We are back! Whether you are a beginner at conducting choirs or just want to brush up on your skills, this class aims to give you the skills you need for a successful 2022-23 season. 

Designed for conductors of school, church and community choirs, the BCCF “Choral da Capo” (choral directorship course) gives you an opportunity to study one-on-one with master teachers and also learn about rehearsal planning, vocal technique, diction and repertoire selection. 

Students will work within small peer groups every day to develop and refine conducting skills, then with the larger lab choir made up of experienced choral musicians. The atmosphere is always encouraging and low stress. 

Dates:

Friday – Sunday, August 26, 27, 28, 2022

Venue:

St. Titus Anglican Church
680 W 49th Ave, Vancouver, BC V5Z 2S4 (just west of Cambie Street)

Note: For the safety of participants, instructors and our lab choir, masks will be obligatory for all participants.

Program Teachers:

Frances Roberts

Kevin Zakresky

Willi Zwozdesky

Melanie Adams

Tuition:

• $370 plus $40 individual BCCF membership

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER AND PAY ONLINE

Limited scholarships and travel bursaries are available by individual request. Please apply in writing at the time of application.

Detailed Schedule:

Clinician Bios:

Frances Roberts

Frances Roberts has spent the past thirty two years teaching secondary choral music at Argyle Secondary, North Vancouver where she currently directs 2 concert choirs, a chamber choir, 2 vocal jazz ensembles and a strings ensemble. She is also on faculty at the West Coast Amateur Musicians Family Summer Camp at Quest University. In the fall of 2022 she will be teaching the Secondary Choral Pedagogy course at UBC.

As a result of her outstanding work, Frances is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor, including the BC Youth Choir in 2013. She returned to UBC 2014 to complete her Masters in Choral Conducting. In 2017 she received a District of North Vancouver “Outstanding Supporter of Youth” award. In 2018 she received the “Most Inspiring Conductor “ award( John Trepp Memorial ) at Vancouver Kiwanis Festival, and then was honoured by her teaching colleagues in BC when she received the BCMEA Outstanding Secondary Teacher award in 2020. Frances is very excited to be re-joining the faculty at the BC Choral Federation’s Summer Conducting workshop.

Kevin Zakresky

Kevin Zakresky is a vocalist, choir director and orchestral conductor from Vancouver. He is Director of Choirs at Capilano University and teaches voice at the Vancouver Symphony School of Music. Kevin tours as a orchestral conductor for the National Geographic Symphony, Zelda Symphony of the Goddesses, Heroes Symphony and others. In Vancouver he directs Maddalena’s Descant, a new Women’s Choir. Past jobs have included teaching positions at SFU and Douglas College, Assistant Conductor of Chor Leoni Men’s Choir, director of the Pacifica Singers, and Conductor of the Prince George Symphony Orchestra. He received his Doctorate from Yale University in 2012.

Willi Zwozdesky

Willi Zwozdesky (MA, MMus) is widely-known for his work as a choral conductor, arranger, clinician, and publisher. A native of north-central Alberta, Zwozdesky later moved to Seattle, where he completed a Master of Music in choral conducting and a Master of Arts in music theory at the University of Washington in 1981. Following his move to Vancouver in that year, he established himself as a leader in the city’s cultural community, and undertook developing the voice of the Vancouver Men’s Chorus (VMC). Under his direction for the past forty-one years, the VMC has distinguished itself internationally through innovative, often collaborative programming that emphasizes the work of Canadian creators, custom arrangements, a wide range of women’s music, and extra-choral elements. Zwozdesky’s long-term dedication to choral music has been recognized by GALA Choruses and British Columbia Choral Federation. Through his position as Executive Director of the BCCF, he is also a board member of Choral Canada.

Melanie Adams

Mezzo-soprano Melanie Adams is a prominent member of Vancouver’s music community.  As a soloist, her repertoire ranges from early music to world premieres of new music by prominent Canadian composers.  She has collaborated with many musical and theatrical organizations, including the Erato Ensemble, the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, the Vancouver Island Symphony, the Fraser Valley Symphony, Redshift Musical Society, and the Health Arts Society of BC.  Most notably, she created the dual role of “Margot/Amelia McGillen” in the world premiere of Supernatural Noir, she created the role of “Spirit of the Maple Tree” in the world premiere of Shadow Catch, and in 2017 she created the role of “The Counsellor” in the world premiere of Kayoi Komachi.

For 20 years, Melanie was very well-known as a member of Vancouver’s musica intima, with whom she has toured extensively in Canada and the United States, as well as France, Ireland, and Korea, and has appeared on 8 of their 10 recordings.  Since January 2012, she has also been a soloist and section leader with the Vancouver Cantata Singers.

Teaching is also a very important facet of Melanie’s career, and she owns and operates an active and thriving studio from her New Westminster home. Her students have performed very successfully in and won awards for RCM examinations and music festivals. Many of her former students have studied music at the university level, and have music careers of their own. 

More about Melanie can be learned through her website.