BAND, WOODWINDS - Dr. Karem J. Simon
Karem J. Simon is Professor of Clarinet and director of the Wind Symphony at the University of Prince Edward Island. He holds a Doctor of Music Degree from the University of British Columbia, a Masters Degree from Northwestern University, and Bachelor Degrees in Music and Education from Mount Allison University. While at these schools his clarinet teachers have included Wes Foster, Ronald de Kant, Clark Brody and Ronald Goddard. During 2008 he spent an extended period at Arizona State University studying contemporary clarinet techniques with Robert Spring. Dr. Simon is principal clarinetist of the Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra and performs often as a soloist and chamber musician. Prior to his appointment at UPEI, Dr. Simon taught public school instrumental music for ten years in Corner Brook, Newfoundland where he developed his interest in wind bands. While at Northwestern University he studied conducting with John P. Paynter, and in recent years has been coached in conducting by Eugene Corporon, Craig Kirchhoff, Jack Stamp, Dale Lonis, and Michael Haithcock. He regularly is featured as an adjudicator and guest conductor. From 1997-1999 Dr. Simon served a term as principal conductor of the Nova Scotia Youth Wind Ensemble and in 2007 directed the National Youth Band of Canada. Dr. Simon was recipient of the 2001 Association of Atlantic University's Teaching Excellence Award for Instructional Leadership. Under his baton, the UPEI Wind Symphony has produced eight CDs and has been acclaimed for its programming and performance standard.

BANDS, BRASS - John Palmer
John Palmer John graduated from Queen's in 1976 with a B.Mus. For the next 14 years, he was a trumpet player with the Kingston Symphony, pit orchestras for local musicals and a regular performer with other groups in Kingston and Brockville where he taught music at a local high school.
In 1990 John switched to Trombone and since 1993 has been the Bass Trombonist in the Kingston Symphony (with a brief stint as itinerant percussionist in there somewhere). John was one of the founding members of the Kingston Symphony Brass Quintet about 20 years ago. Many of the charts that the quintet plays are his arrangements.
He has also written arrangements for Woodwind ensembles. John has arranged music for 2 stage musicals and has been the music director for a number of others. While in Brockville, he performed with, and was musical director of, the Brockville Concert Band and the Brockville Operatic Society. Other groups he has performed with include the Quinte Symphony and The Greg Runions Big Band.
In 2005, John and 15 of his closest friends from the KSO formed BrassWerks, an orchestral brass ensemble www.brasswerks.ca The group performs a series of concerts each year, with the emphasis on presenting great music and having fun.
As the trombonist in The Kingston Symphony Brass Quintet, John also develops performances/presentations for elementary schools. The quintet visits many schools in the Kingston area each year under the auspices of an Ontario Arts Council grant and performs at a wide variety of functions and in various Concert Series in and around Kingston. Please see www.brasswerks.ca/KSBrass/KSBrassHome.htm
John teaches theory, harmony, trombone, tuba and euphonium at his home in Kingston and has been spending more time composing and arranging in the last few years. For each of the past three years he has won the Humboldt State University (California) Brass Workshop Composition Competition. http://www.humboldt.edu/~extended/special/brass/index.html)
In February of 2008, John was invited to conduct Orchestra Kingston, so he has his hands full conducting this orchestra as well as BrassWerks.

BANDS, STAGE & JAZZ - Bruce Smith

CHOIRS - ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHOIRS - Carol Strachan
Carol Strachan is a graduate of the University Of Western Ontario Faculty Of Music and the University of Calgary Fine Arts Program. She taught vocal, winds and strings in the school system for over 30 years in Windsor and London. She was active in the music community as a clinician, conductor, associate teacher and a member of several boards of directors in support of music education. Carol is now retired but is an avid supporter of the Kiwanis belief in young people and their endeavors in the field of music.

CHOIRS - SECONDARY SCHOOL CHOIRS - Lee Willingham
Lee Willingham is Associate Professor of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where he coordinates the music education and choral programs. Previously on the faculty of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of University of Toronto, he prepared prospective music teachers for professional service. In the former Scarborough Board of Education, he was Coordinator of Music and also served a term as President of the Ontario Music Educators' Association.

