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.

Jonathan Lo, cello

Canadian cellist Jonathan Lo has performed throughout North America and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician, and has appeared as soloist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. His chamber music collaborations have led to performances with Geoff Nuttall, Mark Steinberg, Lynn Harrell, Dasol Kim, and Louis Schwizgebel; additionally he has worked closely with leading composers of our time such as Osvaldo Golijov, Oliver Knussen, and Shulamit Ran. Jonathan was the founding cellist of the Rolston String Quartet, winners of the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition and the first international ensemble to receive the Cleveland Quartet Award. For the 21/22 season, Jonathan served as acting principal cello of the Vancouver Opera. He regularly performs at Music in the Morning, Music on Main, and with musica intima, and the Turning Point Ensemble. He has given masterclasses at the University of Toronto, University of Calgary, and La Jolla SummerFest, and teaches cello and chamber music at the Vancouver Academy of Music.

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.

Katharine Petkovski

Katharine Petkovski (b. 1997) is a Canadian composer known for her emotive, minimalist approach and innovative cross-disciplinary collaborations. Her work spans film, choral, and chamber music, often exploring themes of reflection, belonging, and connection through sound and storytelling.

Saunder Choi

Saunder Choi is a Los Angeles-based Filipino-Chinese composer and choral artist. Winner of the 2024 American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Raymond Brock Prize for professional composers, his works have been performed internationally by various groups including Conspirare, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Pacific Chorale, Pacific Symphony, World Youth Choir, Brightwork New Music, People Inside Electronics, and many others. As an arranger and orchestrator, Saunder has written for Tony-Award winner Lea Salonga, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Auburn Symphony, Orquestra Filarmónica Portuguesa, Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, etc.

Rani Arbo

Throughout the '90s, Boston-based singer/fiddler Rani Arbo led the critically-acclaimed acoustic roots band Salamander Crossing. After the group's swan song, 2000's Henry Street: A Retrospective, Arbo pursued a solo career with her support band Daisy Mayhem. Cocktail Swing, a collection of pop, jazz, and country songs given the jug band treatment, arrived in the summer of 2001. 2003's Gambling Eden and 2007's Big Old Life showed off more of her rootsy yet forward-thinking sound.

Li Tai-Xiang

LI Tai-Xiang was born in Malan, Taitung in 1941. He was mesmerized by the music played by his elementary school teacher, Lin Fu-Yu. In junior high school, he met a teacher named Chen Gang-Qing, who quickly fostered Li’s violin talents. In 1956, Li began his studies at National Taiwan University of Arts as a fine arts printing major. He eventually transferred to the music department and became a violin major. Hsu Tsang-Houei became his spiritual guru and changed his entire life. He taught in his hometown of Taitung for five years after graduating, and then went back to Taipei to develop his career. He was awarded a Wu San-Lien Award, as well as a Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Song for “The Sword of Romance.” He died in Xindian on Jan. 2, 2014.

Seán Dagher is an active performer, arranger, and composer of music from various folk and classical music traditions: Celtic, Baroque, Medieval, Arabic, French-Canadian, and Maritime. He is a member of Skye Consort and is the co-artistic director of La Nef. Seán sings and plays Irish bouzouki, mandolin, oud, and banjo. Seán's voice is widely known from his recordings for the Assassin's Creed video game series, including Black Flag. His renditions of sea shanties and other songs from the games have been streamed some 70 million times. His own Shanty of the Week video series receives thousands of views a week and has a loyal following the world over. Seán's compositions and arrangements have been performed across Canada, the United States, and Europe.

Peter Amidon

Together with his wife and musical partner Mary Alice, Peter formed the acclaimed duo The Amidons, dedicating their lives to preserving and sharing traditional American folk music, singing games, and storytelling with generations of children and educators. For over four decades, Peter and Mary Alice immersed themselves in traditional music, from their early days in Cambridge, Massachusetts’s vibrant folk scene in the 1970s to their home in Brattleboro, Vermont, where they became pillars of the community. The Amidons were expert arrangers of choral music for small choirs, publishing several beloved collections of arrangements for small church choirs that have enriched worship services across the country. Peter’s impact on music education was profound and far-reaching. As an advocate for the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, he championed experiential, joyful approaches to teaching music. He and Mary Alice spent decades as elementary school music teachers and artists-in-residence, leading workshops across the United States and inspiring countless music educators with their innovative integration of traditional dance, singing, and storytelling.

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.

Randall Thompson

Randall Thompson (1899—1984) was a composer of great popularity in the United States, notable for his choral music. Thompson studied at Harvard University and later with the composer Ernest Bloch. He taught at a number of universities and colleges and was director of the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia (1939–41), before joining the faculties at Princeton and, later, Harvard (emeritus professor after 1965). Notable among his vocal works are the Alleluia for unaccompanied choir (1940) and The Testament of Freedom for men’s voices and orchestra (1942; to words by Thomas Jefferson). Thompson’s other works include a one-act opera, Solomon and Balkis (1942), and an oratorio, The Nativity According to St. Luke (1965).