Ed Chwyl
Ed Chwyl, President, and his wife Mary have been residents of Victoria since 2001 when Ed retired after a long career in the Calgary oil patch. Their two children have benefited from music lessons, theory and history, and the Collegium program at the Conservatory. Ed previously served as a Vice-President of the Board (2005/06) and is a graduate engineer (University of Alberta, MSc 1968)

Leslee Farrell
Leslee Farrell, Vice President, born in Vancouver and a Victoria resident for 30 years, is a licensed realtor in British Columbia and a Psychology graduate from Simon Fraser University. She has served as Chair of the Victoria Hospital Foundation, advisor to the Faculty of Business at UVic, and has been an active fundraiser for the Victoria Symphony, Pacific Opera Victoria, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and the Maritime Museum, to name a few. Giving back to the community continues to be a priority in Leslee’s everyday life.

Brian H. Butler,
Brian H. Butler, Vice President, was born in the Victoria area and graduated from The University of Victoria with a B.A. in Philosophy. His business career began by operating several local businesses and since 1985 has been President and C.E.O. of Butler Brothers Supplies Ltd., an aggregate and ready-mix producer on lower Vancouver Island with a branch in real estate development. He has served on various community boards, including a church and a school. Recent directorships have included the Urban Development Institute, Aggregate Producers of B.C., and the B.C. Ready-Mixed Concrete Association. He served on the board of the Victoria Symphony Society for five years, three of them as President.

Ray Moore
Ray Moore, Treasurer, is an MBA graduate from University of Western Ontario, and a Chartered Accountant. He has extensive knowledge in public accounting and small business. Currently, he provides accounting services through a personally-owned consulting company called Maroc Service Inc., and he is President of the Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. Ray spent over a year assembling the financial records of the VCM, and now brings a wealth of financial knowledge of the Conservatory to the Board.

Roy Cullen
Hon. Roy Cullen, P.C., C.A., born in Montreal, Canada, earned his B.A. in Business Administration, and a Master of Public Administration. He qualified as a Canadian Chartered Accountant in 1972. Initially elected to the House of Commons in Ottawa in a by-election in 1996, he was re-elected in the 1997, 2000, 2004, and the 2006 general elections. He retired from the Canadian House of Commons in 2008. As a member of the Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s government, and later under Prime Minister Paul Martin, Mr. Cullen served as chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, as parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance, as parliamentary secretary to the deputy prime minister and the minister for public safety and emergency preparedness; and as chair of the Ontario Liberal caucus. In 2006 he was sworn-in as a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada.

 Bruce Dutton
Bruce Dutton is an Honours BA graduate from the University of Victoria, specializing in French Language and Literature. After spending 30 years teaching French in the U.S. near Philadelphia, Bruce returned to Victoria in 2005, involving himself in the rich cultural life of the city. He is currently taking piano lessons under the sympathetic guidance of the VCM’s Susan de Burgh.

Dwane Ford
Dwane Ford is currently Branch Manager for RBC Dominion Securities, a leader in Canadian Wealth Management. He has been with RBC DS for 13 years as Investment Advisor, Assistant Manager and has been Manager in Victoria since 2004. Current and past volunteer work includes serving on the VIHA Foundation Board, UVic’s Mentorship program, the United Way, Big Brothers, Grey Cup 1995, Interplay, Walksafe, Help Fill a Dream Foundation and various summer and winter games. Verne Johnson. Starting with Imperial Oil Limited in 1966, Mr. Johnson has spent his entire career in the petroleum industry, primarily in western Canada, contributing to the growth of oil and gas companies of various sizes. Mr. Johnson is currently Chairman of Fort Chicago Energy Partners LP, and a Director of Gran Tierra Energy, and was recently appointed as Chairman of Petromanas Energy Inc. Mr. Johnson was previously a Director of Harvest Energy Trust, Blue Mountain Energy and Suroco Energy Inc., all publicly traded companies. Mr. Johnson is also a Director of a number of private companies and has served on the Board of Calgary Opera for 12 years.

Gary Karr
Gary Karr, acclaimed as “the world’s leading solo bassist” (Time Magazine) is, the first solo doublebassist in history to make that pursuit a full-time career. Since his debut with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic in 1962, Karr has performed as soloist on six continents with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, and with all the major orchestras of Australia. One of Karr’s proudest achievements is the Bronze Medal he received from the Rosa Ponselle Foundation which recognizes him as an outstanding lyrical musician. Gary is the proud holder of the 1997 Artist/Teacher of the Year Award from the American String Teacher’s Association (ASTA). He also holds the Distinguished Achievement Award (1995) from the International Society of Bassists (ISB).

