Dr. Fraser Linklater (en français)
Music Director and Conductor, 2006

Fraser Linklater is presently an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba, where he directs the Wind Ensemble and Chamber Winds and teaches courses in music education and conducting. A native of Winnipeg, Dr. Linklater holds a Master’s degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas and a Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Michigan. He has published articles in the Journal of Research in Music Education, the Music Educators Journal, and the Canadian Music Educator. He has also presented at national music education conferences.

A trumpet player, Dr. Linklater has performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Genève (Switzerland), and the Ron Paley Big Band, as well as being a founding member of the Winnipeg Brass Quintet. His trumpet teachers have included Vincent Cichowicz, Armando Ghitalla, and Edward Tarr. Dr. Linklater has studied wind conducting in numerous workshops with clinicians such as Frank Battisti, Eugene Corporon, Craig Kirchhoff, Allan McMurray, Larry Rachleff, and Mallory Thompson, as well as with H. Robert Reynolds at the University of Michigan. Dr. Linklater has guest conducted and adjudicated at various festivals and music camps across Canada as well as the United States.

A co-director of the Canadian Wind Conductors Development Program, Dr. Linklater is also Vice-President of the Manitoba Band Association and coordinates all three levels of honour bands for the MBA. In October 2002, he received the MBA Award of Distinction for his services to music education in Manitoba. Dr. Linklater is an assistant editor of Canadian Winds, the national journal of the Canadian Band Association, and is very excited to be the guest conductor of the 2006 National Youth Band of Canada.

Marvin Eckroth (en français)
Music Director and Conductor, 2005

Marvin Eckroth (Professor Emeritus, University of Saskatchewan) has taught instrumental and choral music in the United States and Canada including Millikin University, Edmonton Public Schools, and the University of Alberta. He recently retired from the University of Saskatchewan where he was Professor of Music and Director of the University Wind Orchestra. Under his direction this ensemble established an international reputation, performed in some 60 communities in Western Canada and on a number of occasions was featured on CBC Radio.

Professor Eckroth remains an active, conductor, adjudicator and clinician and has served as such in many parts of Canada and the US and has presented clinics and master classes in such diverse settings as the Rotterdam Conservatory, the Universities of Manitoba, Calgary, Brandon and Acadia University. In 1989 and 1997 he conducted the U of S Wind Orchestra at the World Association of Symphonic Bands Conference in The Netherlands and in Schladming Austria and in 1993 he conducted the Pacific Basin Honour Band in Honolulu, Hawaii.

His performance background includes numerous CBC broadcasts and as leader of the Saskatoon Saxophone Quartet, performances at World Saxophone Congresses in Germany, Washington DC and Montreal and at the US Navy International Saxophone Symposium in Fairfax, Virginia. His saxophone activities were the subject of a 1995 cover story in the Saxophone Journal which recently published his master class CD and article dealing with saxophone tone production. Professor Eckroth’s articles on wind instrument topics have been published in various U.S. and Canadian publications.

Marvin Eckroth is a four-time recipient of the Dwaine Nelson Memorial Teaching Award presented by the Association of Student Musicians at the University of Saskatchewan. He has received Distinguished Band Director Awards from both the Saskatchewan and Canadian Band Associations and in 2001 was presented the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award.

Dr. Denise Grant (en français)
Music Director and Conductor, 2004

Denise Grant conducts the Wind Ensemble and teaches courses in conducting and music education at the University of Toronto, where she has earned a reputation for her innovative programming and sensitive interpretation of a wide variety of works. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota where she studies conducting with Craig Kirchhoff.  Dr. Grant was formerly director of bands at the University of Regina and was an instrumental music teacher with the Halifax (NS) Regional School Board for eight years. She is a strong advocate for music education is active as a guest conductor and adjudicator across Canada.

Dr. Grant is founding editor of Canadian Winds, the journal of the Canadian Band Association. As a saxophonist, Dr. Grant has performed a wide body of music ranging from chamber to jazz. She is a former member of the Scotia Winds Saxophone Quartet, performing regularly in the Maritimes and garnering praise for their interpretations of diverse works. She currently plays with the University of Toronto Faculty Saxophone Quartet with Paul Read, Alex Dean, and Rob Carli.

