Adjudicators
Adjudicators
2023 Festival Adjudicators...
Colin Clarke, Oakville
A recipient of the Clifford Evans Award for Conducting, Colin Clarke’s credits include collaboration with world-renowned artists and ensembles including the United States Air Force Band of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, the Canadian Brass, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, the official fanfare ensemble for the President of the United States. Colin has led the Provincial Honour Bands of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island, and also served as Conductor of the prestigious National Youth Band of Canada. Abroad, Colin has led performances in the United States, the United Kingdom, Austria, Bulgaria, Spain and China. With a passion for music education and outreach, Colin remains active as a conductor, guest lecturer, clinician, adjudicator and composer/arranger. He received the Lifetime Membership Award from the Ontario Band Association for his contributions to music and music education in Ontario. Colin is Founder and Artistic Director of the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra, Music Director of the Oakville Symphony Youth Orchestra, and is the newly-appointed Artistic Director of the Oscar Peterson Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Dr. Jacquie Dawson, Winnipeg
Dr. Dawson is currently the Director of Bands at the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music where she conducts the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble, teaches courses in music education and oversees the graduate wind conducting program. The University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble has been featured at festivals such as the Cantando Festival in Edmonton and Sunpeaks, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Music Festival, has performed in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra New Music Festival and has participated in numerous consortium commissions and world performances. Prior to her appointment at the University of Manitoba, she taught in the public school system for twenty years and served as a sessional instructor at the University of Manitoba. Jacquie served on the board of directors of the Manitoba Band Association from 1999 – 2005 and remains active with numerous MBA projects and is the treasurer of the Canadian Band Association. She was the Artistic Director of The Winnipeg Wind Ensemble from 2009-2020. Under her leadership the group has expanded in infrastructure, artistic standard and programming, and in 2016 launched a new division of the organization, The Winnipeg Youth Wind Ensemble. She continues to spend as much time as possible with young students and band programs and is a strong advocate for music education. Jacquie received undergraduate degrees in music and music education from Memorial University of Newfoundland and holds a masters degree in conducting from the University of Manitoba where she studied with Dr. Dale Lonis and Earl Stafford. She completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Kansas under the tutelage of Dr. Paul Popiel.
Dr. Dawson is currently the Director of Bands at the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music where she conducts the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble, teaches courses in music education and oversees the graduate wind conducting program. The University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble has been featured at festivals such as the Cantando Festival in Edmonton and Sunpeaks, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Music Festival, has performed in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra New Music Festival and has participated in numerous consortium commissions and world performances. Prior to her appointment at the University of Manitoba, she taught in the public school system for twenty years and served as a sessional instructor at the University of Manitoba. Jacquie served on the board of directors of the Manitoba Band Association from 1999 – 2005 and remains active with numerous MBA projects and is the treasurer of the Canadian Band Association. She was the Artistic Director of The Winnipeg Wind Ensemble from 2009-2020. Under her leadership the group has expanded in infrastructure, artistic standard and programming, and in 2016 launched a new division of the organization, The Winnipeg Youth Wind Ensemble. She continues to spend as much time as possible with young students and band programs and is a strong advocate for music education. Jacquie received undergraduate degrees in music and music education from Memorial University of Newfoundland and holds a masters degree in conducting from the University of Manitoba where she studied with Dr. Dale Lonis and Earl Stafford. She completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Kansas under the tutelage of Dr. Paul Popiel.
Sarah Drew, Cochrane
Sarah Drew (B. Mus, Ed Cert, Dip Wind Band Conducting) taught middle school music for 34 years hoping to impact her student’s lives with the love and power of music. Ms. Drew has taught K-9 music at a variety of schools in the Calgary area and her performing groups have consistently achieved high standards but she is most proud of who her students become as caring, creative and confident citizens. She loves starting out young instrumentalists and co-wrote a beginning method, “Kodaly for Band” . Ms. Drew has directed bands at Calgary’s Summer Band Workshop, and MusicCamrose, been involved with the University of Calgary music education students, the ATA Mentorship program and has had roles on the boards of ABA and ABIF, the Arts and Culture board in her hometown and is currently the Co-President of the WBDI-Alberta Chapter. She was the Founder and Artistic Director of the Sher-Wood-Like-To-Play Adult Community Band in Calgary for 17 years, as well as the director of the Cochrane Children’s Choir. In 2020 she was presented with the Elkhorn Band Director of the Year award.
