Choral Symposium
CLINICIANS
Jamie Hillman
JAMIE HILLMAN is a Canadian and American musician, active as a conductor, singer, pianist, music educator, and composer-arranger. He holds the endowed Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting at the University of Toronto where he is Director of Choral Studies and an Associate Professor. He conducts the U of T MacMillan Singers and leads the master's and doctoral degree programs in Choral Conducting, as well as the summer Choral Conducting Symposium. Professor Hillman is also cross listed as an adjunct faculty member in Emmanuel College's Master of Sacred Music program. In 2024, Dr. Hillman received the Faculty of Music's Teaching Award which recognizes excellence, commitment, and innovation in teaching.
Dr. Tracy Wong
Dr. Wong is the Assistant Professor of Choral Studies at the Don Wright Faculty of Music, Western University, where she conducts Chorale and Les Choristes ensembles, and teaches choral conducting. Dr. Wong was previously an Assistant Professor at McMaster University where she conducted the University Choir and Cantemus Ensemble, and taught a variety of conducting, choral methods, music education and history courses.
Dr. Wong holds a Doctor in Musical Arts and Master in Music Performance (Choral Conducting) degrees from the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. She is also a proud recipient of the 2016 and 2017 Elmer Iseler National Graduate Fellowship in Choral Conducting, and 2018–19 McMaster University Student Union Teaching Award.
She hails from Malaysia and is a choral conductor, music educator, composer, vocalist, and pianist. She is passionate about helping choral educators to provide unique experiences for their students through collaborative commissions, customized workshops, festivals, and artist residencies. She does this through focusing on the balance of performance practice considerations, vocal and acoustic explorations, and choral artistry and heart. As an active clinician and educator, Dr. Wong has conducted workshops for choirs in North America and internationally.
Her strong commitment to choral organizations is reflected in her work as Conductor of the 2024 Organization of American Kodály Educators (Concert Treble Choir), Keynote Speaker & guest conductor of the 2024 Kodály Australia National Conference, Conductor of the 2024 British Columbia Youth Choir, Co-Conductor of the 2023 Asia Pacific Youth Choir (International Federation of Choral Music), atelier leader of Europa Cantat Junior 2023 (Flanders/Belgium), former Conductor of the Grand Philharmonic Youth Choir (Kitchener, Ontario), and singer with BabÉ›l (Toronto). She is the 2023-2024 Composer-in-residence of Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, 2019 Canadian Composer Feature for the Canadian Kodály Journal, Alla Breve, and her choral works are featured at numerous reading sessions. Dr. Wong collaborates regularly with choral organizations on conducting events, commissioned projects, and residencies, and her compositions are widely published and performed internationally. (www.tracywongmusic.com)
Sarah Hicks
Mezzo-soprano Sarah Hicks completed her degree in Performance Voice at McGill University's Schulich School of Music. After returning to Toronto Ms. Hicks began her career as a singer, conductor and educator. Sarah also completed her Master's in Pastoral Studies and Psychotherapy at Emmanuel College and grounds her work in music ministry at Grace Church on-the-Hill in a foundation passion for both music and pastoral care. Sarah's love and appreciation for choral music began as a young chorister in the Toronto Children's Chorus, where she experienced firsthand the value of a foundation in choral music. Being a part of a choir community, especially in childhood and adolescence, provides choristers with a community which embodies values of mutuality, commitment and striving for artistic excellence. For Sarah, creating a community that celebrates and nurtures the uniqueness of every person and every voice is central to the artistic and spiritual process of creating choral music. Participating in music as ministry is also a way of serving others as we contribute to the liturgy and the spiritual lives of both choristers and parishioners.