Margot Sim

Diana Woolrich

Brad Hougham

Marie Baron

Sandra Brewer

Amber Morphy

Stephen Runge

Michael van der Sloot

Jérome Dûcharme

Catherine Wood

Joan Linklater

Henry Engbrecht

Marie Baron (Musical Theatre, Gilbert & Sullivan) completed training at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and the University of Toronto’s Opera Department. Ms. Baron then began her stage career performing with the Canadian Opera Company. For the next 30 years, she went on to perform in nightclubs, cabarets and theatres across Canada, the United States and in London, England. Ms. Baron has played leading roles in both musicals and plays. Her dramatic roles include Honey in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Grand Theatre, London), Celia in As You Like It (Stratford Festival), and Janet in the original production of Waiting For the Parade (Alberta Theatre Projects). Some of her favorite musical roles include Sarah in Guys and Dolls (Stratford Festival), Amalia in She Loves Me (Grand Theatre, London), Lady Audley in Lady Audley’s Secret (Shaw Festival) and Jenny in Company (CanStage, Toronto). The successful meeting of Ms. Baron and Gilbert and Sullivan began at the Stratford Festival with leading roles in The Mikado, The Gondoliers and Iolanthe. These productions were filmed and televised on C.B.C. and HBO.

She reprised her role as Yum-Yum in The Mikado on tour in Canada, the United States, The Old Vic in London, England and on Broadway. Ms. Baron has conducted workshops in Music Theatre Performance throughout Canada and continues to work with professional theatre artists in her Toronto studio. Currently, Ms. Baron is Head of the Vocal Discipline in the Music Theatre-Performance Program at Sheridan Institute.

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Sandra Brewer (Piano, Grades 1-4) is a certified piano teacher and examiner. She has been a member of the College of Examiners of the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) since 1994 and has maintained a busy private music studio in Burlington, Ontario for 20 years. Sandra received a Diploma of Music from Ecole Vincent D’Indy in Montreal while completing a B.Sc. in math and chemistry at McGill University. She later studied through the RCM, earning a teacher’s Associate of The Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT, piano), and was awarded the Bedford Scholarship from the Hamilton-Halton Branch of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association (ORMTA). Her principal instructors were Dr. Marina Geringas, Jim Lawless, Chief Examiner Emeritus, and Keith Hopkins. She has also completed several courses in Early Child Music Education at the RCM, studying under Donna Wood, Katie Forrai and Mary Stouffer (Practicum). She has adjudicated both locally and in other cities. She was the principal accompanist of both the junior and intermediate choirs at Port Nelson United Church from 1979 to 1988 and has also accompanied other school choirs.

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Jérome Dûcharme (Classical Guitar), the 2005 winner of the Guitar Foundation of America International Competition, began his musical studies at the Cultural Center of Joliette in 1990 with André Morissette. Other teachers have included Pierre Morin and Clément Canac Marquis at the musical camp of Lanaudière as well as a year of private instruction with Mr. Marquis. In April of 2000, after having been a student of Jean Vallieres, he graduated from the Music Conservatory of Montreal and was awarded a prize of distinction. He later spent a year studying with Oscar Ghiglia and Stephan Schmidt in Switzerland. Recent performances have included an appearance in 2005 with the Montréal Symphony Orchestra for Donizetti's opera Don Pasquale. A featured performer on the Montreal Guitar Society's inaugural and 2004 season, Jérôme Ducharme's playing has also been broadcast on SRC-CBC radio in Canada. Jérôme Ducharme has been a multiple prize winner in various competitions including the 2004 Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) International Competition, The Guitare-Antony in France and Montreal's Guitarre-Lachine of 2003, as well as the 2000 Festival-Concours de Lanaudiere. In 2005, M. Ducharme was awarded the first prize of the GFA’s International Competition and has toured across North America, playing in over 40 cities.

