Faculty
Instructors for the Program
Meet the Team
ISMI co-founders and long-time friends, Betty Allison and Melanie Cancade, have been collaborating on musical projects since their first meeting at the University of Victoria nearly 20 years ago. From recitals to international competitions to recordings, the pair have worked as a piano/voice duo, first as students and then as professionals.
Despite their separate career paths, they consistently put aside time to make music together as much as possible, especially when they return home to Vancouver Island for family visits. Now, Betty and Melanie wish to share their years of education and experience through a collaborative, holistic approach to creating music with young musicians in the place they call home.
Betty Allison:Voice Teacher/Administrator
Teaching artist and soprano, Dr. Betty Allison is a professor of voice at Dalhousie University where she is Head of Voice, runs the DalOpera program and teaches applied voice. A graduate of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble, major credits include the world premiere of Mary’s Wedding with Pacific Opera Victoria, the title role in Floyd’s Susannah with Florentine Opera, Alice in Verdi’s Falstaff with L’Opèra Thèâtre de Metz Mètropole, and Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus with Edmonton Opera.
Betty has performed a varied repertoire, demonstrating her natural ability and talent, from the Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), to Vixen (Cunning Little Vixen) and Elizabeth I (Glorina). She is equally comfortable on the concert stage, with her rich and florid interpretation of pieces such as Mahler’s Symphony VIII, Brahms’ Requiem, and Gubaidulia’s Galgenlieder À 3.
Recently, Betty completed her doctorate at the University of Toronto. Her research focused on the connection between a singer’s voice and their overall wellness and resilience. Specifically, she examined the non-musical stressors and coping strategies that elite singers use to maintain their voices and careers.
Betty is excited to finally be starting this program in her hometown with her long time pianist Melanie Cancade.
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Melanie Cancade: Administrator
British Columbian pianist, Melanie Cancade, is currently one of Southwestern Ontario's most sought after collaborative pianists, appearing in concert extensively throughout the region with both aspiring and established singers. Since 2010, she has been coaching vocalists at Western University in London, Ontario; specifically, Melanie’s focus includes, but is not limited to, cultivating interpretive and analytical skills for poetry, song, and style, curating recitals, facilitating self-directed learning strategies, and offering professional and personal support. On top of all of this, she maintains a busy performing schedule—for instance, most recently, she has appeared with London Symphonia and The London Music Machine.
After completing her Bachelor’s of Music at the University of Victoria, Melanie received her Master’s in Piano Accompaniment from McGill University under the guidance of Michael McMahon. Beyond Montreal, she has been invited to further her studies at programs such as the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, The Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, Vancouver International Song Institute, and the Franz Schubert Institut in Austria.
Playing to Canadian, American, Italian, and Austrian audiences with features on CBC Radio and Bravo Television, Melanie has also performed locally with Pacific Opera Victoria’s touring productions of “La Cenerentola” and “Carmen”, as well as acting as rehearsal pianist for their Young Artist Program.
Gwenna Fairchild- Taylor: Teaching Artist
Canadian soprano and teaching artist Gwenna Fairchild-Taylor believes in the power of the arts as a catalyst for community building and social change and strives to make sure everyone has access to creative experiences. She holds an M.Mus in Opera from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Opera Omaha Holland Community Opera Fellowship. Recent performance highlights include In Terra Pax (Mississauga Chamber Singers), Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony (Hart House Symphony), Mozart Requiem (Dalhousie Collegium Cantorum), premieres with the Artsong Collaborative Project, and workshops with Fawn Chamber Creative and Good Mess Opera Theatre. She looks forward to singing Sieglinde in Die Walküre this summer with Grand River Opera.
Deeply dedicated to community music, Gwenna has written and facilitated programming for over 30 organizations across North America. She developed the curriculum for and continues to consult and teach Learning English Through Song, a program run by the Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall that supports language learning and community building for newcomers. She is Education Consultant for Opera Sprouts and Living Opera at Pacific Opera Victoria, and teaches at the Community Music Schools of Toronto, working with youth, choirs, and private voice students. Gwenna is Associate Conductor of the Surrey Place Chorus for adults with intellectual disabilities, regularly adjudicates festivals, and leads teaching artistry and community engagement workshops.
