Clinicians

Stuart Beatch is a Canadian composer currently living in Edmonton, Alberta. He received a Master of Music in Composition from King’s College London under composer Rob Keeley, having previously studied composition at the University of Alberta and music education at the University of Regina. Stuart has held Composer in Residence positions with Chronos Vocal Ensemble (Edmonton) and The Fourth Choir (London, UK), and has received mentorship from Sir James MacMillan and Uģis Prauliņš. While Stuart has a special affinity for the Canadian choral community, his music has frequently been sung by vocal ensembles across North America and Europe, including the BBC Singers, Elysian Singers, Voces Nordicae, Pro Coro Canada, National Youth Choir of Canada, musica intima, Luminous Voices, Chronos Vocal Ensemble, Spiritus Chamber Choir, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Cantabile Chamber Singers, Chorus Austin, Empire City Men's Chorus, and Choral Arts Initiative. He is an Associate Composer with the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers.
https://stuartbeatch.com/home

Michael Beauclerc

Vertical Divider

Michael Beauclerc has established a diverse and exciting career as a professional drummer, percussionist, composer, and author in Canada. He is also a busy marching percussion clinician for Yamaha Canada, having performed over 140 clinics from coast to coast as part of the "Start the Groove" campaign. Currently, Michael is the percussion head of the St. Michael's College School Drumline in Toronto, and a consultant and composer for several additional scholastic drumlines in Ontario. His books “The Mad Practice Pad” and “Developing Modern Drumlines” have become the literal foundations for Canadian drumlines and marching percussion instructors. For more information or to contact Michael, please visit www.michaelbeauclerc.com

Tori Beil

Vertical Divider

Tori grew up in Kamloops, where she was heavily involved in the choral community. She sang with several groups over the years, starting as a member of Kamloops Children’s Choir, and most notably as a member of Serious Options.
She now calls Quesnel her home, where she is a K-7 music teacher for the school district.

Sabrina Brooks

Vertical Divider

I have been teaching since 2010 K-Adult music. My current work includes: K-6 general music at Margaret Ma Community School; teaching a "Beaver Language through Music" program I co-created with an elder from Doig River First Nation to several district elementary schools; Grade 6 Beginning Band lead teacher (120 students); Assistant teacher to Senior 10-12 Band; mentor teacher to several prospect music teachers; and lead conductor of the Northern Winds Community Band. SD60 Band runs a co-teaching model which has us 4 band teachers working together to service our 6-12 band program. I have a Bachelor of Education in Music & Mathematics from UVic (2010) and a Masters of Leadership & Administration from Gonzaga University (2015). My own children play Suzuki Cello & Violin and started at age 4. What I love about my life's work is the relationships I build with people over a lifetime through music. I work with all ages and all walks of life, in all genres and with all instruments. I love that music is for everyone and I love seeing progress over time. I love being the "Music Mom" (as a former student dubbed me ) to my community. I love that there is no end in this career - there is always a different pedagogy, instrument, song, or person to open my eyes to new experiences.

Heidi Buhler

Vertical Divider

Heidi Buhler has her Masters in Music Education from Gordon College in Massachusetts with a focus on Music Learning Theory, which was pioneered by Dr. Edward E. Gordon. With no prior band training, Buhler was hired nearly a decade ago to restart a mummified band program at Eugene Reimer Middle School in Abbotsford BC. Before learning about Music Learning Theory, teaching band was inefficient and unsustainable as the majority of the students did not have prior experience in any form of music making, including singing. Providing students with the building blocks of music as a language revolutionized the program into a thriving and highly capable community of young musicians. Buhler has long since wished to share these vital tools with other teachers on the West Coast.

