Board of Directors
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Kellie Walsh (St. John's, NL)
President A native of Newfoundland and Labrador, KELLIE WALSH is the Founder and Artistic Director of Lady Cove Women’s Choir, Artistic Director of Shallaway Youth Choir, and Co-Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of Newman Sound Men’s Choir. Shallaway is an internationally celebrated youth choir and cultural organization whose mandate is building community, empathy, and leadership through the choral experience. Most recently, the senior ensemble received a first place in the prestigious Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod, and was awarded the highest mark overall for children and youth choirs. Lady Cove Women’s Choir strives for excellence beyond singing. The group has a strong commissioning mandate, steeped in the culture of their home province, and maintain an active bursary program for young musicians. Most recently, the choir traveled to Labrador to work and sing with children from isolated northern communities. The choir is a two-time winner of the CBC Radio National Competition for Amateur Choirs, won first place in one of the the prestigious European Grand Prix competitions, The Béla Bartók Contemporary Choir Competition in Hungary, and was invited to participate in the 9th World Symposium on Choral Music in Argentina. Kellie enjoys a busy schedule as a workshop clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator, traveling regularly to work with choirs of all genres. This season she was invited as guest conductor of the Nova Scotia Youth Choir, the New Brunswick Youth Choir, MusicFest Canada in Ottawa, and was a guest presenter at the ACDA Children and Youth Choir conference in New Jersey. Kellie holds Bachelor degrees in both Music and Music Education, as well as a Masters degree in conducting from Memorial University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Jack Hand Legacy Fund, raising funds for children and families in Newfoundland and Labrador who are struggling with the financial burdens of Cancer care. |
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John Wiebe (Edmonton, AB)
Past President Dr. John Wiebe is the Artistic Director of the Edmonton Youth & Children’s Choir program in Edmonton, teaches at the University of Alberta and has worked at the University of Regina. Choirs under his dynamic leadership have received numerous awards, including the Choral Canada/CBC National Choral Competition and the Llangollen Music Festival, Wales. Dr. Wiebe has studied choral and orchestral conducting at Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Alberta and in Vienna, Austria. John is a regular clinician and adjudicator for choirs across Canada, has presented at Podium, the bi-annual conference of Choral Canada and has published musicology articles. To keep in shape for his music schedule John enjoys exploring Edmonton’s river valley trail system with his family, running, cycling, and playing hockey. |
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Laurier Fagnan (Edmonton, AB)
President Elect With a doctorate in choral conducting (U of A / IRCAM, Paris) and a master’s degree in vocal pedagogy (U. Laval), there is nothing Laurier Fagnan enjoys more than inspiring singers to make the most beautiful sound possible. He has served as guest conductor and vocal coach for many choral festivals and has offered hundreds of workshops in vocal technique to choirs from Whitehorse to Seattle to Paris. He was awarded a generous grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to establish Canada’s first Vocal Acoustics Laboratory at Campus Saint-Jean of the University of Alberta, where he has conducted the very dynamic Chorale Saint-Jean since 1995. Dr. Fagnan was keynote speaker at the general assembly of the European Choral Federation in Bulgaria and has presented his research on choral acoustics and bel canto vocal principles at several international conferences. He has recently launched a DVD on vocal technique for choirs, which incorporates bel canto vocal principles applied to choral singing and is currently writing a book on bel canto vocal pedagogy. Recent highlights include conducting at international festivals in Vaison-la-Romaine, France and Domaine Forget, Québec as well as presenting at the National Conference of the American Choral Directors’ Association and the Acoustical Society of America in Salt Lake City. Dr. Fagnan recently completed a post-graduate certificate in Vocology in the US and served as co-Chair of Podium 2016, Canada’s national conference and festival of choral singing. He was guest conductor at the 40th anniversary of the Académie internationale du Domaine Forget (Québec) and made his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall in New York in May of 2018. Dr. Fagnan has previously served as president of Choir Alberta and was recently named President Elect of Choral Canada, Canada’s national association of choirs and choral conductors. |
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Amy Pun (Vancouver, BC)
Secretary |
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Emma Walker (Toronto, ON)
Treasurer Emma Walker is currently the General Manager of the Toronto Heliconian Club, and also a freelance bookkeeper who has done work for several charities and non-profits. Emma completed an M.B.A. specializing in non-profit management, arts administration and public policy at the Schulich School of Business. Before studying business, Emma studied fine arts, obtaining a Master’s in dance and BFAs in both dance and music. Emma is trained in both ballet and modern dance, and plays the piano and double bass. She is currently also the Treasurer of Toronto Heritage Dance. |
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Diana Clark (Port Moody, BC)
