Classical Music Faculty – 2013

Our faculty are professional educators, solo artists, and conductors coming from the Vancouver Symphony, Victoria Symphony, University of British Columbia and other high-level organizations. Instruction is given at the appropriate level for all students in a positive, nurturing atmosphere.

 

Steve Denroche – Classical Program Coordinator and French Horn instructor

 

A Vancouver-based freelance horn player, Steve was 2^nd horn for the last seven years of the much missed CBC Radio Orchestra and has been a member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra since 1980.  A regular extra with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for over two decades, he has worked alongside such eminent horn players as Martin Hacklemann, Jeff Nelsen, and Roger Kaza.  He has recorded for Disney Films and music for the 2012 Olympics as a member of the Vancouver Film Orchestra.  His varied musical experience also includes playing jazz horn with Hugh Fraser on VEJI’s western Canadian tour, and more recently baroque horn alongside Andrew Clark at the 2012 HIS workshop in Denton, TX as well as both baroque and hand horn with Vancouver- and Victoria-based early music groups.

Steve was a founding member of Cornucopia and recorded/toured playing brass chamber music for fourteen years.  A participant in the 1985 recording of Tears Are Not Enough, the Canadian record with proceeds donated to help famine relief, he has also played numerous shows including Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Secret Garden, and the national tour of Music of the Night.

After studies with his primary teacher Robert Creech, long time principal horn of the Vancouver Symphony and the first Music Director of CYMC, he has been inspired by lessons or master classes with Martin Hackleman, Philip Farkas, Michael Höltzel, Ifor James, Odd Ulleberg, Marvin Howe and more recently Dale Clevenger, Frank Lloyd and William VerMuelen.

In addition to being a full-time teacher of beginning band in School District #41 (Burnaby), he is the horn instructor on faculty at Capilano University and has a private teaching studio.

Steve Denroche first attended CYMC in 1969, an event that changed his life.  Now he enjoys putting together a faculty for CYMC that can provide a stimulating and fun-filled experience of music making like the one that inspired him to become a musician those many years ago.

 

Roger Cole – Festival Conductor second week 

Roger Cole has led the Senior Orchestra and served as Artistic Director for the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra for 7 seasons. He is also the Principal Oboist with The Vancouver Symphony and a much admired teacher at the University of British Columbia. His summers are spent playing Principal Oboe in the Carmel (California) Bach Festival Orchestra and he has made summer appearances at the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, The Courtenay Youth Music Centre, and most recently at the Symphony Orchestra Academy of the Pacific in Powell River.

Born in Seattle,Washington, Roger is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York City. Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Music Director Bramwell Tovey praises Roger as an “inspirational musician whose love of music and infectious spirit will resonate with these children for the rest of their lives.[/accordion] [/accordions]

 

 

 

 

John White – Symphonic Winds Conductor 

John White is an Honours graduate of the University of Calgary (Bachelor of Music). He received his Master of Education degree from the University of British Columbia. His teaching experience includes positions as instructor of strings and woodwinds at the Calgary Conservatory of Music, music teacher at F.H. Collins Secondary School in Whitehorse, Yukon, and roles as an itinerant band teacher and District Resource Teacher in the Langley School District. He also worked as Instrumental Consultant for Northwest Musical Services (Vancouver) before he assumed a position in the Kamloops School District as District Fine Arts Coordinator. The position was followed by time in Coquitlam School District as Program Coordinator for Visual and Performing Arts. Mr. White recently retired after twenty-one years as a Director of Instruction for School District 41 Burnaby – a schools system with approximately 24,000 students.

During the first period of time that Mr. White spent in the Lower Mainland, he was Music Director for the New Westminster and District Concert Band, an ensemble he now directs once again. He has also conducted a number of other community groups including the Kamloops Choristers. Mr. White has served as a Director of the British Columbia Music Educators’ Association Provincial Honour Band, the Saskatchewan Provincial Honour Band and has many years’ experience as a performing musician.

A Past-President of the British Columbia Music Educators’ Association, the British Columbia Choral Federation, the British Columbia Administrators of Arts Education, the Pacific Coast Music Festivals Association, and Art Starts in Schools, John White is also a Past Chairman of MusicFest Canada: Canadian Concert Band Festival. He served on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Music Educators’ Association, the Western Canada Theatre Company and the British Columbia Festival of the Arts.

