Edmonton - Adjudicators and Clinicians

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Dr. Robert Ambrose (Concert Band/Orchestra Adjudicators )

edmonton adjudicator

Conductor Robert J. Ambrose enjoys a highly successful and diverse career as a dynamic and engaging musician. His musical interests cross many genres and can be seen in the wide range of professional activities he pursues. Ambrose studied formally at Boston College, Boston University, and Northwestern University, where he received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting.

Ambrose has conducted professionally across the United States as well as in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. His interpretations have earned the enthusiastic praise of many leading composers including Pulitzer Prize winners Leslie Bassett, Michael Colgrass, and John Harbison. He has conducted over two dozen premiere performances including works by Michael Colgrass, Jonathan Newman, Joel Puckett, Christopher Theofanidis, and Joseph Turrin. In addition, a recent performance of Igor Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms under his direction has been given repeated airings on Georgia Public Radio.

Dr. Ambrose is founder and music director of the Atlanta Chamber Winds a professional dectet specializing in the promotion of music by emerging composers as well as lesser-known works of established composers. Their premiere compact disc, Music from Paris was released in 2009 on the Albany Records label and has received outstanding reviews in both Fanfare Magazine and Gramophone Magazine.

As a guitarist Ambrose has performed in dozens of jazz ensembles, combos, rock bands and pit orchestras. His rock band "Hoochie Suit," formed with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, received rave reviews throughout the Chicago area.

Ambrose currently serves as Director of Bands, Professor of Music and Associate Director of the School of Music at Georgia State University, a research institution of over 50,000 students located in Atlanta, Georgia. As Director of Bands he conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, maintains a highly selective studio of graduate students in the Master of Music in Wind Band Conducting degree program, and oversees a large, comprehensive band program comprised of four concert ensembles and three athletic band organizations. He lives in Peachtree City, Georgia with his wife Sarah Kruser Ambrose, a professional flute player and daughters Isabelle and Hannah.

Shelley Jagow (Concert Band/Orchestra Adjudicators )

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Dr. Shelley Jagow is Professor of Music at Wright State University School of Music (Dayton, OH) where she serves as Director of Bands conducting both the Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony, and teaches conducting at the undergraduate and graduate level. She earned top honors in Music Education degrees from the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) and the University of Missouri (Columbia) where respective mentors include Marvin Eckroth, Dale Lonis, Martin Bergee and Wendy Sims. She earned her Ph. D. in Music Education at the Union Institute & University (Cincinnati) where Colonel Timothy Foley, Frank Battisti, and Edward Wingard served as her mentors. In addition to studies in education, saxophone and conducting, Shelley earned the Certificate in Piano Performance IX from the Royal Conservatory of Music, and was previously nominated for both the "Robert J. Kegerreis Distinguished Professor of Teaching" Award and the "Brage Golding Distinguished Professor of Research" Award.

As an artist clinician with Conn-Selmer, Vandoren, Meredith Music, and GIA Music, “Dr. J” enjoys working with school bands and presents clinics, performances, adjudications, and serves as honor band conductor at various state, national and international events. Some activities include State Music Educators Conferences, the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA), the International Society for Music Education (ISME), the College Music Symposium (CMS), the World Saxophone Congress, and the United States Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium. Shelley has presented in various states/provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, California, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Manitoba, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Rhode Island, Saskatchewan, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington D.C.; including international venues: Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Scotland, and Spain.

Shelley previously served as coach for the WSU student Avion Saxophone Quartet, which can be heard on Apple Music/iTunes. All members of the quartet were chosen annually on a highly selective audition process, and include music education and/or performance majors at Wright State University. The Avion Saxophone Quartet is a recipient of the Edgar Hardy Scholarship, the Dayton Chamber Music Society Scholarship, the Chamber Music Institute Fellowship, and the Wright State University Presidential Commendation for Excellence. The quartet has commissioned and premiered works from composers across the world. Shelley herself can be heard performing on the Emeritus Recording label, on National Public Radio Performance Today, and America’s Millennium Tribute to Adolphe Sax.

