Jeremy Brown

Jeremy Brown recently retired as Professor of Music from the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. An award-winning teacher, he received the 2024 University of Calgary (Professor) Teaching Award, the Faculty of Arts Teaching Award 2014, and the Student’s Union Teaching Excellence Award in 1999.  He was again nominated for the Student’s Union Teaching Award in 2017 and was awarded the distinction of Ambassador of Canadian Music by the Canadian Music Centre, (2009) nominated as Outstanding Conductor and Educator at the 2025 YYC Music Awards, and won the David Peterkin Award from the Alberta Band Association (2008). His recordings and performances have been critically acclaimed, including Emergence (Redshift Records), which won the Outstanding Classical Recording of the Year at the 2023 YYC Music Awards. His recording of original jazz compositions, Intersections, won the 2025 YYC Music Awards Jazz recording of the Year, and his recording with the Calgary Wind Symphony, Prevail, won the YYC 2025 Classical Recording of the Year. 

As a musician of unusually broad accomplishments, he performs as a wind band conductor, a jazz, classical and free improviser, primarily on the saxophone and flute, and a book author and composer.  He has been the Artistic Director and conductor of the Calgary Wind Symphony for 26 years, a 60-member wind band founded in 1955.  The CWS celebrated this Silver Anniversary in the summer of 2024 with the commissioning of Where the Mountains Have No Names by the Yukon composer Ben Johnston-Urey, among numerous other commissions.  

A prolific author, his book The Wind Band Music of Henry Cowell (Routledge, 2018) includes definitive recordings of Cowell’s band music with the winds of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Brown. He was also series editor and lead compiler of the inaugural Royal Conservatory of Music Saxophone Series (Frederick Harris Music, 2014), a multi-volume saxophone anthology with graded repertoire, etudes, technical studies, and orchestral excerpts. His most recent book, Perspectives on Jazz Patronage (Routledge, 2026), introduces jazz patronage as its own art form. His hobbies include writing short fiction pieces and he is currently working on a short-story anthology. 

Hilary Sanford

Starting her musical life playing violin as a youth, Hilary went on to  play oboe in high school and through her university years.  She played oboe with the Victoria Symphony for a decade, from time to time conducting the orchestra in several out of town  concerts during Paul Freeman’s first year as conductor. A severe bike facial injury forced her to stop playing oboe, and ended her professional playing career.

Hilary taught instrumental music in SD63 high schools for 35 years. During the 70’s she conducted the Saanich Peninsula Orchestra, which morphed into the Civic Orchestra of Victoria. In recent years she conducted many Singalong Messiahs at the Alix Goolden, before the current conductor was hired to conduct the Civic. 

Her passion for musical theatre led her to work as Music Director for more than  three dozen different musicals with several companies during those decades, (her favourite and most challenging being Miss Saigon.) For her 65th birthday, Hilary produced and conducted Mendelssohn’s Elijah at the Alix Goolden concert Hall, with a large choir and orchestra. Encouraged by the sold out performance, she followed up with Brahms’ Requiem for her 70th birthday, with an expanded 70 piece orchestra and a 200 voice choir. She was asked to conduct the Brahms again last year in a memorial concert for her mentor, conductor, Dr George Corwin.

For her instrumental outlet, playing  saxophones was easier on the embouchure, so  Hilary played for many years with various concert bands and always, her school jazz bands. In her 70s, she took up the challenge of French Horn when an old friend, knowing Hilary had wanted to play horn in high school, offered her the horn which had belonged to her dad. Hilary now plays horn in three community bands, auxiliary percussion in the Civic Orchestra and sings in the Victoria Philharmonic Choir. 

Hilary is an advocate for encouraging young people to not put their instrument away in a closet at the end of high school or university, as so many do, but to keep up active participation of music in their lives as a means to provide so many opportunities to provide lifelong  enjoyment - a wonderful way to maintain and contribute to the healthy work/life balance throughout your life. Music also provides the doorway to wonderful friendships. By the way, if you play tuba or other brass instruments, borrow a baritone or euphonium from your band director, and come and join us in Tuba Christmas, usually the second Saturday in December, held at Market Square. Hilary has never missed a performance in more than 30 years! It’s great to see so many young players and former students in the 100 plus ensemble.

Kevin Hamlin:

Kevin was the head of music at Collingwood Collegiate, a program which grew to the largest high school music program in the country,  After retiring, Kevin was appointed to be Yamaha Music Canada's first Educator-in-Residence, providing workshops and clinics for high school music programs and bands throughout North America.  Kevin was awarded the Keith Mann Outstanding Band Director in 2015, as chosen by MusicFest Canada.  He  also presents regularly at numerous music conferences throughout Canada,  provides workshops for school boards and universities,  and adjudicates at Regional Festivals from Coast to Coast, as well as the MusicFest Canada National Festival. Kevin was also awarded the Collingwood Arts Award in 2015 as well as the Order of Collingwood in 2016. Recently, he has released four songs, now available on all major streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Choral Clinicians/Adjudicators

Frances Roberts 

Frances Roberts retired from teaching high school music at Argyle Secondary School in North Vancouver in 2023, having directed concert, chamber and jazz choirs there for thirty three years. Her award winning choirs toured extensively throughout North America, Europe, the Baltics, China, and the UK. She is now enjoying working as a choral consultant with choirs around the province. 

She currently directs the Vancouver physician’s choir in the Phoenix Chamber Choir organization - VOX PANACEA and is on faculty in the Music Education Department at UBC teaching the Secondary Choral Pedagogy course. In retirement, Frances is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor. She has presented workshops for BCMEA, Alberta Choral Federation, BC Choral Federation, Long & McQuade and the Association of Canadian Choral Communities. 

She is a graduate of the UBC School of Music graduate attaining her Masters of Music in Choral Conducting in 2017. In 2018 she received the “Most Inspiring Conductor” award from the Vancouver Kiwanis Festival and in 2020 she was honoured by her colleagues when she received the BC Music Educators Association Outstanding Secondary Music Educator Award .

Frances is on the faculty of the West Coast Amateur Musicians Society summer camp, the Phoenix Summer Conducting Workshop and is teaching conducting and choral repertoire for Level 1 Kodaly. She is most happy amongst her dedicated colleagues sharing strategies and stories. Frances is looking forward to hearing and working with the school choirs from the Port Alberni area at the festival in the spring

Janet Warren

Janet Warren, recipient of the British Columbia Music Educator's Professional Music Educator Award, is recognized nationally for her work in both traditional choral repertoire and vocal jazz. Adjudicating and clinics have taken her from China to Ontario; she founded and organized the Sea-to-Sky Choral Festival; twenty-five years ago, she formed and still directs Higher Ground Women's Choir in North Vancouver. Ms. Warren has enjoyed solo work, and sings in Vancouver choirs: EnChor and Earth, Wind and Choir. After retirement, she worked with pre-service secondary music student teachers at UBC. Choral conducting continues to be Ms. Warren's favourite and most creative musical outlet.