John White has been recognized as an Honourary Life Member by the BC Music Educators’ Association and as a member of the Willan Council by the BC Choral Federation. He has served extensively as an adjudicator, clinician and guest conductor throughout British Columbia, the Yukon Territory, Alberta , Saskatchewan and Ontario. He has also served as a judge for Canada’s Juno Awards on numerous occasions

Nancy DiNovo - Violin/Director of Festival Strings

A former member of the St. Louis, Toronto and Boston Symphony Orchestras and founding concertmaster of the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Nancy DiNovo enjoys a multifaceted career. Frequently heard as a soloist and chamber musician on the west coast, her playing has been described as “stunning violin playing – a superlative mix of virtuosity and earthy vigour.” (Victoria Times Colonist).

In a career spanning decades, Nancy has performed in the world’s major concert halls on three continents, working with conductor such as Leonard Bernstein, Sir Colin Davis, Karel Ancerl, James Levine, Sir Neville Marriner, and Christopher Hogwood.  Chamber music highlights include appearances with Dale Clevenger, Donald McGinnis, Stephen Balderston, Arthur Rowe, Yariv Aloni, William Aide, Karen Dirks, Sidney Harth, Ariel Barnes, Alaine Degagne, Steve Maxim, and a host of other outstanding performers too numerous to list. She has toured with the Octagon Ensemble and Camerata as a guest artist and can be heard regularly beginning in the 2013-14 season as Artistic Director of Notre Melos Concerts.

Comfortable in styles ranging from period to contemporary, her many concerto credits include the Banff and Victoria premières of the Kurt Weill Violin Concerto.  She has premièred a number of Canadian works written especially for her, including the Barnes Violin Concerto with Sir Neville Marriner on the podium, Walter Buczynski’s Sonata (1975) for CBC Arts National, and Frykberg’s “Astonishing Sense….” (1998) for solo violin and tape.

As a concertmaster she has appeared with the Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Kitchener-Waterloo, Edmonton and Victoria Symphonies, CBC Radio Orchestra, “Music of the Night” cross-Canada tour, and Pacific Opera Victoria where she has led operas in styles ranging from period instrument Handel to Berg’s “Wozzeck”.  As a Baroque violinist, she is a popular leader with many of BC’s finest choral conductors, including Lars Kaario of Laudate and Leroy Wiens of the Okanagan Festival Singers.

In demand as a pedagogue, Nancy has taught at Tanglewood, the Marrowstone Festival, Western Washington University, UBC, U Vic, CYMC, and Capilano University.  Her many recording credits include work for CBC Radio, Earsay Records, the Elektra Women’s Choir, Disney Films, and the 2010 Olympics.

This is Nancy’s second season as Director of CYMC’s Festival Strings, a role she thoroughly enjoys.  She looks forward to working with this year’s CYMC string students.

Mary Sokol Brown – Violin

Mary Sokol Brown has been at CYMC since 2000. Mary is a well-known performer, performing to Vancouver audiences since 1979. Active as both a performer and teacher, she holds a prominent position in the first violins of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and has been a featured soloist.

As a chamber musician she performs extensively with many of Vancouver”s well-known ensembles including the Vetta Recital Series, Music in the Morning and the Turning Point Ensemble.

A musical highpoint for Mary has been her involvement as a founding member of Trio Accord. This dynamic string trio has served both as performers and clinicians throughout BC, with numerous features on CBC radio. In addition, Mary enjoys creating exquisite evenings of chamber music in private homes. These concerts are highly acclaimed, for their intimacy and beauty.

Travelling extensively to work with young musicians, adult amateurs and community-based ensembles, Mary appears regularly at the Naramata and Gabriola String Ensemble retreats and has an association with Kelowna”s Festival of the Arts. She has also conducted many orchestral and chamber workshops with the Terrace Symphony.

Mary’s favourite CYMC experience

It is through initiatives such as CYMC that I continue to realize my musical ambitions and share with audiences my passionate commitment to the violin.

 

Isabelle Roland – Viola

From 1990 to 2001, Isabelle was assistant principal viola of the Victoria Symphony. During her time with the V.S.O., Isabelle performed as a soloist including performances under the baton of Yehudi Menuhin. She also helped found the Savitri Quartet, and has performed on C.B.C. radio both as a member of the Savitri Quartet, and in collaboration with mezzo-soprano Susan Platts. From 1996-1998, Isabelle served as assistant principal with the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, Colorado.

Since settling permanently in Vancouver in 2002, Isabelle has appeared as a soloist with Sinfonia and the West Coast Symphony. Currently, Isabelle is principal viola with Sinfonia, is a member of the Vancouver Opera and performs with the Vancouver Symphony and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. She also enjoys a busy chamber music career having performed with trio accorde, west coast chamber music, and is a member of the Tantalus String Quartet.

