Gloria Chu
Gloria Chu is an award winning composer, educator, speaker, and performer who brings joy and excellence to every facet of her work. Her compositions for chamber ensemble, violin, cello, and piano have been celebrated for their expressive depth and lyrical beauty which “transports [the audience] into a heavenly world.” Her pedagogical works have been selected for the Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects Contemporary Showcase syllabus, reflecting her dedication to enriching contemporary music education. Gloria’s compositions have earned numerous distinctions, including the World Melody Music Competition Award, First Place at the USA Modern and Contemporary Competition, the Canadian Folk Song Arrangement Prize, six awards from the Alberta Piano Teachers’ Association Creative Music Writing Competition, and First Place in the Provincial Alberta Registered Music Teachers’ Association Student Composition Competition. Gloria holds three master’s degrees: MA in Piano (Ottawa), MA in Strings (Chichester) and is currently pursuing an MA in Voice Pedagogy (Wales). Recognized for her outstanding contributions to music education, Gloria has received the Steinway & Sons Top Teacher Award and the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Teacher of Distinction Award. Her students, inspired by her nurturing and joyful approach to teaching, have collectively earned 22 RCM Regional Gold Medals - the highest mark in their regions - across Canada and the United States in piano, voice, and violin. She is also a respected member of the RCM College of Examiners. Gloria is a sought after speaker and has presented at local, provincial, and national conferences. Through her innovative teaching methods and pedagogical compositions, Gloria strives to empower today’s learners to express their unique voices with confidence, both in music and in life. www.gloriachumusic.com
Janet Correia
Janet Correia is an active musician with 25+ years of experience in teaching, collaborative accompanying, choral singing and conducting. Janet serves as Music Director at St. Luke’s Anglican Church Palermo and maintains a full private piano studio in Oakville. She is the Collaborative Pianist with Myriad Ensemble in Burlington, and previously held the role of Collaborative Pianist and Associate Conductor with the Oakville Choir for Children & Youth. She is currently on the board of the Rotary Burlington Music Festival Legacy Fund. Janet holds a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Education from U of T. Other credentials include a Licentiate Diploma in Piano Performance and an Artist-Teacher Diploma from the Glenn Gould Professional School (RCM) specializing in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy, in addition to earning both A.R.C.T. diplomas from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Beyond her professional pursuits, she enjoys composing, acrylic painting, pottery and gardening.
Michalis Andronikou
Michalis Andronikou is a composer and musicologist currently residing in Calgary, AB. He holds a PhD in composition from the University of Calgary. He received his Bachelor’s and Integrated Master’s degrees in musicology from the Department of Music Studies, University of Athens, Greece. He has a Diploma in Classical Guitar, Clarinet and Music Theory from the Trinity College and the Royal Academy of Music, and a Diploma in Byzantine Music from the Argyroupolis Municipal Conservatory. Michalis gained credentials in Harmony, Counterpoint, Fugue, and Music Composition (with Theodore Antoniou) from the Hellenic Conservatory. Moreover, he has studied Greek folk instruments such as lute, tamboura and bouzouki. Michalis has composed music for small and large ensembles, theatre plays, art exhibits, movies, and songs. Nine CDs with his works have been released since 2003, and his scores are published by various publishers around the world.
Dr. Cindy Thong
Canadian pianist Cindy Thong leads a polyvalent career as a pedagogue, researcher and performer. She has performed throughout Canada, in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain and Italy, and has also been a finalist and prizewinner in numerous competitions such as the Concours Hélène-Roberge and Canadian Music Competition. She has also made appearances at the Orford Music Festival, Banff Arts Centre, Gijón International Piano Festival and Euro Music Festival, among others. Maintaining a keen interest in mental skills training, she has additionally been invited to lecture at institutions such as the University of British Columbia and York University on topics such as the neuropsychology of learning and the optimization of practice methods, as related to her dissertation research.
Cindy holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Montréal where she was awarded the Prix d’interpretation en piano upon graduation. She also holds a Master of Arts in Music Performance from the Haute École de Musique de Genève in Switzerland. Her primary teachers include Jimmy Brière, the late Dominique Weber, and John Hansen.
Cindy is currently on faculty at Acadia University and the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts. A passionate music educator, Cindy is a co-founder of Where Music Leads, an arts organization dedicated to promoting career-development resources for aspiring young professionals. She is also the Artistic Director of the Acadia Piano Intensive program as well as the president of the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers’ Association.
Ian Campbell
I
an Campbell is a composer, pianist, improviser, and teacher. He started Creative Piano Lessons (creativepianolessons.ca) to help beginners through advanced musicians develop musical creativity at the piano through a sound-before-sight approach. He prioritizes listening, improvisation, and musical understanding alongside notation. He also created the Partimenti Workshop (partimenti.ca), where he teaches the historical practice of partimento as a living method for composition, improvisation, and deep musical understanding. Through this work he has worked with advanced and professional musicians on six continents.
Ian's compositions have been performed by students, community ensembles, and professional musicians in Canada, the United States, and Europe. He holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Music from the University of Manitoba and spent two summers studying composition in Paris at La Schola Cantorum with the European American Musical Alliance.
Owen Bloomfield
Owen Bloomfield, born and raised in Dryden, Ontario, is a Cambridge, Ontario based composer and community musician. His music has been described as dramatic, lyrical, and deeply moving. It often explores the spiritual and humanist sides of our existence and its relationship with the natural world. Owen writes for a variety of ensembles and soloists, from chamber orchestra to mini-opera. He has often worked with interdisciplinary and unconventional ensembles that explore the boundaries between music performance and theatre. Owen is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre, a member of the Canadian League of Composers, and treasurer of the Cambridge Branch of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association. Besides composing, Owen is music director of Cedar Hill United Church and has a busy private studio where he teaches piano, theory and composition