2013 Spring Meeting and Professional Development Day

Posted on April 16, 2013May 1, 2013 by NATS Ontario

Dear NATS Ontario Members,

It’s that time of year again when we are looking forward to our spring meeting and professional development day on Saturday, May 4th. The poster below will give you details of the wonderful opportunities our vice-presidents of projects have arranged for us. We have our annual meeting in the morning, starting bright and early with muffins and coffee at 9:00 a.m and then at 9:30 the meeting begins. You will remember that we now have our annual meeting on the first Saturday of May every year, so I hope you have reserved the date long ago and cancelled your teaching for the day. By the way, our annual Student Auditions take place on the third Saturday of November every year, so go ahead and reserve that day right now: November 16th, 2013.

Following the meeting, as you’ll see, we have two exciting professional development opportunities with Aaron Low, speech and language pathologist and Barbara Young, musical theatre teacher and adjudicator. We are asking all members to forward the poster below to 10 friends, students, teachers, accompanists or coaches who might also enjoy and benefit from these events. The cost to non-members is just $10 for the entire day of professional training from 10:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You can also send interested friends to visit our webpage at www.natsontario.org where all details can also be found.

We are very pleased to once again present music vendors Plangere and Music Plus over the lunch time.

Please PRINT the poster below and post it in your studios, churches, etc. Now get started and make a list of those 10 friends you can invite! One of the best things about NATS is that it’s so easy to recommend it to friends in the profession. The benefits are wonderful and never more so than when we are all together sharing our concerns and ideas and successes and learning together, as we surely will with these exciting workshops prepared for us by Elizabeth McDonald and Alison Moodie.

Click to download the Spring Meeting 2013 NATS poster:

This promises to be a most beneficial and interesting meeting! Do make your plans to join us, and spread the word!

With all best wishes,

Catherine Robbin
President, Ontario Chapter of NATS

2012 Chapter Banquet

Posted on December 22, 2012 by NATS Ontario

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On Friday November 16th I was privileged enough to attend the 2012 NATS Ontario Fall Meeting and Banquet at the Waterloo Inn in Waterloo, Ontario. As a new member of the Ontario chapter I was more than impressed with the professionalism, efficiency, collegial atmosphere and of course the exquisite menu and ambiance of the venue.

This event set up a wonderful social setting for adjudicators and Ontario chapter members to acclimate preceding the November NATS auditions held at Wilfrid Laurier University the next day. Between presentations, muffled debates and energized discussion could be heard throughout the room. Each table became an open “round table” forum for theories of vocal pedagogy, studio development and higher education. Where else can voice professionals network and openly share opinions and experiences within their discipline with like-minded peers.

Unbeknownst to me there are two annual meetings for the Ontario NATS chapter. One is in May and the other in November. These meetings serve to educate members on current chapter events, and work towards establishing a foundation of excellence in service and awareness. Annual meetings provide unique presenters, educational opportunities, and inspirational events. The region included in the Ontario chapter is full of exceptional vocal teachers, coaches, accompanists, educational institutions and talented musicians. I believe that the meetings and events provided through the Ontario NATS chapter are an essential element in enhancing the opportunities and talent of the region.

This was a wonderful experience for me both personally and professionally. I am greatly inspired and enlightened by those in attendance and I look forward to future events. I highly recommend those looking for a way to further contribute, or share personal ideas and methods with their community to attend these meetings and events.
What a wonderful and successful weekend of collaboration and music!

– Amy Waller

Fall Meeting & Banquet 2012

Posted on September 14, 2012September 17, 2012 by NATS Ontario

Our Fall Meeting this year is scheduled for Friday, November 16th, at the Waterloo Inn Conference Hotel.

5:30 Cocktails
6:30 Meeting, Dinner & Guest Speaker John Terauds: “the future…”

Click here to download the poster

Dinner Fee is $50 per person.
To pay for the dinner, click on the Paypal link below:

You can also mail a cheque payable to “NATS Ontario” to:
Linda Condy, Treasurer
NATS Ontario Chapter
220 Waratah Avenue,
Newmarket, ON
L3Y 5J7

2012 Spring Meeting – Photos

Posted on May 22, 2012May 22, 2012 by NATS Ontario

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Photos courtesy of Mei Lee

Thanks to all for a great day at our NATS Ontario Spring meeting!

We were delighted to host Ann Cooper Gay & the Canadian Children’s Opera Company, Susan Ambrose (who presented an overview of the new RCM Voice Syllabus “Resonance”), and Wendy Nielsen.

Stay tuned for updates on our upcoming events:

November 16th, 2012 – Ontario Chapter General Fall Meeting.

November 17th, 2012 – NATS Ontario Student Auditions – Wilfrid Laurier University.

March 2, 2013 – NATS Regional Auditions – Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI.

Ann Cooper Gay at the NATS Ontario Spring Meeting

Posted on April 22, 2012 by NATS Ontario

We are thrilled that Ann Cooper Gay will be speaking at our NATS Ontario Spring Meeting, May 5th, 2012 at the University of Toronto. Click here for full details. Ann will be speaking 10:30am-12:00pm.

