Words like chocolate, caramel and maple syrup have been used to describe this native Argentinean's dark and shimmering voice. Ms Katz has appeared as soloist with the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra, Prince George Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, the CBC Radio Orchestra, New Westminster Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Bach Choir, The Aura Chamber Choir of Vernon, Trinity Western University Choirs, Douglas College Choral Society, The Amabilis Singers, Richmond Chorus, The WorldFest Ensemble and Ancient Cultures.  Ms. Katz was a member of the Vancouver Chamber Choir for ten years and regularly featured as a soloist in their concert season. As a recitalist, Ms. Katz focuses on repertoire which highlights her varied cultural background: Spanish, Latin American and Sephardic. She holds a Masters of Music in choral conducting from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and is in demand as a teacher and clinician. Currently she is artistic director of FUSION LATINA, Vancouver's (and Canada's) first Latin-Canadian choral ensemble dedicated specifically to the performance of Latin American choral folklore.

founder and Music Director of the Pacific Spirit Choir, has been Music Director at West Vancouver United Church since 1987. His innate musical talent, versatility and tireless energy are also shared at Vancouver Community College, where he is Head of Choral Activities and instructs in Music History and Conducting. Gerald van Wyck is sought after as a choral adjudicator and clinician at musical festivals across Canada. He was Music Director of the BC Boys Choir for over thirteen years, with whom he toured and recorded internationally, leaving them in 2003 to pursue additional activities in orchestral conducting. He is currently Assistant Conductor of the Sinfonia Orchestra of the North Shore under Clyde Mitchell, and to the Vancouver Island Symphony under Marlin Wolfe.  As well he is Music Director of the Vancouver Island Opera. Mr. van Wyck is a passionate believer in music's ability to inspire and create community, for which he was awarded the 1993 FANS Legacy Award by the North Shore arts community.

is best known for his 20 year tenure as conductor of the Vancouver Men’s Chorus, which forms a large part of an active musical career that includes conducting, arranging, business management and music publishing. A native of Alberta, Zwozdesky completed his Master of Music (choral conducting) and Master of Arts (music theory) at the University of Washington in Seattle in 1981. He later trained in arts management at Simon Fraser University and The

Banff Centre. At the core of his artistic career are his choral arrangements, many of which have appeared in concert programs in Canada, the US and abroad. His work has been recorded by the Vancouver Men’s Chorus, Seattle Men’s Chorus, Turtle Creek Chorale, Electra Women’s Choir and Choir Leoni among others. Since 1989 he has helped to manage the print music

division of Long & McQuade in Vancouver. In 1990 he established Rhythmic Trident Music Publishing, his own publishing concern. A committed volunteer, Willi is a voting member of the Canadian Music Centre, served on the board of World of Children’s Choirs 2001 and has completed two terms on the Board of Directors of GALA Choruses, where he has created

a distinctive voice by actively promoting Canadian music, and particularly the work of Canadian women.

Martin Berinbaum continues an active career as a touring professional trumpet soloist, clinician, conductor and adjudicator following he retirement as Professor of Trumpet and Director of Bands at the University of British Columbia, a position he held since1976, He holds a Masters Degree from the Julliard School and attended the University of Southern California, where he spent summers studying trumpet and conducting at the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood and the Music Academy of the West. He toured Europe and the Middle East with the Roger Wagner Chorale and Orchestra and later became a member of the West Point Military Academy Band. He has performed with over sixty orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and many bands and diverse ensembles across North America. From 1976 to 1985 he performed over 850 concerts across North America with his organ and trumpet duo Toccatas and Flourishes. He has recorded for Columbia, Vanguard and CBC records and toured and performed in China, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Italy, France and England.  In 1985 he began the annual UBC Honour Band Festival and in 1993 founded the highly-successful UBC Summer Music Institute. He is an active force for music education in Canada and has adjudicated for the CBC Radio Competition, Music Fest Canada, dozens of local Kiwanis Festivals, the BC Festival of the Arts and professional and youth orchestra concerto competitions. 

Ralph Ford (b.1963) is a composer, arranger, conductor, educator, media creator, producer, writer, radio host, and announcer with over thirty years of experience in these various worlds. He is an exclusive composer and arranger for the Belwin division of Alfred Publishing Company in Los Angeles, California, with over 240 titles available worldwide for orchestra, concert band, jazz ensemble, and marching band. A frequently commissioned composer, his music has been remiered and performed by university, military, professional, community, and school ensembles around the world. He has received international and regional advertising awards for his jingles and 3‐D animation. His work in media includes live radio broadcasts, host, voice‐over for television, commercials, and video productions, conducting live musical productions, recording sessions, produced recordings for release on traditional discs and other types of new media, compose and record news music packages for national network affiliates, and producing programs for television, radio, and the internet.

