Meet our Graduate Students
Anton Achondoa
DMus
Piano
achondoa@ualberta.ca
antonachondoa.com
Hailing from California, Anton Achondoa studied with Hans Boepple at Santa Clara University where graduated in 2013 with a B.A. in Music. He grew up in Sunnyvale, exposed to so much music as both his parents were enthusiastic listeners. In his youth, he studied piano with Nina Kouchnir who inspired him to eventually pursue a career in music. In the last several years Anton has performed with the Santa Clara University Orchestra and Choir, and has played piano for events throughout the Silicon Valley. In 2016, he began his M.M. in Keyboard Studies at San Jose State University, working with Frank Lévy. During this time he served as a pianist for Catholic Parishes in the Diocese of San Jose and managed his own private piano studio. Anton relocated to Canada in 2018 to pursue his DMus at the University of Alberta under the supervision of Dr. Jacques Després. His research is centered on the study of early piano recordings and how they represent a style of playing characterized by more flexible and personal readings of musical scores. Anton hopes that stimulating a new appreciation for these idiosyncratic historical recordings can breathe new life into modern piano interpretation which, in his view, tends to be constrained and homogenized by a globally prevalent academic viewpoint. Anton’s recent performances at the UofA include solo works by Mozart, Liszt, Prokofiev, Debussy, and Chopin as well as chamber works by Rachmaninoff and Brahms.
Meijun Chen
DMus
Wind Band Conducting
Meijun Chen is a Doctor of Music student in Wind Band Conducting supervised by Dr. Angela Schroeder. Her research interests include wind band and orchestral music education in Canada and China, and the historical development of university band and orchestra pedagogies, repertoires and composers. She is an active guest conductor for collegiate wind bands and community orchestras, and was an Edmonton Youth Orchestra Conducting Intern.
In Summer 2023, she was 1 of 5 selected conductors for the U.S. “Pershing’s Own” Army Band Conductors Workshop, 1 of 10 Conducting Fellows of University of Cincinnati CCM’s International Wind Festival and Conductor’s Academy, working with “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band musicians, and with The Johann Strauss Foundation scholarship, she had her orchestral and opera conducting studies at the Vienna Opera Academy.
Meijun is an award-winning clarinetist who has performed and competed in 13 countries across Europe, Asia and North America. She played in NYB Canada 2018, won the 2019 UofA Concerto Competition, and was a University of Lethbridge Visiting Artist in 2023. She is a frequent Guest Clarinetist with the Royal Canadian Artillery Band.
Meijun is an experienced clinician at Alberta's public schools. Her music students won gold medals at the national level, and have entered Canadian universities’ Performance and Music Therapy programs. Meijun is passionate about music education, to inspire younger generations and to enhance community engagement.
Serena Chen
MMus
Voice
Serena Chen is a mezzo-soprano studying with Canadian Tenor John Tessier in her graduate program. She has had a great interest in music since she was a child, so she travelled from China to Canada to learn music. She enjoys singing and wants to spread oriental culture by singing Chinese repertories at U of A.
Mari Alice Conrad
DMus
Composition
mari@ualberta.ca
MariAliceConrad.com
Mari Alice Conrad is an award-winning composer and arranger based in Edmonton, Alberta. She is in high demand as a composer featuring performances and current projects with various ensembles across Canada, USA, and Europe most notably at Ottawa Chamberfest, Vancouver’s Allegra Chamber Orchestra FestivELLE, Été musical de Barachois in New Brunswick, in the Žofín Palace for the World Wind Music Festival and WASBE Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, the Banff Centre for the Arts, New Music Edmonton, Manitoba GroundSwell New Music Series, Vancouver Modulus Festival, the Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival in Newfoundland, the Toronto New Music Concert Series, the Sweetwater Festival and NUMUS Festivals (Ontario).
Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2022, Mari Alice travelled to the Canadian High Arctic and Greenland in the creation of a large-scale composition project for musical youth exploring the effects of climate change. Other areas of her creative research explore interpreting historical events into musical contexts. She currently works as a Graduate Research Assistant with Dr. Scott Smallwood in the Audio Games Lab. Her choral music is published by Hinshaw Music (USA) and Cypress Choral Music (Canada) with upcoming recording projects with MacEwan University Generations Big Band, Exultate Chamber Singers and Ensemble ArtChoral (formerly Ensemble Vocal Arts-Québec).
Catherine Daniel
MMus
Voice
cadaniel@ualberta.ca
catherinedaniel.com
Career highlights for Ms. Catherine Daniel include: singing Emelda Griffiths in Grammy award-winner Terence Blanchard’s opera ‘Champion’ with l’Opéra de Montréal, debuting Klytemnestra in Edmonton Opera’s production of Elektra, singing Elisabetta in Knoxville Opera’s production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, and debuting at Carnegie Hall as a soloist in Haydyn’s Mass in Time of war. Ms. Daniel made her Opera Tampa debut in Carmen singing the title role in 2020.
Ms. Daniel studied voice with Coluratura soprano Tracy Dahl at the University of Manitoba. She was a member of the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, and later became a member of the Opera Studio Nederlands in Amsterdam. Ms. Daniel is currently completing a Master’s in Vocal performance with prof. John Tessier and the University of Alberta.
Elvin Do
DMus
Choral Conducting
edo1@ualberta.ca
Elvin Do – YouTube
Elvin Do (he/him) is a Canadian Bass/Baritone with a Hons. BMus with distinction from Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, ON) and a MMus in Choral Conducting from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC). He has worked in educational and workshop settings with some of Canada’s leading choral figures such as Drs. Timothy Shantz, Laurier Fagnan, Graeme Langager, Mark Vuorinen, Lee Willingham, Gerard Yun, and Karen Burke. He has directed choirs of varying sizes and ability at both secondary and collegiate levels across Canada. He is currently the assistant director of the University of Alberta's mixed chorus and a TA for first year theory. His doctoral thesis seeks to explore the modes in which choral music can be used as a conduit to promote and engage language learning (specifically French), and also the inherent biases of choral programming at anglophone-Canadian post-secondary institutions as they pertain to the subversion of the French Language. At the University of Alberta he has been the recipient of a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship and the John and Logie Drew Graduate Scholarship in Choral Conducting.
Subash Giri
PhD
Ethnomusicology
sgiri@ualberta.ca
subashgiri.com
Subash Giri is a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at the Department of Music, University of Alberta. His research focuses on South Asian diaspora in North America, particularly Canada and the United States, and South Asia, particularly in Nepal and India. His research interests include music and minority; music, human rights, and social justice; music sustainability; music and community well-being; community-based and collaborative research; applied ethnomusicology; participatory ethnomusicology; music and diasporic identity; and music business, music industry, and copyright. His research articles have been published in several international journals.
Subash is the winner of the ICTM Best Student Paper Prize 2022. His doctoral research project has received the prestigious Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM) 21st Century Fellowship Award 2021 and the Society for Asian Music (SAM) Graduate Student Small Grant Award 2021.
Shawn Grenke
DMus
Choral Conducting
Conductor, Pianist and Organist Shawn Grenke is Director of Music at Eglinton St. George’s United Church in Toronto, Accompanist to the Elmer Iseler Singers of Toronto, and Artistic Director of the 80-voice Achill Choral Society in Orangeville, Ontario.Shawn began his musical training as a chorister and pianist with the Hastings County Board of Education Concert Choir under the Direction of Rudolf Heijdens in his hometown of Belleville.
He has a Bachelor of Music degree (2000) from Mount Allison University (New Brunswick), and a Master of Music degree (2002) from the University of Toronto. Shawn has made international appearances in concerts inPoland, at the ‘Let the Future Sing’ Choral Festival in Sweden, the ‘LeMondial Choral Loto-Québec World Choral Competition’ in Laval, Québec, ‘Xinghai Choral Competition’ in China, Seoul, Roy Thomson Hall (Toronto), Winspear Centre, (Edmonton), CBC Radio, and other various festivals, concert series and recitals throughout Canada, the United States and Europe.