Ann Cooper Gay is an accomplished conductor, opera singer, pianist, organist,
and flutist, well known in the artistic community for her extraordinary enthusiasm, energy, and consistently high level of artistic achievement. During her tenure of the Canadian Children’s Opera Company, which began in July 2000, Ms. Cooper Gay has formed a youth chorus; established a drama instruction program for all divisions; produced a CD entitled There and Back Again; commissioned five operas: Laura’s Cow: The Legend of Laura Secord (premiering in June 2012 as part of the Luminato Festival), The Hobbit, A Dickens of a Christmas, Dragon in the Rocks, and The Secret World of Og; and led the CCOC in a recording of Harry Somers’ opera A Midwinter Night’s Dream, nominated for a Juno award in 2007.

Ann has served as conductor of the University of Toronto Women’s Chorus,
Associate Conductor of the Hart House Orchestra, University of Toronto, and
string/orchestra instructor for the Toronto Board of Education. She founded the
Children’s Choir at the Royal Conservatory of Music and the award-winning High Park Choirs of Toronto, and was honoured by the Toronto YWCA as a “Woman of Distinction.” She led the CCOC on European tours in 2001 and 2007. In 2011, 54 young artists (ages nine to 17) won new friends and garnered great
reviews on the tour to Austria and Northern Italy. A musical highpoint was
placing 2nd in the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival (treble
category) resulting in an invitation to sing on the Gala Concert at Vienna’s famed
Musikverein.

Ms. Cooper Gay holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music and Music
Education, as well as a Diploma in Opera Performance. Before becoming
Assistant Professor of Music at Houghton College in New York, she was a
soprano soloist with the Canadian Opera Company, touring throughout North
America as Despina (Così fan tutte), Mimì (La bohème) and Violetta (La traviata). Ann can be heard as Sara Riel on the Centrediscs recording of Harry Somers’ Louis Riel, recorded live at Washington’s Kennedy Center.

Wendy Nielsen at the NATS Ontario Spring Meeting

Posted on April 21, 2012April 21, 2012 by NATS Ontario

We are delighted to have Wendy Nielsen at our NATS Ontario Spring Meeting, May 5th, 2012 at the University of Toronto. Click here for full details. Wendy Nielsen’s Masterclass will run 2-4pm.

New Brunswick soprano Wendy Nielsen enjoys an international career on the operatic and concert stage. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Fiordiligi
in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte in 1996 and has performed numerous roles there in the
ensuing seasons. These include Countess in Marriage of Figaro, Donna Elvira in
Don Giovanni and Micaela in Carmen. She has also performed with many companies across North America including the Canadian Opera Company where she was an apprentice artist, New York City Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Boston Lyric Opera, L’Opera de Montreal, Calgary Opera, Minnesota Opera, and Florida Grand Opera.

With orchestra she has performed world wide from Beijing to St John’s in a variety or repertoire from Mozart to Penderecki with such acclaimed conductors as James Conlon, Kurt Masur, Ivan Fischer, Long Yu, Eiji Oue, Charles Dutoit, and Mario Bernardi.

Her 2010/ 2011 season performances included the title role of Tosca with Manitoba Opera, Vitellia in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito with Vancouver Opera and the title role in Barber’s Vanessa for Pacific Opera Victoria. She also toured the Maritime region giving recitals and master classes.

Ms. Nielsen was Visiting Artist in Voice and Opera at the University of Toronto for the 2011/2012 academic year in addition to her duties as vocal consultant for the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble training program and the Calgary Opera Emerging Artist program. She has also been a guest teacher at the Glenn Gould Studio, University of Manitoba, McGill, Dalhousie and Mt Allison University to name a few. She has taught at a variety of summer programs including Orford, Opera Nuova in Edmonton,the COSI in Sulmona Italy and is the artistic director of the summer program at St Andrews by the Sea which she has developed into a nationally recognized program over the past 17 years.

Ms. Nielsen began her formal studies at Mount Allison University and has a Bachelor of Music in voice from the University of Lethbridge, a Masters Music in Opera from the University of British Columbia as well as honorary doctorates from the University of New Brunswick, the University of Lethbridge and Mount Allison University.

Meeting and Professional Development Spring 2012

Posted on April 5, 2012April 22, 2012 by NATS Ontario

NATS Ontario Spring Meeting

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Edward Johnson Building @ the Faculty of Music
University of Toronto

9:30 -10:30 (NATS Members Only) Meeting & Elections
10:30-12:00 Ann Cooper Gay & the Canadian Children’s Opera Company
12:00-12:30 RCM Voice Syllabus “Resonance” Overview
12:30 -2:00 Lunch Break; Music Vendors including Plangere & Red Leaf
2:00 – 4:00 Wendy Nielsen Masterclass

Admission
NATS Members: Free
Non Members & Students: $10

Click here to download a PDF of the poster.

Ann Cooper Gay – “To Blend Or Not To Blend – That Is The Question”
Discussion and Demonstration
Ann Cooper Gay, Artistic Director of the Canadian Children’s Opera Company will discuss the needs of the young singer.

Singers from the CCOC will perform excerpts from their upcoming opera Laura’s Cow with librettist Michael Patrick Albano and Composer Errol Gay on hand to answer questions.

Wendy Nielsen – “Training the Young Opera Singer”
Discussion and Masterclass
Soprano Wendy Nielsen has sung in many of the major opera houses across North America including the Metropolitan Opera.

Recognized as a mentor for young Canadian opera singers, she recently accepted a joint teaching position at the University of Toronto and the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble.