Tina Chang, piano

Described as a "scintillating player" (Opera Wire) whose "...pianism was a wonder," (Opera Canada), pianist and coach Tina Chang is currently on the music staff at Vancouver Opera, and recently at Wexford Festival Opera in Ireland. Based in Vancouver, she has been involved with various arts organizations, including Arts Club Theatre, Chor Leoni, Sound the Alarm Music Theatre, City Opera, and Against the Grain Theatre. She holds her own private studio, and has held adjunct positions at University of British Columbia and Dalhousie University. Find out more about Tina at www.TinaChangPiano.ca.

Katherine Evans, trumpet

Praised for her “solo work of exceptional quality” by the Boston Globe, Katherine Evans is in her fifth season as principal trumpet of the Newport Symphony in Newport, OR. She previously held principal trumpet positions and appeared as a soloist with several regional symphonies around Boston, MA. In Vancouver, Ms. Evans can be heard primarily as a soloist and freelancer. She appears with Turning Point Ensemble, the Vancouver Brass Orchestra, and OneTwoTrio, and has been featured in multiple recital series including those at Holy Rosary Cathedral, St. Andrews-Wesley, and UBC. She is recorded on the Centuar, Chéldar, and Albany labels.

Michael Dirk, organ

As one of Vancouver’s more active and versatile organists, Michael Dirk is equally at home offering solo concerts, accompanying the many fine choirs/ensembles of the region, improvising an entertaining accompaniment to a silent film, or serving liturgically in various worship styles. During his BMus program at UBC, he studied organ with Ed Norman and Denis Bédard. Michael then continued as graduate assistant with full scholarship, to the eminent teacher, Clyde Holloway, at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University of Houston, Texas, where he received his Masters degree. Subsequent studies include the Cavaillé-Coll organs of Paris, as well as the Fr Willis organs and Cathedral choir school systems of London. Michael has performed for national festivals of the Royal Canadian College of Organists for which he serves as Vice-President and Education officer, as well as the Association of Anglican Musicians national conference. Since 2012, Michael has been the Music Director/Organist of St John’s Shaughnessy Anglican Church. He is frequently invited to showcase the Orpheum’s historic Mighty Wurlizter for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, having studied with Robert MacDonald (Radio City Concert Hall NYC) and Charlie Balogh (Organ Stop, Mesa). A sought after clinician, Michael has offered numerous workshops for the RCCO and British Columbia Music Educator Association, as well as articles for Organ Canada Journal.

Marie-Claire Saindon

Marie-Claire Saindon is a Franco-Ontarian choral composer with a penchant for vivid imagery and a great affinity for setting text. Her experience while studying music at McGill University and Université de Montréal ranges from accompanying dancers, to scoring films, to fiddling in a team of folk musicians on a historical steam train. Based in Montreal as composer-in-residence for Chœur Adleisia, she runs creative choral/vocal composition workshops, scores films, and teaches fiddle. Recipient of multiple composition prizes, her choral works are published with Boosey & Hawkes, Hal Leonard, Cypress Choral Music, and her film scores can be found on documentaries hosted by CBC Gem and Radio-Canada.

Russell Wallace

Russell Wallace (Music Composer) is a composer, producer, teacher, and traditional singer from the Lil’wat Nation in B.C. His music has been part of a number of soundtracks (film and television) and theatre/dance productions across Canada. Wallace has given workshops at SFU for 8 years as well as numerous post- secondary schools and high schools within the greater Vancouver area.

Roydon Tse

Dr. Roydon Tse (1991) is an award-winning composer and educator who seeks to communicate with listeners from all backgrounds. His music, for orchestral, vocal and chamber forces, have been commissioned & performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Esprit Orchestra, the Atlanta Opera, Verona Quartet, & members of the Minnesota, Paris Opera and La Scala Orchestras, among others. Born in Hong Kong, Roydon was a teaching artist for the Canadian Opera Company and is a resident faculty for the Lunenburg Composition Academy in Nova Scotia. He completed his D.M.A at the University of Toronto and lives in Calgary, Alberta.

