Cherith Alexander | Junior Piano, Level 4-6

Cherith Alexander is a dynamic pianist based in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. As a respected piano and theory teacher in the community for more than twenty-five years she has worked with a variety of students of all ages and levels. Many of her students have received awards including RCM gold medals and provincial music festival honors. In 2011 her pupil Meagan Milatz was the grand prize winner in the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Association piano competition. Cherith is also an active member of the RCM College of Examiners.

An experienced collaborative pianist and chamber musician, Cherith has performed with many renowned musicians and especially enjoys coaching young musicians “from the piano bench”.  She spent a number of years employed as an accompanist/coach at the Conservatory of Music in Regina. One musical highlight for Cherith has been travelling ten times to the National Music Festival as the collaborative pianist for the Saskatchewan competitors. In 2015 she was delighted to perform as a guest pianist with the Regina Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players.

Cherith is passionate about the value of music festivals and has had the privilege of adjudicating at festivals throughout Western Canada including Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, and the Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver Kiwanis Festivals. In 2017 she developed the curriculum for and facilitated the first “Adjudicator Boot Camp” in Saskatchewan which is a workshop designed to train and inspire new and current adjudicators in her province.

Cherith was educated at the University of British Columbia where she was a pupil of Kum Sing Lee.  Some other influential teachers in her life have included William Moore of the University of Regina and Marcelle Guidos of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan under whose direction she completed her A.R.C.T. at the age of fifteen. As a young student she was honoured to win the SMFA Concerto Competition in 1991 after which she performed as a guest soloist with the Regina Symphony Orchestra.

Cherith lives on a farm near Weyburn with her husband Tim and youngest son, while her older three children are young adults attending university in Calgary and Toronto.  Committed to lifelong learning, Cherith is an avid reader, concert-goer, and podcast listener.

Derek Chiu | Senior Piano

Derek Zhi Guang Chiu is a highly acclaimed Canadian pianist and music educator who has gained international recognition for his work. He is renowned for his versatility as a performer, music educator, clinician, adjudicator, and consultant. Chiu has garnered numerous awards and accolades throughout his career, including the prestigious Steinway & Sons Top Piano Teacher Award in Calgary on three separate occasions. His accomplishments in the field of music education have earned him a highly respected position within the industry.

As a performer, Chiu has presented solo and chamber music recitals in Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United States. His orchestral engagements have encompassed performances with the Windsor Community Orchestra, Briercrest College Orchestra, Rockland Symphony Orchestras, The Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra, and the Simon Fraser University Concert Orchestra. He has collaborated onstage with esteemed partners such as Roberto Cani, David Lakirovich, John Lowry, Laszlo Mezo, Sean Wang, and Dara Lynn Zusko. In 2021, Chiu collaborated with Canadian composer Vince Ho on his composition "The Twelve Chinese Zodiac Animals, Book 1." In 2022, he gave the world premiere performance of the pieces in Canada, followed by subsequent performances in Germany, Italy, and the United States.

Chiu's expertise in online music education has been invaluable during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly when many music teachers faced the challenge of transitioning to remote teaching. He was sought out by other music teachers interested in establishing a virtual teaching presence. Chiu provides personalized consultations to teachers and demonstrates various online programs, resources, and apps that can enhance e-learning. He has also led professional development workshops to assist music teachers in adapting to online teaching.

Chiu is a dedicated piano pedagogue who has conducted pedagogical workshops on the use of technology in the teaching studio, cognitive practice, aural skills development, sight- reading, Baroque performance practice, and music memorization. His academic lectures have delved into the music of Bach, Chopin, Liszt, and Mozart. Chiu has presented at the Colorado State Music Teachers’ Conference, The Colburn School, The University of Windsor, and Lakehead University, among others. Additionally, he serves as a clinician for The Royal Conservatory of Music and has conducted workshops in both Canada and the United States.

Chiu is a member of the online teaching team at Virtuosity.Online, where the mission is to cultivate curiosity and inspire personal exploration for musicians' practice, shared online. He has led lectures on piano technique, motivating teenagers, and a four-part series on teaching, studying, and performing the keyboard works of Mozart.

