Full-time Faculty
Alexander Fisher
Alexander Fisher
Professor, Early Music & Musicology, Renaissance and Baroque Studies
emailfisher@mail.ubc.ca
phone604-822-3524
location_onMusic Building 407
Alex Fisher was appointed to the UBC faculty in 2002, and holds degrees from Northwestern University (BMus 1992), Indiana University (MA 1995), and Harvard University (PhD 2001). His interests include German music of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, ritual contexts for sacred music in the ea...Read more
Anabel Maler
emailanabel.maler@ubc.ca
Dr. Anabel Maler is a scholar of music theory with interests in music and disability studies, music in Deaf culture, music perception, embodiment and gesture, post-tonal form, and the intersections of music theory, musicology, and ethnomusicology. Anabel was born outside of Ottawa, Ontario, and rece...Read more
Andrea Grant
Andrea Grant
Lecturer, Opera, Voice
emailandrea.grant@ubc.ca
phone604-822-3113
Research Area
Voice & OperaAndrea Grant holds positions as the Director of the Young Artists Program at the Glimmerglass Festival, and as a Lecturer in Voice and Opera at the University of British Columbia. She was previously the Head of Music Staff for Wexford Festival Opera, principal coach of University of Toronto Opera, a...Read more
Research Area
Voice & Opera
Brandon Konoval
Brandon Konoval
Associate Professor of Teaching, School of Music and Arts One Program
phone604-822-5687
location_onOld Auditorium 206B
I hold a cross-appointment with the UBC School of Music and the UBC Arts One program, where I have taught since 1999. My research engages with intellectual and cultural history, with particular attention to music studies in several domains, the history and philosophy of science and technology, and t...Read more
Claudio Vellutini
Claudio Vellutini joined the UBC School of Music in 2016. His research interests focus on the cultural and reception history of nineteenth-century Italian opera, its dissemination in the Austrian Empire, historiography, performers and performance practice, and staging. He has published essays and re...Read more
Corey Hamm
Corey Hamm
Professor, Piano and Chamber Music
emailcorey.hamm@ubc.ca
phone604-822-3522
location_onMusic Building 307
Research Area
KeyboardPianist Corey Hamm has established a unique musical profile performing widely in North America and in Asia as both soloist and chamber musician. His CD of Frederic Rzewski’s hour-long solo piano epic The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (Redshift Records TK431) won Spotify's Best Classica...Read more
Research Area
Keyboard
David Fung
David Fung
Associate Director, Graduate
Associate Professor, Piano and Chamber Music
Curator Spirio Piano Series at the Chan Centre
emaildavid.fung@ubc.ca
phone778 300 3017
location_onMusic Building 309
Research Area
KeyboardPraised for his “ravishing and simply gorgeous” performances in the The Washington Post, pianist David Fung is widely recognized for interpretations that are elegant and refined, yet intensely poetic and uncommonly expressive. Mr. Fung regularly appears with the world’s premier ensembles inclu...Read more
Research Area
Keyboard
David Gillham
David Gillham
Associate Professor, Violin
emaildavid.gillham@ubc.ca
phone604-827-2035
location_onMusic Building 322
Research Area
StringsDavid Gillham has an extensive solo and chamber music career, having performed throughout Asia, Europe, the Americas and South Africa. He has performed in major venues such as Tokyo’s Opera City and Bunka Kaiken Recital Halls, Baxter Concert Hall in Cape Town SA and the Chicago Cultural Centre, as...Read more
Research Area
Strings
David Metzer
David Metzer
Chair, Musicology Division
Professor of Musicology
emaildavid.metzer@ubc.ca
phone604-822-2246
location_onMusic Building 403
David Metzer’s work explores a range of twentieth and twenty-first century styles, including classical, popular music, and jazz. He is currently working on a book dealing with how musicians have confronted the toll of incarceration in American society from the 1920s to the present day.
