JOANNA ESTELLE

Joanna Estelle (Storoschuk) is a Canadian composer, lyricist, and arranger whose music has won critical acclaim from Parliament Hill, Ottawa to London (UK), Barcelona (Spain), and elsewhere around the world. Joanna studied classical piano and theory with the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) as a young person, but her parents dissuaded her from pursuing music as a career. Instead, she graduated in Psychology and English (Brock, ’72), then then went on to study Certified Management Accounting. However, her enthusiasm for music never waned. While building a successful professional career in Canada's federal public service, Joanna channeled her creative energies into composing songs while studying modern piano, advanced theory, and arranging in her free time. She completed an undergraduate degree in music after eight years as a part-time special student at University of Ottawa, graduating summa cum laude on the Dean’s list as winner of the Faculty of Art’s silver medal (2009).

 

After leaving the public service, Joanna completed the MA Music Programme at York University, Toronto (2009-2011), benefitting from the tutelage of choral conductor Dr. Lisette Canton and pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico, as well as composer Larysa Kuzmenko (University of Toronto). She became a Melodious Accord Fellow of the renowned American choral composer Alice Parker and completed Dr. Neil Douglas-Klotz’s Abwoon Interspiritual Leadership Program. Since 2016, she has been a doctoral candidate in composition through the University of Sheffield (UK) studying with George Nicholson: her research is focused on exploring the relationship between spirituality, science, and creativity, as applied to choral and vocal music.

 

Among Joanna’s many accomplishments, her work has been arranged and orchestrated for performance and recording by artists and choirs in Canada, the United States, and Europe, as well as broadcast on CBC. Two of her choral compositions were premiered at Canada’s National Arts Centre in Ottawa as part of the UNISONG festival on Canada Day (2004 and 2009). Her music is often included in recitals by the Dominion Carillonneur from the Peace Tower, Parliament Hill, Ottawa and her choral works are published by Cypress Choral Music (Vancouver). Joanna served on the board of the Association of Canadian Women Composers (ACWC) for many years to help promote the work of Canadian women composers. She also established the Joanna Estelle Commemorative Scholarship Fund as a bequest to the University of Ottawa to encourage other women to find their musical voices.

 

For more information, please visit: www.joannaestelle.com

 

 

 

PERFORMERS:

 

 

JOHN GORDON ARMSTRONG (Composer/Arranger)

Born in Toronto, John Armstrong studied composition at the University of Toronto and the University of Michigan where he received his Doctorate in 1983. His teachers included Pulitzer Prize winners Leslie Bassett and William Bolcom, as well as the celebrated pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. Armstrong won prizes in both the William St. Clair Lowe and Sir Ernest MacMillan competitions sponsored by the Composer's, Author's and Publisher's Association of Canada (now SOCAN) and has received grants and commissions from the Laidlaw Foundation, the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council, Alberta Culture, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the City of Ottawa. Performed and broadcast throughout Canada, his music has also been played in Belgium, France, Great Britain, Korea, Norway, Vietnam and the United States. He is the author of a number of solo, chamber and orchestral pieces, many of which have received wide exposure. His music has been published by Alberta Keys Music Publishing (Calgary), New Art Music Editions (Winnipeg), Oceanna (Bobcaygeon), Cypress (Vancouver) and is also distributed by the Canadian Music Centre (Toronto). Although primarily a composer of concert music, he has also written for film, dance and theatre. He is well known in Ottawa for his 12 collaborations with Odyssey Theatre. Having taught at a number of universities in Canada and the United States, John Armstrong is currently an Adjunct Professor of Composition and Theory at the University of Ottawa.

 

For more information, please visit: www.johngordonarmstrong.com

 

 

TOM BARNES (Session/Sound Editing Engineer, Project Advisor)

Tom Barnes is considered the “musical engineering guru” of Ottawa, Canada’s capital, by many. His love of music combined with his highly technical skills have helped bring out the best in many musical performances. Tom became well-known in Ottawa working in the audio field consulting, maintaining and supplying equipment for home and commercial clients. In 1986 a chance request to watch over the recording at a major choral event propelled him into career as a recording engineer. For the past 31 years Tom has provided archive recording services for artists such as: Daniel Taylor, Emma Kirkby, Menahem Pressler, Maureen Forrester,

Academie für Alte Musik Berlin, David Pike, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Measha Brueggergosman, the R.C.M.P. Pipe Band, etc., as well as producing numerous demos and CD releases.