Denise Grant dirige l’Ensemble à vent et est chargée de classes de direction d’orchestre et d’éducation musicale à l’Université de Toronto où elle est réputée pour ses choix musicaux novateurs ainsi que ses interprétations sensibles d’un répertoire vaste et eclectique. Elle détient un Doctorat (Ph. D.) de l’Université du Minnesota où elle a étudié la direction d’orchestre avec Graig Kirchhoff. Par le passé, Madame Grant a été directrice des harmonies à l’Université de Régina de même que professeur d’instrument à la Commission scolaire régionale d’Halifax (Nouvelle-Écosse) pendant huit ans. Porte-parole vigoureux de l’éducation musicale, elle est très en demande à travers le Canada comme chef invité et membre de jurys.

Madame Grant est co-rédactrice-en-chef et fondatrice de Vents Canadiens, revue de l’Association canadienne des harmonies. Saxophoniste de formation, elle a également touché à un vaste répertoire allant de la musique de chambre au jazz. Elle a été membre du Scotia Winds Saxophone Quartet, fréquemment entendu dans les Maritimes, se méritant de nombreux éloges pour ses interprétations de diverses œuvres. Denise Grant est présentement membre du Quatuor de saxophones de l’Université de Toronto avec Paul Read, Alex Dean et Rob Carli.
 

Alain Cazes (english version)
Music Director and Conductor, 2003

Premier Prix (1978) du Conservatoire de musique de Montréal en tuba et musique de chambre, Alain Cazes a poursuivi ses études aux États-Unis avec Joseph Novotny, Donald Harry et Ronald Bishop.

Il a été tuba solo à l’orchestre de l’état de Paraïba au Brésil, membre du quintette de cuivres “Brass-IL” et professeur à l’Université fédérale de Paraïba (UFPB). Il a enseigné à l’Université du Québec à Montréal, au Conservatoire de musique de Montréal et à l’Université de Montréal, où il a dirigé les orchestres d’instruments à vent, été responsable du secteur “cuivres” et enseigné le tuba, la musique de chambre et la direction. Soliste à plusieurs occasions, il a exécuté les “premières” radiophoniques de plusieurs oeuvres canadiennes pour tuba, et donne aussi des conférences se rapportant autant à la direction d’orchestre qu’aux cuivres. Il a de plus été membre du Summit Brass Council au Colorado.

Tuba solo de l’Orchestre Métropolitain, il a joué avec l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal et d’autres formations instrumentales dans le monde, sous la direction de chefs tels que; Mehta, Dutoit, Decker, Baudo, Foster, Kmura, Muller, Toppilow, Grossmann, Veltri et plusieurs autres. .

Membre fondateur de la Philharmonie des vents du Québec, Alain Cazes est professeur à l’Universiré McGill où il dirige l’Orchestre d’Instruments à Vent, enseigne la direction et la musique de chambre. Il est également l’auteur de plusieurs arrangements pour divers ensembles instrumentaux, tels que trios, quatuors et quintettes de cuivres, dont certains sont publiés aux éditions Eaman Music. Il a aussi réalisé un grand nombre d’arrangements pour Orchestre à vent et choeur mixte. Il est de plus vice-président de CIME (Centre International de Musique Évangélique).
 

Awarded first prize in tuba and chamber music at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal (1978), Alain Cazes pursued his studies in the United States with Joseph Novotny, Donald Harry and Ronald Bishop.

In Brazil, he was solo tuba with the Paraïba State Orchestra, member of the Brass-IL Quintet and professor at the Federal University of Paraïba (UFPB).  He taught at the Université du Québec in Montreal, the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal and the Université de Montréal, where he was in charge of  wind orchestras, brass department, teaching tuba, chamber music and conducting. A frequent soloist, he has performed the radio "premiers" of several Canadian works for tuba and also lectures on orchestra conducting and brass instruments. Alain Cazes was also a member of the Summit Brass Council in Colorado.