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Henry Engbrecht (Choral), Professor Emeritus of Music, was Director of Choral Studies in the Faculty of Music for 28 years. Professor Engbrecht has trained, a generation of conductors and teachers in Manitoba. Professor Engbrecht directed the University Women’s Choir and the award-winning University Singers. This elite chamber music choir performs regularly with Winnipeg’s leading professional concert organizations – the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Professor Engbrecht is the founding President of the Manitoba Choral Association, and the President and Artistic Director of the Foundation for Choral Music in Manitoba. He is Musical Director and Conductor of Canzona and conducts the 34-voice Faith and Life Male Choir. A native Manitoban, Henry Engbrecht received his early music training in Manitoba and several centers in the United States. Professor Engbrecht has received awards and recognition for contribution to choral work in Manitoba from MRMTA, Manitoba Choral Association, Association of Canadian Choral Conductors (ACCC), WSO, and the Prix Manitoba Award and several awards from the University of Manitoba.

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Jeremy Epp (Percussion), a native Winnipegger, was appointed Principal Timpanist of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in May, 2010. In addition to his duties with the WSO, Mr. Epp is also the Principal Timpanist of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. Prior to his appointment in Winnipeg, he held the same position with the Erie Philharmonic. Mr. Epp studied under Paul Yancich and Richard Weiner while attending the Cleveland Institute of Music; prior to this, he worked extensively with Jauvon Gilliam. He has performed as a timpanist and percussionist with several orchestras in the United States and Canada, including regular appearances with the WSO since age eighteen. Summer engagements have included studying at the Aspen Music Festival and School, as well as holding Principal Timpani positions with the Bear Valley Music Festival Orchestra, the Youth Orchestra of the Americas and the National Repertory Orchestra. Committed to sharing his passion for music with others, Mr. Epp serves as the percussion instructor at the University of Manitoba.

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Joan Linklater (School Recorder, Orff, String Ensembles and Handbells) holds a B.Mus. from Brandon University, an M.Mus. from the University of Michigan, an ARCT in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto, and Orff certification from the University of Denver. She is currently the Associate Dean of the Marcel A Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba where she also teaches courses in elementary music education and coordinates the University of Manitoba’s highly respected Orff Certification Program. She has served on the Manitoba Orff Chapter executive in several different capacities and has been on the national executive since November 2003. She is currently the past president of Carl Orff Canada.

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Jennifer Moir (Choral) is a highly respected conductor, educator and adjudicator with a growing international reputation. She is the recipient of numerous teaching awards and was honoured with the distinguished Leslie Bell Prize Award for Choral Conducting from the Ontario Art Council in 2004. In May of 2010, she was nominated for the Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts, in the category of Emerging Artists. Ms. Moir is invited regularly to serve as a clinician for festivals and leads workshops for music students and educators in both Europe and North America. In 2009, she was the guest artist in residence at the Sibelius Academy and the Konservatori in Helsinki, Finland. In addition to her duties at the The University of Western Ontario, Don Wright Faculty of Music, she has served as co-conductor of the international award winning children’s choir, The Junior Amabile Youth Singers (1995-2001). Honours included 2nd prize in the CBC choral competition and gold medal performances at the Eisteddfod, Llangollen, Wales and The Choir Olympics in Linz, Austria. In 2001, Jennifer founded Project Sing! a vocal ensemble for young women dedicated to exploring innovative choral expression, particularly Canadian composition. Projects included an award winning recording entitled, “The World Awaits ~ songs for a winter’s night” and music video of the Huron Carol. Jennifer is the Artistic Director for the Woodstock Fanshawe Singers, and is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Kaleid Choral Festival ~ “a kaleidoscope of voices” based in Woodstock ON, that provides outstanding educational and performance opportunities for school and community choirs across Ontario.

