Andrew Tunis has led a distinguished career as soloist, chamber musician and teacher over the past four decades. He has given concerts in Canada, U.S.A., Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia, and has collaborated in chamber music with many renowned musicians, including violinists Pinchas Zukerman and Martin Beaver, cellists Desmond Hoebig and Steven Isserlis, as well as the Philharmonia Quartet of Berlin and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. He has appeared as guest soloist with many North American orchestras, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic, Manhattan Philharmonia, Chautauqua Symphony and the Edmonton, Ottawa, and CBC Vancouver symphony orchestras. He has performed concertos with conductors Mario Bernardi, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, George Manahan and Erich Kunzel, amongst many others.

After studies at the University of Ottawa and at the Manhattan School of Music, where he received the Pablo Casals Award for outstanding musical achievement, he won first prize in several of the most important Canadian music competitions, and first prize for chamber music at the 1984 ARD International Competition in Munich. In 1989 his Beethoven Sonata and Variations recording with Desmond Hoebig received a Juno nomination. His Atma recording of chamber music by Schubert with the Chamber Players of Canada was named one of the top five recordings of 2005 by La Presse newspaper. He has also released an acclaimed recording of the late piano works of Johannes Brahms on the Cansona label.

Andrew Tunis is Professor Emeritus at the School of Music of the University of Ottawa.

Deantha Edmunds – Senior Voice  Deantha Edmunds is Canada’s first Inuk classical singer. A Juno-nominated performer for her work in Messiah/Complex (Against the Grain Theatre and Toronto Symphony Orchestra) and a Dora Mavor Moore award- winning performer for Two Odysseys (Soundstreams/Signal Theatre), Deantha is much in demand as a singer, actor, and collaborator in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous projects. Her three albums (Pillorikput Inuit, My Beautiful Home, and Connections) were nominated for East Coast Music Awards. Deantha is also a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s Circle of Artists.

In September, 2022, in Lisbon, Portugal, Deantha presented and performed at the 2022 Exchange!, an integral component of the World Choral EXPO - International Federation for Choral Music. Her presentation topic was Developing deeper understandings about reciprocal collaboration amongst Indigenous Peoples, their music, and settlers.

Notable recent performances include performing at the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany in October, 2021, singing at the official welcoming ceremony of Prince Charles and Camilla upon their arrival in St. John's, NL in May, 2022, and sharing her voice with Inuit residential school survivors in the presence of His Holiness, Pope Francis in Iqaluit, NU in July, 2022.

Current creative projects include composing Irngutaq, which will be the first opera sung in English and Inuktitut, as well as starring in the Newfoundland and Labrador tour of the one-person play Stolen Sisters.

Currently based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, with roots in Nunatsiavut, Deantha is also a creator and mentor, and aims to empower Indigenous people and share their stories through her work. She has been a private voice instructor for 25 years and is committed to empowering her students through music education. Her goal is to share her love of singing and performing with her students, in order to create life-long musicians.

Emily Green – Singer/Songwriter  Emily Green was born in Ottawa, Ontario and is currently studying composition at the University of Toronto. Her choral music has been published by Cypress Choral Music and Silent Dawn Publishing, and she has been commissioned to write choral music for numerous choral ensembles, including the Ottawa Children’s Choir, the Exultate Chamber Singers, and Pax Christi Chorale.

While choral and vocal music are her main focus, she also enjoys exploring the voice's interactions with other instrumentations and ensembles, as well as how the human voice can be used in new and innovative ways.

In addition to her work as a composer, Emily is an active member of the music community at large. Inspired by her own mentors growing up, she enjoys teaching and mentoring. She currently works as a voice instructor at Stagecoach, a musical theatre program for children and teenagers. She also teaches at Sistema, an after-school composition program for elementary and middle school aged children and youth. In the past, she has done mentor and volunteer work for the Ottawa Children’s choir (in which she herself sang as a child) and for OrKidstra, an organization which provides free music instruction to children from low-income families in Ottawa

Emily Green Choral Music

https://www.emily-green-choral-music.com/

Travis Mandel – Brass  Travis Mandel is Principal Trumpet of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, Cathedral Brass & a member of the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces.