In Calgary, Chiu maintains a private studio where his piano students have earned scholarships to attend undergraduate and graduate music schools. They have also received gold medals from The Royal Conservatory of Music and have won prizes at local, national, and international piano competitions. Beyond Calgary, he is on the Faculty of the Cremona International Music Academy (Italy) and the Vancouver Island Music Academy. Chiu is sought after as a master class clinician, ensemble coach, and guest teacher.

In November 2013, he was honored with The Odyssey Award by the University of Windsor Alumni Association. The award recognizes alumni who are in the early stages of their career path, having distinguished themselves through successes in career endeavors, notable achievements in their local community, or through significant or innovative achievements in their professional or personal lives. Chiu’s performance that evening was hailed as the “highlight” of the Alumni Association’s annual awards night.

His extensive training includes mentorship with notable Canadian teachers Dr. E. Gregory Butler and Joel Hastings at The University of Windsor. While in Windsor, Chiu pursued additional studies in piano pedagogy with Dr. Thomas Green, Chief Examiner Emeritus of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Under the guidance of Solomon Mikowsky (featured in Benjamin Saver’s book "The Most Wanted Piano Teachers in the USA") and Donn-Alexandre Feder at The Manhattan School of Music in New York, Chiu graduated with a Master of Music degree in 2003. During his studies at the Manhattan School of Music, Chiu was mentored in chamber music by pianist Daniel Epstein of the Raphael Trio and engaged in rigorous studies in Baroque and Classical performance practices with the late Kenneth Cooper, one of the world’s foremost music specialists in the music from those eras. Chiu has participated in master classes in Canada, Europe, and the United States, with instructors such as Janina Fialkowska, Robin Harrison, James Howsmon, Lorrin Hollander, Ramzi Yassa, Cecilio Tieles, and Jesus Angel Rodriguez.

He is an Ambassador for the Royal Conservatory and a member of their College of Examiners. Chiu is featured on CBC Music’s website, discussing the topic of teens and piano lessons.

Kathy Dornian | Senior Piano

A native Calgarian, Kathy Dornian is a nationally respected pedagogue, chamber musician, adjudicator and examiner. She earned a Master of Music Degree in piano performance from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Education and Kodaly Fine Arts Diploma from the University of Calgary. Her education was enriched by post-graduate performance studies at the prestigious Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary. Her teachers have included Marilyn Engle, Peter Smith and Edith Hambalko, and masterclass enrichment from many notable artists.

Since 1985, Kathy Dornian has served on the Mount Royal University Conservatory faculty where she pursues an extensive and versatile career as a musician. She has built a solid reputation over the years as a sensitive and accomplished teacher, collaborative artist and chamber partner. For many years she was an artistic collaborator with the internationally recognized Morningside Music Bridge Program, an affiliation which has taken her to Shanghai, Boston and Poland. For many years, she served as piano coordinator of the Academy of Music, a prestigious and nationally renowned program for gifted young musicians. Through this program, she has worked with and closely observed many internationally respected teachers including Kum Sing Lee, Anton Kuerti, Jeno Jando, Jon Kimura Parker, Steven Kovacavich and Angela Hewitt, to name just a few. As a performer, she has been heard in concert with many prominent and distinguished musicians including James Campbell and David Schifrin. She travels throughout Canada and the United States as an adjudicator, workshop clinician and examiner for RCM Examinations. She has been one of the RCM pioneers since 2020 in online exam delivery and to date has conducted several thousand online exams in addition to live. Kathy has also served as a visiting faculty member of the renowned Central Conservatory and Middle School in Beijing, China.

