Eugene Laskiewicz
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Eugene Laskiewicz’s diverse career includes musical performance, conducting, examining, education and administration.
Eugene received his Bachelor of Music degree from Queen’s University and Master of Music and Bachelor of Education degrees from the University of Toronto. At Queen’s and Torontohe studied accordion with Joseph Macerollo. Eugene was the first accordionist to participate in the prestigious Gaudeamus Music Competition for Interpreters of Contemporary Music. Touring in Europe, he performed solo recitals, radio broadcasts and was featured in orchestral and chamber music settings.
During his career with the Peel District School Board, Eugene was a classroom teacher as well as Director of Streetsville International Languages, a Kindergarten to OAC International Languages School where he was responsible for curriculum planning and teacher development.
As a staff musician at The Stratford Shakespearean Festival, Eugene has performed in over twenty-seven productions and has been a Music Consultant and conductor of the Festival Theatre Drama Orchestra.
Elias Theocharidis
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Toronto-born tenor, ELIAS THEOCHARIDIS is known for his powerful stage presence, alluring tone, and emotional singing. At the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition, he received an Encouragement Award and Audience Choice Prize Winner at the Western Canada District. A recent graduate of Calgary Opera’s McPhee Development Program, he was seen as Froh in Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Bénédict in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict, & Malcolm in Verdi’s Macbeth. Other roles include Don José in Peter Brook’s La Tragédie de Carmen (an adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen), and Mr. Rushworth in the Canadian Premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park. He grew up in an artistic Mediterranean family, coming from a long line of Broadway performers, classically trained pianists, folk singers, models, disc jockeys and dancers.
Joy Lee
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Canadian pianist Joy Lee enjoys a multi-faceted career as a collaborative pianist, teacher, soloist, voice coach and adjudicator. She is a passionate advocate of music and has performed at events and venues ranging from the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C. (with Nathaniel Dett Chorale as part of the celebration of the Inauguration of US President Barack Obama, 2009) to the Banff Centre for the Arts, to performance spaces in Inuvik and Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
A student of renowned pianist and pedagogue, Marietta Orlov (1932-2020), Dr. Lee has a strong background in solo piano (BMus and MMus from the University of Toronto), having worked with some of the leading pianists currently active. Her love of the voice and its beautiful literature led her to the role of collaborative pianist, and the completion of a Master’s degree in collaborative piano (on full scholarship) at the University of Michigan, where she studied with one of North America’s pre-eminent collaborative pianists, Martin Katz.
She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Toronto with her dissertation, “An introduction to South Korea’s first Changjak Opera, Opera Chunhyangjeon (1949)” providing a Korean lyric diction guide and a complete IPA transcription of the libretto for non-Korean speakers.
Dr. Lee has since worked with many of the leading vocal pianists and coaches, including the late Martin Isepp (Juilliard), Graham Johnson (Royal Academy of Music London), Warren Jones (Manhattan), the late Jessye Norman and Shirley Verrett (Michigan). These wonderful opportunities have leant her a manifold existence as a musician; she has experience not only as a solo and collaborative pianist but also as a conductor, a vocal/instrumental coach, and a music director; in these capacities she has been involved in productions as wide-ranging as Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus to Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods and Kurt Weil’s Lady in the Dark.
She is a Lecturer of Music and Worship Arts at Tyndale University and is equally dedicated to educating a new generation of musicians and has been invited to adjudicate the piano division at music festivals such as Sudbury Music Festival (2022) OMFA Provincials (2023) and Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival (2024). Additionally, she is in high demand as a vocal coach at both the University of Toronto and Tyndale university. Currently, Dr. Lee collaborates with the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, Graduate Choral Conducting Seminar and MacMillan Singers (University of Toronto), as well as Tyndale Community Choir (Tyndale University), and serves on the Board of Directors of the North Toronto Songbirds.
Prior to these engagements, she collaborated with the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Toronto Children’s Chorus and held a faculty position at the Albion College in Michigan where she taught piano courses and served as a collaborative pianist and vocal coach. She has also worked and participated in such festivals as the Banff Centre for the Arts, Centre d’Arts Orford, the Pine Mountain Music Festival, Domaine Forget Académie internationale de musique et de danse, RomeSmarts, L’Académie Francis Poulenc and served as a Faculty at the University of Toronto’s Choral Conducting Symposium (2022, 2023).