Shelley is a regular contributing author to the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series (GIA Music), and is author of the book Teaching Instrumental Music: Developing the Complete Band Program (2nd edition)(Meredith Music)—a resource rapidly becoming the adopted textbook for music education degree study across the United States and Canada. Additional book publications include Tuning for Wind Instruments: A Roadmap to Successful Intonation (Meredith Music), Intermediate Studies for Developing Artists on the Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Saxophone and Bassoon (Meredith Music), and The Londeix Lectures a 13+ hours DVD set archiving the historical music lectures of Professor Jean-Marie Londeix (and translated by William Street). Growing up riding horses and helping on the farm in her native Saskatchewan (Canada), Shelley continues to enjoy the outdoors, gardening, exploring independent craft breweries, and sharing a love for all animals. Website: www.shelleyjagow.com

Angela Schroeder (Concert Band/Orchestra Adjudicators )

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Dr. Angela Schroeder is Professor of Music in the Department of Music at the University of Alberta. She is the Director of Bands, the Area Coordinator for Winds and Percussion, and conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Summer Band. Angela was awarded the 2016 Faculty of Arts Award for Undergraduate Teaching, and the 2017 Rutherford Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by the University of Alberta. She teaches courses in conducting and music education, and works with Graduate students in instrumental conducting. She previously taught conducting at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. Angela is the conductor of the St. Albert Community Band, an ensemble that is currently in their 52 n concert season. She lead the ensemble on their first European tour in July 2015, performing in Germany and at the MidEurope Band and Orchestra Festival in Schaldming, Austria.

A native of Alberta, Dr. Schroeder completed undergraduate studies in Music at University of Calgary, majoring in Secondary Education, with performance studies in piano and trumpet. She also completed the Diploma of Fine Arts in Wind Band Conducting at University of Calgary under the supervision of Glenn D. Price. After several years of teaching at various secondary schools in the Calgary area, she entered the Long Term Residency program at The Banff Centre, where she studied and performed on piano, trumpet and as a conductor. Angela entered the Master's program in Wind Conducting at Northwestern University in 2002, where she studied with Mallory Thompson and earned the Master of Music in Conducting. In 2007, she completed the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Band Conducting at the University of North Texas, under the supervision of Eugene Migliaro Corporon.

Angela Schroeder is well known in the Alberta music education community, not only through her teaching and conducting both in schools and in community music organizations, but through her involvement as an executive director of the Alberta Band Association for two terms. Angela has performed on cornet with the Mill Creek Colliery Band and was the Principal Trumpet for the Concordia University Orchestra for seven seasons. She is currently Principal Second Trumpet with the Borealis Symphony. Angela has guest conducted and adjudicated numerous school bands in festivals and clinics throughout Canada, the United States, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Australia and Thailand. She is a contributor in Canadian Winds, the national journal for wind band educators, and wrote chapters in eleven volumes of the Teaching Music through Performance in Band series, which profile wind literature for all levels of instrumental instruction, published by GIA.

Gareth Jones (Concert Band/Orchestra Adjudicators )

edmonton adjudicator

Gareth Jones is the director of the UCalgary Wind Ensemble, the Symphonic Band and the Brass Choir as well as being the Instructor of Trumpet and Conducting. He is also the Music Director of the Alberta Winds. He was Assistant Principal Trumpet with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra from 1992 to 2007 and he continues to play with the CPO when his schedule allows. Before that he held the same position with the Tulsa Philharmonic. He was appointed on 2013 to review the Royal Conservatory of Music trumpet syllabus for the new edition. In 2014 he was named the conductor of the National Youth Band of Canada. He studied trumpet with the renowned pedagogue, Vincent Cichowicz, and studied conducting and attended workshops with such luminaries as Jorma Panula, Gustav Meier and Michael Jinbo. 

