Adjunct Faculty
MUSIC HISTORY
Brent Fifield
Part-time Instructor in Music
B. Music, Honours, B. Ed. (University of Western Ontario); Masters of Music (University of Toronto)
PIANO
Valerie Tryon
Valerie appeared in public regularly while still a child. She toured with the Northern Youth Orchestra of Great Britain at age nine, and made her first BBC broadcasts at the age of eleven. She has performed Piano Concertos with the Halle, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and other major orchestras. In 1971, Valerie Tryon relocated to Canada and has performed in throughout Canada and United States. She became Artist-in-Residence at McMaster University, Canada, in 1976. She performed and recorded with the Rembrandt Trio, which she co-founded with Gerard Kantarjian. Valerie has been heard on CBC and has been awarded several distinctions for her services to music. In 1986, the Hungarian Ministry of Culture awarded her the Ferenc Liszt Medal of Honour for 'outstanding achievement' in the interpretation of Franz Liszt's music. Her recording with soprano Claudette LeBlanc won a JUNO Award for "Best Classical Album" in 1994. In the same category, her album, "The Joy of Piano" brought a second Juno nomination the following year. An honorary D. LITT was granted to Valerie Tryon in 2000, by McMaster University. This is Valerie’s third year at Redeemer, where she is also our Artist-in-residence.
Paul M. Benton
Paul completed Royal Conservatory studies in Toronto and also studied privately with two top Canadian teachers: Darwyn Aitken (piano) and Gordon Delamont (voice). Benton has been a professional pianist and vocalist for over 40 years and performs at many concerts in Europe and North America. He performs locally in Dundas, Ontario, as a soloist or with his trio. He focuses on playing classical, jazz and latin music and also sings standards from the American songbook. He was Musical Director for the Smith & Smith television show in the 1980’s and organized the Bay Area Jazz Festival. He recorded a CD entitled “Benton” in 1997.
VOICE
Lenard Whiting
Lenard was born in Kenora, Ontario, and educated at the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto. He lives in Toronto where he is active as a conductor, a music educator (both privately and with the University of Toronto), the Co-founder/producer of TrypTych Productions ("Canada's Advocates of the Vocal Arts"), and a church organist/choir director at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Toronto. Lenard enthusiastically shares his passion of music with all whom he comes in contact with. His many oratorio performances included Bach’s St. Matthew (English) and St. John Passion (German/English), Weihnachts Oratorium and Magnificat, Britten’s St. Nicholas, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Handel’s Messiah and Ode on the Death of Queen Elizabeth, Haydn’s Creation and various Masses—Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang and Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, Masses and Vespers, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and Vaughan William’s Hodie and Serenade to Music. He recently participated in the International Bach Symposium in the Conducting Master classes under the esteemed direction of Maestro Helmuth Rilling. Lenard has performed on Redeemer’s stage in the oratorios: Creation, Elijah and Messiah. We are very happy to have Lenard teaching voice at Redeemer this year.
Janet Obermeyer
Janet holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music. She has performed with orchestras across Canada, throughout the United States, and in Europe. Recent credits include Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Mozart’s Exsultate jubilate and Grand Mass in C minor with the Guelph Chamber Choir and Orchestra London, and Brahms’ Requiem. Of note was a premiere performance in Canada by Miss Obermeyer of the recently re-discovered seven-part work by G.F. Handel entitled, Gloria in excelsis Deo. She performs regularly with the finest chamber ensembles and orchestras. Highlights include Britten’s Les Illuminations with Hamilton’s ‘chamberWORKS’!, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Toronto’s Aradia ensemble, and the Rutter Requiem with the Rochester Oratorio Society. This is Janet’s first year at Redeemer.
FLUTE
Carolyn Zeyl
Carolyn received a performance degree from the University of Toronto. She studied with Douglas Stewart, Suzanne Shulman and has participated in master classes with flautists such as James Galway, Robert Aitken and Peter Lloyd. Ensemble experience includes principal flautist for Arcady and flautist for the Niagara Symphony Orchestra, the musical Beauty and the Beast, the premiere performance of R. Murray Shafer’s The Enchanted Forest, and the Canadian National Youth Orchestra. She continues to perform chamber music and recitals throughout southern Ontario. She is in her tenth year at Redeemer teaching flute and piano.
