Pratik Gandhi (he/him/his) is a conductor, percussionist, clinician, and researcher based in Toronto. He currently serves as music director of the Rouge River Winds and sessional instructor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, where he directs the Wind Symphony. He was the founding music director of Soup Can Theatre and previously served as resident conductor for the Toy Piano Composers. Pratik is a doctoral student at York University, where his research, supported by an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, investigates issues of equity and representation among wind band composers in Canada.

Pratik has recently been selected as a finalist for music director positions with the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra, the Oakville Symphony, the Northdale Concert Band, and the Wellington Wind Symphony. He also served as assistant conductor of Symphony on the Bay (now the Burlington Symphony Orchestra) for five years, and as associate conductor with the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra for three years.

In frequent demand as a guest conductor and adjudicator across Canada, Pratik serves as adjudicator and Vice-Chair for the concert band division of MusicFest Canada, as well as syllabus coordinator for the OBA Provincial Band Festival. He adjudicated concert bands at the 2017 Alberta International Band Festival in Calgary and is a perennial adjudicator at the TCDSB Music Festival and the Trills & Thrills Festival in Toronto. Pratik regularly presents workshops on conducting techniques, wind repertoire, and percussion pedagogy.

Pratik received a B.Mus. in music education and an M.Mus. in conducting from the University of Western Ontario, where he studied conducting with Dr. Colleen Richardson, Jerome Summers and James McKay, and percussion with Dr. Jill Ball. For more information, please visit www.pratikgandhi.ca

A native of Richmond, Virginia, Dr. LaToya A. Webb serves as Assistant Professor of Music, Coordinator of Woodwinds, Brass, and Percussion and Director of the Laurier Wind Orchestra in the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. In this role, she conducts the Wind Orchestra, teaches courses in conducting, clarinet methods, and coaches chamber music ensembles.

Before joining the Laurier Faculty of Music, she served as Assistant Professor of Practice in Conducting and Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Texas at Austin, teaching academic courses in instrumental conducting, wind band literature, directing the Orange Longhorn Concert Band, and assisting with the marching Longhorn Band. In addition, she served as the Director of the Longhorn Pep Band. Dr. Webb also served as Instructor of Wind Conducting at Auburn and Grambling State University.

Dr. Webb earned her PhD in Instrumental Music Education from Auburn University where she served as a graduate teaching assistant for the band programs and Department of Music. As a graduate student, she was the principal student conductor of the Auburn Symphonic Winds, taught courses in instrumental conducting, woodwind methods, and music appreciation. She earned two master's degrees, the first from Norfolk State University in Music Education, and the second from George Mason University in Instrumental Conducting. Dr. Webb earned a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Music and Education from Norfolk State University.

An internationally sought-after educator and conductor, she is an active researcher, presenter, author, adjudicator, and guest conductor and often appears at state, national, and international conferences, and events. Dr. Webb is honored as a 2017 College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Mike Moss Diversity Conducting Fellow, a 2018 CBDNA/National Band Association Masterclass Conducting Fellow, a 2019 U.S. Army Band Conducting Fellow, and a 2019 Midwest Clinic Reynolds Conducting Institute Fellow.

Trained in the Western Classical tradition as a conductor, composer, global music performer and scholar, Gerard Yun has held professional posts with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestras, the San Jose Civic Light Opera and The Colorado Lyric Theatre. His community-based ensemble work in the U.S. included the Sacramento Master Singers and The Chorus and Orchestra of Southern Utah.

He was 1 of several Western conductors invited to study with conductors of the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire in St. Petersburg, Russia just after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Although originally taken up as "hobbies of distraction," his work with instruments such as the Australian Didgeridoo and the Lakota Flute eventually became part of his professional portfolio. This is especially true of his work in Tuvan and Tibetan Overtone Singing and the Japanese Zen Buddhist Shakuhachi.

Before immigrating to Canada, he held the role of professor of choirs and voice at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah and director of choral studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Currently, Mr. Yun teaches courses in Music and Contexts and Global Musics in the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University and conducts choirs at Laurier and Conrad Grebel University College. He also serves as instructor of Japanese shakuhachi at York University.