Shawn is currently in his second year of a DMus program in Choral Conducting at the University of Alberta where he studies with Dr. Timothy Shantz.
Uthpala Herath
PhD
Ethnomusicology
uherathm@ualberta.ca
Uthpalah Herath – University of Colombo
Uthpala Herath is a PhD Student in Ethnomusicology. She has received her Bachelor of Arts (Special) and Master of Philosophy in Fine Arts from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. She also obtained Upadhi of Visharadh (Instrumental-Violin) at the age of sixteen from Bhathkande Sangeeth Vidyapit, Lucknow, India. Her research interests involve a multifaceted understanding of music in relation to politics, social class, popular culture and iconography of Sri Lanka. She has presented her research works at a number of national and international research conferences and her current research intends to focus on ideological underpinnings and social class representations of Sri Lankan popular music sub-genre, popularly known as Mal sindhu. Uthpala is also a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Performing Arts, Sri Palee Campus of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Derek Horemans
DMus
Composition
horeman@ualberta.ca
Derek Horemans Music
Derek Horemans is an experimental composer and free improviser based in the Ottawa area. His personal composition practice focuses on non-standard scores and performance, especially text and graphic scores, as well as system-level composition and indeterminate music more broadly. He is also involved in multi-media, multi-disciplinary, and integrated artistic works, including staged works and simultaneous creation. His secondary academic pursuits include ludomusicology (study of video game music) as well as intersectional humanities, including geographical musicology, women's studies, and disability studies. He is an experienced and passionate teacher, teaching a wide range of courses as a primary instructor, from introductory music theory to leading improvisation ensembles at the graduate level.
Erin James
DMus
Strings
Erin James is a multidisciplinary artist who seeks to dance the intersection between music, visual art and text through her work combining textiles and the violin. She is as passionate about transforming garbage into art as she is about transfiguring works from the classical music repertoire so that they are more vibrant and accessible. Erin holds a Masters degree from the Royal College of Music in London, has performed on CBC Radio, at the Music By the Sea festival, with the Vancouver and Edmonton Symphonies and with the Vancouver Opera, Hamilton Philharmonic and Allegra Chamber Orchestras. She is pursuing her doctorate in violin performance, has completed a degree in fashion design and her thesis work combining textiles and music has been fully funded by a Bombardier Social Sciences and Humanities grant. Erin has recently presented to Arts at Google, performed a Pocket Concert in Toronto, completed a residency at Banff and been awarded a Johann Strauss Foundation scholarship to pursue studies in Austria.
Kaleb Koslowski
PhD
Musicology
Kaleb Koslowski is a PhD student in Musicology at the University of Alberta. He holds a Bachelor of Music (2013) from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Master of Arts in Musicology (2015) from the University of Toronto. He specializes broadly in musical and cultural history of the early modern period, especially questions about global networks and connections, the mobility of music and musicians, cultural mobility and translation, historical modes of listening, early modern subjectivity, and musical meaning and expression. His dissertation examines the operatic culture that flourished at the Hanseatic city of Hamburg’s Oper am Gänsemarkt during the first decades of the eighteenth century, specifically, how productions there both reified and informed discourses of civic patriotism and “global citizenship” that circulated among the city’s operagoing publics during this period. This research is supported by a Joseph Armand Bombardier CGS-Doctoral Fellowship (SSHRC). Kaleb has contributed entries to Grove Music Online and Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, has provided translations for the Schenker Documents Online project, and serves on the editorial board of Intonations, the University of Alberta Faculty of Arts’ transdisciplinary graduate-student journal. He is an avid performer, having studied as an organist and historical keyboardist. He has previously maintained his own piano studio and served as the musical director for a children’s musical theatre company.
