Music Camp: Faculty 2011

Please check back for 2012 information.

Our team of dynamic, professional musicians live on-site, giving participants the opportunity to socialize with as well as learn from our top-notch faculty. Below is the roster of our exceptional faculty waiting to share their musical enthusiasm with you at this summer's camp.

Click on the faculty name to view their bios below.

Faculty Bios (in alphabetical order)

Stacey Boal: Recorder, Viola
Stacey Boal, B.Mus. (UBC). Stacey plays viola for the Victoria Symphony and teaches recorder, violin and viola for the Victoria Conservatory. She is a member of the Renaissance wind band A Great Noyse, and recorder soloist with the Victoria Symphony and Pacific Opera. Stacey arranges music for recorder ensembles and organizes frequent workshops in and around Victoria.

David Branter: Saxophone, Instrumental Jazz
David is currently Department Head at the Vancouver Community College School of Music. He performs as both a classical and a jazz saxophonist, and has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, most recently in Nixon in China. He regularly performs with jazz groups, and has also conducted groups, premiered new works, composed, and appeared on several CDs.

Andrea Brown: Children's Program
Holding a BFA and B.Ed. (University of the Fraser Valley), Andrea currently teaches music to elementary students in thr Surrey School District. She plays piano, guitar and sings, and loves art as much as music, She particularly enjoys painting acrylics on large canvases.

Marc Crompton: Wind Ensemble Director, Rhythm Studies, Percussion
Marc was recently Music Director of the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Director of Bands at St. George's School in Vancouver. He is active as a conductor, adjudicator, clinician and percussionist.

Sophie Dansereau: Bassoon
Sophie is Assistant Principal Bassoon and Contrabassoon of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and a member of the National Broadcast Orchestra. She is on the faculty of the Vancouver Academy of Music and is a founding member of the Ad Mare Wind Quintet.

Karen Epp: Early Music, Recorder
Karen holds a B.Mus. B.Ed. (UBC). She teaches recorder, early music, and Orff. She has performed with the CBC Radio Orchestra, Vancouver Cantata Singers, Vancouver Bach Choir and Early Music Vancouver and conducted workshops across Canada. She presently teaches for the Surrey School District.

Brenda Fedoruk: Flute
Brenda holds a B.Mus. (UBC) and also studied in Zürich, Banff and Toronto. She is Principal Flute with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and a member of the National Broadcast Orchestra. She has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, for musical theatre and ballet productions, as well as on television and film recordings. Brenda is a faculty member at UBC, VCC, Douglas College, Capilano University and the Vancouver Academy of Music. Visit Brenda at www.fedoruk.ca.

Karen Gerbrecht: Violin
Karen is Associate Principal Second Violin with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and past Director of Chamber Music at Davidson College, NC. She taught at the Vancouver Academy of Music for twelve years. She has twice attended the Banff School of the Arts as an Artist in Residence, and is the past Artistic Director for the Roedde House Concert Series.

Vern Griffiths: Percussion
Holding a B.Mus. (UBC) and M.Mus. (Manhattan School of Music), Vern is the Principal Percussionist of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and plays in the new music ensembles Standing Wave and Turning Point Ensemble. Vern can be heard on soundtracks to movies by Disney, Imax, PBS and Dreamworks, and will appear as soloist with the VSO and Toronto Symphony this coming season in his "kids' concert" Wall to Wall Percussion.

David Haskins: Horn
David (B.Mus., Toronto; M.Mus., McGill) joined the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Horn in 2008. He was previously the Principal Horn of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra.

Heather Hay: Cello
Heather holds a M.Mus. (San Francisco Conservatory of Music) and is a former member of the Purcell String Quartet. She is Assistant Principal Cellist of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, teaches at Capilano University, and has an active private studio for cellists of all ages. Heather is passionate about the importance of music in the world, and leads workshops in Canada and the U.S. on this subject.

Heather Haydu: Oboe/English Horn
Heather holds a B.Mus. (University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music) and a M.Mus. (Northwestern University). She performs regularly with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and many other groups in the Calgary area. Heather is also the Personnel Manager of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

Eric Hominick: Accompanist, Piano
Eric studied piano at the Toronto Conservatory and Dalhousie University. He is on the music faculty at Vancouver Community College, where he accompanies the choral and classical voice programs. Also an accomplished singer and arranger, Eric runs a piano and voice studio, has recorded and toured widely, and accompanies the BC Girls Choir.

Cyrena Huang: Cello
Cyrena (M. Mus, UBC) is a cello instructor at the Vancouver Academy of Music, a chamber music and cello coach at the Suzuki Valhalla Institute in New Denver, and Director of the Pinnacle Strings Summer Program at Capilano University. Cyrena has performed baroque, modern cello and viola da gamba with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Kawasha's Crew. She also instructs flamenco (baile/cante) at the Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Academy.

Cris Inguanti: Clarinet
Cris has been a member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra since 1998 and is currently Assistant Principal and Bass Clarinettist of the VSO. In addition, he teaches at the University of British Columbia and the Vancouver Academy of Music, and has far too much first-hand knowledge of the wines of Italy.

Lars Kaario: Choral Director
Lars is Director of Choral and Conducting Studies at Capilano University, where he conducts the national and international prize-winning Capilano University Singers, Capilano University Festival Chorus, and Cecilia Ensemble Women's Choir. He is also founder and director of the professional choir Laudate Singers. A respected voice teacher, he has also performed leading roles in opera, light opera, and musical theatre.

Sharman King: Low Brass
Sharman is Bass Trombonist with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and a frequent pit performer for musical theatre and ballet. He has performed with many of the jazz greats, including Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald.

David Knight: Camp Director
David retired after 40 years in the finance, consulting and hospitality sectors, the last 15 of which were as Operations Supervisor of Conferences and Housing at Trinity Western University, which involved looking after 800 conferences and 3,000 special events.

Elliot Langford: Guitar, Drop-in Singing
Elliot holds a Bachelor of Applied Music from Vancouver Community College and is active as a performer and teacher in Vancouver. He specializes in rock, pop and jazz.

Judy Lea: Children's Program
Judy has taught music, dance and drama for 23 years. She plays guitar, percussion, piano, recorder and Orff instruments, and sings. She is also a songwriter and co-produced, wrote and recorded a children’s album entitled Too Much Work To Do, which was nominated for Best Children’s Album of the Year at the West Coast Music Awards. She is currently working on her second album.

Shirley Lecker: Musicians' Exercise
Shirley is a Physical Therapist (McGill) and Kinesiologist (SFU), with a Dip. Music Ed. (UBC). Shirley is chairperson of the BC Musicians Injury Group of the Physiotherapy Association of BC. She leads classes in her studio at The Maple Ridge Music Society and provides consultations and workshops for orchestras, choirs and various groups throughout the province.

Chris Light: Bass, String Ensemble
Chris holds a B.Mus. (UBC), Masters Studies (Manhattan School of Music, New York) plays in the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, is Principal Bass with the Abbotsford Symphony Orchestra and often performs with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He currently teaches bass at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Bill Piggott: Children's Program
Holding a B.Mus. (U. Saskatchewan), Bill has also studied jazz (Humber College) and Orff music (UBC). He teaches band and classroom music with the North Vancouver school district.

Patricia Plumley: Piano, SATB Choir
Patricia studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music. In 1988 Patricia joined the Vancouver Community College School of Music as an accompanist and instructor. She teaches piano pedagogy and conducts the Willan Choir and VCC Concert Choir. Patricia also teaches voice and piano and conducts the BC Boys Town Choir in Nanoose Bay.

Frances Roberts: Vocal Jazz
Frances is a graduate of the vocal music program at UBC. She has taught music composition and choral music at the secondary school level for many years, and currently directs four concert choirs and two jazz/chamber choirs at Argyle Secondary School in North Vancouver.

George Roberts: Camp Director, Vocal Technique
Geordie holds a B.Mus. from UBC and a Performing Arts Diploma from the Vancouver Academy of Music. Geordie is the Coordinator of the Diploma in Music Program at Capilano University. He also directs choirs at Highlands United Church in North Vancouver.

Gordon Roberts: Musical Theatre
In addition to receiving his B.Mus. (Queen’s University, Kingston) and M.M. (University of Kansas, Laurence), Gordon is a graduate of the Estelle Harman Actors Workshop (Los Angeles, CA). Since moving to Vancouver from L.A. over 20 years ago, Gordon has established himself as a mainstay of the B.C. musical theatre scene. With his bass/baritone voice, percussion, piano, tap dancing and conducting skills, he has worked from Chemainus to Fredericton and recently finished a national tour with Axis Theatre. You will be able to see him this fall in the Arts Club touring production of The Buddy Holly Story as the Big Bopper!

Chris Robertson: Trumpet
Chris, B.Mus. (U.Vic), frequently performs with choral and chamber groups in the Lower Mainland. Over his 40-year career, Chris has performed and recorded with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, CBC Radio Orchestra, Vancouver Opera and many visiting companies, including the Royal Ballet UK, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Joffery Ballet, and Theatra Alla Scala. He was a member of A Touch of Brass and toured throughout Canada and internationally and was a founding member of the brass group Cornucopia. As a soloist, he toured the Netherlands three times with Gloria Dei Chorale. Chris conducted the Richmond Orchestra from 1994-2006. He has released three CDs, Ambrosia with Cornucopia, Encores for Trumpet & Organ and Regal & Romantic with organist Bryn Nixon and guest artists, and has published a book for students of the trumpet entitled Finding Your Own Voice.

Isabelle Roland: Viola
Isabelle holds a B.Mus. (U.Vic.), M.Mus.(Perf.) (Cleveland Institute). She is Principal Viola with Sinfonia and a member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, and performs with the National Broadcast Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. She was Assistant Principal Viola of the Victoria Symphony and the Colorado Music Festival. She has appeared as a soloist with the Victoria Symphony, Sinfonia and West Coast Symphony, is a busy chamber musician, and is on faculty at the Vancouver Academy of Music.

Amy Stephen: Celtic Music
Amy holds a B.Mus. and B.Ed. from UBC, is a pianist, harpist, accordionist, vocalist, and penny whistle player. She performs solo, in duo with her husband, Amir Haghighi, and with world music ensemble Jou Tou. During the day, Amy teaches choral and instrumental music at Archbishop Carney Secondary School. During the other hours of the day, she directs two community choirs, and composes, arranges, performs, records and plays with her son Youssof. You can listen to some of Amy's music at www.myspace.com/amystephenmusic.

Rosemary Thomson: Orchestral Director
Rosemary is known for her expressive leadership and innovative audience presentation. Rosemary began her tenure as the Music Director of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra in 2007. She was previously the Resident Conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic and the Winnipeg Symphony (where she was mentored by Bramwell Tovey), and Assistant Conductor of the Canadian Opera Company. Rosemary guest conducts both orchestra and opera across the country.

Rebecca Whitling: Violin
A graduate of McGill and Indiana, Rebecca plays in the First Violin section of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and is Principal Second Violin of the National Broadcast Orchestra. She is a member of the acclaimed new music ensemble Standing Wave, and has performed as soloist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Philharmonic, the Semiahmoo Strings, and the Prince George Symphony Orchestra.