His work as a professional arranger began at age fifteen as a student in Panama City, Florida. While attending Troy State University, he was appointed as Director of Jazz Ensemble I during his sophomore undergraduate year, a position he held for fifteen years. During his senior undergraduate year, he began his tenure as the staff arranger for the university band program. Upon completing his undergraduate degree in 1986, he was appointed to the music faculty as staff arranger and assistant director by his collegiate director and mentor, Dr. John Long, where he also taught courses in orchestration, arranging, theory, technology, jazz studies, and applied brass for the next fifteen years. He earned his Master of Science degree in 1988 from Troy while serving on the faculty as fulltime instructor. In 1999, he began his career as an exclusive composer/arranger from Warner Brothers Publications, a relationship that he proudly continues today with Alfred Publications. Ralph retired from Troy University in June 2011 following a ten year appointment as the Director of Bands, Coordinator of Winds and Percussion, and Professor of Music. In addition to his usual production schedule, Ralph is also in demand as a conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and guest lecturer throughout the United States and abroad. He has received local, state, regional, and national recognition and proclamations for his artistic achievements from academic, artistic, and government organizations. With a wide variety of professional and educational experiences, he brings a unique personality to his work with colleagues and students alike. His professional affiliations include the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, and holds honorary memberships in Phi Kappa Phi, Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Beta Mu, Tau Beta Sigma, and Sigma Alpha Iota. He was selected by Rotary International to serve as a Rotary Fellow to Namibia and South Africa. In March 2009, he was elected to membership in the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. Ralph resides in Troy, Alabama with his wife, Amanda, daughters Melanie and Abby, basset hound Angel, jack russell terrier Gizmo, and the fabulous Miss Kitty.

Dr. Wayne Jeffrey is Director of Ensembles of the Kwantlen University College Department of Music. He has previously held positions at the Universities of Western Ontario, Toronto and Cincinnati and was the Music Director of the Wind Symphony and Conducting Instructor in each school. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting and music education from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and has appeared as an Associate Conductor of the Eastman Wind Ensemble on many concerts. In Europe, he studied and performed in London, Munich, Budapest, Salzburg and Vienna. As a hornist and conductor, he has broadcast and performed in Canada and abroad and has recorded with the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Toronto Chamber Winds, the Hannaford Street Silver Band, CJRT Orchestra and the Erik Schultz Brass Quintet. Orchestral and chamber performances occur across Canada. He appears frequently as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator at festivals throughout North America and Europe.  Recent guest conducting appearances include the Toronto Wind Orchestra, the Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra, the Surrey Youth Orchestra and the Irish Youth Wind Ensemble.

Dr. King is Professor and Director of the School of Music at the University of Victoria where he serves as the conductor of the UVIC Wind Symphony. He is also the conductor of the South Island Wind Ensemble. Considered one of Canada’s most respected conductors and educators, he is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Order of the Phoenix by the Western International Band Clinic. His most recent honor was being elected into the prestigious American Bandmasters Association when serving as  guest conductor for the United States Army Band Pershing’s Own from Washington, DC.  Although he is primarily recognized as a conductor of Wind Bands, Dr. King is equally comfortable conducting orchestras and choirs. A former student of internationally renowned conductor, Maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Dr. King’s professional career has taken him throughout Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Japan, Mexico, and Hong Kong.  Dr. King’s conducting appearances with regional, national, international honor, and professional ensembles have been praised for performance quality, artistry, and creativity. In addition to his passion for making music he is also widely recognized as an expert for his ability to link theory and practice in the field of teaching and learning.  Over the past 18 years in his capacity as a guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician he has worked with over 10,000 bands, choirs and orchestras representing more than 500,000 musicians. Conductors/Teachers must be humanist leaders who guide each individual and ensemble to reach their own creative potential.’

Dale J. Lonis is a frequent keynote and motivational speaker at provincial, national and international professional conferences, and regularly conducts youth bands and orchestras in addition to professional ensembles internationally. He is considered a noted authority on conducting and pedagogy, and has been an advisor and teacher to conductors and music educators throughout the world. He received his Bachelors and Doctoral degrees in Music Education from the University of Illinois and a Master of Music in Conducting from Northwestern University, where he was appointed to the conducting faculty in 1983 and Associate Director of the National High School Summer Music Institute. He became Director of Bands at University of Missouri – Columbia in 1988, as well as the Coordinator of Conducting and Performing Organizations. During his thirteen-year tenure, he was the founder and Director of the Fine Arts Residential College and the Missouri Summer Music Institute.  While Dean of the Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Lonis focused an already strong faculty to develop a culture where student success is the highest priority, established new Graduate, Post-Baccalaureate Diploma and Jazz programs and developed an Artist-in-Residence program to bring performing artists to campus for periods of up to one year.  His commitment to the development of arts programs, school music programs and professional musical organizations is recognized worldwide.  He established the Canadian-Israeli Music and Cultural Alliance designed to bring artists and students together from throughout Canada and Israel and is the founder of the Israel Wind Symphony, co-founder of the Australian Young Conductors Development and Leadership Program, and Artistic Director and co-founder of the Canadian Wind Conductors Development Program.  Dr. Lonis was appointed Executive Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in 2006 and is currently CEO of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra in Illinois. 