Bohan Li (Jason)
PhD
Ethnomusicology, Popular Music
Bohan Li (Jason) is a current Ph.D. student in Popular Music and Media Studies at the University of Alberta. Prior to Alberta, he holds a B.A. in Music from Hunan Normal University (China) and an M.Mus at the University of Sydney (Australia), specializing in Classical Saxophone under the supervision of Prof. Michael Duke. During this time, he was actively involved as a saxophonist in solo, chamber, and saxophone orchestras in Australia and China, as well as managing his music studio as a co-founder and saxophone teacher in Sydney.
Bohan relocated to Canada in 2023 to pursue his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta under the supervision of Prof. Brian Fauteux. His research interests span popular/independent music in the field of urban ethnomusicology, music and media studies, issues of cultural production and the music industry in contemporary China. He identifies as a performer - researcher and intends on continuing to bridge the two practices in his future work.
He currently serves as a Teaching Assistant for the Music Department, University of Alberta and a fellowship at Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation. Outside of academia, he also works as a saxophone teacher who strives to inspire younger generations via music as a way of giving back to the community.
Brendan McGrath
MMus
Piano
bmcgrath@ualberta.ca
brendanmcgrath.info
I work as a performer/composer both professionally and academically. My research focuses on learning didactic repertoire by composers like Bach and Bartók, and composing original pieces that use elements from those works.
David Morissette
MMus
Composition
dmorisse@ualberta.ca
David Morissette – YouTube
David Morissette is a composer, songwriter and fledgling producer. He graduated from MacEwan University (2023) with a BMus in Composition, and looks to continue his studies at UofA. Having played drums and piano from a young age, his interest in music was inspired very early on in life.
Much of David’s musical work aims to create specific headspaces for the listener, whether that be the eliciting of emotions, the creation of an auditory landscape, or something else entirely. He intends to continue refining his compositional skills long into the future, and learn as much as he can along the way.
Shruti Nair
PhD
Ethnomusicology
Shruti Nair is a PhD student in Ethnomusicology at the University of Alberta. She is an Indian classical vocalist who is actively teaching and performing in Edmonton. Her dissertation focuses on 'Pedagogy and Performance Practices of North Indian Classical Music in the Digital Era' and this research is supported by Canada Graduate Scholarship - Doctoral (SSHRC).
Shruti was the Featured Artist by Edmonton Arts Council in 2020 and the Guest Performing Artist of Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in 2018. She is passionate about music collaborations and is an active member of the Edmonton TransCultural Orchestra.
Behrang Nikaeen
PhD
Ethnomusicology, Popular Music
nikaeen@ualberta.ca
Behrang Nikaeen – Google Scholar
Behrang Nikaeen is a Ph.D. candidate in Ethnomusicology at the University of Alberta. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering from Karaj Azad University in 2011 and his Master’s degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of Tehran in 2017. Behrang has been researching the Azerbaijani ashiq genre in Iranian Azerbaijan since 2015. His research outcomes have been published through some articles, book reviews, and translations. These contributions have been featured in Persian and English journals, including the Journal of Folklore Research, Musicologist, Mahoor Music Quarterly, and The Journal of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran.
Currently, Behrang is working on his Ph.D. project, which delves into the relationship between popular music and subjectivity in post-Soviet Azerbaijan. Beyond his specialization in Azerbaijani music, Behrang's interests and research projects encompass music and nationalism, music and feelings, Iranian popular music and music and fandom. His most recent publication is a book review in Popular Music.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Behrang Nikaeen is a musician and music educator. He imparts his expertise by teaching Iranian music theory, history, and various instruments, with a special focus on the tar and the Kurdish daf drum. Behrang has graced the stage with performances alongside music ensembles such as Avaz, Delshodegan, and Anadolu Sesi (all established by Hadi Sepehri) in both Iran and Turkey between 2010 and 2020.
