivals as well as in theatrical productions, especially experimental (where she wrote incidental scores) and music-theatre.  She is an active chamber musician and can be heard on McGill Records and J+W Recordings.  Ms Bédard has won top prizes in international competitions, and awards from Canada Council, Jeunesses Musicales, Phonogram International, the Quebec Government and the Institut International du Théâtre.  She holds Master’s, Bachelor’s and Licentiate degrees from McGill University and has taught at McGill, Dawson College, Marianopolis College and Brock University.  She presently teaches at McMaster University in Hamilton, is a sought-after adjudicator, clinician and master teacher and belongs to the College of Examiners of the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto.  Élise has published articles on pedagogy, most recently in ORTMTA journal Notes.  Her students have gone on to careers in opera, film, television and recording.

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Carol Beynon (Choral) is Associate Vice Provost of the School of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies and Associate Professor in Music Education at the University of Western Ontario.  She is the founding co-artistic director of the renowned and award-winning Amabile Boys and Men's' Choirs of London, Canada.  Dr Beynon is a specialist in vocal and choral development specializing in unchanged and changed male voices and serves as a clinician and adjudicator for music festivals in Canada and around the world.  With the Amabile Boys & Men’s Choirs, she has been involved in invited and reviewed performances and recordings. The Choirs have been consistent winners in the CBC bi-annual national choral competition, and in 2008, both the Amabile Young Men’s Ensemble and the Men’s Choirs won their two of the nine categories in the competition.  Carol is the author of the book Learning to Teach published by Pearson Canada, 2001 and has a second edited publication to be completed in 2009 entitled, Critical Perspectives in Canadian Music Education.  She also has numerous scholarly articles about music education, choral music, teacher development and teacher identity in several peer reviewed journals.  She has received several awards for outstanding teaching from the University Student Council and in 2007 was named the Woman of Excellence in Arts, Culture and Heritage 2007 for London, Ontario and community.

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Elroy Friesen (National Choral) is Director of Choral Studies at the University of Manitoba.  He directs the University Singers and Women’s Chorus and teaches conducting, graduate conducting and music education.  He is currently completing his doctoral studies at the University of Illinois, researching the choral music of Finnish composer, Einojuhani Rautavaara.  He has been a high school choral specialist in Manitoba where his programs included concert, chamber, and jazz choirs.  His ensembles have received numerous awards for their performances in Manitoba and Canada, they have toured internationally, and they have performed with many outstanding arts organizations, including the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Canadian College of Organists, Kokopelli, the Winnipeg New Music Festival, Soundstreams Canada and Groundswell.  Mr. Friesen earned his bachelor degrees in music (B. Mus.) and education (B. Ed.) and his masters in conducting (M.Mus.) from the University of Manitoba, receiving numerous study grants and scholarships from the Manitoba Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Foundation for Choral Music in Manitoba.  Mr. Friesen is the founder and past artistic director of Prairie Voices, has recently held the positions of Artistic Director of the Mennonite Community Orchestra, Director of Choirs at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Urbana, and director of the U of I University Chorus in Illinois.  He is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor, and has conducted youth choirs and workshop choirs throughout Canada and the United States.  Elroy and his wife Heidi are raising their family of four children, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

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Heather Godden Laliberte (Piano, Grades 7-8) holds an ARCT Diploma in piano Performance from The Royal Conservatory of Music and a Licentiate from the Trinity College of Music, London, England.  Her teachers include Lyell Gustin, Norma Mead, Gertrude Greaves, Walter Thiessen and Lorne Watson. Ms. Laliberte is a senior piano and theory examiner with the Royal Conservatory of Music, and was a member of the RCM Examinations, Council of Examiners, theoretical subjects from 2002-2004.  Ms. Laliberte has maintained her own private music studio since 1969 and has been a member of the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Association (CFMTA) since 1978.  She teaches piano, trombone, theory and piano pedagogy, specializing in intermediate and senior levels and prepares students for a variety of advanced examinations. She has composed a number of works for piano, including works for her CD entitled “The Piano Music of Heather Laliberte”, as well as vocal and choral works.  Ms. Laliberte has also adjudicated for numerous festivals and competitions across Canada and has led workshops on the Art of Practising, the Published Compositions of Heather Laliberte, Examination Preparation and numerous theory topics.  Ms. Laliberte has performed as an accompanist for a wide variety of events, and has held a number of church organist/music director positions.  She was one of the founding performers of the trombone quartet, ‘Simply Bones’, and while trombonist with the Hamilton Concert Band, performed as piano soloist in 2003, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.  She currently resides in Warman, Sk.

