Adjudicators 2010
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Adjudicators 2010
DARRYL EDWARDS, VOICE
Tenor Darryl Edwards has appeared to critical acclaim in oratorio, recital, and opera in England, Germany, France, Italy, Corsica, the United States, and across Canada. His performances included appearances with Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Hans Graf and the Calgary Philharmonic, Noel Edison and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Christian Kabitz and the Heidelberg Bach-Chor, and Franz-Paul Decker and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
He has most often appeared with Chorus London (Gerald Fagan), and also with the Amabile Boys' Choir (Carol Beynon, Ken Fleet), First-St. Andrew's Church (Paul Merritt), Orchestra London, and the London Pro Musica (Ken Fleet).
Critics praise him as a "rich-voiced, cultured tenor who mastered the high notes effortlessly" (Coburg Tageblatt, Germany), and an "effective communicator who expressed the text with sensitivity and fervour" (Hamilton Spectator). His recordings and broadcasts include performances on American Public Radio (NPR) the Canadian Music Centre (Centrediscs), and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC Radio 2). His representative repertoire includes Britten’s War Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang, Berlioz’ L’Enfance du Christ, Handel’s Samson, Mozart’s Idomeneo, Puccini’s La Bohème, and Verdi’s La Traviata.
Darryl Edwards began his career as a choral conductor, training under Professor Deral Johnson at UWO, and subsequently at Westminster Choir College in workshops and performances with Robert Shaw, Sir David Willcocks, Frauke Hassemann, and William Trego. Under his direction as a music teacher at Saunders Secondary School, its choirs received gold medals at International Music Festivals, and won the top choral awards at the London Kiwanis Music Festival. He founded the Woodstock Fanshawe Singers (Woodstock, Ontario), and he subsequently conducted The Chorale at the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Music. He continues to do workshops with choirs, and is an advocate for vocal health for singers and teachers, and a progressive dialogue between voice teachers and choral conductors.
Dr. Edwards is the Head of Voice Studies at University of Toronto. He is also the Artistic Director of the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, and the Concert Opera Group. His international demand for master classes and lectures includes the Czech Republic (Charles University, Prague), New Zealand (University of Auckland), and England (Royal College of Music, London). His voice students regularly appear in leading roles with major companies and orchestras across Canada, the United States and Europe (Royal Opera Covent Garden, English National Opera, New York City Opera, Philadelphia Opera, San Francisco Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper – Munich, Zurich Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, and the Canadian Opera Company). "Darryl Edwards is the coach behind many of Canada’s finest young voices these days” (Toronto Star, March 2009).
ALFRED FISHER, PIANO
Canadian Composer, Alfred Fisher, is recognized as an independent voice in the international new music scene. His work is always dedicated to musical engagement and to values of coherence and personal expression that audiences around the globe have found compelling and accessible.The recipient of commissions from CBC, Canada Council and others, his works have been presented by such artists as David Burge, Peter Vinograde, Bruce Vogt, Jamie Syer, William Tritt, Dina Namer, James Ehnes, Tanya Prochzka, Mary Morrison, William Street, Stan Fisher, Harold Wiens, Paul Pulford, Bruce Kelly, Rivka Golani, the Silesian Quartet, Orford Quartet, Penderecki Quartet, National Chamber Choir of Ireland, Calgary Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, Symphony of Radio Telefis Eireann, the Kingston Symphony and others. His works have been performed and broadcast in Canada, the U.S., Europe, the Republic of Ireland, U.K., Middle East and East Asia. Dr. Fisher holds the PhD in Composition and MMus in Piano Performance from Michigan State University. His principal piano teachers have included David Burge, Alfred Kanwischer and Pierre Luboshutz. Experienced in both chamber music and solo performance, Dr. Fisher’s interests span the repertoire from the Baroque to recent music.He has been an active adjudicator at local, provincial, and national levels from Yukon to Nova Scotia and in the U.S. for over forty years. Dr. Fisher has taught music theory, composition and piano at the University of Western Ontario, Acadia, the University of Alberta and Queen’s University, retiring in 2009. He served as Chair at both Alberta and Queen’s.
