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James M. Baldwin, Baritone
James Baldwin is very happy to be re-joining the Elmer Iseler
Singers this season. He graduated this past year from the University of
Toronto's prestigious Opera School, performing roles such as Onegin in
Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen,
and Peter in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel. In concert, he has
been featured regularly as a soloist with the Metropolitan Festival Choir
and Orchestra, the Burlington Civic Chorale, and the Arcady Singers.
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Anne Bornath, Soprano
Anne sings soprano with the Elmer Iseler Singers and the Amadeus Choir as
she continues to study voice with Marjorie Sparks. In Spring 2011, Anne sang
with the orchestra for the Toronto premiere of the National Ballet of Canada’s
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In 2009, she was selected to sing a duet with
Isabel Bayrakdarian for the University of Toronto Engineering Science
Department’s 75th Anniversary Celebration, under the direction of Julian Kuerti.
When she isn’t singing, Anne is an aerospace engineer and as Director of ACS
Programs specializes in the design of micro-satellites. She lives in King City
with her husband Brian and is thankful for his unwavering support. |  | Joan Campbell, Alto
Joan began singing for the Elmer Iseler Singers in 2005. A physician in her other life, she practices radiology in Mississauga. Joan has been a long standing member of the Amadeus Choir and is an avid gardener and amateur bassoonist. A native of Toronto, she currently resides in the Beaches with her two sons Patrick and Colin. |  | Alexander Jozefacki, Bass
Alex was born in Toronto, Ontario. He became a member of the Festival Singers in 1976 and then the EIS in 1979 and continued until 1981. He then left the Singers to go to law school, but continued to sing with Dr. Iseler as a member of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. He returned to the EIS in the fall of 1996. Alex now has his own law practice, Jozefacki-Fielding. Alex and his wife have three children, twins David and Alexis and elder daughter Dianne. |  | David King, Baritone
David studied vocal, choral and instrumental music and education at the University of Western Ontario where he received the Don Wright Choral Scholarship and conducted the UWO Choir. He has sung in and directed choirs, musicals and operas including various works for Mooredale Concerts, and was quest choir director for the Canadian Brass at their annual Roy Thomson Hall Christmas Concert. David has been a clinician at CAMMAC, Long & McQuade's Music Education Centre and for various schools including Earl Haig S.S. Claude Watson Arts Program. He also conducts All The King's Voices, a mixed-voice semi-professional choir that has performed on CBC and at Roy Thomson Hall, The Glenn Gould Studio and The Toronto Centre For The Arts. |  | Gisele Kulak, Soprano
Gisele studied music formally in middle and high school, singing and playing piano and French horn. She earned degrees in Music Education and Arts from University of Saskatchewan, and has been teaching voice for nearly 20 years, during which time she has found her students, themselves, to be her most valuable teachers. Singing alone and in choirs has always been a source of immense delight.
Since arriving in Toronto in 1991, Gisele has enjoyed a variety of professional opportunities in opera, operetta, and as soloist with symphonies, chamber ensembles, choirs, jazz ensembles, and a popular music group. She is currently 2nd soprano section lead at Metropolitan United Church and also sings with VOXWORKS. |  | Nelson Lohnes, Bass/Baritone
Nelson was born in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Organist and music director at St. James The Apostle, Brampton. Occasional teacher for the Dufferin Peel Roman Catholic School Board and Peel Board of Education. Grade 10 Silver Medal and A.R.C.T. Gold Medal from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Music Associate and Music Licentiate Diplomas from the Western Board of Music. Solo work during career has included opera, musical and choral societies in England, the United States and Canada. Recent solo work was in August at Niagara on the Lake International Festival singing several Spanish Tango pieces with chamber quartet. Nelson will soon be recording a new solo CD, including "Song for the Mira". |  | Andrea Ludwig, Alto
Mezzo-soprano Andrea Ludwig is a Canadian Opera Company Ensemble graduate who has appeared with them as Moira in Poul Ruders "The Handmaid's Tale", following performances as the First witch/Spirit in "Dido and Aeneas", Liesgen in "The Coffee Cantata" and the Second Niece in "Peter Grimes". She made her company debut in the 2001/02 season as Nireno in Sartorio's "Giulio Cesare in Egitto" and went on to sing Nireno in Handel's "Julius Ceasar", Delia in "Il viaggio a Reims". Flora in "The Turn of the Screw" and Jano in Janacek's "Jenufa".
Her many concert appearances have included Mozart's Mass in C Minor as well as Handel's Dixit Dominus and Copland's In the Beginning with the Amadeus Choir and Mozart's Requiem with The Elmer Iseler Singers. |  | Eric MacKeracher, Tenor
Eric is from Pickering, Ontario. He joined the EIS in September 2000 and in the same month became the music director at Kingston Road United Church in the Beaches area of Toronto. He also sings tenor in the Amadeus Choir. In his spare time Eric likes to read - preferably with one of his several cats curled up in his lap! |
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Laura McAlpine, Alto
Winnipeg-born, Laura enthuses audiences with her musical interpretation and
dramatic versatility with “mellifluous singing and flashes of wit” (Opera
Canada) and an “impressive voice that jumps off the stage” (Paula Citron,
Classical 96.3 FM). Laura’s repertoire spans from traditional opera and oratorio
to contemporary music. Her concert work has been with Cambridge Symphony
Orchestra, Arcady and Talisker Players. Laura also holds an Honours Bachelor of
Arts, Music Specialist, Minor in German Studies degree from the University of
Toronto. |
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Claire Morley, Soprano
Claire joined the Elmer Iseler Singers in 2007. She began her musical training
in her hometown of Owen Sound, where she studied with Nancy Stewart. Claire has
sung with the Ontario Youth Choir (2005, 2007), National Youth Choir (2006, rec.