Sarah Drew (B. Mus, Ed Cert, Dip Wind Band Conducting) taught middle school music for 34 years hoping to impact her student’s lives with the love and power of music. Ms. Drew has taught K-9 music at a variety of schools in the Calgary area and her performing groups have consistently achieved high standards but she is most proud of who her students become as caring, creative and confident citizens. She loves starting out young instrumentalists and co-wrote a beginning method, “Kodaly for Band” . Ms. Drew has directed bands at Calgary’s Summer Band Workshop, and MusicCamrose, been involved with the University of Calgary music education students, the ATA Mentorship program and has had roles on the boards of ABA and ABIF, the Arts and Culture board in her hometown and is currently the Co-President of the WBDI-Alberta Chapter. She was the Founder and Artistic Director of the Sher-Wood-Like-To-Play Adult Community Band in Calgary for 17 years, as well as the director of the Cochrane Children’s Choir. In 2020 she was presented with the Elkhorn Band Director of the Year award.
Gareth Jones, Calgary
Gareth Jones is an instructor at the University of Calgary where he teaches conducting as well as the trumpet studio and directs the University’s Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band in addition to directing the Alberta Winds. He has studied conducting with such renowned pedagogues as Jorma Panula, Gustav Meier, Michael Haithcock, and Michael Jinbo. He has conducted ensembles from across Western Canada as well as Mexico and the United States. Mr. Jones’s musical activities are greatly varied. He has appeared as guest conductor and clinician with over two hundred orchestras and wind ensembles, been a featured trumpet player on Juno nominated blues CDs, appeared on CBC radio as a soloist and chamber musician, been a guest lecturer with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, as well as regularly playing with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and adjudicating and conducting at music festivals across Canada. 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.
Martin Kennedy, Okotoks
Martin Kennedy Recently retired, Martin Kennedy was the Director of Bands at Holy Trinity Academy in Okotoks, Alberta. Originally from Eugene, Oregon, he attended the University of Oregon where he earned his Bachelor of Music Education in 1981, and then returned to the University of Oregon to earn his Master of Clarinet Performance in 1986. Mr. Kennedy began his teaching career in Ft. McMurray, Alberta, where he taught for 13 years, building the band program at Ft. McMurray Composite High School, as well as the Northwinds Marching Band. During this period, he also performed frequently with Keyano College productions, where he performed with orchestras for Rich Little, George Fox and others. In 1995, Mr. Kennedy moved to Okotoks to build the band program at Holy Trinity Academy. During his tenure, the program has grew four fold, and the bands at HTA regularly received ‘Superior’ ratings in festivals all across North America. His work at HTA led to his receiving the ‘Tommy Banks Award’ in 2007 for Jazz Education, and the Alberta Band Association ‘Elkhorn Award’ for Band Director of the Year in 2011. In 2012, he was honoured to receive the ‘David Peterkin Award’ for service towards Band Music from his peers in the Phi Beta Mu. In 2020, Mr. Kennedy was received the ‘Honourary Lifetime Member Award’ from the Alberta Band Association. Since retiring, he has continued to direct the Foothills Music Society Jazz band, and to performs clinics throughout southern Alberta
Martin Kennedy Recently retired, Martin Kennedy was the Director of Bands at Holy Trinity Academy in Okotoks, Alberta. Originally from Eugene, Oregon, he attended the University of Oregon where he earned his Bachelor of Music Education in 1981, and then returned to the University of Oregon to earn his Master of Clarinet Performance in 1986. Mr. Kennedy began his teaching career in Ft. McMurray, Alberta, where he taught for 13 years, building the band program at Ft. McMurray Composite High School, as well as the Northwinds Marching Band. During this period, he also performed frequently with Keyano College productions, where he performed with orchestras for Rich Little, George Fox and others. In 1995, Mr. Kennedy moved to Okotoks to build the band program at Holy Trinity Academy. During his tenure, the program has grew four fold, and the bands at HTA regularly received ‘Superior’ ratings in festivals all across North America. His work at HTA led to his receiving the ‘Tommy Banks Award’ in 2007 for Jazz Education, and the Alberta Band Association ‘Elkhorn Award’ for Band Director of the Year in 2011. In 2012, he was honoured to receive the ‘David Peterkin Award’ for service towards Band Music from his peers in the Phi Beta Mu. In 2020, Mr. Kennedy was received the ‘Honourary Lifetime Member Award’ from the Alberta Band Association. Since retiring, he has continued to direct the Foothills Music Society Jazz band, and to performs clinics throughout southern Alberta
Gillian MacKay, Toronto
Gillian MacKay is Professor of Music of the University of Toronto, where she conducts the Wind Ensemble and teaches conducting. She has conducted honour ensembles throughout Canada and internationally, and serves as Associate Conductor of the Denis Wick Canadian Wind Orchestra. Dr. MacKay has adjudicated and guest conducted in Canada, the USA, Asia and in the UK. Known for her exploration of the relationship between conducting and mime, Gillian is currently investigating the application of acting and clown to expressivity in conducting gesture. Gillian leads the University of Toronto Wind Conducting Symposium each July, and has been the guest instructor at other symposia in Canada and abroad. Born in PEI, Gillian grew up in southern Alberta, and earned degrees and diplomas from University of Lethbridge, University of Calgary, McGill University, and Northwestern University.