Mr. Jones's musical activities are greatly varied. He has appeared as guest conductor and clinician with hundreds of ensembles across North America, been featured on Juno nominated blues recordings, appeared on CBC radio as a soloist and chamber musician, been guest lecturer with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and been an adjudicator at music festivals across Canada. He received the UCalgary teaching excellence award in 2018. In 1996, he placed first among North American competitors in the Ellesworth-Smith International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition, placing third worldwide. He can be heard playing chamber music, jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues with various groups around Calgary. He was a founding member of the chamber ensemble "Rosa Selvatica" and has been a featured soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra on several occasions. He studied conducting at the Pierre Monteux Institute and Canada's National Arts Centre and received his Master of Music in Conducting from the University of Calgary. He studied trumpet at Northwestern University where he won the prestigious concerto competition and a scholarship for performing excellence. Gareth Jones is Yamaha Artist. 

Ray Baril (Concert Band/Orchestra Adjudicators )

edmonton adjudicator

Raymond Baril is Assistant Professor of Music and Section Head for Winds and Brass in the Department of Music at Grant MacEwan University, and, for the past 30 years, he has been the Director of the MacEwan University Jazz Ensemble. He is in his 18th season as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Edmonton Winds and recently has taken on the role as director of the River City Big Band. Prior to his appointment at MacEwan University, Raymond was a music educator with Edmonton Public Schools, conductor of the University of Alberta Concert Band, Executive Director of the Alberta Band Association and, worked as assistant conductor for the Cosmopolitan Music Society. Raymond remains a much sought after national clinician and adjudicator as well as a featured guest speaker at music education conferences across the country.

Raymond continues to work as one of Edmonton’s busiest saxophonists and woodwind doublers. He was a regular member of the Tommy Banks Big Band for 25 years and is currently a member of the Edmonton Jazz Orchestra. He has appeared with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions as a section member and soloist, as well as a guest conductor. He also continues to be in demand as both a conductor and woodwind specialist for pit orchestras in various local and touring productions. In 2005, Raymond’s ensembles released two CDs: First Time Out with the Grant MacEwan College/University of Alberta Big Band and Among Friends with the New Edmonton Wind Sinfonia. In 2011, the New Edmonton Wind Sinfonia released a second CD, O Music, which featured the wind band works of Edmonton composer Allan Gilliland, and won a Western Canadian Music award in 2012.

Raymond attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where he received a Master of Music degree in conducting. He holds undergraduate degrees in both music performance and education from the University of Alberta, and is currently working on his Doctorate in Saxophone Performance at the University of Alberta. Raymond has been the recipient of many awards for his contribution to music and music education including the Tommy Banks Award, presented by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the David Peterkin Memorial Award, presented by Phi Beta Mu. He has also received the Elkhorn Award for Director of the Year by the Alberta Band Association, the Best Teaching Practices Award from the Alberta Teachers’ Association, a District Service Award from Edmonton Public Schools, and an Excellence in Teaching Award from Alberta Learning.

Dr. Gordon Brock (Concert Band)

whistler festival adjudicator

Dr. Gordon R. Brock is Professor Emeritus and former Director of Bands at the University of North Florida’s School of Music Flagship Program in Jacksonville, Florida, where he conducted the Wind Symphony, instructed courses in conducting and woodwind performance, coordinated the graduate instrumental conducting program and instituted the highly regarded annual UNF Conducting Symposium. Earning his B.S.E. from Dickinson State University, M.M. from Michigan State University, and D.M.A. from the University of Colorado-Boulder, Dr. Brock’s career as a music educator encompassed elementary through university levels.

Under Dr. Brock’s leadership as chair (2002-12), the Department of Music was awarded the elite flagship designation and emerged as a program of prominence recognized throughout the region for its renowned faculty, dedication to student learning and community engagement, as it continues to garner recognition as one of the leading music programs in the country. Under Dr. Brock’s direction, the UNF Wind Symphony performed at prestigious events and venues including the annual Mayo Clinic Upbeat Pink: A Musical Tribute to Breast Cancer Survivorship Concert Series, the Florida Music Educators Association State Conference, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall-Lincoln Center and the Southern Division College Band Directors Association/National Band Association Conference.

