Halifax Regional Municipalities
Here are our members in the Halifax Regional Municipalities
Please click on a faculty members name for more information.
Bedford / Dartmouth / East Chezzetcook / Eastern Passage / Lower Sackville / Timberlea / Upper Tantallon / Waverly
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Jason Davis - Bedford
voice, aural musicianship, RCM speech
arts & drama
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piano, rudiments
Jennifer Farrell – Eastern Passage
voice, vocal pedagogy, choral & voice clinician, adjudicator, lecturer
Sarah Furlong
early childhood, piano, rudiments, voice
Pamela Gilbert – East Chezzetcook
composition, piano, rudiments
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Jessica Hansen-Wheaton – Dartmouth
piano, harmony, aural musicianship, rudiments, accompaniment, adjudicator, examiner
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piano, rudiments
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Joohee Jensen – Upper Tantallon
retired
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Jennifer Moss - Bedford
piano, rudiments, beginner flute
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Christine Mader – Waverley
piano, theory, RCM examiner, adj, clinician, collaborative pianist, history, harmony
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Brenda Pate – Bedford
piano, rudiments
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Natalia Pavlovskaia – Bedford
piano
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Betty Ro – Bedford
piano (advanced)
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Gillian Smith – Bedford
violin
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Megan Wynn – Timberlea
piano, rudiments
Jason Davis
Voice, Aural Musicianship, RCM Speech Arts and Drama
Tenor Jason Davis has been hailed by critics as “truly a fine tenor” and “one of the most exciting voices of his generation possessing a voice of tremendous beauty, colour and power”. Daphna Levit of Opera Canada Magazine recently wrote “Jason Davis was perfect as the unscrupulous Duke of Mantua; his huge voice effortlessly communicated whatever emotion he choose to portray - delight, desire, contempt or arrogance.”
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He has performed concert and operatic repertoire throughout North America including Vaughn William’s On Wenlock Edge (The Scotia Festival Chamber Music Society) Haydn’s Mass in the Time of War (Paukenmesse) (Farmington Valley Orchestra), Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (Dalhousie Orchestra), Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (Coro Collegium), Vaughn William’s Four Hymns (Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra) Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (Kings Chapel Choir) and a recent performance as the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion with Collegium Cantorum. Jason’s operatic performances have included roles with Opera New Hampshire, Opera Connecticut, The Opera Theater of Connecticut, Opera New Jersey and more recently as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (Opera New Brunswick), Idomeneo in Idomeneo (Opera Nova Scotia) as well as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème, the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto and Canio in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci (Maritime Concert Opera).
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Along with his busy performing schedule Jason is the founder and Artistic Director of the Broadway Company Players music theatre ensemble and Halifax’s Breaking Waves vocal theatre company and he is also a founding member of the Conservatory Nova Scotia Association the acting vice-president of the NSRMTA (Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers Association) and a recent returning member of the voice faculty at the Maritime Conservatory.
Jason also maintains a very active private teaching studio through Davis Vocal Studios where he offers voice lessons and coachings, RCM vocal exam preparations, RCM speech arts and drama lessons and also theory and ear training lessons. Many of his students have consistently placed or won numerous regional, provincial and national festivals and many have also gone on to pursue studies in vocal and theatre performance degrees at top undergraduate and graduate programs throughout North America.
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16 Campbell Drive
Bedford, NS B4A 1N6
(902) 789-3866
Email: jasdavis71@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.davisvocalstudios.com
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Gillian Ezekiel
piano, rudiments
1408 Bedford HighwayBedford NS B4A 1E2
Phone: 902-877-8531
Email: : gilliansmusicstudio@gmail.com
Website: gillianezekiel.musicteachershelper.com
Jennifer Farrell
Voice, Vocal Pedagogy, Choral & Voice Clinician, Adjudicator, Lecturer
Soprano Jennifer Farrell has appeared with professional Canadian ensembles in the fields of oratorio, opera and choral repertoire. Her undergraduate studies and a Diploma in Opera were completed at Wilfrid Laurier University, and she went on to earn both a Master of Music degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree with specializations in opera at the University of British Columbia.
In western Canada she has performed as a soloist with the Vancouver Bach Choir, the Vancouver Symphony, MusicFest Vancouver, Vancouver Voices, the Vancouver Opera, the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, the Victoria Philharmonic Choir, and the Pacific Baroque Orchestra. She has also sung with the internationally acclaimed chamber choir, musica intima. In eastern Canada she has appeared as a guest soloist with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Opera Nova Scotia, Symphony Nova Scotia, Maritime Concert Opera, Cecilia Concerts, the St. George's Consort, and Les Jeunesses Musicales du Canada.