Sam Dabrusin

Sam Dabrusin (he/him) grew up in Red Deer, Alberta and now works as an arranger/composer/director/educator/vocalist in Vancouver, BC. Sam has been commissioned by quartets and choruses across Canada and has works published through Cypress Choral Music and SMP Press. His radio jingles have been heard on C-FOX and CiTR, and notable studio sessions include Russell Wallace’s “Unceded Tongues” and the My Little Pony television show. Sam serves as Minister of Choral Music at Shaughnessy Heights United Church and is the musical director for Soundscape A Cappella Chorus. He has been singing in choirs since 2002 and currently sings with musica intima, the Vancouver Chamber Choir, the Vancouver Cantata Singers, The Squares barbershop chorus, and The Hot Teas contemporary a cappella ensemble, and is happy to co-direct the latter two. Sam holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Vancouver Community College.

Adam Podd

Adam Podd is a Vermont-bred, Brooklyn-based music director, pianist, organist, bassist, composer and arranger. He has worked with some of the top artists and organizations in his field including The National Symphony Orchestra, The Boston Pops, New York Pops, Houston Symphony, Idina Menzel, Megan Hilty, Darlene Love, James Monroe Iglehart, Frankie Moreno, Stephen Kellogg, Milton Delugg, Macy’s Entertainment and The Young People’s Chorus of New York City in such venues as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Symphony Space, New World Stages, and others.

Don Macdonald

Don Macdonald (born 1966) is an internationally recognized composer of film and choral music, and he has an eclectic musical background as a performer, producer, and educator. His diverse body of work spans music for theatre and dance, published choral works, and forays into everything from rock and jazz to world and folk music. A multiple Canadian Film Awards nominee and 3-time Leo Award winner, he has over 50 film music credits and has worked with many of the major studios including 20th Century Fox and Lions Gate Films. His orchestral score to the cult classic zombie film “Fido” won him the award for Best Soundtrack” at the Gerardmer Film Festival in France. A multi-instrumentalist, Don has performed professionally on saxophone, violin, and voice. His deep connection to choral music, cultivated from a young age, permeates his compositions, with highlights such as the two-hour opera “KHAOS,” the Da Capo Chamber Choir New Works Competition winner “Tabula Rasa,” and the six-movement piece “High Flight,” commissioned by Chor Leoni during his three-year tenure as composer in residence. His choral works have been performed and recorded by many fine ensembles all over the world including Rajaton (Finland), the Vancouver Chamber Choir (Can), the Luther College Nordic Choir (USA), Cantus (USA), and Papagena (UK).

Shawn Crouch

"This single movement sets a poem by Iraq War veteran Brian Turner whose moving accounts of the war are vivid and powerful. Having myself had a brother who served two tours of duty in Iraq in the Marine Corps, I was drawn to the visceral images Turner paints with his text. In the music, I want to emphasize the lyrical qualities and changing colors of the poem that emerge as arching musical lines that often seem to layer upon themselves. Here, in Lullaby, a father seeks ways to comfort his child and himself as the sounds of war ring out all around them."

Ēriks Ešenvalds

Ēriks Ešenvalds is one of the most sought-after composers working today, with a busy commission schedule and performances of his music heard on every continent. Born in Priekule, Latvia in 1977, he studied at the Latvian Baptist Theological Seminary (1995–97) before obtaining his Master’s degree in composition (2004) from the Latvian Academy of Music under the tutelage of Selga Mence. He took master-classes with Michael Finnissy, Klaus Huber, Philippe Manoury, and Jonathan Harvey, amongst others. From 2002–11 he was a member of the State Choir Latvija. In 2011 he was awarded the two-year position of Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. As of 2022 he serves as Head of the Department of Composition at the Latvian Academy of Music, where he has been teaching since 2004. He is married with four children.

Shadows Into Dawn

Chor Leoni – Erick Lichte conductor | Tina Chang – piano | Katherine Evans – trumpet | Michael Dirk – organ