Dr. Metzer...Read more
Dorothy Chang
Dorothy Chang
Professor, Composition
emaildorothy.chang@ubc.ca
phone604-822-3406
location_onMusic Building 315
Research Area
CompositionDescribed as “evocative and kaleidoscopic” and “beautiful and gripping”, the music of composer Dorothy Chang reflects an eclectic mix of musical influences ranging from popular and folk music to elements of traditional Chinese music. Many of her works are inspired by place, time, memory, and...Read more
Research Area
Composition
Dylan Robinson
Dylan Robinson
Associate Professor
Acting Associate Dean Equity (2024-2025)
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building 447
Research Area
Music and Sound StudiesDylan Robinson is a xwélmexw (Stó:lō/Skwah) artist, curator and writer. From 2015-2022 he was the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Arts at Queen’s University. Dr. Robinson’s curatorial work includes the international touring exhibition Soundings (2019-2025) co-curated with Candice Hopkins....Read more
Research Area
Music and Sound Studies
Ève Poudrier
Ève Poudrier
Assistant Professor, Music Theory
Lead PI, Rhythm Research Cluster
emaileve.poudrier@ubc.ca
phone604-822-9193
location_onMusic Building 415
I am an Assistant Professor in music theory at the School of Music of the University of British Columbia, where I teach courses on compositional practice in the 18th- and 19th-century, techniques of graphic linear analysis, music psychology, Francophone music, and digital technology in music researc...Read more
Graeme Langager
Graeme Langager is Director of Choral Activities at the University of British Columbia School of Music. A passionate and dynamic conductor, Dr. Langager is sought-after as a clinician, adjudicator, educator and guest conductor. He has performed throughout Europe and across North America, appearing i...Read more
Hedy Law
Hedy Law
Acting Director, UBC School of Music
Associate Professor, Musicology
emailhedy.law@ubc.ca
phone604-822-5436
location_onMusic Building 206
Dr. Hedy Law is Acting Director and Associate Professor of Musicology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) School of Music. She received her Ph.D. in Music Theory and History at the University of Chicago in 2007 and has published in the Journal of Musicology, Journal of the American Musicolog...Read more
Hyejung Jun
Hyejung Jun
Assistant Professor, Choral Conducting
emailhyejung.jun@ubc.ca
phone604 822 3468
location_onUBC Music Building, Room 405
Dr. Hyejung Jun joins the University of British Columbia as Assistant Professor of Choral Conducting after completing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She earned her Master of Music degrees from Yonsei University in Korea and Emory Univ...Read more
J. Patrick Raftery
J. Patrick Raftery
Associate Professor, Voice
phone604-822-3460
location_onMusic Building 409
Research Area
Voice & OperaJ. Patrick Raftery was a teenager when he sang for Opera Star George London (then General Director of the Washington Opera) who personally encouraged his musical studies in voice and opera. While still in High School Mr. Raftery was invited to audit the Wolf Trap Summer Opera Program where he met hi...Read more
Research Area
Voice & Opera
J. S. Kofi Gbolonyo
J. S. Kofi Gbolonyo
Lecturer in African Music and African Studies
Director, UBC African Music and Dance
phone604-827-3259
location_onOld Auditorium 206 A
Dr. Kofi J. S. Gbolonyo joined the UBC School of Music as a Visiting Assistant Professor in September 2009, soon after completing his Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology with a Graduate Certificate in African Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Since joining the UBC faculty, he has been teaching graduate ...Read more
Jasper Wood
Jasper Wood
Chair, Strings Division
Professor, Violin and Chamber Music
emailjasper.wood@ubc.ca
phone604-827-5628
location_onMusic Building 308
Research Area
Strings“Wood is always a joy to hear.” –Gramophone
Canadian violinist Jasper Wood has established a flourishing reputation as a soloist through his frequent performances with many of North America’s finest orchestras, in cities such as Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Buffalo, and throughout Europe. H...Read more
Research Area
Strings
Jennifer Butler
Jennifer Butler is a composer, educator, and flutist living in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her music, described as “beautifully remote” (Vancouver Sun), “intimate” (Globe and Mail), and “disquieting” (Vancouver Observer), has been commissioned, performed, and broadcast across Canada, in...Read more
Research Area
Composition
Jonathan Girard
Jonathan Girard
Director, Orchestral Activities
Associate Professor, Conducting and Ensembles
phone604-827-5307
location_onMusic Building 324
Research Area
ConductingAmerican-born conductor Jonathan Girard is one of the rising stars of his generation. A passionate musician committed to engaging audiences with thrilling performances, he continues to gain a reputation as a musical force equally versed in symphonic repertoire, opera, and new music.
As the Director...Read more
Research Area
Conducting
Jose Franch-Ballester
Jose Franch-Ballester
Associate Professor, Clarinet and Chamber Music
phone604-822-3824
location_onMusic Building 316
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionThe multi-award-winning Spanish clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester (FrAHnk Bai-yess-TAIR) is considered one of the finest classical soloists and chamber music artists of his generation. He has been hailed for his “technical wizardry and tireless enthusiasm” (The New York Times), his “rich, reso...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Keith Hamel
Keith Hamel
Chair, Composition Division
Professor, Composition
Director, Computer Music Studio
emailkeith.hamel@ubc.ca
phone604-822-6308
location_onMusic Building 317
Research Area
CompositionKeith Hamel is both a composer and computer music specialist. Dr. Hamel writes acoustic and electroacoustic music, and has been awarded many prizes in both media. Many of his recent compositions focus on the interaction between live performers and computer-controlled electronics. He has been commiss...Read more
Research Area
Composition
Krisztina Szabó
Krisztina Szabó
Assistant Professor, Voice and Opera
Research Area
Voice & OperaHungarian-Canadian, mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó is highly sought after in both North America and Europe as an artist of supreme musicianship and stagecraft. She is known for her promotion and performance of contemporary Canadian works.
