Get to know your BCCF Chorfest 2017 Clinicians!
We’re excited; you’re excited; they’re excited. But do any of us really know each other yet? Not particularly. That’s why the BCCF Communications team came up with five fun questions to break the ice and help you get acquainted with the people at the podium, May 19-21 in Victoria! Check out what they had to say:

Jon Washburn

Conductor and artistic director of the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and our 2017 Adult Choir clinician.

Q: When was the moment you knew you wanted to be a conductor?
A: 3rd year of secondary school when I decided I wanted to become a music teacher, just like ours.

Q: Your favourite post-concert meal?
A: Pizza.

Q: Your ‘bucket list’ piece to conduct, and with which ensemble?
A: Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis with whatever orchestra I get to have next.

Q: If you could sing under any conductor, who would it be?
A: Gustav Mahler.

Q: Your musical guilty pleasure outside of the choral genre?
A: Allison Krauss and Union Station.

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Kathleen Allan

Soprano/composer/conductor extraordinaire, and our BC Youth Choir (BCYC) 2017 clinician.

Q: When was the moment you knew you wanted to be a conductor?
A: Conducting my own work in performance for the first time with Shallaway Youth Choir.

Q: Your favourite post-concert meal?
A: Fish and chips!

Q: Your ‘bucket list’ piece to conduct, and with which ensemble?
A: Bach B Minor Mass with period instruments.

Q: If you could sing under any conductor, who would it be?
A: Leonard Bernstein.

Q: Your musical guilty pleasure outside of the choral genre?
A: Evanescence and Vanessa Carlton.

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Scott Leithead

Founder and artistic director Edmonton’s Kokopelli Choirs/TIME Jazz Association, and our 2017 Young Adult Choir clinician.

Q: When was the moment you knew you wanted to be a conductor?
A: In high school I was always a leader. Conducting the junior band was my first experience and I loved it! I even wrote my own arrangements for them.

Q: Your favourite post-concert meal?
A: Anything gluten free that goes with wine. 😊

Q: Your ‘bucket list’ piece to conduct, and with which ensemble?
A: I don’t have one, really. I have always pursued any music that I passionately wanted to conduct. The answer to this question changes often, however, as I hear new works.

Q: If you could sing under any conductor, who would it be?
A: I wish I could have been in a choir directed by Diane Loomer. I admired her tremendously. I was always moved by her performances – she achieved a great balance of musicality and humanity in every program.

Q: Your musical guilty pleasure outside of the choral genre?
A: I love drum and bugle corps. 😊

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Madeleine Humer

Artistic and concert choir director of the Victoria Children’s Choir, and our 2017 Children’s Choir clinician.

Q: When was the moment you knew you wanted to be a conductor?
A: I used to conduct my stuffed animals when I was a kid, drew pictures of faces standing in choir rows, and blissfully directed the choral records we had around the house. A lot of this had to do with the fact that I had been singing in a choir since I was very young, and loved it!

Q: Your favourite post-concert meal?
A: With friends and family, eating whatever is in front of us!

Q: Your ‘bucket list’ piece to conduct, and with which ensemble?
A: Gibbons’ Magnificat and Nunc dimittis from his Great Service with Fretwork and St. Christopher Singers.

Q: If you could sing under any conductor, who would it be?
A: Stile Antico…who actually have no conductor, which makes the idea of singing with them quite extraordinary!

Q: Your musical guilty pleasure outside of the choral genre?
A: Jazz classics!