Dr. Wendy McCallum is an Assistant Professor at Brandon University, Manitoba where she conducts the Symphonic Band and teaches courses in music education and conducting. She holds a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Education degree from Brandon University and completed a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting at the University of North Dakota. She received her Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas where she served as a Doctoral Conducting Associate and Teaching Fellow in the Wind Studies Department with Eugene Migliaro Corporon. She completed her cognate studies in Music Education with Deborah Rohwer and Darhyl Ramsey. Dr. McCallum has been honoured with invitation to membership at both Pi Kappa Lambda and Phi Kappa Phi. Committed to excellence in public school music education, McCallum taught band and general elementary music in Manitoba before returning to graduate school. She has served as the conductor of the Long & McQuade All-Star Wind Ensemble in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as guest conductor of the Winnipeg Wind Ensemble, as a solo and ensemble adjudicator and clinician for concert and jazz ensembles in Canada and the United States and as the artistic director and conductor of the chamber ensemble Harmoniemusik in Frisco, Texas. Prior to her appointment at Brandon University, Wendy McCallum was Director of Bands at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa where she conducted the Symphonic Band and Jazz Ensemble and taught applied saxophone, conducting, elementary and secondary music education, instrument pedagogy, and jazz history.  Dr. McCallum is a regular contributor to the publication and recording series Teaching Music Through Performance in Band and Teaching Music Through Performance in Beginning Band, is the faculty advisor for the Brandon University Student Music Educators Association, and serves as the President of the Manitoba Band Association and Vice-President of the Canadian Band Association.

Professor of Music, Director of Bands, Trumpet, Conducting -University of Hawaii.

Mr. Okamura's Symphonic Wind Ensemble at the University of Hawaii performance at the 1996 College Band Directors National Association Western/Northwestern Division Convention and the 1994 American Bandmasters Association elicited many letters regarding their outstanding performances. In 1993, his Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the World Association of School Band Ensembles in Valencia and the Coups de Vents band festival in France. Mr. Okamura has served as Assistant Conductor of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. He has also formed and conducted the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra's Symphonic Wind Ensemble, an ensemble comprised of musicians of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and students at the University of Hawai`i. He served as the Musical Director of the Hawaii Youth Symphony between 1979 and 1985. He has served as guest conductor at the Oregon State University, the Illinois State University, the University of Saskatchewan Wind Orchestra and most recently the Florida State Wind Ensemble. He is a member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. In 1994, he hosted a joint convention of the American Bandmasters Association and Japan Band Directors Association in Hawaii. He is an active member of the Oahu Band Directors Association (President 1996-97), Hawaii Music Educators Association (President 1988-90), College Band Directors National Association, Hawaii Band Directors Association and the Music Educators National Conference.

Dr. Glenn D. Price is recognized as one of the leading international conductors of today.  He has conducted in over 20 countries on five continents, covering the gamut from professional chamber players to 450 piece string orchestra, symphony orchestras and wind ensembles to mass bands of over 1500 musicians. He is best-known as a major authority on music for wind groups and in this capacity has appeared as featured conductor for many professional organizations, including the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE), the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), the American Bandmasters Association (ABA), the MidWest Clinic, the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), the Encontro Latino Americano (Brazil), the Shizuoka Festival (Japan), the British Association for Symphonic Bands and Wind Ensembles (BASBWE) and others.  Dr. Price has conducted many renowned soloists, such as Evelyn Glennie, Christian Lindberg, Ney Rosauro, Jens Lindemann, Alain Trudel, Roger Webster, Kenneth Tse, Rick Todd, John Marcellus, Simone Rebello and Michael Burritt. As a Professor of Music at the University of Calgary, he developed the Wind Ensemble into an organization of international prominence.  Their nine cds on five commercial labels have been heralded for their technical precision and musical artistry.  They are heard regularly on radio and serve as performance models for ensembles worldwide.  Conference and festival performances have brought great acclaim and a wide audience.  A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Dr. Price pursued further conducting studies at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Japan and the Tanglewood Music Centre in the U.S. as well as in Europe and Russia.  A noted percussionist, he has performed with the Canadian Opera Company, National Ballet, Calgary Philharmonic and Alberta Ballet as well as numerous contemporary music ensembles. He recently recorded Ney Rosauro’s Concerto for Timpani, at the invitation of the composer.  Dr. Price has devoted much of his life in service to the profession and the training of young conductors. As a renowned pedagogue he has led conducting symposia throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas.  His students now occupy leading positions in Canada, the U.S. and around the world.  Following six years on its Executive Board, he was elected to the post of President of WASBE, dedicated to the improvement of all aspects of the profession.

