Piano - Dr. Ronald Morgan
Dr. Ronald Morgan holds advanced degrees in piano performance and musicology
from the Eastman School of Music. His major teachers were Douglas Humpherys
(Eastman) and Patricia Parr (University of Toronto). He has performed solo and
collaborative recitals in Canada, the U.S., Great Britain, Japan, Hong Kong, and
Taiwan, and taught piano at the University of Hawaii from 2000-2004. He has given
master classes, presented lecture-recitals, judged MTNA State Competitions, and
acted as a workshop clinician and festival adjudicator. He is a Senior Examiner for
the Royal Conservatory of Music, and is a member of the Canadian Music Festival
Adjudicators’ Association. Dr. Morgan settled in Vancouver in 2004 and now dedicates
his time to teaching at his studio in Burnaby, BC.
Musical Theatre- Jeff Hyslop
Vancouver-born Jeff Hyslop is indisputably
one of Canada ’s foremost performing artists.
Equally masterful as a singer, dancer and actor, he has starred with
unqualified success in such landmark musical productions as “Cabaret”, “Kiss of
the Spider Women”, “Jacques Brel”, “The Music Man”, “The Producers”, and of course,
the role of Mike in both the London West End and Broadway productions of “A
Chorus Line”. To many, he is the
quintessential “Phantom of the Opera”, a role he embraced in the Andrew Lloyd
Webber musical for over 975 performances.
He starred as Jeff the Mannequin in the TVO
series “Today’s Special” which
maintained a huge popularity for over 10 years.
At age 21 Jeff was dancing and singing in
Norman Jewison’s film – “Jesus Christ Superstar”. His numerous television appearances include
series for both CTV and CBC-TV. The most
memorable of these was his own “Dancin’ Man Super Special” where he partnered
his favourite leading lady, Karen Kain.
He has received numerous awards including,
3 Jessie Awards(Vancouver) - 2 for Best Choreography, the other for Best
Director; 5 nominations for the ACTRA
Award for Best Variety Performer and a Dora Mavor Moore Award in 1984 for “On
Tap”.
Choreography and directing are a real love
for Jeff and it shows in productions such as “Peter Pan”, “A Chorus Line”, “On
Tap”, “Guys and Dolls”, and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”.
Showcase Theatre Festival in Campbell River
, occupied Jeff’s time for 5 years. As Artistic Director he was able to bring
to the stage a broad variety of entertainment – “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “The
Dream on Royal Street”, “Taming of the Shrew” and “Kiss Me, Kate!”, “Cabaret”
and “Waiting for the Parade” - as well as developing “Adventures in Theatre” a
unique young people’s program. In 2007, Jeff conceived the idea for a stunning
new musical –“Dancing in the Coal Dust”, written by long-time collaborator -
David Warrack. He is determined to bring
this brilliant new work to audiences across this great country of ours.
Chemainus Theatre on Vancouver Island has
been fortunate to showcase Jeff in several Christmas season shows including
“It’s a Wonderful Life” and their upcoming presentation of “Elf: The Musical”
for which he is both a lead role and choreographer.
And in 2013, Jeff directed and choreographed the
successful Vancouver premiere of “Mrs. Claus’s Kitchen”, a new family musical
for the Christmas holidays which returned to the stage for Christmas 2015. Not
slowing down for a second, Jeff is in development of his THIRD one man show,
“Jeff Hyslop: Just One Man” for its debut in 2017.
Vocal / Choral -Christina Kent
Christina Kent is a Mezzo Soprano from Vancouver B.C. She completed her Masters in Music and Opera Performance at UBC where she studied under Dale Throness. Christina is an active concert performer and has enjoyed performances as the alto soloist for Vivaldi’s Gloria and Mozart’s Requiem with Kwantlen University Chorus and members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. She has also had the pleasure of performing as the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Les Dala, the Kwantlen Chorus in collaboration with the West Coast Symphony Orchestra, and the Chilliwack Chorus and Orchestra. She has performed as the mezzo- soprano soloist in Durufle’s Requiem with Vancouver Voices and Peter Butterfield. Past operatic roles include Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen, Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Mrs. Herring in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring, Tituba in Robert Ward’s The Crucible, and Mere Jeanne in Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites. Christina has performed with the Vancouver Opera Chorus in their productions of Puccini’s Tosca and Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. Christina is also passionate about teaching and helping singers to find their own unique sound in a supportive and fun environment.