Hussein Janmohamed (MMus’98, MMus’14)
UBC Choirs performed UBC Music Alum Hussein Janmohamed’s (MMus’98, MMus’14) evocative Sun on Water with special guest Cree-Dene singer and composer and UBC PhD student Sherryl Sewepagaham. Drawing on Sufi and Indic Ismaili traditions, Sun on Water uses choral music itself to explore pluralism—each voice a unique colour and identity. When different languages and textures weave together, they create harmonies that open new spaces of understanding connection.
This performance builds on a dialogue across cultures through collaboration between the Canadian Chamber Choir, Sherryl, and Hussein. Sherryl weaves an Indigenous cultural voice into the musical texture—not just as an expression of pluralism or reconciliation, but as a way of thinking through it, sounding out a new horizon where counterpoint creates new knowledge and sacred possibility. A quiet call to action.
Stay tuned on our channels to hear the performance of Sun on Water with UBC Choirs.
Sarah Anderson-Caulfield (BMus’21, MMus’23)
Soprano Sarah Anderson-Caulfield (BMus’21, MMus’23), was named one of the newest members of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio program. This season, she also debuted at the Banff Centre in The Handmaid’s Tale and has also appeared in concert with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Richmond Orchestra and was also one of the winners of the Washington District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Sarah studied with Assistant Professor Krisztina Szabó.
UBC Alum Alfredo Santa Ana (MMus’05, DMA’10)
In January, Wednesday Noon Hours presented the music of UBC Alum Alfredo Santa Ana (MMus’05, DMA’10) which included the premiere of Aves-The Four-Chambered Heart for countertenor and chamber ensemble inspired by birdsong and the writings of 5th-7th century Benedictine Monks. The music was performed by Daniel Moody, countertenor; Paolo Bortolussi, flute; Jose Franch-Ballester, clarinet; Yu-Jen Hsin, violin (MMus student); Ryan Davis, viola; Yiyang Xue, cello (DMA student); Corey Hamm, piano; Jonathan Girard, conductor. Santa Ana’s new chamber reduction of Mahler’s Ruckertlieder was also performed.
Pianist Carter Johnson (BMus’18) reflects on five recordings that have been important to his own musical growth and understanding for International Piano Magazine. While at UBC, Johnson studied with Professor Mark Anderson.
The TRANSFORM Festival presented cellist and composer Cris Derksen’s (BMus’07) in Where The Rivers Meet, a musical journey that celebrates the deep connections between Indigenous cultures and water and weaving ancient traditions with modern harmonies, creating a unique celebration of resilience, identity, and unity. Featuring Suzette Amaya, Emma Pennell, UBC PhD student Sherryl Sewepagaham and Russell Wallace.
Derksen also released a new album The Visit. Learn more about Cris’s work at crisderksen.com
Ari Cohan Mann (BMus’12) debut album, VORTEX, was released onOrchid Classics on November 14. VORTEX features works by Kevin Day, Jennifer Higdon, UBC alum and former instructor Jocelyn Morlock (1969-2023), C. Tyler Nickel, and Rodney Sharman, and includes the world-premiere recording of UBC Music former instructor Jean Coulthard’s The Enchanted Island. Learn more about Ari’s work at oboeari.com
UBC PhD candidate Oscar Smith and Dr. Juan Diego Díaz (PhD’14).
At the Society for Ethnomusicology’s 70th Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Juan Diego Díaz (PhD’14) won the Helen Roberts Prize for Most Significant Article Publish in the Field of Ethnomusicology. Díaz won this for his paper titled “From Clave Ethnotheory to Clave Theories: A Path Toward Decolonising Music Analysis”, published in Ethnomusicology 68 (2). Dr. Díaz is currently Associate Professor of ethnomusicology at the University of California, Davis. While at UBC, Diaz was supervised by Dr. Michael Tenzer.
Pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko (MMus’23) released an album of Antonio Soler’s Keyboard Sonatas Nos. 99-111 on the Naxos label. Antonio Soler contributions to keyboard technique, harmonic innovation and his Spanish musical identity served to bridge the stylistic gap between the late Baroque and early Classicism.
Izik-Dzurko also recently performed with guest conductor Gemma New and the National Arts Centre Orchestra at Southam Hall which was recorded for a future album. While at UBC, Izik-Dzurko studied with Dr. Corey Hamm. Learn more about Jaeden’s work at jaedenizikdzurko.com
Conductor Jaelem Bhate (BMus’17, MMus’19) was awarded the last Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestra Conducting for artistic merit of their body of work. With funds now exhausted, the prize was awarded for the last time in 2025. Learn more about Jaelem’s work at jaelembhate.ca
Katerina Gimon’s (MMus’17)
Manhattan Concert Productions commissioned and premiered composer Katerina Gimon’s (MMus’17) work Small is the Seed (words by poet Emily Patterson) at Carnegie Hall with Margaret Nomura Clark guest conductor. Small is the Seed celebrates how even the smallest beginnings can spark the most extraordinary things.
Learn more about Katerina’s work: katerinagimon.com
The Lansing Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in Michigan premiered Jared Miller’s (BMus’ 10) orchestral piece Teaser – Feature – Pleaser, for classical orchestra. Miller is also the composer in residence for the LSO in addition to his position as Assistant Professor of Composition at the University of North Carolina School of the Art. Miller has had many of his work recorded, learn more about Jared’s work at jaredmillermusic.com.
