Large Ensembles Adjudicators 2025Meet the Large Ensembles Adjudicators for Vancouver Kiwanis Music Festivals 2025
Terry Clarke | Jazz Band
Terry Clarke is a distinguished jazz drummer and educator whose illustrious career spans more than five decades. Born in Vancouver, BC, Clarke began demonstrating his rhythmic talents early, studying under renowned drum teacher Jim Blackley. His professional journey commenced in 1965 when he joined legendary saxophonist John Handy III, recording the Grammy-nominated album Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Shortly thereafter, Clarke showcased his versatility as a member of the world-famous pop vocal group, The Fifth Dimension, touring extensively across North America and Europe.
In 1970, Clarke moved to Toronto, becoming a cornerstone of the city's vibrant jazz and studio scene. He collaborated with Canadian luminaries such as Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass, Don Thompson, and Ed Bickert, performing in iconic jazz clubs like George’s Spaghetti House and Bourbon Street. Clarke’s extensive session work in Toronto also included television, film scores, and jingles, further cementing his reputation as a versatile and highly sought-after musician.
Clarke’s career expanded internationally when he toured with guitar legend Jim Hall and piano virtuoso Oscar Peterson. In 1985, he relocated to New York City, where he focused on jazz exclusively, working with prominent artists including Toshiko Akiyoshi, Helen Merrill, Toots Thielemans, and Joe Roccisano. Over the years, he has recorded on more than 300 albums, collaborating with figures like Nancy Wilson, Renee Rosnes, and Ann Hampton Callaway.
Returning to Canada in 1999, Clarke reunited with McConnell to join The Rob McConnell Tentet, further enriching Canada’s jazz legacy. In 2009, Clarke released his debut solo album, It’s About Time, recorded live in Toronto and Montreal with a stellar lineup including Jim Hall and Joe Lovano. The album earned the JUNO Award for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year in 2010.
Clarke’s contributions to music have been widely recognized. He was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2002 for his exceptional influence on Canadian music. He also received the National Jazz Award for Drummer of the Year multiple times between 2004 and 2008.
Beyond performing, Clarke is a passionate educator and advocate for jazz. He has shared his expertise through clinics, workshops, and his role as a faculty member at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. His influence extends to inspiring and mentoring the next generation of musicians.
Terry Clarke’s most recent work includes Bick’s Bag, a tribute to Canadian jazz guitar icon Ed Bickert, recorded with Bill Mays and Neil Swainson. He continues to perform worldwide, maintaining his reputation as a master of his craft and a vital figure in the jazz community. Whether on stage, in the studio, or in the classroom, Clarke exemplifies the essence of jazz through his innovation, dedication, and artistry.
Lesley Mitchell-Clarke | Jazz Band
Although Lesley Mitchell-Clarke is a familiar name in the realm of media relations and arts writing, she has also been nearly a life-long performer, and has worked in virtually all phases of the entertainment business, beginning as a ten year old principal singing and dancing actress with the Los Angeles area “Sherman Oaks Children’s Repertory Theatre” – along with cast-mate, Melanie Griffith. Born into a show business family (Lesley’s father is the late veteran jazz bassist and Emmy Award-winning comedy writer and producer, Whitey Mitchell and her Uncle was the late jazz bass legend, Red Mitchell), Lesley leapt into her professional career directly following an early graduation from High School at age 16. She has worked as a busy singer/dancer, and traveled with a number of name acts, including Mitzi Gaynor, Tommy Sands, Fabian and Robert Goulet. Lesley has appeared in numerous television shows, features and TV Movies and after touring the Orient extensively with her own musical group, Lesley owned and operated a recording studio in Los Angeles where many jazz projects and much of the vocal work for Hanna-Barbara Cartoons was recorded. Lesley has also worked in production on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson”, “The Hollywood Squares” and “The Midnight Special” as well as numerous productions for Merv Griffin, Dick Clark, Bob Hope, Mark Goodson and Chuck Barris.
Additionally, Lesley Mitchell-Clarke has been busy as art and music writer, contributing to publications such as L.A. Jazz Scene, Hot House and The Whole Note. Lesley was also an account executive with the New York City public relations firm, Third Floor Media, and during her tenure there (as well as independently) she handled a variety of accounts for many major recording labels and most of Warner Bros. jazz, covering both international CD promotions, tours and “live” performances. A few of the major jazz artists with whom she has worked directly include Joshua Redman, Marian McPartland, Barbara Carroll, Ann Hampton Callaway, Janis Siegel (of The Manhattan Transfer), Blossom Dearie, Fred Hersch, Larry Goldings, Brad Mehldau, Wallace Roney, Jeanie Bryson, Terence Blanchard, Kevin Mahogany, Cyrus Chestnut, Ray Anderson and Helen Merrill. While at Third Floor Media, she was also the on-going publicist for the world-famous jazz venue, “The Village Vanguard”. Lesley Mitchell-Clarke’s continuing projects include beginning her second year as the Media Director for the TD Niagara Jazz Festival, and Hosting/MCing at various Festivals and events, including Oliver Vadas’ WEST END JAZZ series and The KENSINGTON MARKET JAZZ FESTIVAL.