Now solo tuba with the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal, he has performed with the Montreal Symphony and other orchestras in the world under the direction of conductors such as; Mehta, Dutoit, Decker, Baudo, Foster, Kmura, Muller, Toppilow, Grossmann, Veltri and many others.

Alain Cazes, a founding member of the Philharmonie des vents du Québec, is a full time Professor at McGill University where he conducts the Wind Symphony and teaches Conducting and Chamber Music. He has written numerous arrangements for a variety of instrumental ensembles, including brass trios, quartets and quintets. Some of those arrangements have been published by Eaman Music.  He has also written numerous arrangements for wind orchestra and mixed choir. He is also Vice-President of CIME (Centre International de Musique Évangélique).

Tania Miller (en français)
Music Director and Conductor, 2002

Tania Miller has emerged as one of Canada’s rising young conductors to watch. Ms. Miller is in her second season as the Assistant Conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. She conducts many concerts with the Vancouver Symphony this season including concerts in the Masterworks Gold, Symphony Pops, Tea and Trumpets, Kids’ Koncerts, North Vancouver Centennial and New Westminster Royal Series. She is also actively involved in working with the musical youth of Greater Vancouver in collaboration with the Vancouver Symphony including the University of British Columbia Symphony Orchestra, the North Vancouver Honour Orchestra and Wind Orchestra, and various elementary school choirs in the area. She is the conductor of the Toronto contemporary ensemble ERGO, recently premiering a number of new compositions in Munich and Toronto. She will join ERGO in residency at Columbia University in New York for future concerts this spring.

Ms. Miller is the Assistant Conductor of the Carmel Bach Festival in Carmel, California. Equally at home with opera, Ms. Miller was Artistic Director and Founder of Michigan Opera Works in Ann Arbor, Michigan from 1997-2000 with productions of Handel’s Semele, Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte. She was conductor of Detroit’s Friends of Opera production of Puccini’s La Boheme. She conducted the Opera McGill’s productions of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann in Montreal in 1999 and 2000 and was guest conductor of the McGill Symphony Orchestra in 1998. Ms. Miller is a guest conductor with the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra this season, the University of British Columbia Symphony Orchestra and Music Director for the 2002 National Youth Band of Canada. Miller’s guest conducting has taken her to work with various orchestras across Canada and the United States.

Tania Miller a émergé comme une des jeunes chef d’orchestre du Canada à observer. Madame Miller est dans sa deuxième année d’assistante chef d’orchestre de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Vancouver. Cette saison, elle a orchestré plusieurs concerts avec la Symphonie de Vancouver incluant des concerts au Masterworks Gold, Symphony Pops, Tea and Trumpets, Kids’ Koncerts, North Vancouver Centennial et New Westminster Royal Series. Elle est aussi activement impliquée à travailler avec les jeunes musiciens du Greater Vancouver en collaboration avec la Symphonie de Vancouver incluant l’Orchestre Symphonique de l’Université de Colombie Britannique, le North Vancouver Honour Orchestra and Wind Orchestra, et diverses chorales d’école élémentaire de la région. Elle est chef d’orchestre de l’ensemble contemporain de Toronto (ERGO), elle a récemment introduit de nouvelles compositions à Munich et Toronto. Ce printemps, elle rejoindra en permanence ERGO à l’université Columbia de New York pour des concerts futurs.

Madame Miller est assistante chef d’orchestre du Carmel Bach Festival à Carmel, Californie. Également à domicile avec des opéras, madame Miller était directrice artistique et fondatrice du Michigan Opera Works à Ann Arbor, Michigan de 1997 à 2000 interprétant les oeuvres de Handel Semele, Britten The Rape of Lucretia, Purcell Dido and Aeneas et Mozart Cosi fan Tutte. Elle a dirigé le Detroit’s Friends of Opera orchestrant l’œuvre de Puccini La Boheme, l’Opéra McGill interprétant les œuvres de Mozart Le Nozze di Figaro et Offenbach Les Contes d’Hoffman à Montréal en 1999 et 2000. Elle était chef d’orchestre invitée de l’Orchestre Symphonique de McGill en 1998. Cette saison, madame Miller est chef invitée du Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre Symphonique de l’Université de Colombie-Britannique et directrice musicale pour l’Harmonie Nationale des Jeunes du Canada de 2002. En tant que chef d’orchestre invitée cela lui a permis de travailler à travers le Canada et les États Unis.
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Dr. Gillian Mackay
Music Director and Conductor, 2001