Dr. Jared Burrows

Vertical Divider

Dr. Jared Burrows is a guitarist, composer, and educator in Vancouver, BC, Canada. His music draws upon jazz, free improvisation, and European concert music, and is influenced by his frequent collaborations with traditional musicians from China, Ghana, Indian, and Iran. He leads the Jared Burrows Trio and Sextet and Les Djangophiles, and is involved with many other ensembles in the Vancouver area including The Offering of Curtis Andrews, Naadaleela Ensemble, Great Lakes Quartet, Thunder Lizard, Dave Robbins' Electric Band, Brad Muirhead 4, Colin MacDonald Pocket Orchestra, Len Aruliah Quintet, Michael Vlatkovich Quintet, and Reliable Parts. Recent performance highlights include concerts and recordings with mrdangam maestro, Sri Trichy Sankaran and with legendary Los Angeles reed player, Vinny Golia.
Jared has been an instructor at Capilano University since 2008. He teaches improvisation, small ensembles, vocal arranging, and conducting as well as directing the renowned new music group, Narwhal. Jared is the founder and director of the Vancouver Jazz History Archive, an online resource with over 1000 items including photos, posters, and other emphemera related to the Vancouver jazz scene. Past teaching appointments include Douglas College, Simon Fraser University, Stanford Jazz Workshop, and Delta Community Music School. Jared is co-founder of the South Delta Jazz Workshop and has been curator of the weekly Jazz at Presentation House Studio series since 2009.
Burrows completed his Ph.D. in Arts Education from Simon Fraser University in 2004. His writing and research work concerns social models of cognition related to free improvisation, the teaching of improvisation, and Sufi and Taoist philosophies applied to performance practice and education. He has been fortunate to have a long and productive musical and academic partnership with improvising bassist and economic historian, Dr. Clyde Reed. Jared received his Master's degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Oregon where he was fortunate to study and work with the great Steve Owen, a wonderful musician, mentor and teacher. He has studied improvisation with Gary Versace, guitar with Ihor Kukurudza, and composition with Rudolph Komorous, David MacIntyre, Martin Gotfrit, David Crumb, and Robert Kyr.
Jared has served for long periods on many non-profit boards including Vancouver Independent Music Centre, Nunya Music Academy, and Fraser MacPherson Scholarship fund. In what little remains of his spare time he enjoys flyfishing, building very fine guitars and basses, and helping children in Ghana through the Nunya Music Academy.

Glynis Dawson

Vertical Divider

Glynis Dawson studied music at the University of Victoria, obtaining a Bachelor of Music Degree, followed much later by a Master of Education, Leadership Studies. Glynis has been teaching in the secondary school system for nearly 30 years where she enjoys teaching both instrumental and choral music. She hosts an annual regional Choral Collaboration, has mentored many student-teachers, and in the distant past has been clinician at BCMEA conferences, and sessional instructor of Vocal Jazz Methodology at UVic. Glynis continues to teach full time at Belmont Secondary School on the traditional territory the Coast Salish T’Sou-ke and Scia’new, and Nuu-chah-nulth Pacheedaht Nations.

Kerri Faa

Vertical Divider

Kerri is a music specialist and has worked in Qualicum School District (#69) for 30 years, teaching both general classroom (Grade 4-8) and school music programs (K-8). She hold a B.Mus in Ed (UVIC) and a M.Ed in Leadership (VIU) and lives with her husband and two adult children in beautiful Nanaimo, BC. Her teaching experiences include conducting concert band & choirs, as well as teaching young learners from K-7 to engage in learning through “play” in her music classroom. She is passionate about seeing young learners awaken their love of music and the performing arts as they “play” with a wide variety of instruments and materials in her music program! Her interests beyond music & teaching include kayaking, scrapbooking and jogging whenever possible.

Keith Fraser

Vertical Divider

Keith Fraser is a multi-instrumentalist specializing in low brass instruments. Keith is a retired high school music and English teacher having taught in Victoria BC for 35 years. Currently, Keith is the director of Victoria's Best Coast Big Band and a member of the Dixieland Express.

Duncan Frater

Vertical Divider

Dr. J. Scott Goble

Vertical Divider

J. Scott Goble is Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of British Columbia, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses and supervises work of M.Ed., M.A., and Ph.D. students. A specialist in vocal/choral music and philosophy of music education and a conductor of choirs and orchestras, he began his career teaching music in public schools near Seattle, Washington, later serving on the music faculties of Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges, Boston University, and San Francisco State University. His book What’s So Important About Music Education? is published by Routledge, and he recently concluded a five-year term as Co-Editor of the online, open-access journal Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education (ACT). His current research focuses on Indigenous knowledge and musical practices.