Gene Ramsbottom has thirty-five years of teaching experience and is a frequent adjudicator and clinician at music festivals and music schools throughout Canada, the USA and Europe. He joined the CBC Radio Orchestra in 1974 and became its principal clarinetist in 1984.  From 1975 – 1996 he was also the principal clarinetist of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. He has performed in Canada, England, France, Israel and the United States and was featured at the Prussia Cove Chamber Music Festival (England) and the Carmel International Bach Festival (USA).  An avid organizer of music events, some of his accomplishments include the Whistler International Mozart Festival (1989-90) and, since 1986, the Out for Lunch classical noon-hour concert series at the Vancouver Art Gallery.  He teaches clarinet and woodwind chamber music at the University of British Columbia School of Music, Douglas College and Capilano College and represents the Vancouver Musicians Association, Local 145, on the Performing Arts Standing Committee of SHAPE (Safety and Health in Arts Productions and Entertainment. His principal teachers have been Ronald decant (Vancouver), Peter Hadcock (Boston), Marcel Moyse (Brattleboro, Vt.), Robert Marcellus (Cleveland and Chicago) and Marc Lifschey (San Francisco).

Peter Stigings B.Ed., M.Ed., has been involved in music and the arts for 40 years.  He has served as conductor, adjudicator, evaluator and clinician throughout Canada, the USA and Hong Kong.  He has directed bands, choirs, orchestras, jazz bands and is known as a master teacher.  His bands and ensembles have participated in numerous Regional, Provincial, National and International festivals and events and have toured extensively throughout Canada, as well as the USA, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, England, Hong Kong, Macau, Hawaii and Japan.  Mr. Stigings has served on a number of boards, including the B.C. Music Educators’ Association, Vancouver Kiwanis Jazz Festival, Canadian Stage Band National Festival, Rocky Mountain National Festival, Pacific Music Fraser MacPherson Trust Fund, Canadian Music Educators Association, and the International Association of Jazz Educators.  In 1990, the B.C. Music Educators’ Association awarded him an Honorary Life Membership in recognition of his years of service to music education.  In 1999, he received the prestigious Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence and retired from the position of Chair of the Fine Arts Department and Director of Bands at Magee Secondary School, Vancouver, Canada.  He is presently on the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia as a Sessional Lecturer and Faculty Advisor and is also Musical Director and Conductor of the Little Night Music Orchestra, a sixty piece adult community based orchestra.

Dennis Esson is Jazz Trombone instructor at Capilano College and director of the UBC Jazz Ensemble 2. He is on the faculty of the Courtney Youth Music Center and prior to that was on the faculty of the Okanagan Summer School of the Arts.  As an adjudicator, Dennis has appeared at many festivals throughout B.C. and western Canada. He has also performed clinics and master classes at universities, colleges, and secondary schools throughout Canada and has appeared and performed at all of the major jazz festivals across Canada.  Dennis is a highly respected and sought after trombonist for a wide variety of musical endeavors. He has recorded music for cartoons, movies, jingles and soundtracks in addition to albums with many pop and rock groups such as Stephen Fearing, The Paperboys, Buddy Miles, The Salteens, Veda Hille and others.  As a jazz musician Dennis has recorded numerous CBC. sessions as a featured soloist. He is also the lead trombonist with groups such as the Vancouver Ensemble of Improvisation (VEJI), Orquesta Goma Dura, Jill Townsend Big Band, Hard Rubber Orchestra and the Fred Stride Jazz Orchestra. Some musicians he has performed with include Kenny Wheeler, Phil Woods, Eddie Daniels, Marvin Stamm, David Foster, Maynard Ferguson, Natalie Cole, Clark Terry, Bud Shank, and Phil Nimmons. In addition Dennis was the recipient in 1993 of a Canada Council of the Arts “B” grant to study jazz trombone in New York where he studied with Conrad Herwig, Steve Turre, Benny Powell and Slide Hampton. More recently he resumed his studies and completed a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Orchestral Performance from the University of British Columbia.

For over 30 years, Mr. Rebagliati (B.Mus., M. Mus.,) has directed many award-winning junior high and high school jazz bands and concert bands.  In 2005 he completed his 26th and final year of music teaching at Handsworth Secondary School in North Vancouver.  As a music festival adjudicator and workshop leader, he has traveled extensively throughout Western Canada.  He is well-known for sessions covering concert percussion, the jazz rhythm section, interpretation, improvisation and rehearsal techniques.  Bob has been director and clinician of honour, concert and jazz groups around BC.  Each summer he is an active group leader and teacher at music camps.  He was honoured with the BCMEA Professional Eductator Award in 1991 and the North Vancouver District Distinguished Citizen Award.  In 1994 he received the North Vancouver Music Educators’ Award of Excellence and in 1998 his jazz program was awarded High School Jazz Program of the Year by Jazz Report Magazine of Toronto.  Known as “Mr. Reb” to his students, he is appreciated for his dedication and insistence on excellence.

