Adjudicators 2017
Adjudicators 2017
Patsy Andrews-Vert (Orff)
Patsy Andrews-Vert, originally from Souris, MB, received a Bachelor of Music Education from Brandon University (Brandon MB) in 1984. She also holds an Associate in Flute Performance from the Western Board of Music (1986). Patsy has taught students of all instrumental music levels in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba. She recently retired from teaching in the Prairie Rose School Division and the Red River Valley School Division in South-Central Manitoba. She is an active clinician, adjudicator and conductor in handbells and band. Patsy is currently the Chair of the Handbell Guilds of Canada, and President of the Manitoba Guild of English Handbell Ringers. Patsy is also the coordinator of the Meridian Arts Festival in Starbuck, past Secretary for the Handbell Guilds of Canada, past president of the Manitoba Band Association, and a member of the Canadian Band Association. In her spare time, Patsy enjoys conducting the Trinity Lutheran Church Choir, the Trinity Lutheran Handbell choir, playing in the Ring Out! Handbell quartet, playing trombone in the Westwood Community Band in Winnipeg, mowing their 17-acre property, travelling, and volunteering in the community.
Kimberly Barber (Vocal Grades C, B, A and Adult)
Canadian mezzo-soprano Kimberly Barber’s eclectic and varied career combines not only the standard repertoire sung on some of the great opera house and concert stages of the world for the last 30 years, but also contemporary and baroque works with smaller, experimental companies. She is a champion of the music of our time, frequently giving world and Canadian premieres of new music. In May 2017 she returns to Toronto’s Tapestry Opera to create the role of Aza in the world premiere of Colleen Murphy and Aaron Gervais’ The Enslavement of Oksana G, and will also premiere a new work, This Land, commissioned for her, TorQ Percussion Quartet and harpist Angela Schwarzkopf with NUMUS concert series in Waterloo, Ontario. Her wide-ranging career in Europe, Asia and North America, with years of experience as an operatic performer, concert, recital and recording artist, and breadth of pedagogical training, qualify her ideally to guide emerging vocal artists who hope to excel at an international level. In demand as a guest lecturer, panellist, consultant and pedagogue, Kimberly Barber gives master classes and workshops around the world at universities, conservatories and Young Artist Programs. Associate Professor of Voice at Wilfrid Laurier University since 2002, she is Administrative Coordinator for their Opera Program. Her research interests are centred on the Art of Practice and effective use of the body in vocal pedagogy. Licensed as an Andover Educator®, she teaches Body Mapping for Musicians in workshop settings, privately, and as a cornerstone of her pedagogical model in the voice studio.
Claudette Caron (Piano Beginner - Grade/Level 4)
Claudette Caron is devoted to teaching a varied class of piano students with a special emphasis on ensemble playing. Her students have consistently won awards at the local and provincial levels, and have distinguished themselves as scholarship recipients in music programs in Canada and the USA. She holds a special interest in teaching young students, and consequently has always included them as part of her teaching studio. Claudette completed advanced studies with Alma Brock-Smith at the University of Manitoba, both as a solo pianist and with duo-piano partner Paulette Price. In their graduating year the Duo won the Canadian Music Competition Finals held in Montreal in the Ensemble category, and toured Western Canada as winners of the Young Artist competition. Further studies were with renowned English pianist Phyllis Sellick in London. Claudette Caron is a member of the Canadian Adjudicators ‘Association, and Senior Examiner with the Royal Conservatory of Music. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance from the University of Manitoba, and a Licentiate Performer’s Diploma (LTCL) from the Trinity College of Music, London. She now makes her home in Winnipeg.
Sally Dibblee (Vocal 16 & 18 years and under)
Canadian soprano Sally Dibblee, critically acclaimed as “tour-de-force of vocal control and expressive flexibility”, has performed many of opera’s greatest lyric soprano roles with dramatic intensity and a charismatic stage presence throughout North America. Recent performances include Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus with Calgary Opera and her debut in the title role of the The Merry Widow with Edmonton Opera. Recent concert performances were soprano soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and Symphony New Brunswick, and in Handel’s Messiah with the Fredericton Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Dibblee holds a Bachelor of Music from Mount Allison University and a diploma in Operatic Performance from University of Toronto and is a former member of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble. She has been a member of the voice faculty at Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB and with Opera Nuova in Edmonton, AB. She is in demand as a voice teacher, Masterclass lecturer and adjudicator.
