Executive Committee

​JULIE FREEDMAN SMITH, PRESIDENT
Julie Freedman Smith has been involved in teaching for the past 28 years. Her experience as an Elementary/Jr. High music teacher, a choral conductor with the Calgary Boys Choir, a voice instructor and a choral clinician has resulted in extensive opportunities to work with children and adults in both individual and group environments. A founding member of Luminous Voices and a regular addition to VoiceScapes, Julie continues to feed her love of performance. Since 2002, she has encouraged parents across the country as co-founder of Parenting Power. Julie holds B.Sc. Biology and a B.A. Psychology with Distinction from the University of Calgary. ​
AMY ABBOTT, SECRETARY
Amy Abbott is a lawyer currently based in Edmonton. She obtained an LL.B at Dalhousie University in 2009, after completing her BA Honours at the University of Alberta. She articled with the ARCH Disability Law Centre in Toronto, Ontario, where she was called to the bar before returning to Alberta in 2010. Amy currently works at Emery Jamieson LLP, one of Alberta's oldest law firms, where she maintains a general practice, and has represented clients before all levels of Court in Alberta. Prior to law school, Amy was a long-time chorister with the University of Alberta Mixed Chorus. Music, and choir in particular, has been a passion of Amy’s since childhood. She values the opportunity to reconnect with her choral roots and contribute to the choral community as a member of the Choir Alberta Board.
ADAM FELLOWS, VP FINANCE
Adam Fellows is an Executive Director in the Energy Corporate Banking group at CIBC Capital Markets, based in Calgary, AB. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary and an MBA from Queen’s University. In addition to his professional life, Adam also works as a volunteer with the United Way Calgary and Area, and has developed a passion for the choral arts as an avid audience member and supporter of many professional vocal ensembles across Alberta. Adam is the proud father of two daughters and enjoys distance running, travelling and spending time with family and friends.  
NICOLE HOUNJET, VP PROJECTS & PROGRAMS
Nicole Hounjet has been a music educator with the CBE and FSD for the past 20 years.   During her teaching career she has built, developed, and grown programs based on community, culture, and artistry.  Nicole also conducts with the Westwinds Music Society - an organisation focused on adult music education.  Nicole previously served on the Choir Alberta Board as the Vice President of Programs and Projects for Choir Alberta, committed to helping facilitate vibrant and enriching programs for singers and conductors at every age and stage. She is pleased to return to that role in the hopes of continuing to  support the choral community of Alberta.  Nicole completed her music degree at the University of Alberta and her education degree at the University of Calgary.  Since her time at the U of A, Ms Hounjet has continued to develop herself as a musician and artist by studying with choral leaders including James Jordan, James Whitbourn, Gregory Boers, Richard Nace, and Rodney Eichenberger. As an educator and conductor, Ms Hounjet empowers her musicians to fully engage in music by building a community of mutual trust, respect and empathy within the ensemble. Nicole is a past recipient of Choir Alberta's Con Spirito Award.
​TOKIE ONODA, VP MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Tokie (Satoko) Onoda is a Communications Specialist residing in Calgary, AB. She studied in Japan, the US, and Canada, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree and a Minor degree in Music from the University of Southern Mississippi. Tokie has more than 20 years of experience promoting for-profit, non-profit, and post-secondary education institutions including the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the University of Calgary School of Creative and Performing Arts, the Faculty of Arts, Luminous Voices, and the Southern Alberta Myeloma Patient Society. In 2020, she found Calgary Classical – a website that provides an integrated list of classical music events in Calgary and the surrounding area. Tokie is also a violinist and performs with the Calgary Civic Symphony, and the Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra, and is a founding member of Amadea Strings.