 

For more information, please visit: www.soundscribe.ca

 

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SUSAN ELIZABETH BROWN (Soprano)

Kingston, Ontario Soprano Susan Elizabeth Brown has performed across Canada and internationally at the Royal Glasgow Concert Hall and the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A graduate of St. Lawrence College's Musical Theatre Program, she is now based in Ottawa. Her voice has been described as “a remarkably pretty instrument, pure, ‘spinny’ with beautiful extension and a timbre that cuts through an ensemble without shrillness.” Her dramatic characterizations reverberate with an intensity which convey “the depths of pathos and bitter-sweetness of first love”. Susan has established herself as a strong presence on the opera stage. Her recent performance of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Jeunesses Musicales was said to have "formidable impact." Her other operatic roles including Mimi in La Boheme, Adina in Elisir D'amore, and Gilda in Rigoletto were noted for their exquisiteness of tone and sensitivity of interpretation. A powerful and empathetic communicator, with stunning and effortless high notes, her oratorio and concert work has included the World Premiere of Clarence Lucas’ Dies Irae (Cantata Singers of Ottawa) in June 2017, and the Ottawa Choral Society/17 Voyces co-production of Carmina Burana set to silent film Ben-Hur, alongside internationally-acclaimed countertenor Daniel Taylor.

 

For more information, please visit: www.susanelizabethbrownsoprano.com

 

 

LAURA DZIUBANIUK (Soprano)

Laura Dziubaniuk has been an active performer, music educator/director and choral conductor since 1989. Opera, oratorio, concert and chamber music performances have taken her through North America, Europe and the Middle East. Ms. Dziubaniuk holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance/Education from the University of Ottawa (CA) and a Bachelor of Education Degree in Primary/Junior from Nipissing University (CA). She was a laureate in numerous International Vocal Scholarships and Canadian Vocal Music Competitions which had enabled her to further her music studies at the Kiev Conservatory in Kiev, Ukraine; the Sixth International Interpretation Courses in Piestany, Slovakia; and the European Mozart Academy in Krakow and Kraskow, Poland.

 

For more information, please visit: www.lauradziubaniuk.com

 

 

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Laurence Ewashko (Artistic Director Ewashko Singers, Baritone, Project Music Director)

Former conductor of the Vienna Boys’ Choir, Laurence Ewashko has made a significant contribution to the quality and appreciation of vocal music in Canada and abroad as a choral clinician, vocal coach and adjudicator for more than three decades. Laurence has prepared choruses for many prestigious conductors, including Sir Colin Davis, Trevor Pinnock, Mario Bernardi, Gabriel Chmura, Jane Glover, Jack Everly, Pinchas Zukerman and Alexander Shelley. He regularly prepares choruses for performances at Canada’s National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Recent highlights include his work as chorus master for two exciting projects involving Canadian composers and the NAC Orchestra: a live recording of Ana Sokolović's Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes and, as part of Canada 150 celebrations, the revival of Harry Somers' opera Louis Riel. Currently Associate Professor of Choral Studies at the University of Ottawa, Laurence conducts the School of Music’s two choirs. He has been chorus master and vocal coach for the Banff Centre for the Arts summer programmes and was the music director of the Cantata Singers for 17 years. He is artistic director of the Ewashko Singers, a choral group which he founded. He also conducted Opera Lyra Ottawa’s chorus from 1988 to 2015. Laurence is a recipient of the prestigious Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting.

 

For more information, please visit: www.ewashkosingers.com

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ROLAND GJERNES (Cellist)

Known for his rich tone and lyrical playing, Roland Gjernes is a freelance cellist based in New York City. He is well-versed in a variety of repertoire and styles with performances ranging from NYC and Canada’s greatest halls to the backwoods of the Yukon. As a soloist, Roland has appeared with the Manhattan School of Music Wind Ensemble, the University of Ottawa Orchestra, and, in his native British Columbia with the Fraser Valley Symphony and the Semiahmoo String Orchestra. A recent Master of Music, graduating from the Manhattan School of Music studying under Philippe Muller, Roland is also an alumnus of the University of Ottawa, where he studied with Paul Marleyn. Roland enjoys performing and touring with ensembles including Lincoln Center Stage, Time Canvas, and the International Cello Festival of Canada.