GUITAR - Patrick Roux
Patrick Roux was born in Marseille, France, in 1962 and came to Canada in 1967. He began studying music at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec in Hull under Jean Vallières, where he was unanimously awarded first prize in 1984. A bursary from the Arts Council of Canada enabled Patrick to study with David Russell in London , England. He has also studied with such masters as Manuel Barrueco, Léo Brouwer, Hubert Käppel and Roberto Aussel. In March 1992, the duo Patrick Roux-Robert Latreille won second place at the prestigious International Classical Guitar Duo Competition of Montélimar, and in 1993, they released their first compact disc. In 1989, Patrick took first place at the National Guitar Competition and, in 1983 was awarded third place at the International Competition of the D'Addario Guitar Foundation of America.
Since 1990, his passion has been composition, and his works have been published by Les Productions d'Oz. He created a complete original repertoire for the group Contretemps/Go in wich he performs. In March 1996 they released a first CD. In 1998, he founded with the famous Canadian guitarist Philip Candelaria, the Canadian Guitar Quartet that made his concert debut in March 1999.
Patrick Roux has many times been invited soloist with the Orchestre de Chambre de Hull and the Quatuor Morency and has performed often on CBC FM radio, both the French and English networks. He performed the world premiere of the concerto Four Dialogues for guitar and chamber orchestra by the Canadian composer Violet Archer with the contemporary ensemble Espace Musique. Patrick Roux played for the Queen of Jordan, the princess of Holland and the governor general of Canada . He is a tenured professor of guitar at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec in Hull and teaches at the Faculty of Music at the University of Ottawa. During the summer, he teaches at the Music Academy of the Domaine Forget.

HARP - Lori Gemmell
Lori Gemmell has been the Principal Harpist with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony since 2000. She currently teaches at Wilfred Laurier University and privately at her home studio in Toronto.
Lori enjoys being involved in many chamber music projects. This summer she will be involved in concerts celebrating the stories of Edgar Allan Poe at both the Luminato Festival in Toronto and at the Ottawa International Festival in Toronto. Lori has a solo recording, Prelude, a new harp duo recording with Jennifer Swartz, The Garden of Peacocks, and is preparing to record with The Four Seasons Harp Quartet.

ORCHESTRAS - Doug Shippey
Doug Shippey earned his Honours Bachelors of Music and his Master of Music in Music Education from the University of Western Ontario, and has spent a lifetime steeped in a spectrum of musical genres. As the former Head of Music at Huron Park Secondary School (Woodstock, Ontario), Woodstock Collegiate Institute, and Ingersoll District Collegiate, Doug was a leader in the field of music education. He performed in the former London Symphony Orchestra, performed in recording studios, and practiced his craft as a violinist and trombonist in several orchestras, concert bands, and jazz ensembles in Southwestern Ontario. As a faculty member at the National Music Camp of Canada, he conducted student orchestras, the faculty orchestra and performed in a variety of ensembles. Doug was an administrator for the Thames Valley District School Board for nine years and held the positions of Vice Principal, Principal and Learning Supervisor. As the Learning Supervisor, Doug and his team of consultants were in charge of the Development and Implementation of the Arts and Social Science Curriculum for Grades 1 through 12. Currently he has a private music studio teaching violin and cello, is actively involved as music adjudicator, clinician. and is the Musical Director of the Woodstock Choralaires. As the Director of the Choralaires, Doug brings forth a musical energy that inspires the members of the choir and an artistic drive that brings high praises to each Choralaire performance. Doug continues to be a champion for the Arts and has said, “The Arts defines our culture. Without the arts, we would live in a culture that lacks identity and lacks direction. The Arts is a measure of who we are and our vision as a people.”

PIANO - Thomas Green
Thomas Green holds a Bachelor of Music from McGill University, a Master’s in Performance from Université de Montréal, and a Ph. D in Music History from Brandeis University. Among his piano teachers were Clifford Poole, Lucille Brassard and Yvonne Hubert. He received the Diplôme d'accompagnement from L’École Vincent d'Indy in Montréal following studies with John Newmark. Dr. Green has taught music history at McGill University and the University of Toronto, and for several years was an instructor in theory and music history at the University of Windsor. He has also served as Senior Editor and Editor-in-Chief at the Frederick Harris Music Co., Limited. Dr. Green currently teaches a large class of piano, music history and harmony students at the Académie Sainte-Cécile and at his private studio in Windsor, Ontario. He has served as workshop clinician and has adjudicated at festivals across Canada and has presented papers on a variety of performance-related subjects at scholarly conferences. As a Professional Coach with certification from the Adler School of Professional Coaching in Toronto, Dr. Green works with goal-oriented, artistic individuals who are seeking renewed creative energy. He was appointed Chief Examiner, Practical Subjects, at RCM Examinations in September 2007.

PERCUSSION - Dr. Jill Ball
Dr. Jill Ball is Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of Western Ontario and directs the UWO Percussion Ensemble. A recipient of the 2008 UWO University Students Council and Scotia Bank Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, she has also taught at the University of Windsor and at the University of New Brunswick. Jill has a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University (1999), a Master of Music from Northwestern University (1991) and a Bachelor of Music Education from Central Michigan University (1990). In 1991 she won the Chicago Women’s Musicians Association Farwell Award, which included a solo recital in Preston Bradley Hall in the Chicago Cultural Arts Center. Solo performances have included appearances with the Windsor Symphony in the 1998 World Premier of David Maslanka's In Lonely Fields for Percussion and Orchestra, and Orchestra London’s 1997 World Premier of Alan Heard’s Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra, written for her. A seasoned orchestral musician, she has performed with a variety of professional orchestras in the United States and Canada, including the Chicago Sinfonietta in its 1992 German tour and 1993 performance at the Kennedy Center for the Arts, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London, and the Windsor Symphony. She has also appeared as soloist with the Northwestern University Wind Ensemble, the Oklahoma City University Percussion Ensemble, and the University of Western Ontario Percussion Ensemble. Jill is a frequent recitalist and advocate of contemporary music. She has recorded with the Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble on the Albany and DMP labels. Dr. Ball is a Yamaha Canada artist, an active adjudicator, conductor, clinician, and Past President of the Ontario Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society.

PIANO - John Hansen
John Hansen holds the Master of Music Degree in Performance and Literature (with Distinction) from the University of Toronto where he also received the Artist Diploma and Bachelor of Music Degree. Formerly a member of faculty and of the College of Examiners at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, he joined the faculty of the Acadia School of Music in 1978 and served as Director of the School from 1997 to 2007. At the University of Toronto he studied with noted Canadian pianist Anton Kuerti. He received numerous Canada Council Arts Grants to pursue studies in piano performance in Paris, France, with Raymond Trouard, in Italy with Guido Agosti, and in New York City and Aspen, Colorado, with Jeaneane Dowis and Samuel Lipman. He is very active as piano soloist and chamber musician, having performed in Canada, the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany. He is a regularly featured performer on the English and French CBC Radio Networks, appearing on the Arts National and En Concert network series.

John Hansen has performed as guest artist with internationally renowned ensembles such as the Orford, Penderecki, Brunswick, Artur LeBlanc and Vellinger String Quartets and has appeared as concerto soloist with the Vancouver, Seattle, CBC Toronto, Chebucto, Nova Scotia Youth and Acadia Symphony Orchestras. As a founding member of the Acadia Trio he has appeared on the Acadia Performing Arts Series and performed internationally in Germany and England, including a concert in St. Martin In The Fields, in London. He has attended the Winter Artist-in-Residence program at the Banff School of Fine Arts. He has adjudicated music festivals from coast to coast in Canada , most recently in Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Seattle, Washington . He is a vice-president of the Canadian Association of Adjudicators and the Nova Scotia Branch of the Canadian Music Competitions.

PIANO - Marion Stuart-Kosmala
Marion Stuart-Kosmala is a graduate of the Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario where she earned the A. Mus. Diploma and the B. Mus. and M. Mus. Degrees, all in piano performance.   While there she studied piano with Howard Munn and Clifford VonKuster who were the Principal of the Western Ontario Conservatory of Music and the Dean of the Faculty of Music respectively at that time. She also studied pipe organ with Dr.  John S. McIntosh.
Ms Stuart-Kosmala has maintained a private piano studio in Chatham for over 30 years and thus brings with her a wealth of experience.  Her students have had very successful results in both Festival competitions and R.C.M. examinations.  Ms. Stuart-Kamala has been a pianist for the Royal Academy of Dance (ballet) examinations for 30 years. She was also an O.R.M.T.A. member for nearly 30 years, and has held various executive positions within that organization.  Ms Stuart-Kosmala has played for numerous musical productions of Theatre Kent and the West End Revue, and has owned and directed her own theatre group called “Stuart and Company.”
In 1990 her career expanded when she was asked to become the organist of St. Joseph’s Church and it expanded once again when she became its choirmaster/music director in 2002.
Ms Stuart-Kosmala has examined for the W.O.C.M., has accompanied the Linda Vaughn Singers of London, was the pianist/harpsichordist in the Clarion Symphony in Sarnia and has been accompanist at the Chatham, Sarnia, and London festivals.
In 2006 Ms Stuart-Kosmala was asked to adjudicate at the Kitchener-Waterloo Kiwanis Music Festival something she enjoyed thoroughly and wishes to continue for years to come. In 2007 she adjudicated at the Norfolk County Musical Arts Festival and adjudicated in Belleville, Owen Sound, Sarnia, and Windsor in 2008. She is very pleased to be a part of the 2009 festival in London.