He is the artistic director of Waterloo’s East-West Concert Series and serves on a number of community music boards.

Tracy Wong, bio (September 2023) Dr. Tracy Wong is a Malaysian-Canadian choral conductor, music educator, composer, vocalist, and pianist. Dr. Wong is passionate about helping choral leaders and educators to provide unique experiences for their singers and students through collaborative commissions, customized workshops, festivals, and artist residencies. She does this through focusing on the balance of performance practice considerations, vocal and acoustic explorations, and choral artistry and heart. Currently residing in Ontario, Canada, Dr. Wong is the Assistant Professor of Choral Studies at Western University, where she conducts Chorale and Les Choristes ensembles and teaches choral conducting. Dr. Wong holds a Doctor in Musical Arts and Master in Music Performance (Choral Conducting) degrees from the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. She is also a two-time recipient of the Elmer Iseler National Graduate Fellowship in Choral Conducting, and a nominee of the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting.

As an active choral artist, Tracy collaborates regularly with choral organizations on conducting events, commissioned projects, and residences, and her compositions are widely published and performed internationally. As a composer/arranger, she advocates for repertoire-based music education by writing pieces that are teaching tools for singers to develop vocal technique, musicianship skills, and artistry. As part of her continued search to define her Chinese-Malaysian-Canadian identity, Tracy’s music also shows the coming-together of different languages and musical elements that continue to influence her composition writing. She was the 2019 Canadian Composer Feature for the Canadian Kodály Journal, Alla Breve, and will be the 2023-2024 Composer-In-Residence for Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Her current focus is in the area of self-publishing where she advocates for new directions in music consumption - a large number of her self-published works are on the Tracy Wong Series at Graphite Marketplace.

As a researcher, her output centers on the choral concept of “From Page to Performance, Through Pedagogy”. Her doctoral dissertation focused on Canadian composer Nancy Telfer’s choral legacy in both her work as a composer and educator by examining how her pedagogical philosophy informs her composition and vice versa. Tracy has since received university and federal grants to expand her study of "From Page to Performance Through Pedagogy" and merge her work in choral composition: Her research and composition work supports the creation of new folk-inspired choral music as a response to the need for the diversification of the Canadian choral landscape, while supporting the creation of flexible and accessible music for choral leaders and choirs who are unfamiliar to the specific tradition. In performance, she advocates for research-based performance practice of folk-inspired choral music, including the possibilities of innovative intersections with digital media and movement.

Please see the website www.tracywongmusic.com.

^ Top

In demand as an educator, lecturer and adjudicator, pianist Charles Lin’s commitment of excellence in the field of piano pedagogy has led to local and international recognitions through his students’ performances. In addition to giving workshops and masterclass, he is an active member with The Royal Conservatory of Music’s College of Examiners, instructs Applied Music of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at the University of Toronto, and serves as the Director of the University of Toronto Piano Pedagogy Program (UTPPP). In his position at the UTPPP, Charles oversees the creation of a well-rounded musical experience for young beginners and provides graduate students with the opportunity to teach both group and private lessons. He maintains a successful studio with students as young as four years old.

Charles holds his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Toronto, under the tutelage of Marietta Orlov and Midori Koga; further studies in children’s piano pedagogy with Irina Gorin through The Gorin Institute. His early years studies were with Alexandra Munn at the Alberta College Conservatory of Music, and Janet Scott-Hoyt at the University of Alberta. He is the recipient of The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Grant, The University of Toronto Fellowship, and The Winspear Fund for Advanced Classical Music Studies.

Performance highlights include appearances at the 14th World Piano Pedagogy Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, the Toronto Summer Music Festival, the Canadian Chopin Festival, and the Academy at Centre d'arts Orford. He has performed as soloist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Concordia University College Orchestra.

Rebekah Jordan-Miller is a seasoned piano pedagogue, accredited music therapist and pianist who has performed widely, both as a soloist and collaborative artist throughout Canada, the United States, Austria, Australia and Norway. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance and piano pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, a Masters degree in Music Therapy from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance from the Eastman School of Music. Rebekah’s piano mentors include Gwen Beamish, Rebecca Penneys, Fernando Laires, Valerie Tryon, and Dr. Jane Magrath.

