STEP

Julia Bowdring (Fiddle)

Julia Bowdring is a grade 12 student at Gonzaga High School, where she is involved in many music activities such as the Gonzaga Chamber Choir and the Gonzaga Traditional Band. She has played the violin since she was eight years old, and discovered her love for traditional music at the age of eleven. She is in the STEP Fiddlers, the Celtic Fiddlers, and has recently started a traditional band with her two close friends. Julia plays for many events around St. John's such as St. Patrick's Day and Canada Day celebrations, The Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, conferences, weddings, and benefit concerts. She is the concert mistress of the Newfoundland Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Julia has sung in choirs with award-winning conductors such as Susan Quinn and Susan Knight. She has completed Suzuki Level 8 Violin, and recently completed Book 1 Teacher Training with Helen Brunner.

Julia also plays the piano, and has won many awards at the St. John's Kiwanis Music Festival. She has recently completed her Grade 10 Royal Conservatory exam with honors. She hopes to pursue a career in music at university.

Nancy Case-Oates (Violin)

Nancy Case-Oates began her musical studies on piano and violin at an early age, performing regularly at local Kiwanis Festivals and winning many awards for violin, piano and voice. She has acquired degrees in performance from both Universities of Toronto and Victoria.

Nancy holds the position of Principal Second Violinist with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, a position she also held with the Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra, and is also currently the Second Violinist of the Atlantic String Quartet. She has been featured as solo artist twice with the NSO Sinfonia.

Currently, Nancy maintains an active performing career with the NSO, teaching Suzuki violin, and playing with The Pachelbel Trio. In her spare time, Nancy designs and creates hand-embroidered crafts and enjoys spending time with her sons Edmund and Noah.

Scott Chancey (Viola, Violin)

Scott Chancey began his musical studies on the violin at the age of 4 in Sudbury, Ontario. It was during his high school years in Ottawa that he discovered his love of the viola particularly in chamber music. Scott worked on his Bachelor in Performance at the University of Ottawa on violin and viola with professors Calvin Sieb and Neil Gripp. He was violist of the Volta String Quartet (1990-2001) which traveled the world from Guatemala to Eastern Europe.

Scott's love of music does not limit itself to the classical world. He has been involved in a few musicals with the Zucchini Grotto Theatre Company in Ottawa and toured with "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" in the summer of 2005. More recently Scott was accepted at the Henry Mancini Institute in July 2006 for a one month program focusing on jazz, improvisation and film music.

Sean Conway (Viola, Violin)

Photo: Terry Rice Sean recently completed a Bachelor of Music at Memorial University's School of Music where he studied viola with Dr. Nancy Dahn and Prof. David Gillham. Prior to Memorial he studied viola with Kate Read and Alison Black and cello with Dale Root.

Sean is currently entering his ninth season as a violist with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and just accepted the position of the Orchestra's Personnel Manager.

Sean, Matthew March, Heather Kao and Kristen Oliver also form The Four Seasons String Quartet, an ensemble that has enjoyed success over the past few years performing for functions at The Rooms, Government House, The Johnson GeoCentre and numerous corporate and private events throughout the city.

His first experience with the Suzuki Talent Education Program was in 1990 as cellist with the Suzuki Senior Chamber Ensemble directed by Angela Brand. In addition to performing, Sean teaches violin to a growing private studio of young musicians. Sean completed Units 1A, 1B and 2 of Suzuki Teacher Training with Helen Brunner and has been teaching with the Suzuki Talent Education Program since 2002. Sean served as director of the Atlantic Canada Suzuki Institute in 2006.

Jennifer Johnson (Violin, Body Mapping)

Photo: Sheilagh O'Leary Jennifer began her musical training in southern Ontario, Canada and earned her Honours Performance Degree from Converse College, South Carolina, studying there with Paul Statsky. She was Director of the Suzuki Talent Education Program at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, before coming to St. John's, Newfoundland in 1993 to play as principal second violin of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and second violin of the Atlantic String Quartet. During her twelve years playing with the Atlantic String Quartet, she performed regularly with artists of international acclaim including Krystof Penderecki, Dennis Brott, Patrick Gallois, Rivka Golani, and Anton Kuerti.

In addition to her performing career, she also has a well-established reputation as a pedagogue in St. John's. Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to the advancement of musical education, specifically through the Suzuki Talent Education Program of St. John's of which she served as Artistic Director from 1998-2002.

