Faculty

Department Head

Ingrid Attrot

Hailed as ‘a singer with uncommon theatrical sensibility and musical intelligence’, soprano Ingrid Attrot has appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra with conductors such as Dutoit, Marriner, Willcocks, Pinnok and Hickox. Her work with conductor Richard Hickox has included performances of the Britten War Requiem, Peter Grimes (Ellen Orford), and Beethoven’s Fidelio (Leonora). Opera companies with which she has worked include the English National Opera (as Miss Jessel in Turn of the Screw), Opera Northern Ireland (as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni), and Pacific Opera (…)

Program Instructors

Nancy Argenta

With a repertoire spanning three centuries, Nancy Argenta has been hailed not only as the supreme Handel soprano of our age but also for her performances of works by such diverse composers as Mahler, Mozart, Schubert and Schoenberg. Conductors with whom she has collaborated include Ozawa, Gardiner, Davis, Blomstedt, Pinnock, Hogwood and Norrington. She has sung with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, and the Toronto, Montreal, and Sydney Symphony Orchestras.
In opera, concert and recital, she has appeared at many leading festivals including Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, Mostly Mozart, and the BBC (…)

Kyron Basu

Kyron Basu, baritone, has taught at the Victoria Conservatory of Music since September, 2016. He earned his Diploma in Music and AVCM in Vocal Pedagogy earlier that year, studying with Ingrid Attrot (voice) and Nancy Argenta (pedagogy). As a teacher, Kyron strives to provide a supportive and encouraging lesson atmosphere to help students unlock their musical potential, regardless of experience level. He emphasizes the development of a free, healthy vocal technique capable of expressing a diverse range of music. An enthusiastic performer, Kyron sings regularly in the Victoria area. As a soloist, he has appeared with groups such as Fretwork, […]

Maureen Branch

Maureen Boileau Branch has maintained a busy voice studio since 1974, joining the Victoria Conservatory of Music as a Voice Instructor in 2005. Her professional credentials include a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Victoria and a Teaching Certificate from the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Maureen’s students study and perform repertoire from the classical, operatic, musical theatre and contemporary genres, and many have gone on to professional music careers and advanced studies in Canada and abroad. Maureen fosters a positive, supportive studio atmosphere, encouraging her students to fulfill their personal potential through the development of instinctive, artistic, skillful (…)

Cari Burdett

Based on Vancouver Island, Cari Burdett (2016 VIMA Vocalist of the Year) actively performs, tours self-produced works including her own songs, and produces shows. As Director of Lila Music Centre located in Duncan, Cari brings over 20 years of accumulated education and experience in both the Classical and Popular-Contemporary Genres, and since October 2017 teaches voice/vocals for the Victoria Conservatory of Music, as a faculty member in the Chwyl Family School of Contemporary Music, the Ann & George Nation Conservatory of Classical Music (Voice Dept), and the Department of Postsecondary Studies. […]

Georgina Craig

Georgina Craig graduated from Christ Church University in Canterbury, England; undertook postgraduate vocal studies at Trinity College of Music in London, teacher training at Reading University and Orff training in Calgary. She brings to the VCM a wealth of experience working with students of all ages both in a class setting and on a one to one basis. In addition to her community outreach work at the VCM, Georgina is the conductor for the Concerto group of Viva Youth Voices. Georgina enjoys performing music of all genres and is a member of Ensemble Laude here in Victoria. She also sings (…)

Tzenka Dianova

Tzenka Dianova completed her doctoral studies in piano performance at the University of Auckland, under the tutelage of Tamas Vesmas, pupil of the legendary Yvonne Lefébure, student of Alfred Cortot. Earlier, she completed two masters in piano performance, in Canada and in Europe, where she studied with Marina Kapatzinskaya and Dmitri Bashkirov (Mozarteum), whose direct pedagogical lineage leads back to Liszt and Beethoven. Starting her performance career at the tender age of five as a child prodigy, Tzenka has concertized extensively as a soloist and concerto soloist throughout Eastern and Western Europe, North America and New Zealand, having piano works […]