 

For more information, please visit: www.roland.gjernes.ca

 

 

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FRÉDÉRIC LACROIX (Pianist)

Frédéric Lacroix has performed in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia as a soloist, chamber musician, adjudicator and collaborative pianist. He has made regular radio appearances on the Canadian CBC and SRC as well as the American NPR. Frédéric has devoted part of his time to the study and performance of music on period keyboard instruments, for which he was recognized as the Westfield Center Performing Scholar for the 2008-09. Frédéric has enjoyed collaborating with composers and performers in the premiere of a number of Canadian and American works. He is also active as a composer, having composed for the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Society of American Music, the Canadian University Music Society, the Choeur Classique de l’Outaouais and other noted Canadian musicians. His song cycle “Nova Scotia Tartan” (2004), is featured on Hail, a disc dedicated to Canadian Art Song. His Sonatina for oboe and piano (2016) is featured on a collection of Canadian music for oboe and piano with Chip Hamann released in June 2017. Frédéric currently teaches piano and composition at the University of Ottawa. He holds degrees from the University of Montreal, the University of Ottawa, and Cornell University, where he recently completed his Doctorate degree in keyboard performance practice with Malcolm Bilson. His other teachers include Marc Durand, Cynthia Floyd, Andrew Tunis, Jean-Paul Sévilla and Monique Collet-Samyn.

 

For more information, please visit: arts.uottawa.ca/music/people/lacroix-frederic

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JAMIE LOBACK (Artistic Director, Capital Chamber Choir)

Jamie Loback holds a Master’s degree in music from the University of Ottawa. Since 2005, he has served as Director of Music at St. Joseph’s Parish, and currently serves as conductor of the Ottawa Children’s Choir (Chamber and Boys’ choirs), as well as the Artistic Director of both the Ottawa Regional Youth Choir and the Capital Chamber Choir. His recent activities include leading the Ottawa Children's Choir on a tour to France (April 2017), conducting feature performances at Notre-Dame de Paris, and the commemorative ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Jamie has just completed recording an album with the Capital Chamber Choir featuring the music of Canadian composers. Upcoming engagements include the preparation of the Capital Chamber Choir for performances of Handel's Messiah with Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra (December 2017), as well as the choir's first domestic tour as a Spotlight Choir for PODIUM Choral Conference & Festival (May 2018).

 

For more information, please visit: www.capitalchamberchoir.ca

 

 

 

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MORGAN STRICKLAND (Soprano)

Ottawa-born and raised, Morgan Strickland is recognized for her “jewel-like tone” and “consistency of vocal beauty throughout her different emotional states” (Boston Globe; Boston Musical Intelligencer). Well diversified as a performer and music educator, Morgan is a graduate of the University of Ottawa (BMus.) and New England Conservatory (NEC) as a Presidential Scholar (MM Vocal Performance & Pedagogy). She recently performed the role of Nedda in Pagliacci with SOPAC Ottawa, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte with Bytown Operantics, and Pamina in Die Zauberflote with Operatunities. Morgan also performed the roles of the Countess in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Mother in Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel, and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the NEC. Morgan’s early opera training includes choral work with Opera Lyra in Madama Butterfly and Romeo et Juliette. In 2016, she was the soprano soloist with Coro Vivo for their presentation of John Rutter’s Feel the Spirit cycle. Morgan is the co-founder and artistic director of South Ottawa Performing Arts Collaborative.

 

For more information, please visit: www.morgan-strickland.com

 

 

BRANDON WILKIE (Cellist)

Brandon Wilkie grew up in Pembroke, Ontario where he began playing cello at the age of 13. His first teacher was Peter Morris. He then continued his cello studies at the University of Ottawa with Paul Marleyn and later with Shauna Rolston at the University of Toronto. While living in Toronto, Brandon was a member of the Arkadas String Quartet who received the Felix Galimir Award for Chamber Music. As a member of the Arkadas, Brandon had the opportunity to perform at music festivals in Banff and San Francisco, where he worked with renowned artists such as Joel Krosnick of the Juilliard Quartet. Brandon and his wife Dian moved to Ottawa in 2014, where they currently reside with their two children. Since moving to Ottawa, he has performed regularly with the Capital Chamber Choir and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. Brandon is currently on the faculty of Ottawa's Suzuki Music program, where he works with young cello students.

 

For more information, please visit: www.suzukimusic.ca/cello

 

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