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Karen Jensen (Vocal, 16 and 18 years and under) is one of those musicians who is both performer and scholar.  She earned her Ph.D. from the University of London, England, and while living in the United Kingdom also earned her Recital Diploma (Performance) and Licentiate (Teacher’s) from the Royal Academy of Music.  As a London-based soloist she appeared professionally throughout Britain and Europe in the major venues and festivals.  Throughout her career, her teachers and mentors have included Jessica Cash, Marjorie Thomas, Robert Spencer, and Cathy Berberian in Europe; and Canadian vocal teachers Dorothy Howard, Shirley Sproule and Ethel Hall, all from her native province of Saskatchewan.  She has recorded frequently for both the BBC and CBC in solo, chamber, and orchestral works.  Karen is the author of /A Singer's Guide to the IPA/, a multimedia software program for instruction in the International Phonetic Alphabet and basic principles of singer’s diction in English, German, Italian and French.  Karen Jensen is currently Associate Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, and teaches Vocal Pedagogy at the University of Manitoba.  She is an award-winning teacher and has judged vocal competitions all across Canada internationally, including Trinity College in London England, Finland’s Tampere Festival, and the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in the United States.  She is married to Dr. Gerald Bowler the Christmas historian, and they have three grown daughters.

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Amanda Kirkpatrick (Piano, Grades 5-6), a native of Canada, has appeared as soloist with the University of Manitoba Symphony, the University of Missouri-Columbia Philharmonic, the University of Missouri-St. Louis Wind Ensemble, and the Samara, Russia Philharmonic.  After coming to the United Sates to study with Jane Allen, she appeared frequently in recital and was first place winner of the Missouri Music Teachers’ Association, the Music Teachers’ National Association, and the Sigma Alpha Iota Competition.  In 1992, she won the Artist Presentation Society Award and was presented in a highly successful debut recital.  In December 1993, Ms. Kirkpatrick toured Russia with orchestral appearances in Samara and Togliati, and recitals in Samara and Moscow.  She won numerous scholarships and awards while studying at the University of Missouri-Columbia where she completed her Master’s of Music Degree in piano performance in 1995.  Ms. Kirkpatrick currently resides in St. Louis where she has an active performing and teaching career.  In 1998, she gave performances and clinics in West Palm Beach Florida with the Modern American Music Group, Synchronia.  She is a founding member of the piano trio Trinity and is an examiner with the Royal Conservatory of Music.  Ms. Kirkpatrick maintains a private studio in addition to teaching at the Community Music School of Webster University and is a full time faculty member at Washington University.

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Fred Love (Vocal, Musical Theatre and Gilbert & Sullivan), resident of Waterloo, Ontario has performed over 90 leading roles in opera, operetta and musical theatre.  Most recently, Mr. Love spent the summer in Venice, Italy teaching voice for Music Theatre Italy.  Prior to that, he received a best actor WILDE nomination for his work as Cosmé McMoon (Florence Foster Jenkins accompanist) in Stephen Temperley’s SOUVENIR at Performance Network Theatre in Ann Arbor and later at Boarshead Theatre in Lansing, Michigan. Additional credits include:  Old Deuteronomy in CATS in St. Jacobs, Ontario and Fred/Petruchio in KISS ME KATE at the Sunshine Theatre Festival in Orillia, as Archibald in THE SECRET GARDEN at Thousand Islands Playhouse and Huron Country Playhouse, and Sky Masterson in GUYS AND DOLLS and Freddy in MY FAIR LADY for Stage West Calgary, Tony for Manitoba Theatre Centre's production of MASTER CLASS with Jackie Burroughs as Maria Callas, and many others. He has sung for the opera companies of Houston Grand, Orlando, Anchorage, Santa Fe, Memphis, Costa Mesa, Chautauqua & Michigan Opera Theatre.  Mr. Love has also been a past winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and a finalist in the Belvedere International Opera Competition, Vienna, Austria.  In addition, he heads the Music Theatre/Voice Division at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan where he teaches Musical Theatre History, Music Theory, Acting the Song, Singing Styles, Opera Workshop and is the musical director for all main stage shows.  Mr. Love has led workshops on auditioning techniques, cold readings and the belt voice: Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance! Gotta Belt!

