Adjudicators 2025
BANDS, BRASS, and WOODWINDS
JOHN KRAUS
John Kraus, originally from North Bay, Ontario, is an active musician, having founded and or worked as the Music Director of the Durham Chamber Orchestra from 1996-2007, the Lakeridge Youth Orchestra, 2002-2004, the Clarington Concert Band, 2011-2013, the Music Director and conductor of the Northumberland Orchestra & Choir, 2013-2024, and is the current Music Director of the Parkdale Orchestra, Ottawa. He led the Kanata Symphony Orchestra, conducting a program entitled ‘Earth’, in November, 2024 and will conduct the premiere performance, in Ottawa, October 2025, of The Lion Heart, an opera composed by Corey Arnold and Kyle Derek. John has performed as a member of the Lavender Chamber Ensemble, a collective of professional musicians who perform across South-Central Ontario and as a saxophone player with the Electric City Swing Band, Peterborough. In the fall of 2017 John was nominated as one of five candidates for the Heinz Unger Award, a national honour administrated by the Ontario Arts Council, recognizing professional conductors.
As an educator, John taught for over 30 years and is a member of the Ontario Music Educators Association promoting the value and need for Music education in schools. He has led workshops and clinics across the province as well as leading and conducting honour ensembles as part of the Conference of Independent Schools Music Festival, held each spring at Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto. John is a member of the Canadian Music Festivals Adjudicators Association, providing him the opportunity to hear student performances across Canada. He has been a faculty member for the Lake Field Music Camp, an adult summer music camp located in Lakefield, Ontario.
In addition, John hosts Maestro’s Picks, a weekly hour long radio show which can be heard on Northumberland 89.7 and Sudbury’s 96.7 CKLU-FM, featuring music of all styles.
JUNIOR PIANO
YUNYI (NUNU) ZHANG
Yunyi (Nunu) Zhang holds a Licentiate Diploma in Piano Performance from McGill University studying under the tutelage of Marina Mdivani; a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Western Ontario, studying with Jean-Paul Bracey; a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Music Theory and Composition from the University of Western Ontario; an A.R.C.T Performer Diploma (Honours with Distinction) from the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto; and has recently completed an A.R.C.T Diploma in Piano Pedagogy from the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto.
A native of Owen Sound, Nunu is an active member and advocate of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association (ORMTA). Nunu served as past chair of the Website and Social Media Committee for the London ORMTA branch. Beyond performing, accompanying, and teaching, she also enjoys volunteering at retirement homes, sharing the joys of music with individuals, especially those in palliative care or living with disabilities.
As a sought-after piano and theory teacher, Nunu has a full studio in London, Ontario, and takes great pride in the progress and achievements of her students. Her teaching philosophy centers on nurturing each student’s musical expression, while also supporting their personal goals and growth. Nunu embraces the unique personalities of each student, finding joy in the diversity they bring to her teaching.
COMPOSITION
DEBRA WANLESS
Debra Wanless has had a successful career as a piano adjudicator, studio teacher, editor, examiner, music retailer and publisher, arranger and composer. She has travelled across Canada and the United States as a pedagogy clinician. Debra’s studies have resulted in a Junior Fellowship (2009) and Licentiate (2003) Diplomas in piano pedagogy with Northern Lights Canadian National Conservatory of Music; an Associate of Music Diploma (1979) in piano pedagogy with Western Ontario Conservatory of Music (Conservatory Canada); and post graduate studies in piano performance, theory and piano ensemble.
Debra is a piano pedagogy specialist whose students have earned the Cora B. Arhens Award for pedagogy excellence. She was the principal (2002-2023) and founding member of Northern Lights Canadian National Conservatory of Music and the three-day Piano Pedagogy workshop and Keyboard Kamp for children, Summer Sizzle. Debra has served at the local and provincial levels of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association, is the founder of the North Wellington Camerata Canada Music Week Festival (1984 -1998) and worked for many years on music festival committees in South Western Ontario.
As a publisher and editor, Debra was instrumental in creating the Canadian Contemporary Repertoire series (for Conservatory Canada), Northern Lights, Making Tracks, Canadian Folksongs and O Canada Series (for Northern Lights Canadian National Conservatory Canada) and the former Pianozzazz series (now Poppin’ Piano) by Canadian composers. She was also an active editor in the New Millennium series (Conservatory Canada elementary levels).
Her piano solos and ensembles have been selected for performance at festivals across Canada; for inclusion in the New Millennium, Canadian Contemporary Repertoire, Northern Lights and Making Tracks Series; the RCM Popular Piano Repertoire Syllabus; and the recently produced Mosaic Series and reviewed in Clavier Magazine. Debra has edited, revised and written new material for the Leila Fletcher Piano Course and the (James) Lawless Theory Course (now known as Total Theory). During her career as a publisher (1994 – current), Debra promotes and publishes for many Canadian composers and writers, and has arranged numerous popular works for the PMI (Hal Leonard Music) (2006-2007) publishing company. Debra’s passion for research and teaching has lead her to develop piano pedagogy workshops on a broad range of topics such as Audio Development, Rhythm, Learning Styles in the Piano Studio, Modes, Theory and Harmony, Canadian Music and more. This same passion has also resulted in 100’s of piano compositions/ arrangements (solos and ensembles) for a wide range of levels from beginner to advanced in a broad range of styles. As well as educational materials for keyboard harmony, written theory and harmony, and pedagogy texts.
