OUR SMALL BUT MIGHTY TEAM

ARE A GROUP OF PEOPLE DEDICATED TO INSPIRING ASPIRING PERFORMING ARTISTS.

MIKE JEWITT

Executive Director

Mike comes to the Festival with a strong background, organizational experiences and exceptional results in music and leadership in profit and non-profit organizations. He has served as the Executive Director for Calgary Round-Up Band, Calgary Stetson Show Band, multiple roles at Calgary Stampede and most recently comes to us after time with Three Hills School Division as a music educator. He has volunteered with World Association of Marching Show Bands, Alberta International Band Festivals, and is a member of Phi Beta Mu.

Mike holds degrees in music from the University of Calgary and education from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane Australia. Mike has a strong commitment to music, a true appreciation for the Arts, and was a participant in music festivals as a child in choral, band, and Saxophone.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Weston Jacques

President

Weston Jacques, MAPC, is a communications and marketing leader who partners with executives, staff, and stakeholders to share their vision, grow their brands, tell their stories and inspire connection. With over ten years of experience in both non-profit and corporate environments, focusing on the arts, science, health and technology, he designs strategies to drive audience engagement and campaigns to inspire stakeholders and branding to leave an impression. As a master of both traditional and digital marketing and communications, he helps organizations and businesses design effective plans to solve problems, connect to stakeholders, foster relationships and influence change. Weston grew up performing at the Calgary Performing Arts Festival in clarinet performance.

Mathea Mitchell

Director

Mathea Mitchell is a Chartered Professional Accountant who is passionate about the amateur arts community. She is an alumni of the University of Saskatchewan, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce and Masters in Professional Accounting.

Her background brings a unique blend of finance and the arts, as she grew up performing in Lethbridge’s branch of the Performing Arts Festival (formerly Kiwanis Music Festival) in a variety of disciplines, including voice, musical theatre, and piano.

Mathea is excited to get back to her roots and help further grow the Festival!

Sarah Huber

Treasurer

Sarah Huber is a Chartered Professional Accountant and an alumna of Mount Royal University, graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. Sarah also has a graduate certificate in Accounting with Digital Analytics and she currently works in the aviation industry as a Senior Financial Analyst responsible for predicting and mitigiating operating costs. Sarah’s previous experience includes several years of in-depth finanical assurance for many Alberta based Non-Profit entities, so she is no stranger to the nuance of NPO accounting.

Sarah has always been invovled in the performing arts dicipline as she grew up as a competitve dancer and later danced professionally for a few Calgary sports teams. Sarah is thrilled to become more immersed in the Alberta music scene through this role with the Calgary Performing Arts Festival.

Tara Black

Director

Ms. Tara Black has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters of Communications Studies from the University of Calgary. She worked in public relations and communications in the oil industry in Calgary and Houston for 25 years, and most recently served a year as Director of Marketing and Communications at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School. She has passionately served on many volunteer organizations and boards. Tara and her husband, Rick, are proud parents of two daughters, one in university and one in high school, both of whom are very musical and have performed many times at the Calgary Performing Arts Festival.

Bjoern Wolkmann

Director

Originally from Toronto, Mr. Wolkmann graduated from law school in Australia in 2016 after earning a criminology degree. He returned to Toronto, where he initially worked for a corporate, litigation and real estate firm.

Realizing that his passion lay in criminal law, he took an opportunity to move to Lethbridge, Alberta, and practiced exclusively criminal defence law. After a couple of years there, Mr. Wolkmann joined Legal Aid Alberta in Calgary

Mr. Wolkmann has a passion for human rights, and global humanitarian improvements. He comes from a community in diaspora comprised of many refugees. He hopes to make an impact in his community on either a grassroots, national, or international level.

In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, reading, and listening to classical music.

Julie Jacquesc

Director

Julie Jacques has had 50 years of hands-on experience with the Calgary Performing Arts Festival, formerly known as the Kiwanis Music Festival. She competed in the 1970’s and after graduation, embarked on a long career as an accompanist, playing for hundreds of students over the next 5 decades, at the local, provincial and national levels.

Julie is from Sarnia, Ontario and her primary teachers were Gwen Beamish, Willard Schultz and Boris Roubakine. She graduated from the University of Calgary in 1977 with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance (With Distinction) and in 1983 with a Master of Arts (Musicology). As a freelance accompanist, she plays for anything that draws breath or bow. A sympathetic collaborator and coach, Ms. Jacques is known for her versatility and enthusiasm for all musical styles. She has worked extensively with professionals and gifted youth in their preparation for recitals, auditions and competitions. Her vast and varied repertoire includes hundreds of works for all instruments.

From 1988-2007, Julie was affiliated with The Conservatory at Mount Royal University, where she was a collaborative pianist for students in the prestigious Academy for Gifted Youth and was their Coordinator of Accompanying. She also worked in the renowned Morningside Music Bridge Program, both as accompanist and as concert manager. In the summer of 2020, Julie founded The Patio Set, a collection of musicians from the Calgary Wind Symphony. A number of ensembles went out into the community, playing over a dozen concerts in cul-de-sacs, courtyards, parks, and patios, to great enthusiasm. Julie is a passionate communicator with a special gift for connecting the music to the audience with lively anecdotes about the repertoire, the composers and the instruments.

About 20 years ago, Julie took up the French horn, and is pleased to be a member of the Calgary Wind Symphony’s horn section. Between practice sessions Julie can be found outside in her garden coaxing her roses to bloom.