In 2019, Kathy was awarded the prestigious National ‘Teacher of Distinction Award’ by the Royal Conservatory of Music. She has cultivated her collaborative and teaching career with equal success and enthusiasm and continues to pursue her lifelong passion for excellence in music education. As a chamber partner, she is equally at home with all instruments and as a teacher, she has successfully worked with all levels and ages of students. Known as a kind, inspiring and imaginative educator who fosters keenness and curiosity in her students, she is certainly one of Calgary’s most sought-after and in-demand teachers. Her students are frequent award and scholarship winners in festivals and national competitions. They consistently achieve high results in examinations, and many have been accepted into programs such as Morningside Music Bridge and at post-secondary institutions. Many of her former students have forged on to create successful careers of their own in the music profession, although she is equally proud of those who have chosen other fields but maintain their passion for music and continue to show support for the arts. In the past few years, training and mentoring of the next generation of teachers and examiners has also played a vital and most fulfilling role in her professional career.

Kathy is the proud mother of twin sons Jonathan, a psychiatrist and mountain climber and Patrick, a data scientist and biking enthusiast. She is also the proud ‘adopted’ mother of internationally renowned concert pianist Yuja Wang. She is married to Paul Dornian, long-time former director of the Conservatory at Mount Royal University and former President and CEO of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, who also continues his role as founder, president, and CEO of the Morningside Music Bridge Program. Kathy speaks fluent Hungarian and enjoys gardening, cooking, hiking, reading, biking and travelling in her spare time. 

Simon Fryer | Cello, Double Bass

Principal Cellist of the Regina Symphony Orchestra, Founder and Director of the Prairie Cello Institute, Director of Regina Summer Strings, and Artistic Director of the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto’s Music in the Afternoon concert series, Simon Fryer is an artist of the utmost versatility, at home with the demands of the music of our time and those of historical performance, with the cooperation of ensemble music-making and in the solo spotlight.

Simon’s discography of over 30 recordings includes the solo CD: Music of a life so far... acclaimed as ‘a fascinating collection' by the Toronto Star. Of his latest release, on Centaur Records, a CD of Victorian Cello Sonatas by Samuel Liddle, Algernon Ashton and Charles Stanford with pianist Leslie De’Ath, Wholenote magazine lauded ‘expansive playing … Fryer’s tone in the lower register is particularly lovely.’ As a member of the Juno-winning Penderecki String Quartet – one of the Canada’s most successful ensembles - Simon performed regularly across Canada and around the world. The PSQ released several discs during this time, including the complete cycle of Bartok's String Quartets, and worked closely with many of the world's most innovative contemporary creators from Christos Hatzis to DJ Spooky. Appearances as soloist in Canada with orchestras such as the Regina, Mississauga, and Okanagan Symphonies and the Esprit Orchestra, as well as the Da Capo Chamber Choir and the Wellington Winds, have been complemented by performances as guest Principal with such as the Hamilton Philharmonic. Previously a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, internationally he has performed with the Orqestra Sinfonica de Tenerife and the UK’s Northern Sinfonia.

Well-known for his master classes in cello and chamber music, Simon has been guest faculty at many institutions including the University of Western Ontario, Brandon University, the Desautels School of Music at the University of Manitoba, Mount Royal College, The Banff Centre, Memorial University, the University of British Columbia, Oberlin Conservatory, Shanghai Conservatory, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Indiana University; the University of Southern California, and Paris University 8. Simon has held faculty positions at Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Toronto, and the Glenn Gould School in Canada, as well as at the Casalmaggiore International Festival in Italy.

Simon holds performance accredition from the Royal Northern College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is continuously active as a chamber musician, orchestral player, and soloist in more than thirty countries on six continents. He performs on an instrument completed in 1998 by Masa Inokuchi and when not playing the cello enjoys nothing more than tinkering with his elderly MG sportscar.

Brett Gunther | Classical Guitar

Brett Gunther has been serving on the board of governors for the Classical Guitar Society of Calgary as the artistic director since June 2010, and director for the Classical GuitarFest West guitar festival since 2015. He is currently on the faculty at Mount Royal University Conservatory teaching private lessons as well as ensemble classes for the Academy program. Brett is in high demand as an adjudicator for festivals across Canada and is an examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

Brett's debut CD, Guitar Music, released in 2012, examines the music of some of the most significant composers for the guitar in the 20th century. Included are works by Rodrigo, Britten, Barrios, Brouwer, Tarrega, and Domeniconi.  His most recent release, An Idea (2017), explores selections of some of his favorite composers from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries featuring works by Schubert, Mertz, Legnani, Moreno-Torroba, Bach, Brouwer, and Giuliani.