Dr. Gillian MacKay is a native of Prince Edward Island, and was raised in Lethbridge, Alberta. Gillian enjoys a busy career as both a trumpeter and a conductor.

Gillian’s musical training took her throughout Canada and into the United States. She holds music degrees from the University of Lethbridge, McGill University, and a Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University. In the summers of her university years Gillian served as a member of the Ceremonial Guard Band on Parliament Hill and attended summer brass programs at the Banff School of Fine Arts. She also received a diploma in Fine Arts from the University of Calgary’s summer Wind Conducting program.

Currently, Dr. MacKay is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Windsor School of Music, where she also serves as Performance Area Chair. At the university Gillian teaches Trumpet, conducts the Wind Ensemble, and teaches Brass Techniques and Conducting. She is also Music Director for the University Players’ music theatre production each year. In the community, Gillian serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Windsor Community Orchestra. As a trumpeter, Gillian enjoys a busy career as a recitalist and orchestral player. She plays as a section trumpeter with the Windsor Symphony, and makes regular appearances as a solo trumpeter on the University of Windsor Soundsation Recital series. In addition, she maintains a busy schedule of adjudication and guest conducting throughout Canada.

Dr. Glenn D. Price (en français)
Music Director and Conductor, 2000

Dr. Glenn D. Price has become recognized as one of the leading conductors of his generation. The performances from tours, recordings and broadcasts of his ensembles from Calgary such as the University of Calgary Wind Ensemble, Calgary Youth Orchestra and Calgary Wind Orchestra have received tremendous critical acclaim.

The University of Calgary Wind Ensemble is particularly notable for its accomplishments. In addition to its four CD recordings on the Unical and Arktos labels, this ensemble has been invited by the CBC to record for broadcast performances of notable premiers. The U of C Wind Ensemble has appeared regularly as guest performers at major festivals including the opening and closing ceremonies of the Esther Honens International Piano Competition as well as the major national music festivals in Canada and the biennial Conferences of CBDNA and WASBE.

Dr. Price is a very active conductor on the international scene as well, having conducted professional and student orchestras and wind ensembles throughout North America as well as in Europe, England, Israel and Japan.

As a percussionist, he has performed with the Calgary Philharmonic, New Works Calgary, Canadian Opera Company, National Ballet, Eastman-Dryden Orchestra, Alberta Theatre Projects and Alberta Ballet, as well as appearing as a soloist and recitalist. His performances have been heard on radio, television, recordings and film.

Following Master's and Doctoral degrees at the Eastman School of Music, Dr. Price completed post-doctoral studies in conducting at the Toho School of Music in Japan and at the Tanglewood Music Centre in Massachusetts as well as in Europe and Russia. He is the Director of the Graduate Diploma Program in Wind Conducting and Professor of conducting and percussion at the University of Calgary.

Le docteur Glenn D. Price est reconnu comme l'un des leaders de chef d'harmonie marquant sa génération. Les performances de son ensemble lors de voyages, d'enregistrements et aux réseaux de diffusion de Calgary tel à l'University of Calgary Wind Ensemble, Calgary Youth Orchestra et Calgary Wind Orchestra ont été remarquablement salué par les critiques.

Dr. Gerald King
Music Director and Conductor, 1999

"Conductors must be humanist-leaders who guide each individual and ensemble

to reach their own best potential"

Dr. King grew up in Burnaby, British Columbia where he began his music studies (Clarinet) in the fourth grade. His formal education took him to Universities in British Columbia, Washington and Utah where he earned Bachelor of Music (Clarinet), Master of Music (Conducting), and Doctor of Education (Leadership) degrees respectfully.

