A passionate performer and dedicated teacher, Dr. Sofia Mycyk embraces a multi-faceted music career. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras in Canada, the United States, and most recently with the Stratford Symphony Orchestra. She has been featured at the Landowska Harpsichord Society in Chicago, the Thursday Musical series in Minneapolis, and in her home province at the Lyell Gustin Recital Series, Ritornello Festival, and Strata Festival of New Music. Her performance highlights also include the Lakes Area Music Festival, PianoFest in the Hamptons, and a performance of Colin McPhee’s Piano Concerto as the winner of the University of Minnesota Concerto Competition in Ted Mann Concert Hall.

Ukrainian classical music is central to Sofia’s current research, which she endeavors to bring to a broader audience. She has presented on Ukrainian composers in the Fine Arts Research Lecture Series at the University of Saskatchewan and in conjunction with the concert A Kolomiyka Fantasy by the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra. Her album Hutsulian Watercolours, featuring solo piano music by Ukrainian composers, was recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto.

Collaborating with local arts organizations continues to be Sofia's fulfilling pursuit. In 2024, the Remai Modern presented the Sofia Mycyk Performance Series, including a marathon performance of Erik Satie’s Vexations in March and a solo recital, Music of Picasso, in May. During the pandemic, Saskatoon Opera presented a live-streamed recital, Ukrainian Art Song on a Starlit Night, where she performed alongside soprano Katya Khartova. Sofia regularly joins local musicians each summer to perform new works at the Strata Festival of New Music.

Sofia looks forward to performing as a soloist with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra in Metamorphosis this spring. With this immersive concert experience, thousands of silkscreened paper butterflies by visual artist Monique Martin will adorn St. John’s Cathedral in Saskatoon. The following week, she will also perform a solo piano program within the same exhibit, presented by the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Mycyk earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Minnesota, where she held a Teaching Assistantship. She currently serves as a Sessional Lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan. In addition to performing and teaching, she is an RCM College of Examiners member and an enthusiastic adjudicator with the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association. She credits her teachers, Timothy Lovelace and Bonnie Nicholson, as significant influences in her musical journey.

Sofia lives in Saskatoon, where she enjoys running outdoors, reading, and playing violin with the Saskatoon Symphony.

Nancy Nowosad received her musical training in Saskatchewan, earning a Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Regina. In addition to piano, she studied saxophone and flute and has performed extensively across Canada and internationally.

In Winnipeg since 1991, Nancy has taught piano, saxophone, and theory. She is also an active clinician, adjudicator, and examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music, working remotely and in person. Her experience includes roles as a church organist, collaborative pianist, and ensemble conductor.

Nancy facilitates adjudicator training, serves as a Presiding Examiner for the RCM, and mentors emerging teachers and adjudicators. She is an engaged member of the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers’ Association (MRMT) and the Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators’ Association (CMFAA), contributing meaningfully to music education and festival culture nationwide.

Robyn Driedger-Klassen has graced many recital, concert, and opera stages. Known mainly for her passion for contemporary music, she frequently performs and premieres works by living composers.

Robyn is the Head of Voice at the Vancouver Academy of Music, where she teaches in the college program. She also owns and operates the Robyn D. Klassen Voice Studio, through which she finds immense satisfaction and joy in working with advanced classical voice students.

She is always ready to offer unsolicited reading recommendations and is passionate about gardening. She lives with her husband and two young vocal critics, who can consume shocking amounts of cereal each day. Thanks to osmosis, she knows a remarkable amount about living and prehistoric ocean creatures and is an expert at avoiding stray Lego underfoot.

Teaching artist and soprano Dr. Betty Allison is a professor of voice at the University of Saskatchewan. A Canadian Opera Company Ensemble graduate, her major credits include world premieres and leading roles across Canada and Europe.

Her repertoire spans operatic, contemporary, and concert works. She recently completed her doctorate at the University of Toronto, where her research focused on singer wellness and resilience – specifically examining the stress management techniques and coping strategies used by elite vocalists to maintain their voices and careers.