Marya Ricker | Junior Piano, Preparatory – Level 3

Marya Ricker began her piano studies in Ontario at the age of five with her mother. Upon moving to British Columbia, she studied with Darlene Brigidear, achieving the A.R.C.T. diploma with the Royal Conservatory of Music by the age of 14. Furthermore, she earned a Performer’s Diploma from the Western Conservatory of Music (Currently Conservatory Canada) and the Licentiate Diploma from the B.C Conservatory of Music.

She was a consistent scholarship recipient in Lower Mainland Festivals, and performed at the age of 10 and 12 as a soloist with the Surrey youth orchestra. She participated in numerous masterclasses throughout her childhood. Some of the professors whom she performed for were Robin Wood (University of Victoria) and John Kimira Parker (Vancouver, BC).

After high school graduation, Marya attended McGill University in Montréal and Kwantlen University College in Langley, majoring in piano performance under the tutelage of Jane Hayes. After Marya performed Rachmaninov’s 2nd piano Concerto, as a soloist, with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, she collaborated in live performances with other musicians. She travelled with the Kwantlen university wind ensemble, performing the piano as well as 1st oboe and English horn in northern Italy, Québec, Ontario, the Okanagan and throughout the lower mainland.

In 2013, Marya opened the Tri-City school of music, Inc. building it from 15 students to over 275 students and 16 music teachers. Marya decided to sell the school in 2022 to focus on her other musical pursuits. She enjoys learning a variety of styles on the piano all the while performing with bands in live venues. She continues to teach piano privately, adjudicating in local music festivals and embarking on new and exciting musical opportunities.

When Marya is not at the piano, she enjoys spending time with her family. She enjoys incorporating videography & photography in her life and when time allows, playing squash, tennis and hockey.

Yvette Rowledge | Junior Piano, Preparatory – Level 3

Yvette Rowledge graduated with distinction from the University of Victoria School of Music and holds diplomas from the Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT, Performance) and the Victoria Conservatory of Music (AVCM, Performance and Pedagogy).

She is a former faculty member of the Langley Community Music School, the Victoria Conservatory and the Douglas College Community Music School. Her tutors have included Dr. Robin Wood, Winifred Scott Wood, Dr. Gordana Lazarevich and Bruce Vogt.

Yvette adjudicates at many music Festivals throughout Canada and is a member of the Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators’ Association. She has taught all levels of music for over 40 years and is a member of the BC Registered Music Teachers’ Association.

She has examined senior piano levels for The London College of Music. Yvette enjoys both leading and participating in Master Classes.

Simon MacDonald | Intermediate and Senior Violin

Violinist Simon MacDonald began his musical studies in Victoria in 1980. After playing with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada in 1990 and 1991, Simon made the choice to pursue the violin professionally, and in the fall of 1991 was playing regularly with the Victoria Symphony. In 1992, he left Victoria for school in Boston (NEC, BMus 96), and then Montreal (McGill, Schulich School of Music, MMus 96). After graduating from McGill Simon continued performing at Music Festivals, in various orchestras, and following chamber music and solo opportunities in Montreal, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans, as well as Australia, Germany, Italy, France, the UK, and Russia. In 1999 he returning to Canada to make his home base on the Canadian Prairies, where he was active with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (first violin), the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (Principal 2nd violin), and the Regina Symphony Orchestra (Concertmaster). Simon loves playing anything put in front of him; he has premiered numerous new works after 17 years at the Winnipeg New Music Festival, initiated the first ever Beethoven Quartet Cycle in the city of Regina with the Regina Symphony Chamber Players, and has enjoyed playing in everything from Baroque orchestras to touring Broadway Productions. In 2017 Simon moved back to Victoria where he is currently in his fifth year as the Victoria Conservatory of Music String Faculty Department Head, and the Artistic Director of the Young Artists Collegium. Having made teaching the primary focus of his musical work, Simon is now in high demand as a chamber music coach and private teacher; his ensembles and students have gone on to success in regional, provincial, and National levels of competition, and are routinely accepted into music schools all over Canada and the US. 