Before joining UNF, Dr. Brock was Director of Bands at the University of North Dakota, conductor of the Greater Grand Forks Youth Symphony, and the Grand Forks Chamber Ensemble. Under his direction, the UND Wind Ensemble performed at two North Dakota Music Educators Conferences, the Ohio Music Education Association/North Central MENC Professional Conference, and a joint concert series in Great Britain with the Central Band of the White Russian Army. In addition to an annual CD project dedicated to recording the best in traditional and contemporary wind literature, Dr. Brock instituted an annual Conducting Symposium, which attracted both regional and international participants. Having been twice honored by the Alberta Provincial Government for his nationally recognized ensembles and contributions to music education throughout Canada, Dr. Brock was also included in the fifth edition of “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.” He has been acknowledged as a Distinguished Alumnus of Dickinson State University (2006) and as the UNF Gerson Yessin Professor (2010-12). He has served as a guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States, Canada, Japan and Israel, and was honored with guest conducting appearances with both the United States Army Field Band and Chorus, and the President’s Own United States Marine Band.

Dr. Brock has performed with a broad spectrum of internationally recognized organizations within the mediums of chamber music, jazz, wind band, theater, dance, and orchestra. He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association (FL state chair, 2003-2005; ND state chair, 1995-99 and currently past-president of CBNDA Southern Division), Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Beta Mu, National Association for Music Education, Florida Bandmasters Association, National Band Association, and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. A chapter contributor to the GIA publication, The Art of Interpretation of Band Music, Dr. Brock has also served as a Research Associate and author for the GIA instrumental music education series Teaching Music through Performance in Band, a series that functions as a primary text in more than 300 universities in the United States and 20 countries.

Bruce Cable (Concert Choir & Vocal Jazz )

edmonton adjudicator

Bruce Cable started his teaching career after earning an education degree from the University of Alberta. He taught choir and band at junior high and high schools in the Edmonton area. Following this, he served as the Musical Director of St. Albert Children’s Theatre for eight years. Subsequently, Bruce taught Choir and Vocal Jazz at Victoria School of the Arts in Edmonton for 24 years and was the musical director for over 23 musicals. In 2017, he was honored with the Prime Minister's Excellence in Teaching Award. He holds a Masters in Choral Conducting from the University of Miami, where he was mentored by Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe. His musical endeavors have included singing with Pro Coro Canada, directing the MacEwan University Jazz Choir, serving as the assistant conductor of the youth choir Korora, and working as the Musical Director for the Citadel Theatre. Additionally, he has been an active choral clinician throughout Canada. Throughout his diverse musical experiences, he values how music fosters community and appreciates the connections and conversations between fellow conductors and their talented singers as they share their passion for the arts and its capacity to drive change. Bruce is thrilled to be back in his hometown of Edmonton to share musical ideas with the amazing directors and singers involved in this year’s Candando Music Festival.

Derek Fox (Concert Choir & Vocal Jazz )

edmonton adjudicator

Dr. Derrick Fox is the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Creative Endeavors and a Professor of Choral Conducting at Michigan State University. Prior to MSU, he was the Director of Choral Activities and Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Assistant Professor of Choral Music at Ithaca College. Dr. Fox has taught at the middle school, high school and collegiate levels. His conducting experiences have included singers from upper elementary choirs through collegiate and community choirs. He was awarded the 2021 Bryan R. Johnson Service Award by the Nebraska Music Educators Association and the 2022 University of Nebraska Omaha Award for Distinguished Research/Creative Activity.

He has conducted all state and honor choirs and has been in residence at universities across the United States and abroad. He also leads professional development and organizational change initiatives for music focused organizations throughout the United States. His professional educational workshops focus on assessment in the choral classroom, building classroom community and culture, rehearsal strategies, choral conducting techniques and shape note singing in the African American community. Dr. Fox conducted the 2019 National ACDA Middle School/Junior High Mixed Honor Choir and traveled to South Africa as a 2019 ACDA International Conductor Exchange Fellow where he led choral workshops and rehearsals in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Potchefstroom.