Krisztina’s career has seen her on all the major opera...Read more
Research Area
Voice & Opera
Laurel Parsons
Laurel Parsons
Lecturer, Music Theory & Aural Skills
Co-ordinator, Aural Skills
location_onMusic Building 441
Since retiring as Teaching Professor in the University of Alberta Department of Music, I have returned to UBC full-time where I teach courses in aural skills and music theory, including film music analysis, gender and music theory, and analysis of text-music relations.
As a music theorist, my res...Read more
Leigh VanHandel
Leigh VanHandel
Chair, Music Theory Division
Associate Professor, Music Theory
phone604-822-5287
location_onMusic Building 419
My primary research areas are music theory pedagogy, music cognition, the relationship between music and language, computer-assisted research, and how those things all relate to one another. My scholarship seeks to understand how music works and how humans process music; this allows me to help other...Read more
Lucas Wong
Pianist Dr. Lucas Wong, acclaimed for his “brilliant and sensitive” playing (Fanfare) and “gifts for color, nuance, and tasteful dynamic contrasts” (Gramophone), brings his artistry to solo, chamber, and opera performances. With over 20 years of proven excellence across 4 continents and 12 c...Read more
Research Area
Keyboard
Mark Anderson
Mark Anderson
Chair of the Keyboard Division; Associate Professor, Piano, Piano Pedagogy
emailmark.anderson@ubc.ca
phone604-827-2532
location_onMusic Building 311
Research Area
KeyboardIn a world where transient glitter is often mistaken for pianistic excellence, Anderson offered that rare commodity: an ability to speak through music without hint of artifice.
– The Washington Post
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, pianist Mark Anderson’s recordings and performances hav...Read more
Research Area
Keyboard
Michael Tenzer
Michael Tenzer
Professor, Ethnomusicology
Director, Balinese Gamelan Ensemble
phone604-822-3405
location_onOld Auditorium 206a
My home in the School of Music is in the Ethnomusicology division, and my musical interests span the globe, but my activities cover all of the kinds of things musicians do: performance, composition, research, teaching and mentoring, analyzing, thinking and writing about music, promoting interest in ...Read more
Nancy Hermiston
Nancy Hermiston
Chair, Voice and Opera Division Director, UBC Opera Ensemble
phone604-822-8246
location_onOld Auditorium 305
Research Area
Voice & OperaNancy Hermiston’s operatic career has taken her throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. Her New York debut took place in Carnegie Hall with Marilyn Horne and Mario Bernardi. Her European début led to a permanent engagement with the prestigious Nürnberg Opera. She has held numerous appoi...Read more
Research Area
Voice & Opera
Nathan Hesselink
Nathan Hesselink
Professor, Ethnomusicology
emailn.hesselink@ubc.ca
phone604-827-3259
location_onOld Auditorium 206b
My research broadly encompasses the topic of rhythmic play and social meaning, firstly in South Korean traditional percussion genres and more recently in North American and British rock music. I received my Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of London, SOAS, and was a postdoctoral research...Read more
Paolo Bortolussi
Paolo Bortolussi
Lecturer, Flute & Contemporary Chamber Music
Director, UBC Contemporary Players
phone604-822-3113
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionFlutist Paolo Bortolussi is a soloist, chamber artist, and new music pioneer. Dedicated to championing music by living composers, he has premiered over 250 works for flute, including concerti written for him by Dorothy Chang, Jocelyn Morlock, Jian Ping Tang and Aaron Gervais. Paolo is co-artistic di...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Rena Sharon
Rena Sharon
Professor, Collaborative Piano
emailrena.sharon@ubc.ca
phone604-822-3409
location_onMusic Building 321
Research Area
KeyboardBorn in Montreal, Canada, Rena Sharon began her life in chamber music at the age of eight. Her early studies were with Professor Dorothy Morton, and she continued her training at the Eastman School and Indiana University. Principal teachers were Menahem Pressler and Gyorgy Sebok, Janos Starker, and ...Read more
Research Area
Keyboard
Robert Komaniecki
phone604-822-3113
Dr. Robert Komaniecki is a passionate musician, communicator, and educator. Born and raised in Minnesota, USA, Robert earned his B.A. and M.A. in music theory from the University of Minnesota. Robert received his PhD in music theory with a minor in music history from Indiana University.