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Harold Micay (Classical Guitar) completed his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Guitar performance Cum Laude at the University of Southern California, studying with Pepe Romero and Christopher Parkening.  In 1986, he was one of twelve guitarists chosen to play in one of Andres Segovia`s last master classes.  Mr. Micay was second prize winner in the Canadian National Guitar Competition.  He was a semi-finalist at the Concert Artist Guild competition in New York.

Mr. Micay has released two solo CDs; "The Romantic Guitar" and "La Rosa".  He is a founding member of the Canadian Guitar Trio.  Their latest CD`s are "La Luna" and "Sephardic Journey".

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Marcelline Moody (Orff, Handbells, School Recorder and Choral) has recently retired from over 30 years of teaching Music in Winnipeg.  She is an Orff graduate of the University of Manitoba, Canada, and she completed her diploma in Advanced Studies in Music and Dance Education at the Special Course at the Orff Institute, Salzburg, Austria.  She also teaches the Orff Levels Summer Courses at the University of Manitoba and has also given workshops across Canada, in Australia, China, France and Salzburg.  Her students have performed at National Orff conferences, and with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra for which they have composed works.  She continues her association with both these performing organizations connecting children with the Arts.  Marcelline is also following a life-long interest in composing and arranging, especially choral and Orff pieces for children.  Her great love is the recorder and she has recently published a recorder manual for teachers and students.  She is a recipient of the Bronze Medal of the town of Ouistreham in Normandy for her services to music in the community there, the Morna-June Morrow Award for Teaching Excellence in Manitoba, and in June of 2004 she received the Arts in Education Award from the Manitoba Foundation for the Arts.

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Jack Partridge (Pipe Organ and Choral) was born and educated in Saskatchewan.  He is a music educator, choral conductor, pianist, organist and vocal coach.  He was Arts Education Coordinator for the Regina Public School Board of Education from 1981-98 during which time he coordinated many school choral performances, including performances with the Regina Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Doreen Rao, Howard Cable, Simon Streatfeild, Boris Brott and Tommy Banks.  From 1969-81, Jack was a music specialist for the Regina Board of Education, teaching Classroom music/choral to grades 3 - 10 in twenty three schools in Regina.  He has been music director at First Presbyterian church since 1967.  As a piano accompanist he has worked with noted provincial and national vocal and instrumental soloists.  He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Regina Symphony Orchestra and member of the Education Committee of the Canadian Music Centre.

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Katharine Rapoport (Strings) teaches violin and viola performance and chamber music at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto and at the Royal Conservatory of Music, in the Young Artists’ Performance Academy and the Glenn Gould School.  As an active advocate of contemporary music, she is a member of Esprit Orchestra and has appeared as soloist and chamber musician in performances, broadcasts and recordings of new works.  Her recent performances have included Reger’s third Viola Sonata and the Mozart Clarinet Quintet on the Faculty Artists Series at the University of Toronto.  Her publications include serving as Series Editor of the Encore Series, a six-volume collection of contemporary Canadian violin pieces, and writing the two Teachers’ Manuals for the series.  She is the author of Violin for Dummies, published in November 2007 in the popular series by Wiley’s.  Katharine is a Senior String Examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music and has adjudicated and given masterclasses and workshops across Canada and in the United States.  After earning her M.A. from Cambridge University and her postgraduate Certificate of Advanced Studies in violin from the Guildhall School of Music, London, she continued her postgraduate work at the Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademie Detmold and the Hochschule fur Musik, Vienna. She is the conductor of the RCM Chamber Orchestra, and has served on the faculty at summer programmes such as Chamber Music at Port Milford Festival and the National Music Camp, where she conducted the Symphony Orchestra.

