Choral Studies Concert

Soprano

Jemma Pascal van Alphen

Josheen Bayabos

Anastasia Galameau

Marina Kadri*

Giuliana Barrow Lattanzio

Isla Parekh

Kaela Peever

Emma Puscalau

Rosanna Scopacasa

Melody Shafiee

Alto

Yuan (Alba) Chen

Norah Hoff

Benjamin Irani

Mia Paunovic

Ania Suri

Yu Xuan (Elienna) Wang

Jane Zelcer

Katherine Zhu

Tenor

Ben Birrell

Brandon Chan

Anson Lau

Joshua Duncan Lee

Aquila Ying Faye Li

Tao Lin

Joaquin Najar

Alex Tipping

Bass

Shriyans Dash

Kwun Yu Jordan Fung

Sebastian Morales Guerrero

Ziteng (Tom) Han

Alexandre Huneault

Noah James

Joaquin Justo

Nathaniel Kulin

Hanwen Liang

Zerui (Sampson) Liu

Alekasander Manda

David Alejandro Zuniga Molina

Mathias Séror*

Xiaoshuai (Adam) Wang

Nicholas Hongyu Wang

Ruhn in Frieden alle Seelen,
Die vollbracht ein banges Quälen,
Die vollendet süssen Traum,
Lebenssatt, geboren kaum,
Aus der Welt hinüber schieden:
Alle Seelen ruhn in Frieden!

May all souls rest in peace;
those whose fearful torment is past;
those whose sweet dreams are over;
those sated with life, those barely born,
who have left this world:
may all souls rest in peace!

Liebevoller Mädchen Seelen,
Deren Tränen nicht zu zählen,
Die ein falscher Freund verliess,
Und die blinde Welt verstieß:
Alle, die von hinnen schieden,
Alle Seelen ruhn in Frieden!

The souls of girls in love,
whose tears are without number,
who, abandoned by a faithless lover,
rejected the blind world.
May all who have departed hence,
may all souls rest in peace!

Und die nie der Sonne lachten,
Unterm Mond auf Dornen wachten,
Gott, im reinen Himmelslicht,
Einst zu sehn von Angesicht:
Alle, die von hinnen schieden,
Alle Seelen ruhn in Frieden!

And those who never smiled at the sun,
who lay awake beneath the moon on beds of thorns,
so that they might one day see God face to face
in the pure light of heaven:
may all who have departed hence,
may all souls rest in peace!

Ad Astra 

Ad Astra per aspera.
Sursum.
Movere deinceps.
Sine cura, post omnes.

To the stars through difficulties.
Look upward.
Move forward.
Leave all cares behind.

Biographies

Kathleen Allan 

Kathleen Allan is the Artistic Director of the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, Artistic Director of Chorus Niagara, and a member of the music faculty at the University of Toronto. In high demand as a guest conductor, commissioned composer, and clinician, she is equally comfortable working in early, contemporary, and symphonic repertoire. From 2016-2023, she served as the Artistic Director of Canzona, Winnipeg’s professional Baroque choir, with whom she conducted many of the masterworks of the Baroque era. Originally from St. John’s, NL, she has conducted orchestras and choirs across Canada, the US, and Japan, and recently made her conducting debuts with the Victoria Symphony (2022), Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (2019) and Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra (2020). She was the 2016 winner of the Sir Ernest MacMillan Prize in Choral Conducting.

Her compositions have been commissioned, performed and recorded by ensembles throughout the Americas and Europe and have been featured at two World Symposiums on Choral Music. Her music is published by Boosey and Hawkes, Oxford University Press, and Cypress Choral Music, and she is a MusicSpoke composer. Also an accomplished soprano, she has appeared as a soloist and professional choral singer with orchestras and choirs across Canada and the US, and with the Arnold Schoenberg Chor in Vienna. She holds a degree in composition from the University of British Columbia and a master’s degree in conducting from Yale University. <https://www.kathleenallan.com>

Thomas Burton 

Raised in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Thomas Burton is Artistic Director of the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, Conductor of the University of Toronto Tenor-Bass Chorus, and Artistic Director of Durham Region’s RESOUND Choir. He is co-conductor of the award winning Halifax based chamber choir, Eastern Horizon. Praised for his innovative and eclectic programming as well as his dynamic presence on the podium, Thomas is in-demand nationally as a guest conductor, clinician and educator. 

Thomas is passionate about inspiring excellence in performers of all ages and abilities. He has had the privilege of working with such ensembles as the Pacific Chorale, The Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, Pro Coro Canada, the National Youth Choir of Canada, and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. An accomplished choral singer, Thomas has sung with some of Canada’s finest choral ensembles including the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, Voces Boreales, and the Nathaniel Dett Chorale.