Robert enjo...Read more
Ryan Davis
“A violist unlike any other” (Stir Vancouver), Canadian Ryan Davis has swiftly emerged as a singular creative force. Davis commands praise for his presence as a composer-performer under the moniker Radia, unifying his extensive classical training with the inspiration of folk, electronic, and h...Read more
Research Area
Strings
T. Patrick Carrabré
T. Patrick Carrabré
Professor, Composition
Director, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
phone604 822-1581
location_onChan Centre
Research Area
CompositionT. Patrick Carrabré has been active as a composer, administrator, educator, radio host and conductor. For well over a decade, he worked closely with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, including six seasons as composer-in-residence and co-curator of the orchestra’s New Music Festival. Also active in...Read more
Research Area
Composition
Valerie Whitney
Valerie Whitney
Assistant Professor, Horn
phone604-822-2598
location_onMusic Building 304
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionDr. Valerie Whitney was appointed to the faculty at the UBC School of Music in 2018, where she is now Assistant Professor, Horn and Brass Area Coordinator. Dr. Whitney has been performing in and around the Chicagoland area for over a decade. She regularly appears with some of the nation’s most est...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Wayne Weng
In 2023, Wayne Weng co-founded the Vancouver Piano Sessions, an international summer festival in Vancouver. He is also the Director of its Truth and Reconciliation program. During the 2024 festival, he performed his own arrangement of a traditional song, “The Gathering of Eagles,” with the Eagle Song Dancers from the Squamish Nation....Read more
Research Area
KeyboardAdjunct Faculty
Aaron McDonald
Aaron McDonald
Adjunct Professor, Percussion/Timpani
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionAaron McDonald is Principal Timpanist of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Classical Tahoe Orchestra. Prior to joining the VSO he was timpanist with the West Virginia Symphony. Aaron has performed and toured with the Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Buffal...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Bo Peng
Mr. Bo Peng holds a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from the University of North Texas, a Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music, as well as a Performer’s Diploma from the Indiana University where he studied with distinguished cellist Janos Starker. His teachers also included reno...Read more
Research Area
Strings
Chloe Meyers
Chloe Meyers
Adjunct Professor, Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building
Research Area
Early MusicViolinist Chloe Meyers is a regular guest leader and orchestra member of baroque ensembles all over North America. She has worked with ensembles including Les Violons du Roy, Tafelmusik, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Les Boreades, the Theatre of Early Music, Les Idées Heureuses, and Les...Read more
Research Area
Early Music
Christie Reside
Christie Reside
Adjunct Professor, Flute
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building Room 320
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionChristie Reside began her career in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as Second Flute at the age of 19. She received her formal training with Timothy Hutchins at McGill University in Montreal, and continued her training with Lise Daoust, Marina Piccinini, and Patrick Gallois at the Banff Centre for t...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Dylan Palmer
Dylan Palmer
Adjunct Professor, Double Bass
emaildylan.palmer@ubc.ca
phone604-754-3523
Research Area
StringsOriginally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Dylan Palmer joined the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) as Principal Double Bass in 2010. Prior to joining the VSO, Dylan was a member of the New World Symphony, in Miami Beach, Florida. Dylan has participated in numerous music festivals including Tanglewo...Read more
Research Area
Strings
Elizabeth Volpé Bligh
Elizabeth Volpé Bligh
Adjunct Professor, Harp
phone604-822-3113
604-622-1700
604-622-1700
location_onMusic Building
Research Area
StringsElizabeth Volpé Bligh was the Vancouver Symphony’s Principal Harpist for 35 years (1982 - 2018), after 6 seasons (1976 -1982) as the Principal Harpist of the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra. A graduate of University of Toronto’s Bachelor of Music program in 1975, she studied with Judy Loman...Read more
Research Area
Strings
Geronimo (Nimo) Mendoza
emailnimo.mendoza@ubc.ca
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionWhether performing La Boheme with the Vancouver Opera, Le Sacre du printemps with the Vancouver Symphony, collaborating with ethnical performers from various latitudes with the Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra, or exploring the most avant-garde trends with the Vancouver New Music ensemble, oboist G...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Larry Knopp
Larry Knopp
Adjunct Professor, Trumpet
emaillarry.knopp@ubc.ca
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building 325
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionLarry Knopp began his career as acting principal trumpet of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at the age of 20. He has also held positions as principal trumpet with Orchestra London, the Hamilton Philharmonic, and the Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra, and is currently principal trumpet of the Vancouver...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Marea Chernoff
Marea Chernoff
Adjunct Professor, Oboe
emailmchern03@mail.ubc.ca