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Amber Morphy (Piano, Grades 5-8), soprano and pianist, is a versatile performer, teacher and adjudicator. She has traveled throughout Canada and enjoys working with young talent in a workshop, festival or exam situation. Amber began her musical training in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and later completed a Bachelor of Music in voice and piano at Wilfrid Laurier University. She then graduated with a Master in Music from the University of Western Ontario, specializing in vocal performance. In 2003, Amber had the honour of being the first Artist-in-Residence for the city of Cambridge. Amber is an active performer having performed with the Cambridge Orchestra, Elora Festival, Gallery Concert Series, Hamilton Opera, Kitchener-Waterloo Opera, Symphony in the Barn, Summer Opera Lyric Theatre and the Gilbert & Sullivan Ensemble. She is an active accompanist as well as a music director for Summer Operetta Camps held in Guelph. In 1991, Amber was accepted as a member of the College of Examiners for Royal Conservatory of Music. She has examined in voice and piano throughout Canada. She is also an active adjudicator for music festivals and competitions throughout Ontario. Since 1987 Amber has run a successful private studio in Cambridge teaching all levels of piano, voice and theory to over 30 students a week. She has also taught Kindermusik for ten years. Amber also teaches voice majors at Eastwood Collegiate, an integrated Arts high school in Kitchener.

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Stephen Runge (Piano, Grades 9-10, Diploma, Honours and Adult), pianist, has been heard across Canada in recital, as chamber musician, and with orchestra and is demand across the country as teacher, adjudicator, and clinician. As a clinician, Dr. Runge has given workshops at provincial and national teaching conferences on topics such as effective practice methods, holistic approaches to piano technique, and performance practices for Baroque and Classical music. Born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Stephen Runge studied with Janice Elliott-Denike before completing a Bachelor of Music degree with a major in Piano Performance at the University of Victoria where he was a student of Dr. Robin Wood. Upon graduation from the University of Victoria, he was awarded the Victoria Medal and the Governor General’s Silver Medal. He completed a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at l’Université de Montréal and an Artist Diploma at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto under the direction of Marc Durand. He has also studied at the Banff Centre for the Arts with Julian Martin of the Juilliard School. Stephen Runge completed his Doctorate of Music at l’Université de Montréal in April 2007. Dr. Runge taught at St. Olaf College in Minnesota before joining the Department of Music at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick in 2007, where he is currently Assistant Professor of Piano, Marjorie Young Bell Faculty Fellow, and the Director of Mount Allison Local Centre Examinations in Music. He was awarded a Paul Paré teaching award in 2010.

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Margot Sim (Vocal, 8, 10, 12 & 14 years and under) studied with Dorothy Lawson and Jean Broadfoot in Winnipeg before studying voice with Mary Morrison in Toronto. She received her B.A. and Diploma in Operatic Performance at the University of Toronto and worked with the Canadian Opera Company, the Canadian Opera Company Children’s Chorus, Opera Hamilton and the Toronto Gilbert and Sullivan Society. As a “Young Artist” vocalist, Margot toured western Canada with pianist Angela Cheng. Currently, she is the Minister of Music at Grace Bible Church and teaches voice at the Canadian Mennonite University. Margot’s students include music festival trophy winners and examination medalists. She has fond memories of the many years she dashed from class to class (piano, vocal, flute, recorder, choral) as a young performer at the Winnipeg Music Festival. Margot is a former winner of the W.H. Anderson Trophy and the Rose Bowl. She loves adjudicating because of the opportunity it provides to encourage young musicians.

