Angela Schroeder

A native of Alberta, Dr. Angela Schroeder is currently Associate Professor of Music in the Department of Music at the University of Alberta. She is the Director of Bands, the Area Coordinator for the Winds and Percussion, oversees all areas of instrumental ensembles, and conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Summer Band. She teaches undergraduate courses in conducting and wind band education, and works with graduate students in instrumental conducting. She previously taught conducting at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. Angela is also the conductor of the St. Albert Community Band, an ensemble that is currently in their 48th concert season. This ensemble recently completed their first overseas tour, performing throughout Austria and Germany.

Dr. Schroeder completed undergraduate degrees in Music and Education at the University of Calgary, majoring in Secondary Music Education, with performance studies in piano and trumpet. She also completed the Diploma of Fine Arts in Wind Band Conducting under the supervision of Glenn Price. After a teaching career 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 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 several years. Angela has performed on cornet with the Mill Creek Colliery Band and was the Principal Trumpet for the Concordia University Orchestra for seven seasons. Angela has guest conducted and adjudicated numerous wind bands in festivals and clinics throughout Canada, the United States, Austria, Germany, Australia and Thailand. She is a contributor to eleven volumes of the Teaching Music through Performance in Band series, which profile wind literature for all levels of instrumental instruction (published by GIA). She is joyfully married to husband Geoffrey and mother to her brilliant sons, Joshua and Jonah.

Cynthia Johnston Turner

Cynthia Johnston Turner is a conductor and clinician in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Europe and Canada. She was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University in July 2021.[1] Previously, she served as Director of Bands on the faculty of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia where she oversaw the entire UGA Band program, including the 440-member Redcoat Marching Band, Masters and Doctoral students in conducting, was chair of the conducting area, and artistic director of the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. She formerly served on the faculty of Cornell University, where she directed the Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Ensemble X, and chamber winds. She was appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of the Wellington Wind Symphony in 2023 and Festival Winds at Summer Music Society in 2024.

Erin Bodnar

Dr. Erin Bodnar is Visiting Associate Professor of Music and Director of Concert Bands at the University of Washington where she conducts the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, leads the graduate wind band conducting program and provides administrative leadership for the UW Bands. Previously, Dr. Bodnar directed the Wind Symphony and Orchestra at the University of North Florida. Under Dr. Bodnar’s baton, the UNF Wind Symphony performed at the Florida Music Educators Association Conference in January 2025, and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles in Buñol, Spain in July 2019. The UNF NuMIX, co-directed by Dr. Bodnar and Dr. Venet, performed at the College Band Directors National Association Southern Division Conference in February, 2022. Prior to her appointment at UNF, Dr. Bodnar was Director of Bands at Graceland University for four years during which time the Symphonic Band performed at the Iowa Bandmasters Association Conference. During 2013-2014, Dr. Bodnar was the conductor of the Wind Symphony and Orchestra at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. Dr. Bodnar maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and clinician, traveling to Argentina, Thailand, Indonesia, and throughout the United States and Canada. Dr. Bodnar has contributed to A Composer’s Insight: Thoughts, Analysis and Commentary on Contemporary Masterpieces for Wind Band, Volume 5, the GIA Teaching Music Through Performance Series for Volume 7 and the revised Volume 1. She excelled at teaching both middle and high school band in Alberta, Canada for which she received the Keith Mann Young Band Director’s Award and the Edwin Parr First Year Teacher Award. Dr. Bodnar has presented at conferences in Canada, the United States, Scotland, Thailand and Austria. Her research interests include conducting pedagogy and motor cognition, and her articles have been published in the Journal of Music Teacher Education and Music Perception. An avid runner and group fitness instructor, Dr. Bodnar has completed 60 marathons, including 6 Boston marathons, ten 50 km races and one 100 km race.

Danielle Gaudry

Conductor and educator Dr. Danielle Gaudry is the Director of the Wind Orchestra and Associate Professor of Instrumental Conducting and Community Engagement at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, where she also serves as the Chair of the Performance Department. Prior to her appointment at McGill, she served for ten years as Director of Bands and Coordinator of Instrumental Music at the California State University, East Bay. As a bilingual music educator born and raised in the Franco-Manitoban community of St. Boniface, Dr. Gaudry taught high school instrumental music for several years in a French Immersion program. She proudly served as a musician and conductor in the Canadian Armed Forces for fourteen years, most notably as Director of Music of The Regimental Band of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles and as Conducting Instructor at the Canadian Forces Logistic Training Centre. Retaining her military affiliations in the US, Captain Gaudry was the Associate Conductor with the 38th Infantry Division Band, Indiana National Guard for three years. Dr. Gaudry earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting with a Cognate in Music Education from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She also holds degrees from The Pennsylvania State University, the University of Calgary, the University of Toronto, and McGill University. At home, Danielle and her husband, a musicologist, maintain a fast-paced life with their two sets of energetic twin boys.