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionAn active freelance musician based out of Vancouver, Marea Chernoff is principal oboe with the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra and frequently performs with various orchestras and ensembles. Part of her orchestral work has included the opportunity to perform several oboe solos and concertos. Marea has pl...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Natalie Mackie
Natalie Mackie
Adjunct Professor, Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building
Research Area
Early MusicNatalie Mackie studied cello at the Conservatoire de Musique (Québec), followed by a degree from the School of Music, University of British Columbia. While at UBC she was introduced to the viola da gamba, and following graduation, she pursued further studies at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The ...Read more
Research Area
Early Music
Peder MacLellan
Peder MacLellan
Adjunct Professor, Tuba
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building Room 318
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionPeder MacLellan is Principal Tuba with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and a sessional lecturer at UBC where he teaches low brass and coaches chamber ensembles. In the past, Peder has been principal tuba with the South Bend and Lafayette Symphony Orchestras, and was the Associate Instructor of Tuba...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Serra Hwang
Serra Hwang was born in Seoul, Korea and received her education in the United States. She received her MA and DMA in Composition from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Musical awards include the performance of her orchestral piece Pinari by the Hallé Orchestra for the BBC (British Broadcasting...Read more
Research Area
Composition
Sharman King
Sharman King
Adjunct Professor, Brass Chamber Music
emailsharman.king@ubc.ca
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionBass trombonist Sharman King (BMus’70) has enjoyed a long and varied career in Western Canada. While attending UBC he was a member of the legendary Cave Theatre Orchestra house band under Fraser MacPherson. After graduating from The University of British Columbia in 1970 Mr. King joined the Buddy ...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Vern Griffiths
Vern Griffiths
Adjunct Professor, Percussion
phone604-822-3113
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionPercussionist Vern Griffiths is one of the prominent players in Vancouver’s musical community. He joined the Vancouver Symphony as Principal Percussionist in 1997, and is also a member of the CBC Radio Orchestra, and the new music groups Standing Wave and Turning Point Ensemble. He can be heard on...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Wenwen Du
Wenwen Du (she/her) is one of Canada’s most accomplished young pianists. Acclaimed for her “strong and perceptive pianism,” she is a renowned solo and collaborative pianist.
Du has most frequently appeared in concert with tenor Ian Bostridge, earning international acclaim for their recitals...Read more
Research Area
Voice & OperaSessional Faculty
Alan Matheson
Alan Matheson
Sessional Lecturer, Trumpet and Jazz Piano
emailjadmath@mail.ubc.ca
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building 318
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionAlan Matheson is a Vancouver-based pianist, trumpeter, composer and arranger. He teaches at the music schools of the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Community College where he is an instructor in jazz piano and trumpet and at the Vancouver Symphony School of Music where he lectures in j...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Alec Pearson
Alec Pearson enjoys a career based in Vancouver where he currently serves as sessional instructor of guitar at the University of British Columbia. Alec has performed both solo and in ensemble across Canada, Spain, Colombia, Greece and the U.S. He currently serves as president of the “Vancouver Cla...Read more
Research Area
Strings
Alexander Weimann
Alexander Weimann
Sessional Lecturer, Conducting and Harpsichord
Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme
emailaweimann@mail.ubc.ca
location_onMusic Building 400 C
The internationally renowned keyboard artist Alexander Weimann has spent his life enveloped by the therapeutic power and beauty of making music. Alex grew up in Munich. At age three he became fascinated by the intense magic of the church organ. He started piano at six, formal organ lessons at 12 and...Read more
Amanda Chan
Amanda Chan
Sessional Lecturer, Piano
emailamanda.chan@ubc.ca
phone604-822-5739
location_onMusic Building 309 / 323
Research Area
KeyboardAmanda Chan has achieved recognition and critical acclaim in her career as pianist, teacher, lecturer, adjudicator and examiner. She has given concerts all over Canada, USA, China and Europe as a soloist and chamber player. Much in demand as a chamber musician, her collaborations have included proje...Read more
Research Area
Keyboard
Andrew Poirier
Andrew Poirier
Sessional Lecturer, Trombone
emailacrp@mail.ubc.ca
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionAndrew Poirier hails from Lewisporte, Newfoundland and began his musical studies in the Salvation Army. After earning a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of British Columbia, he continued his education at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music earning a Master of Music Degree in Orchestr...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Ben Henriques
Julian Award nominee and saxophonist Ben Henriques has performed with Joe Lovano, Ben Monder, Jim McNeely, Father John Misty, Hey Ocean! and more. Originally from Vancouver, Ben cut his teeth in the Montreal jazz-scene, and returned to make Vancouver his home. His original tunes have been described ...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Brenda Fedoruk
Brenda Fedoruk
Sessional Lecturer, Flute
phone604-822-3407
location_onMusic Building 325