Rebekah is currently the Director of the Laurier Academy of Music and Arts where she is also a piano instructor and music therapist. She is also on the faculty of Wilfrid Laurier University as a music therapy instructor. She is an active adjudicator, RCM examiner, and clinician and previously held academic positions at Oklahoma City University, Shorter University in Rome, Georgia and Western University in London, Ontario. Rebekah regularly present workshops on developing consistent performance psychology strategies for musicians and also performs with her piano partner, Dr. Marnie Van Weelden as the Blondes on 88 piano duo.

Canadian pianist Maggie Morrison is a performer, educator, and researcher. She is an award-winning musician and has established herself as a performer of virtuosity, nuance, and expression. She made her orchestral debut at the age of nine. Over the last two decades, Maggie has performed across Canada, the United States, and Europe.

Some performance highlights include a performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the North York Symphony Orchestra, solo performances in the summer concert series at The Banff Centre, and a chamber performance at Constellation Chicago. She won First Prize at the Michael Gieck Piano Competition, was a four-time National Finalist at the Canadian Music Competition, and was a semi-finalist at the Eckardt-Gramatté National Competition, to name a few. In demand as an active adjudicator and clinician, Maggie has adjudicated extensively across Canada and in Hong Kong. She has presented at national and provincial conferences, including a speaking engagement with the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers Association in 2021.

Dr. Maggie Morrison Makos is a recent doctorate graduate of the University of Toronto. During her time at U of T, Maggie studied with Jamie Parker, pianist of Canada’s Gryphon Trio. Her research investigated different editions of Royal Conservatory of Music piano syllabi regarding the inclusion of women’s solo piano music, and resulted in a catalogue of women’s newly included solo piano music (306 pieces) from the most recent syllabus edition (2022). Maggie attended The Taylor Academy, the Glenn Gould School pre-college program for gifted young musicians at the Royal Conservatory of Music, graduating with a performer’s diploma (A.R.C.T.). She also holds master’s (M.Mus.) and bachelor’s (B.Mus.) degrees from The Cleveland Institute of Music.

On International Women’s Day 2023, Maggie’s first album VOICES was released on all major streaming platforms. VOICES features solo piano compositions by women composers. Maggie is passionate about performing historically underrepresented composers in tandem with the more traditional canon.

A passionate thought-leader, she brings warmth and enthusiasm to all spaces, valuing connection and community in life and learning. A sought-after teacher, Maggie maintains a private studio in the heart of downtown Toronto.

Please see the website https://www.maggiemorrisonmusic.com.

Susan Gagnon is a registered teacher trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas, giving courses in Canada and the USA. She is also a core member of the Phil and Eli Taylor Academy for Young Artists at The Royal Conservatory of Music, teaching cellists and coaching string quartets.

Ms. Gagnon holds a Bachelor of Music degree with Honours in Performance from the University of Western Ontario. She studied with Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and attended master classes at the Banff School of Fine Arts with Janos Starker and Aldo Parisot.

Susan teaches all levels and ages. She is in demand as a cello workshop and master class presenter. She is a member of the Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators' Association and has adjudicated festivals across Canada.

Susan played per service with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra from 1983-2023. She enjoys performing chamber music and has been a member of String Quartet Panache, the Toronto Arts Trio, and the Chrysalis Piano Quartet.

Several of the quartets that Susan has coached have won Provincial Finals, CMC finals and been awarded the SOCMI scholarship to participate in events at the Banff String Quartet competition. Susan has been a regular faculty member at Music at Port Milford, an international summer music camp that teaches chamber music to teens, since 1995.

Susan Gagnon has been an examiner for the RCM since 1995, compiled the 1995, 2007 and 2013 Cello Syllabi as well as the 2013 repertoire books for the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program. Ms. Gagnon is also a Certified Teacher with the RCM Teacher Certification program.