in 2008) and Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto. She studies English and German at
the University of Toronto. Claire is currently Manager of the SweetWater Music
Festival. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, running, and cycling. |
 | Joanne Nasmith, Soprano
Joanne joined the Elmer Iseler singers in 2004. She grew up in the Bradford area, north of Toronto. Joanne has both a Bachelor of Music Education and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Western Ontario. Her principal instrument at university was the piano. Since graduating, Joanne has been teaching private piano lessons at Willowdale Christian School and in students' homes. She has done some work as an educational assistant in the primary and junior grades and in a special education program. Joanne is a member of the Amadeus Choir as well as the Armour Heights Presbyterian Church choir. She resides in Pickering with her husband Jim and their cat, Molly. |  | Mitchell Pady, Tenor
A Graduate of the University of Western Ontario, Mitchell Pady pursued his studies in composition and voice. He has performed and participated in many festivals and conferences including the national conductors' conference run by the Association of Canadian Orchestras. He has acted as choral adjudicator for both the Kiwanis and Music Fest Canada competitions and is the Choral Conductor for the acclaimed Inter-Provincial Music Camp. During the last six years Mitchell has worked with teachers and students as a choral clinician for a number of professional development workshops across the Toronto District School Board. |
 | Bud Roach, Tenor
Bud Roach joined the Elmer Iseler Singers in 2005, and since that time has
performed with many of Canada’s prominent musical organizations, including the
Canadian Opera Company, Opera Atelier, The Toronto Consort, the Aradia Ensemble,
Soundstreams, and La Chapelle de Quebec. He has recorded Handel’s Israel in
Egypt (2008) and Samuel Arnold’s Polly (2010) with the Aradia Ensemble for the
Naxos label. Upcoming engagements include appearances with the the Musicians in
Ordinary, the Toronto Consort, Capella Intima, and touring with EIS and
Soundstreams, singing the role of “Trickster” in The Journey, an opera in the
Cree language by Melissa Hui. More information is available at
www.budroach.com |  | Cathy Robinson, Soprano
Cathy joined the Elmer Iseler Singers in 2005. She has an extensive operatic career, including the role of Marguerite in Gounod's Faust with Premier Opera, Fiordiligi in Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte with Oberlin's Summer Opera Program in Casalmaggiore, Italy. Cathy has also appeared in three operas with the New Opera and Concert Centre in Toronto, and was the winner of the 1996 Oshawa-Whitby Kiwanis Senior Rosebowl Competition. Cathy maintains her role as a soprano with the Amadeus Choir, in which she has sung for many years. | 
| Graham Robinson, Baritone
Graham Robinson joined the Singers in the summer of 2007. He received his Bachelors of Music in Voice at the University of Victoria, where he studied under Dr. Bruce More, Alexandra Browning, and Susan Young. Graham was a featured performer for the University of Victoria Chorus and Chamber Singers, and the Victoria Chamber Orchestra In addition to his role as a soloist, Graham has managed a vocal studio and provided vocal coaching to the Cantiamo Youth Choir. After spending time in Cuba and Japan, he now resides in Toronto. In addition to singing with Elmer Iseler Singers, he is featured regularly with the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Univox, Humbercrest United Church, and All The King’s Voices. |  | Alison Roy, Alto
Alison was born in Ottawa, Ontario and has been with the Elmer Iseler Singers since 1994. She works for the Toronto District School Board as a Music Itinerant. Alison is Second Alto Section Lead at Metropolitan United Church and Alto Section Lead for the Amadeus Choir. In her spare time (whenever that is!), she does studio work, and writes. |  | Michael Sawarna, Tenor
Michael began singing with the Elmer Iseler Singers in 2004. He is the second Iseler Singer to originate from Kemptville, Ontario a small town south of Ottawa. Now living in Toronto he is a Tenor Section Lead for the Amadeus Choir and St. Andrew's United Church Choir. He is studying voice with Catherine Robbin at York University. In his spare time Michael hopes to become as good a hockey player as fellow tenor Ed Wiens. |  | Rebecca Whelan, Soprano
Rebecca Whelan is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a degree in voice performance. Her vast experience as a soloist has taken her throughout Europe and North America and although she originally joined the Elmer Iseler Singers in 1993 and sang with them until 2001, she took a brief hiatus until rejoining again in 2007. Now married, and a mother to her four year old son Julian, she continues to be in demand as a freelance solo artist. 2007 saw the release of her first independent CD recording of original songs called Shades of Innocence, written and produced by her friend and colleague Chris Dedrick. |  | Edward Wiens, Tenor
Ed was born in Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan, and has been with the Iseler Singers since its inception. He is also the librarian for the group. Ed sings as a tenor lead at St. Paul's Bloor Street Anglican Church Choir and freelances when the EIS schedule permits. His hobbies include playing hockey, horseback riding and reading. Lately he has been enjoying watching fellow tenor, Mike Sawarna, chase the impossible dream - by playing on his hockey team! |
 
This page was last edited 28 November 2011.
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