Clinicians

Rob Somerville has been performing and teaching for over 35 years. During this time he has performed with many major artists such as Natalie Cole, Paul Anka, Frankie Valli, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Matt Dusk, Frank Sinatra Jr. and Jennifer Hudson. Rob has also performed with notable jazz artists such as Hilario Duran, Kenny Wheeler, Pat Labarbara, Tom Scott, Peter Appleyard, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton and Gap Mangione. Rob is a founding member of The John MacLeod Rex Hotel Orchestra, The Brian Dickinson Jazz Orchestra and was a member of the Dave McMurdo Jazz Orchestra. Rob is also a member of the Shaw Festival Orchestra where he is about to begin his 16th season, and has also performed in many musicals in Toronto including The Producers, Anything Goes, and Chicago. Rob is the former director of the McMaster University Jazz band as well as the Mohawk College Jazz band where he also taught Trombone and Jazz Improvisation for a number of years. Rob also taught at various summer music camps including National Music Camp and The Prairielands Music camp in Regina.

Juno Award-winning clarinetist Virginia MacDonald has established herself as a rising star of her generation. Known for her lyrical and soulful clarinet playing, Virginia has been described as a “powerful new voice in the Canadian scene” by Juno Award-winning bassist Mike Downes. As a highly in-demand bandleader, sidewoman, and composer, Virginia keeps a regular performance schedule across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Virginia has performed at jazz festivals globally including performances at Detroit Jazz Festival, Festival de Jazz Primavera, Rochester Jazz Festival, Toronto Jazz Festival, and Montreal Jazz Festival, to name a few. Virginia has had the pleasure of performing abroad extensively in India, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy, and the UK, and has performed at historic and prestigious venues including Koerner Hall, Ronnie Scott’s, Birdland, Bimhuis, Dizzy’s Club, Le Duc Des Lombards, Jazzclub Unterfahrt, and Smalls.

In 2020, Virginia was selected as the first-prize winner of the International Clarinetist Corona Competition; judges included Anat Cohen, Victor Goines, Ken Peplowski, and Doreen Ketchens. Virginia was recently chosen as one of three finalists for the Toronto Art Foundation’s 2024 Breakthrough Jazz Artist Award. Some of Virginia’s other accolades include being selected as a Stingray Rising Star Award recipient in 2019, and being selected as one of three finalists for the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Jazz Artist Award in 2021. In 2023, Virginia was selected to headline the International Clarinet Association’s 50th anniversary celebration at ClarinetFest in Denver, Colorado.

Virginia has recorded and performed with esteemed artists including Michael Dease, Ira Coleman, Dick Oatts, Harold Mabern, Geoffrey Keezer, Joe Magnarelli, Derrick Gardner, Bruce Barth, Rodney Whitaker, Xavier Davis, Quincy Davis, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Bill Cunliffe, Randy Napoleon, Jon Gordon, Kirk MacDonald, Pat Labarbera, Neil Swainson, and Terry Clarke. Virginia is a member of the Canadian Jazz Collective, a seven-piece ensemble comprised of award-winning and established Canadian jazz musicians. Virginia was featured on the Canadian Jazz Collective’s debut album “Septology”, which was nominated for a Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year in 2024.

Virginia was featured on Caity Gyorgy’s 2022 Juno Award-winning album “Now Pronouncing” and her 2023 Juno Award-winning follow-up “Featuring”. Virginia has been a recent and frequent collaborator of Grammy Award-winning trombonist Michael Dease, and appeared on his 2023 album “The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill” and his 2024 release “Found in Space: The Music of Gregg Hill”. Virginia’s composition “Up High, Down Low” was featured on Michael Dease’s 2023 release “Swing Low”. Virginia has been featured on several Juno Award-nominated albums, and has appeared on twenty-plus albums as a sidewoman.

In addition to her busy performance schedule, Virginia is an in-demand educator and has led classes and workshops as a visiting artist at universities and post-secondary music programs internationally. She has given masterclasses at Laval University, Université de Sherbrooke, McGill University, University of Manitoba, St. FX University, University of Toronto, VSO School of Music, the Global Music Institute, and the True School of Music.

Virginia is an endorsed artist for Buffet Crampon, Rovner Products and D’Addario Woodwinds.