She has been on the faculty at Suzuki Institutes across Canada and throughout the US, teaching both teachers and students. She was formerly the Chair of the Suzuki Association of

Dr. Clara Haneul Yoon, originating from South Korea, is a versatile violinist who has been hailed by the New York Magazine as “Extraordinary technique…she can do anything she wants” and by Seoul Culture & Arts Magazine as “Truly virtuosic, with amazing mastery of tone.” She maintains an active performance and teaching career throughout North America and Asia.

Dr. Yoon received her Bachelor’s and Master of Music from The Juilliard School and her doctorate from Teachers College Columbia University. Her primary research areas investigate the implications and significance of stereotypes in music, experiences of Asian diaspora in music education, and intersections of music and educational policies in North America.

In recognition of her outstanding contributions and dedication to music education, Dr. Yoon received the President’s Innovation Award from the NAMM Foundation in 2022. At Columbia University, her research was recognized and generously supported by the Enid & Lester Morse Fellowship. She has performed alongside Florence and the Machine, Kelly Clarkson, Nas, Erykah Badu, and Questlove for VH1's Divas Celebrate Soul. As a recent arrival in Canada, Dr. Yoon is excited to collaborate with fellow artists and looks forward to contributing to the country’s vibrant and flourishing arts scene.

Dr. Myra Yeung is an adjudicator and guest clinician in Canada and the USA. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Viola Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Dr. Yeung is a Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Certified Teacher as an Advanced specialist.

Dr. Yeung is a proponent of lifelong learning and enjoys working alongside colleagues to offer enriching programs for students, parents, and teachers. Some examples include directing and co-chairing Suzuki workshops, coordinating children's summer camps in Whiteshell Provincial Park (Manitoba), and directing a mentoring program for teen girls in inner-city Winnipeg. She is a past Artistic Director in Toronto, past Program Director in Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky, and past violin and viola faculty in Ann Arbor, eastern North Carolina, and Winnipeg. She served on the Suzuki Association of Ontario Board of Directors from 2018 to 2021.

Myra grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, learning Suzuki viola from Joanne Martin and RCM piano from Lydia Wiebe. For a few years after completing her undergraduate computer science degree, Myra worked in IT full-time and taught evening violin lessons and group classes. While she continues to enjoy working on computer projects, Myra's passion for teaching became quite evident during that time and she went on to pursue graduate studies in music performance and pedagogy. She credits her music teachers for instilling in her a wholehearted joy of teaching with excellence.

Recent achievements by students in Dr. Yeung's studio include Concertmaster chairs, 1st Place awards, scholarship awards, and university scholarships. She herself is the winner of many competitions and awards for viola, piano, and chamber music.

Dr. Yeung is currently on faculty at Etobicoke Suzuki Music in Toronto, Ontario. She teaches a full violin and viola studio with levels from young beginner to collegiate.

For her full biography, please visit: myrayeung.com/bio

Simon Farintosh is an award-winning guitarist, composer, and educator based in Toronto, ON. Named one of CBC’s ‘30 Under 30 Classical Musicians’ in 2023, he is known for his unconventional programming choices, connecting with audiences by integrating the classical guitar with more contemporary musical forms such as electronica and jazz.

Simon studied with Dr. Alexander Dunn at the University of Victoria, where he earned his Bachelor of Music Degree in 2018. Simon's musical pursuits later took him to Milwaukee, WI, where he completed a Master's Degree at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2020. Here, he was a student and teaching assistant to Rene Izquierdo, a renowned Cuban virtuoso and revered pedagogue. Currently, Simon is pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Toronto, where he is a student of Jorge Caballero and Dr. Jeffrey McFadden.

Simon's performances have garnered him top awards in various national and international competitions, including 1st Prize at the 2018 Northwest Guitar Festival in Spokane, WA. As a composer, he was recently awarded First Prize in the 2022 Ottawa Guitar Society Composition Competition for his original piece 'Distant Light.' He is a six-time recipient of the British Columbia Arts Council Award, and has been a featured performer for organizations such as the Vancouver Classical Guitar Festival, Victoria Conservatory of Music Summer Guitar Intensive, The Classical Guitar Society of Tri-Cities, Madison Classical Guitar Society, Victoria Guitar Society, Ottawa Guitar Society, Guitar Society of Toronto, and Higher Ground Music Festival.

