Music Instructors
Evan Bates
Born and raised in Vancouver, Evan has been pursuing his musical career since he was young. In addition to teaching double bass, cello and guitar, he has been performing with a variety of groups across Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island since the mid ’90s. Evan’s musical experience spans a wide range of styles from classical to folk, and jazz to world music. After earning his Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria and having taught privately in Victoria for several years, he has recently returned to the mainland to further his musical career and to continue to teach and share his love for music.
Annie Brown
Annie started classical violin at 5 years with the Suzuki method, as a teen with Carla Birston and with her Youth Orchestra in White Rock, and as an adult with Toni Stanick. After graduating from the University of British Columbia, with her family’s encouragement she dove into performing, and discovered a talent at improvising over a variety of genres. Fiddle music from eastern Canada and Ireland is her specialty, and she has been an instructor to individuals and groups for the past six years. Annie teaches Violin Basics at the Shadbolt Centre.
Martina Chan
Martina graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Manchester, England, where she majored in composition and 20th century European music. Martina has attended Master classes with Christopher Hogwood, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett and Karlheinz Stockhausen. In addition to her work at the Shadbolt, Martina teaches piano privately from her Vancouver studio. Martina has taught private piano and theory at the Shadbolt since 1989.Miranda Clingwall
A freelance artist, teacher and graduate of the University of British Columbia, Miranda Clingwall moved to London England in 2001 to continue her flute studies through master classes with William Bennet, Peter Lloyd and Michel Devost. She has performed in various local orchestras, co-founded The Pacific Wind Trio and performed Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto as a concerto competition winner at the Vancouver Playhouse. Currently, Miranda is performing as a duo with Karen Morlang, piano, and composing and performing electronic flute music with the Vancouver Electronic music collective Unity Waves. Her first album, Ohm 1, will be released Feb 1, 2006 on the Unity Waves website, www.unitywaves.com. Miranda has been teaching private flute, flute classes and flute ensembles at the Shadbolt since May, 2003.Ross Curran
Ross holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Victoria and an advanced performer’s certificate from VCC. He received the Outstanding Musician Award from the National Association of Jazz Educators, and he attended the Pacific Jazz Workshop and Master Classed with Nick Fiore and Louis Moyse. In addition to his teaching, Ross works as a freelance musician throughout Metro Vancouver and plays with the Telemann Wedding Trio. He has also recorded for CBC, for film and performed with the Preservation of Swing Big Band for 22 years. Ross has been teaching flute, clarinet, and saxophone at the Shadbolt Centre since 1977.Mathew is a graduate of Simon fraser University - BFA in music. He is currently completing his graduate studies in Music Theory and Ethnomusicology from UBC. Mathew has played violin with the New Westminster Symphony Orchestra and the UBC Chamber Strings. He has also played in non-western ensembles, having studied Chinese, Balinese, Japanese, Korean and African music. He played erhu (Chinese fiddle) in the UBC Chinese ensemble for several years. Mathew teaches private violin at the Shadbolt Centre.
Miriam obtained her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of British Columbia in 1996; since then she has been an active performer and instructor. She is currently a member of the Laudate Singers and teaches throughout Metro Vancouver, Miriam teaches signing classes to all ages at the Shadbolt Centre.
Joel De Stefano
Joel is an award winning performer, composer and music educator who has worked in Metro Vancouver for the past ten years. He is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario’s Theory and Composition program as well as SFU’s Master’s of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies. He has trained with some of Canada’s leading composers, pianists and jazz musicians. During his career, Joel has performed with an eclectic mix of local instrumentalists and singers and has created music for puppetry, theatre, film and dance. Joel has been teaching piano, improvisation and music theory for the past 15 years to people of all ages and abilities as well as running workshops for ensembles and community organizations. He is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Proximity Arts, a Vancouver based interdisciplinary arts ensemble and currently is the programmer for Theatre and Literary Arts at the Shadbolt Centre where he also teaches private piano lessons. .
Holly Denney
Holly has been a singer and teacher for over 30 years, performing in a capella groups and jazz bands and teaching vocal classes and private lessons. For the past 20 years, she has taught preschool Orff music classes at the Shadbolt Centre. Currently she directs the Vancouver City Singers and works with the Berwick Child Development Centre, teaching music to preschool children. In addition to giving Orff classes, Holly teaches children's singing classes, gives private voice lessons, and leads the Shadbolt Singers Ensemble for adults at the Shadbolt Centre.Allan Dionne
Allan graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1995 where he obtained a Bachelor of Music degree in Percussion. He joined the Celtic band Mad Pudding in 1997, with whom he has toured extensively. As a member of this group he has played at festivals worldwide, including Canada, the US, Denmark and Britain, and has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. In 2009, Allan was asked to accompany Ashley MacIsaac for his performance at the Vogue Theatre, as part of Vancouver Celtic Festival. He is also a member of The Shona Le Mottee Band and the Francophone group Pastiche, with whom he plays accordion. Highlights with these bands include the Vancouver Folk Festival and the 2010 Winter Olympics. He has recorded extensively and has performed with the Prince George Symphony and Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestras. Allan is a drum instructor at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and has been teaching and performing in the Vancouver area since 1995.
