Program Advisory Committee
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LIZ DIMARINO, CALGARY
Liz DiMarino has been a music specialist with the Calgary Board of Education for 17 years. She has a passion for choral music and shares her love of singing as the director of Calgary’s Westside Senior Children’s Choir. Liz has also been selected as guest conductor at the Naramata Centre in BC, for the Youth Singers of Calgary, and as the rehearsal conductor for the Alberta Children’s Choir. She’s given workshops for the University of Calgary’s Centre for Performing Arts, the Calgary Orff Chapter, and for CBE’s Global Learning Services. She has presented at both the Calgary and the Southwestern Alberta Teacher’s Convention. Liz has her Level Three Orff Certification, was a semi-finalist in the 2013 Excellence in Teaching awards, and was given a Service of Excellence certificate from the Alberta Government for her contribution to elementary school music. |
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CATHERINE GLASER-CLIMIE, CALGARY
Catherine Glaser-Climie has nurtured and inspired singers of all ages through her acclaimed work with choirs and singers for more than thirty years. Choirs under her direction have won awards at the local, provincial and national level and regularly perform with Calgary Opera, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and are frequently heard on radio and television. Currently she is Founder / Artistic Director of the Cantaré Children’s Choir in Calgary, a nationally-acclaimed programme of one hundred and fifty singers ages six to eighteen, and serves as Minister of Music at Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Cross. In demand to share her expertise with all levels and ages, and known for her captivating warmth and enthusiasm, invitations to appear as adjudicator, lecturer, guest conductor and clinician take Catherine across North America. |
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NICOLE HOUNJET, CALGARY
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. |
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JUSTIN MACOSKY, CALGARY
Justin Macosky loved choral music from a young age. He spent eleven years singing with the Mount Royal Family of Choirs, touring across Canada and to Mexico. During his time with the Mount Royal Youth Choir, he was a student at Central Memorial High School in the Performing and Visual Arts Program in vocal music as a counter tenor. Starting in 2007, Justin was the choral director for Forest Lawn United Church directing both the adult choir, and children’s choir. He also served as Artistic Director and Conductor for the Ismaili Muslim Youth Choir from 2009-2012. Since 2010, he has been the Director of Choral Programming with Hillhurst United Church. In 2013, Justin began working with the Alberta Choral Federation as the Calgary and Southern Alberta Programming Assistant. He served as tour manager for the Alberta Youth Choir tour in 2013, along with organizing Choralfest South, and Choralfest South Jazz 2013 & 2014. Starting in 2015, Justin began teaching children from birth to six years of age with Gymboree Play and Music of Calgary, and continues to teach while completing the Early Childhood Education program at Mount Royal University. |
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KATHRYN PARROTTA, CALGARY
A major influence in Calgary's choral community, Kathryn is known for her enthusiastic and passionate approach with her choirs. Over the years Kathryn has trained hundreds of students who have subsequently become professional singers, performers, and educators in the areas of vocal pedagogy, musical theatre, music therapy, theory and composition, tv and film, and opera. Currently, Kathryn (b. 1981) is the principal director for a large youth show and concert choir with the Youth Singers of Calgary as well as the director of the University of Calgary Chorus and Chamber Choir at the School of Creative and Performing Arts in Calgary, Alberta. In March of 2020, Kathryn founded and was the Artistic Director for the Calgary Physician Choir- a choir of women physicians who sought music to cope with the stresses of being on the front lines during the COVID-19 Pandemic. In addition to teaching private music students, she is a frequent adjudicator and clinician for several schools and music festivals in and around Alberta. Several treble and mixed choir compositions are published by Cypress Music Publishing in Vancouver, B.C, and Alliance Music Publications in Houston, Texas. Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance and a Master of Music degree in Music Education, specializing in Choral Conducting. |
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KAREN PORKKA, EDMONTON
Originally from southern Alberta, Karen Porkka has made Edmonton her home for the past 30+ years as a musician, vocalist, composer, improviser, and music educator. She is the creator and co-creator of several musical projects; releasing CD’s with world music group d’Cana, the avant garde jazz group The Parkers and her own original project. She works as a collaborator with dancers, visual artists and other musical projects including Namibian born artist and recent Juno winner Garth Prince. Karen is the founder of the Vocal Improvisation Network of Edmonton (V.I.N.E.) and community choir the Soul Song Circle Singers, which is part of the Ubuntu Choirs Network, upholding the belief that it is our birthright to sing. She has studied with master improvisers Bobby Mcferrin and Rhiannon, and has worked internationally as a vocal improviser presenting at conferences in Portugal, Hawaii and was a guest conductor in Oakland’s Sing For Your Life yearly CircleSinging event in 2019. She offers a monthly Circlesinging gathering in Edmonton and travels to share her passion for vocal improvisation and community singing in workshop and retreat settings. |
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LAUREN WOODS, CALGARY
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. |