Please see the website https://www.simonfarintosh.com.

JUNO award winning harpist Angela Schwarzkopf concertizes throughout North America as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. She is the newly appointed principal harp of London Symphonia and frequently performs as guest principal harp with the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

The first harpist to become Doctor of Musical Arts in harp performance in Canada, she now teaches at the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario.

Outside of her university teaching, Angela maintains a thriving studio of private students in Toronto and is a harp examiner with the Royal Conservatory College of Examiners. Angela is President and Director at Large for the American Harp Society and a contributor to the international publications Harp Column and the American Harp Journal. As an advocate for new music, she has worked on commissioning projects with many prominent composers.

Her album, detach, comprised of all new Canadian music, won the 2020 JUNO award for Classical Album of the Year: Solo or Chamber. Her newest album with The Topaz Duo, was names Record of the Week on In Concert with Paolo Pietropaolo and was names one of CBC’s 22 favourite Canadian classical recordings of 2022.

Please see the website www.angelaschwarzkopf.com.

Brent Fifield is a multi-faceted musician and is highly regarded for his musical sensitivity as an accompanist, conductor, baritone, choral clinician, and music educator. He has a BMus (Organ) and BEd from Western University, and a MMus in Organ Performance from the University of Toronto. As an organist, he has performed in recitals across Canada and the UK, a number of which have been broadcast on national radio. As a Baritone, he sang with the Grammy and Juno award winning Elora Festival Singers, and Exultate Chamber Singers of Toronto, two-time winners of the CBC National Choir competition. From 2001-2010 Brent was the Organist and Director of Music at Christ's Church Cathedral in Hamilton. Since 2010 Brent has been Organist and Director of Music at Trinity Anglican Church in Cambridge (Galt). Brent is the founder and Conductor of Ensemble Lyrica, a Hamilton based chamber choir whose profits are donated to local charities. Previously, he has conducted the Brock University Chorus, the Redeemer University Concert Choir, and the Pro Musica Choir of Burlington.

  Brent has had a varied teaching career: he has taught choral conducting at Western University, music analysis at McMaster University, and from 2009-2014 he was an adjunct lecturer in a wide variety of music courses at Redeemer University. Currently, Brent teaches K-Grade 4 music in the Junior School at Hillfield Strathallan College in Hamilton. In addition, he is the Collaborative Accompanist and Conductor to the Hamilton Children's Choir. Brent, his wife Stephanie, and their daughters Audrey and Elizabeth, make their home in Hamilton.

A tireless advocate for effortless singing at all stages of evolution, baritone MARK DABOLL enjoys a dynamic and diverse career as a voice teacher, performer, and music educator.  His 21st-century solution-based, structural approach to singing successfully serves the building of all voices, garnering him a reputation as a master vocal technician. He is sought after as a reliable voice-renovator to professional opera and music theatre singers in all stages of their careers, equipped with immediate solutions to reaffirm individual, authentic vocal identity, and maximize vocal and artistic capability at the highest level of performance.  A legion of soloists, actor-singers, choral singers/conductors, and music educators count among his many students from across North America.
 
An Instructor of Applied Voice at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto for the past eleven years, Mr. Daboll’s students have won or placed in national and international competitions and have been accepted into several professional development programs, including the International Lyric Academy Summer Program in Vicenza, Italy and Charlotte, North Carolina, where he also teaches.  He is also the vocal coach for the Canadian Opera Company’s Summer Opera Intensive, which caters to ten emerging singer-artists selected from across Canada each year. One of his principal mentors is W. Stephen Smith, author of The Naked Voice, and teacher of many of the world’s elite singers. He has also served as a vocal coach and master class teacher for the Ontario Youth Choir, the COC’s Summer Youth Intensive program, and for the Marigold Music Program – founded by his students to bridge the gap between marginalized youth and music education.