Christine Gale Harrison (Strings and Chamber Groups)
Christine Gale Harrison enjoys a busy and varied career as a violinist and teacher. After studies in Toronto with Leo Wigdorchik she spent two seasons as a member of the Regina Symphony. Upon returning to Ontario, she began a busy freelance performance career, appearing with many orchestras, including the Hamilton Philharmonic, Toronto Philharmonic, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company, Amadeus Ensemble and the Toronto Concert Orchestra. Christine is also active as a chamber musician and recently spent a season as a member of the Saint John String Quartet. Christine teaches students of all ages and levels, and is much in demand as a clinician, coach and adjudicator. Her combined interests in chamber music and the adult learner led her to establish the innovative and highly acclaimed "Basically Quartets" chamber music courses in Wales that attract participants worldwide. She is co-author of "The Athletic Musician - a guide to playing without pain" and lectures internationally on the subject of musicians' injuries. Christine is an examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music, co-author of the 2013 Violin Syllabus and co-editor of the current RCM Violin Series.
Rob Herriot (Musical Theatre & Gilbert & Sullivan)
Winnipeg native Rob Herriot started his career as a singer before moving into the world of stage directing. He has directed opera across North America including productions with, Calgary Opera, Edmonton Opera, Utah Opera, Opera Connecticut, Arizona Opera, Opera Lyra Ottawa as well as our very own Manitoba Opera. He has also worked as an instructor with students at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Opera Nuova in Edmonton and Opera on the Avalon in St. John’s NFLD. As a performer Rob has been in productions at Rainbow Stage and more recently been seen in productions with Dry Cold Productions where he has performed roles in Sweeney Todd, A Man of No Importance, Addams Family and A Little Night Music.
Millie Hildebrand (Vocal 8, 10, 12 & 14 years and under)
Millie Hildebrand’s love for music and the choral arts was launched on the family farm at Oak Lake, Manitoba, where singing was a daily affair and where piano and guitars were always within reach. It naturally followed that she and her four sisters formed an ensemble, and they sing together to this day. At the age of fifteen, Millie was allowed the privilege of attending the Mennonite Collegiate Institute where, under the tutelage of Henry Engbrecht, choir soon became her favourite part of the day. A university education in Winnipeg and Windsor, Ontario provided the means to carry outher dream to become a music educator. Now familiar to Manitoba’s music community as a teacher, choral director, voice instructor and festival adjudicator, Millie has taught classroom and choral music at all levels and has been active in implementing programs for young musicians in the Steinbach community where she lived for 32 years, and throughout the province. She recently completed her seventh year as director of the Faith and Life Women’s Chorus. Millie is often seen sharing the podium with husband Ed, with whom she co-conducted the University of Manitoba Concert Choir for four years. Millie and Ed are enjoying their recent move back to Winnipeg. When away from their music posts, they occupy themselves with family and with their travel “bucket list”, most recently cycling the Danube from Donaueschingen to Budapest.
Haley Marie (Woodwinds, Brass & Chamber)
Three-time Carnegie Hall performer Haley Marie became the founder and director of Aurelia Productions in 2011, a company devoted to presenting classical music in new, authentic ways to audiences. Miss Marie hails from Manitoba and counts a full scholarship to Yale University as part of her awards, as well as the national Gold Medal in flute performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Lieutenant Governor’s Award at the Winnipeg Music Festival. Haley Marie has toured Europe and Canada as a soloist with Aurelia Productions numerous times, making the company one of the most extensively toured organizations of its type in North America. "...a pure delight to hear." - Rheinische Post (Germany)
Derek Morphy (School Choral, Community Choral & Recorder)
Born in England, and educated in Wales, Derek Morphy sang as a Choral Scholar in the chapel at St. John’s College, Cambridge, and has sung in a number of chamber choirs in England and Canada. Derek enjoyed a 37-year career teaching Choral Music and History. His Neelin High School Chamber Ensemble in Brandon won the George S. Mathieson National Choral Trophy in both 1982 and 1983, and his Kelvin High School Chamber Choir was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Trophy in 1994 for the most outstanding performance in the Winnipeg Festival. He has conducted the Manitoba Youth Choir (1991), and four regional Youth Choirs. He presently conducts the St. Andrews River Heights United Church Choir, and founded and conducted the Chamber Choir, Renaissance Voices. He is still active as a bass soloist, having most recently sung as a soloist with Camerata Nova in the Michael Praetorius “Christmas Mass”, as well as in an earlier performance of Claudio Monteverdi’s “Vespers of 1610”. Derek also sang the part of the deacon in both Rachmaninoff’s “Liturgy of St John Chrysostom” and Tchaikovsky’s “Liturgy” with the Winnipeg Singers. He has served as an adjudicator at many Festivals, both in Manitoba and elsewhere in Canada.
