Faculty
Department Head
Daniel Brandes
Daniel Brandes has been a faculty member at the Victoria Conservatory of Music since 2015, where he has worked and taught in a number of areas. He teaches theory and ear training courses and lessons in the Postsecondary and Music Technology & Creativity program areas, as well as the Creative Impulse, a course focusing on cultivating creative practices. Additionally, Daniel is the program director and lead choir director for the VCM’s ChoirKids program delivered tuition-free through VCM Children’s Music Outreach into underserved schools in the Capital Regional District. As of July 2021, Daniel is the Artistic Director of the VCM’s […]
Program Instructors
Anna Cal Anna Cal
ANNA CAL is trained in the famous tradition of Russian piano schools. She studied at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg with well-known Russian performers and professors including Vitaly Berzon, Pavel Yegorov and the late Helen Shishko. She holds Master degrees with high distinction in three fields: piano performance, piano pedagogy and collaborative piano. After studying in Russia, Anna spent two years in Rome, Italy where she worked as a soloist and a voice coach. Anna is a senior teacher at the Victoria Conservatory of Music where she teaches piano, piano pedagogy and collaborative piano. She is Director of Collaborative piano and Interpretation in German Lieder Projects. Anna is a frequent performer in Victoria as a soloist and in collaboration with vocalists and instrumentalists.
Christine Donkin Christine Donkin
I am a Canadian composer, and I teach theory and composition at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Although my explorations into music composition began as a solitary pursuit, I have in recent years had the honour of collaborating with a wide variety of instrumentalists, vocalists, writers, and fellow composers. I have never specialised: I compose music for students and amateurs as well as for professionals. With the passage of time, my focus is shifting from my own development to that of young people who want to express themselves creatively through music.
Colleen Eccleston Colleen Eccleston
“Victoria’s Colleen Eccleston is a remarkable singer. She is a gifted songwriter and a very strong rhythm guitarist. Her on-stage ebullience makes her concerts a delight, but she can switch from a carefree song about life on the road to a sobering tale of environmental or interpersonal damage with consummate ease” – The Rogue Folk; “A dangerous blend of skillful song writing and gorgeous vocals makes Colleen an artist whose work is timeless and a must have for any true music aficionado’s collection.” – Naomi De Bruyn, Linear Reflections. After 14 years with The Ecclestons and many adventures on the road (…)
Nicholas Fairbank Nicholas Fairbank
Nicholas Fairbank was born in New Westminster, BC. In his school years he studied piano, organ and French horn, later going on to study organ performance and conducting in London (UK) and Paris (France). He holds Associateship diplomas in organ performance from the Royal Conservatory (RCM gold medal 1981) and the RCCO (Willan Prize 1998), and Masters degrees from UCSB (French) and the Université de Paris VIII (musicology). After some composition lessons with Stephen Chatman in the 90s he went on to complete an MMus degree in composition at the University of Victoria under the direction of John Celona. (…)
Wynn Gogol Wynn Gogol
Wynn Gogol is a music producer, mixer, educator and author who enjoys working in a wide range of genres and styles. With more than twenty years of experience, his work has received Juno nominations, a Maple Blues Award and a Canadian Folk Award. Wynn joined the VCM in 2017 to teach the newly developed postsecondary Diploma in Music Performance course “Composing as Singer-Songwriter”. As a faculty member of the VCM’s School of Music Technology & Creativity, Wynn has since expanded his involvement with the VCM to include teaching digital school notation, as well as recording, mixing, and editing, as part of the VCM’s new Music Technology Lab programming currently under development. […]
Jonathan Haek Jonathan Haek
Jonathan Haek is a composer and flutist originally from Portland, Oregon. Dr. Haek is the Director of the School of Music Technology and Creativity at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. He currently teaches Aural Skills courses for the VCM’s Department of Postsecondary Studies, and is the designer, developer, and instructor of the new postsecondary Certificate of Music Technologies program offered in partnership with Camosun College. Jon’s interests lie at the intersections of music, math, and technology. His projects have involved collaboration with modern dance choreographers, free improvisation, interactive and computer music composition, and Fibonacci numbers as compositional tools. Dedicated to […]
Rachel Hill Rachel Hill
A graduate from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Music Degree, Rachel Hill also holds a Music Diploma in piano and voice from Douglas College in New Westminster. Her teaching career began at the age of 19 when she was selected for the music teacher apprenticeship program at an established music studio in Surrey, BC. Her established teaching practice includes knowledge of a wide variety of curriculum, individualised to meet the musical preferences of her students which range from classical to contemporary. She endeavours to pass on her enthusiasm and love of music to her students who range from the very young to adults.