Ken Rogers, Lethbridge
Ken Rogers retired in 2018 from Lethbridge Collegiate Institute after a 32-year career in music teaching. He taught band, choir, guitar and general music courses at middle, junior and high school levels, as well as some elementary school music. He has taught at the post-secondary level including music studio performance, choir, and music curriculum and instruction courses at the U of L. He has had a keen interest in music curriculum through his teaching career. In 2016 he was appointed as a member of the Alberta Education Arts Curriculum Working Group focusing on grades 9-12 music and served until the group’s suspension in July 2019. Ken has been involved in many community music programs – McKillop United Church, the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra, Lethbridge Community band, Lethbridge Big Band, Vox Musica Chorus, and various musical theatre groups. He holds a B. Music and a B. Ed. from the U of L and a graduate diploma in Fine Arts from the U of C.
Ken Rogers retired in 2018 from Lethbridge Collegiate Institute after a 32-year career in music teaching. He taught band, choir, guitar and general music courses at middle, junior and high school levels, as well as some elementary school music. He has taught at the post-secondary level including music studio performance, choir, and music curriculum and instruction courses at the U of L. He has had a keen interest in music curriculum through his teaching career. In 2016 he was appointed as a member of the Alberta Education Arts Curriculum Working Group focusing on grades 9-12 music and served until the group’s suspension in July 2019. Ken has been involved in many community music programs – McKillop United Church, the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra, Lethbridge Community band, Lethbridge Big Band, Vox Musica Chorus, and various musical theatre groups. He holds a B. Music and a B. Ed. from the U of L and a graduate diploma in Fine Arts from the U of C.
Tom Spila, Camrose
Mr. Spila, a graduate of the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Education degree majoring in secondary music, recently retired after having taught music at the Elementary, Jr., & Sr. High School levels for a total of 44 years. The last 39 of those were spent at Camrose Composite High School where the music program consisted of concert and jazz bands, mixed chorus, chamber choir and vocal jazz, as well as beginner and advanced guitar. Student groups under his direction have been recognized at regional, provincial, and national levels. He has been honoured by the Alberta Government, the Governor General of Canada, by Alberta Education, and by Alberta’s band and choral communities. Mr. Spila has been active as an adjudicator, has been a guest conductor at weekend and summer workshops, and has served on the boards of the Alberta Band Association and Choir Alberta. Most recently he was recognized by the Alberta Band Association with an Honorary Lifetime Award. He is currently the director of the Camrose & District Community Band, and has been since its inception in 1983.
Mr. Spila, a graduate of the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Education degree majoring in secondary music, recently retired after having taught music at the Elementary, Jr., & Sr. High School levels for a total of 44 years. The last 39 of those were spent at Camrose Composite High School where the music program consisted of concert and jazz bands, mixed chorus, chamber choir and vocal jazz, as well as beginner and advanced guitar. Student groups under his direction have been recognized at regional, provincial, and national levels. He has been honoured by the Alberta Government, the Governor General of Canada, by Alberta Education, and by Alberta’s band and choral communities. Mr. Spila has been active as an adjudicator, has been a guest conductor at weekend and summer workshops, and has served on the boards of the Alberta Band Association and Choir Alberta. Most recently he was recognized by the Alberta Band Association with an Honorary Lifetime Award. He is currently the director of the Camrose & District Community Band, and has been since its inception in 1983.
Mark Ward, Medicine Hat
Wind bands have been a part of Mark Ward's life since his high school band days in Montreal and membership in the Black Watch Association Band in 1972. He started his post secondary studies at the University of Lethbridge, completed bachelors degrees at U of L and Western University, and a Masters in Music at the University of Victoria. Mark’s music background spans over 42 years having spent his career as a band teacher in BC and Alberta. He has served on the board of directors of the British Columbia Band Association and the Alberta Band Association including a term as president. He is a member of Phi Beta Mu and this year was recognized by the ABA with an Honorary Lifetime Member Award. Mark continues to share his passion for music as a brass instructor at the Medicine Hat College and conducts community bands in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.
Wind bands have been a part of Mark Ward's life since his high school band days in Montreal and membership in the Black Watch Association Band in 1972. He started his post secondary studies at the University of Lethbridge, completed bachelors degrees at U of L and Western University, and a Masters in Music at the University of Victoria. Mark’s music background spans over 42 years having spent his career as a band teacher in BC and Alberta. He has served on the board of directors of the British Columbia Band Association and the Alberta Band Association including a term as president. He is a member of Phi Beta Mu and this year was recognized by the ABA with an Honorary Lifetime Member Award. Mark continues to share his passion for music as a brass instructor at the Medicine Hat College and conducts community bands in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.