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionBrenda Fedoruk is currently Principal Flute of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, a position she has held for more than 15 years. As a longtime member (Flute and Piccolo) of the CBC Radio Orchestra, she was also the Musicians’ Contractor until the orchestra’s disbanding in 2008. A busy freelance pla...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Cheng Xin Ip
Hong Kong-born Cheng Xin Ip completed his graduate studies at the University of British Columbia in 2024 under the tutelage of Dr. Jonathan Girard, and has participated in conducting workshops and masterclasses hosted by Martyn Brabbins, Mark Heron, Toby Purser and Clark Rundell. His past conducting...Read more
Research Area
Conducting
Christina Hutten
Christina Hutten
Sessional Lecturer, Musicology
Director, Early Music Ensembles
emailcahutten@mail.ubc.ca
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building
As both a scholar and performer, Christina Hutten is committed to helping students integrate their academic and practical studies. She is passionate about public musicology, sharing music history with audiences from diverse backgrounds through online courses, pre-concert chats, and program notes and...Read more
Dale Throness
Dale Throness
Sessional Lecturer, Voice
emaildale.throness@ubc.ca
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building 326 / 328
Research Area
Voice & OperaLyric Baritone Dale Throness, a native of Grande Prairie, Alberta, received his early musical training in Winnipeg and subsequently obtained his Master of Music in Voice Performance at the University of British Columbia. Post-graduate studies were undertaken at the Vancouver Academy of Music and the...Read more
Research Area
Voice & Opera
Daniel Moody
Countertenor Daniel Moody has garnered widespread acclaim for his commanding yet expressive vocal timbre and his breathtaking musicianship. Praised as having a “vocal resonance, [which] makes a profoundly startling impression” (The New York Times) and for his “vivid and powerful” voice (The ...Read more
Research Area
Voice & Opera
Edward Top
Composer Edward Top studied composition and violin at the Rotterdam Conservatoire in The Netherlands. He primarily studied with Peter-Jan Wagemans, but also worked with Klaas de Vries, Peter Eötvös, Pierre Boulez, and Luciano Berio. After living and traveling in the Far East for several years h...Read more
Research Area
Composition
Gloria Wong
Gloria Wong
Sessional Lecturer
Director Chinese Music Ensemble
emailgloria.n.wong@ubc.ca
location_onAsian Centre 105
Gloria Wong is an ethnomusicologist and Chinese music specialist. She has worked in many roles to promote Chinese instrumental music in Vancouver, including teacher, scholar, conductor, arranger and administrator. From 2012 to 2020, she served as the Artistic Director of the British Columbia Youth C...Read more
Helena Aung
Helena Aung is a pianist originally from Thailand and the founder of the Innovative Piano Program. Since 2024, Aung has been a Sessional Lecturer at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Aung holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Arkansas, a Master of Music...Read more
Research Area
Keyboard
Ingrid Chiang
Ingrid Chiang
Sessional Lecturer, Bassoon
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionIngrid Chiang, a Taiwanese-born Canadian, moved to Vancouver at age 15. She started her piano study at age 5 and bassoon at age 12. Ingrid studied at University of British Columbia School of Music with Jesse Read, and later at the Vancouver Academy of Music with Christopher Millard.
Ms. Chiang is...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
James Littleford
James Littleford
Sessional Lecturer, Class Brass
phone604-822-3113
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionJim Littleford is a very active freelance musician in Vancouver. He has played trumpet with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra since 1981 as well as extra trumpet with the Vancouver Symphony and the C.B.C. Vancouver Orchestra. In chamber music Jim plays with A Touch Of Brass quintet and the Kwantlen Coll...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Jeremy Berkman
Jeremy Berkman
Sessional Instructor, Trombone
Chamber Music Coach
phone604-822-3113
location_onMusic Building 318
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionJeremy Berkman earned a BA in Economics and a BMus from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music. After receiving his MMus from the Juilliard school, and working at the Aspen Music School for several summers, Mr. Berkman came to Canada to study at the Banff Centre, where he developed projects with ...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Julia Nolan
Julia Nolan
Sessional Lecturer, Saxophone
emailjulia.nolan@ubc.ca
phone604-822-3529
location_onMusic Building 312
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionDr. Julia Nolan maintains an active performing schedule committed to promoting new works for saxophone. She has commissioned works by many Canadian composers including Stephen Chatman, Keith Hamel, Colin MacDonald, Robert Pritchard, Nicolas Scherzinger, Jacquie Leggatt, Hope Lee, Fred Stride, N...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Marisa Gaetanne
Marisa Gaetanne
Sessional Lecturer, Voice
phone604-822-3407
location_onMusic Building 326
Research Area
Voice & OperaSessional Lecturer and Voice Lyric coloratura soprano, Marisa Gaetanne has sung in opera, oratorio and recitals in Europe, Canada and the United States. She studied extensively in Italy, England (on a Canada Council award) and the United States, and has a background of French immersion (Montréal), ...Read more
Research Area
Voice & Opera
Meijun Chen
emailmeijun.chen@ubc.ca
Research Area
ConductingMeijun Chen joins the UBC School of Music as the Director of Concert Winds while completing the final year of her Doctor of Music degree in Wind Band Conducting at the University of Alberta, under the supervision of Dr. Angela Schroeder.