She is the recipient of the ORMTA Special Teacher Award (1999), the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada (1992) and a finalist for the 2011 Louis Applebaum Award for Music for Young People.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR PIANO
DR. KATHRYN TREMILLS
Pianist Dr Kathryn Tremills is in demand as a performer, coach, teacher and adjudicator. A three-time Canada Council Grant recipient, she has appeared as a soloist throughout North America. As a founding member of Women on the Verge along with sopranos Elizabeth McDonald and Emily Martin, she has performed and given masterclasses across North America, in France, the UK and Iceland and commissioned and premiered new works.
Additionally, she has appeared on numerous concert series including the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music Festival, Canadian Art Song Project, Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre Thursday Noon Concerts, Off Centre Music Salon and Pro Arts Detroit. Versatile skills have lead her to the musical staff at the Canadian Opera Company as a coach and répétiteur and to the role of accompanist to many choral groups including the Ontario Youth Choir and the world-renowned Toronto Children’s Chorus. Kathryn has taught piano privately since age 12 (Uirst guided by her mother, Mary Lou), and now, addressing self-care and pathways to authenticity in her teaching and coaching, has been invited to speak to large groups about wellness for singers. Most recently, she’s also been keeping herself busy reading about topics ranging from trauma healing to Quantum Physics. She is an alumnus of the University of Michigan, Eastman School of Music, University of Colorado at Boulder, and University of Toronto where she has been a Sessional Lecturer in the Voice Area since 2008. Kathryn is thrilled to return home to the Grey County Kiwanis Festival of Music that was such an incredible support in her own musical journey.
STRINGS AND ORCHESTRAS
DR. CAITLIN BOYLE
Hamilton-based violin and viola performer and pedagogue Caitlin Boyle teaches at The Hamilton Suzuki School of Music, performs with the Niagara Symphony Orchestra and the Shaw Festival, and is co-artistic director of the 5 at the First Chamber Music Series. She is also a member of the Isabel String Quartet, quartet-in-residence at Queen’s University. Ms. Boyle’s passion for music education has led her to teach at the Western University, the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto, Mooredale Youth Orchestras, Festival of the Sound Music Scores Program as well as adjudicating for the Ontario and Alberta Music Festivals.
In 2015 she received her Doctorate from the University of Toronto, where she researched non-verbal communication in string quartet performance. Previously Ms. Boyle was the violist of the Cecilia String Quartet (2006-2018), a group that toured extensively across North America and Europe after winning the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2010. In addition she has performed with the Munich Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
CLASSICAL VOICE & CHOIRS
DR. TRACY WONG
Dr. Tracy Wong hails from Malaysia and is a choral conductor, music educator, composer, vocalist, and pianist. Dr. Wong is passionate about helping choral educators to provide unique experiences for their students through collaborative commissions, customized workshops, festivals, and artist residencies. She does this through focusing on the balance of performance practice considerations, vocal and acoustic explorations, and choral artistry and heart.
Currently residing in Ontario, Canada, Dr. Wong is the Assistant Professor of Choral Studies at Western University, where she conducts Chorale and Les Choristes ensembles. She also serves as the Conductor of the Grand Philharmonic Youth Choir in Kitchener, Ontario. Dr. Wong holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master in Music Performance (Choral Conducting) degrees from the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. She is also a proud recipient of the 2016 & 2017 Elmer Iseler National Graduate Fellowship in Choral Conducting, and 2018-19 McMaster University Student Union Teaching Award.
As an active clinician and educator, Dr. Wong had conducted workshops for choirs in North America, Malaysia, Brunei, France, Ireland, and Portugal.
Dr. Wong advocates for repertoire-based music education by writing pieces that are teaching tools for singers to develop vocal technique, musicianship skills, and artistry. As part of her continued search to define her Chinese-Malaysian-Canadian identity, her music also shows the coming-together of different languages and musical elements that continue to influence her composition writing.
Dr. Wong was the 2019 Canadian Composer Feature for the Canadian Kodály Journal, Alla Breve. She collaborates regularly with choral organizations in Canada and Malaysia on commissioned choral projects and her pieces are featured at numerous reading sessions. Her works have been performed by Malaysian, North American, European, and Southeast Asian choirs at international competitions and festivals.
POPULAR VOICE & MUSICAL THEATRE
DR. MARION SAMUEL-STEVENS
Canadian vocalist Marion Samuel-Stevens has been described as an engaging, direct performer and actress. Her performances range from the intimacy of recital performance to the stage. Marion has been the Ontario winner of the Natsaa competition and second runner up in the regional Natsaa competition in Indiana, where her voice was described as “beautiful and rich with evenness and colour throughout”. She was also a semi-finalist in the prestigious Eckhardt-Grammatté competition which gives special attention to new Canadian music. In both competitions Marion showed her well-developed ability to switch between a wide variety of vocal and dramatic styles with efficiency and finesse.
Marion is an adjunct professor Voice at the University of Guelph where she is active in creating a new program for contemporary music. Marion is the Director of the newly established Musical Theatre Ensemble at the University of Guelph which recently performed Little Shop of Horrors to great acclaim. Described as “intelligent, relatable and engaging” she is sought after as a clinician and adjudicator.
Focusing her continuing education on the ever-changing field of vocal pedagogy and health, Marion has attended the Commercial and Contemporary Music Vocal Pedagogy Institute at Shenandoah University as well as completing certification in Vocal Health First Aid and Vocal Habilitation through Vocal Health Education in the UK. Marion is currently completing her Master’s in Vocal Pedagogy from the University of Wales (Voice Study Centre) where her area of focus is the athleticism of singers as well as the parallels between athletic and vocal coaching. She plans to write a handbook on coaching techniques for music instructors, highlighting the most effective ways to intrinsically motivate students. As an educator, her goals are to create a challenging and supportive environment in which students can find their own unique voice as well as explore different vocal colours and their impact on character and emotionally driven vocal choices.