Steve Kaldestad | Jazz Band
Since moving to Vancouver in 2008, Steve Kaldestad has become one of the most in-demand saxophonists on the scene, performing with The Dan Brubeck Quartet, the Jill Townsend Jazz Orchestra, the Fred Stride Jazz Orchestra, and many other groups, while also leading his own quartet. Steve has released 4 CDs on the Cellar Music label to great acclaim including Straight Up featuring the Mike Ledonne Trio, New York Afternoon with the Renee Rosnes Trio and his latest release, Live at Frankie’s Jazz Club.
Originally from the prairies, Steve spent the ’90s in Montreal, obtaining his Bachelors and Masters degrees from McGill University. During this time Steve was awarded a grant to study with Lee Konitz in New York.
In 2000, he began an eight year stint living and performing in London, England. He has also played and/or recorded with Renee Rosnes, Denzal Sinclaire, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Peter Bernstein, the Karl Jannuska Group, Kevin Dean and many others.
Steve now resides in Port Moody, BC and teaches at Capilano University. Steve is a D’addario artist and plays D’addario Select Jazz reeds on all his saxophones.
Ingrid Stitt | Jazz Band
Ingrid Stitt is a Canadian musician, based in Vancouver, who is a highly regarded saxophonist, composer, and arranger. A graduate of McGill’s prestigious school of music, Ingrid has worked as a freelance musician in Montreal and Toronto, leading her own jazz quintet and performing with many of Canada’s finest musicians from coast to coast. As a member of Jim Galloway’s Wee Big Band, she recorded and performed with guest artists Jay McShann, Fraser MacPherson, and Jake Hanna. She was a member of the CBC studio band for the Rita McNeil Show and toured with various pop artists including Cory Hart, Bo Diddley, The Box, Waterfront, Candi, and Tchukon, winners of NBC’s Star Search and CBC’s Rock Wars competitions.
In 1996, Ingrid graduated from UBC’s faculty of Education and began her second career as a secondary music educator in Burnaby. She discovered a passion for mentoring students, sharing ideas and connecting with music, especially jazz improvisation. In 2007, she completed a MEd degree in conducting and curriculum theory at the University of Victoria with mentors Gerald King, Denise Grant and Steven Capaldo. Since retiring from teaching full time, Ingrid has recently joined the faculty at the VSO School of Music and Capilano University. She is also in demand as a clinician and adjudicator for several festivals, music camps and other secondary schools in the province.
Since moving west, Ingrid has been warmly welcomed into the vibrant music community and has enjoyed performing in the Vancouver Jazz Festival as well as many of the fine venues that support live music. She is a resident musician with the Vancouver Good Noise Gospel Choir and has performed with several big bands, including the Vancouver Legacy Jazz Orchestra, led by Fred Stride and Michael Kim, The Sister Jazz Orchestra, led by Christian Morrison, and the Vancouver Jazz Orchestra, led by Cory Weeds and James Danderfer. She has been active writing and recording, releasing two CDs and multiple videos, accessible on streaming services. She has also performed with the pit orchestra at the Stanley Theatre for several Arts Club productions including, Beautiful: The Carol King Story, Elf, Guys and Dolls and most recently Jersey Boys.
When time allows, Ingrid can be found on the links, working on her swing!
Morna Edmundson | Choral
Morna Edmundson is one of Canada’s best-known choral conductors with a strong reputation for excellence. Based in Vancouver, she is Artistic Director of the adult treble voice choir Elektra and EnChor Choir, an auditioned SATB ensemble for mature voices. Morna is known around the world as a pioneer, advocate, and resource for women’s choral singing. In a 38-year career, she has promoted challenging, exciting, and meaningful repertoire through tireless years of advocating for Canadian choral composers and choirs. With Elektra, she has commissioned over 100 original compositions and arrangements, greatly expanding the repertoire available. Her strong network of composers and conductors helps the industry to thrive. Parallel activity in recording this new music has generated a collection of 17 CDs, many of which contain first recordings of commissioned works.