Although originally classically trained, Mark is uniquely qualified to teach a myriad of vocal styles including Music Theatre (legit to contemporary, including Broadway belting), and sub-genres of Pop, Rock, Jazz, and R&B, to name a few.

Mr. Daboll has performed in Canada, the US, UK, Italy, and Germany in opera, oratorio, concert, and recital. Academic accolades include a B.Mus. in voice performance from Westminster Choir College (Princeton, New Jersey), an Opera Diploma from Wilfrid Laurier University, and an M.Mus. in vocal pedagogy and performance from the University of Toronto.  

Canadian soprano Gwenna Fairchild-Taylor believes in the power of the arts as a catalyst for community building and social change and strives to make sure everyone has access to creative experiences, regardless of location or circumstance. Through her work as a teaching artist, she has created and facilitated programming for over 30 unique organizations, community partners, and nonprofits throughout North America. This past season, Gwenna was the Soprano Soloist in the Mozart Requiem (Dalhousie Collegium Cantorum), and sang Sieglinde in excerpts from Die Walküre (Boston Wagner Institute). Gwenna looks forward to workshopping roles in new operas with Fawn Chamber Creative and Good Mess Opera Theatre this season.

Gwenna brings 15 years of experience to her work as a voice teacher, masterclass clinician and adjudicator for universities, highschools, and music festivals across Canada. She regularly consults on community arts curriculum for companies throughout Canada and the United States. She wrote the curriculum and continues to teach “Learning English Through Song,” a program that facilitates language learning and community building for newcomer women through singing. Her arrangement of James Gordon's Frobisher Bay was recently featured on the Inuksuk Drum Dancer's latest recording.This past season, she adjudicated at the Hamilton Music Festival, taught a masterclass at Dalhousie University, and facilitated workshops and discussions on Civic Practice at University of Toronto, Manitoba Opera, and the Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall.

Gwenna holds an M.Mus in Opera (University of Toronto) and a B.Mus in Voice Performance (Western University) and is an alumna of the Holland Community Opera Fellowship at Opera Omaha. She received an Encouragement Award at the Nebraska District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2020.

Breanne is a passionate arts educator, administrator and advocate.

She currently resides in London and is working with The Grand Theatre on Education & Outreach initiatives.

Previously, she has held arts education and administrative roles with the Stratford Festival, Ontario Culture Days, Young People’s Theatre, Eclipse Theatre Company, Canadian Opera Company, oaks ‘n acorns, Evolve Tours and many other GTA companies.

She received her Bachelor of Arts with Honours from York University after studying Theatre with a focus on Arts Education.

As a member of the Arts Education Network of Ontario Board of Directors, Breanne is eager to advocate for arts education and bring our passionate community together.

She has an appreciation for theatre at any level and confidence in the role it can play in a child’s social growth and development.

Please see website www.artsednetwork.ca

Linda has an honours Music Degree from Western University and an Education Degree from Althouse College. She taught secondary school instrumental music for 32 years, in St. Thomas and London. Her bands won many awards locally, regionally, and nationally.

Linda also won many teaching awards, including the Award of Distinction from the Thames Valley District School Board and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jack Richardson Music Awards.

She also served on the Ontario Music Educators’ Association Board for 6 years. Linda is currently teaching Conducting/Instrumental Rehearsal Techniques at Western University and is loving adjudicating around the province and on the East Coast. She also gets to travel the world with her competitive Dragonboat team!

Rob Cairns is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Music where he received both his Honours Bachelor and Masters degrees, and Althouse College where he completed his Education degree. Prior to this he attended Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, graduating in Technical Theatre.

While at Western he was presented with both the Albert Winslow Award in Choral Conducting and the Don Wright Scholarship in Vocal Music. Rob recently retired from Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts in London, Ontario after teaching for 34 years. At Pearson he specialized in Vocal Music and Drama. Currently Rob conducts the St. Thomas Youth Choir and the St. Thomas Children's Choir. As well, Rob directs the Jubilate Bells at Metropolitan United Church and is the Past-President of the Ontario Guild of English Handbell Ringers.

Please see website www.metropolitanchurch.com.