Scott Leithead
School Senior Choir
Kokopelli's artistic director, Scott Leithead, B.Mus. is the founder of the Kokopelli and TIME Jazz Associations. . Scott is in demand as a clinician, guest director, and evaluator at events in North America, Europe and Africa. He has conducted provincial/state honour choirs in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Montana. Scott has a passion for music from southern Africa and he has been hired to work with choirs in South Africa and Namibia on numerous occasions. In 2008/09, Scott was on sabbatical in Namibia, where he worked with the Mascato Youth Choir and numerous other choirs in southern Africa. Scott’s passion for innovative and unique choral music experiences has shaped the direction of the Kokopelli Choir Association and was the founder of Òran as the alumni ensemble for the Kokopelli Youth Choir.
This season Scott has been invited to conduct the Saskatchewan and New Brunswick Youth Choirs for the second time. On July 1st, he will lead the Unisong National Choir Festival on Canada Day with the National Arts Orchestra. In addition he will be presenting at Festival 500 in Newfoundland as a festival clinician and he will adjudicate the Ontario Vocal Festival, the Vancouver Kiwanis Festival, and the Edmonton Cantando Festival. He will be presenting major concerts with the Amabile Choirs in London Ontario, The Bach Children's Choirs of Guelph, The Toronto Children's Choir, The Hamilton Children's Choir, and The High Park Children's Choirs. He is also looking forward to conducting a summer program in Naramata BC in August 2011. He has been invited to work with ensembles and institutions in 9 provinces this year, as well as in the United States, the Cayman Islands, Thailand, and in Africa.
Mark Sirett
School Junior Mixed Choir
Founding Artistic Director of the Cantabile Choirs, Mark Sirett, is a native of Kingston and graduate of Queen's University. He holds both masters and doctoral degrees in choral conducting and pedagogy from the University of Iowa and has taught at the University of Alberta, the University of Western Ontario and Queen's University. For six years he served as Organist/Music Director at St. George's Cathedral, Kingston.
Since their inception in the fall of 1996, the Cantabile choirs have received numerous distinctions at the regional and national level of the National Music Festival Finals, including the Mathieson, Cooke, and City of Lincoln Trophies, and a Gold Award at the Young Prague 2004 Music Competition.
Dr. Sirett is frequently in demand as a guest conductor and clinician.
Dr. Sirett is also an award-winning composer whose works are frequently performed by some of Canada's leading ensembles. Commissions have included works for the National Youth Choir of Canada, the Amabile Youth Singers, Ottawa Regional Youth Choir, Elora Festival Singers, University of Iowa and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. His published works are found in the catalogues of Boosey and Hawkes, ECS Publishing, Walton, Hinshaw, Alliance, Augsburg/Fortress, Warner/Chappell, and Canadian International. His recent work, "The Stars Point the Way" was honoured as "Outstanding Choral Composition" by the Association of Canadian Choral Communities.
Bruce Cable
School Women's Choir
Bruce began his teaching career after graduating from the University of Alberta, teaching choral and drama at Junior High and High Schools in the Edmonton area. The Music Director of St. Albert Children’s Theatre for eight years, Bruce is currently a choral and vocal jazz teacher at Victoria School of the Arts, and the director of the vocal jazz ensemble at Grant MacEwan University. Since completing his Masters in Choral conducting from the University of Miami, he has been a baritone in Pro Coro Canada, the interim conductor of the youth choir Kokopelli, the Musical Director for the Citadel Theatre and an active choral clinician throughout Canada. Bruce is thrilled to be returning to Manitoba, having worked with the tremendous choirs in Choralfest Manitoba 2010.
Melanie DeMore
Adult Choir
Singer-songwriter Melanie DeMore has a remarkable voice, weaving the fibers of African American folk music with soulful ballads, spirituals and her own original music. DeMore beautifully brings her audience together through her music and commentary. She has toured extensively, singing at festivals, universities, in coffee houses and concert halls. Her recordings 'Share My Song' and 'Come Follow Me' are both heartfelt collections of her music.
In addition to her solo work, DeMore facilitates vocal workshops for professional and community-based choral groups and has taught her program called “Sound Awareness” in schools, prisons, and youth organizations in the US, Canada, Cuba and New Zealand.
DeMore was a California Artist in Residence with the Oakland Youth Chorus for 10 years and has received an award from the Music Educators National Conference for her work with young singers and artists. She is on the music faculty at St. Paul's School in Oakland, CA where she teaches a cappella singing. DeMore is also a founding member of the Grammy nominated, critically-acclaimed vocal ensemble 'Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir', a group that tours extensively in the US and abroad..