Frances Armstrong: Collaborative Pianist
Frances Armstrong, originally from Surrey, British Columbia, holds a Master’s degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of Toronto, where she studied with Steven Philcox, and a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance with Distinction from the University of Victoria. She has explored a wide range of repertoire under the guidance of internationally renowned artists at summer programs including the Franz Schubert Institute, Toronto Summer Music, and the Music Academy of the West.
Frances has completed intensive training as an apprentice coach with both l’Opéra de Montréal and the Canadian Opera Company. She is in high demand as a collaborator and coach across Canada, having served as Head Coach at Edmonton Opera for two seasons, and continues to be invited back as a regular collaborator with City Opera Vancouver, Edmonton Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, and Highlands Opera Studio.
Special Guests
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Past Faculty & Guests
Tina Chang
An active musician in Vancouver, Tina has performed across Canada, the US, and Europe. In addition to performing, Tina works as a vocal coach and has been on the music staff of Vancouver Opera since 2009. Academically, Tina is Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia and on faculty at the Vancouver Academy of Music. She has been a guest artist at Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts mentoring composers in writing idiomatically for the piano and the voice. She has also been on staff at Dalhousie University in Halifax where she coached voice and instrumental students as well as taught keyboard skills to piano and non-piano majors alike. She enjoys teaching, and maintains a private piano studio in Vancouver.
Giuseppe Pietraroia
Giuseppe Pietraroia is Associate Conductor for both the Victoria Symphony and Pacific Opera. As a guest conductor he has been engaged by l’Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestra London, Vancouver Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Hamilton Philharmonic, Okanagan Symphony, Regina Symphony, Kingston Symphony and Thunder Bay Symphony. His extensive opera engagements with Pacific Opera include productions of Il Barbiere Di Siviglia, La Traviata, La Boheme, Lucia di Lammermoor, Norma, Rigoletto, Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly, La Cenerentola, Tosca, and Let’s Make an Opera/The Little Sweep. In addition, he has conducted productions for l’Opéra de Montréal, l’Opéra de Québec, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Edmonton Opera, Opera New Brunswick, Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artist Program, and l’Institut Canadien d’Art Vocal.
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Rebecca Hass
Rebecca Hass (Nitaawe giizhigok/ singing sky woman) is a performer, arts administrator, writer and creative living coach who has been a grateful visitor on Lekwungen territory since 2005. A mixed blood woman (Metis, French, German, British) she is currently the Director of Engagement Programs and Partnerships for Pacific Opera and the winner of the Nada Ristich Change Maker Ruby from Opera Canada for 2022.
A graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University with an Honours Bachelor in Music and Voice Performance, she has enjoyed an over 30-year career as a mezzo soprano performing across Canada with almost every opera company and orchestra as a soloist and lead performer. She has also created several cabarets, one woman shows and toured them to various communities (Wine, Women and Song, Wanna Sing a Showtune) and appeared in the Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera as a swing.
A radio broadcaster and documentary maker for CBC, she is currently the creator, host and producer of the podcast What’s Up with Opera. Rebecca is currently creating a multi-media theatrical piece “Manaadjia” - which means “to take care of our people in order to conserve them for a long time”. Her vision and practice on the land is evolving as a window to the ancestors and a reawakening of our connection to place.
Michael Rose
Michael Rose, pianist, has performed in concert with many of Canada's finest artists and has enjoyed a long association with several of Canada's leading arts organizations, including Opera in Concert, Toronto Operetta Theatre, and Forte – Toronto Gay Men's Chorus. Prior to that, he worked for Edmonton Opera, Alberta College, The Banff Centre, and St. Louis Opera Theatre.
Although the bulk of his time is devoted to performing and teaching, writing and composition have always been part of Michael’s artistic process. His third full-length music theater work, the comedy A Northern Lights Dream, received its world premier in February of 2022 in Halifax, performed by students at the Fountain School for the Arts, Dalhousie University. Its professional premiere, performed by Toronto Operetta Theatre at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Center, was enthusiastically received in April of 2022.
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