Dr. King is an Associate Professor of Music and Music Education at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. His responsibilities include conducting the University of Victoria Wind Symphony, teaching undergraduate and graduate conducting, and pedagogy courses in secondary music education. Prior to assuming his position at the University of Victoria, Dr. King spent 12 years teaching in the public schools of British Columbia where his instrumental and choral ensembles gained national and international acclaim. Dr. King has earned a reputation as an outstanding conductor, adjudicator and educator through numerous guest appearances and with his work with the greater Victoria Concert Band, the Pacific Wind Ensemble, the Fraser Valley Symphony Orchestra and as Conductor of the University of Victoria Wind Symphony, a position which he has held for the past 10 years. His ensembles have performed at Provincial, National and International conferences and festivals and have received many invitations to represent Canada in the United States and Europe.

Dr. King is in constant demand as a conductor, adjudicator and clinician. His conducting appearances with Regional, Provincial, All-State, and International Honour Ensembles in Canada, the United States and Japan have been praised for performance quality, artistry and creativity.

Dr. King has been on the faculty of numerous music schools including the American Band College in Oregon, the International Summer School of Fine Arts music Camp in North Dakota and the Summer School of Music, Art and Dance in the Yukon which he co-founded in 1985. He is also the Western Canada Chair for the International Clarinet Association, a position he has held since 1986. Dr. King has been the Coordinator/Chair for the International Clarinet Association "worldwide" High School Clarinetist Competition in 1994, 1997, 1998 and 1999. As a Clarinetist, Dr. King has performed with a wide variety of ensembles including the Vancouver Opera Association and the La Scala Opera Company of Milan.

Dr. King is a published author and has recorded for the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). He has the honour of being a made a member of the Order of the Phoenix by the Western International Band Clinic where he was invited to make four separate conducting appearances with different ensembles. Dr. King is a post-secondary representative on the executive of the British Columbia Music Educators' Association and an Artist/Conductor for Boosey and Hawkes. Under his direction the University of Victoria Wind Symphony released their first CD, Reflections, in the fall of 1997 and will soon release their second compact disc recording. Dr. King is proud to be appointed as the Music Director/Conductor of the 1999 National Youth Band of Canada.

Bobby Herriot
Music Director and Conductor, 1998

"The 1998 National Youth Band of Canada was definitely one of the highlights of my career.  These young musicians came to Vancouver to work and to put on a good show and in my opinion they achieved that goal.  The talent that was made available to me was nothing short of phenomenal and the zeal with which they grasped the challenge was most rewarding.  I would like to thank all those in the Canadian Band Association who awarded me this rare opportunity and privilege. They were an exceptionally talented group of young musicians and they gave me a renewed faith that bands will remain a strong, influential musical force in Canada and in the rest of the world."

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Bobby started his musical career with the Newtongrange Silver Band, the Dalkeith Burgh Band and the City of Edinburgh. He received his formal musical education at The Royal Military School of Music (Kneller Hall), Royal College of Music and Royal Academy of Music and served in the Regimental Bands of The Royal Dragoons and Royal Horse Guards. Bobby performed as an instrumentalist for films, BBC radio and television and in many of London's famous theatres and recording studios.

In 1957, Bobby joined the Royal Canadian Air Force where he served in Edmonton's Tactical Air Command Band and in the RCAF's Ottawa based Central Band. In 1960 he was transferred to the NORAD Band in Colorado Springs, a world famous musical organization made up of musicians from the RCAF and the United States Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. After serving with NORAD for 5 ½ years Bobby completed his regular force military service at the Canadian Forces School of Music in Esquimalt, B.C.

Re-locating to Vancouver in 1966 Bobby performed as a percussionist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and for 5 years lectured at the University of British Columbia's School of Music. Always in great demand as a conductor, adjudicator, clinician and music arranger, and as a renowned trumpet soloist, Bobby continued his highly successful musical career throughout Canada and The United States.