Cathy Fern Lewis

Catherine Fern Lewis is renowned as a highly versatile soprano and sound artist. An ambassador and active exponent of Canada’s new music and art scene, Lewis has premiered over one hundred pieces by prominent composers and created her own multi-media works that push the boundaries of performance. Lewis earned a BMus from the University of Victoria, BC; and devoted three subsequent years to vocal training in Europe and Canada, studying under luminaries Frances James Adaskin, Selena James, Mary Morrison and Pierre Bernac. She appears as soloist with symphony orchestras and in recitals of new and traditional music. Her improvisations have (…)

Nathan McDonald

With a repertoire spanning several centuries, from renaissance polyphony to modern opera, Nathan McDonald, baritone, is often lauded for his vocal versatility. With a diverse musical background including a degree in trumpet (UVic) and seven years as a church Music Director, Nathan brings a wealth of experience and musicianship to his craft. In his teaching, Nathan emphasizes the exploration of resonance through body awareness, and the importance of an emotional connection to both music and text, regardless of style or genre. Nathan’s approach to pedagogy stems from his extensive work as a student of soprano, Nancy Argenta, combined with his […]

Kiiri Michelsen

Canadian-Norwegian mezzo-soprano Kiiri Michelsen is active in performance, teaching (voice/lyric diction), coaching (lyric diction) and research (lyric diction). Voice teaching (Dept of Postsecondary Studies – VCM/Camosun Diploma in Music Performance; Ann & George Nation Conservatory School of Classical Music) The ultimate goal of Kiiri’s teaching approach is the discovery of each singer’s unique sound. In […]

Louise Rose

Louise Rose has been called a living Canadian treasure. She studied classical voice in Pennsylvania with John Duddy and Todd Duncan; pipe organ with Catharine Brooke Morgan; piano with Oscar Peterson; conducting with Leonard Bernstein and arranging with Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington. Some of her independent studies have been with Carmen McRae, Ella Fitgerald and B.B. King. She has served as artist/mentor in residence at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA and at The Frank DeMiero and Soundsation Vocal Jazz Camps. Louise is a sought after vocal jazz ensemble clinician. She has played and sung with symphony orchestras in Canada (…)

Marnie Setka-Mooney

On Faculty at the VCM since 1998, Marnie has also taught at Pearson College and the Victoria School of Ideal Education. She has adjudicated for the VCM Lieder Competition and has taught Children’s Voice for the VCM Diploma Program. Her major teachers have been Catherine Young (VCM) and French Tickner (UBC). As a performer, she has sung professionally as a recitalist in Winnipeg (Women of Note), Vancouver (Cantata Singers), Kelowna (Philharmonic Orchestra), and Victoria (Bel Canto/Viva). A believer in professional development, Marnie has sung in Master Classes for Richard Miller, Edith Wiens, and Cornelia Prestl. She conducts Viva’s Foundation Choir (…)

Kathryn Whitney

Canadian/British singer Dr Kathryn Whitney was raised on Vancouver Island and now divides her time between Britain and Canada. A versatile musician whose work combines concert and recital performance with a wide range of collaborative research, educational and other projects, she is a lyric mezzo-soprano with an “impressively wide dynamic range” (Oxford Times) and a “special gift” for interpreting text (Nanaimo News) whose singing has been described as “meaty”, “prophetic” (Oxford Times) and “very touching” (Sir John Eliot Gardiner). Kathryn is a freelance performer, teacher, researcher, and solo and choral clinician. She is currently an Associate Fellow at the Institute (…)

Brian Wismath

Brian Wismath is music director of Civic Orchestra of Victoria, Linden Singers of Victoria, Victoria Choral Society, Victoria Conservatory of Music Chorale, and Vox Humana Chamber Choir. With a rich musical background, Mr. Wismath is in demand as a clinician and has served as director of Vancouver Peace Choir, University of Victoria Chamber Singers and Tucson Masterworks Chorale, associate conductor of Orpheus Choir of Toronto and Chorus Niagara, and assistant conductor of St. Jacob’s Youth Choir (Stockholm, Sweden), Ontario Youth Choir and Opera in Concert Chorus (Toronto). A passionate advocate for the performance of new music, Mr. Wismath has commissioned […]