Jude Nwankwo
DMus
Choral Conducting, Composition
jnwankwo@ualberta.ca
Jude Nwankwo – You Tube
Jude Nwankwo is a DMus student of choral conducting at the University of Alberta. His research interest is in the similarities/differences between the performance of Nigerian choral art music and classical music of Europe and America. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Arts degree in Theory and Composition from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) in 2008 and 2013, respectively; and a Master of Sacred Music in choral conducting from the University of Notre Dame, USA in 2021. He is the inaugural recipient (2017) of the Sub-Saharan Africa Commissioning Project of the Morehouse College Department of Music, Atlanta, GA, USA; and the receiver of the 2021 Academic Achievement Award of the Department of Sacred Music at Notre Dame. He is the founder of the J Clef Chorale, a choir devoted to teaching choral music enthusiasts in Nsukka-Nigeria the art of choral music.
Deepak Paramashivan
PhD
Composition, Theory, Music Theory, Composition and Artificial Intelligence
paramash@ualberta.ca
deepakparamashivan.com
Dr. Deepak Paramashivan is a composer, singer, Sarangi player, actor, and a scholar based out of Canada. He has acted and composed music for Indian films, Western Theater, Dance Ballets, Documentaries and Short Films. He has toured Europe, USA, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea both as a soloist and collaborating with Oscar winning composer A R Rehman , Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Pandit Nayan Ghosh, Pandit Yogesh Samsi, Pandit Birju Maharaj, and the Hollywood composer Rick Boston. Deepak has conducted master class on Indian music, cross cultural composition and music theories of the world at various universities including Berklee college of music and New England conservatory. Deepak has a PhD in energy and climate engineering, with a gold medal, from the Indian Institute of Science. He received his second doctorate in Ethnomusicology from the university of Alberta, Canada under the supervision of Prof Michael Frishkopf, Dr Julia Byl and Prof Regula Qureshi. He is a recipient of SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship (2021-2023) and Killam Fellowship (2016-2017). His research interests include Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in generating Cross Cultural Soundscapes, Music Theories and Composition, Ethnomusicology, Indian Theater, Sanskrit Language, Translation of Music Treatises in Sanskrit.
Jodi Penner
DMus
Choral Conducting, Voice
jbpenner@ualberta.ca
jodipenner.weebly.com
Jodi Penner, MMus (University of Alberta, 2011) and is currently working on her Doctorate of Music in Choral Conducting and Voice Performance at the University of Alberta focusing on Bolivian Baroque music. She is the Director of Voces Alegres, a bilingual Spanish choir in Edmonton as well as Choir Teaching artist with YONA-Sistema in Edmonton.
Her experience in opera, musical theatre, solo recitals, two solo albums, as well as BBC radio dramas and TV has taken her around the world including the United States, Canada, Scotland, Russia, Italy, Austria, and Bolivia.
Ms. Penner has sung the National Anthem for the Giants in 1992-93 and was featured as young artist with the Redwood Symphony in California singing Chants d' Auvergne. She has performed roles with Opera Roanoke, Operafestival di Roma, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Rosebud Theatre, and has sung with Canadian Chamber Choir, Edmonton Opera Chorus, i Coristi, Pro Coro, Richard Eaton Singers, Entrecantos, Orquesta Filarmónica, Trio Internaciónal and Bachfest in Bolivia. Recently, Jodi had guest conducting appearances with Edmonton Youth Choirs and Pro Cor Canada as emerging conductor. Ms. Penner teaches voice privately and is the Vice-President of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Edmonton chapter and is an invited adjudicator for many local Alberta music festivals.