Fred Stride is on the Faculty of Music at the University of British Columbia, where he directs the jazz ensemble and teaches theory and arranging.  He has been an active, professional musician for more than 30 years and began in career playing trumpet and arranging for various projects and ensembles. Despite Fred's extensive trumpet playing background, it is his writing for which he has become best known. Equally at home arranging or composing, Fred has also composed works for the for the 1988 Calgary Olympics, Expo 86, the Vancouver Symphony, Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble, several Canadian Armed Forces bands, the Brampton Concert Band, the CBC Orchestra, various high school bands and many other solo performers and ensembles including his own big band, The Fred Stride Jazz Orchestra. Besides his busy schedule as a composer and arranger Fred is also active and respected as a guest conductor, teacher, clinician and adjudicator.  He holds a Masters Degree in Composition from the University of Victoria. Fred has received several awards over the years including the 2008 IAJE/SOCAN Phil Nimmons Jazz Composer Award, first prize for The Center for Jazz Composition 2007 International Jazz Arranging Competition, the PRO Young Jazz Composer Award (1987), the Cornell University Jazz Composition Contest (runner up) and the Canadian Music Council Award For Best Documentary On A Musical Subject.  He is an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers.

is lauded by his peers as a  trend setter in the world of marching bands. In 1970, after seven years leading some of the most acclaimed high school programs in Michigan, he accepted an invitation from the University of Southern California to direct the Trojan Marching Band.  The enthusiasm he brought with him quickly fueled the TMB’s phenomenal rise to prominence.  The Trojan Marching Band is recognized today for its unique drive-it style of marching, its rock chart repertoire and the energy it puts into every single performance. His directorship has brought unique opportunities, including playing for Presidents George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon, the Duke and Duchess of York and Pope John Paul II, performing at the opening and dedication of the Richard Nixon Library and appearing in concert with Fleetwood Mac.  Dr. Bartner received his BA, MA and Ed.D. from the University of Michigan, but his love for music was evident from his days growing up in Maplewood, New Jersey, where he played trumpet.  His most prestigious involvement was with the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where he directed the 800-piece All-American Collegiate Marching Band.  Since 1974, he has directed the All-American College Marching Band at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, conducted the opening ceremonies for the Epcot Centre in Florida and was involved in the spectacular grand opening of the Euro-Disney Theme Park in Paris, France. His directing and planning skills are used for major national events including the 1985 Presidential Inauguration, the rededication of the Statue of Liberty, the United Way Centennial, the Bicentennial Commemoration of the US Constitution and the opening of the Goodwill Games in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Bartner has also organized and directed numerous massed high school bands at state and national events, including a 5,000-piece band at the dedication of the Union Train Station in St. Louis Missouri. He has charted and directed the marching units for four Super Bowls and co-ordinated and directed the All-Star High School Band which performed at two Democratic National Conventions.  He initiated the first school marching band program in Mexico, was the Entertainment Director at the annual Japan Bowl in Tokyo for many years and co-ordinated and established the brass band program at the Hurs Ten Bosch Theme Park in Nagasaki, Japan.

Dr. Michael Burch-Pesses is the Director of Bands and Chair of the Music Department at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band, and teaches courses in conducting and music education. He holds Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in conducting from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and has conducted bands throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

He also is the conductor of The Oregon Symphonic Band, Oregon’s premier adult community band. The band celebrated its 20th anniversary with a performance at the Midwest Clinic in 2006. The following year the band was awarded the Sudler Silver Scroll by the John Philip Sousa Foundation.

Prior to beginning his college teaching career in 1995, Dr. Burch-Pesses enjoyed a distinguished career as a bandmaster in the United States Navy. During his Navy career he served as Leader of the Naval Academy Band in Annapolis, Maryland, Assistant Leader of the Navy Band in Washington, DC, and Director of the Commodores, the Navy's official jazz ensemble.

He is a member of the American Bandmasters Association, President of the Northwest Division of the College Band Directors National Association, and a founding member of the Oregon chapter of Phi Beta Mu. His professional affiliations include the Oregon Music Educators Association, Music Educators National Conference, and Oregon Band Directors Association.

Alan Matheson is a trumpeter, pianist, composer and arranger.  He studied with Vincent Cichowicz at Northwestern Unitersity in Chicago and graduated with a degree in performance.  Alan currently teaches trumpet and jazz piano at the University of British Columbia and teaches in the Jazz Studies programs at Vancouver Community College and Capilano University College. He is the leader of his own big band, nonet and septet and has played with a wide variety of Vancouver ensembles including the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, and has directed the CBC Jazz Orchestra.  As musical director of the Festival Vancouver Big Band, Alan has conducted for Clark Terry, Phil Woods and Bud Shank. He has performed with Mel Torme, Cleo Laine, Louis Bellson and Doc Cheatham, has played at the Vancouver, Montreal and Paris Jazz Festivals, and has toured Sweden and Finland with Goran Larsen’s Helsinki City Jazz Orchestra. His compositions and arrangements have been played by Bud Shank, Clark Terry, Salvador Ferraras, Martin Hacklemand, and the Houston Brass Sextet. Alan’s main musical influences are Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Bix Beiderbecke, Clark Terry and Woody Shaw.