As a baritone soloist, Dr. Fox has collaborated with various organizations; among them are the Arkansas Symphony, Lansing Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Columbia Chorale, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha Symphonic Chorus, University of Missouri, Michigan State University, Webster University and the Espaço Cultural (Brasilia, Brazil). He can be heard singing selections from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess on the compact disc In This Hid Clearing, available on the Naxos Classical Music label. He most recently the baritone soloist in Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony with the Michigan State University Symphonic Orchestra and Choral Union.

As an author, Dr. Fox has written articles for many organizations and his compositions and arrangements are published by Hal Leonard, Music Spoke and Brilee Music. His book, Yes You Can: A Band Director’s Guide to Teaching Choirs is published by Carl Fischer. He launched The Derrick Fox Choral Series with Music Spoke to publish works by and about marginalized and minoritized people. He has cultivated educational partnerships many musical organizations, among them Hal Leonard, Sounding Spirit and the Country Music Association Foundation. He was the creator, writer and host of the KVNO’s radio show Reflections of Us, a show focused on amplifying diverse voice in the classical music. Dr. Fox currently serves as President of the Midwestern Region of the American Choral Directors Association. www.drderrickfox.com/

Jamie Hilllman (Concert Choir & Vocal Jazz )

edmonton adjudicator

JAMIE HILLMAN is a Canadian and American musician, active as a conductor, singer, pianist, music educator, and composer-arranger. He holds the endowed Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting at the University of Toronto where he is Director of Choral Studies and an Associate Professor. He conducts the U of T MacMillan Singers and leads the master's and doctoral degree programs in Choral Conducting, as well as the summer Choral Conducting Symposium. Professor Hillman is also cross listed as an adjunct faculty member in Emmanuel College's Master of Sacred Music program. In 2024, Dr. Hillman received the Faculty of Music's Teaching Award which recognizes excellence, commitment, and innovation in teaching.

In Fall 2022, Hillman began an additional role as Associate Conductor and Director of Community Engagement of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

Dr. Hillman has served on the faculties of Boston University Metropolitan College/Prison Education Program, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Kodály Music Institute, Longy School of Music of Bard College, Toronto Summer Music, and Tyndale University. As a Boston University Prison Arts Scholar, Hillman co-initiated an innovative vocal music program in the Massachusetts prison system.

Dr. Hillman is an examiner for Conservatory Canada and has adjudicated, guest conducted, performed, and presented throughout the United States and Canada, and in Brazil, France, India, Indonesia, Portugal, and Taiwan. He has led All-State, festival, or honor choirs in Alberta, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Taiwan, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. Most recently he conducted two national festival choruses at Carnegie Hall with National Concerts and Manhattan Concert Productions. In 2025, he returns to Carnegie Hall, and in 2026, he conducts at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver. Hillman has conducted world premieres by Shireen Abu Khader, Matthew Emery, Qiushi Jiang, Sarah Quartel, and Marie-Claire Saindon, among others. 

Dr. Hillman has adjudicated for ACDA Pearl Prize, Alberta Music Festival Association, Allerton Vocal Chamber Festival, Bandung International Choir Competition, Canada's Top Choirs, Cantabile Choirs BIPOC Song Competition, Carowinds Festival of Music, Chronos Vocal Ensemble Choral Composition Competition, Contemporary Showcase, Fantastic Festivals, Festivals of Music, Great East Festivals, Kings Dominion Festival of Music, Kitchener-Waterloo Kiwanis Music Festival, Kiwanis Music Festival Windsor-Essex County; Lacombe and District Performing Arts Festival, Loyola Marymount University Invitational Choral Festival, Manitoba ChoralFest, Marietta Public Schools (Georgia), Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association, Massachusetts Music Educators Association, MusicFest: The Nationals, Music in the Parks, National Collegiate Choral Organization, National Endowment for the Arts, New Brunswick Federation of Music Festivals, New England Music Festival Association, Oilsands Rotary Music Festival, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Music Festivals Association Provincials, Ontario Vocal Festival, Providence College High School Choral Festival, Roberts Wesleyan University Invitational Choral Competition, Rhythms International, San José State University Invitational Choral Festival, Sherwood Park Music Festival, Stratford Kiwanis Festival for the Performing Arts, Tomohon International Choir Competition, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Choral Composition Competition, Rhode Island ACDA, and WorldStrides. Recent conference presentations include Association for Moral Education, College Music Society, Massachusetts Music Educators Association, Music Conference Alberta, New Jersey Music Educators Association, North Carolina Music Educators Association, Utah Music Educators Association, Nova Associação Brasileira de Regentes de Coros, and World Choral Expo. 