Scott MacLennan

Dr. Scott MacLennan is an active music director, adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor who frequently works with ensembles, schools, honour groups, and festivals in Canada. He has been the Music Director of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble in the School of Music at the University of British Columbia, Music Director of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Wind Ensemble, and Music Director at the Byng Arts Academy in the Performing and Visual Arts in Vancouver, B.C. Presently, he is a Sessional Lecturer in Music Education at UBC. For over 30 years, he taught bands and orchestras at all levels from elementary to post-secondary and conducted his award-winning ensembles in various locations throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, China, the United States, and Canada. His ensembles have performed in such notable venues as Carnegie Hall, New York, USA, and Santa Maria della Pieta (Vivaldi’s Church) in Venice, Italy. He guest conducted the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra on two separate occasions and worked with honour groups in BC and Saskatchewan. As a champion of new wind band repertoire, Dr. MacLennan conducted the Canadian premieres of compositions by such notable composers as Johan de Meji and Frank Ticheli.

He holds a Bachelor of Music (1988) and a Bachelor of Education (1990) from UBC, a Master of Music (2010) in Conducting (Wind Band) from Sam Houston State University, Texas, and a Ph.D. (2015) from UBC. He studied conducting with Ken Hsieh, Morihiro Okabe, and Wayne Toews and participated in numerous conducting master classes given by Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Anthony Maiello, Ralph Hultgren, and Robert Ponto.

As an active music educator, “Dr. Mac” worked for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to draft and edit curriculum for their VSO Connects (Secondary) program, chaired the BC Music Educator’s Association’s Conference Pulse 2006, and currently sits as a board member of the Chamber Music in the Schools Society. He has presented at various conferences and has articles published in the Canadian Music Educator Journal and Bandworld Magazine. Dr. MacLennan is a recipient of the BC Music Educators’ Association’s Outstanding Professional Music Educator’s Award in recognition of exemplary commitment, talent, and leadership for music education in British Columbia.

Ray Baril

Raymond Baril is Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music at MacEwan University. He is in his 24^th season as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Edmonton Winds. He was the Director of the MacEwan University Jazz Ensemble for 37 seasons. For six seasons he served as the musical director of the River City Big Band. 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 is in demand as a woodwind specialist for pit orchestras in local and touring productions. He was a regular member of the Tommy Banks Big Band for 25 years and has appeared with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions as an orchestra member and soloist, and as a guest conductor.

Raymond holds a graduate degree in conducting from Northwestern University, undergraduate degrees in both performance and education from the University of Alberta. In 2018 Raymond was inducted in the Edmonton’s Cultural Hall of Fame. In 2016 he was recognized with a Distinguished Teaching Award from MacEwan University. In the past, he has been the recipient of many awards for his contribution to music and music education from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Alberta Band Association, Edmonton Public Schools District Service Award and from Alberta Learning.

Karen Shields

The majority of Karen’s professional career has been as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) .  She initially joined the Primary Reserves (PRes) in 2001, as a flutist/piccoloist with the Band of the Ceremonial Guard, performing the Changing of the Guard on Parliament Hill.  Since then, Karen has played with numerous CAF bands within the PRes and Regular Forces (RegF).  Most notably, the Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy based in Victoria, and Edmonton’s Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) Band.  During her military career, Karen has performed throughout Canada, USA, France, UK, and New Zealand.

In recent years, her focus has shifted towards conducting.  From 2022-2024, Karen served as Musical Director of the 8 Wing Volunteer Band at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton, ON.  In 2025, she was appointed the Assistant Director of Music of the RCA Band. 

Karen has served as an adjudicator in varying capacities including the Cantando Music Festival, the RCA Band’s annual Concerto Competition and most recently the Edmonton Flute Association’s Flute Competition.  In addition, she has chaired the CAF’s Music Branch RegF entrance auditions and served as an instructor/examiner at the CAF’s Music Training Cadre at CFB Borden, ON. 

Karen’s musical training includes a BMus in flute performance from Acadia University, MMus in chamber music performance from the University of Ottawa, and a MMus (double major) in wind band conducting and flute performance from the University of Alberta. 

Elroy Friesen

Elroy Friesen is Director of Choral Studies at the University of Manitoba, where he conducts multiple choirs, and teaches graduate conducting. His award-winning ensembles have toured extensively, garnered national and international acclaim, and been featured on CBC Radio.

Friesen enjoys fostering artistic collaborations, partnering with organizations such as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Canadian College of Organists, and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. He is the newly appointed Artistic Director of Canzona and the former Artistic Director and Founder of Prairie Voices, a renowned Winnipeg-based youth choir.

A dedicated educator, Friesen has served as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor across North America and Northern Europe. He holds degrees from the University of Manitoba and the University of Illinois, and is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and grants.

Thomas Burton

Raised in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Thomas Burton is Artistic Director of the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, Conductor of the Tenor/Bass Chorus at the University of Toronto, and Artistic Director of Durham Region’s RESOUND Choir. He additionally serves as Co-Conductor of the award winning, Halifax-based, Borealis Chamber Choir. Praised for his innovative and eclectic programming as well as his dynamic presence on the podium, Thomas is in-demand nationally as a guest conductor, clinician and educator.

