Marlene Carr
Children’s Programs (Kelly Kirby Piano), Piano and Voice
Marlene Carr, is a graduate of the National University of Freiburg in Germany, where she completed a masters degree in vocal performance. She began her career in 1984 and has since been heard in concert and recital in both Europe and North America. Ms Carr has over 25 years of experience as a soloist and teacher. Presently she is a faculty member of Chilliwack Academy of Music and the Central Academy of Music in Abbotsford. Her special expertise is in German vocal repertoire which she coaches throughout the Fraser Valley and Vancouver. She is the co-founder and coach of the Fraser Valley Youth Opera, providing opportunity for young singers to perform and share their love for opera repertoire.
Colleen Denoni
Piano
Colleen Denoni holds an ARCT Diploma in piano performance and was successful at the Teacher’s Written Exam from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Her principal instructor was Edward Parker with whom she studied full time from 1973 to 1980. She began teaching part time in 1975 and has maintained her own private music studio since 1979. Ms Denoni served as President of the British Columbia Registered Music Teachers’ Association Coquitlam/Maple Ridge Branch from 1987 to 1989. Her students have won numerous trophies and scholarships at the Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Coquitlam Festivals. Currently, Ms. Denoni teaches piano privately at home in Hope, as well as in Chilliwack and Mission. She is a member of the Chilliwack Branch of the BC Registered Music Teachers Association and believes she has found her calling in teaching, which she loves.
Barry Eggen
Trombone, Euphonium and Tuba
Barry Eggen is the band director at Vedder Middle School where he has taught since 1985. Mr. Eggen has developed a strong band program at Vedder Middle School and has also taught Trombone at the Chilliwack Academy of Music since 1985. Mr. Eggen has performed in all types of musical groups, from Symphony orchestras to the Marching Band of the Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa. He continues to perform and is the music director of the Moonliters Big Band based in Abbotsford. In February 2000 the British Columbia Music Educators’ Association presented Mr. Eggen with the Professional Music Educator Award.
Karin Fehlauer
Children’s Programs (Suzuki Piano and Suzuki Violin), Piano, Violin and Viola
Karin Fehlauer is well known as a music teacher and performer in the Chilliwack area. She has taught privately and at Alberta College, and is now String Department Advisor at the Chilliwack Academy of Music. Recent performances include appearances with the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra, the Festival of Trees, and The Mikado with the Fraser Valley Stage Society. Ms. Fehlauer holds her Licentiate from Trinity College, England in both violin and piano, and has completed extensive Suzuki training at Western Washington University and at various workshops in the Pacific Northwest. She is the string section coordinator for the Lions Club Music Festival, and is a long-time member of the local BCRMTA. Ms. Fehlauer is an enthusiastic and dedicated teacher who believes in the power of music to make a positive impact on each and every student’s life.
Laurie Hirschman
Music Theory and Music History
Laurie Hirschman completed her ARCT Singing Teacher’s diploma in 1980 and followed it with her ARCT Singing Performance diploma in 1983. In 1992, she received her Kodaly Summer Diploma from the University of Calgary and the following year attended the IKS/OAKE Seminar at Hartford University in Connecticut. Ms. Hirschman teaches theory and ear training at the Chilliwack Academy of Music, where she has taught since 1988. She is currently president of BCRMTA local, past board member of the Chilliwack Arts Council, provincial secretary and local registrar of the Chilliwack Lions Club Music & Dance Festival, and an instigator of the Joanne Stoutjesdyk Memorial Fund which awards a scholarship for those pursuing a music teaching degree.
Gwyneth Jones
Children’s Programs (Suzuki Violin), Violin, Viola, Fiddle and String Orchestra
Gwyneth Jones works part-time at the Chilliwack Library and teaches Suzuki Violin through the Chilliwack Academy of Music. As well as performing with Rob O’Brennan, she teaches beginning fiddlers at the Pacific Fiddle College and performs with the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra and the Burnaby Symphony Orchestra.
Ian Lochead
Drums and Percussion
Ian Lochead began his musical career in Ottawa, Ontario and brings over thirty years of percussion experience to his teaching. As a professional musician, he has recorded and toured with various rock, jazz, R&B, and country groups across Canada. Mr. Lochead’s extensive and widely-varied live performances have included venues from clubs to concert halls and outdoor festivals to TV shows. His studio experience as both band member and session player has involved records, CD and video productions and has received airplay in Australia, Canada and Europe. Mr. Lochead has enjoyed being a member of the faculty of the Chilliwack Academy of Music since 1994.