Shirantha Beddage is a baritone saxophonist, composer and educator from Toronto, Canada. His original music combines hard bop and modern jazz to create a sound that is both accessible and sophisticated.
He has released three critically acclaimed albums as a leader: Roots and Branches, Identity (2013 JUNO nominee) and Momentum (2017 JUNO nominee). As a side musician, he is featured on recordings with the Order of Canada Band, Suzie Arioli, Laila Biali, Nancy Walker, Mike Downes and many others. His compositional skills have won him accolades such as the Montreal Jazz Festival Galaxie Rising Star Award, recognitions at the Canadian Songwriting Competition, and placements in the Emmy-winning TV series “Fargo”.
Dr. Beddage is Assistant Professor of Jazz at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. He previously held faculty appointments as Professor of Music at Humber College (Toronto, Canada) and Director of Jazz Studies at the Columbus State University Schwob School of Music (Columbus, Georgia, USA). He also adjudicates regularly at festivals throughout the country including MusicFest Canada, where he serves as Vice-Chairman of Instrumental Jazz.
He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Jazz Studies from the Eastman School of Music (New York, USA), a Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies from William Paterson University (New Jersey, USA), and a Bachelor of Music degree from Humber College.
Shirantha Beddage is a Yamaha saxophone artist and performs on the YBS-62.
For more information, please visit https://shiranthabeddage.com

Known for his artistic versatility, Dr. Bryan Holt has performed throughout North America and abroad in numerous concert halls and alternative venues. Bryan has appeared with many of the leading ensembles in Canada, including Art of Time Ensemble, Continuum Contemporary Music, New Music Concerts, Tapestry Opera, and Against the Grain Theatre. He has occasionally appeared in the cello sections of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra and other professional ensembles across the GTA.

Bryan is one half of VC2 Cello Duo, a multi genre ensemble that has been hailed by CBC Radio as “a tight unit, with excellent intonation and expression.” The duo’s second album “I and Thou” was nominated for Classical Album of the Year at the 2024 East Coast Music Awards.

Bryan completed his Doctorate of Music at the University of Toronto and also holds a Masters Degree from McGill University. Bryan is a member of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s College of Examiners and has adjudicated several festivals including the Ontario String Association Festival and MusicFest Canada (Nationals). He maintains a private studio in downtown Toronto while also visiting several schools as a guest coach.

David Willms began studying the violin at age seven. He received his Bachelor of Music from Western University where he was encouraged to switch to the viola by his mentor, Ralph Aldrich. It was a career altering decision!
Willms began his orchestra career as Principal Violist of the Windsor Symphony from 1986-1991. In addition to performing, he completed his Bachelor of Education in 1989.

After performing with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra in Amsterdam from 1991-1993, Willms established a freelance career back in Canada as a violist with the Toronto Symphony, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the Canadian Opera Company, among others, including musicals such as Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. He also recorded and toured with Canadian artists such as Diana Krall, Bruce Cockburn and The Philosopher Kings. He performed and recorded extensively with Tafelmusik, including tours through Europe, Asia and the UK.

In 2006, Willms resumed his passion for education and taught the band program at Aldershot High School. In 2016 he established a dedicated string orchestra program at Abbey Park High School in Oakville.
As a conductor, David Willms was appointed Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (HPYO) in 2022. The orchestra’s membership and profile in Hamilton has grown dramatically in less than 3 years. Willms has a strong passion for both music-making and educating young musicians. He is excited to be making his debut as a strings/orchestra adjudicator at GHMF 2025

Pratik Gandhi (he/him/his) is a conductor, percussionist, clinician, and researcher based in Tkaronto (Toronto). He was recently appointed as music director of the Milton Philharmonic Orchestra, starting in the 2024-25 season. He currently serves as music director of the Rouge River Winds and sessional instructor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, where he directs the Wind Symphony. He was also the founding music director of Soup Can Theatre and served as resident conductor for the Toy Piano Composers.

In frequent demand as a guest conductor and adjudicator across Canada, Pratik serves as adjudicator and Vice-Chair for the concert band division of MusicFest Canada, as well as syllabus coordinator for the OBA Provincial Band Festival. Most recently he has adjudicated at AIBF North in Edmonton and the Kiwanis Music Festival of London. Pratik regularly presents workshops on conducting techniques, wind repertoire, and percussion pedagogy.