Lana Djordan
Lana is a Registered Music Teacher who holds a Master’s degree in Music Education, where her research interests included piano pedagogy and practicing, with some of her work being published and presented as well. She completed her undergraduate musical training at UBC. Lana also holds a Kelly Kirby Teacher’s Certificate for teaching an Introductory Piano Program to young children. Besides playing and teaching the piano, she also studied the guitar and has an interest and experience in voice and dance. Lana is a member of the British Columbia Registered Music Teachers’ Association and Canadian Society for the Study of Education.Ron Ellis
A professional musician for the over 30 years, Ron is not only an instructor of piano and music theory, but also an accompanist and soloist. He has worked at Edmonton’s Grant MacEwan College and locally at Simon Fraser University, and numerous lower mainland ballet schools and companies. He currently teaches private music lessons at the Shadbolt Centre.Pauline Friedli
Pauline obtained her Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Music in 2008 from UBC and a Bachelor of Education in 2010. She has taught piano privately in Richmond, BC since 2004. During her studies at UBC, she took a wide variety of music courses, including Asian music, African music, Indian rhythm, medieval music, jazz history, concert band, and choir. Pauline teaches Piano Basics at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.Zeljko Krakan
Zeljko has been teaching for over 20 years and many of his students have achieved outstanding results in their violin competitions and Examinations. Mr. Krakan received a Bachelor of Music degree from Sarajevo University, where he studied with the renowned pedagogue Gino Sagrestano. He played in Sarajevo Symphony Orchestra and Strings Chamber Orchestra with which he travelled throughout Europe and Asia. Since coming to Vancouver in the early 1990s he has taught and performed extensively. Mr. Krakan is founder of the trio “Allegra”, which is known for the ability to play successfully many different styles. Mr. Krakan teaches the Intro to Ensemble for Strings class and private violin lessons.Tanya Liana Kliefoth
Tanya holds a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance and Biology from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and College of Arts of Sciences, where her principal teacher was Michel Debost. Tanya lived in Costa Rica and Chile for ten years, and while there, taught Biology in international schools, performed in professional ensembles and orchestras, directed flute ensembles, and, earned a Master’s degree in Sociology and Politics of Latin America. During her time in Latin America, Tanya travelled to Argentina to attend master classes in Latin American Music in Mendoza, Argentina, with flutist Lars Nillson. Currently in Vancouver, she performs with Erato Ensemble, local orchestras such as the Vancouver Philharmonic and Metropolitan Orchestras, as well as professional ensembles in a variety of venues. Tanya’s great joy is teaching individual flute lessons and directing Flute Basics, the Flute Ensemble, Flutopia Ensemble, and Oracle Flute Ensemble. She has also recently joined the administrative team at Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.
Emily Lau
Born and raised in Vancouver, Emily has always been surrounded by music. At the age of 17, she obtained her A.R.C.T. in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She subsequently went on to earn her Bachelor in Arts and Education from the University of British Columbia. Having taught piano privately for over 10 years, Emily teaches Piano Basics at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.
Eva Law
Piano teacher, accompanist, and composer, Eva Law is a passionate and multi-talented musician. Law attained Associate of the London Trinity College in Piano Performance and she has studied piano performance with acclaimed pianists, including Mr. Ma Cong in Hong Kong and Dr. Ronald Morgan in Vancouver. Having been an active member of the Canadian Registered Music Teacher, Law participates in master classes with renowned artists such as Mr. Bruce Vogt. In 2004, Law earned a Master Degree of Music in Music Education at the University of Calgary. She is specialized in various pedagogies such as Kelly Kirby Kindergarten Piano Method, Kodάly and Carl Orff Philosophy. Law enjoys working with children and is an award-winning composer for children's choirs.
Craig McCaul
Since 1990, Craig has been a professional musician and composer, playing guitar, bass and drums with a multitude of groups all across Canada. He earned his Jazz Performance Diploma from Mount Royal College in Calgary in 1993. Craig has toured throughout the world, including a most recent trip to
Duane Murrin
After taking the Commercial Music Program at Capilano College, Duane enjoyed playing in a number of bands. Recording CDs, performing live and getting on the radio from time to time. Eventually he went on to Simon Fraser University to work towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts, studying mainly music composition, electro acoustics and dance accompaniment. In 2002 he participated in a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts and now composes, performs and records music for numerous dance, theatre and film projects, as well as working as a dance accompanist at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and teaching adult Guitar Basics classes.
Elisabeta (Zozi) Podut
Elisabeta obtained her Masters Degree in Piano performance and Music Pedagogy at the AG Dima at Music Academy in Romania, Europe. Her Masters studies included the interaction between music, sociology and psychology. Since moving to Vancouver, Elisabeta has accompanied dance artists and classes at Main Dance Society, Harbour Dance, and Richmond Academy of Dance. She has been teaching private piano, theory and adult piano classes at the Shadbolt since 1995.