Dr. Hillman has given lectures, masterclasses, and workshops and spoken on panels at a number of universities including Acadia University, Anna Maria College, Dalhousie University, Harvard University, Hong Kong Baptist University, Loyola Marymount University, Northwestern Polytechnic, Roberts Wesleyan University, San José State University, Shu-Te University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Western University. 

As a tenor soloist, Hillman has recently performed major choral-orchestral works by Beethoven, R. Nathaniel Dett, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Ramirez, Saint-Saëns, Schubert, and Schütz with choruses and orchestras in the United States, Canada, and Southeast Asia. As a professional choral singer, he has sung with Beckenhorst Singers, Canadian Chamber Choir, Elmer Iseler Singers, Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Soundstreams Choir 21, Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, and Vox Futura.  

Dr. Hillman's schedule of upcoming engagements includes conducting honour choirs in Illinois, Louisiana, New York, Ontario, and Virginia; serving on the international juries of the 14th World Choir Festival on Musical and Competition (Thessaloniki, Greece), the Thailand International Choral Festival (Bangkok), and the Bali International Choir Competition (Indonesia); and residencies at several Canadian and international universities. He is the curator and editor of The Jamie Hillman Choral Series published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing. His co-editorial work includes numerous editions of Arabic, Asian, Latin American, and Western choral pieces published by Earthsongs and Hinshaw Music. Choral pedagogical curriculum that he has co-written with composer Dan Forrest is published for Beckenhorst Press. He is also co-editor of Beckenhorst Press' Concert Series. Hillman has written articles on choral literature and choral pedagogy that have been published in International Choral Bulletin, Massachusetts Music Educators Journal, and Mass Sings. 

Hillman earned an associate diploma (ARCT) from the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) and a Bachelor of Music from Western University (London, Canada). In 2024, he was inducted to Western's Don Wright Faculty of Music's Alumni Wall of Fame. He completed his Master of Music at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Doctor of Musical Arts at Boston University, where he studied with Ann Howard Jones. He is the 2012 laureate of the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting from the Ontario Arts Council. 

Mark DeJong (Jazz Band)

edmonton adjudicator

Saxophonist Mark DeJong has over 20 years of professional experience as a musician, educator, director, composer, bandleader, promoter, contractor, presenter, and sideman. A graduate of the prestigious jazz program at Rutgers University, Mark has benefited from the tutelage of saxophone masters Ralph Bowen, George Garzone, Donny McCaslin, and Stan Karp.

A dynamic and versatile musician, Mark is equally at home in jazz, blues, pop, folk, and gospel settings. With such recent accomplishments as a Canada Council touring grant for his renowned international group, The Outer Bridge Ensemble, a WCMA nomination for his recording, The Unknown, and his selection as a performing artist at the Canadian pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, Marks abilities have garnered recognition regionally, across Canada, and beyond the border.

Mark has performed with many of the worlds leading musicians from all genres and styles. Career highlights have included sharing the stage with such international icons as Ray Charles, Ian Tyson, Wayne Newton, and Lennie Pickett, Canadian music legends Rob McConnell, Moe Koffman, Tommy Banks, Victor Sawa, Hugh Fraser, P.J. Perry, as well as renowned vocalists Nikki Yanofsky, Denzal Sinclaire, and Carol Welsman. With a career that spans over 20 years, his performance credits include the Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, and Saskatoon International Jazz festivals, as well as numerous concert halls and jazz clubs across North America, Canada, the United States, Europe, and Japan.