Alison Nystrom | Classical Voice

Alison Nystrom, soprano, is a much sought after performer, teacher and adjudicator and is noted for her expressive singing. Her opera credits include: Pamina in The Magic Flute,Diana in Orpheus in the Underworld, Clorinda in La Cenerentola, and the Woodpecker and Innkeeper's wife in The Cunning Little Vixen.   She has performed as a soloist in Mozart's Requiem, Schubert's Mass in G, Bach's Coffee Cantata, Haydn's Nelsonmesse, Finzi's In Terra Pax, Rutter's Mass of the Children, Bevan's Nou Goth Sonne Under Wode, Vivaldi's Gloria, Handel's Messiah, Brahm's Requiem, Mendelssohn's St. Paul, Mozart's Coronation Mass, Mendelssohn's Lobgesang, and Poulenc's Gloria.  She also premiered David Squires' new Oratorio, Gardens, this year. Ms. Nystrom has collaborated with VISI, Vancouver Opera, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Whatcom County Chorale, and the Vancouver Bach Choir. After studying Kinesiology in her undergraduate degree, Ms. Nystrom earned a Master of Music in Opera at the University of British Columbia.  Post graduate studies have included singing at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, a Meisterkurs für Liedgestaltung in Husum, Germany and teaching as a NATS Intern at the University of North Carolina. She also holds an A.R.C.T. in Singing Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. For many years, Ms. Nystrom has taught at the UBC Summer Vocal Workshop and at and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. She currently teaches voice at Trinity Western University. She has a passion to see young people discover their voices and use them in a healthy way. 

Ronelle Schaufele | Junior Violin and Viola

Canadian violist Ronelle Schaufele is an active solo, chamber, and orchestral musician who performs frequently throughout Western Canada as well as performances in Cuba, Brazil, United States, New Zealand, and Europe. As an avid lover of new music Ms. Schaufele has been delighted to play works composed for her and looks forward to upcoming collaborations. In addition to performing music being created today, Ronelle greatly enjoys performing on period instruments and exploring the rich baroque tradition. She has recently performed with Early Music Alberta and is a founding member of the Baroque ensemble, Rosa Barocca. In 2022 Rosa Barocca recorded the Early Italian Cello Concertos, a collaboration with Elinor Frey, which received the 2023 Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year (small ensemble). Other solo performances include concerts at the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto, Euro Festival in Leipzig Germany, and the Music by the Sea Festival. As a chamber musician Ms. Schaufele’s performances include the Musaeus String Quartet, the Fort Macleod International Festival, which was recorded for CBC. She performed with Neworks Calgary, Ensemble Resonance, Rubbing Stone Ensemble, the Millennium Music Foundation Series and was a founding member of the Sage String Quartet. In addition she is currently assistant principal violist in the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra.

Her education includes a Music Performance Diploma from Mount Royal College with William van der Sloot, a Bachelor of Music with distinction from the University of Calgary, with Nicholas Pulos and an Artist Diploma at The Glenn Gould School studying with Steven Dann. Ms. Schaufele also completed an Artist in Residency program at The Banff Centre. An active instructor, Ronelle is currently on faculty at the Amici String Program. Ronelle also enjoys working with talented young chamber musicians and was recently the Artistic Advisor for the Youth Quartet Program in cooperation with the Banff International String Quartet Competition. In the Fall of 2012 Ms. Schaufele founded the Banff String Academy of Music which offers gifted young students in the Banff area advanced musical training and is on faculty at the Amici String Program.

Ronelle loves living in the mountains in Banff, Alberta with her husband Nigel, children Theodore and Frederica and dog Molly!

