Kathy Gable
Originally from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Kathleen Lohrenz Gable has dedicated herself to the pursuit of music as both a performer and a teacher. She has tirelessly worked to aid in the development of solo pianists, collaborative pianists, and singers. From an early age, Kathy has pursued musical excellence, beginning her early studies with Dr. Lyell Gustin in Saskatoon, taking the train down from Prince Albert for her weekly lessons until she was old enough to drive herself. As a young adult, Kathy received her Bachelor of Music from Wilfrid Laurier University. She received a Diploma in Lieder from the Franz Schubert Institute in Austria; a Fellowship from Trinity College in London; and Master of Music in Accompanying and Chamber Music from the University of Michigan. She developed a passion for passing on her musical knowledge, and has taught at many advanced institutions, including teaching Piano and Piano Pedagogy at the University of Michigan, spending time as a piano instructor at the famous Interlochen National Music Camp in Michigan, as well as teaching for Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Windsor, before moving back to Saskatchewan, where she now teaches at the University of Saskatchewan.
Since her return to Saskatchewan in 1994, Kathy has also worked extensively with opera companies and training programs for young artists, including Edmonton’s Opera Nuova, Calgary Opera, Saskatoon Opera, Saskatoon Symphony, Vancouver Summer Opera Study program, all while maintaining her commitments as the Music Director for the University of Saskatchewan Music Theatre Ensemble. In 2004, Kathy joined the faculty of Edmonton’s Opera Nuova as a teacher and music director, where she greatly enjoys returning every summer to work with both singers and pianists. Since 1997, Kathy has collaborated with eight Western Young Artist winners for a recital tour of cities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Since 2006, Kathy has been invited to China on multiple occasions to perform and teach at universities and conservatories in Tianjin, Wuhan, and Lanzhou alongside her husband, bass-baritone Garry Gable. Over several return trips, Kathy has had the opportunity to develop strong ties with colleagues, resulting in lasting friendships. In 2009, Kathy was an official pianist for the World Saxophone Congress in Bangkok. In 2011, she was one of the judges for the National Piano Competition at the CFMTA convention, where she also performed, led workshops, and gave master classes.
Kathy finds great joy in using her love of performing to continue to develop and share pedagogical ideas with teachers across Canada through her initiative ‘PD with Kathy Gable’, offering an opportunity for teachers to seek input in a private, confidential setting, either in-person or online. She has received requests from solo piano teachers, collaborative pianists, and voice teachers (about vocal coaching ideas). Alongside her continued performing and teaching, Kathy maintains a busy schedule of adjudicating national, provincial and local music festivals across Canada and in the United States.
Tak Kwan
Tak Kwan, an award-winning musician, was born into a family with a rich musical background. His father was a violin maker in Hong Kong, and Tak began his musical journey by learning to play the violin at the age of seven. He pursued his passion for music by studying and graduating in England, Canada, and the United States.
Tak has held various positions as a soloist and chamber musician, such as the chair of Concertmaster for the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra from 1996 to 2016 and the Northumberland Orchestra and Choir from 2011 to 2022. He has also performed as a soloist with several orchestras, including an invitation to perform for the Queen of England in Toronto in 2010. His solo performances have been praised for their technical excellence and emotional depth, with one review lauding his performance as "technically superb but delivered with a depth of emotion."
Tak has had the opportunity to perform in front of large audiences, including 15,000 people in Toronto and Tampa, Florida, in 2003 and 2007, respectively. His performances have captivated and impressed audiences, impacting those who have enjoyed hearing him play. In 2022, his students were invited to perform national anthems at the ceremony for the AHL, and he also performed the solo during the intermission for an audience of 5,000.
As a music educator, Tak has received recognition for his outstanding work. He was awarded the RCM Teacher Certificate of Recognition in 2020, 2021, and 2022 for his exceptional teaching skills. His students have achieved remarkable success, with many awarded Gold Medals in RCM exams from Level 1 to ARCT. Tak is also an appointed RCM Examination Officer and a member of the Examiner College. In addition to his teaching and performing work, Tak is the Music Director and Conductor of the Kawartha String Orchestra and the Founder and Music Director of the Lavender Chamber Ensemble. He is a certified Royal Conservatory of Music teacher and a Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators' Association member.