Richard Nace is one of the Pacific Northwest's foremost choral educators and conductors. Mr. Nace is in constant demand as All State conductor, lecturer, Workshop leader, retreat specialist throughout the US and across Canada. In addition to his active schedule, Mr. Nace has served as Affiliate Faculty Artist at both the University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University. Prior to his tenure at UPS, he was director of choirs at Gov. John R Rogers HS in Puyallup, where his choirs constantly won high praise and were considered the standard bearers for the finest in choral music Education, and performed at numerous ACDA and MENC conventions. Richard received his undergraduate degree in music education at PLU. He received a Master's in Music from the University of Arizona and has done further graduate work at the University of Southern California, where he studied with renowned teacher and conductor Rodney Eichenberger. His guest conducting and teaching engagements have taken him throughout North America and Asia directing Honor Choirs and All-State Choirs where he specializes in vocal development, literature, and concepts of motivation for choirs and directors. His workshop experiences include Kiwanis International, Musicfest Canada, Rocky Mountain Music Festivals, Heritage Music Festivals and World Tours Project Festivals. Mr. Nace is also an active and life long church musician, currently directing choirs at Mount Cross Lutheran in Tacoma, Washington. His workshop experiences include church choir festivals, retreats, workshops and reading sessions.  He has received many awards and citations of merit, most notably, the Outstanding Alumnus Award for 1994 from his alma mater, Pacific Lutheran University.

With a masters degree in choral conducting from the University of Arizona under Dr. Maurice Skones and an undergraduate degree in vocal music and piano from the University of British Columbia, Jim Sparks has dedicated many years to the building of choral music in B.C.  He is currently at the Langley Fine Arts School in Fort Langley, B.C., where he teaches vocal music, composition and directs the choirs and vocal ensembles. The Vocal Program at the School of Fine Arts has been featured at many festivals and conferences as guest demonstration groups, such as the Rocky Mountain Festival and MusicFest Canada, and has recorded for CBC radio broadcasts such as Almanac, North by Northwest and the Round-Up.  A recent CD is New York Reflections, recorded at The Cathedral of St. John the Devine in New York City.  Recent projects that combine the choir and orchestra at L.F.A. have included the Vivaldi Gloria, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, and last season, the Mozart Requiem.  Langley Fine Arts graduates have gone on to further studies in music schools such as UBC, U.Vic, McGill, and Eastman. Singers from the choirs have gone on to study and perform with choirs such as the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Vancouver Cantata Singers, Pheonix and Nite Cap.  In addition, Jim Sparks has adjudicated in music festivals, given workshops, and been a guest conductor across Canada and the United States. In July 2003 he was the guest conductor of the International Summer School of Fine Arts in North Dakota. He is currently on faculty of the B.C. Choral Federation's Summer Directorship Program in Vancouver, B.C.

Bill Sample has been a force on the West Coast music scene for many years.  A recent highlight includes playing on the 2008 Grammy-winning Ratatouille soundtrack.  Bill’s recording credits include Ashanti, Simple Plan, Michelle Wright, Jim Brickman, Randy Bachman, Eric Bibb, Valdy, Seal, Wakim Chow, Norman Foote and countless TV and radio commercials. As a producer, Bill has worked with Eric and Leon Bib, Jane Mortifee, the Sample Stearns Band and others.  During his tenure as Music Director for David Foster, he worked with Brian Adams, Celine Dion, Fee Waybill, Boz Scraggs and Kenny Loggins, to name a few.  His composition credits include numerous scores for TV and film.  Bill was Music Director for the Variety Club Telethon for 10 years and is heading into a 14th season with Telemiracle in Saskatchewan.  He co-starred in the TV series The Jim Byrnes Show, playing the ‘role’ of the piano player.  In 2006-2007 he music directed the highly acclaimed Cookin at the Cookery at the Arts Club Theatre.  Bill has a degree in composition from the University of Victoria and studied jazz arranging at Berklee College, Boston.  In 2003, he was inducted into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame.

Catherine Glaser-Climie, B. Mus (Voice) and DipFA (Kodály) has achieved distinction throughout Canada for the vision which inspires the programs she guides. In great demand to share her expertise, her frequent appearances as an adjudicator, guest lecturer and clinician have taken her throughout North America. She is the Founder/Artistic Director of the Calgary Cantaré Children's Choir and was Artistic Director of the Early Childhood Kodály Program at Mount Royal College Conservatory for twelve years which, with her leadership and expertise, received national recognition.  Ms. Glaser-Climie has been a featured presenter at the International Kodály Association and the Kodály Symposium and was invited to sit on the panel for Early Childhood Music Education. She has also served on the Boards of the Alberta Kodály Society of Canada.