In addition to performing, Dr. Farrell is active as a voice pedagogue, adjudicator, clinician and examiner. A member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, in 2011 she attended the prestigious NATS Intern program, and in 2014 she was the recipient of a NATS Independent Teacher Fellowship. A past member of the governing Council of the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers' Association, Jennifer was named the NSRMTA's Teacher of the Year in 2021. In 2022 she was the recipient of a Bravura Nova Scotia Teacher's Professional Development Fellowship. Dr. Farrell was a voice instructor at Mount Allison University from 2011-2013, and at Acadia University from 2017-2019. She is currently on faculty again at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, where she taught from 2013-2017.
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2071 Caldwell Road
Eastern Passage NS B3G 1H7
Sarah Furlong
Early Childhood, Piano, Rudiments, Voice
21 Juniper Terrace
Hammonds Plains, NS B3Z 1J6
Phone: 902-499-4022
Email: sarah@Sarahspianostudio.ca
Website: Sarahspianostudio.ca
Pamela Gilbert
Composition, Piano, Rudiments
903 East Chezzetcook Rd.
HRM NS BOJ 2LO
​902-827-7123
pamgilbert@eastlink.ca
Jessica Hansen-Wheaton
Piano, Harmony, Rudiments, Aural Musicianship, Accompaniment, Adjudicator, Examiner
77 Freshwater Trail
Dartmouth NS B2W 0A4
​902-670-5726
jessicasjhansen@yahoo.ca
Lucy Hayes Davis
Voice Aural Musicianship, Pedagogy, Rudiments, Adjudicator, Clinician
Mezzo-soprano Lucy Hayes Davis is pleased to call Halifax home. Lucy returned to Nova Scotia in 2007 after pursuing intensive voice pedagogy studies with Dr. Scott McCoy and Marvin Keenze at Westminster Choir College, where she completed a Masters degree. Lucy went on to further operatic studies at the Hartt School joining the voice faculty there in 2001. In addition to maintaining a large voice studio, she taught all of the diction courses and a voice class for students majoring in Music Education. In Nova Scotia Lucy has taught voice at Dalhousie and Acadia Universities as well as Lyric Diction, Voice Pedagogy and Voice Clinics for students in the Dalhousie acting program.
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She acts as music director for the Elementary and Junior Broadway Company Players, Lucy will return for her seventh year as a vocal coach for the Halifax Summer Opera Festival in 2021. Lucy will also be returning as vocal coach in the summer for the 2021 season of Opera from Scratch. Lucy is also an active adjudicator and clinician.
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Her operatic roles include Dorabella in Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte,” the Witch from Humperdinck’s “Hänsel und Gretal,” Zita from Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi,” Marcellina from Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro,” the Old Lady from Bernstein’s “Candide,” and the Mother from Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” In spring 2013 she sang the role of Frederica in Verdi’s Luisa Miller for Opera Nova Scotia. Lucy and her husband, Jason Davis were Musicians in Residence for the St. Cecilia Series’ 2013/14 season.
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As a teacher, Lucy has voice students that have been accepted in both undergraduate and graduate programs across Canada and the United States. Her students consistently place high in music festivals and have won many talent-based scholarships.
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16 Campbell Drive
Bedford, NS B4A 1N6
(902) 789-3868
Email: lhayesdavis@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.davisvocalstudios.com
Joohee Jensen
Retired Member
522 Oceanstone Dr.
Upper Tantallon NS B3Z 0G4
​902-820-2612
joohee.jensen@gmail.com
Jennifer Moss
Piano, Rudiments, Beginner Flute
Jennifer has obtained a Teacher’s Diploma from the Victoria Conservatory of Music and a Performer’s Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Jennifer is recognized as a RCM Advanced Specialist Certified Teacher in piano and theory. She has recorded a CD of classical piano pieces entitled "Believe" in support of SickKids in Toronto. She has been the Music Director of Sheridan United Church in Mississauga for the past 12 years. Jennifer has recently moved to Bedford, NS with her husband and children and has her own studio, MossMusic, welcoming students of all ages and levels.
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78 Bramwell Crt
Bedford, NS B4B 0W2
902-410-9278
Christine Mader
Piano, Theory, RCM Examiner, Adj, Clinician, Collaborative Pianist, History, Harmony
2483 Rocky Lake Dr.
Waverley NS B2R 1S5
​902-576-5587
puffinmusic@hotmail.com
www.puffinmusic.com
Natalia Pavlovskaia
Piano
Natalia Pavlovskaia is a piano teacher with a Master Degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy and 25 years of performing and teaching the piano. Also Theory and Music History.
Natalia works with all levels and ages, preparing her students for CMC, Kiwanis, RCM and MCPA examinations.
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Natalia teaches at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts in Halifax and also at her private Studio in Bedford, NS.
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22 Oceanview Drive
Bedford NS B4A 4C4
​902-835-6241
natalia.pavlovskaia@gmail.com
Betty Ro
Piano (advanced)
Originally from South Korea, Betty Ro has been teaching in Nova Scotia since 1992 at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts. After culminating her studies in Korea, she completed a M.M. from the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA, with piano studies under Gabriel Chodos and Jacob Maxin, and chamber music studies under Larry Lesser and Leon Kirchner.