Nancy Nowosad (Piano Grades/Levels 5 - 8)
Nancy Nowosad received her musical training in Saskatchewan, obtaining a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Regina and an Associate Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She also studied both saxophone and flute, and has been involved in a wide variety of bands and ensembles as a performer, clinician, and conductor. She has enjoyed a diverse musical career, combining private teaching with performing, accompanying, adjudicating, and various organist and choir director positions across Canada and while living in Germany and England. Nancy has lived in Winnipeg for the last 25 years, where she maintains a busy schedule as a teacher of piano, theory, and saxophone both at her home studio and in two schools that offer private music lesson programs. She regularly adjudicates music festivals and competitions in MB, SK, and ON, conducts workshops and masterclasses, as well as examines extensively for the Royal Conservatory of Music. A versatile performer with many musical interests, Nancy continues to do some accompanying and church organ work as well as play jazz keyboard in the 17-piece Executive Big Band. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Winnipeg Music Festival, a member of both the Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators' Association and the Royal Canadian College of Organists, and has held various Provincial and Branch Executive positions with the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers' Association.
Nathan Poole (School Choral)
Hailing from St. Paul, Minnesota, Nathan Poole has conducted and performed as artistic director of several choral groups throughout Manitoba, including Prairie Voices, and the Central Manitoba Youth Choir. He has sung for both Henry Engbrecht and Dr. Elroy Friesen in his years in Winnipeg, traveling across Canada and to the United Kingdom with the University Singers. Nathan has worked for almost a decade with the congregation of Westminster Church, as Director of Music in Worship. He is also the musical director of Margaret’s Choir, a two hundred voice community choir that raises money for different benefits and organizations around Winnipeg. Along with choral directing, Nathan teaches violin to more than forty students in the city of Winnipeg.
Nicole Presentey (Piano Grades/Levels 9 - Diploma & Honours)
Native of Ottawa, Nicole Presentey began studying the piano at age four. She made her recital debut several years later in Ottawa and then in Toronto at Heintzman Hall and the Royal Conservatory of Music where she was a full scholarship student. She made her orchestral debut at age twelve performing the Mozart Piano Concerto K271 with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. Recipient of numerous prizes in Canada, she went on to compete successfully in several international music competitions, including the prestigious Royal Overseas League Competition which gave her the opportunity to play at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London as well as the honour of being presented to Queen Elizabeth II. After receiving her early musical training in Ottawa and Toronto, Nicole Presentey entered the Vincent d’Indy School in Montreal at age fifteen and graduated with a BMus specializing in piano performance, which was followed by masters studies at the Université de Montréal. Her teachers included Yvonne Hubert, Natalie Pepin, Beveridge Webster and Sister Kathleen Devlin. The unexpected passing of her father catapulted her into the world of high-tech, and she was named CEO of the family business, a successful company operating in the field of information security and meteorological instrumentation. Currently living in Ottawa, Nicole Presentey teaches piano performance both privately and at the School for Studies in Art and Culture: Music at Carleton University where she is also Director of Chamber Music Ensembles and Baroque Music Ensembles.
Louis Trépanier (Classical & Group Guitar)
A native of Ottawa, Louis Trépanier studied under Patrick Roux at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec à Hull, graduating in 1998 with the Prix en Guitare. Louis has further studied both privately and in master classes with Sergio Assad, David Russell and Fabio Zanon. He has also studied jazz with Canadian composer and guitarist Roddy Ellias. Trépanier has performed often on CBC radio and Radio-Canada both as soloist and with the CGQ. His arrangements of orchestral masterworks for the CGQ have received fantastic reviews and have set a new standard in guitar quartet transcription. These and Trépanier’s own compositions are published by Les Productions d’Oz under the special CGQ collection. He has adjudicated guitar competitions at the provincial, national and international levels and is also known for his dynamic style of teaching in masterclasses. Trépanier is a member of the Donkin/Trépanier piano-guitar duo, with his wife Catherine Donkin, as well Trio Tangere, with guitarist Jérôme Ducharme, and violinist Marc Djokic. Louis has previously taught at both Laurentian University and Cambrian College in Sudbury. He is currently Coordinator of the Guitar Sector at the University of Ottawa’s School of Music.
Larry J. Weckwerth (Pipe Organ)
Larry J. Weckwerth was born and raised in Minnesota. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Moorhead State University in 1975. His abiding love of church music prompted him to study at Valparaiso University, where he received a Master of Arts degree in 1981. His studies have included work with organists Dr. Philip Gehring, Dr. William Eifrig, John Scott (d. 2015), the German organist and composer, Jan Bender (d. 1994), and the noted English conductor and composer, John Rutter. Larry has lived in Winnipeg since 1976 and has served as music director at Augustine United Church, Messiah Lutheran Church and Christ Lutheran Church. Larry has retired from his position as a music educator at École Laura Secord School in the Winnipeg School Division No. 1 and currently serves as rehearsal conductor for the Winnipeg Boys Choir.