Choirs
Diana Clark – Vancouver BC
Early and Middle Years School Choirs
Diana Clark is Artistic Director of Coastal Sound Music Academy where she directs the acclaimed Children’s Choir, beginning Con Brio singers, and leads a team of outstanding choral and music education professionals. With a passion for nurturing young musicians, Diana is also full time music educator at Blakeburn Elementary in Port Coquitlam.
Diana has an eclectic background that includes a Master’s Degree in Music Performance and top program honours in a Master of Music Education from Northwestern University; private conducting studies with Dr. John Trotter; course work in Ghanaian Dance and Drumming; and 17 years performing and recording as a trombonist with Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble. She has held posts as Fine Arts Coordinator for Coquitlam School District and sessional faculty for the University of Victoria. She has adjudicated, led honour ensembles, provided music workshops and reading clinics throughout Metro Vancouver. Because of her diverse training and interests, Diana’s approach to music education is grounded in helping students grow to be sensitive, creative artists and engaged, caring citizens.
Diana is a member of the BC Choral Conductor’s Mentorship Project led by Geoffrey Boers and Richard Nace. When she’s not studying scores, singing and planning rehearsals, Diana can often be found practicing yoga or skiing with her husband–also a musician and music educator–and her two children.
Stacey Brown – Winnipeg MB
Early and Middle Years School Choirs
Stacey Brown has been directing choirs in Manitoba for 13 years. She was hired to start a choral program at Garden City Collegiate where, over the years, it has grown to see two hundred students singing in at least one of the seven ensembles offered. Stacey has served as a clinician for the Centralman and Eastman junior choirs and has enjoyed two previous experiences as a daytime clinician at Choralfest. Stacey brings a wealth of performance experience having spent many years with the Winnipeg Singers and also having performed solo with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra and as the anthem singer for the Winnipeg Jets. Stacey is the proud mom of two little boys.
Kim Neufeld – Winnipeg MB
Early and Middle Years School Choirs
Kim Neufeld began her studies in cello at the age of three, and her vocal training at the age of 12 in Saskatoon, SK. She entered the music program at Canadian Mennonite Bible College and later the U of M School of Music, where she completed both a Bachelor of Education (Honours) and a Bachelor of Music (Voice), as a student of Lois Watson-Lyons. Upon graduation, she assumed the senior years choral position at Linden Christian School, where she taught until giving birth to her first daughter in 2009.
As both a cellist and a vocalist, she has garnered a number of awards, from such organizations as the Royal Conservatory of Music, the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers’ Association, and the Saskatoon and Winnipeg Music Festivals. Since moving to Manitoba in 1998, she has been a member of the CMBC Singers, the Mennonite Oratorio Choir, the U of M Singers, the U of M Symphony Orchestra, the Winnipeg Civic Orchestra, the Faith and Life Singers, Renaissance Voices and various chamber groups.
Mel Braun – Winnipeg MB
Senior Years (Secondary) School Choirs
and Community and Church Choirs
Baritone Mel Braun is a versatile performer, equally at home in oratorio, recital, and opera, always open to new collaborations.
As a teacher, Mel heads up the Vocal Program at the Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music, a program renowned for its collaborative and wholistic approach to training singers. He has seen many of his students go on to significant careers as performers and teachers.
As a music director, Mel looks after the operatic ensembles at the U of M, as well as working with Winnipeg’s Camerata Nova, a choir devoted to exploring new approaches to choral music making. He is much in demand as an Adjudicator and choral clinician.
Among Mel’s many initiatives at the Faculty are: the annual Opera Theatre School Tour; the Contemporary Opera Lab; the Professor Bach Project; Tuesdays in Winnipeg (a venture that brings together high school age boys who love to sing). He has been director of the University of Manitoba Cantata Singers and Musical Director of Opera Workshop and Opera Ensembles.
Janet Brenneman – Winnipeg MB
Senior Years (Secondary) School Choirs
and Community and Church Choirs
Dr. Janet Brenneman is Associate Professor and the Dean of Music at Canadian Mennonite University where she teaches music education courses, and conducts the CMU Chamber Choir and the CMU Women’s Chorus. Janet earned a Ph.D. in Music Education from Michigan State University, and holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Education from the University of Toronto. In 1995, Janet received the distinguished Sir Ernest MacMillan Award in Music for her graduate work and scholarship in music education. Her research interests include gender issues in choral music education, and the boys’ changing voice. Frequently in demand as a choral clinician and guest conductor, Janet is also a conductor for the award-winning Pembina Trails Voices in Winnipeg, and was recently appointed Artistic Director of Renaissance Voices, a community-based chamber choir in Winnipeg. Currently, Janet is a member of the Association for Music Administrators in Manitoba and holds a portfolio position with the Manitoba Music Educators Association facilitating and writing a philosophical statement for the MMEA. She enjoys a busy family life with her husband John Balsillie and their two children, Lydia and Naomi.
Brendan Lord – Edmonton AB
Senior Years (Secondary) School Choirs
and Community and Church Choirs
Brendan Lord holds a Bachelor of Arts (Music) degree from Augustana University College, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Alberta, and is a candidate for the Doctor of Music degree in choral conducting at the U of A. His conducting teachers have included Dr. Marc Hafso, Dr. Robert de Frece, Dr. Debra Cairns, and Dr. Leonard Ratzlaff. Throughout the course of his doctoral degree, Mr. Lord completed two major recitals which included J.S. Bach’s rarely performed Easter Oratorio, and the Canadian premieres of James MacMillan’s Cantos Sagrados and James Bassi’s Harpsonnets. Recent awards include the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship, a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada fellowship, and the University of Alberta President’s Award. Mr. Lord has worked as a sessional professor of music at the University of Alberta where he directed the Augustana Choir and Sangkor: Augustana’s Women’s Choir, and taught musicianship, conducting, and music theory. Currently Mr. Lord is the Executive Director of the Alberta Choral Federation, the Director of Music Ministry at McDougall United Church, and a frequent adjudicator and clinician with choirs of all ages and abilities. Mr. Lord is also an active composer and arranger of choral music and is published through Pavane Publishing.
Catherine Robbins – Winnipeg MB
Senior Years (Secondary) School Choirs
and Community and Church Choirs
Catherine Robbins is in demand as a clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator at workshops and festivals in both vocal and choral fields. Her areas of expertise include choral pedagogy, vocology, and the advantages of developing anatomical awareness which encourages understanding of vocal processes in the choral rehearsal. Presently, Dr. Robbins teaches undergraduate conducting, choral techniques, vocal techniques and choral repertoire at the University of Manitoba where she was the director of the Preparatory Division Youth Choir Program for seven years. She also serves as the vocal coach to the University of Manitoba Women's Choir.
Dr. Robbins has recently completed her doctoral studies in Music Education through the University of Toronto. Her areas of research have included negotiating the solo voice in choral singing, collaborative inquiry and self-study methodologies, reflective practice and teacher education, and the formation of the musical self of choral music educators.
Carrie Tennant – Vancouver BC
Senior Years (Secondary) School Choirs
and Community and Church Choirs
Carrie Tennant is well known in the choral community for her energetic and creative approach to working with youth. As a high school teacher, Carrie built a large and thriving choral program at Maple Ridge Secondary School. Now working primarily with community youth ensembles, Carrie conducts the Sarah McLachlan School of Music Youth Choir, the Chor Leoni MYVoice Vancouver Choir, is the Assistant Conductor of Chor Leoni Mens’ Choir, and the Associate Artistic Director of Coastal Sound Music Academy, where she directs their 70-voice youth choir. Carrie is also an Artist-in-Residence with the Vancouver School Board, the coordinator of the Vancouver Kiwanis Choral Festival, and a frequent clinician, adjudicator and retreat facilitator throughout Western Canada. In 2008, Carrie was the recipient of the BCCF Youth Achievement Award for distinguished support of choral music in British Columbia. Passionate about building and sustaining community between BC choral choirs and conductors, Carrie helped found the “BC Choral Mentorship Project” ; a collective that brings together expert speakers/conductors and local choral directors for master classes and lectures. Carrie also performs and records as a member of Vancouver-based indie-pop group the Salteens.
Vocal Jazz
Jeremy Fox – Miami FL
Vocal Jazz
After graduating from The School for Music Vocations in 1996, Jeremy Fox earned a B.M. degree in Piano Jazz Studies from Western Michigan University. He later received his Master’s degree in Studio Jazz Writing from the University of Miami. For 8 years, Jeremy was a professor at The School for Music Vocations, teaching alongside Phil Mattson and Jason Smith. He currently lives in Miami, teaching classes and working toward a Doctorate in Jazz Composition, under the direction of Gary Lindsay.
Jeremy has received 9 awards from Downbeat magazine, including ones for: Jazz Song, Jazz Arrangement, Studio Engineering, and for his vocal jazz groups. Jeremy has several charts published with UNC Jazz Press, Sound Music Publications, and his own publishing company, Foxtrot Publishing. He has written for such artists as Terence Blanchard, Rose Max, Ramatis Moraes, m-pact, and Denyce Graves.
He is active as a festival/group clinician, and has presented clinics and served as guest conductor of All-State ensembles in California, Colorado, Arizona, and Wisconsin. Jeremy has also been on the faculty of the North Texas Vocal Jazz Camp, the Steve Zegree Vocal Jazz Camp, and the Phil Mattson Vocal Jazz Camp. The SWCC Vocal Jazz Festival that he revived – and which brought in such artists as The Real Group, NY Voices, Rajaton, Mark Murphy, Nancy King, and m-pact – now bears Jeremy’s name.
In 2013, Jeremy will coordinate the 10th Annual SMV Vocal Jazz Camps around the United States and Canada (www.VocalJazzCamp.com). He also co-conducts a weeklong workshop designed for choral directors each summer called the Jazz Theory Boot Camp (www.JazzTheoryBootCamp.com).
Diana Spradling – Kalamazoo MI
Vocal Jazz
Diana Spradling has devoted the last 4 decades to vocal music education. After 10 years of teaching at the middle school, high school and community college levels she taught for 13 years on the faculty at Syracuse University and 16 years at Western Michigan University. Her ensembles have performed for the American Choral Directors Association, Music Educators National Conference and International Association of Jazz Educators conferences and in venues on 5 continents. Solo vocalists who have studied or are studying privately with her include 9 DownBeat jazz solo award winners, students chosen to participate at JAS Aspen and study at the Monk Institute, and many jazz/cabaret/pop/Broadway artists all of whom make their living as performers. Two of her singers have sung with the Glenn Miller Orchestra during the past 20 years and others have sung lead roles in musicals on Broadway including Rent, Tony and Tina’s Wedding and Jersey Boys to name a few. Most recently her students have been back up vocalists for Queen Latifah, Cheryl Crowe, Liza Minnelli and French Rock ‘n Roll sensation Johnny Hallyday. Several of her former students hold faculty positions as jazz vocal specialists in colleges and universities throughout North America.
Spradling is the author of a groundbreaking pedagogy textbook, Jazz Singing: Developing Artistry and Authenticity, published by Sound Music Publications. In 2004 she founded the Applied Studio Technology Laboratory at Western Michigan University where she continues to conduct acoustic research on the voice. The prototype for this laboratory is in the Vocal Arts Center at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio.
She co-founded the New York All-State Vocal Jazz Ensemble program and the hugely successful Sisters in Jazz mentoring program for IAJE which was a crowning jewel in the IAJE student programs for over a decade. She was also the national chair for jazz and show choirs for ACDA for over 5 years. She served as the Executive Director and vocal coach of the Steve Zegree Vocal Jazz Camp during its first five years in existence and continues to serve as the senior vocal coach.
Spradling maintains an active adjudication, workshop, coaching and master class schedule in public schools, colleges and universities and at vocal festivals throughout the USA and in Canada and is a long time choral adjudicator for Festivals Disney. An endowed vocal jazz scholarship has been established in her name at Western Michigan University honoring her work during her 16 years (1993 – 2009) on that faculty.
Dorothy Dyck – Winnipeg MB
Vocal Jazz
Dorothy Dyck loves jazz! She teaches it, performs it, and listens to lots of it! Dorothy received her music training partially at the University of Manitoba, but mainly in front of a CD player and microphone. She has taught vocal jazz and choir at Maples Collegiate in Winnipeg for well over a decade, where highlights have included the senior jazz ensemble, Maple Sugar, being a demonstration group in workshops at the Brandon Jazz Festival and at Tempo, twice showcasing at the Rocky Mountain Festival in Banff, and opening for Cadence. Dorothy has served as an adjudicator at the Brandon Jazz Festival, as clinician at Winnipeg's Jazz Choralfest, has led many jazz workshops with teachers and students in our province and beyond, and really enjoys working with students in this capacity. Dorothy also teaches solo jazz voice at Canadian Mennonite University. She’s super excited to be working with choirs at Choralfest this year.
Rob Monson – Winnipeg MB
Vocal Jazz
Cynthia Peyson Wahl – Winnipeg MB
Vocal Jazz
Cynthia Peyson Wahl is a graduate of the University of Regina and Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton. She currently teaches choir, jazz choir and Musical Theatre at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg, Manitoba and directs jazz choir Wholly Jazz at Canadian Mennonite University. At DMCI, her jazz choir, DMCice, has been a featured performer at the Moose Jaw Band and Choral Festival and Choralfest Manitoba, has opened for Cadence, has sung onstage with M-Pact, and received a Gold Award for Superior Performance at MusicFest Canada. In 2010, DMCice was a featured performer at the biennial Podium conference in Saskatoon, and in 2011 DMCice was featured in their own showcase concert at the Canadian Rocky Mountain Festival in Banff. Her concert choirs have won numerous awards, including the Earl Grey Trophy for outstanding choral performance of the Winnipeg Music Festival (2011, 2012), and the Lieutenant Governor's Trophy for most outstanding performance of the Winnipeg Music Festival (2011). In 2012, she was the recepient of the Michael J. Proudfoot award for “passion and excellence” in choral teaching. Cynthia is the founding director of the West End Gospel Choir, and also sings with the East Side Jazz Band. Mrs. Peyson Wahl performs regularly as a vocalist and a flautist, and adjudicates and guest conducts frequently around Canada and the US.