Thomas is a recipient of multiple awards, including the Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship and the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Award. In 2024 he was selected by Jeunesses Musicales as the inaugural recipient of the Iwan Edwards Scholarship for Young Conductors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Trombone Performance from McGill University and a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Michigan where he studied with Dr. Jerry Blackstone and Dr. Eugene Rogers. <thomasburtonmusic.com>

Eunseong Cho

Being a versatile musician as an organist, conductor, harpsichordist and collaborative pianist, Eunseong Cho has contributed her talent to Toronto’s music community for many years. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a master’s degree in organ performance under the tutelage of Dr. John Tuttle. She studied with Sir Colin Tilney and was a harpsichordist for the U of T Early Music Ensemble under the direction of Jeanne Lamon. She also studied choral conducting with Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. She serves as music director at The Light Korean Presbyterian Church and as collaborative pianist for U of T’s Chamber Choir and Soprano-Alto Chorus.

Christopher Dawes

Christopher Dawes is a Toronto-based performer, conductor and consultant. A three-decade fixture of the Toronto music community and frequent collaborator with many of its top institutions, he currently serves as Organist and Director of Music to Rosedale Presbyterian Church, and Artistic Director of the 18-voice a capella Marion Singers of Greater Toronto. For two decades he has served as Collaborative Pianist and Coach to the graduate and undergraduate instrumental and choral conducting programs of the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, and as a Director of Canada’s Summer Institute of Church Music. Since 2018 he has also chaired the Executive of the Southern Ontario Chapter (SOCHS) of the Hymn Society of the US and Canada. Chris’s graduate work in the area of Music Criticism and musical genre has led to occasional blogging and podcasting under the banner “Ideas About Music,” speaking at conferences, and eventually founding the Celtic-crossover band Chroí in 2013.

Teri Dunn

Teri Dunn is a celebrated soprano, conductor, and music educator, widely recognized for her artistry and leadership in performance, pedagogy, and choral direction. A native of Ottawa, she was recently appointed Artistic Director of the Canadian Children’s Opera Company, where she has served as Music Director since 2015. Under her direction, the CCOC has presented critically acclaimed productions  including the world premieres of Alice Ho’s The Monkiest King (recorded for CMC), Serouj Kradjian’s The Nightingale of aThousand Songs and a European tour of Hans Krása’s Brundibar. She has also prepared the Children’s Chorus and soloists for numerous Canadian Opera Company productions, including La Boheme, Carmen, The Magic Flute and Hansel and Gretel. 

From 2008 2025, Ms. Dunn served as Dean of Choral Studies at St. Michael’s Choir School, overseeing programming, and directing three of their internationally recognized choirs. A committed educator, she now leads the Soprano-Alto Chorus at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. 

Earlier in her career, she was Assistant Artistic Director of the Toronto Children’s Chorus (2002-2012), and held posts at the Royal Conservatory of Music and Hart House Chorus. 

Ms. Dunn’s choirs have been invited guests at Carnegie Hall, the Vatican, the Toronto International Choral Festival, and with leading Canadian ensembles such as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and Amici. Her choirs have earned top honours including first prize at the National Competition of Canadian Amateur Choirs. 

An acclaimed soprano, Ms. Dunn has been praised as “outstanding” by BBC Music Magazine.  She has premiered works by Canadian composers James Rolfe, John Hawkins, Micheline Roi, Abigail Richardson, and Jeff Ryan and has sung operatic roles including Galatea (Acis and Galatea), Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), Alice in John Beckwith’s Night Blooming Cereus and Eurydice in the world premiere of James Rolfe’s Orpheus and Eurydice. She has appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Ottawa Bach Choir, New Music Concerts, Soundstreams, Toronto Masque Theatre, and others. Her discography features works by George Crumb, Osvaldo Golijov, Gloria Coates, John Beckwith and Harry Somers. 

Ms. Dunn holds a Master of Music from the University of Toronto, where she studied with Mary Morrison. She was a prizewinner in the 1999 Eckhardt-Grammatté Competition and recipient of the 2002 Leslie Bell Prize in Choral Conducting, awarded by Choirs Ontario.