 Born and raised in the National Capital Region, he began the trumpet at age 14 in Le Centre d'excellence artistique of l'École secondaire publique De La Salle. He later pursued his studies at the University of Ottawa where he completed both his bachelor and master's degree under the tutelage of Eric Rupp. His desire to perfect his craft led him to the University of Montreal where he took selected courses in orchestral performance while studying with renowned trumpeter and pedagogue Manon Lafrance. In recent years, Travis has participated in a number of masterclasses and seminars, most notably at the Center for Advanced Musical Studies at Chosen Vale (2016 & 2017) where he had the opportunity to work with soloists Hakan Harderberger, Clément Saulnier & Marco Blaaw as well as a host of orchestral players including Thomas Stevens, James Thompson & Craig Morris.

Over his young career, Travis has appeared in concert with many orchestras in Eastern Canada, most notably with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre symphonique de Gatineau, l’Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil and l’Orchestre de la francophonie. He has played with a variety of military bands, but his proudest moments came as member of the Band of the Governor General's Foot Guards, a band he served with until 2016. His career highlights include playing for His Royal Highness Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, appearing on stage with jazz artist Diana Krall as well as performing solo works with the University of Ottawa Orchestra and the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Although Travis enjoys performing, he has a great passion for music education and thoroughly enjoys working with young musicians. In 2012, he returned to his roots accepting a position as a brass clinician at the newly renamed Centre d'excellence artistique de l'Ontario. He has also been teaching in a variety of other arts programs throughout the National Capital Region which include le Programme spécialisé en arts of l'École secondaire catholique Béatrice-Desloges, Arts Canterbury and the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy. In 2019, Travis joined the faculty of Carleton University as Performance Instructor (trumpet) and he has recently been selected as the Conductor of the Ottawa Youth Concert Orchestra for the 2022-2023 season.

Travis Mandel is a Bach trumpets endorsing artist.



 Jeff Asselin - Percussion  Jeff Asselin is a professional musician and full-time educator for Jeff Asselin’s Drum Academy, the Carleton University music program as a Performance Instructor in the school for Studies in Art and Culture and a professor at Algonquin College in the Media Foundations Program. He has toured extensively all over world and recorded over 100 studio albums including TV and movie soundtracks. He is an endorser for Sonor Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks, Remo drumheads, Cympad products, DrumTacs, Drumlites, and Protechtor Cases.

Jennifer Fontaine - Junior Voice  Jennifer Fontaine is the Founder and Artistic Director of Ain’t Seen Noth’n Yet Productions in Ottawa where she works extensively in developing inclusive and attainable Musical Theatre experiences for young, emerging and seasoned artists. Jennifer has been dedicated to teaching and developing performing arts opportunities for over 15 years. She is active as a voice teacher, music theory rudiments teacher, performance coach, audition coach, producer, director and performer. Jennifer teaches singers of all ages and backgrounds. She loves music and teaching a variety of styles of music and acting. Many of Jennifer’s students have gone on to performe and study all across the country, the United States and even overseas in music theatre, theatre, film and pop. Jennifer graduated from the Canadian College of Performing Arts Inaugural Company C program and holds an ARCT in Voice Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Canada. She has produced and directed over 30 musicals. Jennifer performs when time permits, favorite roles include: Fantine in “Les Misérables”; Percy in “The Spitfire Grill”; The Witch in “Into the Woods” and Mrs. Lovett in “Sweeney Todd”. Currently, Jennifer is directing “Jekyll & Hyde” which will be presented at Carleton Dominion Chalmers Centre in June. Jennifer loves adjudicating and working with all artists and is excited to be part of the Annapolis Valley Music Festival this year.

Mark Cassius - Musical Theatre  Mark Cassius is a versatile singer and entertainer, who has been featured on Broadway, in the Original Cast of “Ragtime” and revivals of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Shenandoah”. He has spent seasons at both the Shaw and Stratford Festivals. Also, with Drayton Entertainment in “Damn Yankees”, “The Little Mermaid” and “Sweet Charity”.