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Michael van der Sloot (Strings), began studies at the age of 5 with his brother William van der Sloot, and received his Bachelor and Master degrees on the viola at the University of British Columbia studying with Gerald Stanick. He then pursued his doctoral studies at the renowned Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria with Thomas Riebl. Michael has had success at various solo and chamber competitions. He was the Canadian representative at the 1992, and 1996 ASTA Competitions, and a finalist at the 1997 Patrons of Wisdom Competition in Toronto. In 1996, he recorded for CBC as a result of the CBC West Coast Young Performers Competition. And finally, in 1997 he was awarded the Johann Strauss Foundation Scholarship for study in Austria. Michael has also played with various symphonies including the Edmonton Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony and the Vancouver Opera. He has toured with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the Salzburg Chamber Soloists throughout Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland and Italy, including performances at the Theatre Rue Champs Ellysees in Paris, and the Musikverein in Vienna. In addition to his performing, Michael is a passionate teacher. Michael taught on faculty at the Medicine Hat College as Academy Director for 11 years; instructing violin, viola, chamber music, and chamber orchestra. In 2010, Michael accepted the position of Head of Strings at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and moved with his wife, Daphne, and six children to the beautiful city of Victoria, BC.

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Catherine Wood (Woodwinds and Brass), Canadian-born clarinetist, has performed and taught throughout Canada, the United States and France. Dr. Wood returned home to Canada in 2008 to join the faculty at Brandon University; she has also served on faculty at Appalachian State University and the Flint Institute of Music. Wood has been a guest artist and lecturer at many festivals including the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFests, the Clear Lake Chamber Music Festival, the University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium and the MSU Clarinet Spectacular. An active scholar and advocate of Canadian music, she was a finalist in the International Clarinet Association Research Competition and presented “A Clarinetist’s Guide to Canadian Music: Resources for Performers and Educators” at the 2007 ClarinetFest. She has won numerous performance awards including the St. Cecilia Scholarship Competition in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and Second Place in the National Finals of the 2004 Canadian Music Competition. Some of her recent collaborative highlights include chamber music concerts with members of the Lyon Opera Orchestra and Manitoba Chamber Orchestra performances with Maesha Brueggergosman and with Marc-Andre Hamelin. An enthusiast of contemporary music, Wood has premiered several new works and has performed at numerous festivals which celebrate New Music: the University of Toronto New Music Festival, the Michigan State University Contemporary Clarinet Festivals, Groundswell’s Pressure Waves and the Brandon University New Music Festival. This April, she will premiere a concerto for clarinet and string orchestra by T. Patrick Carrabré at the BU Clarinet Festival. In its inaugural year, this annual international festival celebrates clarinet artistry and education. Catherine Wood holds a Doctorate in Clarinet Performance from Michigan State University. Her teachers have included Caroline Hartig, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, David Etheridge, Naoum Gomon, Charles Neidich, Colin Lawson and Theodore Oien.

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Diana Woolrich (Vocal, 16 & 18 years and under) holds a Bachelor of Music degree in voice with great distinction from the University of Regina, where she also completed the course work for a graduate degree in music theory and taught for some years as a sessional lecturer. Currently her time is divided between voice teaching, choral conducting, and adjudicating, and she has recently undertaken some consulting work for the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto. Her singing students have regularly won awards in festivals and examinations, been selected as provincial representatives for the National Youth Choir, pursued music studies at university level and beyond, and built professional singing careers in Europe and the U.S. as well as Canada. From 1988 until 1995, she was director of the junior choir of St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in Regina, and from 1996 until 2000 she co-directed the annual Diocese of Qu’Appelle’s Bishop’s School for Choristers with her husband, Robin Swales. She has served as children’s chorus master for Opera Saskatchewan and for Opera Nuova of Edmonton in Regina. In the fall of 1994, she became music director of the then newly-formed youth choir, JUVENTUS, which has won numerous trophies and awards in music festivals and gained second place in the 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2009 National Music Festival and in the “youth - equal voices” category of the 2000 CBC Amateur Choirs Competition, and which has toured within Saskatchewan and beyond and fostered links between choirs across the prairies. She is a member of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Saskatchewan Music Educators’ Association, and the Saskatchewan Registered Music Teachers’ Association. In 2001 she was the recipient of the Saskatchewan Choral Federation's Pro Musica award for service to choral music. Her a cappella choral composition for upper voices – Les Papillons – is published by the Eboracum Choral Series in the UK.

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