2021 Festival Adjudicators

BOWED STRINGS

Known for his enrapturing performance style, Jeff Faragher is a natural entertainer. With extensive training and experience as a classical cellist he is one of Western Canada’s most active performers. Having studied music at the University of Alberta and McGill University in addition to many prestigious summer festivals, he has had the opportunity to study with some of the finest cellists in the world.

Jeff now plays regularly as a soloist with Symphony orchestras throughout western Canada in addition to playing in several chamber ensembles. He is also the Music and Artistic Director of the Symphony of the Kootenays and is a highly sought after clinician and instructor.

Based in Calgary, AB, Jeff is always on the move as he is in high demand throughout southern Alberta and BC’s interior. He has extensive experience in Chamber music and early music as those were his focuses during his time at McGill University. At the University of Alberta, Jeff began a Doctor of Music focusing on contemporary styles on the cello. This lead him down the path of using his jazz training to create new styles of playing cello in many different genres including Celtic, “gypsy-jazz,” middle-eastern, Tango, and Flamenco. This unique skill set has found him touring with some of Canada’s most original groups such as the Juno nominees, “Sultans of String” and “Breakwater.” Jeff feels at home in almost any ensemble and brings his energy to the mix.

DANCE

For 2021, all dance classes will be offered as part of the Coastal Dance Festival. Visit the Coastal Dance Festival website (Adjudicator page) for the bios and photos of this year’s adjudicators.

FOLK INSTRUMENTAL

Ivonne Hernandez has mastered Canada’s traditional fiddle music. She embodies the country’s 21st century multiculturalism, and her music reflects the new century’s marriage of cultural influences. A sought after teacher and performer, Ivonne has taught workshops and performed at festivals across the world.

A Juno winner, 4 time Grand North American Fiddle Champion, 3 time Canadian Folk Music Award winner and 2 time Western Canadian Music Award winner and Berklee College of Music Honours Graduate, this young fiddler transforms her folk music roots into an exciting and dynamic new form and is an unforgettable performer and teacher.

PIANO

Janice Fehlauer was the gold medalist of the Wideman International Piano Competition and the winner of the University of North Texas Concerto Competition, and won second prize in the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition and the Hodges Competition for 20th-Century Music. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with orchestras across the USA including the Symphony Orchestras of Mississippi, North Florida, Meridian, Lewisville, Clear Lake, Baytown, Symphony North, and the UNT Symphony Orchestra, as well as orchestras in Canada. Janice has also performed solo recitals for the Philips Gallery in Washington, D.C. and the Myra Hess Memorial Concerts Series at the Chicago Cultural Center, broadcast live on WFMT. She recently completed a solo recital tour of the UK, including a performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

In addition to her solo performances, Janice is a sought-after collaborative pianist who was on the staff of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Austria for two summers. She served as repetiteur and assistant chorus master at The Dallas Opera; a highlight of her time there included preparing the soloists and chorus for the premiere of Jake Heggie’s acclaimed opera, Moby-Dick. She has also played and coached for Houston Grand Opera’s educational programs, Fort Worth Opera, UNT Opera Theater, Moores Opera Center, and the Houston Symphony Chorus.

Janice began her musical training in her hometown in British Columbia, where she attended the Chilliwack Academy of Music and received the Associate Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music in both piano and violin. She holds degrees in music from the University of British Columbia and the University of North Texas, and a doctorate from the University of Houston.

SPEECH & DRAMATIC ARTS

Born in Trinidad, Christine Menzies has been an actor/director in the UK, Trinidad, Canada and the US; Voice/Dialect Director with several theatre companies including Swine Palace, Louisiana; Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Portland Center Stage and Artists Repertory Theatre, Oregon; Kentucky Shakespeare Festival; Cornerstone Theater, A Noise Within, Los Angeles; and the Denver Performing Arts Center. Directing credits include Tempest, Big Love, Scorched, Macbeth, The Piano Lesson and Gem of the Ocean.

Ms. Menzies is MFA Acting at York University, Fitzmaurice Voicework® and Smukler certified, and a Professor of Voice, Physical Theatre and Director at California State University, Northridge.

VOICE

Soprano Megan Skidmore holds both her Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Voice Performance from McGill University, A Bachelor of Education from Simon Fraser University and diplomas from the Schubert Institut, Weiner Meisterkurze and Mozarteum in Austria. Currently on staff with the Powell River School District, Ms. Skidmore is an acclaimed voice teacher and music director for musical theatre productions.

An active performer, Ms. Skidmore has received praise for her “vocal fireworks’ in numerous opera and operetta roles including Cunegonde in Candide with Opera McGill, Josephine in HMS Pinafore with the McGill Savoy Society and Annina in La Traviata with Pacific Opera Victoria. She also has a busy performance schedule in solo recital, concert repertoire and as oratorio soloist in Dvořak’s Te Deum, Fauré’s Requiem, Saint-Säens’ Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, and Haydn’s The Creation. Her lieder interpretations have been lauded as “intelligent and deeply heartfelt.”

She has been a featured soloist with the Sooke Philharmonic, BC Chorfest and soloist and adjudicator for the International Choral Kathaumixw in Powell River, BC. As well, Ms. Skidmore has twice been a judge for the Canadian Juno Awards for both Classical Voice or Choral and Children’s Music. Ms. Skidmore has also toured BC as adjudicator for Regional Performing Arts Festivals.

WOODWINDS & BRASS/PERCUSSION/BAND

Craig Thomson is an award-winning saxophonist and educator currently based in the beautiful Okanagan region of British Columbia. Through his dedication to the arts and music education, Craig’s public school and private students have earned numerous national and international honours over the past decade, including multiple wins at the instrumental AAAA level of the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival.

Raised in an area of BC long known for its top-quality music programs, Craig was inspired by his teachers at an early age to pursue a career in both music performance and music education, leading to study at Grant McEwan University in Edmonton, Capilano University in Vancouver and the University of British Columbia.

Craig is the Artistic Director for the B.C. Interior Jazz Festival, an annual three-day educational event that brings together over 1000 students from around Canada and the United States and connects them with the expertise of North America’s finest music professionals. He was also the festival Coordinator for ten years.

In 2013, Craig was honoured as the Okanagan Musician of the Year, and in 2016 he was honoured as the GWBOT Performing Artist of the Year. In 2014, he was thrilled to join the Yamaha Canada artist roster as a Yamaha Artist Educator. He presents regular educator workshops for the annual BCMEA conferences, student and educator workshops and clinics throughout the Okanagan, and has adjudicated for the Washington State University Jazz Festival.

As well as promoting music education on a local and national level, Craig is an extremely busy and in-demand performer and session musician whose 2012 solo debut CD of all-original compositions, entitled Bright Beginnings, garnered much acclaim and received play on CBC radio. A second album is currently in production. Craig can be seen performing across the Okanagan Valley as a jazz and classical artist with his own projects, as a guest soloist, or as a symphonic musician.

Craig is proud to be a Yamaha Artist Educator. He performs on the YTS 82ZUL (WOF) II tenor sax, the YAS 82ZUL alto sax, and the YSS 82ZSII soprano sax.