2024 Festival Adjudicators:

  • Dr. Glenn D. Price (Concert Band/Orchestra)
  • Colin Clarke (Concert Band/Orchestra)
  • Jeremy Brown (Concert Band/Orchestra)
  • Robert Spittal (Concert Band)
  • Scott Leithead (Concert Choir)
  • McKenna Stenson (Concert Choir)
  • Dr. Rachel Rensink-Hoff (Concert Choir)
  • Greg Jasperse (Concert Choir/Jazz Choir)
  • Craig Brenan (Jazz Band)

2022 Festival Adjudicators:

  • Dr. Gordon Brock (Concert Band)
  • Dr. Jeremy Brown (Concert Band)
  • Dr. Scott MacLennan (Concert Band)
  • Dr. Angela Schroeder (Concert Band)
  • Dr. Robert Taylor (Concert Band)
  • Dr. Darrin Oehlerking (Concert Band)
  • Joel Gray (Jazz Ensemble)
  • Dr. Ethan Sperry (Concert Choir)
  • Tim Shantz (Concert Choir)
  • Dr. Nicole Lamartine (Concert Choir)
  • Dylan Bell (Vocal Jazz)
  • Suba Sankaran (Vocal Jazz)

2019 Festival Adjudicators:

  • Jennifer Lang (Choral)
  • Graeme Langager (Choral)
  • Benila Ninan (Choral)
  • Scott Leithead (Choral)
  • Mark DeJong (Jazz Band)
  • Gareth Jones (Concert Band)
  • Dr. Christopher Bianco (Concert Band)
  • Gerard Morris (Concert Band)
  • Dr. Gordon Brock (Concert Band)
  • Dr. Angela Schroeder (Concert Band)
  • Dr. Gerald King (Concert Band)

2018 Festival Adjudicators:

  • Ray Baril (Concert Band)
  • James Smart (Concert Band)
  • Wendy Grasdahl (Concert Band)
  • Christin Reardon-MacLellan (Concert Band)
  • Angela Schroeder (Concert Band)
  • Larry Gookin (Concert Band)
  • Essi Wuorela (Choral)
  • Elise Bradley (Choral)
  • Andrew Withington (Choral)
  • Katy Luyk (Choral)
  • Joel Gray (Jazz Band)

2017 Festival Adjudicators:

  • Ray Baril (Concert Band)
  • Shelley Jagow (Concert Band)
  • Gillian Mackay (Concert Band)
  • Fraser Linklater (Concert Band)
  • Angela Schroeder (Concert Band)
  • Jeremy Brown (Concert Band)
  • Elroy Friesen (Choral)
  • Dinah Helgeson (Choral)
  • Dean McNeill (Jazz Band)

2016 Festival Adjudicators:

  • Jeremy Brown (Concert Band)
  • Angela Schroeder (Concert Band)
  • Gary Green (Concert Band)
  • Gordon Brock (Concert Band))
  • Dennis Beck (Concert Band)
  • Allan McMurray (concert band)
  • Christin Reardon MacLellan (Concert Band)
  • Jerrold Dubyk (Jazz Band)
  • Graeme Langager - UBC (Choral)
  • Lisa Ward (Choral)
  • Scott Leithead (Choral)
  • Dominic Gregorio (Choral)

2015 Festival Adjudicators:

  • Don Owens (Concert Band)
  • Robert Taylor - UBC (Concert Band)
  • Brian Unverricht (Concert Band)
  • Wendy Grasdahl(Concert Band)
  • Craig Brenan (Jazz Band)
  • Scott Leithead (Choral)
  • Benila Ninan (Choral)

2014 Festival Adjudicators:

  • Allan McMurray - University of Colorado (Concert Band)
  • Robert Taylor - UBC (Concert Band)
  • Rodney Dorsey - University of Oregon (Concert Band)
  • Tom Staples - University of Lethbridge (Concert Band)
  • Joel Gray - MacEwan University (Jazz Band)
  • Kathleen Skinner (Choral)

2013 Festival Adjudicators:

  • Larry Gookin (concert band)
  • Dr. Mark Hopkins (concert band)
  • Don Owens (concert band)
  • Dr. Angela Schroeder (concert band)
  • Larry L. Schrum (concert band)
  • Scott Leithead (choral)