Morna is known as a strong advocate for the Canadian choral music scene, taking a keen interest in the development of other choirs of all voicings, presenting at conferences, and mentoring the next generation. The Repertoire section of elektra.ca is a living online resource for other conductors, featuring all music Elektra has sung since 1987, constantly updated and enriched. Passionate since childhood about choral singing, Morna obtained degrees and diplomas in vocal music in Vancouver, Bellingham, and Stockholm, Sweden where her teachers included Eric Ericson. Under her leadership, Elektra is a proud leader in the women’s choir community, programming a season of concerts, commissioning, recording, and engaging with women of all ages and their conductors through a suite of community engagement programs. For fourteen years Morna shared her love of quality repertoire with a new generation of singers in her role as Associate Artistic Director of Coastal Sound Music Academy.
Morna has adjudicated in North America and Asia, conducted state honour choirs, co-directed the American Choral Directors Association National Women’s Honour Choir, and gives frequent workshops with choirs of all ages. She curates a series of Canadian compositions and arrangements for accomplished treble choirs at Cypress Choral Music. Morna’s accomplishments have been recognized with the BC Choral Federation’s Healey Willan Award (2000), a BC Community Achievement Award (2009), YWCA Woman of Distinction Award, Arts and Culture category (2011), UBC Alumni Builder Award (2017), and in 2020 was inducted into CBC Radio’s In Concert Classical Music Hall of Fame. In 2021, she guest hosted an episode of CBC’s This is My Music. In 2023, she was awarded a Doctor of Letters honoris causa from the University of British Columbia and in 2024 was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Scott Leithead | Choral
Scott Leithead is the founder and Artistic Director of both Korora Choir Association and TIME Association. He has been invited to conduct provincial and state honour choirs on twenty-nine occasions and he has presented workshops in North America and beyond. Notable appearances include adjudicating the Tampere International Festival in Finland and conducting the Ellison Canadian Honour Choir nine times since its inception. He has adjudicated both the Choral Canada National Competition for Amateur Canadian Choirs and the Kathaumixw International Choir Festival (2014, 2016, 2023). Under his direction, Korora was the winner of both the 2015 CBC National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs and both the 2015 and 2016 Canadian National Music Competition. In the summer of 2019, Korora was invited to perform at the IFCM World Choral Expo in Portugal, where they represented Canada on the world stage. Also in 2019, Korora was featured on an episode of CTV's "The Amazing Race Canada”.
Scott has a passion for music from southern Africa, and he has been invited to work with choirs in South Africa and Namibia on numerous occasions. In 2008–2009, Scott was on sabbatical in Namibia, where he worked with the Mascato Youth Choir and many other choirs in southern Africa. Scott’s passion for innovative and unique choral music experiences has shaped the direction of the Korora Choir Association. In February 2023 he conducted the ISSEA Mass Choir in Johannesburg South Africa featuring international schools from across the African continent.
This fall he conducted the Eastman Honour Choir for the third time and was the featured guest conductor and adjudicator at the U Sing U Sask Festival presented by the University of Saskatchewan. In 2025 he will conduct the Ellison Canadian Honour Choir (Toronto) and the Nova Scotia Youth Choir for the second time. He will also adjudicate the 2025 Ontario Vocal Festival and the Kathaumixw International Choral Festival.
Scott is a longtime member of the advisory committee for the Canadian Rocky Mountain Music Festival and the Edmonton and Whistler Cantando Festivals.
Scott was awarded Choir Alberta’s top honour, the Richard S. Eaton Award, in 2015. He also received Edmonton’s Salute to Excellence award in 2016. He has also been awarded the Syncrude Award for Innovative Direction.
Carrie Tennant | Choral
Carrie Tennant is the founder and artistic director of the Vancouver Youth Choir, home to nearly 500 singers from across the Greater Vancouver area. In the decade since its inception, the Vancouver Youth Choir has emerged as one of the most active and highly regarded youth choirs in the country. The choir has garnered international attention for its adventurous programming, commitment to performing and promoting music from underrepresented communities, and its outside-the-box approach to shows.
For the past 20 years, Carrie has worked primarily with youth, developing leadership and artistry with young singers. Carrie’s choirs have been featured at Chorus America, Podium (Choral Canada), and ACDA National Conventions, and have twice been awarded first place in the National Choral Competition (Canada). This past spring VYC was featured as one of 10 international choirs at the World Symposium of Choral Music in Istanbul and in NYC at a concert co-conducted by Carrie, titled “Canada at Carnegie”. During her time conducting the Coastal Sound Youth Choir, their popular Indiekör shows were recognized with Choral Canada’s National Award for Innovation.
Currently, in addition to her work with VYC, Carrie is an Affiliate Conductor with the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and a frequent clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor around the world. Carrie is the editor and curator for two choral series: the “Vancouver Youth Choir Choral Series” (Cypress Publishing), which promotes diverse Canadian voices on the international stage; and the brand-new “Carrie Tennant Choral Series” (Hal Leonard), which features much of the music Carrie and her choirs have performed and loved. Carrie is honored to have received the 2023 YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Arts and Culture, and the 2024 President’s Alumni Award from the University of Victoria . In a past life (before she had two small and very lovely children) Carrie also toured, performed and recorded with her husband as a member of Vancouver-based indie pop group, The Salteens.