Melvin Picazo
MMus
Saxophone
Melvin Picazo is a 1st year MMus student studying at the University of Alberta under Dr. Allison Balcetis. After graduating from the University of Calgary with a degree in Saxophone Performance, he desired to pursue further education to allow himself to develop further. After getting the chance to music direct for a theatre company in Calgary, he became interested in learning about and applying pedagogical tools from other instruments, such as piano and voice, and seeing how those tools can apply to other wind instruments. He also enjoys working collaboratively with other musicians and has since performed as a collaborative pianist for the University of Calgary's Voice Lab ensemble and did ccompaniment outside of the university for small recitals as well.
Yuanyuan Que
DMus
Piano
yque2@ualberta.ca
Yuantuan Que – YouTube
Yuanyuan Que, pianist, composer, university lecturer, musician of Tencent Music, Netease Cloud and Tiktok, is currently a DM student, who is studying with worldwide well-known Piano Master Professor Dr. Després in Piano Performance and teaching assistant at University of Alberta. Yuanyuan graduated from University of North Texas in the USA, achieved MM with cum GPA 3.934, was invited to join the National Music Honor and International Honor organizations in the USA, won international piano competitions, including the Grand Prize at the "Classical Music International Competition", the Grand Prize at the "Royal Voice Piano Competition", and the Gold and Special Awards at the "Manchester International Music Competition".
She performed throughout Europe, North America, and Asia, her repertoire included her own piano compositions. At the age of 16, She was invited by the German government to travel to Germany as an international competition winner. She released original music composition albums such as "Last Summer", “The Earth’s Core”, “See you•Happiness”, “Pure Instrumental Music”, published papers and original composition work on music journals.
During her master’s, she taught piano to undergraduate students at University of North Texas. She was piano instructor at two well-known music schools in the USA. From 2019, she served as a piano instructor at university and won the Outstanding Instructor Award.
Anne-Marie Randall
MMus
Voice
Annie Randall is a first year Masters of Music student in voice performance. She returned to study in 2018 after having had a previous career and a family. To follow her passion, Annie completed her BA in music/theatre at Concordia University of Edmonton with distinction under soprano, Jolaine Kerley. She is honored to be currently studying with the incredibly talented Miriam Khalil. Annie is excited to be presenting her Winter recital in November 2023.
Mehdi Rezania
PhD
Ethnomusicology
rezania@ualberta.ca
rezania.com
Mehdi Rezania, born in Abadeh, Iran is a composer, santur player, and researcher. He started music at age 13 and studied the advanced method of santur playing under Ardavan Kamkar in Tehran. He co-founded Baarbad music in Toronto with Toloe Roushenas and has performed numerously with many local and international musicians including Salar Aghili, Keivan Saket, Hossein Behroozinia, Sinfonia Toronto. His music projects have been supported by grants from Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, Edmonton Arts Council and Canada Arts Council. He has been music advisor to Iranian Heritage Day at the Royal Ontario Museum and artistic advisor to Tirgan Festival in Toronto.
He has a BFA and MA in music composition from York University and an MA in ethnomusicology at the University of Alberta. He is pursuing his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at the University of Alberta supported by Social Science and Humanities Research Council. His interest is in contemporary classical music of Iran inside and abroad the country; the impact of politics, migration and globalization on its theory, performance, composition, and dissemination.
Sarah Rossi
MMus
Wind Band Conducting
Sarah Rossi is a graduate student in Wind Band Conducting. She received her Bachelor of Music at the University of Calgary in 2021. Her interests include the development of the musical marching arts within her communities and create new ensembles to allow for individuals to gain valuable performance experience. As a clarinettist and conductor, she looks to become an exciting educator, performer, and ensemble director to her future musicals endeavours.
Diana Tayler
MMus
Composition
drattai@ualberta.ca
midwintermuse.com
Diana Tayler is a composer, arranger, performer (harp) and musical educator based on Treaty 6 Territory in Edmonton, Alberta. Diana turned to composition as a medium for her artistic expression after spending many years travelling across the country and abroad, engaging and performing with diverse musical communities in Asia and Eastern Europe. She composes choral, chamber, solo and acousmatic works. In her compositions, she uses extended techniques and deconstructs sound to explore resonance and tonal colour and bring the listener inside the sound worlds she creates. Diana completed a Master of Arts degree in Modern Languages and Cultural Studies (Specialisation in Slavic Linguistics) at the University of Alberta, an Associate diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT), and is currently pursuing an MMus (composition) at the University of Alberta supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. She serves on the boards of directors for University of Alberta Madrigal Singers, New Music Edmonton and Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, and is active in Edmonton’s vibrant choral community.