Meijun is an active guest conductor with the University of ...Read more
Research Area
Conducting
Michael Dirk
Michael Dirk
Sessional Lecturer, Organ
emailmjdirk@mail.ubc.ca
location_onMusic Building
Research Area
KeyboardAs one of Vancouver’s more active and versatile organists, Michael Dirk is equally at home offering solo concerts, accompanying the many fine choirs/ensembles of the region, improvising an entertaining accompaniment to a silent film, or serving liturgically in various worship styles. During his BM...Read more
Research Area
Keyboard
Michelle Anderson
Michelle Anderson
Sessional Lecturer, Clarinet
location_onMusic Building 325
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & PercussionMichelle Anderson is a clarinetist and teacher who lives in Vancouver BC. She has been a professional performer and teacher for over 30 years and plays regularly with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Lionsgate Sinfonia, and the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble. She has studied the clarinet at Universit...Read more
Research Area
Woodwind, Brass & Percussion
Miranda Wong
Miranda Wong
Sessional Lecturer, Piano
emailmiranda.wong@ubc.ca
phone604-822-6792
location_onMusic Building 309 / 323
Research Area
KeyboardAs solo recitalist, chamber musician, and teacher, Miranda Wong is equally at home with the music of the traditional classical repertoire as well as with the complexities of the contemporary idiom.
Her solo career has taken her to stages across Canada, the United States, England, and on many occasi...Read more
Research Area
Keyboard
Peter Barcza
Peter Barcza
Sessional Lecturer, Voice
emailpeter.barcza@ubc.ca
phone604-822-3531
location_onMusic Building 411
Research Area
Voice & OperaSessional Lecturer Voice Peter Barcza is one of Canada’s most versatile baritones and has won critical acclaim, both nationally and internationally, in a wide range of repertoire. He graduated from the Opera Department of the University of Toronto where he was a student of the renowned Canadian ba...Read more
Research Area
Voice & Opera
Ryan Swaryandana
location_onAsian Centre, Room 105
I Putu Swaryandana Ichi Oka (he/him), known as Ryan, is originally from Tabanan, and grew up in Ubud, Bali. Since he was young, he studied Balinese gamelan music, culminating in a B.A. (2019) and M.A. (2022) from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts in Denpasar. He is also a member of Cudamani, a we...Read more
Scott MacLennan
location_onMusic Building 421
Research Area
ConductingDr. Scott MacLennan is an active music director, adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor who frequently works with ensembles, schools, honour groups, and festivals in Canada. Currently, he is the Music Director of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble in the School of Music at the University of British Co...Read more
Research Area
Conducting
Will Howie
emailwill.howie@ubc.ca
Research Area
CompositionWill Howie is an award-winning Music Producer, Sound Engineer, Educator, and Researcher. His professional audio production experience covers myriad genres, from chamber music all the way to indie punk rock, working with a range of artists including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, James Ehnes, Stev...Read more
Research Area
CompositionEmeriti
Alan Thrasher
Alan Thrasher
Professor Emeritus of Music (2005), Chinese Music, Organology and Semiotics and Asian musical performance
emailalan.thrasher@ubc.ca
phone604-822-2331
Alan Thrasher began his study of East Asian music during the late 1970s, following earlier training in Baroque music performance, notably with LaNoue Davenport and other musicians in New York, upon which he became particularly interested in questions of ornamentation for recorder flutes and harpsich...Read more
Andrew Dawes
Andrew Dawes
Professor Emeritus of Music (2005), Violin
(1940-2022)
Violinist, ANDREW DAWES was born in High River, Alberta. He has been acclaimed as recitalist, chamber musician and soloist throughout North and South America, Europe and the Orient, and been celebrated as “one of the most distinguished violinists Canada has ever produced” (Ottawa Citizen). After...Read more
Eric Wilson
Eric Wilson
Professor Emeritus of Music (2024), Cello
emaileric.wilson@ubc.ca
Eric Wilson was awarded the Bronze Medal (1971) in the Geneva International Competition and co-winner of the Morris Loeb Prize for Strings (1973) at the Juilliard School. Eric Wilson was solo cellist of the Ensemble of New York in residence at the Lincoln Centre, New York. He was also a founding mem...Read more
Gregory Butler
Gregory Butler
Professor Emeritus of Music (2011), Musicology
Gregory Butler joined the faculty in 1973 after two years as Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, where he studied with Christoph Wolff. He was winner of the first Canada Council Doctoral Dissertation Prize and a Canada-Belgium Exchange Fellowship. He spent 1984-85 and 1990-91 in Berlin as a Von...Read more
J. Evan Kreider
J. Evan Kreider
Professor Emeritus of Music (2007), Musicology
Musicologist and music historian J. Evan Krieder began teaching at the UBC School of Music in 1975.