Nick Godsoe

Vertical Divider

Nick's musical journey started when he was late for music class in grade 6, and as a result, ended up being assigned the tuba for the school's beginner band. Though he wasn't particularly excited about this at the time, this turned out to be a happy accident; Nick's unplanned introduction to the tuba led him to pursue music professionally, acquiring an undergraduate degree in music performance and a graduate degree in music research. Nick has been with the MusiCounts team for four years, and oversees the charity's granting, awards, research collaborations, and learning resource development. Nick is proud to work with MusiCounts, because he believes all kids should have the opportunity to discover a passion for music at their school. Currently based in southern New Brunswick, Nick is the sole occupant of MusiCounts' "Atlantic Branch".

Melissa Goodchild

Vertical Divider

Melissa is an active teacher and freelance clarinetist and bass clarinetist, in Victoria, British Columbia. She performs music for solo clarinet, chamber groups, and music for large ensembles. In 2019 she joined the faculty of the Victoria Conservatory of Music and enjoys teaching students of all ages in private as well as group settings including chamber music, clinics for schools, and adjudicating for music festivals across Canada. She has also been a clarinet instructor for schools such as the Alberta College Conservatory of Music, and at the University of Victoria. She received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Windsor and also studied at Western University where she earned her Artist Diploma in Clarinet Performance and Master of Music in Performance and Literature. After her studies in London, Ontario in 2008 she moved to Edmonton, Alberta where she taught at the Alberta College Conservatory of Music and performed throughout the city.
In 2012 she moved to Saskatoon Saskatchewan where she held the position of Second Clarinet with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra until May 2018. While in Saskatchewan Melissa collaborated with percussionist Kevin Grady, and together they continue to perform repertoire including contemporary works with a special interest in, but not limited to, Canadian compositions and have commissioned several works. As a duo Kevin and Melissa were artists-in-residence for the Prairie Wind & Silver Sage museum in Val Marie, Saskatchewan and at the Banff Centre for the Arts winter residency in 2018. In July 2018 the Duo performed at ClarinetFest in Ostend, Belgium. Students in Melissa’s studio enjoy opportunities to perform in festivals, masterclasses, recitals, and ensembles. They are welcomed into a supportive community where learning through curiosity is encouraged. In fall 2023 she began her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and is researching avenues to create a learning community.

Kevin Hamlin

Vertical Divider

Recently retired as head of music at Collingwood Collegiate, Kevin Hamlin has been appointed to be Yamaha Music Canada's first Educator-in-Residence, providing workshops and clinics for high school music programs and bands throughout North America. Kevin was awarded the Keith Mann Outstanding Band Director in 2015, as chosen by MusicFest Canada. Kevin also presents regularly at numerous music conferences throughout Canada, provides workshops for school boards and universities, and adjudicates at Regional Festivals from Coast to Coast, as well as the MusicFest Canada National Festival. Kevin was also awarded the Collingwood Arts Award in 2015 as well as the Order of Collingwood in 2016

Madeleine Humer

Vertical Divider

Madeleine Humer is founder and current Artistic Director of the Victoria Children’s Choir. The choir comprises 115 children in three ensembles (Prelude, Recital, and Concert Choir). The choristers are regularly asked to perform as soloists in professional opera, orchestral and choral productions, and have performed in several Pacific Opera Victoria productions, including Carmen, Noye’s Fludde, Tosca, La Bohème, and Countess Maritza.
Madeleine’s choirs have also received invitations to participate in international festivals and symposiums, including the 2010 Olympic Flame Welcome and Torch Relay ceremonies, the British Royal Family Tour of Canada, and the 2011 Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival (Austria) – where they were awarded first-place standing in the Treble category. The Choir is regularly invited to collaborate with renowned international and local musicians, including the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Victoria Symphony, Fretwork Viol Consort, and Pacific Opera Victoria.
After her initial vocal and choral education in Victoria, Canada, Madeleine Humer continued her music studies at the Music Universities in Vienna and Salzburg, Austria.
As an acknowledged soloist specializing in Baroque and Classical music, she has performed in concerts and Festivals in Europe and in North America, working with such internationally renowned musicians as Ton Koopman and Paul Hiller. More recently she has performed with the viol consort Fretwork and the Pacific Baroque Orchestra.
Madeleine is a highly respected music educator, having inspired singers of all ages both in schools and throughout the community. She has been a director of the St Christopher Singers (Choral Evensong Choir at Christ Church Cathedral), Linden Singers and Capriccio Vocal Ensemble, and a Guest Clinician of the Children’s Choir for The BC Choral Federation’s annual ChorFest
ChorFest

