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I am a Canadian guitarist who has performed in numerous recitals as a soloist and chamber musician. My recent musical collaborations include Ekleipsis Guitar Trio (with Lukas Bouda and Andrew Laughton) and Duo Calixa (with flautist Kelly Williamson).
I am the Music Director for the Kitchener/Waterloo Guitar Orchestra, an amateur community guitar ensemble that performs outreach concerts locally, and a music arranger with publications available at Strings By Mail and the Austin Guitar Curriculum. I teach guitar in the Bachelor of Music (Community Music Program) at Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Waterloo Music Department (studio), and for local music studios.
I hold a Masters of Music (University of Toronto) and an ARCT (Royal Conservatory of Music). I am a clinician and adjudicator at festivals throughout southern Ontario.
Women’s Contributions to Guitar Orchestras Prior to 1930
Women Guitar Orchestra Conductors, 1885 to Present, Part 1
Contributions by Women to Guitar Orchestra
Guitar orchestras were at their height of popularity in the late 1800's and early 1900's in Europe, South America and North America, and played an important role in the promotion of the suffragette movement. Although the popularity of this ensemble type declined after WW1, they have seen a strong resurgence within the past 20 years. Many influential women in the guitar world, including Madame Sydney Pratton and Vahdah Olcott-Bickford, played crucial roles in the development of guitar orchestras. That continues to this day with composers such as the internationally renown Dutch composer Annette Kruisbrink writing works for this ensemble format and music directors like Dr. Kami Rowan (Music Director for the US Guitar Orchestra, Associate Professor of Music at Guilford College) leading acclaimed large guitar ensembles.
- City of Cambridge Arts Achievement Award (2006)
- Bernice Adams Memorial Bursary (2007, 2011, 2021)
- Ontario Volunteer Service Award (Guitar Society of Toronto volunteer, 2014)
- Arts Connect Cambridge (2015)
- CSARN Arts Mentorship Grant (with Erna Van Daele, 2018)
- Region of Waterloo Arts Fund (with Ekleipsis Guitar Trio, 2019)
- Overture for the Marriage of Figaro for Guitar Quartet (2013)
- Arrangements for flute/guitar from Manuel de Falla's El sombrero de tres picos (2015)
- Arrangements for solo guitar from Francesca Caccini's Il primo libro delle musiche a una, e due voci (2016)
- "So You Wanna Play in a Band? Guitar Orchestras: An Exciting Alternative to Choirs and Standard Orchestras," Music Times (March 2019)
- "Mabel Downing: Influential Music Director, Teacher and her Contributions to Ladies' Guitar Bands," The Rosette (Winnipeg Classical Guitar Society, 2019)
- "A History of Female Contributions to Guitar Orchestras," Guitar Foundation of America Virtual Convention (June 2020)
- "An Introduction to early Baroque composer Francesca Caccini," Classical Guitar Corner (November 2020)
- Canzonetta by Francesca Caccini (arranged for guitar trio) (January, 2021)
- "A History of Female Contributions to Guitar Orchestras," Soundboard Magazine (March, 2021)
Selected Recordings
Selected Performances
- "Songs Sonata," Conrad Grebel University College Noon Hour Concerts @ Home
- "Music for Self Isolation," Conrad Grebel University College Noon Hour Concerts @ Home
- KW Guitar Orchestra Virtual Concert April 2021, Idea Exchange
- "Songs for the Pandemic (The Loving Chaos Collective)," Laurier Faculty of Music
- Duo Calixa, Algodão doce (Celso Machado)