She is a winner of the prestigious 2018 Gwendolyn Williams Koldofsky Prize (University of Toronto) and 2017 Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition (2nd) for her collaborative work, and under its auspices, Soprano Maeve Palmer and Joy Lee, voice-piano duo were invited to tour four Canadian cities sharing their passion for contemporary music.
In April 2023, she made her Carnegie Hall (NYC) debut as part of the Canada at Carnegie Concert. Dr. Lee and Stéphanie McKay-Turgeon, soprano, were invited to research and perform the music of the French composer, Henri Dutilleux, at the Maison Dutilleux-Joy in Candes-Saint-Martin, France, in November 2023.
Louisa Burgess-Corbett
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Originally from Bristol England, Louisa Burgess is a highly sought-after voice teacher, specializing in Commercial Voice, with a focus on Musical Theatre Performance. Louisa teaches at the Randolph College for the Performing Arts, and has had the pleasure of teaching at the Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in the Performing Arts Departments, and George Brown College.
Louisa runs a busy private vocal studio of her own and is proud to have been teaching in Monterrey Mexico and Mexico City since 2007 with the acclaimed Theatre Company DuboForce. She graduated from the Sheridan College Musical Theatre Performance program, winning the Rosemary Burns Award. She continues to study acting, singing and voice extensively in Canada and New York City.
Louisa has enjoyed performing in theatres across Canada and in New York. She was critically acclaimed for her role in the Bravo short film “In Her Mother’s Eyes”, which went on to win the Sir Tim Rice Award at the Sarasota Film Festival. Louisa also performed the role of Joan D’arc in the musical “Divine Heretic” for the Disney Live New Works Project in Manhattan. Cherished performances include Voco Doro’s production of the “Music of Babbie Green” at the Laurie Beechman Cabaret Theatre in New York, Merrily We Roll Along, Ragtime, Gypsy, Sunday in the Park With George and Follies.
In the recording studio, as a voice actor and singer, Louisa’s career has spanned over 30 years. Her work has included animation voice overs, commercials, show tunes, demos, the re-occurring role of Aunt Chloe in Nelvana’s animated series Ned’s Newt, and recently, Sparky the Neuron and Professor Light for the Spark App. Louisa has had the privilege of Directing and musically directing throughout Southern Ontario over the past 25 years. For 6 years she was the resident Vocal specialist and Musical Director for the Toronto Youth Music Theatre Company and had the honour of being the Musical Director for the Toronto Ensemble for “A Night with Jason Robert Brown” at the Glenn Gould Studio.
Louisa is a renowned adjudicator for the National Music Festivals for the Musical Theatre, Acting and Commercial Voice Categories. Recently, Louisa was awarded the distinction of being recognised as one of George Brown College’s Top 20 Faculty Members, making a significant contribution to excellence in teaching and learning.
Charles Lin
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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 recognition through his students’ performances. In addition to giving workshops and masterclasses, 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.
Aubrey Dayle
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Aubrey Dayle received his formal music education at McGill University and Manhattan School of Music in classical and jazz percussion and has performed in various musical styles and situations.
He has toured with James “Blood” Ulmer; Hassan Hakmoun and Zahar (support act for Peter Gabriel); God Street Wine; the John Popper Band; Sam Rivers; Ernest Ranglin; and several other artists. While living in New York City, he continued to perform in diverse situations, including two years as the drummer for the Broadway show Bring in ‘Da Noise Bring in Da Funk. As a member of the John Popper Band, he appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Aubrey also performed at the famous Carnegie Hall with the New York Metro Mass choir.
Aubrey continues to work with James “Blood” Ulmer in a trio, and with his Memphis Blood Blues Band that features guitarist Vernon Reid. He also has solo project called “My id” that occasionally includes Vernon Reid as a special guest; the group has released three albums. Aubrey is currently working with Juno nominated artist Shakura S’Aida. His latest project is called 13go, with bassist Ian DeSouza, Kim Ratcliffe, and produced by Vernon Reid.