Jamie Hillman 

Dr. Jamie Hillman is a Canadian and American musician, active as a conductor, music educator, singer, pianist, and composer-arranger. He holds the endowed Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting at the University of Toronto where he is Director of Choral Studies and an Associate Professor. He conducts the U of T MacMillan Singers and leads the master's and doctoral degree programs in Choral Conducting. Professor Hillman is a Senior Fellow at Massey College and is cross listed as faculty in Emmanuel College's Master of Sacred Music program. In 2024, Dr. Hillman received the Faculty of Music's Teaching Award which recognizes excellence, commitment, and innovation in teaching.   

Professor Hillman has served on the faculties of Boston University Metropolitan College/Prison Education Program, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Kodály Music Institute, Longy School of Music of Bard College, and Tyndale University. As a Boston University Prison Arts Scholar, he co-initiated an innovative vocal music program in the Massachusetts prison system. 

Dr. Hillman is an examiner for Conservatory Canada and has adjudicated, guest conducted, performed, and presented throughout Canada and the United States, and in Brazil, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Portugal, Taiwan, and Thailand. He has led All-State, festival, or honour choirs in Alberta, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and in Taiwan. Most recently he conducted three national festival choruses at Carnegie Hall with Manhattan Concert Productions and National Concerts. Hillman has conducted world premieres by Shireen Abu-Khader, Matthew Emery, Sarah Quartel, and Marie-Claire Saindon, among others. 

Dr. Hillman's schedule of upcoming engagements includes conducting All-State/festival/honour choirs in Arizona, British Columbia, Manitoba, Virginia, and in China; serving on the international jury of the Bali International Choir Festival (Indonesia); and residencies at several Canadian and international universities.

Professor Hillman is the curator and editor of The Jamie Hillman Choral Series published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing. He also edits Beckenhorst Press’ Concert Series and writes choral pedagogical curriculum with composer Dan Forrest. He has published articles on choral literature and pedagogy in several academic journals.  

Dr. Hillman earned an associate diploma (ARCT) from the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) and a Bachelor of Music from Western University (London, Canada). In 2024, he was inducted to Western's Don Wright Faculty of Music's Alumni Wall of Fame. He completed the Master of Music at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Doctor of Musical Arts at Boston University, where he studied with Ann Howard Jones. He is the 2012 laureate of the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting from the Ontario Arts Council. <www.jamiehillman.net>

Dr. Joy Lee 

Dr. Joy Lee is an accomplished Canadian pianist with a vibrant and multifaceted career as a collaborative pianist, teacher, vocal coach, soloist, and adjudicator. Driven by her deep passion for music and education, Dr. Lee has performed at prestigious events and venues, including the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C. during President Barack Obama's inauguration celebration, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and locations across Canada’s Northwest Territories, such as Inuvik and Yellowknife.

Dr. Lee holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in solo piano from the University of Toronto. Her love for vocal repertoire led her to pursue a second Master of Music in Collaborative Piano Studies at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Toronto.

As a Lecturer of Music and Worship Arts at Tyndale University, Dr. Lee is dedicated to inspiring and mentoring the next generation of musicians. She is also in high demand as an adjudicator, having adjudicated performances at competitions such as the Arcadia Academy of Music, OMFA Provincial Finals, Sudbury Music Festival, and the Toronto Kiwanis Festival. In 2025, she will join the panels for the Peel Music Festival and the ORMTA Eastern Zone competition.

Dr. Lee’s musical achievements have been recognized with numerous accolades, including second prize at the 2017 Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition and the 2018 Gwendolyn Williams Koldofsky Prize for excellence in collaboration. In April 2023, she made her Carnegie Hall debut as part of the Canada at Carnegie concert series. Later that year, in November, she and soprano Stéphanie McKay-Turgeon performed the works of French composer Henri Dutilleux at Maison Dutilleux-Joy in Candes-Saint-Martin, France.

A passionate collaborator, Dr. Lee was honored to serve as a faculty member at the University of Toronto Choral Conducting Symposium in 2022 and 2023. She currently works with the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, MacMillan Singers at the University of Toronto, and Tyndale Community Choir. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors for the North Toronto Songbirds, exemplifying her dedication to fostering community connections and celebrating the arts.

Melanie Yirenkyi 

Melanie is a Toronto-based conductor, singer, and music educator. She holds a BFA in Vocal Performance from York University and a B.Ed from Queen’s University, and is currently completing her Master’s in Choral Conducting at the University of Toronto, where she studies with Dr. Jamie Hillman and is grateful for the opportunity to serve as Assistant Conductor for both the Soprano-Alto Chorus and Chamber Choir this year.

Melanie also directs the Massey College Choir, sings with the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and the Toronto Festival Singers, is Assistant Conductor for RESOUND, and is active in the music ministry at Jarvis Baptist Church..