Thomas is passionate about inspiring excellence in performers of all ages and abilities. He has had the privilege of working with such ensembles as the Pacific Chorale, The Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, Pro Coro Canada, the National Youth Choir of Canada, and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. An accomplished choral singer, Thomas has sung with some of Canada’s finest choral ensembles including the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, Voces Boreales, and the Nathaniel Dett Chorale.

Thomas is a recipient of the Iwan Edwards Scholarship for Young Choral Conductors, awarded by Jeunesses Musicales in 2024,  the Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship, and the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Award. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Trombone Performance from McGill University and a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Michigan where he studied with Dr. Jerry Blackstone and Dr. Eugene Rogers.

Carrie Taylor

Carrie Taylor studied music at the University of Mary in Bismark, North Dakota and at the University of Victoria in Victoria, BC, where she obtained her Bachelor of Music and Professional Teaching Certificate. She has also studied at the Banff School of the Fine Arts.

Carrie taught in the public school system for 38 years, where she enjoyed teaching both band and choir. At Burnaby Central Secondary, Carrie ran one of the largest choir programs in the province that included a Concert Choir, a Men’s Choir, a Women’s Choir, and two Chamber Choirs. In addition to her work teaching high school, for over 20 years Carrie was the coordinator for the B.C. Provincial Honour Choir.

Carrie has also worked extensively in music education outside of the public school system. She recently retired from Vivo Children’s Choir, a community children’s choir she co-founded and directed for 24 years but maintains involvement with children’s choir by assisting the Phoenix Chamber Choir with their Hatchlings program for elementary school-aged singers. Carrie is currently the educational consultant for Chor Leoni and directs both their MYVoice Teen Choir and their Promys Program for students in grades 4-7. This past year Carrie was the director of the British Columbia Choir Federation Teen Choir.

In 2022, Carrie was honoured by the BC Music Educators’ Association with their award for Outstanding Music Educator.

Carrie has recently retired from teaching high school and is enjoying spending time with choirs around the province providing workshops and adjudicating at music festivals.

Audrey Ochoa

Audrey Ochoa is a trombonist, composer, arranger and educator from Edmonton, Alberta. Born and raised in Alberta’s capital city, Ochoa studied music education at the University of Alberta and is currently teaching with Edmonton Catholic schools while working as a freelance trombonist across Canada. 

Her debut album, “Trombone and Other Delights” (2013) , was widely acclaimed and spent 3 consecutive weeks as the number one Jazz album on the Earshot charts. Ochoa’s sophomore release, “Afterthought” (2017), is an extension of her consummate understanding of arrangement and dedication to her craft – leading to a No. 1 position on the Canadian jazz charts and breaking top 20 in the U.S. She is a decorated award nominee, having earned recognition at the Western Canadian Music Awards, the Global Music Awards and a recent recipient of the Edmonton Music Prize, noting an outstanding musical contribution to the local arts scene.

With significant education, performances and momentum amassed, Ochoa’s next recorded efforts, “Frankenhorn” (2020), were originally intended to feature duets with pianist Chris Andrew – which would be remixed by electronica DJ, Battery Poacher. As pre-production progressed, she found herself utilizing skills from other projects and arranging strings with horns and a rhythm section. The result is an ambitious project that introduces strings into her previous configuration of trombone, piano, bass and drums, a mix of chamber music with contemporary and Latin jazz. Focused on unique arrangements and undisputed inspirations, the album features electronic remixes alongside this harmonious combination of genres and ideals. “Frankenhorn” reached #1 on the US and Canadian jazz charts, and earned Ochoa the Western Canadian Music Award for Jazz Artist of the Year.

2023’s “The Head of a Mouse”, recognized as Ochoa’s best album yet, features inspired and personal compositions performed by an all-star lineup with seamless live-off-the-floor execution. “My father used to tell me ‘…it’s better to be the head of a mouse than the tail of a lion,’” she explains. All the songs are personal. They’re about family, grief, relationships – written during the pandemic as a creative outlet, influenced by artists such as Donny Hathaway and Daniel Caesar combined with her love of diverse genres such as Ska and Salsa. “The Head of a Mouse” earned Ochoa her first JUNO Award nomination in 2025.

Jerrold Dubyk

Jerrold Dubyk Jazz Ensemble adjudicator

Jerrold Dubyk is a definitive saxophone voice in Canadian jazz, known for his sophisticated, soulful sound that bridges the gap between the academy and the bandstand. A disciple of masters like Ralph Bowen, David Liebman and Branford Marsalis, Dubyk’s career is defined by technical brilliance and creative momentum. His discography includes the WCMA-winning album The Maverick, and his quartet has toured extensively across Canada, Europe, Cuba, and the U.S.   As a powerhouse in music education, Dubyk was recently named the 2025 Jazz Educator of the Year by the Alberta Band Association. He currently serves on the faculty at MacEwan University and as Director of Music at Strathcona High School.   On the stage or in the classroom, Dubyk remains a vital architect of the Edmonton jazz scene, also evidenced by being a member of Edify Magazine’s annual Top 40 Under 40 for his contributions to music and music education in Edmonton.  Jerrold is a Silverstein Ligature Artist.