Annabelle Stanley | Harp

Annabelle Stanley is the principal harpist of the Victoria Symphony, a position she has held since 1982, and Pacific Opera Victoria. During this time she has frequently been featured as a soloist with the Orchestra. Over the course of many decades she has also worked with other professional orchestras and small ensembles in B.C. including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Aventa New Music Ensemble. In addition to performing, Annabelle is the harp instructor at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, St. Michael’s University, and the University of Victoria. She has adjudicated harp students throughout Western Canada. She has previously recorded a CD with the great American bassist Gary Karr of familiar classics arranged for Bass and Harp.

Peter Stoll | Brass and Woodwinds

Known for his virtuoso energy on stage as well as an easy and entertaining way of speaking with the audience, Peter Stoll teaches clarinet, chamber music, performance and education studies, and the Business of Music course at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music, and is a frequent performer with orchestral and chamber ensembles throughout southern Ontario. Tours as soloist and with various ensembles have taken him across Europe, to Russia and the United States, as well as to Japan and China. In 2019 Peter shared in the win of a “Dora” Mavor Moore award for Best Ensemble-Opera in Toronto.

A popular adjudicator up to the national level, he has worked across Canada and in the USA. Peter is particularly known for his enthusiastic, positive comments and detailed suggestions to young musicians, and has been invited to adjudicate at over 150 local, provincial, regional and national finals festivals across Canada. Fluent in both official languages, he has worked with bands, orchestras, woodwind, brass and percussion solos and ensembles coast to coast.

Peter is also a member of the Royal Conservatory of Music's National College of Examiners, where he is the area Specialist for Winds, and was the Chief Compiler of the 2014 edition of the clarinet examination syllabus.

Akiko Tominaga | Intermediate Piano

Born in Japan and raised in the United States, pianist Akiko Tominaga has been hailed by critiques and audiences across North America, Europe and Japan. ‘An amazing assurance and strength... and most of all, the maturity and the imagination of a true interpreter.’ (Gingras, La Presse) ‘Her sound is captivating, delicate, crystalline; her phrasing elegant and intelligent. Above all, one appreciates the humility and sobriety of her artistry...’ (Gauthier, Ottawa Citizen)

Tominaga began her studies at the age of 4, and made her solo debut in 1992, playing the Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Her solo and chamber performances have been broadcasted on C.B.C. and Radio-Canada. She has performed with the Bridgeport Symphony, Reading Symphony, Interschool Orchestra of New York, as well as Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Her solo recital entitled “Postcards from Afar” received much acclaim in Ottawa in the Master Piano Recital Series.

An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with notable musicians as Diana Cohen, Franklin Cohen, Anne-Julie Caron, Elbjorg Hemsing, Michael Foyle, Amanda Forsyth, Teng Li, Roberto Diaz, Benjamin Butterfield, Tyler Duncan and Norman Fischer. She is a founding member of the piano trio Trio Lajoie (violinist Ariane Lajoie, cellist Julie Hereish/Chloé Dominguez), who gave numerous concerts throughout the Maritime provinces with the Debut Atlantic in 2014. She has also toured with the Prairie Debut with marimbist Anne-Julie Caron, Trio Nobara, and Stéphane Tétrault. In Calgary, she has appeared in numerous concerts with the Instrumental Society of Calgary and the Faculty and Friends series at the Eckhardt Gramatté hall. She has also collaborated on projects with the Land’s End Ensemble. Her recent project with the piano duo with pianist Lana Henchell culminated in a multi-media premiere event “Villainy” performing the Supervillain Duos by composer Vincent Ho along with the film by director Emil Agopian.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, her teachers include Marc Durand, John Perry, Eleanor Sokoloff, Yoshie Akimoto, with additional tutelage from Gary Graffman, Leon Fleisher, and Claude Frank. Tominaga holds a doctorate degree in performance from Université de Montréal. She has been invited to give master classes, lectures and adjudicate festivals in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario, and was on the faculty of University of Lethbridge. She currently teaches at the Mount Royal Conservatory in Calgary, for the Academy and the Advanced Performance Program.