Dr. David Branter, currently Department Head at the Vancouver Community College School of Music, performs as both a classical and jazz saxophonist. Dr. Branter performed the world premier of John Oliver’s Cha$e the Money in July of 2003 in Minneapolis and performed the work again with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in April 2004.  He performs regularly with jazz groups led by Alan Matheson including the CBC Jazz Orchestra and is featured on Matheson’s newly released cd Intrada.  Dr. Branter also plays soprano saxophone with the saxophone quartet Saxophilia.  Saxophilia, established in 1996, has premiered works by Derek Charke, John Burke and others but has a wide ranging repertoire including classic French works they performed in 2007 for a CBC radio broadcast.  Dr. Branter is also saxophonist for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.  In 2007 he began to perform for Colin MacDonald’s Pocket Orchestra and the East Vancouver Jazz Orchestra.  He has also performed with John Korsrud’s Hard Rubber Orchestra including a concert in April 2009 featuring the music of Louis Andriessen.  Work as a conductor and band, jazz band and woodwind adjudicator/clinician remain important activities.  Dr. Branter participated in the 2009 Cultural Olympiad as conductor of R. Murray Schafer’s Music for Wilderness Lake for the Water’s Edge Festival.  Dr. Branter directed, co-directed or co-produced four CDs, Midnight Sleigh Ride, Mazama, Festivo and Trajectories with the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble and was, until 2000, music director of that group.  He premiered Fred Stride’s Caverns for tenor saxophone and band for their invitational performance at the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) in July 2005 in Singapore.  The Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble also premiered Branter’s piece Cool in February 2007.

Julia Nolan, M.Mus (Indiana) teaches saxophone at the University of British Columbia and at Western Washington University and is a busy saxophone soloist and chamber musician in a wide variety of genres. She is featured as soloist on the CBC Vancouver Orchestra CD "Globetrotting" and has recorded Concerto by Fred Stride commissioned for her by the CBC. She has been featured with the CBC Jazz Orchestra playing Jimmy Dorsey's Oodles of Noodles.  Ms. Nolan maintains an active performing schedule committed to promoting new works for the saxophone. She has also performed and recorded with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver New Music Society, Vancouver Opera Orchestra, the Alan Matheson Septet and Saxoduo, and has is in demand for recitals in Europe, Canada and the US.  In addition, she is currently a PhD candidate in Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia.

Michael Nakasone is Bandmaster Emeritus of the Royal Hawaiian Band and its 21st bandmaster since King Kamehameha II established the band in 1836. It is the only full time municipal band in the USA, performing over 300 concerts a year.  For 28 of his 37 years of teaching, he served as Director of Bands at Pearl City High School, Hawaii having received his Bachelor and Master of Music Education degrees from the University of Hawaii. In 1992 Nakasone's band was awarded the John Philip Sousa Foundation Sudler Flag of Honor in recognition of excellence in concert band performance. He went on to receive the Foundation’s Legion of Honor award in 1995 and was chosen as Hawaii's State Teacher of the Year in 1996. That same year he received the United States Collegiate Wind Bands Citation of Honor Award, and in 1998 was recognized with the Hawaii Music Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2002 he received the SBO Recognition Award - 50 Directors Who Make a Difference.   His band performed at numerous music educator conventions. His marching bands have performed for the Portland Rose Parade, Tournament of Roses Parade, The Blue-Gray All-Star Football Game, The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Tokyo Ginza Parade and halftime shows for the NFL Pro-Bowls and University of Hawaii.  He has also served as Director of the Pearl City Performing Arts Center, Conductor with the Hawaii Youth Symphony, and Band Director for the Kamehameha High School Performing Arts Center.  Professional memberships include ABA, ASBDA, MENC,NBA, HMEA, OBDA, NSTOY, and Phi Beta Mu.

Dr. Mark Walker is Associate Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at Troy University, Alabama, where he works with the “Sound of the South” Marching Band, teaches applied low brass, is conductor of the Campus Band and 1:00 Concert Band, and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in conducting, marching band techniques, evaluation, and music education. In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Walker is Coordinator of Graduate Music Education, Executive Director of the Middle School Southeastern US Band Clinic and Honor Bands, on the Board of the Southeastern US States Band Clinic, and Director of the “Sound of the South” Summer Music Camp and Director’s Clinic.  A published author, his articles appear in state and national music education publications.  Dr. Walker received his master’s and doctorate degrees in music education from the University of Illinois and is the recipient of the university’s prestigious A.A. Harding Award. As a performer, he can be heard on the Grammy Award nominated compact disc Euphoniums Unlimited on the Mark Records label and has performed as featured soloist with bands and symphony orchestras. Bands and students under Dr. Walker’s direction have received many honors in Texas, where he taught middle school and high school band. In addition, Dr. Walker has appeared as conductor, clinician and adjudicator throughout the southern States. His research interests include music perception, rehearsal techniques and music performance and understanding. His past and present professional affiliations include CBDNA, National Band Association, Music Educators National Conference, Alabama Music Education Association, Alabama Bandmasters Association, Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Mu Alpha, Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Delta Kappa, Tau Beta Sigma, Sigma Alpha Iota, Texas Bandmasters Association, and World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.