PIPE ORGAN - Paul Merritt
Paul Merritt graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Music degree in Organ Performance from the University of Western Ontario where he studied with Dr. Larry Cortner. Mr Merritt was a prize winner in the R.C.C.O. International Organist’s Competition in 1973. In 1975 Paul became Director of Music at Central United Church in Moncton, New Brunswick, a position he held for 9 years. During this time he was an active Organ Recitalist and Choral Clinician throughout the Atlantic Provinces . He taught advanced choral conducting at Mount Allison University where he was recorded for C.B.C. In 1984 he assumed the position of Director of Music at First-St. Andrew’s United in London, Ontario. He is responsible for a large and varied music Program and Artistic Director for the well-known Concert Series MUSIC AT FIRST-ST. ANDREW’S which has featured performances by his Choir with such well known Artists as choral conductor and composer John Rutter, Stephen Cleobury and Robert Cooper. Paul was a featured Organist on “Organist in Recital” on C.B.C. and recently a featured recitalist for the National R.C.C.O. Convention in London. He assumed the position of Organ Instructor at the University of Western Ontario in the autumn of 2005. pmerritt@fsaunited.com

SPEECH ARTS - John Krisak
For more than 30 years John taught English, Drama, and Creative Writing in London high schools. He is the editor of six Language Arts textbooks which are in use in secondary school classrooms across Canada. John is the founder of Arbitrary Angle Theatre Company, a non-professional London-based company that specializes in recent and original Canadian plays. His latest play, Robertson Davies: The Peeled I, premiered at the Arts Project in April 2008, and received its second performance at the Grand Theatre’s McManus Studio Theatre in February of this year. To complement the roles of writer and director, John sometimes takes the stage as an actor. In October of this year he will appear as Antonio in Passionfool Theatre Company’s production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. For more than 25 seasons John was a cellist with the Woodstock Strings. He is an original member of the Stratford Civic Orchestra, now in its fourth season.

STRINGS - George Cleland
George Cleland maintains a busy schedule as a violinist, conductor, teacher and adjudicator. He was appointed the conductor of the Peninsula Orchestra, a community orchestra serving the Niagara region, in 2007. He performs regularly with the Niagara Symphony, the Windsor Symphony, the Peterborough Symphony, the Ottawa Valley Summer Music Festival and the Niagara International Chamber Music Festival. He is a founding member of the Thorold String Quartet and the founder of the St. Paul Street Junior String Orchestra. George is the Music Coordinator of the Niagara Suzuki Association, the viola coach for the Niagara Youth Orchestra and on staff as a violin instructor for Brock University . He has adjudicated across the country in several festivals. Prior to moving to the Niagara region, George was a violin instructor for the Medicine Hat College Conservatory of Music and Dance, and the conductor of the Medicine Hat Junior String Orchestra and the founder and director of the Medicine Hat Community Orchestra.