Directors

OLIVIA ALBERT
Olivia Albert is a proud Métis/Acadian educator who is passionate about two-eyed seeing and integrating Indigenous ways of being into choral spaces. On her mother’s side, her family names are Halpin and Leask, and her origins are in Selkirk, Manitoba, the northern extension of the Red River Settlement. On her father’s side, her family names are Albert and Doiron, with roots in Bas-Caraquet and Saint-François-de-Madawaska. In 2021, she received a B.Sc. In Chemistry with a minor in music. She has sung with the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers, NYCC in 2022, and most recently with Pro Coro #connect. In her free time, she enjoys spending time on the land with her family. She also passes time beading, quilling, and tufting, thanks to teachings passed along to her by Traditional Dene Artist Suzan Marie and Métis Artist Krista Leddy.
LYNDSEY OLSEN
Lyndsey has been fortunate to have spent most of her life singing in choirs and studying choral music, and has found the greatest joy in sharing this love for the choral music experience with young singers. For the last 20 years, Lyndsey has worked with singers in kindergarten through post-secondary, mainly in her positions with Edmonton Young Voices and Edmonton Catholic Schools, and also as a voice instructor, adjudicator, and conductor of other children’s choirs in Edmonton and surrounding areas. She is currently the Artistic Director of EYV, the director of ECSD’s All-City High School Choir, the director of the Archbishop MacDonald High School Choir, and the founding director of MACappella. She holds a Bachelor of Education with a focus in Choral Music from the University of Alberta and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from California State University Los Angeles. Lyndsey is a mom of three and enjoys bike rides, slow snowboarding on wide open runs, and cooking and eating with her family.
BARBARA SOLES
Barbara Soles joined her first choir when she was 8 years old at the Mount Royal Conservatory. Barbara grew up singing in choirs, and has competed internationally as a chorister and soloist. At the age of 10 she made her operatic debut in Hansel and Gretel as a gingerbread cookie, and has been typecast ever since.
While studying Vocal Performance at Western University, Barbara determined a full-time performance career wasn’t for her, and she pursued a career in the private sector. After her role as an Office Manager in the Energy Sector, she landed her current role, on the Administrative team at Calgary Phil. She has been an Arts Administrator and Singer for most of her life. She firmly believes that singing in choir brings out one’s best self!
​Barbara currently sings in the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus, and in her in-law’s living room, whenever possible.
​JOHN WIEBE
Dr. JOHN WIEBE is an award-winning conductor, pianist, educator, adjudicator and clinician based in Edmonton, Alberta, where he is the Director of Music and Choral Activities at the University of Alberta-Augustana campus, and for 21 years was the Artistic & Executive Director of the Edmonton Youth & Children’s Choirs. John has studied at Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Alberta, with Frieder Bernius from Stuttgart, Germany, and in Vienna, Austria. Choirs under his dynamic leadership have recorded many CD’s, performed coast-to-coast across Canada and around the world (Europe, Russia, South America and China), and have received awards for their performances locally, nationally and at the Langollen Music Festival and the World Choir Games. John is a regular clinician and adjudicator across the country, is a Past-President of Choral Canada and likes to keep in shape for his music schedule by travelling with his family, running, and playing hockey.
LAUREN WOODS
Lauren Woods, soprano, performs in operas, oratorios and concerts from coast to coast. As a born-and-raised Calgarian, she was thrilled to return home as one of Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artists in 2016-2017. Lauren grew up singing in Cantare Children's Choir, touring through Canada, the United States as well as Europe. She went on to complete a diploma in Voice performance at MRU, a bachelor’s degree in Opera at UBC and a master's in Voice at McGill. Lauren was a finalist in the Wirth Vocal Competition in Montreal, and was one of six Canadians invited to the International Belvedere competition in Amsterdam. Currently, Lauren performs with Luminous Voices and is a vocal coach for a number of Calgary-based choirs. Aside from performing, Lauren is a visual artist, mother of two and teaches voice and piano through her private studio. 
INTERESTED IN JOINING THE CHOIR ALBERTA BOARD?
​Our volunteer Board is made up of musicians and non-musicians dedicated to supporting choirs and choral practitioners across Alberta. The broad range of skills and perspectives represented on the Board contribute to the effective planning and delivery of the organization's diverse offerings.

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