As well as juggling a busy performing career, Isabelle joins her love of music and children by teaching violin and viola at the Vancouver Academy of Music, and by joyfully caring for her two young sons, Nicholas and Kai, with husband, Steve Mason

Ariel Barnes – Cello

Described as creating a “mesmerizing musical experience” by combining his “deep personal connection” (Toronto Live Music Report), “luscious tone and technical prowess”(The Vancouver Sun), cellist Ariel Barnes has been engaging audiences with his imaginative interpretations and commanding stage presence. Equally comfortable in musical languages from the Baroque to music of our modern times, Ariel’s performances range from evenings of unaccompanied Bach to world premiers of contemporary art music.  Critically acclaimed by the press, he has been hailed as a “rising star” by the Georgia Straight, “a surprising standout” by the KW Gazette, “new wave” by L’Acadie Nouvelle and “a musician of real stature” by the Vancouver Sun.  His solo and chamber music performances have been broadcast by CBC Radio Canada on such programs as In Performance, The Signal, Tempo, West Coast Performance, Choral Concert and On Stage, and he was recently selected as one of 6 cellists across the nation to celebrate the launch of cbcmusic.ca as a featured artist in the Canadian Bach Cello Suite Project.  His performances in recent years include the concertos of Dvorak, Saint – Saens, Brahms (Double), Ernst Bloch’s “Schelomo”, Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, and recital appearances in New York, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Quebec City, Vancouver, San Francisco and Guadalajara Mexico.  His solo and chamber music recordings have been received with critical acclaim, having been nominated for a Juno Award and two Western Canadian Music Awards.  As a winner of the 2012 Canada Council Instrument Bank Competition, he has been awarded the use of the 1730 Newland Joannes Franciscus Celoniatus cello, built in Turin, Italy, for the next 3 years.  In January 2013, Ariel was appointed Principal Cello of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

The performance of 21^st century art music plays a significant role in Ariel’s creative life.  He has given the world premier of works by Canadian composers such as Imant Raminsh, Jocelyn Morlock, Stephen Chatman, R. Murray Schaeffer, Brad Turner, Marcus Goddard, John Oliver, Rodney Sharman, Dorothy Chang, Glenn Buhr, Owen Underhill, Keon Birney, Elizabeth Knudson and Farshid Samandari.  His new project “Couloir” with Harpist Heidi Krutzen keenly focuses on the creation of new music for the beautiful combination of cello and harp.  Upcoming projects for “music’s new rare pair”  (The Georgia Straight) include the development of works by Brad Turner, Caroline Lizotte and Andrew Staniland.  Couloir is looking forward to much concertizing as their tour schedule already extends into 2014.  (www.couloir.ca)

Passionate about chamber music literature Ariel has spent much time performing as a former member of the Borealis String Quartet, Trio Accord and has collaborated with many fine artisits such as The St. Lawrence String Quartet, Musica Intima, Trio Verlaine, Jonathan Crow, Dale Barltrop, Barry Schiffman, Tara Helen O’Connor, Daniel Philips, Andrew Dawes, Martin Chalifour, Carrie Dennis, Mehan Esfahani, Arthur Rowe, Ian Parker and Daniel Bolshoy, among many others.  Memorable appearances at chamber music festivals include the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, MusicFest Vancouver, Mendocino Music Festival, Victoria Summer Music Festival, B.C. Scene, Elora Festival, Centre D’Arts at Mount Orford, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. He is a founding member, and regular guest, of the Scotiabank Northern Lights Music Festival in Ajijic, Mexico.

Upcoming recording projects include works by Jocelyn Morlock on the Naxos label, (including her Double Cello Concerto “Aeromancy”), and Couloir’s debut CD’s on PARMA Recordings, featuring works by Jocelyn Morlock, Glenn Buhr, Baljinder Sekhon, James Maxwell and Nico Muhly.  His past recordings can be heard on Atma Classiques, Skylark Records, Universal Music and Centrediscs record labels, as well as regular broadcasts of live concerts on CBC Radio.  For more about Ariel, please visit  http://www.arielbarnes.com

David Brown – Bass

David Brown has been with CYMC for over 12 years. Born in New Zealand, Double Bass instructor David Brown moved to Vancouver with his family in 1961. He went on to study at Julliard before returning to Vancouver and becoming a member of the Vancouver Symphony in 1978.