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Teaching all ages and levels, Betty has held a flourishing private studio for over 30 years. Her students have garnered recognition through awards and scholarships, in addition to having received Gold medal rankings in the Royal Conservatory Examinations. Other accolades include top prizes at the Kiwanis Music Festival, the National Canadian Music Competition, and the Debut Atlantic Award for Musical Excellence. In 2016, Betty was named the NSRMTA Teacher of the Year. She has been selected for recognition as a “Teacher of Distinction” by The Royal Conservatory in 2021.
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Betty has additional teaching experience from Dalhousie University, where she was invited to teach for the 2000-2001 academic school year. During 2018-2019, she was on staff a Dalhousie University in the capacity of Applied Faculty in Piano. Betty is a registered member of the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teacher’s Association, and is a certified educator through the Royal Conservatory of Music (Canada).
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Piano Lesson for All Levels and Ages
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Betty Ro is an active teacher and performer of chamber music. She taught many students in Seoul, Boston and Halifax, including at Dalhousie University and Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts in Halifax. She has appeared as a soloist with KBS Orchestra and performed solo recitals and chamber music in Seoul, Boston and Halifax. Ms. Ro earned her master's degree of Performing Piano at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, studying piano with Gabriel Chodos and Jacob Maxin, and chamber music with Larry Lesser and Leon Kirchner. She is currently on sabbatical from the piano faculty at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts.
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If you are interested in taking lesson please contact her at hsro@dal.ca or call (267) 546-8875 after 9 pm or on weekends.
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25 Windrock Dr.
Bedford NS B4A 3E5
​Phone: (267) 546-8875
Email: hsro@dal.ca
Website: austinartsprepschool.org/faculty
Gillian Smith
Violin
Violinist Gillian Smith, a native of Halifax, NS, released her debut solo album, Into the Stone, on the Leaf Music label in 2019. This album features works for solo violin by Kati Agócs, Alice Ping Yee Ho, Veronika Krausas, Chantale Laplante, and Ana Sokolović. Into the Stone was nominated for the 2020 Classical Recording of the Year by the East Coast Music Association (ECMA). David Olds of The WholeNote magazine called Into the Stone “a stunning debut album by a rising star”, and La Scena Musicale wrote, “Gillian Smith demonstrates a great skill and mastery…magnificently appropriates Canadian repertoire”. A track from the album, Inside the Stone by Veronika Krausas, was selected by Spotify as a Classical New Release pick in September 2019.
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Gillian Smith has recorded two CDs with members of the Acadia New Music Society on the Centrediscs label: Live Wired, which features the music of Derek Charke, Jérôme Blais, and Anthony Genge, and In Sonorous Falling Tones, which features the music of Derek Charke and which was nominated for an ECMA for Classical Recording of the Year in 2018. She can also be heard on a recording of the chamber music of Carmen Braden, Songs of the Invisible Summer Stars, which was released on the Centrediscs label in September 2019. The American Record Guide wrote of Songs of the Invisible Summer Stars, “exquisitely and beautifully performed, this is a gem”. Songs of the Invisible Summer Stars was nominated for an ECMA for Classical Recording of the Year in 2020. Gillian Smith’s solo and chamber music recordings have been broadcast on radio on stations across Canada and in the U.S. and the U.K.
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Gillian Smith has appeared in recital and as a chamber musician at such series and festivals as the Acadia Performing Arts Series, the East Coast Music Awards, Inner Space Concerts, Musique Royale, the Music Room Chamber Players, Open Waters Festival, Shattering the Silence Festival, and Sunday Music in the Garden Room, and at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto.
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A dedicated teacher, Gillian Smith serves on the violin faculty of the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts in Halifax, NS and has served as instructor of violin and viola at the Acadia University School of Music. She also maintains a private teaching studio at her home in Bedford, NS. Her students have won top prizes and awards in local, regional, and national competitions, including the Canadian Music Competition, as well as the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Gold Medal.
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Gillian Smith holds degrees in violin performance from the Eastman School of Music (B.Mus.), the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (M.Mus.), and the University of Minnesota (D.M.A). Her teachers have included Jorja Fleezanis, Camilla Wicks, Peter Salaff, and Philippe Djokic.
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Bedford South
Bedford NS
Website - http://www.gilliansmithviolin.com
Megan Wynn
Piano, rudiments
Megan Wynn graduated from Acadia University with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance in 2001. Shortly thereafter, she started teaching private piano lessons from her home studio in Timberlea. She taught over 500 students in the Music for Young Children from 2002 until 2021 and was the regional coordinator for the program from 2006 until 2015. When she is not teaching, she enjoys singing with the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo Choir and the Dalhousie Health Professions Chorale. She also plays trombone with the Sackville Concert Band. She is a member of the NSRMTA council and the president of the Halifax Chapter.
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49 Charles St
Timberlea NS B3T 1J7
​902-401-6445
Email - meganhenley@bellaliant.net