Hussein Janmohammed

Vertical Divider

Hussein Janmohamed is a champion of pluralism with over three decades of working internationally in schools and communities. A Canadian-based artist, he is a 4th generation Kenyan of Ismaili Muslim South Asian Gujarati ancestry. Inspired by a mission to build community, unleash creativity and cultivate dialogue, Hussein provides teacher professional development, music integration consulting, choral clinics, artistic curation, and collaborative composing workshops. He holds a PhD in Music Education from the University of Toronto, and Masters degrees in Choral Conducting and Opera Production. His doctoral research focussed on Muslim youth identity and belonging in Canada through choral music participation. Hussein has sung with Chor Leoni, the Phoenix Chamber Choir, Elmer Iseler Singers and National Youth Choir of Canada; and, he has led UBC Choirs, the Nai Syrian Children's Choir, Vancouver Peace Choir, Canadian Ismaili Muslim Youth Choirs and global music ensembles. He has curated cross-cultural vocal collaborations for Nuit Blanche Toronto, U of T Faculty of Music, Luminato Festival, and MABELLEarts. Incorporating his multicultural influences, Hussein’s evocative choral compositions tell stories and invite reflection, offering a unique perspective on inclusiveness. Recent projects include work with Dead of Winter on a new choral work and community collaboration, and a co-creation commission with the Canadian Chamber Choir. Hussein has been recognized for his inspirational leadership and twice awarded the U of T Irene Miller and Koshkish Fellowship in music for his research in music as a language for dialogue and peace.
https://www.husseinjanmohamed.com/

Steve Kaldestad

Vertical Divider

Since moving to Vancouver in 2008, Steve Kaldestad has become one of the most in-demand saxophonists on the scene, performing as a sideman with Jesse Cahill’s Nightcrawlers, Jodi Proznick’s quartet, and many other groups. Steve has released 4 CDs on the Cellar Live label to great acclaim including Straight Up featuring the Mike LeDonne Trio, New York Afternoon with the Renee Rosnes Trio, and his latest release, Live at Frankie’s Jazz Club.
Originally from the prairies, Steve spent the ’90s in Montreal, obtaining his Bachelors and Masters degrees from McGill University. During this time Steve was awarded a grant to study with Lee Konitz in New York.
In 2000, he began an eight year stint in London, England and joined the Kate Williams Quartet, the Matt Wates Sextet, the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, the Gareth Lockrane Septet, and played regular gigs in the BBC big band, the Humphrey Lyttelton Group and others. He has also played and/or recorded with Renee Rosnes, Denzal Sinclaire, Mike LeDonne, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Peter Bernstein, the Karl Jannuska Group, Kevin Dean and many others.
Steve now resides in Port Moody, BC and teaches at Capilano University. Steve is a D’addario artist and plays D’addario Select Jazz reeds on all his saxophones and D’addario Reserve reeds on clarinet.
https://stevekaldestad.com/

Susan Kiddie

Vertical Divider

Susan Kiddie gained her BMus and MMus in Musicology from the University of Auckland in NZ and her Dip.Tchg. from Christchurch Teachers’ Training College in Christchurch in NZ. She taught secondary school Music in Auckland, NZ for 5 years and has been teaching elementary Music in Coquitlam School District for 23 years; she presently teaches at Nestor Elementary School. Susan has Level 3 Orff and Level 1 Kodaly. She is a singer (ARCT), pianist (LTCL, BCRMT), violinist and choral specialist. Susan has been a professional soprano church soloist for over 30 years at St Andrews Wesley United Church and Spirit of Life Lutheran Church and has sung in elite choirs, such as NZ National Youth Choir and Vancouver Cantata Singers. She has produced 2 CDs, Memories of Prague, and Dreams and Songs of Love. Susan is an avid Music advocate and is currently President of the CMTA. She is also Vice President of the Kodaly Society of B.C., B.C. Rep. to the Kodaly Society of Canada, Chair of Fundraising for the National Orff Conference Steering Committee, Constellation 2024 and a Director on the BCCF board. Susan runs a busy home piano studio in which she teaches private and group (Music for Young Children) piano.