VIOLIN
Sonia Vizante
Sonia received a degree in violin performance from University of Bucharest and Bachelor of Education from Brock University. She received a resident position with the Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Bucharest. She took the position of principal-second with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra under Raffi Armenian and, the following year the same position with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. Ms.Vizante serves also as Concertmaster with the Toronto Operetta Theatre and Amadeus Choir of Toronto. Ms. Vizante’s chamber music collaborations include: the McMaster University String Quartet, Hamilton’s ‘chamberWORKS’!, Toronto Trio Vivant, the Amadeus Ensemble of Toronto, and I Virtuosi di Toronto. Sonia has been teaching at Redeemer since 2004.
CLARINET
Stephen Pierre
Stephen has performed twelve seasons as principal clarinetist with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and the New Hamilton Orchestra, as well as the Opera Hamilton Orchestra. He is an inaugural member of the renowned chamber ensemble ‘chamberWORKS!’ Mr. Pierre has toured extensively throughout British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Alaska often as soloist with such orchestras as the Victoria Symphony and the Hamilton Philharmonic. Stephen attended the University of Toronto, and studied with renowned clarinetists Robert Marcellus of the Cleveland Orchestra, and Stanley McCartney and Abraham Galper—both of the Toronto Symphony. Stephen is currently on the faculties of McMaster University and University of Toronto and, is also a member of the Toronto Wind Quintet. Stephen has taught at Redeemer the past two years.
TRUMPET
Stuart Laughton
Stuart has established a career as one of Canada's best-known trumpet soloists. An original member of the Canadian Brass at age nineteen, he rejoined the ensemble in September 2003 after thirty-one years in other pursuits. With the Canadian Brass he tours internationally and collaborates with ensembles worldwide. Born in Ontario in 1951, Stuart Laughton studied with Joseph Umbrico in Toronto before entering Curtis Institute of Music, where he was a student of Gilbert Johnson. He was appointed principal trumpet of La Scala Opera, Milan by Claudio Abbado. He is concertmaster of The Hannaford Street Silver Band, is a founding member of True North Brass, and has been soloist with the Winnipeg and Toronto Symphonies, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and Quebec's Les Violons du Roy. Mr. Laughton has served for eight years as president of the board of R. Murray Schafer's innovative Patria Music/Theatre Projects. In 1993 he founded Opening Day Recordings as a means of showcasing Canadian composers and performers. Four of Opening Day's twenty-four recordings to date have been nominated for Canadian JUNO Awards. Stuart has taught at Redeemer in the past and has performed with Chris Teeuwsen throughout the past 20 years.
GUITAR
Sean Meredith Jones
What started out as a hobby and source of fun, turned into his career. There was something so compelling about playing music that drove him to keep going with it. As a pro muso, he has to contend with all aspects of it...the technical side of producing it, writing it, playing it, and selling it. Sean received a degree in guitar performance from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he studied from 1994-96. He is guitarist, composer, arranger, producer, engineer, salesman, promoter, performer, and educator. Taking on all of those jobs is a necessity, and he generally takes an interest in handling all of these musical affairs. One of his biggest influences growing up was Steve Vai. Sean was always impressed with the fact that he had such command over the instrument, but also wrote, arranged, produced, and engineered his own projects. Sean’s style has veered away from Vai’s, but he is still a source of a great deal of inspiration in terms of his work ethic and as a musician. Sean teaches guitar, and leads our newest addition to the music department, The Jazz Ensemble.
Eric Golding
Eric has been a career instructor on most popular forms of guitar since 1958. He was employed with the Ontario Conservatory of Music from 1958 until 1975. He was promoted to Head of the Guitar Department of the Hamilton Area. During the years 1970–75, he was Manager/Head Instructor of the Advanced Guitar Division of the Hamilton Area. He is the owner and operator of Eric Golding Studio of Guitar, a private teaching studio located in Hamilton. Established in 1975, they provide instruction in all levels of guitar for Modern and Classical Guitar, Hawaiian and Lap-steel, Pedal-steel, and Electric Bass. For many years he played on the Hamilton area weekend circuit. Eric has taught our students at Redeemer for the past ten years.
VIOLA
Marie Peebles
CELLO/BASS
Rob Wolanski
OBOE
Nancy Nelson