Bassist David Brown has been a member of Vancouver’s professional music community for thirty years. He has performed with almost all the musical organizations (including Masterpiece Music, Music in the Morning, Vancouver New Music, Vancouver Children’s Festival, Vancouver Chamber Choir, Festival Vancouver, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Cantata Singers, UBC Recital Series and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra) in existence during this time. David has extensive film and commercial recording experience and has toured with The Three Tenors and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

A committed teacher, he has taught at most of the music performance departments (UBC, Capilano University, Kwantlen, VCC) in the lower mainland and teaches privately as well. A recipient of two Canada Council Arts Grants, which enabled his studies at the Juilliard School. David has been a member of the Vancouver Symphony since 1978 and Principal Bass of the CBC Radio Orchestra since 2004.

Paolo Bortolussi – Flute

Dr. Paolo Bortolussi is known as a passionate and provocative performer of a wide range of musical styles. Raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician across Canada and the US. Currently principal flutist with the Vancouver Island Symphony, Paolo has appeared as soloist multiple times with the VIS as well as the Albany (NY) Symphony, where he premiered “Flight” a flute concerto by Dorothy Chang and with the Canada West Chamber Orchestra. Locally, he has performed with the Turning Point Ensemble, the Aventa Ensemble, the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, The Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra, as well as the Vancouver and Victoria Symphony Orchestras, in addition to broadcasts on CBC and SRC radio. He is a featured soloist on Vancouver Visions, a Centredisc release of Canadian composer Stephen Chatman’s music as well as Mirages, a CD of chamber works by Dorothy Chang available through the Canadian Music Centre.

A specialist in contemporary music, Paolo is the Artistic Director of the Nu:BC Collective, a cutting-edge new music and multimedia arts ensemble in residence at the University of British Columbia. To date the Nu:BC Collective has premiered dozens of works by BC composers through its affiliation with the Sonic Boom Festival in, 2008, 2009,  2010 and 2011. Nu:BC has also collaborated with dancers, media artists, and electronic music specialists in the creation of several critically acclaimed interdisciplinary projects involving live, interactive video and electronics. In 2007, The Nu:BC Collective commissioned and premiered Doubling, by Jules-Leger winning composer Chris Paul Harman, as well as A Perfect Focus, by Vancouver composer Christopher Sivak. 2011 featured the world premiere 22 Arguments for the Suspension of Disbelief, a new work written for the ensemble by Brian Cherney, at the Happening Festival in Calgary, AB, as well as Taylor Brook’s Canada Council commissioned trio Gamaka. The Nu:BC Collective was also honoured to collaborate with the BC Chinese Music Ensemble, funded by an Arts Partner Grant, where the combined groups, including Chinese and western instruments, premiered six works by Chinese and Canadian composers. In 2013, Nu:BC presents concerts in Toronto, Waterloo, and Chicago, including the world premiere of its most recent commission “Breathe-in/Breathe-out” by Scott Godin. In 2013 Nu:BC will release Beyond Shadows, it’s first full length CD with world premiere recordings of works by Dorothy Chang, Brian Cherney, Marc Mellits, and Chris Paul Harman.

In 2005, Paolo joined with Victoria’s Continuum Consort in commissioning a set of songs for voice and chamber ensemble by Dorothy Chang with text by BC poet Jan Zwicky. The ensemble premiered the work in Victoria, and were subsequently invited to the prestigious PAN Festival of New Music in Seoul, Korea, where they gave several repeat performances at the festival and at universities in South Korea. From 1998 to 2003, Paolo was the flutist and co-director of the Kylix New Music Ensemble. In its five-year tenure, Kylix premiered more than a dozen works, staged Peter Maxwell Davies’ work “Eight Songs for a Mad King” in Bloomington, Ann-Arbor, and Cincinnati, and was the invited ensemble at the venerable Indiana State Contemporary Music Festival in Terre Haute, IN. To date Paolo has worked with dozens of composers, and has premiered over one hundred solo and chamber works.

A graduate of the University of Ottawa and the Indiana University School of Music, where he received his Masters and Doctoral degrees, Dr. Bortolussi is in demand as a teacher and clinician, and has presented masterclasses at the Indiana University, the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, Dalhousie University, Acadia University, Indiana State University, and the University of Evansville, as well as contemporary techniques workshops as part of the 2004 Albany Symphony Orchestra Keys American Music Festival. He was Associate instructor of flute at the Indiana University School of Music for five years, has been on the faculty of the Interlochen Arts Camp, and currently teaches flute at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Trinity Western University, and co-directs the Contemporary Players Ensemble at the University of British Columbia. Principal teachers include Robert Aitken, Robert Cram, Thomas Robertello, and Patricia Creighton.