Dr. Graeme Langager is Director of Choral Activities at the UBC School of Music. He has held similar positions at the University of Arkansas and at Cuesta College in California. A native of Lethbridge, Alberta, Dr. Langager received the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the Master of Music Degree in Choral Conducting from California State University, Long Beach. He studied conducting under Earl Rivers, Stephen Coker, Lynn Bielefelt, and Marc Hafso, and received additional training from Helmut Rilling, Anton Armstrong, Thomas Davies, John Alexander, and Robert Page.  Dr. Langager has taught across the United States - in California, Ohio, North Carolina and Arkansas - at the high school, college, and university levels. He is sought after as a clinician and guest conductor, and is an active composer and arranger. Dr. Langager has served on the national board of the National Collegiate Choral Organization, and on the boards of the Arkansas and California Chapters of the American Choral Directors Association. Dr. Langager’s choirs have been invited to perform at ACDA, MENC, All-State, and IAJE conferences. His choirs have performed throughout Europe and the United States including such prestigious venues as St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Stefansdom in Vienna, Notre Dame in Paris, St. Nicholas in Prague, and St. Stephen’s in Budapest.

Sandra Meister is Principal of Walton Elementary School in School District 43 (Coquitlam). During her career Sandra Meister has remained at the forefront of music education in Canada. Her unique ability to inspire and encourage young musicians keeps her in great demand as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor throughout North America. Most recently, Sandra presented a session on Music Education in Coquitlam Schools at an International Forum in Beijing.  For twenty years, Sandra led Die Meistersinger Children's Choir as they captured many top awards in international festivals and represented Canada including the International Society for Music Education in Helsinki, Finland, the International Festival of Youth and Music in Vienna, Austria and the highly successful World of Children's Choirs 2001. Sandra is the recipient of many awards including the Governor General's Award for outstanding service to arts and culture in Canada, the Prince George Rotary Citizenship Award and the BC Music Educators' Association Professional Educator Award. Sandra serves as a faculty member of the British Columbia Choral Federation's Choral Directorship Program.  Mrs. Meister holds degrees from Simon Fraser University and the University of Oregon.

A graduate of the University of British Columbia with a master’s degree in ethnomusicology, Malcolm’s creative interests are driven by a passion for fusion of musical genres. A rising star in the Canadian music scene, Malcolm Aiken is an accomplished trumpet player and producer based in Vancouver. His passion for music started at an early age, igniting a long love affair with jazz that continues to this day. In addition to performances with his quintet, he regularly plays with orchestras, jazz big bands and experimental music projects, and has performed internationally in concerts in the United States, Europe and Asia.  He has shared the stage with the likes of Chucho Valdez, Hugh Fraser and Bubi Chen, and has performed for international audiences at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and world figures including the Dalai Lama, Reverend Desmond Tutu and Shirin Ebadi.  A strong advocate for music education and a respected clinician and adjudicator, Malcolm shares his experience and enthusiasm for music through workshops and conferences with brass players of all ages in Canada, Taiwan, Indonesia and Hong Kong. His debut full-length album, Paper Star, showcases his lyrical trumpet sound with a collection of original compositions and several intimate interpretations of jazz and classical standards. Malcolm describes the album as “bringing together all my influences as a musician – from the smoky jazz club, Cuban dance hall, to the symphony orchestra”. 

Robert Taylor is Director of Bands at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, where he conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, teaches instrumental conducting, and heads the brass division. Prior to his appointment at UBC, Dr. Taylor served as Director of Bands at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, and Chair of the Performing Arts Department at Eureka High School in northern California. Under his direction, the Eureka High Jazz Ensemble and Symphonic Band earned recognition for excellence by Downbeat Magazine, the Selmer Corporation, and Grammy Signature Schools, placing Eureka High among the finest school music programs in North America.
 
Dr. Taylor maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and clinician. Past engagements include performances with the Vancouver Brass Project, Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and Chicago-based contemporary music group, the Maverick Ensemble, in addition to collaborations with a wide range of international artists—from Allen Vizzutti, Gail Williams, and Ingrid Jensen, to Manhattan Transfer and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. As a passionate advocate of music in the schools, Dr. Taylor is in high demand as a rehearsal clinician and festival adjudicator and has made frequent appearances with young musicians, serving as principal conductor of the Puget Sound Youth Wind Ensemble and guest conductor of numerous honour groups.
 
Dr. Taylor received the Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees in conducting from Northwestern University and the Bachelor of Arts degree in Trumpet and Music Education from Humboldt State University. His research has been published in GIA’s Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series and featured in presentations at several regional and national music conferences. He is a Jacob K. Javits Fellow, and a member of the Phi Kappa Phi and Pi Kappa Lambda National Honor Societies, College Band Directors National Association, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, Music Educators National Conference, and the British Columbia Music Educators Association.