2026 ADJUDICATION PANEL

Catherine Robbins – Choral

Catherine Robbins is a dynamic music educator known especially for her work in vocal techniques and choral pedagogy for developing voices. Her primary research centres on applications of anatomical awareness and fascia science to singing and conducting gesture. Dr. Robbins is currently Associate Professor of Choral Studies and Music Education at the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music. She directs the U of M Concert Choir and teaches courses in vocal pedagogy for choirs, conducting, choral methods, and choral programming and literature. She has been honoured with University of Manitoba Merit Awards in both teaching and service, as well as a Students’ Teacher Recognition award. Catherine enjoys a busy schedule as a guest conductor and adjudicator across Canada and has presented at choral and music education conferences around the globe. She is a proud past president of the Manitoba Choral Association and serves as the current IDEA chair.

Allison Wiebe – Piano

A leading interpreter of contemporary music, Allison Wiebe is a frequent performer throughout North America and the UK. Currently on the piano performance faculty at Western University in London, Ontario, she maintains an active performing, adjudicating and teaching career. Allison holds a Masters of Music in Piano Literature and Performance from Western University under James Anagnoson, with previous preparation with Boyanna Toyich and Boris Lysenko. She completed her Bachelor of Music (Honors) at Brandon University in Manitoba studying with Donald Henry and David Rogosin. As a soloist, Ms. Wiebe was a semi-finalist at the 24th annual Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition for the Performance of Canadian Music, receiving a grant from the Canada Council to attend. As a collaborative musician she performs on piano, keyboards, and melodica with the ContaQt ensemble in Toronto. In 2011, Allison recorded a CD of works by Brian Eno which was nominated in 2017 for a Grammy Award for the Best Chamber Performance. The recording of Jordan Nobles music, ‘Undercurrents’ was nominated for a Western Canada Music Award. Her programming has been described by the Globe and Mail as “thought-provoking” and “highly entertaining,” and her performances praised by the New York Times as “methodical and mesmerizing.” In lieu of public performances during the pandemic, ContaQt has been performing/recording online and was back to the recording studio for another grammy contender album coming out in September 2025. A senior piano examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music, she also recorded components of the RCM’s Celebration Series Perspectives CD project launched over the winter of 2008.

Renato Fabbro – Piano

Pianist Renato Fabbro received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rice University as a Bass Family Fellowship recipient. His principal teachers were Larry Graham, Angela Cheng and John Perry. Dr. Fabbro has performed at the Aspen, Sarasota, Boulder Bach, Astoria and Colorado Mozart Festivals. He has performed chamber music recitals with acclaimed violinist Frank Huang and Northwestern University clarinet professor Steven Cohen. As part of the Martingale Ensemble, he recorded music of Claude Debussy and Gustav Mahler with members of the Oregon Symphony for the MSR Classics label. He has judged many competitions, including the MTNA National Finals, Russian Chamber Music Foundation of Seattle, Canada West Performing Arts Festival, NSA International, Silver State, Musicians West, Chopin Northwest, Vancouver Kiwanis, Northern Nevada Steinway Festival, Seattle International Piano Festival, Washington Outstanding Artist, Spokane, Musicfest Northwest, Seattle Steinway, Portland Young Pianists, MTNA Northwest and Southwest Division, and Texas Music Teachers Association State Performance Competitions. He was a piano professor at the University of Portland and served on the faculty at Marylhurst University and at the University of Texas at San Antonio Summer Music Institute. He was invited to give master classes for the Boise Tuesday Musicale, GEMS Piano Competition, Musicfest Northwest, Bellingham Music Teachers Association, North Idaho Music Teachers Association and the Nevada School of the Arts as part of their master class series.

Kevin Lefohn – Upper Strings

Kevin A. Lefohn maintains an interna onal career as a violinist, recital soloist, chamber musician, conductor, and pedagogue. He has received widespread acclaim for his chamber music collabora ons and recital performances, with concerts, masterclasses, and workshops presented throughout Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and Southeast Asia. He currently holds a faculty posi on at Pacific University and Ar st-in-Residence appointments at both the Cremona Interna onal Music Academy and Fes val (Italy) and the Vancouver Island Music Academy (Canada). He is a Na onal Recording Ar st for Radio New Zealand Concert and regularly appears on broadcasts for All Classical Portland. Lefohn studied with Dorothy DeLay, Piotr Milewski, and Kurt Sassmannshaus at the University of Cincinna – College-Conservatory of Music, with Kathryn Lucktenberg at the University of Oregon, and with members of the Emerson and Tokyo String Quartets.

Steven Capaldo – Band

Dr. Steven Capaldo is currently an Associate Professor of Music Education & Conducting, the Wind Symphony and Concert Band Conductor, Graduate Advisor, and Head of Music Education and Graduate Wind Conducting at the University of Victoria. Dr. Capaldo has previously held conducting positions at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and UNSW Australia.

Distinguishing himself as one of the most respected music educators, wind conductors, and conductor educators in Australia and Canada, he has earned academic and musical recognition locally, nationally, and internationally. Dr. Capaldo has won many teaching awards throughout his career, including the 2018 UOW Teaching and Learning Award and the 2023 UVic Faculty of Fine Arts Teaching Excellence Award.