After moving to Toronto in the early 1970s, Bobby performed with Howard Cable, Rob McConnell, Guido Basso, Dave Woods and many other great bandleaders. During this period he formed and led his own extremely popular dance band. For one year he acted as the University of Toronto's concert band leader and for many years was Director of Music for the 7th Toronto Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery Band. Bobby recently retired from the Canadian Army Reserve in the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

Currently, Bobby is President of the Toronto Musicians' Association and conductor of the Greater Toronto Area Teachers' Wind Ensemble. He is in high demand as an adjudicator, clinician and conductor and remains active in all facets of the Music Industry. Bobby serves as a board member and advisor to numerous Canadian and International performing arts agencies and is the recipient of many national and international awards recognizing his significant contributions to music, to music education and to the business of music.

It is a great privilege and honour to have Bobby Herriot serve as the Music Director and Conductor of the Canadian Band Association's 1998 National Youth Band of Canada.

Stephane Laforest
Music Director and Conductor, 1997

"C'est avec beaucoup de fierté que j'ai accepté de diriger l'Harmonie Nationale des Jeunes du Canada 1997. Quelle belle expérience pour les jeunes, d'avoir eu la possibilité de côtoyer les meilleurs musiciens d'harmonies du Canada, réunis pendant deux semaines, dans le but d'interpréter un répertoire très exigeant, devant des publics de connaisseurs, aux festivals des Harmonies du Québec à Sherbrooke, et au Musicfest Canada, à Ottawa. Le très haut niveau musical atteint démontre, sans aucun doute, la raison d'être de cette formation très bien structurée. Ce fut un moment important dans ma carrière de chef d'orchestre, et un moment déterminant dans la jeune carrière de ces musiciens remplis de potentiel."

Stephan Laforest has directed the Mount Royal Symphonic Orchestra, the Laval Chamber Orchestra and Symphonic Orchestra, the Monteregie Symphonic Orchestra, the Windsor Symphony, Quebec Symphonic Orchestra and is the resident conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphonic Orchestra. "The 1997 NYB provided each of us with a tremendous musical experience and a challenging opportunity to perform at the 68th Festival Des Harmonies Du Quebec in Sherbrooke, and at MusicFest '97 in Hull," states Laforest. "The dedication that each of (the members) has demonstrated is a testament to their superb musicianship and to their strong desire for excellence."

James Hargreaves
Music Director and Conductor, 1996

"The National Youth Band of Canada is a wonderfully unique organization. Once a year it provides an opportunity for the very best of our young musicians from all parts of Canada to come together for a week of intensive music making and hopefully some time for socializing."

Professor James Hargreaves of Saint Francis Xavier University conducted the 1996 National Youth Band. "My experience with the National Youth Band of Canada was one of wonderment and joy. The enthusiasm of the performers was contagious;their dedication to excellence was unfaltering;their sense of purpose was unparalleled in my experience and through it all was the sheer joy of music making of the highest level. For me it was an exciting and wonderful experience which I will forever cherish. I am honoured to have been a part of such a superb musical organization."

Andre Jutras

Music Director and Conductor, 1995

Bramwell Tovey
Music Director and Conductor, 1994

"The National Youth Band of Canada provides a unique opportunity for the young people from all over Canada to write under the banner of excellence in music making. The dedication of the staff is extraordinary and the esprit de corps built up between the students and this conductor remains a career highlight for me. Anyone interested in a professional career in music or just at a very high standard should not miss the National Youth Band of Canada."

Maestro Bramwell Tovey is the Artistic Director and Conductor, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Dr. Dennis Prime
Music Director and Conductor, 1991

"This opportunity will provide a chance to get to know other dedicated and hard-working musicians, to exchange musical and personal ideas, to give 150% and know there is more to give--isn't that what being a musician is all about?! The reappearance of this ensemble is critical to the growth of the band movement in Canada. It is our role as educators to maintain the highest goals of education through performance...What better way to showcase this than through the hearts and minds of our students."

Martin Boundy
Music Director and Conductor, 1978