In 2004, a generous grant from the Canada Council for the Arts funded a 7-month Alexander Technique sabbatical for Jennifer which permitted her to study throughout Europe and the United States with many of the world's leading Alexander Technique teachers. Some of these teachers included Pedro de Alcantara, Walter Carrington, Marjorie Barlow, Joan and Alexander Murray and Barbara Conable. Jennifer went on to train with Barbara Conable and in 2005 became Canada's first certified Andover Educator. She now presents Body Mapping workshops across the country working with musicians who are interested in learning to enhance their musical ability and to prevent injury through a clear understanding of how their bodies are designed to move.

Heather Kao (Violin, Accompanist)

Photo: Ruth Skinner Heather Kao is a freelance violinist and violin teacher in St. John's. She can be frequently seen on stage, either performing with The Four Seasons String Quartet, as a soloist, or at the Spirit of Newfoundland dinner theatre. She likes trying new things, and has recently joined the band Hey Rosetta! . She also sings with Kellie Walsh's Lady Cove Women's Choir. She has done countless recordings for radio, TV, and CDs. She has a performance degree from the MUN School of Music.

Heather is a past member of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, The MUN Chamber Orchestra, and The National Youth Orchestra of Canada. She has received many awards from the Kiwanis Music Festival, and has competed at the national level of the Canadian Music Competition and National Music Competition. Heather is glad to be back as a teacher and accompanist this year.

Andrea Lane Gardner (Accompanist)

Andrea Lane Gardner is happy to be providing piano accompaniment at STEP classes this year. She completed her Master of Music in 2004 at the University of Western Ontario specializing in Collaborative Piano (Accompanying and Vocal Coaching). While there she studied with John Hess and James Anagnoson. In 2002 she received a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from Memorial University, where she studied with Kristina Szutor. Since returning home a year ago, she has collaborated with many students and professional musicians in the community and developed a growing piano studio.

Matthew March (Cello)

Photo: Terry Rice Matthew March graduated with a Bachelor of Music from Memorial University in April of 2006. While at Memorial, he studied cello with Prof. Thomas Loewenheim and Dr. Vernon Regehr. Matthew has been playing the cello since the age of 8 and his former teachers have included Pierre Kusters, Kellie Walsh, Christina Smith and Theo Weber. He has been a member of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra since 2000 and also is a member of The Four Seasons String Quartet.

Matthew has been involved with the Suzuki program in some capacity ever since he began playing the cello, whether as a student, orchestra member or teacher. He also completed Suzuki Cello Teacher Training Units 1A and 1B with Sally Gross in 1999. Matthew was the Assistant Director of ACSI in 2006, and is also thrilled to be teaching the cello and parent cello classes this season.

Kristen Oliver (Violin) - Past Teacher

Photo: Terry Rice Kristen holds a Bachelor of Music in violin performance and Music Education from Memorial University's School of Music where she studied with Peter Gardner and Nancy Dahn. Kristen is also a past member of The Four Seasons String Quartet. Kristen has played violin with a number of orchestras and ensembles and has participated in Suzuki Teacher Training workshops in St. John's and Montreal. Kristen taught with the Suzuki Talent Education Program in St. John's for many years and has now moved on to Hamilton, Ontario to pursue her career in education and other life goals.

Evelyn Osborne (Violin)

Evelyn Osborne is a teacher in the Suzuki Talent Education Program in St. John's, Newfoundland. She has taken both short- and long-term teacher training (books 1-8) with Teri Einfeldt, Alice Joy Lewis and Helen Brunner and has just completed a "baby" Suzuki course for pre-natal and infant music. Evelyn has also given international workshops for Suzuki students in Adelaide, Australia and Singapore on Newfoundland fiddle tunes and presented a paper called "Comparing Pedagogies" at the Suzuki Association of the America's 12th Conference in Minneapolis this past May. She completed her undergraduate degree in violin at the University of Ottawa, and a Masters of Arts in Canadian Studies/Ethnomusicology at Carleton University. Evelyn is now a Ph.D. student in Ethnomusicology at Memorial University where she researches Newfoundland fiddle styles.