STRINGS, CELLO - Gordon Cleland
Principal cellist of the Niagara Symphony, Gordon Cleland has performed across North America. He has appeared as soloist with the Niagara Symphony (Schumann Concerto in A minor and Vivaldi Double Concerto in G minor with Gisela Depkat) and for the Debut Series in Montreal, and will be playing a concerto this spring with Mercredi musique (Boccherini Bb Major). He has extensive experience as a chamber musician, notably with pianist Karin di Bella at Brock University. Gordon is a member of the Thorold String Quartet with violinists Xiaoling Li and George Cleland and violist Andree Simard. Gordon has broadcast frequently for CBC FM Radio and has performed on TV5, the international French television network. His strong interest in contemporary and Canadian music is reflected in the repertoire he performs. In addition to his activities as a performer Gordon has made a strong commitment to music education. He teaches cello and string techniques at Brock University. He has been a featured performer for the Concertino Program of Jeunesses musicales, whose artists are carefully chosen for their pedagogical skills and their ability to communicate with young people. Gordon has adjudicated music festivals across Canada and runs a private studio in the Niagara region. Gordon started his musical training in London, Ontario and completed his studies with a Master of Music degree from Boston University. His principal teachers were George Neikrug, Walter Joachim and Gisela Depkat.

STRINGS - Philippe Djokic
Philippe Djokic is one of Canada 's leading pedagogues and chamber musicians. He received his musical training at the Juilliard School where he studied with the great violin pedagogue, Ivan Galamian. Upon completion of a Master of Music degree, he was awarded the prestigious Fritz Kreisler Prize by Juilliard. He has won major prizes at many international competitions, among them the Jacques Thibauld ( Paris, 975), Sibelius (Helsinki, 977), Vaclav Huml (Zagreb,1977) and Paganini (Genoa, 1982). He is also a former first prize winner of the CBC Young Artist Competition. His performances have taken him throughout Europe and North America as soloist with major orchestras. He is a regular performer at summer music festivals in Montreal, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Utah, Ottawa and Alaska. His recent recording of the Delius violin concerto on the CBC label has been winning praises around the world and given a five-star rating by BBC Magazine. Mr. Djokic is currently professor of violin at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His instrument is a rare Guarnerius violin made in 1740. His son and daughter, Marc and Denise are outstanding young performers who are currently enjoying successful solo careers abroad and in Canada as violinist and cellist. (They are performing together in London, Ontario on April 25th.)  

VOICE - Che Anne Loewen
Che Anne Loewen, originally from Steinbach, Manitoba, is a collaborative pianist of breadth and authority.  She has performed throughout Canada and in Europe with many singers and instrumentalists, including Jean Stilwell, Catherine Robbin, Gary Relyea, and Measha Brueggergosman.  She has been heard many times over the CBC and has been praised in the press for her brilliant support (Toronto Globe and Mail), truly exquisite articulation (Fredericton Daily Gleaner) and her subtlety and nuance (Halifax Chronicle-Herald).  Most recently she has been touring in concert with soprano Lorna MacDonald and trumpeter Guy Few; Ms. Loewen and Mr. Few have collaborated on a recording of French repertoire entitled Exposures.  Ms. Loewen studied piano performance with Garth and Marjorie Beckett at Wilfrid Laurier University, where she was a gold medal graduate.  Her aptitude for accompanying led her to the University of Southern California for further study with Jean Barr and Brooks Smith. There she graduated with top awards.  She continued her study in Austria at the Franz Schubert Institut and at the Banff Centre. Ms. Loewen has served on the boards of Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Co. and Consort Caritatis, and currently is a director on the board of the Aldeburgh Connection and sits on the Dean’s Committee in the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto . She has received the Arbor Award for her outstanding service to the University where she founded the Greta Kraus Scholarship and spearheaded the Lois Marshal Chair in Voice Studies. Ms. Loewen’s first love is the art song repertoire, and she relishes her opportunities to pass this music on to her students at the University of Toronto where, as an Adjunct Associate Professor, she coaches singers and teaches Piano-Vocal Masterclasses and Lyric Diction.  She has also been a guest instructor in Canada at the Banff Centre’s School of Fine Arts , the Elora Festival , Newfoundland ’s Memorial University, for the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and in Germany at the Musikakademie of the Prinzregententheater in Munich.

VOICE - Henriette Asch
Canadian born Soprano, Henriette Asch has had a career performing throughout Europe and Canada in opera, concert and oratorio – particularly in Germany, where she sang leading Soprano operatic roles in Munich, Mannheim, Bremen etc. – for several years. She has toured North America with Columbia Artists management and sang television and radio performances for CBC, PBS as well as Bavarian Radio and TV.
After completing Canadian studies at McGill University, she was awarded two Canadian Council scholarships for further Study in Europe. Ms. Asch has taught several years in the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto and at the Guildhall School of Music, London, England; and has adjudicated at several Canadian Music Festivals e.g. Halifax, London and Winnipeg.