David L. McIntyre is living his childhood dream of being a composer and pianist. Spending most of his life on the Canadian prairies, he was born in Edmonton, educated in Saskatoon and Calgary, and has been based in Regina since 1976. For three years, he served as composer-in-residence with the Regina Symphony Orchestra. He has been organist at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Regina for many years and has published seven volumes of his Organ Notebook. A leading composer of piano music, he is a respected solo pianist and frequent collaborator with many fine singers and instrumentalists. Known equally for his vocal, choral, and chamber works, David continues to fulfill public and private commissions from many musical organizations, artists, and individuals. Several of his works have now garnered an international reputation.

Stewart Wilkinson received his BA and BEd (music majors) from the University of Saskatchewan, and his MMus (choral conducting) from the University of Regina. As chair of the Fine Arts Department at Campbell Collegiate, Regina, his choirs enjoyed international acclaim, with  orkshops and performances in Seoul, South Korea, the People’s Republic of China, the International Jazz Educators Association conference in San Antonio, Texas, and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

In the fall of 1999 Stewart moved to Austin, Texas, where he served for twelve years as choral director at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School. While there, he organized performance tours to New York City, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Banff, Taiwan, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, and China. Personal honors include the first-ever Downbeat Magazine Award for excellence in music education in 1990, the Saskatchewan Choral Federation’s 1992 Pro Musica Award, and the Saskatchewan Music Educators Association’s 1993 Outstanding Achievement Award. In 2004 Stewart received an award of merit from the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors in recognition of his 25 years of service to choral music in Canada. Upon retiring from teaching, Stewart served for two years as the director of the newly established Saskatchewan Youth Choir. A published composer with Cypress Choral, he remains active as an adjudicator and choral clinician.

Cellist Leanne Zacharias is an interdisciplinary artist celebrated for her unique collaborations across genres and geographies. Her performance project, Music for Spaces, was recently presented at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. Other standout projects include Listening Booth – solo recitals for a solo audience member – presented by the Agassiz Chamber Music Festival and SappyFest (Sackville, NB); Sounding the Wake of a Glacier, a Canada150 commission; CityWide, featuring 50 simultaneous recitals for the International Cello Festival of Canada; the Portal Zero installation with the Winnipeg Symphony’s New Music Festival; and Sonus Loci, a sound installation on ice selected by Winnipeg’s Warming Huts Competition.

She performs widely and appears on numerous recordings, with her first solo album set for release this year. A dynamic educator, Leanne has been on the faculty at Brandon University’s School of Music since 2008 and serves on the Board of the Manitoba Arts Council.

Leanne adjudicates across Canada and has taught at esteemed programs, including the Domaine Forget International Academy, Rosamunde Summer Academy, Prairie Cello Institute, and Cadenza Music Week. She also co-directs A Wild Studio (Canadian National Parks), Hybrid Intensive in San Francisco, and Wheat City Nuit Blanche. Her upcoming solo album features a contemporary repertoire in intimate architectural spaces across the prairies.

Garry Gable has enjoyed a wide-ranging performance career across Canada, the United States, and China, spanning classical music, opera, theatre, and more. He has performed with numerous opera companies and symphony orchestras, taking on iconic roles from Don Giovanni to Candide.

A resident of Saskatoon since 1994, Garry served as a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, where he earned accolades for his excellence in teaching. He has taught and performed in China and mentored countless students, many of whom have won major competitions and established international careers.

Now retired from academia, Garry is returning to performing and teaching on his terms.

Ryan Purchase is a freelance trombonist based in Ottawa, Ontario, with a musical focus on klezmer and free improvisation. He received his training in Regina and at the University of Toronto, where he was both a longtime student and later an instructor at Klezkanada.

He has performed and taught internationally, served as personnel manager for major orchestras, and appeared on over 20 recordings as a performer and composer. Ryan is a founding member of several bands and a devoted Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast – currently developing a podcast titled Advanced Make-Believe.