Kreider’s research encompassed studies of Renaissance chant, early music notation, recension of manuscript and printed sources, liturgical music, and the editing of Renaissance and Baroque keyboa...Read more
James Fankhauser
James Fankhauser
Professor Emeritus of Music (2000), Voice & Choral Conducting
Former Director, UBC University Singers
James Fankhauser was a professor of voice and choral conducting until 2000. He directed the UBC University Singers for many years during which time the group won several singing competitions, including the CBC National Radio Competition in 1994, which led to the BBC’s International Radio Competiti...Read more
Jane Coop
Jane Coop
Professor Emerita of Music (2012), Piano
emailjane.coop@ubc.ca
Pianist Jane Coop, one of Canada’s most distinguished artists, has toured extensively throughout North America, Asia and Europe, performing in such halls as Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center, Roy Thomson Hall, Salle Gaveau, the Singapore Cultural Center, and the Bolshoi Zal of St. P...Read more
Jesse Read
Jesse Read
Professor Emeritus of Music (2015), Bassoon
Former Director, UBC School of Music (1996 - 2007)
Former Music Director, UBC Symphony Orchestra (1990-2008)
emailjesse.read@ubc.ca
Jesse Read has served as Principal Bassoon of the Pacific Baroque and Carmel Bach Festival Orchestras, Metropolitan Opera National Company, San Francisco Opera, Spring Opera, and North Hollands Symphony Orchestra, as well as the CBC Curio Ensemble and Vancouver Chamber Winds. A specialist in 18th-ce...Read more
John Roeder
John Roeder
Professor Emeritus of Music (2023), Music Theory
emailjohn.roeder@ubc.ca
Research Area
Music TheoryAs a music theorist and analyst, I describe ways that people conceive of music, and how music is heard to organize time coherently, expressively, and meaningfully. I concentrate on music of special relevance today: recent works by contemporary composers in the Western art-music tradition and the “...Read more
Research Area
Music Theory
Martin Berinbaum
Martin Berinbaum
Professor Emeritus of Music (2008), Trumpet
Former Director, UBC Bands
Professor Berinbaum retired from the full time faculty in 2008 after 32 years of service to the University and the music culture of British Columbia.
Professor Berinbaum was born in Philadelphia but spent his first 18 years in Bakersfield, California. He graduated from the University of Southern ...Read more
Robert Pritchard
Robert Pritchard
Professor Emeritus of Music (2024)
Music Technology, Composition
emaildr.bob@ubc.ca
Research Area
CompositionProfessor Emeritus, Bob Pritchard taught music technology in acoustic, electroacoustic, and interactive media as well as with film/video, dance, and installation art at UBC. He has received several awards and commissions through the The Canada Council, the BC Cultural Fund, the Ontario Arts Council ...Read more
Research Area
Composition
Robert Silverman
Robert Silverman
Professor Emeritus of Music (2003), Piano
Former Director, UBC School of Music (1991 - 1995)
In a career spanning more than five decades, Robert Silverman has climbed every peak of serious pianism: lauded performances of the complete sonata cycles by Beethoven and Mozart; concerts in prestigious halls across the globe; orchestral appearances with many of the world’s greatest conductors; a...Read more
Stephen Chatman
Stephen Chatman
Professor Emeritus of Music (2021)
Former Head of Composition
One of Canada’s most frequently performed composers, Stephen Chatman, C.M., D.M.A. was Professor and Head of Composition at the University of British Columbia School of Music. He retired in 2021. He has received many composition awards, including 2005, 2006, 2010, and 2020 Western Canadian Music ...Read more
Terence Dawson
Terence Dawson
Professor Emeritus (2024)
Former Chair of the Keyboard Division
Research Area
KeyboardHis musicality described as “lucid” (Globe and Mail), his performances as “stunning” (Vancouver Sun), and possessing “trademark elegance and technical flair” (Georgia Straight), pianist Terence Dawson has earned a reputation as one of Vancouver’s most respected musicians. Repeat invita...Read more
Research Area
Keyboard
Vera Micznik
Vera Micznik
Professor Emerita of Music (2014), Musicology
emailvera.micznik@ubc.ca
Areas of Interest
Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century music; Gustav Mahler; Program Music: aesthetics and analysis (Berlioz, Liszt); Applications of literary theory to music: Music with/without explicit words, Narrativity in Music, Music Textuality; Semiotics; Opera–especially Women in Opera;...Read more
William Benjamin
William Benjamin
Professor Emeritus of Music (2014), Music Theory
Former Director, UBC School of Music (1984 - 1991)
I was born in Montréal, Canada, and was educated in that city, studying piano at the Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique du Québec, and obtaining a Mus. Bac. in composition from McGill University in 1965, when I was 20. My goal at that time was to be a composer, and I pursued it through...Read more