Alan Lowe
Alan Lowe received his Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Manitoba and his Master of Architecture from the University of Oregon. Alan Lowe has been practicing Architecture in British Columbia since 1988. In 1990 he was elected as a City Councillor in Victoria for two successive three year terms. In 1999, Alan became the youngest Mayor of Victoria at the age of 38 and was re-elected twice to that position. In 2005, he was also elected as the chair of the Capital Regional District. Alan is also currently serving as the secretary to the Board of Directors of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation. In 2003, Alan Lowe was presented with the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for Community Service and in 2006 was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Chinese Canadians.

Heather Maclean
Heather Maclean moved from Toronto to Victoria in the fall of 2008. She recently retired as a professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and as Vice-president Research and Education at Women’s College Hospital. Heather had numerous administrative positions at UofT and served on a number of boards and advisory committees. Her work at the hospital entailed setting up a research institute in the biological and social factors influencing women’s health. While Heather has no musical training she has been a life long “appreciator” of music, especially classical music and opera. She takes great pleasure in the work of VCM, especially in the nurturing of the musicians of the future and in helping learners find joy in the practice. Heather loves Victoria and enjoys the natural environment and all the opportunities for walking and hiking although see misses her new grandson in Toronto.

Wendy MacNeil
Wendy MacNeil was born in 1960 in White Rock B.C. She lived in White Rock and Vancouver up to 1990, Calgary for 7 years and moved to Victoria in 1997. Wendy has been married for 23 years to Matthew MacNeil and has two sons, Michael, age 22 and Connor, age 20. Wendy’s occupation is managing holding companies for Family businesses: the Penny Farthing, Irish Times, and Bard and Banker Pubs. Her interests include Tennis, Boot Camps, Golf, Sailing and Travel.

Sandra McCallum
Sandra McCallum has had a long career in Law, beginning as a Consultant to Law Reform Commission of Canada, to her current position as Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria. She has been on a number of Boards including the Canadian Council Administrative Tribunals, the UBC Daycare Board, and is currently a Co-Chair of the Victoria Symphony’s Conductor’s Circle. Sandra was also the Editor in Chief of the Canadian Journal Administrative Law & Practice.

Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler was born in the U.S.A. and, prior to her marriage, was a member of the U.S. Foreign Service Staff Corps. After she and her husband became Canadian citizens, and volunteered at the Maritime Museum and Langham Court Theatre; both she and Michael served on the board of the Bastion Theatre. Anne joined the Board of Pacific Opera Victoria in 1986, where she served for ten years. During that time she developed a very active volunteer organization and oversaw the development of the many special events for which POV has become “famous.” For her work at POV, Anne was recently nominated for the
prestigious VERA award and previously received the Canada 125 Medal for community service in 1992.

Bob Waldhaus
Bob Waldhaus was born in Germany and his family moved to Canada when he was 10. He was a welder by trade, however he decided to go back to school for Education after his three children were born. After graduating from UBC, Bob taught for 30 years in Port Alberni. He and his wife moved to Sooke when Bob retired and now live with their daughter and son-in-law and their four children, three of whom take lessons
at the VCM.

NON-VOTING MEMBERS:

Michael Dias
Faculty Representative: Michael Dias, PhD Candidate (University of Victoria) is an enthusiastic performer, musicologist and teacher. As well as being the director of the VCM Guitar Orchestra, he maintains a busy teaching studio as a part of the guitar faculty at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. While completing a PhD in Musicology at UVic, he has taught undergraduate courses in music theory and music history and was the managing editor of the UVic School of Music’s academic journal, Musicological Explorations, from 2010- 2011. He recently presented his PhD research at the 2011 Guitar Foundation of America Convention in Columbus, Georgia, in a lecture entitled “The Guitar Music of Jacques Hétu.” A regular performer on the concert stage with the Victoria Guitar Trio and Quelus Duo, Michael was the first prize recipient at the 2008 Northwest Guitar Festival Competition.

Shawna Wyvill
Student Representative: Shawna Wyvill is currently a full time student in the Camosun Music Diploma program and is studying classical piano. She has always been passionate about music and is excited to be involved with the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Along with her studies, she teaches piano and theory part time at Taber Music School and also co-ordinates the theory program for the Victoria Children’s Choir. For fun, she plays violin in the Hampton Concert Orchestra, swims with the Victoria Masters Swim Club, and
enjoys traveling with her husband.