Hal Beckett | Concert Band & Orchestra
Hal Foxton Beckett is a distinguished composer, conductor, and music producer whose contributions have left an indelible mark on the music and film industries. With over three decades of experience, Hal has become one of Western Canada's most respected musical figures, recognized for his versatility and excellence across operatic, symphonic, and multimedia platforms. As Music Director of the Vancouver Film Orchestra, he has collaborated with major studios such as Universal, Lionsgate, and Disney, conducting scores for projects like Call of the Wild, which earned him a Prime-Time Emmy nomination, and providing orchestral services for Michael Bublé’s Grammy-winning Crazy Love.
Hal’s career highlights include composing scores for over 500 television episodes and 34 films, with standout projects like Yvon of the Yukon, They Wait, and the critically acclaimed League of Super Evil, which earned him a Canadian Screen Award. He has also been honored with numerous Leo Awards and nominations for his exceptional work in animated series and feature-length dramas. In addition, Hal produced 102 national anthems for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, showcasing his ability to blend artistry with large-scale production.
Beyond his work in composition, Hal has played a significant role in Vancouver’s post-production industry, establishing one of the city’s first fully digital 48-track facilities. His expertise extends to music supervision and editing, with notable contributions to projects like The Chris Isaak Show, Highlander: The Series, and Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital. Hal has also conducted for live and recorded performances with artists such as Bryan Adams, Marianas Trench, and Ariel Sung, further solidifying his reputation as a conductor of extraordinary caliber.
Hal’s dedication to the arts extends to education and advocacy. He serves as an adjunct professor of film music at the University of British Columbia, where he nurtures the next generation of composers. An active member of the arts community, he is affiliated with SOCAN, the Screen Composers Guild of Canada, and the Canadian Music Centre. His significant contributions to the field were recognized in 2016 when he was inducted into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, earning a coveted place on the StarWalk.
Committed to excellence and innovation, Hal continues to influence the global music landscape with a career that blends artistry, education, and a passion for storytelling through music.
Meijun Chen | Concert Band & Orchestra
Meijun Chen joins the UBC School of Music as the Director of Concert Winds while completing the final year of her Doctor of Music degree in Wind Band Conducting at the University of Alberta, under the supervision of Dr. Angela Schroeder.
Meijun is an active guest conductor with the University of Alberta Bands and Orchestra, as well as with community and collegiate bands, orchestras, and choirs. She is also a highly sought-after clinician for clarinet and conducting, working with public schools across Canada and China. She served as an adjudicator for MusicFest Canada 2024 and was the Emerging Artist – Assistant Conductor with Edmonton Opera for the 2023-24 season. Additionally, she was the Conducting Intern with the Edmonton Youth Orchestra in 2022 and 2020.
Meijun is the recipient of the 2024 CBDNA Mike Moss Diversity Conducting Study Grant, through which she studied under Dr. Travis Cross and Professor Jerry Junkin at the University of California, Los Angeles. She was also awarded the 2023 Johann Strauss Foundation Music Award, where she studied with Professor Toby Purser in Vienna, Austria, and won the Absolute First Prize in Conducting (Professional Category) at the 2023 UK International Music Competition. She has been selected as a Conducting Fellow for prestigious conducting masterclasses, including the 2024 Domaine Forget International Music Festival, where she studied from Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Kensho Watanabe, collaborating with Orchestre Métropolitain and Orchestre symphonique de Québec; the 2024 International Conductors Guild Conference in New York, studying with David LaMarche; the 2023 United States “Pershing’s Own” Army Band Conductors Workshop, studying with Dr. Emily Threinen and Colonel Bruce Pulver; and the 2023 University of Cincinnati College-CCM International Wind Festival, in conjunction with “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and studied from Dr. Kelvin Holzman and Colonel Jason Fettig.
In addition to her conducting achievements, Meijun is an award-winning clarinetist with 18 years of international performance experience across more than 13 countries in Europe, Asia, and North America. She frequently performs as a guest clarinetist with the Royal Canadian Artillery Band and won the Absolute First Prize in Clarinet Performance (Professional Category) at the Debussy International Music Competition in 2023.
Meijun holds dual Master of Music degrees in Wind Band Conducting and Clarinet Performance, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with a minor in Economics, all from the University of Alberta. She is a committee member of the Women Band Director International Scholarships Committee and is affiliated with the College Band Directors National Association, International Clarinet Association, Alberta Band Association, International Conductors Guild, and British Columbia Music Educators Association.
Meijun is deeply committed to immersing herself in the music performance and education community, not only to inspire younger generations, but also to bring the joy of music to others, and foster community engagement through the power of music.