Keith MacLeod – Clarinet

Keith MacLeod has been with CYMC for over 8 years. His own clarinet instructors include Wes Foster, Ronald De Kant and Robert Marcellus in Chicago.

Keith has been a member of the faculties of the Wisconsin Conservatory, Douglas College, and University of BC and currently teaches at the Victoria Conservatory. He has also conducted master classes in Spain and at the Marrowstone Music Festival in Washington.

Keith MacLeod has been Principal Clarinet of the Victoria Symphony since 1982. He was born in Quebec City, spent his childhood in Manitoba and moved to Vancouver as a teenager. His main clarinet instructors were Wes Foster, Ronald De Kant and in Chicago, Robert Marcellus. Keith brings to his position a wealth of professional experience, having performed with the Milwaukee Symphony and Ballet, Calgary Philharmonic and Winnipeg, Seattle and Vancouver Symphonies. As well, he is a successful chamber musician, and has been broadcasted on the CBC in both these capacities.

 

Chris Mitchell -Trumpet

Chris Mitchell began playing the trumpet at the age of nine in his home town of Ottawa, Ontario.  After moving to Vancouver he completed a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance as well as a Bachelor of Education from the University of British Columbia. Chris performs with the Vancouver Symphony, Victoria Symphony, Vancouver Island Symphony, and the Vancouver Brass Project, and has been Principal Trumpet of the Kamloops Symphony since 2008.  He has also performed with Turning Point Ensemble, CBC Radio Orchestra, and Chor Leoni. In 2008 he performed with the VSO on their tour of Asia.  As an educator and clinician, Chris has enjoyed working with students from the elementary to post-secondary level. In addition to maintaining a studio of private students, Chris has also taught extensively in the Vancouver, North Vancouver, Richmond, and Burnaby school districts.  He has been on faculty with the Comox Valley Youth Music Centre since 2009, and is the trumpet instructor at the VSO School of Music.

 

Russell Bajer – Oboe

Russell Bajer   has been a member of the Victoria Symphony for 18 years. He has appeared as soloist with the VS on both oboe and English horn.  In 2011 he premiered Rodney Sharman’s Songs without Words for English horn and Orchestra which was recorded for CBC. He has played concerti and solos with the Sidney Classical Orchestra, The Galiano Ensemble, The Victoria Chamber Orchestra, Capriccio Ensemble and Linden Singers. Russell has been a guest oboist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, The Vancouver Opera orchestra and the CBC Radio orchestra. He has toured as principal oboist with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Canada and the US. He has also appeared in Japan with the Pacific Wind Trio. Russell is the oboist for Aventa Ensemble and has toured extensively with them to Europe, Canada and the USA. In March 2013 Russell took part in the 6th tour with this ensemble.  With the Aventa Ensemble he has had the pleasure of working   closely with some of the finest composers in Canada and Europe.

Russell teaches music at the Victoria Conservatory and has been guest instructor at Uvic where he has taught oboe and chamber music. He has been an instructor at CYMC since 2002 where he also appears as chamber musician and soloist.   Russell is a frequent recital performer and appears with pianist Kelly Charlton.

 

Nicholas Francis - Trombone/Euphonium

Born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1977, Nicholas has been passionate about music from a young age. Nurtured early on by the children’s concerts of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the once-proud classical music programming of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, he had by age 15 become determined to pursue a career as a musician and educator. He received the Bachelor of Music degree in orchestral and solo trombone from the University of Toronto, where he studied with Frank Harmantas and Gordon Sweeney, and the Master of Music degree in the same discipline from the University of British Columbia, where he was a student of the pre-eminent Canadian trombone pedagogue Gordon Cherry. He also holds a Master of Music degree in Conducting from McGill University, where he studied with Alain Cazes and Alexis Hauser, as well as a Bachelor of Education degree with a specialization in Secondary-level Music Education from the University of British Columbia.

Now active as a teacher, conductor, trombonist, and clinician in Vancouver, BC, he is also an internationally recognized composer known for his passion for wind and brass music. His music is regularly performed throughout North America by, among others, the Vancouver Brass Project, the McGill University Wind Symphony, and the Northwestern University Brass Ensemble. In 2007, his Trumpet Concerto became the subject of a Doctoral dissertation at the University of California at Los Angeles, and he has recently written two major works for the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Wind Symphony and their director, Dr. Wayne Jeffrey, as part of the Canadian Wind Music Project. Upcoming composition projects include a work for ten trombones and pitched percussion for the University of Victoria, a concerto for alto saxophone and wind ensemble, and a second symphony.

