PIANO

Originally from Lachine, Quebec, Gregory Millar is a Toronto-based pianist, arranger, and teacher. He holds a DMA from the Eastman School of Music, as well as degrees and diplomas from McGill University, the University of Toronto, and the Glenn Gould School.

A versatile pianist whose playing has been described as “compelling”, “a tour-de-force”, and “devastatingly beautiful” (The Muskokan), Millar has performed extensively over a career that has taken him to several Canadian provinces, the Northeastern United States, and Europe. He appeared as concerto soloist with the Kindred Spirits Orchestra and the Mississauga Symphony,and has collaborated with prominent artists and ensembles, including violinist Jasper Wood, the Venuti String Quartet, Talisker Players, actor/singer Theresa Tova, and former CBC radio host Barbara Budd. Upcoming performances include a return engagement with the Millar Piano Duo (alongside his wife, Lisa Raposa Millar) at the Music on the Hill Festival in Rhode Island. Millar is also featured in the 2019 Netflix movie In the Shadow of The Moon, where he appears during the film’s opening sequence in the role of a concert pianist performing a haunting piano piece –and whose recital takes a dramatic turn!

Dr. Millar is a Certified Instructor (piano and theory) and member of the College of Examiners of the Royal Conservatory of Music. He co-manages a private teaching studio in Toronto and is on faculty at Toronto Music Alliance. He is also a member of the theory faculty at Etobicoke Suzuki Music. Additionally, Millar self-publishes a growing catalogue of original compositions, transcriptions, and pedagogical materials.

VOCAL

Mezzo-soprano Nicole Percifield has featured in concert performances with New Haven Symphony (Messiah), Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (D. Scarlatti’s Salve Regina and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater), and the Minnesota Orchestra. This past season she performed Beethoven’s Mass in C with the UTSO under conductors Uri Mayer and Jamie Hillman. A graduate of Yale Opera, Percifield has worked with Minnesota Opera (Salome, Faust), Santa Fe Opera (Le Nozze di Figaro), Central City Opera (Werther, Cendrillon), the Banff Centre, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis (Ghosts of Versailles), and was a finalist at the Metropolitan Opera New England Regionals. She recently featured on CBC’s Tapestry, presenting Gavin Fraser’s work, Shared Isolation. Percifield is currently pursuing her doctorate at the University of Toronto, where she is a recipient of the Joseph-Armand CGS Doctoral Scholarship. She can be heard singing the roles of Cathleen (Riders to the Sea), and Hostess (At the Boar’s Head), recorded live at the Beethoven Festival in Warsaw. The International Classical Music Awards nominated the recording for Best Opera Album, 2017.

INSTRUMENTAL

John has been the conductor/music director of Orchestra Kingston since its inception in 2008. He was a founding member and conductor BrassWerks and played in the brass section of the Kingston Symphony and trombone in the Kingston Jazz Ensemble. His original compositions include works for Flute Choir, Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, Brass Bands, Brass Ensembles, and solo instruments.

John adjudicates at music festivals and has taught low brass, and theory/harmony at home, at St. Lawrence College, Kingston, and at the National Music Camp of Canada.

His arrangements for brass instruments and compositions are published by Solid Brass Music Inc. , and flute choir works by Alry. His major flute ensemble works have been performed at the National Flute Association annual conventions and suite of Latin Dances - Flautista won the NFA newly published music award for 2012. He was commissioned by the National Flute Assoc to compose the opening ‘Fanfare 42’ for the annual NFA convention in Chicago in August 2014.

John is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre and has been commissioned by the CMC to write music for strings and by Making Music: Composing with Young Musicians to write for band and young choir.

His original compositions and arrangements have won various awards and have been performed by Orchestras, Wind Ensembles, Brass Bands, Flute Choirs and Chamber Ensembles across North America. Many of his orchestral works have been composed specifically for ‘Community Orchestras’ and have been premiered by Orchestra Kingston.

SPEECH ARTS

Caroline Smith is a playwright, director and choreographer who also thoroughly enjoys adjudicating. Since 1979, Caroline has worked for theatres large and small all across Canada, including the Shaw Festival, the Charlottetown Festival and the Canadian Opera Company.

From1996 to 2009, Caroline was Artistic and Managing Director of the Stirling Festival Theatre where she earned three Lieutenant Governor's Arts Awards, numerous business awards, and an honorary Arts degree from Loyalist College. She also created productions for Belleville’s Empire Theatre from 2010-2014 before returning to freelance work, including Campbellford’s Westben Theatre, where she recently directed Les Misérables in Concert.

As playwright, Caroline's comedy The Kitchen Witches was the winner of the 2005 Samuel French Best Canadian Play Award, resulting in numerous productions in several languages. Her popular Panto scripts are annually produced by Drayton Entertainment and various theatres across Ontario.