MICHEL FOURNIER, PIANO
Praised both as a soloist and a chamber player, Canadian pianist Michel Fournier has performed with a number of orchestras and is widely appreciated for the many recitals he has given in Canada, Europe and United States. His repertoire covers a broad spectrum of keyboard music from different eras and styles. He has a special fondness for French music and has earned critical acclaim for the originality of his interpretation and his refined sound: " ...a perfect knowledge of the expressive resources of the piano, a tour de force that ranks him among the masters of impressionist music." (Adveratul de Cluj-Romania, March 1996). Michel Fournier toured extensively with the world-class ensemble Quartango. The group won "Prix Opus" (a prestigious award from Conseil Québécois de la Musique) for best performance in 2005. In June 2006, Michel Fournier was invited to give a TV performance for Telethon Operation Enfant Soleil, a well-known organization raising funds for sick children. He also has several Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) recordings and movie soundtracks to his credit. His CDs feature piano works by Debussy, Prokofiev , Bartok and Stravinsky.Michel has shared his artistry with numerous musicians and ensembles, including the acclaimed "Les Chambristes de Montreal" whose members also play with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. A regular performer in regional and inter-provincial festivals, he can be heard in Montreal's Mozart Plus festival, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and various Quebec-sponsored events. He is renowned for his extensive knowledge of the violin-and-piano repertoire and eagerly sought after as a player in this formation. Michel has made a series of recordings dedicated to composers of Central Europe, highlighting the works of Szymanowsky, Janacek, Dvorak and Suk . As a student of French pianist Yvonne Hubert, Michel completed a master’s degree in Montreal before continuing his studies abroad, primarily in France and Austria. He also attended the University of Indiana, where he studied under Menahem Pressler. Michel completed a doctorate in performance with Marc Durand and is currently associate professor at the University of Sherbrooke. Highly appreciated as an educator, he gives regular master classes and promotes his love of music by presenting frequent lectures and workshops. He also adjudicates numerous competitions and Festivals across Canada. His 2009-2010 tour includes recitals, lectures and masterclass in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and New Brunswick.
Michel Fournier's latest CD 17:05, under MYR label is received by its listeners as "the most fantastic musical experience ever". Fournier's mastering of musical tones and colors is rendering a unique approach to classical and jazz.
AMBER GHENT, CELLO
Cellist Amber Ghent, a native of Petersburg, Ontario, started Suzuki cello lessons at age seven. She went on to earn a B.Music in Honours Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University where she studied with Paul Pulford and members of the Penderecki String Quartet. Amber continued her studies in San Francisco with Bonnie Hampton, and in Cleveland, where she completed a M.Mus degree. While living in Ohio, Amber was the assistant principal of the Erie Philharmonic, and taught Suzuki Cello at the Cleveland Music School Settlement. Currently she is on faculty at the Suzuki String School of Guelph. Amber has performed with a variety of ensembles in Southwestern Ontario including the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London, the Windsor Symphony, and regularly with Tapestry Opera to Go in Toronto. In the summer, she performs at the Bach and Beyond Early Music Festival in Fredonia, NY. In the fall of 2007, Amber joined the Madawaska String Quartet. As champions of Canadian composers and their works, the quartet has over 20 Canadian works in their repertoire, many of which were written for and/or premiered by the Quartet itself. The MSQ performs pieces from mainstream to performance art, from film score to avant-garde, and from baroque to present-day. At home in Toronto, the quartet appears frequently at the R.O.M. Sunday concert series, the Music Gallery, Music Garden, Glenn Gould Studio, and the Lula Lounge. Past collaborators include Bob Wiseman, Leslie Kinton, and Glenn Montgomery. Recent projects include a visit to the Collingwood Festival, and return visits to the Festival of the Sound, the R.O.M., the Sunday Apres-midi series in London, the "Concerts Ponticello" series in Gatineau, the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society, and the new Koerner Hall at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto. In March 2010 the MSQ released their new CD Prefab. Amber enjoys giving workshops and teaching at summer festivals. She also teaches privately at her home in Kitchener where she lives with her husband Simon.
JEHANBAKHSH (JOHN) JASAVALA
Jehanbakhsh (John) Jasavala holds music degrees from York University (B.FA) and the University of Michigan, (M.M.), a Diploma in Jazz Studies from Humber College, and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Windsor. Jehanbakhsh has an active life as a performer, teacher, and adjudicator. He has held the position of Principal Trombone with both the Windsor and Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestras, and has performed as a freelance musician with several orchestras in Ontario and Michigan, including, Orchestra London, and The Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Jehanbakhsh is the founding member and leader of The Umbrella Brass Quintet. The Umbrella Brass Quintet has been broadcast by the CBC several times on “Music Around Us” and “ Disc Drive”. Until moving back to Toronto in 2005, he was the Instructor of Trombone at the University of Windsor, taught chamber music courses and was the Director of the University of Windsor Jazz Ensemble performing over twenty concerts per year. Jehanbakhsh is also the instructor of trombone and a small ensembles coach at the University of Western Ontario. At the University of Toronto, Jehanbakhsh teaches several education courses, is an instructor of trombone and is the Director of the 7 ‘O Clock Swing Ensemble. Jehanbakhsh was the recipient of the University of Western Ontario Student Society Teaching Award in 2002 and in 2003, the winner of the Meritorious Service Award for Part–time Faculty at the University of Windsor. Jehanbakhsh can be heard on CD with The University of Western Ontario Convocation Brass and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (Amy Beech Symphony).
MARGOT JEWELL, STRINGS
For the past 30 years Margot Jewell has enjoyed working with young people and their
families, first at the Hamilton Suzuki School where she taught violin and
was also the director. Then in 1982 she founded the Etobicoke Suzuki School
of Music, where she presently teaches. Margot has enjoyed performing in
groups such as the Hamilton Philharmonic, Symphony Niagara, Te Deum
Orchestra, the Aradia Ensemble, as well as many free lance groups. Margot
has been a festival adjudicator across Ontario and is a member of the
College of Examiners for the Royal Conservatory of Music. She is also on the
Board of the Suzuki Association of Ontario.
JOEL KATZ, VOICE
Joel Katz is an internationally recognized teacher and performer. He has taught at Bayreuth, Germany, where he assisted a number of the distinguished singers at the Bayreuth Festival, privately in Manchester, England, and at the Theatre de La Monnaie in Brussels. Mr. Katz has prepared artists for roles at the Metropolitan Opera, the Staatsoper in Berlin, La Scala and the Wiener Staatsoper. Known for his “sonorously deep voice” (Toronto Star) and his strong dramatic presence, Joel Katz has sung with many of Canada’s major opera companies. His work with the Canadian Opera Company can be seen in the video, “The Making of an Opera”, as the Marchese of Calatrava in “La Forza del Destino”, distributed internationally. He created the role of the Blue Man in the premiere of Murray Schafer’s opera, “The Palace of the Cinnabar Phoenix and has appeared in two of Alexina Louie’s new operas for the television special “Burnt Toast”, broadcast on CBC tv’s “Opening Night”. His recent performance as the Ancien Évreu in “Samson et Dalila” for Opera Ontario was lauded as “distinguished” by the Hamilton Spectator .
In May 2007 Mr. Katz sang the Sacristan in the Opera Ontario production of Tosca, under Daniel Lipton and Val Kuinka. His recent work has included a Russian music program for the Canadian Friends of the Hermitage Museum, Bartolo in ”Le Nozze di Figaro” with Mario Bernardi and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, and a recording of Alexina Louie’s newest project, “Mulroney, the Opera” for Rhombus Media. He will return to Opera Hamilton as Alcindoro/Benoit in the 2010 production of La Bohème. Joel Katz has created roles in a number of new Canadian works, including Thomas Dusatko’s “Joseph Brant” for Opera Ontario, Jack London in “Realitillusion” for the Canadian Opera Company, and Buck in “Nostalgia” for Array Music. As a recitalist, he has sung with Helena Bowkun, Brahm Goldhamer, Lorne Richstone, and Antonin Kubalek among others.
Mr. Katz has been a prizewinner and finalist at vocal competitions in Munich, Rio di Janeiro, and Philadelphia, and has won the Schubert Prize for Lieder (Austria). He has performed with the Canadian Opera Company, the Edmonton Opera, the Calgary Opera, the Pacific Opera, the Winnipeg Opera, and Opera Hamilton in Canada, Opera Theater of St. Louis and the Chattanooga Opera in the United States, and the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern and the Landestheater Hof in Germany. In concert and oratorio, he has appeared with with the Ludwigsburger Festspiele, the Munich Radio Orchestra, the Schaffhausen Festival Orchestra, the Tapei Symphony, the Toronto Symphony and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Quebec Symphony and the Edmonton Symphony, the Winnipeg Chamber Players and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra among others. He has sung with many notable conductors, including Leonard Slatkin, Mario Bernardi, Wolfgang Gonnenwein, Elmer Iseler, Maurizio Arena, Julius Rudel, Catherine Comet, Daniel Lipton, Victor Feldbrill and Timothy Vernon.
DR. METRO KOZAK, STRINGS & ORCHESTRA
Dr. Metro Kozak is a native of Toronto, Canada, and studied violin under these famous teachers: Sydney Harth, Ivan Galamian, Broadus Erle, Roman Totenberg, and Angel Reyes. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree (University of Toronto), a Master of Violin Performance degree Yale University) and a Doctorate of Musical Arts (University of Michigan). He recently retired as Professor of Music at Cambrian College and as Conductor of Sudbury Youth Orchestra, and Sudbury and North Bay Symphonies. Dr. Kozak is in demand as an adjudicator and a teacher of master classes and workshops across Canada. Metro Kozak has been recognized by the City of Sudbury for his outstanding musical contributions to that city by receiving the Rotary Club's Paul Harris International Award presented by Northeastern Music and Film, and most recently the Community Builders Award of Excellence for commitment and leadership in the Arts.
GARY McCUMBER, PERCUSSION
Gary McCumber teaches at the Don Wright Faculty of Music, University of Western Ontario. He is Director of the UWO Symphonic Band. His responsibilities at the Faculty of Music have included teaching conducting and directing the UWO Wind Ensemble. Professor McCumber brings many years of conducting and educating to the podium. He has teaching experience at the university, secondary and elementary levels. Mr. McCumber received his Masters in Music from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor studying conducting under H.R. Reynolds and clarinet with Dr. John Mohler. His Honours Bachelor of Music degree (Alumni Gold Medallist) and Diploma in Music Education were attained from the University of Western Ontario. Mr. McCumber continues an active schedule in the local arts by performing as a soloist and with community groups as a band and orchestra member. As a chamber musician, Mr. McCumber performs in various ensembles including the ffourtissimo clarinet quartet. He is sought after as a wind band clinician, guest conductor and adjudicator for university, school and community groups.
JEFFREY McFADDEN, CLASSICAL GUITARIST
Over the last twenty years, Jeffrey McFadden has established a place among the preeminent guitarists of his generation. Concert engagements have taken him throughout Canada, across the United States and to Europe. He has been a featured performer at several international music festivals, including "Guitar '87" and GuitarFest '91 in Toronto, The Guitar Foundation of America Convention, Gitarren-Symposium Iserlohn, the National Flute Association (USA) Convention, the Festival Mediterraneo della Chitarra and many others. In 1992, Jeffery McFadden was awarded a Silver Medal in the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America Competition and was also a prize-winner in the 1993 Great Lakes Guitar Competition. His debut recording was the first in the "Laureate Series" on Naxos and was released world-wide. Since its release, this recording has sold in the tens of thousands of copies. The Daily Telegraph of London (UK) exclaimed "McFadden's ability to make the guitar sing is second to none", and Classic CD has described his playing as "major artistry". Soundboard called one of his recent performances “a highlight of the (GFA) festival”. He is frequently heard on CBC/Radio-Canada and NPR in the United States both as soloist and ensemble player. His arrangements of Bach’s first three Cello Suites have been published recently and are available from ClearNote Publications. He is also the founder and artistic director of the Sauble Beach Festival of the Classical Guitar. McFadden will graduate this spring as the first person to receive the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University if Toronto. As an Eaton Graduate Fellow, he completed his thesis in 2010. The textbook extracted from the thesis, Fretboard Harmony will be published in the spring of 2010 by Les Productions d’OZ, Canada.www.jeffreymcfadden.com
DIANE O'DELL, CHORAL
Diane O’Dell is a graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) and of the University of Windsor (School of Music). Her thirty-four year career as an educator in Lambton County included Classroom Teacher, Itinerant Music Teacher, Music Consultant, and Arts Consultant – the position from which she retired in June, 1998.