Tak's outstanding achievements in the field of music have not gone unnoticed. In 2020, he was awarded the Best Music Instructor in the Readers' Choice Awards. He is also awarded Platinum in the Ajax Community Votes 2023 and the winner of the Canadian Choice Award 2024, a testament to his dedication and hard work in the music industry. With his passion for music and exceptional talent, Tak continues to inspire and leave a lasting impact on those privileged to work with him.
Melissa Wood, Mezzo-Soprano
Originally from Manitoba, Mezzo-soprano Melissa Wood has called Saskatchewan home for the past twenty years. A graduate of Briercrest College, Melissa received her B.A. In Music Performance: Voice under the tutelage of Dr. Ron de Jager. Since graduating, Melissa’s passion has been to teach and perform. She has starred in numerous productions encompassing musical theatre to opera. Some of her more recent performances include, Ruth in Pirates of Penzance, Buttercup in H.M.S Pinafore, the Duchess in The Gondoliers, Miss Todd in Old Maid and the Thief, Golde in Fiddler on the Roof, The Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music and Marilla in Anne of Green Gables.
In 2020 Melissa completed a Master of Music degree at the University of Regina. Her final Graduate recital featured the music of Canadian composers such as Beckwith, Somers, Ford, Greer, Archer and Forsyth. Melissa has taught at Briercrest College in Caronport, SK for the past 19 years where she enjoys working with young singers and participating in their vocal development. She is the proud mother of three young children, Isabel, Hannah and Felix, who enjoy music just as much as she does.
Kevin Power
Kevin Power has received critical acclaim as a singer/actor from the Times of London to the Globe and Mail and Opera Canada, and performed extensively in Canada, the US and UK. For decades he has appeared as a character actor (mostly the villain!) on stage, television, and movies - most recently in the 2017 movie “Incident in a Ghost Land”, which premiered on the big screen in Canada, the US, and Europe.
Stage credits include M. André, The Phantom of the Opera (Original Canadian Cast); Tiny Tom, Urinetown: the Musical (Original Canadian Cast), Thenardier, Les Miserables; Rooster, Annie; Cogsworth, Disney’s Beauty & the Beast; and dozens more. He has appeared in concert with some of Canada’s finest orchestras, and toured his self-produced show jazz show throughout Canada. He has originated several roles for the Canadian Operetta Company, The Banff Centre, and Welsh National Opera.
He has appeared in lead and principal roles with film studios such as Lifetime Network, Lionsgate studios, the SyFy network, CBC, Bravo and the USA networks. He has worked with really fun actors like Dennis Quaid, Patti Labelle, Sarah Chalk, Sarah Brightman and more. Kevin can be seen in the first season of the smash television hit “Suits”. And yes, that is Kevin as the vampire in the Kellogg’s commercial for YoGo’s candy.
Kevin is creative producer and host of the podcast series “SaskScapes”, available on iTunes (and all podcasting apps) and featured on CBC’s national radio and Radio Saskatchewan.
Laurel Teichroeb, Lic.CNCM, ARCT, P/E CNCM, RMT
Laurel Teichroeb holds an ARCT Teachers Diploma with the Royal Conservatory of Music, a Primary / Elementary Piano Pedagogy Diploma, and a Licentiate Diploma in Piano Pedagogy with the Canadian National Conservatory of Music. Laurel is an examiner for CNCM, clinician at provincial and national music conferences, and an adjudicator for festivals throughout Western Canada.
Growing up in a musically enriched community in Springside, SK, Laurel began piano lessons with the late Jean Laube. Laurel’s earliest music influences were playing in church and singing in school, where she began accompanying at a very young age. At age 15, Laurel began teaching piano with her goal being to always be passionate about music, and to allow her students to find the joy of music at all levels of learning.
Laurel has taught Kindermusik, studied pipe organ and her love for music history has taken her to Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria. Attending lectures, masterclasses and performances at the Schloss where Haydn spent his thirty-year career has richly enhanced her musical enthusiasm and deepened her love for historic performance. She most recently participated as a presenter.
Laurel’s current studies include Music Learning Theory, which is the process of how children learn music when learning music. Laurel is very active with the Saskatchewan Registered Music Teachers – presently as Yorkton Branch President, and a director on the Provincial SRMTA board. She especially enjoys collaborating with vocalists, instrumentalists, and choirs in her community. Her favorite pastimes are travelling, biking, baking and spending time with her husband and two boys.
Cynthia Peyson Wahl, B.Mus.Ed, Dip.Mus., M.A.