Vice President Advocacy Diana Clark is Artistic Director of Coastal Sound Music Academy, a multi-level choral organization that is based in Metro Vancouver. With 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, Illinois, Diana is recognized for her creative work with young singers and has served as a clinician across Canada. She has been teaching music in schools for 23 years, and also served as district Fine Arts Coordinator and sessional faculty for a University of Victoria program that she initiated specifically for Elementary music teachers in Coquitlam School District. Offering practical strategies and using choral music as a spring board for learning, are hallmarks of Diana’s presentations for educators. Diana has been a member of the BC Choral Mentorship Project since its inception. This grassroots professional development collective provides ongoing conducting and choral music studies with principal mentors Geoffrey Boers and Richard Nace. In 2015, Diana was the recipient of the national Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada Ambassador Award, for exceptional leadership and dedication to youth through SEVEC’s Youth Exchanges programs. As a member of the Choral Canada/Canada Choral Advocacy committee, Diana was inspired by all of the profound work and choral artistry that is happening in Canada. She is proud to serve the Choral Canada community as Vice President, Advocacy. |
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Rachel Rensink-Hoff (St. Catharines, ON)
Vice President Programs and Services Dr. Rachel Rensink-Hoff is the newly appointed Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music Education at Brock University. She has also been named Artistic Director of the Niagara-based Avanti Chamber Singers. Former conductor of the McMaster University Choir and founder of the McMaster Women’s Choir, Dr. Rensink-Hoff completed her Doctorate and Master of Music degree at Western University, pursuing additional studies at the Eastman School of Music Conducting Institute, the Voice Care Network of St. John’s University, Minnesota, and the University of Toronto. She has engaged in master-classes under conductors Helmuth Rilling, Joseph Flummerfelt, Anton Armstrong, Dale Warland and the late Sir David Willcocks. Vice-President of Programming for Choral Canada, Rachel Rensink-Hoff is the 2014 winner of the prestigious Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting awarded by the Ontario Arts Council. In 2015, her McMaster Women’s Choir was awarded first prize in the National Choral Competition for Amateur Choirs of the CBC and Choral Canada. That same year she was nominated for the Excellence in Teaching Award at McMaster University. She publishes regularly in the Choral Journal of the American Choral Directors’ Association as well as in Choral Canada’s Anacrusis and The Canadian Music Educator. Rachel works frequently as guest conductor, adjudicator, conference presenter and workshop clinician. Recent engagements include a session on Canadian and American women choral composers at the 2017 national conference of the American Choral Directors’ Association in Minneapolis, Minnesota and a presentation on Canadian choral music at the 2017 World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, Spain. She also served as guest conductor of this year’s 2017 Nova Scotia Provincial Youth Choir. Vice President Development - TBA
Vice President Communications - TBA |
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Willi Zwozdesky (Vancouver, BC)
Provincial Choral Organizations Representative Willi Zwozdesky is widely-known as a choral conductor and for his work as an arranger, which form a large part of an active musical career that also includes music publishing and arts management. A native of Alberta, Zwozdesky later moved to Seattle, where he completed a Master of Music in choral conducting and a Master of Arts in music theory at the University of Washington in 1981. Following his move to Vancouver in that year, he established himself as a leader in the city’s cultural community, working in choral music, education, musical theatre, and most notably, as the conductor of the Vancouver Men’s Chorus, a position he still holds today. He also trained in arts administration at The Banff Centre School of Management and at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. At the core of Zwozdesky’s career are his choral arrangements, many of which regularly appear in concert programs and recordings across Canada and abroad. In 1990 he established Rhythmic Trident Music Publishing, which focuses on his own and new Canadian work. An active choral clinician and adjudicator, Willi has also volunteered on a number of national and regional organizations, including the Canadian Music Centre, GALA Choruses, Inc., the World of Children’s Choirs 2001 and, presently, Choral Canada. In 2004, his dedication to choral music was recognized with both a Legacy Award from GALA Choruses for his contributions to that movement and a Willan Award from the British Columbia Choral Federation for outstanding service to British Columbia’s choral community. In addition to his freelance work, he serves as the Executive Director of the British Columbia Choral Federation. |
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Charles Decroix (Montréal, QC)
Provincial Choral Organizations Representative Charles Decroix is the Executive Director of Alliance des chorales du Québec. After having worked in France for the Ensemble intercontemporain (Cité de la Musique), the Orchestre National de France (Radio France) and the Festival International d’Art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence, he moved to Canada in 2012. CEO of the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute (Montréal, QC) for 2 years, he stepped into the role of ED for ACQ in March 2015. Charles has a Masters Degree in Music Research and Musicology from Sorbonne University and a Specialized Masters Degree in Arts Management from HEC Paris. |
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Tim Callahan-Cross (Halifax, NS)
Provincial Choral Organizations Representative Tim Callahan-Cross is a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He worked with the Nova Scotia Choral Federation as Program Coordinator from 1987 until 1997 when he assumed the position of Executive Director. Prior to working with the federation he owned and operated the acclaimed Halifax restaurant Café Quelque Chose, worked as a dietetic supervisor at the Halifax Infirmary Hospital and was a qualified fitness instructor with the YMCA. He has served as a volunteer on committees and boards of several choirs as well as the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council, the YMCA, the Family Pride Camping Association and Kinap Community Centre. Currently he is treasurer of the Cultural Federations of Nova Scotia and a board member of Mocean Dance. Tim makes his home in Halifax with his husband Thomas and three sons. He has enjoyed singing with a few local community choirs and currently sings with Nova Voce. |