Currently, Nicholas serves as Director of Bands at Eric Hamber Secondary School in Vancouver, as a member of the Faculty of Humanities at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in neighbouring Langley, and on the brass faculty of the Comox Valley Youth Music Centre on Vancouver Island. In addition, he maintains a busy schedule as a conductor, clinician, and freelance trombonist throughout the Metro Vancouver area. Additional information and audio samples are available at www.npfmusic.com

 

Wendell Clanton – Saxophone

Wendell A. Clanton is the Saxophone Performance Instructor at the University of Victoria School of Music. He completed the Masters degree in Performance (saxophone) under the tutelage of the distinguished performer and pedagogue Dr. Frederick L. Hemke (NU), and the Bachelor of Music (comprehensive with distinction) and Bachelor of Education degrees at the University of Victoria.

Mr. Clanton has performed with L’Ensemble International de Saxophones de Bordeaux under the direction of Jean-Marie Londeix, appeared in concert with celebrated harpist Rita Costanzi and Aventa contemporary music ensemble under the direction of Mr. William Linwood. Mr. Clanton has performed on CBC Radio, Chicago Public Television, BBC Radio and Moray Firth Radio in Scotland. As a soloist he has performed with the Victoria Chamber Orchestra, Victoria Civic Orchestra and the Lafeyette String Quartet. Significant performances include the CBC premier of Trio for Viola, Piano and Tenor Saxophone by Paul Hindemith along with violist Steven Dann and pianist Bruce Vogt.

Wendell is featured on the recordings of Juno nominee Stefan Schramm of Munich, John Celona (Blue City: City Lights) and in the work of Christopher Butterfield (Les Paradis Perdus).

Katrina Russell – Bassoon

Born and raised inEdmonton, Katrina Russell obtained her Bachelor of Music Degree in Performance from The University of Victoria. Further studies took her to Toronto,Banff, and then to Boston Massachusetts where she attended the New England Conservatory of Music. There she was able to pursue her interest in the Baroque bassoon, and was granted a Graduate Diploma Historical Performance (with distinction in performance).

In 1992 Katrina moved toLondon,Englandwhere she spent eighteen years playing  both modern and historical bassoons. As a specialist in historical performance, she has played and recorded with many of the period instrument ensembles in Britain and Europe, including The English Concert, The King’s Consort, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, The Academy of Ancient Music, The Hanover Band, The Gabrieli Consort and Players, L’Orchestre de la Champs Elysees, The Orchestra of “The Sixteen”, and The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.

After several years of return visits to Canada to play with Early Music Vancouver ensembles and The Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Katrina and her husband (British horn player Andrew Clark) relocated to the West Coast in late 2010, and are currently establishing themselves near Ladysmith where they are also setting up a specialty brass making workshop producing horns and trumpets. Since arriving last year Katrina’s freelance playing has included the inaugural season of The Victoria Baroque Players, and regular appearances with the Vancouver Island Symphony.

Daniel Tones – Percussion

Daniel Tones is an award-winning percussionist equally committed to fostering creative development in aspiring musicians. He earned a doctorate in performance and ethnomusicology from the University of British Columbia and studied with Salvador Ferreras, Russell Hartenberger, and John Rudolph. He has performed with internationally recognized percussionists including Bob Becker, Aiyun Huang, Morris Palter, and Steve Schick, has appeared at music festivals on three continents, and has been broadcast nationally on radio and television.

A love of global percussion led him to study frame drumming, West African drumming and dance, Balinese gamelan, and Cuban percussion with master musicians. Daniel is best known for his work as a contemporary percussionist, however, and in addition to performing as a soloist he works regularly with Vancouver New Music and Fringe Percussion. Equally at home with orchestral music, he is the Principal Percussionist of the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria symphonies, the CBC Vancouver Radio Orchestra, and the Vancouver Opera.

Daniel is on the faculties of Simon Fraser University, Vancouver Community College, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. He is also a Yamaha artist-educator and provides workshops regularly to students throughout Metro Vancouver. In 2011 he was the Percussion Coach for the Canadian Wind Orchestra and in 2010 he was the Percussion Coach for the National Youth Band of Canada.

Dr. Tones is the recipient of fellowships from the University of Toronto, the Government of Ontario, and the University of British Columbia and individual awards from the British Columbia Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Vancouver Foundation.