Sandra Pope (Cello)

Sandra Pope, cellist, holds both a Bachelor of Music (Honours) and Master of Music degrees in Performance from the University of Western Ontario, as well as a Bachelor of Music Education from Memorial University. A founding member of The Pachelbel Trio, she is also Assistant Principal Cellist of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. In addition to a busy private cello studio, Sandra also teaches music for the Eastern School District and sings with the award-winning Lady Cove Women's Choir.

Sandra is on leave from STEP for the 2007-2008 season.

Sarah Russell (Accompanist)

Sarah Russell is a classically trained pianist who is currently enrolled in the Masters of music performance and pedagogy program at Memorial University. She studies piano with Dr. Kristina Szutor and this fall will study the harpsichord with Mary O'Keeffe.

In 2002 Sarah Russell graduated from Mount Allison University and then traveled to France to teach piano, music theory, and English to students from age five to sixty.

She has performed in solo and chamber recitals in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland, and has competed in several national piano competitions.

Christina Smith (Violin, Fiddle, Cello)

Christina Smith is a performer, recording artist and teacher, living in St. John's. A native Newfoundlander, Christina performs in North America and Europe as half of the award-winning Newfoundland Folk Music duo, Christina Smith and Jean Hewson. She teaches both Suzuki Method strings and Newfoundland Fiddling in St. John's and at workshops in Ontario and Quebec.

Christina's compositions and arrangements can be heard on several CBC radio documentaries, as well as short films and videos. In demand as a session player in her hometown of St. John's, she has backed up Newfoundland's best known musicians, including Emile Benoit, Buddy Wassisname, the Irish Descendants, Jean Hewson, Jim Payne, Fergus O'Byrne, Ron Hynes and others. She is featured on a solo CD entitled Fiddle Me This, and the duo albums Like Ducks! and August Gale.

Christina holds a B.Mus. with Honours in History and an Artist's Diploma in Cello Performance from the University of Western Ontario, and the Suzuki Cello Teacher's Degree from the Talent Education Institute, Matsumoto Japan. She learned Newfoundland fiddling from Emile Benoit and Rufus Guinchard.

Website: http://jeanandchristina.com/

Gordon Stockwell (Violin)

Gordon Stockwell is a teacher, performer, and student in St. John's. He plays first violin with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and various other small ensembles. In 2006 he graduated from Cambrian College with a performance diploma and is currently completing his Bachelor’s Degree in music performance under Dr. Nancy Dahn. In 2007 Gordon made his solo debut with the Sudbury Symphony playing Prokofiev's 2nd violin concerto. He is new to the Suzuki program having recently obtained his teaching certificate under the tutelage of Helen Brunner and looks forward to working with the Suzuki students and teachers.

Meghan Tracey (Accompanist)

Meghan Tracey is currently pursuing a degree in piano performance. She began her studies at Memorial University's School of Music and is planning on continuing her studies at one of several schools throughout Canada. Meghan is a regular accompanist with the Suzuki Talent Education Program and enjoys chamber music. She performs regularly with STEP alumni Emilia Bartellas and Kathryn March as part of 'The Diminished Thirds' and has won several awards and competed nationally both as part of the trio and individually.

Kellie Walsh (Orchestra)

A native of St. John's, Kellie Walsh is an Associate Conductor of SHALLAWAY Youth Choir. She is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Lady Cove Women's Choir, and Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Newman Sound, a men's choir, both located in St. John's.

Kellie spent eight years as an educator and performer in Toronto, Ontario, during which she taught choral and string music for the Toronto District School Board, and performed with a variety of ensembles including the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, under the direction of Lydia Adams. She currently operates a private music studio and conducts the senior choir at St. Bonaventure's College, the preparatory ensemble of the NSYO and the Suzuki String Ensemble. She enjoys a busy schedule as a workshop clinician and adjudicator.

Kellie has worked with such internationally acclaimed conductors as Jon Washburn of Vancouver, Maria Guinand of Venezuela, Sir David Willcocks and Alan Hazeldine of London, England, and Pinchas Zukerman of the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa. She holds Bachelor degrees in both Music and Music Education from Memorial University, from which she recently received a Masters degree in conducting. While at MUN, she studied with Dr. Douglas Dunsmore, Dr. Donald Buell, and Marc David. As a sabbatical replacement for the fall 2005, Kellie served as the choral professor for the MUN School of Music.