Pratik is also a champion of new music, and has conducted the premiere of numerous works, including Jodi Vander Woude’s Quiet you with my love: lullaby, for soprano solo, female chorus, and large orchestra, and Kristie Hunter’s Stronger Than, for orchestra. Under his leadership, the Rouge River Winds have helped to commission works from composers Steven Bryant, Pete Meechan, Cait Nishimura, Giovanni Santos, and Bill Thomas. With the Toy Piano Composers, Pratik has directed the premieres of works by Elisha Denburg, Alex Eddington, Joseph Glaser, August Murphy-King, Julia Mermelstein, Monica Pearce, Fiona Ryan, Bekah Simms, and Tyler Versluis, among others. With the University of Toronto Wind Symphony, he has premiered new works by composers-in-residence including Stephen Morris, Homa Samiei, and Yuhan Zhou. Pratik is credited as conductor on three albums of contemporary music: Bekah Simms’ impurity chains (conducting two tracks, including the Juno-nominated “Granitic”); the Toy Piano Composers’ self-titled debut album; and the premiere recording of Benjamin Sajo’s The Great War Sextet.

Pratik is a PhD student in the department of music at York University, where his research, supported by an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, investigates issues of equity and representation among Canadian composers of music for wind band. He is also a recipient of a research grant from the Helen Carswell Chair of Community-Engaged Research in the Arts, for a workshop on improvisation and creative music-making for wind, brass, and percussion students. Pratik holds degrees in music education and conducting from Western University, where he studied conducting with James McKay, Dr. Colleen Richardson, and Jerome Summers, and percussion with Dr. Jill Ball

A dynamic conductor of both wind band and orchestral ensembles, Dr. Leah McGray is currently the conductor of the Wind Orchestra at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where she also teaches classes on Music Making and Social Justice, and Conducting. Previously, she was the Director of Instrumental Studies for the State University of New York at Geneseo, and Rhodes College in Memphis TN, conducting the Geneseo Symphony Orchestra, Geneseo Wind Ensemble, the Rhodes College Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, and teaching classes in conducting and theory. She has been the guest conductor for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Youth Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Penfield Symphony Orchestra, and the 2023 National Youth Band of Canada. She is in demand internationally as a conductor and adjudicator across the United States, South Korea, and Canada.

Dr. McGray earned her DMA in conducting at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Master of Music from University of Toronto, and Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education degrees from Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Awarded major grants for her work at the Masters and Doctoral level competitions of the Social Science Humanities and Research Council in Canada, her research explores techniques of non-verbal leadership, and orchestral and wind ensemble repertoire by traditionally underrepresented composers

Dr. Russ Weil was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. An educator at heart, Russ was a teacher and administrator with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board 1969 to 2014, serving as an elementary and secondary school teacher, a high school department head, and Co-ordinator of Music. As Co-ordinator, Russ was responsible for music education from kindergarten to grade 13 for over 40,000 students. From 2003-2009, he served as instructor in music education at the Brock University Faculty of Education.

Russ is the Founder of Hamilton All Star Jazz Ltd., a community based organization that boasts 3 Jazz Big Bands for young people ranging in age from 12 to adult. The All Star Jazz Band, which Russ directed for 34 years, released 9 CDs with some of Canada’s greatest professional legends of jazz as guest artists. Over 1,500 young musicians have participated in this organization since its inception some 41 years ago. The HASJB has toured Europe 5 times. Graduates of Hamilton All Star Jazz have won numerous Juno and Grammy Awards.

In 2003, Russ was granted an Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree from McMaster University for his extensive work with young people and the arts. Additional awards include the City of Hamilton Arts Award and a community service award from the Hamilton Spectator. Russ has travelled extensively as an adjudicator and clinician for music festivals throughout Canada.
Dr. Weil holds a B.A. in music from McMaster University, an M.Ed. from the University of Toronto, a D.Litt. from McMaster University, and an A.R.C.T. from the Royal Conservatory of Music

JOSEPH RESENDES, BFA, MA, PhD (in progress) is a Lecturer at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario where he conducts the Concert Band, Orchestra, and teaches courses in conducting, music education, theory, and woodwind methods. Joseph has an active and diverse professional career that has earned him a reputation as a leading conductor and educator through his experience conducting student, community, and professional wind ensembles and orchestras. As an adjudicator and clinician, Joseph continues to work with many band festivals across Canada and the United States, with regular invitations to give clinics and workshops at elementary and secondary schools music programs.

