2025 Clinician Bios
Choral Festival (April 30 - May 3)
Elroy Friesen
Elroy Friesen is Director of Choral Studies at the University of Manitoba, where he conducts multiple choirs and teaches graduate conducting. His award-winning ensembles have toured extensively, garnered national and international acclaim and been featured on CBC Radio.
Friesen enjoys fostering artistic collaborations, partnering with organizations such as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Canadian College of Organists and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. He is the newly-appointed Artistic Director of Canzona and the formed Artistic Director and Founder of Prairie Voices, a renowned Winnipeg-based youth choir.
A dedicated educator, Friesen has served as a clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor across North America and Northern Europe. He holds degrees from the University of Manitoba and the University of Illinois and is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and grants.
Read Elroy Friesen’s full bio here
Jazz Festival (May 4)
Bill Brennan
Bill Brennan’s expertise as a pianist, percussionist, composer and producer can be heard on some 140 albums to date. His most recent album Kaleidoscope – Music for Mallet Instruments won the 2023 MusicNL Classical Artist of the Year award. His recording with Andrea Kozioil I’ll Be Seeing You garnered the 2019 MusicNL Jazz and Blues Award.
Over the past four decades, Brennan has been involved with some of the best-known organizations in Canadian culture including the National Ballet, New Music Concerts, Evergreen Contemporary Gamelan and the Canadian Opera Company. He was musical director of CBC’s beloved Vinyl Café and a documentary composer for The Nature of Things. He has performed on film soundtracks including The Ice Storm (directed by Ang Lee) and Antwone Fisher (directed by Denzel Washington).
Internationally, his work has been formally recognized through the awarding of a number of prestigious awards and commissions, including the Freddie Stone Memorial Award. Always in demand as a folk and jazz pianist, Brennan performs regularly with his own projects. He has performed across North America, Indonesia, Austria, Germany, France, Japan, Norway, the Czech Republic, England, Portugal and Switzerland. In demand as a music director as well as a performer, Brennan currently leads the Jazz East Big Band in St. John’s.
Patrick Boyle
Band/Symphonic Festival (May 5 - 8)
Jacqueline Dawson
Dr. Jacqueline Dawson is in demand as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator across Canada and the United States, appearing at numerous festival, honour bands and music conferences coast to coast. Engagements have included the Ontario Provincial Honour Band, Minnesota All-State Band, MusicFest Canada, the Alberta Band Association Wind Symphony, the Maritime Youth Wind Ensemble, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra New Music Festival, the International Music Camp and numerous provincial, regional and divisional honour bands in Canada and the United States. Jacquie has engaged in conducting and teaching residencies with the Royal Canadian Airforce Band and various school districts. She was awarded the 2003 University of Manitoba School of Music Excellence in Music Education Award, the 2013 University of Manitoba Teacher Recognition Award, the 2015 Manitoba Band Association Award of Distinction and the 2024 University of Manitoba Community Engagement Award.
Dr. Dawson is currently an Associate Professor and the Director of Bands at the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music where she conducts the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble, teacher courses in music education and oversees the graduate wind conducting program. Prior to her appointment at the University of Manitoba, Jacquie taught in the public school system for twenty years and served as a sessional instructor at the University of Manitoba. She served on the board of directors of the Manitoba Band Association from 1999 – 2005 and remains active with numerous MBA projects. Jacquie was the Artistic Director of the Winnipeg Wind Ensemble from 2009 – 2020, helped establish the Winnipeg Youth Wind Ensemble and is the founder of the newly formed Winnipeg Chamber Winds Collective. She continues to spend as much time as possible with young students and band programs as a strong advocate for music education. Jacquie received undergraduate degrees in music and music education from Memorial University of Newfoundland and holds a masters degree in conducing from the University of Manitoba. She completed a Doctor of Music Arts degree in conducting from the University of Kansas under the tutelage of Dr. Paul Popiel.
Read Jacquie Dawson’s full bio here
Lindy Whitt
Lindy graduated from Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri in May 1984 with a Bachelor of Music Education. After graduating, he returned to Newfoundland and started his teaching career. He spent 23 of his 30 teaching years in Lewisporte, NL, where he developed a vibrant instrumental music program at Lewisporte Intermediate and Lewisporte Collegiate. His music program developed a reputation as one of the top programs in central Newfoundland. Lindy’s concert bands, jazz bands and choirs have received numerous awards throughout his teaching career. His bands have travelled to St. John’s many times during his teaching career to participate in the Rotary Music Festival and Lindy feels very honoured to be invited to adjudicate the concert band festival this year.
Since retiring in June 2015, Lindy continues to be actively involved in the music community of Grand Falls-Windsor where he continues to share his passion for music education and performance. He maintains a small piano studio and is the lead director for the Grand Falls-Windsor Concert Band. The GFW Concert Band is a community ensemble open to all levels of musicians who have a love of music and a passion for performing. Lindy also enjoys working with choral ensembles as was the artistic director for the Off The Cuff Community Chorus for the past 5 years.
Lindy is married to his wife Gail and they enjoy traveling together, walking and hiking with their giant schnauzer, Jazz. Lindy and Gail also enjoy singing in a gospel trio and share their talents within the community and surrounding area. They have four children and have seven beautiful grandchildren and enjoy spending quality time together.
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