Ka Yuk Yam (Rose)
MMus
Piano
kayuk@ualberta.ca
Edmonton Piano Teacher Ka Yuk Rose Yam
Ka Yuk Yam (Rose) is a Mmus student in Piano Performance at the University of Alberta, studying under Dr. Viktoria Reiswich-Dapp. She was selected in the Concerto Competition in the University of Alberta (2022) and will be playing Mozart Concerto KV. 414 as a soloist with the University Symphony Orchestra in 2023 Spring. She got the highest score in the piano department in the final piano exam (2022). She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Rose is also an active piano teacher and piano accompanist. She particularly has a great passion for piano teaching. Serendipity Music Studio was set up by Rose and another partner for nurturing musicians in the new generations. She reads a lot about piano pedagogy during her free time. Having an urge to pay back to society with her music, she is devoted to piano teaching, and she volunteered a couple of times in the Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre, to play pop music for the senior citizens.
Jin Yu
DMus
Voice
jyu18@ualberta.ca
jinyubaritone.com
Jin Yu is a doctoral student in Prof. John Tessier's Voice Studio. He is singing internationally in the US, Canada, Israel, Austria, and China; appearing in opera, concert, and oratorio; soloist at Carnegie Hall, dramatic baritone Jin Yu has brought his musical, vocal and dramatic skill, thrilling audiences and critics alike. From Bluebeard and Sparafucile to Don Alfonso and Count Almaviva, from Escamillo and Marcello to Gianni Schicchi, Jin Yu has sung over thirty roles; his dramatic interpretation and vocal agility make him equally at home as the villain, the romantic lead and the comic anti-hero. A towering presence in Handel and sacred music, to Mozart and Verismo, Jin Yu’s vocal and theatrical versatility is only matched by the Herculean size of his voice. With appearances operas in Chinese as well, Jin Yu is the face of the new internationalism and versatility of the lyric art.
Olga Zaitseva-Herz
PhD
Ethnomusicology, Voice
zaitseva@ualberta.ca
olga-zaitseva.com
Olga Zaitseva-Herz is a Ph.D. candidate in Ethnomusicology. She received her first degree from a conservatory in violin in Dnipro (Ukraine); then, she graduated in sound design at Kyiv Karpenko-Karyi University of Theater, Kino and TV. After this, she completed her studies at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (Germany) in vocal pedagogy. Her research focuses on Ukrainian and Ukrainian-Canadian music; she is especially interested in immigration songs, identities, diaspora, hybridity, and multiculturalism. Olga Zaitseva-Herz is also an award-winning performer with extensive international experience. In addition to communicating her research findings in traditional academic venues, she presents them in the form of contemporary performances with her music project ZAITSA worldwide.
Tangmuyang (Krystal) Zhang
PhD
Musicology
I am a third-year doctoral student in Musicology, receiving 4-year full funding from China Scholarship Council since 2020. My current research focuses on two Chinese composers (Tan Dun and Zhao Jiping) and their film music compositions. In 2015 and 2019, I received my B.F.A. in Music Performance and M.A. in Musicology from Chinese Culture University (Taipei, Taiwan) and Dalhousie University (Halifax, NS) respectively. My M.A.. thesis, Diegetic Music and Identity in Hou Hsiao-hsien's A City of Sadness (1989), discusses the function of diegetic music and the issue of identity in late nineteenth century Taiwan through the film. I am also a performer and teacher of Zheng (a traditional Chinese 21-string instrument) and piano.