Romina Di Gasbarro
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JUNO Nominee, Romina Di Gasbarro is a singer, songwriter, and music educator from Toronto, Canada and central Italy. Romina began her career as a child playing multiple instruments and as a teen singing in bands in southern Ontario. She got her Bachelor’s music degree in Classical Guitar and Composition from the University of Western Ontario but soon transitioned into Voice Performance in her post-graduate Artist Diploma. She followed this by a Master’s in Composition and PhD studies in Musicology from York University. Upon graduating from UWO, Romina won the Array Music Young Composer’s Competition, working with composers, Linda C. Smith and Michael J. Baker before moving abroad to continue her studies.
Romina’s musical trajectory is wild ride that lead her to living and studying opera in Italy under the tutelage of legends like Victoria de los Angeles ( Accademia Musicale Chigiana di Siena) and in San Francisco California where she studied with Olivia Stapp (Festival Opera) and began her career in opera, singing roles like Mimi (La Boheme), Michaela (Carmen), Desdemona (Otello), and Sharron (Masterclass) to name a few.
Romina continued studying composition with giants like Franco Donatoni (Chigiana), Jack Behrens (UWO), and David Mott (York). Her love for writing music pulled her back home to Toronto where she started her own eclectic ensemble that merged her worlds of classical, soul, folk, and jazz into a singer-songwriter style that is distinctively her own.
Romina has three solo albums, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Ontario Arts Council; the last of which, Risorgimento, received a JUNO nomination for World Music Record of the Year in 2020. Romina is a regular guest with the Italian Baroque ensemble, Vesuvius Ensemble with whom she has recorded and appeared in their regular concert season at the Heliconian Hall, Koerner Hall and on tour in central and eastern Canada.
Romina has worked as a Jury member for the Ontario Arts Council numerous times and has been a music educator in the YCDSB since 2014. She has created the Recording Artist Bursary award for emerging songwriters at St. Jean de Brebeuf CHS and relishes the opportunity to bring music and culture to the hearts and minds of the next generation.
Dr. Tatiana Voitovitch-Camilleri
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Tatiana Voitovitch-Camilleri holds a Ph.D. from York University, and an Artist Diploma Solo from the Glenn Gould School (Toronto, Canada). She received a Master’s Degree from the State Academy of Music (Minsk, Belarus). Tatiana has earned the First Prize at the Artist International Piano Competition (Toronto, 2000) and was a Third-prize winner at the Cergy-Pontoise International Piano Competition (France, 1998), and has been featured on various radio and CD recordings in Poland and Belarus.
Touring extensively throughout Europe, including performances in Poland, Germany, Austria, Portugal and France, Tatiana continued performing in Canada at various venues in the Toronto area as a soloist, collaborative pianist and an accompanist. Tatiana has participated in Master Classes with Tatiana Nikolayeva and Elena Richter (Moscow), Eleonora Bresgen (Salzburg), Leon Fleisher, Andre Laplante, John Perry, Robert MacDonald, Gilbert Kalish and Marc Durand (Toronto) and her latest stage appearances include The Living Art Centre (Mississauga) and The Toronto Centre for the Arts with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra (Toronto).
As the former Department Head of the Enriched Studies Program and a Piano Faculty teacher at the Merriam School of Music in Oakville, as well as a dynamic and engaging mentor, Tatiana brings up young talents, many of whom continued their musical studies in higher education at the universities throughout Canada and the US, including Berklee College of Music (Boston), and the pre-college division at the Juilliard School (New York). Tatiana has taught classical piano and theoretical disciplines at York University (Toronto) and Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo).
Tatiana participates in the international conferences, remains in high demand adjudicator throughout Ontario, an active RCM examiner across Canada and the US (for both in-person and remote exams); and a devoted teacher, continuously motivating and encouraging performers and pupils in their endeavors and musical pursuits.
Jason Lee
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Returning for his second year as an adjudicator for MusicFest, Jason brings extensive experience as both a performer and educator.
Jason graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance under the tutelage of legendary pianist Marina Mdivani. He has performed in recitals, events, and competitions across Canada, winning first prize at the CCC Toronto Piano Competition in 2012. Jason has taught piano and music theory for over ten years. Currently, he is a collaborative pianist for the Hamilton Children’s Choir.