Jason Caslor – Band

Born and raised in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada, Jason Caslor is currently an associate professor of music and the director of bands at Arizona State University (ASU). In addition to directing the wind ensemble, he also mentors graduate conducting students and teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting courses. Recent highlights include the ASU Wind Ensemble’s commercial recordings of Kevin Day’s Concerto for Wind Ensemble and Nicole Piunno’s Sunflower Studies, being a recipient of the Canadian Band Association’s 2022 International Band Award, presenting at the 2024 WASBE Conference (Gwangju, South Korea) and the 2024 Midwest Clinic, and guest conducting the United States Army Field Band.

Jonathan Love – Speech Arts

Jonathan Love is an artist, community arts ambassador, and Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Jubilee Auditoria Society. A former host, producer, and featured arts columnist with CBC Calgary and other outlets, his voice is familiar to audiences across local and national media. He has voiced, directed, and produced videos, commercials, and animation, and performs regularly with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and Honens. On screen, he has worked with Oscar-winners Ang Lee, Kevin Costner, Andy Garcia and Common among other talented cast and crew. A professor of Public Speaking at Mount Royal University, he has media-coached senior leaders, and facilitated management courses as far away as Doha, Qatar. He is also a founding member of Calgary’s comic a cappella group The Heebee-jeebees, now in their 32nd year. He is co-founder of a very successful marriage to SAIT’s Well Being Lead, Kate Love. They have co-produced two amazing children who have already exceeded their high expectations of them. He is truly delighted to return to his ‘home stage’ at the Calgary Performing Arts Festival.

Emma Rush – Guitar

Emma Rush is “widely regarded as one of Canada’s premier classical guitarists” (Vivascene Magazine) and her career has commanded world recognition. Touring highlights include the Altamira Shanghai International Guitar Festival (China), Festival de Guitarras Lagos de Moreno (Mexico), and Future Echoes Festival (Sweden), and performing on a cross-country train trip aboard The Canadian. In 2025-26 Rush will perform throughout Canada with appearances in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, and international performances will include the Iserlohn International Guitar Symposium in Germany and a U.K. tour. “Emma Rush has crafted a sound that transcends generations and speaks directly to the heart and soul.” (Too Much Love Magazine)

Eva Lakirovich – Lower Strings

Eva Lakirovich is a dynamic cellist who maintains an active performance career and is equally dedicated to teaching the next generation of musicians. She began her cello studies at the age of six with her mother, cellist and professor Julie Ribchinsky, igniting a lifelong passion for music. She earned her Bachelor of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Master of Music from Carnegie Mellon University. Her principal teachers include Richard Weiss, Anne Martindale Williams, Dr. Katie Schlaikjer, and Dr. Kangho Lee—each playing a vital role in shaping her artistic development and musical voice. Specializing in chamber music and recital performance, Eva appears regularly in concerts throughout the year. A central part of her musical life is her faculty role at the Vancouver Island Music Academy, where she teaches and performs in recital with colleagues. These performances, held during the summer festival and year round, support scholarships for VIMA students and reflect her deep commitment to education and community engagement. Eva has also served on the faculty of the Cremona International Music Academy, where she performed and mentored young musicians from around the world.

David Pope – Orchestra

David Pope serves as a Professor of Music Education at Baldwin Wallace University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts. In addition, he is also a senior conductor and camp director for the Baldwin Wallace University String Orchestra Camp and serves as a string clinician for Alfred Music. As an active adjudicator and clinician, he has conducted numerous all-state orchestras, regional honor orchestras, and served as a guest clinician for orchestra programs, university summer camps, and university music education programs across the United States. Prior to Baldwin Wallace, Dr. Pope taught middle and high school orchestra in Tennessee, Florida, and Ohio. He also conducted the Camerata Orchestra at Case Western Reserve University, taught graduate string pedagogy courses at the VanderCook College of Music, and served as a conductor for the Sarasota (FL) and Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra programs. He also worked at Spoleto Festival USA and the Aspen Music Festival. Dr. Pope received his bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. in music education from Florida State University and master’s degree from the University of South Carolina.

Donna Fletcher – Musical Theatre

Donna Fletcher is an accomplished actor, singer, and concert performer with a wide range of national experience. Proud of her prairie roots, Donna received her early training in Winnipeg and earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Manitoba, a diploma in Music Theatre from The Banff Centre for the Arts, and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from The University of Toronto. Donna is a celebrated teacher & professor whose mission is to mentor and lift up her students!

As an actor, Donna has been acclaimed in principle roles from east to west with the Charlottetown Festival, Drayton Festival, Rainbow Stage, Theatre Calgary, Stage West Calgary, the National Arts Centre, Manitoba Opera, MTC, PTE, MTYP, WJT, the Belfry Theatre and Persephone Theatre.

William Drury – Woodwind

William Drury was formerly NEC’s Associate Conductor of Wind Ensembles and directed the NEC Symphonic Winds. Drury is also conductor of the 567th ANG Band of Cape Cod and plays saxophone with the Jimmy Capone Big Band. Drury was named chairman of the Massachusetts Chapter of the College Band Directors National Association in 2002.

As a conductor, Drury has premiered works by composers such as Bell, Pinkham, Fletcher, Popkin, and Zorn; conducted orchestras at Harvard, Brown, and Brandeis universities and numerous Air Force bands throughout the nation; and has previously been MIT’s Assistant Conductor of Orchestras, conductor of the Boston Conservatory’s Wind Ensemble, assistant conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Boston, and conductor of the Auros Chamber Orchestra. As a jazz saxophonist, Drury has performed with Natalie Cole, the Coasters, Dave Stewart and MFB, and played lead tenor sax with the Bob Curnow Big Band. Before entering undergraduate studies, he worked for five years as a track laborer for the Burlington Northern Railroad.