Robert Holliston Robert Holliston
Robert Holliston studied at the Victoria Conservatory of Music under Robin Wood and Winifred Scott Wood, and at the University of British Columbia under Robert Rogers. As an accompanist and chamber player he has performed throughout Canada and the USA, England and New Zealand, and has been heard frequently on CBC-Radio. He has recorded CDs with the popular salon ensemble Viveza, trombonist Ian McDougall, tenor Ken Lavigne, his brother Tom Holliston, Show Business Giants, and members of the Hornby Island Ensemble. Robert has collaborated with many of Canada’s leading singers, including Richard Margison, Benjamin Butterfield, Judith Forst, Nathalie Paulin, Susan (…)
Nathan Jonson Nathan Jonson
Nathan Jonson is an electronic music producer and composer who has been releasing music internationally for almost 2 decades as a solo act and as a part of numerous group projects. Live performance and DJ tours have taken him to the United States, all over the UK and Europe, Russia, and through Asia while teaching production masterclasses along the way. At the VCM Nathan specializes in teaching Ableton. […]
Darcy Phillips Darcy Phillips
A professional musician for thirty-five years, Darcy’s career has spanned all areas of music, including teaching, composing, performing, and recording. Since 1995 he has been keyboardist for Universal recording artist Jann Arden, accompanying her on stages throughout the world and co-writing songs on several of her recent recordings. Winner of the Alberta Motion Picture Industry Association’s Score of the Year award, he has composed original soundtracks for numerous theatre, feature film and television productions. Darcy has years of experience in recording studios, both as session musician and producer, and regularly performs live in blues, jazz, and pop settings. With a […]
Jan Randall Jan Randall
Jan Randall is a pianist, who played entirely by ear from childhood, started working in blues and pop music bands while still in high school, and after receiving formal classical and jazz training as a composer and arranger went on to spend a decade in theatre before moving on to make a career of composing sound tracks for broadcast. Jan has been the head song writer since 2011 for the hit CBC radio series “The Irrelevant Show.” He wrote songs and doubled as musical director for comedy shows with Second City in the early 80′s, where he collaborated with such (…)
Christopher Reiche Christopher Reiche
CHRISTOPHER REICHE is a performer, composer and instructor. Originally from Ontario, he moved to Victoria British Columbia to pursue a Masters of Music at the University of Victoria. As a composer, his works have been performed by The Vancouver Miniaturist Ensemble, Mark McGregor and Brian Nesselroads, and locally by the Aventa Ensemble. His work The length of this piece is not arbitary – Painting Portrait of Glass has been recorded by Quatuor Bozzini and released on their CD À chacun sa miniature. As a performer, he specializes in contemporary music and free improvisation. In Victoria he has performed with the (…)
Danuel Tate Danuel Tate
Danuel Tate is a keyboard player and composer of electronic music. He has been writing electronic music for the past 18 years, and his work with the group “Cobblestone Jazz” has given him international acclaim. He has performed extensively at many of the world’s largest music festivals, including three times at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. In between touring he teaches piano to a range of students. Trained as a jazz pianist, improvising is a large component of his lesson set. He prefers to teach the fundamentals of music theory aurally, and then progresses to reading and writing. Danuel […]
Crystal Wiksyk Crystal Wiksyk
Crystal Wiksyk is a theory and musicianship instructor at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, where she coordinates the Classical Music Theory program within the Ann & George Nation Conservatory of Classical Music. Crystal teaches group classes as well as individual lessons at the VCM, and has taught theory and musicianship classes for the VCM/Camosun College Diploma program. She is the co-author of three publications for the Royal Conservatory of Music, and also leads the Music Theory programming for the VCM’s Summer Academy. Crystal is a Royal Conservatory certified theory teacher and long-time member of the BC Registered Music Teachers Association.