His Toronto Theatre credits include “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” (with Donny Osmond), “Miss Saigon”, “Showboat”, “Cats” and the Toronto Premiere of the Off- Broadway Musical, “The Musical of Musicals, (the Musical)”, for which he received a Broadway World, “Best Actor” nomination. He toured internationally with acclaimed Canadian Pop/Acappella quartet, "The Nylons", for eight years. He has been a Musical Director at Canada’s Wonderland, a Vocal coach for School Theatre Arts programs and Vocal Studios across Canada and the United States. He is a recurring Performance instructor at The Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto and also teaches Musical Theatre Performance courses at Sheridan College and Toronto Metropolitan University.

https://www.facebook.com/MarkCassius
https://www.instagram.com/themarkcassius

Dian Wilkie - Junior Piano and Harpsichord  Dian Wilkie holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Ottawa as well as a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Toronto (OISE). Before moving to the Ottawa Valley at the end of August of 2022 she lived in Ottawa for several years, where she established herself as a teacher, accompanist and performer in Ottawa and the Ottawa Valley. 

Dian spent a great deal of time playing for music festivals in her youth, and she looks forward to being an adjudicator for this year's Annapolis Valley Music Festival. 

Brandon Wilkie - Strings  Cellist Brandon Wilkie grew up in Pembroke, Ontario where he began playing cello at the age of 13. His first teacher was Peter Morris. After high school, Brandon had the opportunity to study with several renowned teachers including Matt Haimovitz at McGill University and Shauna Rolston at the University of Toronto. For several years, Brandon was based in Toronto where he was a member of the Arkadas String Quartet. As a member of the group, he performed at major music festivals in Banff and San Francisco.

As a recording artist, Brandon has been featured on the debut recording by the Capital Chamber Choir of Ottawa performing Jocelyn Morlock's "Exaudi". He also participated in a debut recording of chamber works by composer Joanna Estelle on the Parma Records label and has collaborated on several film scores. 

Brandon currently resides in Deep River, Ontario with his wife and two children. He performs regularly with his wife Dian as a piano and cello duo and is also a trained Suzuki instructor. 

Louis Trepanier - Guitar  Over a career that is now well into its third decade, Louis Trépanier has shown himself to be a seasoned chamber musician, occasional soloist, experienced pedagogue, composer, and arranger, always with his customary energy and sensitivity.

He is a founding member of the Canadian Guitar Quartet, as well as Trio Tangere. With these two ensembles, as well as through various other collaborations, he has performed on three continents and judged competitions at the national and international levels.

He completed his formal musical education in 1998 at the Conservatoire de musique de Hull (now the Conservatoire de Gatineau) with Patrick Roux; Louis also furthered himself by working with leading musicians in masterclasses and in collaborative projects.

Since 2002, he has been teaching at the University of Ottawa's School of Music, where he is the Coordinator of the Guitar Sector.



Emily Marlow - Woodwinds  Emily Marlow is frequently in Toronto at her post playing clarinet with the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra where she enjoys playing a wide variety of repertoire that often includes the E flat and Bass clarinets. Living in Chicago, she freelances regularly and has performed with local chamber ensembles 5th House Ensemble, Quintet Attacca, C.U.B.E. and MusicNow Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Emily trained at Acadia University with Stan Fisher and then furthered her studies at Depaul University in Chicago with Larry Combs, also studying with John Bruce Yeh, David McGill and Dale Clevenger.

Emily has also performed with the Chicago Philharmonic, Oregon Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, New World Symphony and the Canadian Opera Company. Conductors she has had the pleasure to work with include Neeme Järvi, Pierre Boulez, Daniel Barenboim, Bramwell Tovey, Christoph Eschenbach and Osmo Vänskä.

 

Matthew Larkin - Organ and Choirs  Recitalist, conductor, educator, and composer Matthew Larkin is one of Canada's most in-demand concert performers and liturgical musicians. He is the founding director of Ottawa's Caelis Academy Ensemble, and Custodian of Music at St. Andrew's Church (Ottawa), in addition to maintaining a very full schedule of concerts, recitals, and recordings. A Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, Matthew has performed worldwide in a variety of capacities, and was a 2013 recipient of the HM Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal for his many years of work with young singers. He has a very extensive discography on a number of international labels, and frequently appears in concert with several of Canada's premier orchestras and choirs. He attended the University of Toronto, and the Royal College of Music, and has served on the music staff at the director level in several prominent Canadian churches, including St. James Cathedral, Toronto, and Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa. Matthew is thrilled to be joining the Annapolis Valley Music Festival as an adjudicator this April.

Krista Touesnard - Fiddle  Krista...