 | Alvin Tran (Strings and Chamber Groups) Canadian violinist Alvin Tran is an active performer throughout North America. He is a former member of the Boise Philharmonic and has performed regularly with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. A passionate chamber musician, Alvin was a member of the former Ezra String Quartet, in residence at Boise State University (BSU), and is a founding member of the Crimson String Quartet (CSQ). The CSQ has completed many tours of Western Canada and released a music video following the success of their debut album Crimson Sunrise in 2012. A graduate of McGill University and BSU, Alvin has participated in the Marrowstone, Orford, le Domaine Forget, and Boston University Tanglewood Institute festivals. His main teachers include Nancy DiNovo, Thomas Williams, and Craig Purdy in addition to receiving coaching from Federico Agostini, James Buswell, Charles Castleman, and members of the Enso, Cecilia, and Ying quartets. Recent highlights include his Toronto recital debut, performances with the Pro Nova Ensemble, and numerous collaborations with the United Voices Choir as concertmaster. Alvin is an in-demand instructor with a studio of highly motivated students. |
 | Sheila Christie (Classical Voice) Sheila Christie is a distinguished voice teacher, adjudicator, and performer based in Chilliwack, BC, with 25 years of experience teaching classical voice, opera, musical theatre, and contemporary styles. She serves on faculty at the Richmond Academy of Dance and has served as a teaching artist with Vancouver Opera and the Delta School District’s Opera and Film Academies. In 2018, she was named “Teacher of the Year” by the Coquitlam District Music Festival. Sheila holds a Bachelor of Music (UofL), a Master of Music in Opera Performance (UBC), and a Bachelor of Education in Secondary Music Education (UBC). Passionate about lifelong learning, she has completed Estill Voice Training with Anne Marie Speed and studied vocal pedagogy with Shannon Coates. In addition to her private studio, Sheila is a full-time educator with the Chilliwack School District. As a performer, Sheila recently appeared with Crescendo Operatic Society and as a member of Vancouver Opera’s Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program, performing Sāvitri and covering lead roles, including Tosca, Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Lady Billows (Albert Herring), and Elisabetta (Don Carlo). Additional highlights include roles with Vancouver Opera in Aida and Rigoletto, Soloist in Britten’s War Requiem and A Night in Venice with the VSO, The Merry Widow with Burnaby Lyric Opera, and over 15 years with the Vancouver Opera Chorus. Sheila has adjudicated at top festivals in Lethbridge, Prince George, Thunder Bay, Chilliwack, North Vancouver, Squamish, and Cranbrook. Her students have earned top placements at the BC Provincial Music Festival and gained admission to prestigious programs at the Manhattan School of Music, Curtis Institute, Eastman School, New England Conservatory, Boston University, McGill University, UBC, Sheridan College, Randolph Academy, Canadian College of the Performing Arts, and Capilano University. Sheila is excited and honoured to adjudicate the Chilliwack Music and Dance Festival and the Vaya LIVE! Music Festival in 2025. |
 | Cathy Wilmot (Musical Theatre) Cathy Wilmot (she/they) is grateful to live, work, and play on the traditional, unceded, and stolen territories of the Coast Salish peoples. She is a seasoned faculty member of Capilano University’s Theatre Department and holds a Master of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre with an emphasis in Vocal Pedagogy from The Boston Conservatory. She frequently serves as a subject matter expert, as a jury member, and adjudicator across Canada. She has worked with thousands of students and has seen them go on to achieve great things, including acceptance to prestigious schools, winning awards and competitions and appearing on North America’s stages and film sets. Cathy strives to teach with kindness, positivity, and plenty of humour while developing imagination, increasing confidence, and heightened self-awareness. Cathy has performed professionally across Canada and the U.S., including Fringe Festivals, The Revolver Festival, the International PuSh Festival, and in London, England where she performed a concert celebrating Canadian Musicals. Favourite credits include Rosie in Mamma Mia! and Les Misérables (Arts Club), Paulette in Legally Blonde (TUTS), Dragon in Shrek the Musical (Align), Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, and Pennywise in Urinetown. She is a proud member of Canadian Actor’s Equity, the Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators' Association, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and the Voice and Speech Trainers Association. |
 | Anne Wilson-Unger (Junior Piano) Anne Wilson Unger has taught and conducted for 30 years, as well as working as an adjudicator and clinician throughout British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. She holds a Masters of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Western Washington in piano performance, accompanying and choral conducting. In addition, Ms. Wilson Unger also holds a BMus degree in Piano Performance from the University of Victoria with Dr. Robin Wood, an AVCM with the Victoria Conservatory of Music studying with Winnifred Scott Wood and an ARCT with the Royal Conservatory of Music. Anne spent time studying in England with Hamish Milne of the Royal Academy of Music and Isobel Flinn of the National Opera School. In addition to her work as a pianist, Ms. Wilson Unger is the co-founder and is a Director of the Vivo Children’s Choir in New Westminster. |
 | Mary Jo Carrabre (Provincial, Senior, and Intermediate Piano) Before relocating to Vancouver in 2019, Mary Jo Carrabre served as Director of the Eckhardt-Gramatté Conservatory of Music for twenty years. During that time, she maintained a busy schedule as an adjudicator and as a regular sessional instructor at Brandon University. Mary Jo began her career as a collaborative pianist specializing in contemporary music, premiering over 70 new works. She was a founding member of Thira and a regular performer at the Winnipeg New Music Festival for over a decade. Her work in this area was regularly broadcast on CBC and recognized in recordings, including the Juno-nominated Jeté and her most recent recording, Crazy with soprano, Naomi Forman. Mary Jo holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Manitoba, where she studied with the late Marek Jablonski. The YMCA has recognized her as a Woman of Distinction. |