Teng Mackay
Piano
Teng Lee Mackay was born and trained in Singapore, and has taught piano since having a Licentiate in Piano Teaching from the Trinity College of London in 1987. Ms. Mackay has studied with Tan Bee Yen, Georgina Emmanuel and Lena Ching. She is a highly sought after accompanist and coach, having worked with several area school music teachers in numerous presentations of Musical Theatre.
Alex Maier
Saxophone, Oboe and Clarinet
Alexander Maier received his musical training in Chelyabinsk, Russia, and in 1976 earned the highest diploma from the State Institute of Culture where he specialized in oboe. Mr. Maier has performed in many orchestras and ensembles and as a soloist in Russia and in Canada. He is also on faculty at the Central Valley Academy of Music, and the Western Conservatory of Music where he teaches oboe, saxophone and clarinet.
Paula Quick
Voice, Chilliwack Festival Chorus and Intergenerational Choir
Paula Quick was, until 1997 Ottawa-based and is now living in Chilliwack BC. She holds both a Bachelor of Music in Theory and Composition and Master’s degree in Vocal Performance and Literature from the University of Western Ontario. Throughout her performance career, Ms. Quick has received consistent critical acclaim for her creativity within the contemporary music idiom and her stylistic versatility. A compilation compact disc or recent work entitled Ensemble Girigonza (CAM 9601) is available through most music distributors and the Canadian Music Centre. Ms. Quick’s performances are heard frequently on both the CBC and Radio Canada.
Nilan Ritter
Guitar (rock/jazz/blues/classical)
Nilan Ritter has spent 30 years traveling extensively throughout Europe and North America as a musician, teacher and clinician. Mr. Ritter has performed in numerous settings ranging from the Whatcom County Symphony Orchestra to a Jerry Lee Lewis tour and everything in between. Nilan’s education includes attending the Berklee School of Music, The Guitar Institute of Technology and the Guitar Study Center. Mr. Ritter is also a faculty member of the National Guitar Workshop, has taught at major universities in both the United States and Canada and was the owner and head instructor at the Langley Music Connection. Nilan’s love of the guitar and teaching is immediately apparent to each of his students and he is comfortable teaching in all styles.
Carmen Roberts
Piano and Flute
Carmen Roberts received a Bachelor of Music degree in both Piano and Flute Performance from Walla Walla College (Washington), and a Master of Music degree in Flute Performance from the University of British Columbia. In addition, she holds the Associate of Flute and Piano Performance from both the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Western Board of Music, and the Licentiate Diploma from the Western Board of Music. Her principal teachers include Julius Baker, Robert Aitken, Richard Hahn, and Paul Douglas, as well as theory with Nadia Boulanger at Fountainebleau, France. Ms. Roberts has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Asia, and the Caribbean as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and on radio and television.
Lisa Scyner
Voice
Lisa Scyner joined the Academy as a voice instructor in 2003 and has been the accompanist for the Chilliwack Festival Chorus for the past 5 years. She is also the Music Coordinator at Carman United Church. Lisa received her A.C.C.M. (Performer, Voice) from Conservatory Canada where she was awarded the Don & Lillian Right Travel & Study Scholarship, and completed a 3-year music diploma in Voice/Piano at Douglas College.
Rod Swanson
Piano, Guitar (rock/jazz/blues/classical), Banjo and Ukulele
Rod Swanson has had many years of experience performing solo guitar in concerts and in the hospitality industry in Western Canada. During that time, he has developed a wide repertoire to accommodate many situations. Since Mr. Swanson has moved to the West Coast, he has performed with Alexander Maier and participates in Early Music Groups and churches. Mr. Swanson also teaches guitar and keyboard throughout the Fraser Valley.
Niki Taylor
Children’s Programs (Music Makers) and Trumpet
Niki Taylor holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree (with distinction) from the University of Victoria, and a Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), with her principal trumpet instructors including Louis Ranger and Dennis Najoom. She is an experienced classroom teacher, who has taught general and choral music for grades K4-8, and has instructed undergraduate level Music Theory Fundamentals at UWM, Brass Pedagogy for music education students at Wisconsin Lutheran College and music history courses at the University of the Fraser Valley. Ms. Taylor has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Victoria Symphony, Chilliwack Symphony, Eastside Brass Quintet, Chilliwack Brass Quintet and Valley Festival Singers.
Caralee Voth
Piano
Caralee Voth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music (gold medal) from the University of Winnipeg as well as a Bachelor of Church Music in Piano Performance from Concord College. She completed her ARCT diploma in Piano Performance under the study of Irmgard Baerg. In addition to teaching piano at the Chilliwack Academy of Music and in Abbotsford, Ms. Voth accompanies for recitals, festivals, musical theatre and other performances. She also works for the music department of Trinity Western University.