Throughout her teaching career she was actively involved in teacher inservice in Ontario, Quebec, and in the USA presenting workshops in all aspects of elementary choral music. (Ontario Music Educators’ Association, Quebec Music Educators’ Association, Kodaly Society, Federation of Women Teachers of Ontario, University of Windsor Faculty of Education, University of Windsor School of Music). As a Program Consultant, her greatest joy was her work with teachers and their students – refining their choral and performance skills and helping them to realize the positive power of music in their own lives as well as in the lives of their audiences. Diane is the founder and current director of the Lambton Youth Choir (est. 1994), a community children’s choir whose forty singers (grades three through college) are from twenty different elementary and secondary schools and thirteen different communities in Lambton County.
TOM OLIVER, VOICE
In 1993 Tom retired from the stage to continue his research in voice and teaching, studying Neuro linguistics and confidence structures courses to compliment his fast growing voice studio, Voice Concepts. He now has private studios in Hamilton, Oakville and Toronto. His studio has produced exceptional vocal majors in prominent Canadian Universities. (Western, Wilfred Laurier, McGill, and U of BC). Mr. Oliver has been a member of the Voice faculty of the Music Theatre Department of Sheridan College for the past five years. His music theatre students have been finalists in CBC production of “Triple Sensation”; others currently touring North America in productions of “Seussical the Musical” and “Camelot”. Tom’s inspiration in voice research have been influenced his work with Gordon Scott, Leopold Simoneau and Pierrette Alarie, Jaap Teer, John McLean, Richard Bradshaw, David Agler and Luciano Pavarotti.
GLENDA PENNINGTON, SPEECH ARTS
During her thirty-two years in education, Glenda was a teacher and Department Head of English and Drama at the secondary level, an Enrichment Resource teacher, an Intermediate Division Consultant, and a Drama Consultant for JK – OAC. Glenda is a professional storyteller and has been actively involved in acting, producing and directing shows in schools and the community. Her passion for the arts and belief in their vital importance in the lives of children led to her founding the London International Children’s Festival. Later, as its Artistic Director, she initiated the Circus Arts Mentoring Partnership, a circus camp for disadvantaged children. Among other volunteer work in the community, Glenda has served five years as a Board member of London’s Grand Theatre and is an active member of First-St. Andrew's United Church. Recently, Glenda has taught Intermediate/Senior Drama, Elementary Drama and Children's literature at the Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario.
WENDY POTTER, PIANO
Ms. Potter holds a Bachelors Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Western Ontario, and a Masters Degree in Piano Pedagogy and Performance from the University of Michigan. Academic positions held include Lecturer in Piano Pedagogy at the University of Michigan, and Co-ordinator of the All-State Program at the Interlochen Centre for the Arts. She has been recognized with several awards in both teaching and performing, including the Alice B. Kern Excellence in Teaching Award (University of Michigan), and the UWO Gold Medal.Wendy has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Ontario and Michigan. Since moving to Toronto in 1998, she has performed as a soloist and ensemble member with such groups as the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra and The Toronto Wind Orchestra. Especially known for her collaborative work, she is in demand as an accompanist and chamber musician for recitals in the GTA. One of her great interests is in the music of Canadian Composers. She served as a Board Member for the ACNMP (Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects), and is currently on the syllabus committee for the same organization. She is also one of the Coordinators of Contemporary Showcase Toronto, an annual music festival devoted entirely to the music of Canadian Composers. Wendy is a member the Canadian Music Festival Adjudicator’s Association, and her work as an adjudicator takes her on travel throughout Canada. She is also an active member of the College of Examiners for the Royal Conservatory of Music.
GREGG REDNER, PIPE ORGAN
Gregg is a graduate of
JULIA SHAW, HARP
A native Texan, Julia Shaw received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Houston and then went on to earn her Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, studing with Lucile Lawrence. While in New York, she played with the New Jersey Symphony as well as the orchestras of the New York City Ballet and various Broadway shows. She then moved to Canada, where she spent twenty-one years as principal harpist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, taught at the University of Calgary and worked extensively at the Banff Centre. It was during this time that she and Nora Bumanis, principal harpist of the Edmonton Symphony, became Canada’s first professional harp duo. They continue to perform across the country playing recitals and choral concerts, as well as two-harp concertos with symphony orchestras. They have produced four critically acclaimed CDs on the CBC Records label. Since moving to southern Ontario, Julia has performed orchestraly with the National Ballet, Canadian Opera Company, Stratford Festival Orchestra and with several of Toronto’s mega-musicals. Now making her home in Stratford, Julia continues to perform with orchestras in southern Ontario (including Orchestra London) and maintains a busy schedule as a teacher, adjudicator and chamber musician.
BOBBI THOMPSON, WOODWINDS & BAND
Bobbi Thompson holds a Master's of Music Education from the University of North Texas and a Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance from the University of Idaho. She is active as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician in Canada and the United States, including performances with Orchestra London Canada, the Irving Symphony Orchestra, the Plano Chamber Orchestra, the Toronto Wind Orchestra and the Toronto Saxophone Society.
Highly sought after as a woodwind performer in both classical and jazz idioms, she has performed with the Dallas Jazz Orchestra, the Grand Theater, the world-famous University of North Texas Lab Bands, and numerous other big bands and musical theatre companies throughout North America. Her discography includes recordings as bass clarinetist with the University of North Texas Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, as well as alto saxophonist with the Toronto Wind Orchestra. As an educator, Miss Thompson has taught performance classes and private lessons for several Southern Ontario, Manitoba, and North Texas school districts, and is a certified All-Level Music Teacher through the State of Texas. She was the Assistant Band Director at The Bishop Strachan School in Toronto, and taught saxophone and chamber music at The Royal Conservatory of Music for eight years. Miss Thompson is currently completing a PhD in Education (Music) through the University of Manitoba. She teaches saxophone and chamber music at The University of Western Ontario and is a member of the College of Examiners for The Royal Conservatory of Music.
RAYMOND VACCHINO, PIANO/VOICE
Raymond Vacchino, M.Mus.(mt) A.Mus (honorary), L.R.S.M., studied on a five year performance scholarship at the RCM and during that time was chosen to give the opening concert for the Ontario Place Forum with the Hamilton Philharmonic under the direction of conductor Boris Brott. His studies continued at the Quebec Conservatory and Juenesse Musicale, where he was invited by virtuoso Vlado Perlemuter to enter his master class program at the Conservatoire de Paris for four years. Mr. Vacchino then became a concert artist for the Yamaha Music Foundation performing throughout various parts of the world. After returning to Canada Mr. Vacchino became a senior examiner for the Western Ontario Conservatory of Music and the RCM from 1980-1995. It was in 1980 that he was introduced to soprano Lois Marshall, a meeting that turned into a wondrous friendship only to be severed by her death in 1997. After her death, Raymond established an award in her memory for the CMFA which was presented yearly at their National Competition until 2006. In 2008 in co-operation with the Kiwanis Music Festival of London, the 'Lois Marshall Memorial Vocal Competition' was born, and as it enters 2010, our third year has rapidly become one of the more prestigious events for the younger generation of talented singers to compete. Mr. Vacchino's hectic schedule also includes his position as 'Classical Music Critic' for online, international music retailers' such as Amazon.com. EMI, Universal Records and as guest critic for the N.Y. Sun and the Times. He has just returned from Carnegie Hall where he reviewed concerts given by virtuoso Muzio Pollini in celebration of Chopin's 200th birthday.
GERALD VREMAN, PIANO
Gerald Vreman holds B.Mus. Hons.and M.Mus. degrees from UWO, where he studied with Sonja Behrens, and won four London Foundation Scholarships including the Colonel Lawson Prize (1990). He is a member of the first graduating class of the Professional Studies Program (now the Glenn Gould Professional School) of the Royal Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Mark Jablonski, participated in the master classes of Leon Fleisher, and was awarded two tuition scholarships. He has also studied in France with Cecile Ousset. Mr. Vreman is the recipient of many music festival awards, including first prize in senior piano at the London and Toronto Festivals, the W. Eric McIlroy Memorial Scholarship (London), and the Dales Senior Piano Award (Toronto). He has performed piano solos on three separate occasions in Roy Thomsom Hall, and competed internationally. For ten years, Mr. Vreman was Co-Director of the St. Thomas Academy of Music. Since 1981, he has been Organist and Choirmaster of Centre Street Baptist Church in St. Thomas and has concertized in churches throughout Ontario for the Allen Organ Company. Mr. Vreman is a co-founder of Canadian National Conservatory of Music, and is currently an examiner for Conservatory Canada. He is in demand as a pianist, adjudicator, and clinician, and maintains a large piano class in St. Thomas.