His advocacy of new music and Canadian composers extends beyond his own composition contributions. Joseph has regularly commissioned and premiered original works for wind band by Canadian composers such as Gary Kulesha (Dance Suite), Paul Suchan (Scenes of Plains Peoples), and recently Peter Meechan (A Short Blast). Outside of his work as a conductor, Joseph continues to work as a musician performing with many notable artists on stage, and in the studio. This includes the Tenors, multi-Grammy award winning producer Steve Thompson, International tours with ‘Musica em Viagem’, in addition to conducting many highly acclaimed ensembles such as the University of North Texas Wind Symphony, Buffalo. Wind Symphony, and the University of Saskatchewan Wind Orchestra.

Born in Canada to parents of Portuguese heritage, he received his musical training at York University (B.FA – Woodwind performance, MA – Composition), and is working towards the completion of his PhD in musicology focused in wind studies. His studies in conducting include mentorship from many notable professionals including Eugene Migliaro Corporon, Dennis Fisher, Bill Thomas, while attending many symposia featuring clinicians Mark Scatterday, Gillian Mackay, Tim Reynish, Jack Stamp and Glen Price. As a conductor, Joseph receives regular invitations to conduct or guest conduct orchestras, chamber ensembles, and wind ensembles locally and abroad. Joseph’s research interests investigate the dissemination of Canadian Wind Bands and its history, while exploring research interests associated with gesture, communication, and conducting pedagogy

Mark recently retired after a lifetime teaching music at Markham District High School where he was blessed to spend these many years with his wife and colleague, Dawn. The MDHS music department was home to numerous concert bands, choirs and jazz ensembles, all actively involved in their community, while their international travel brought them to fifteen countries across North America and Europe. In 2016, the MDHS music staff were presented with the YRDSB Teaching Award of Excellence.

Mark is now working with Yamaha Music Canada as an Artist Educator, through which he has facilitated dozens of workshops and rehearsals for schools across Ontario. He is the current Music Director for the Unionville Theatre Company, conducting their most recent shows Into the Woods, Joseph and Grease. Mark is also excited to be the new Music Director for the Northdale Concert Band, an ensemble with a tradition of musical collaborations including a recent performance featuring the composer Peter Meechan along with retired principal trumpet of the TSO Andrew McCandless.

Mark is a founding member of the Ontario Band Association, serving as President as well as the Provincial Festival Coordinator for 22 years, receiving an Honorary Lifetime Membership Award. He has also been an active adjudicator at festivals including Musicfest Canada and continues to be a member of Phi Beta Mu IBA and the CBA. As recognition for his years of leadership and volunteer activities, Mark was privileged to be presented with the Canadian Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers by The Chancellery of Honours, Rideau Hall, Ottawa.

Following a 30-year career with the Toronto District School Board (Agincourt Collegiate Institute and Bliss Carman Sr. P. S.), David retired from the TDSB in February of 2021. Currently, he teaches for the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Arts, Media, Performance and Design at York University. David is a recipient of MusicFest Canada’s Keith Mann Award and is a Laureate of the Legion of Honour for the John Philip Sousa Society. He is a Founding Director and Honorary Life Member of the Ontario Band Association and served on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Music Educators’ Association for 15 years. During his time with the OMEA, David initiated the Awards and Scholarships program and was awarded an Honorary Life Membership in 2022.

David is Conductor of the East York Concert Band, and maintains a busy schedule as a clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor.
David serves as a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician.

Annamaria is a highly experienced, passionate musician and retired educator with a remarkable 40-year career in music and 31 years in education. While her heart and soul is with concert bands, she has also led choirs and string ensembles during her music teaching career.

She currently serves as the Conductor and Music Director of the Columbus Concert Band and has led the ensemble to one Silver and two Platinum awards at the esteemed Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival, as well as earning a well-deserved second-place finish at the Ontario Music Festivals Association. Annamaria is also an Associate Teacher for the New Horizons Band of Toronto and has performed with the Enchanted Flutes, and is a member of the Markham Concert Band in the 1st flute section.

Annamaria holds a Bachelor degree in Fine Arts and Education from York University, and a Master of Education degree from the University of Toronto, further demonstrating her commitment to lifelong learning and professional development. She studied flute with Judy Schenkman and Barbara Ackerman, and with Professor Patricia Waite for her performance master classes at York and her conducting mentors were W. Bramwell Smith, Jr. and Livio Leonardelli, both well-known and esteemed music educators and trumpeters.

Known for her energetic and enthusiastic approach to music education, Annamaria is dedicated to fostering a love of music to her community, musicians and audiences alike