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Cynthia Peyson Wahl holds a Bachelor of Music Education (University of Regina), a diploma in Contemporary Music, Jazz Voice (Grant MacEwan University), and a Master of Music Education (University of Toronto). For fourteen years she taught choir, vocal jazz, and musical theatre at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and directed the jazz choir at Canadian Mennonite University. She currently teaches with Regina Public Schools, and at the University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan.
At DMCI her choirs were featured performers at Choralfest Manitoba, the ChoralCanada Podium conference, and the Canadian Rocky Mountain Festival in Banff. In 2011 and 2012, her choirs won the Earl Grey Trophy for Outstanding performance by a choir at the Winnipeg Music Festival, and in 2011, her Chamber Choir won the Lieutenant Governor’s Trophy for most outstanding performance of the Winnipeg Music Festival.
Cynthia is the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards for choral excellence, and is published in two books – The Palgrave Handbook on Race and the Arts in Education, and Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir, vol. 5. Cynthia enjoys a busy schedule as a clinician/workshop presenter, regularly travelling across Canada and the US to work with choirs of all genres. She is currently completing her PhD in music education at the University of Toronto.
Thomas Annand, Director of Music, St, Andrew's, Ottawa, ON
Thomas Annand was a student of Graham Steed, John Grew, and Marie-Claire Alain. In 1987 he won First Prize at the RCCO National Organ Competition and since then has pursued an active career as a performer on organ, harpsichord and as conductor. He has been Director of Music at St. Andrew’s Church, Ottawa since 1992, giving over 200 recitals there including a series of weekly recitals where he performed a vast repertoire including the ten symphonies of Widor, the complete organ works of Liszt, Franck and Mendelssohn. As harpsichordist he performed all the major works of Bach in 7 marathon recitals in 2004-2005. He has performed as a soloist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Les Violons du Roy, touring with them to Carnegie Hall on three occasions.
He has been a featured artist in the Boston Early Music Festival, the Carmel Bach Festival, the International Congress of Organists and the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. As a conductor he was the founder of Capital BrassWorks with whom he recorded for the CBC SM5000 series, and a frequent guest conductor of the Thirteen Strings. He has appeared on film (Denys Arcand’s Le Règne de la Beauté), radio and television. In addition he has had his choral music published and performed and has contributed continuo realizations to editions of early music. Thomas Annand is a Fellow of the RCCO for which he has worked as an examiner and a jury member for the Organ Playing Competition, and is a past-Chair of the Ottawa Centre.
Catherine Wood, Clarinettist
Clarinettist Cathy Wood is an established performer, educator, and advocate of Canadian music. She has been a featured guest artist at festivals across the globe including the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFests, Nordic Music Days in the Faroe Islands, and a recent tour in Armenia and Georgia with multi-JUNO award winner David Braid. An enthusiast of new music, Wood has commissioned and premiered many works, including those by Canadian composers: Karen Sunabacka, David Braid, T. Patrick Carrabré, Fjóla Evans, Chris Byman, Jeff Presslaff, Kenley Kristofferson, and Sid Robinovitch. She has performed at numerous festivals that celebrate new music, including the Winnipeg New Music Festival, Ground Swell, and Iceland’s Dark Music Days.
A sought-after clinician and adjudicator, Dr. Wood has served on many international competition juries including several ICA Young Artist Competitions. She adjudicated the inaugural International Mozart Clarinet Competition in 2011 at the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music (where she heard seventy performances of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto in one day!).
Catherine performs regularly with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the Brandon Chamber Players, the Devil Sticks Clarinet Quartet, and with Victoria Sparks in their percussion and clarinet duo Viðarneisti. Her recent chamber music recordings include the 2021 Western Canadian Music Award Winner 100,000 Lakes (Classical Composer of the Year, T. Patrick Carrabré) and Radio Static (Devil Sticks Clarinet Quartet).
In 2019, Wood earned a Guinness World Record as a member of the world’s largest clarinet choir. Dr. Wood is on faculty at Brandon University where she has built a thriving clarinet studio. Her clarinet choir tours annually and was invited to perform several premieres at the 2014 ICA ClarinetFest in Baton Rouge and the 2023 ClarinetFest in Denver. In 2011, Wood founded the BU Clarinet Festival, an annual event featuring some of the top performers and pedagogues in the world.
Wood serves as President-Elect of the International Clarinet Association. She is a Buffet Crampon and Vandoren Paris performing artist.