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Peter Stoll (Woodwinds and Brass) Known for his virtuoso energy on stage as well as an easy and entertaining way of speaking with the audience, Peter Stoll was a prizewinner in the International Clarinet Society Competition, and also Solo Clarinetist with the World Orchestra of Jeunesses Musicales in Berlin and Vienna, which was broadcast on live television across Europe.  Peter won First Prize in Chamber Music at the National Competitive Music Festival, for whose 50th Anniversary edition he was invited back as Woodwind Adjudicator and as soloist in the Gala Celebration Concert in Winnipeg.  A graduate of the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, he received his Master's of Music degree in Performance from Indiana University, where he studied with renowned soloist James Campbell.  A frequent performer of new music, the Ontario Arts Council awarded Peter and composer Randall Smith a Commissioning Grant for a new solo bass clarinet piece "Borealis", premiered in Toronto.  Peter was also a member of the ensemble Continuum for ten years and toured with them to Europe, including broadcasts on the BBC and Radio Netherlands.  Peter teaches clarinet and chamber music privately and at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto.  He is also a member of the Royal Conservatory of Music's National College of Examiners and is much sought after as an adjudicator at music festivals across the country.

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Joan Woodrow (Piano, Grades 1-4 and Adult) A native of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Joan received her early musical training from the Sisters of Mercy.  She obtained her Bachelor of Music degree from Mount Allison University and went on to further her studies at Ithaca College, New York, University of Wisconsin, as well as Queen’s University, Kingston.  Mrs. Woodrow has won numerous awards and scholarships, and was a frequent winner in both piano and cello at the Kiwanis Music Festivals.  Mrs. Woodrow has composed a collection of pedagogical pieces for children entitled “A Stroll through Old St. John’s”.  An active member of the Newfoundland Registered Music Teachers’ Association, Joan is Provincial Past President and is a delegate to the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers Associations.  Mrs. Woodrow is also the chairperson of the advisory board for the St. John’s Kiwanis Music Festival, and is the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Advisor for the National Music Festival.  She is an active adjudicator and is an examiner for Conservatory Canada.  Joan should also be recognized for being a member of the founding board of the Suzuki Talent Education Program and as the originator of the Atlantic Canada Suzuki Institute.  The Suzuki institute is an international camp for student and teacher training which Ms. Woodrow, not only established in Newfoundland but also directed and organized for 10 successful years.  Joan Woodrow currently lives in St. John’s where she operates a successful music studio, and is sought after as an accompanist.

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Peteris Zarins (Piano, Grades 9-10, Diploma, Adult and Honours) is a graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music (A.R.C.T. - Performer; A.R.C.T. - Teacher), the University of Toronto (Bachelor of Music in Performance) and received his Master’s Degree from the University of Michigan in Performance and Pedagogy.  He has performed as a soloist and collaborative pianist in Canadian and American venues.  Active as a clinician, he has presented lecture-demonstrations for various organizations.  He has given workshops across Canada and the United States on behalf of R.C.M. Examinations, the National Music Certificate Program (U.S.A.) and the Frederick Harris Music Company.  Adjudications include the Barrie, Davenport, Markham, Mississauga, O.R.M.T.A. scholarships, Oshawa, Port Colborne and Windsor Festivals.  With Dr. Janet Lopinski and Joe J.Ringhofer, he is co-author of the Exploring Music History three-volume workbook series and assisted with the Celebration Series study guides.  Along with saxophonist Bruce Redstone and flautist Jamie Thompson, is a member of the Kalais Trio.  Mr. Zarins is Chief Examiner for Training and Development for R.C.M. Examinations.  He is a member of the Faculty of the R.C.M. Glenn Gould Professional School and Community School, and has served as Chairman of the Theory Department.  Peteris has accompanied soloists of the C.O.C., Riga, Vienna, Stuttgart, Stockholm and Santa Fe Operas.

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