Jonathan Kreuger

Vertical Divider

Jessica Lemes da Silva

Vertical Divider

Jessica Lemes da Silva (she/her) is a playwright, sound editor, musician, and educator. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Jessica received her B.A. in Music from the University of Miami. In 2006 she shifted gears to study Sound Design for visual media at the Vancouver Film School. Shortly after, she joined Skywalker Sound in California and worked on feature films such as Beowulf, Iron Man, and Despicable Me.
Refocusing her passion for storytelling, Jessica turned to writing for stage and screen exploring themes of building chosen families and bridging the worlds of queerness and religion. She completed a creative writing certificate from Simon Fraser University’s The Writer’s Studio, where she laid the groundwork for her limited-series audio drama, Sacred Hearts. Currently, Jessica’s taking part in the Emerging Playwright’s Unit with the Arts Club Theatre Company. Jessica is grateful to write, teach, parent, and live on the unceded, traditional lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) —hay č xʷ q̓ə [hands raised], thank you.

Ben Litzcke

Vertical Divider

Ben holds a Master of Music in wind conducting from the University of Victoria, where he also previously did a Bachelor's on clarinet. He has several years of experience conducting community bands and teaching clarinet clinics in schools. His Master's project dealt with ensemble cohesion and collective musicianship, and he's recently started teaching band clinics on these topics. He has participated in conducting symposia all across North America with some of the top wind conductors on the continent. He is also the founder and music director of Island Chamber Winds, a new professional organization based in Victoria that performs contemporary music for large chamber groups of wind and brass instruments.

Dr. Scott MacLennan

Vertical Divider

Dr. Scott MacLennan is an active adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor who frequently works with ensembles, schools, honour groups, and festivals across Canada. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia and has been the Music Director of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Wind Ensemble and the Music Director at the Byng Arts Academy in the Performing and Visual Arts in Vancouver, B.C. For more than 30 years, he has taught bands and orchestras at all levels from elementary to post-secondary and performed extensively on bassoon. He has conducted his award-winning ensembles in various locations throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, China, the United States, and Canada. His ensembles have performed in such notable venues as Carnegie Hall, New York, USA, and Santa Maria della Pieta (Vivaldi’s Church) in Venice, Italy. In March 2011, with Johan de Meji’s endorsement, Dr. MacLennan conducted the Canadian premiere of his composition At Kitty O’Shea’s. He holds a Bachelor of Music (1988) and a Bachelor of Education (1990) from the University of British Columbia, a Master of Music (2010) in Conducting (Wind Band) from Sam Houston State University, Texas, and a Ph.D. (2015) from the University of British Columbia. He studied conducting with Ken Hsieh, Morihiro Okabe, and Wayne Toews and participated in numerous conducting master classes given by Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Anthony Maiello, Ralph Hultgren, and Robert Ponto. His published Ph.D. research involved studying students’ conceptions of ancillary movements (physical movements not necessary in the production of sound) in instrumental music performance. His teaching philosophy is based upon striving for musical excellence in performance as well as the education of the whole student through an embodied approach to teaching. Through this approach, student engagement is increased through linking conceptual images of past experiences (physical and non-physical) with expressive musical qualities in the music being performed. Moreover, students become active participants in the decision-making process surrounding the subtle details of their artistic response, while the music director still holds overall artistic license of the music to be played. As an active music educator, he has worked for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to edit and draft curriculum for their VSO Connects (Secondary) program, chaired the BC Music Educator’s Association’s Conference Pulse 2006, and currently sits as a board member of the Chamber Music in the Schools Society. He is a recipient of the BC Music Educators’ Association’s Outstanding Professional Music Educator’s Award in recognition of exemplary commitment, talent, and leadership for music education in British Columbia. Please feel free to contact him via email.

Camden McAllister

Vertical Divider