2025 Jury & Guest Conductors

Walter Martella - Canada
Artistic Director, Jury

Conductor and Music Director of the Powell River Academy of Music, Artistic Director of the International Choral Kathaumixw, and co-director of the qathet Accordion Fest, Walter Martella is an accomplished pianist, accordionist, and trumpeter. He earned a Diploma in Jazz Trumpet from Malaspina College (VIU) and a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Victoria. He also completed the Jazz Intensive Studies program at the Banff School of Fine Arts, and the British Columbia Choral Federation's conducting program.

Walter leads the choral program at the Academy of Music. He conducts the Academy Chamber Choir, Chor Musica Men's Choir, the Academy children and youth choirs, and the Powell River Chorus. He also maintains a full private teaching schedule and regularly leads choral workshops.

Walter is a strong believer in the power of music as an important part of community and has been an adjudicator for instrumental and choral festivals throughout British Columbia. He has recorded seven studio albums, performed provincially with many well-known musicians in multiple genres, and continues to be in demand all along the West Coast as a trumpet soloist, accordionist, and jazz pianist.

 

Dr. Zimfira Poloz - Toronto, Canada
Adult Common Song Director, Jury

Dr. Zimfira Poloz is an award-winning conductor, educator, and internationally respected adjudicator. With boundless energy, she nurtures young musicians, believing that “brilliance has no age.” She has received numerous honors, including the Honoured Representative of Education of Kazakhstan, Hamilton’s VIP Award, and the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting.

She teaches Vocal Pedagogy for Young Choirs at the University of Toronto and serves as a Canadian representative for Choral Space and the Interkultur World Choir Council. She is also a board member of the World Alliance of Children’s Choirs and an editor for Cypress Choral Music.

Originally from Kazakhstan, where she founded the nation’s first choir school, Zimfira’s talent was recognized upon her arrival in Canada by Jean Ashworth-Bartle. She has conducted at St. Michael’s Choir School and served as Artistic Director of the Hamilton Children’s Choir and Young Voices Toronto. Now, as Artistic Director of TCC, she has come full circle, returning to her musical home.

Elizabeth Núñez - New York, USA
Children’s Choir Common Song Director, Jury

Elizabeth Núñez is the Creative Director of the award-winning Young People’s Chorus of New York Elizabeth City (YPC) and the founding artistic director of the SoHarmoniums Women’s Choir. At YPC, she directs children aged 8 to 18 in rehearsals, performances, and tours, impacting 2,000 young singers annually. Since joining in 2004, she has led YPC at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, on national television, and in international choral competitions, earning top honors, including “Choir of the World” at the Choral Kathaumixw Festival. She also oversees YPC’s School Choruses program, reaching over 1,200 children in 20 New York City schools, and founded the WIT: Women Inspiring Tomorrow mentorship initiative.

Beyond YPC, Elizabeth directs the intergenerational SoHarmoniums Women’s Choir, which has grown from six to over 60 members performing across New York City. A soughtafter choral clinician, she has conducted All-State Honor Choirs and led workshops nationwide, including at the ACDA Eastern Regional Conference. She holds a Master of Music Education from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Music Education from Lee University, which honored her as a Distinguished Alumnus for her dedication to transforming young lives through music. She also serves on the Chorus America Board.

 

Dr. Larry Nickle - Vancouver, Canada
Jury

This is Dr. Larry Nickel’s fourth venture to q̓at̓ᶿaymɩxʷ as adjudicator and/or choir director. His music has been performed widely; in every Canadian Province, in each of the 50 States and throughout the world. Larry had his first choir directing position when he was 17. He taught high school performing arts for 25 years, directing 50 stage productions (e.g. The Mikado, HMS Pinafore, Fiddler on the Roof) on top of the regular teaching load (Concert Bands, Jazz Bands, Choirs, Handbells, Drama and Acting). In 1993 Larry won the International Association for Jazz Education Award for “outstanding service to jazz education”. His senior choir was selected two years in a row, 2001 and 2002, by Varsity Vocals’ International Search for the Best of High School Choirs. Larry sang professionally in the Vancouver Chamber Choir for six years. Larry left teaching in 2003 and returned to University. At that time he had 60 pieces in print with 12 publishers. Over 60,000 people performed Larry’s music in 2016 (when an account was taken).

In 1989 Larry nearly died from viral encephalitis. Emerging from a coma after 15 days he decided to devote more time to composition and (as J.S. Bach put it) “soli Deo gloria”. Tony Funk and Larry formed the West Coast Mennonite Chamber Choir in 1990. This stellar choir produced 13 CDs, over 15 years, which included 120 Nickel compositions and arrangements. The proceeds from the CD sales (over a million dollars) were donated to a local charity for mentally challenged people. Larry’s doctoral thesis, Requiem for Peace (in 13 languages), has received 27 worldwide performances thus far.

 

Scott Leithead - Edmonton, Canada
Jury

Scott Leithead is the founder and Artistic Director of Edmonton's Kokopelli Choir Association and TIME Association. He has been invited to conduct provincial and state honour choirs on twenty-five occasions and has presented workshops in North America and beyond. Scott has a passion for music from southern Africa, and he has been invited to work with choirs in South Africa and Namibia on numerous occasions.

Under his direction, Kokopelli was the winner of both the 2015 CBC National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs and both the 2015 and 2016 Canadian National Music Competition. In the summer of 2019, Kokopelli was invited to perform at the IFCM World Choral Expo in Portugal, where they represented Canada on the world stage. Also in 2019, Kokopelli was featured on an episode of CTV's The Amazing Race Canada.

Scott is a long-time member of the advisory committee for the Canadian Rocky Mountain Music Festival. He is also past president of the Braille Tone Music Society as well as the National Youth Music and Art Development Foundation of South Africa.

Scott was awarded Choir Alberta’s top honour, the Richard S. Eaton Award in 2015, the Salute to Excellence award in 2016 and the Syncrude Award for Innovative Direction.

 

Megan Skidmore - Powell River, Canada
Jury

Soprano Megan Skidmore holds both her Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Voice Performance from McGill University, A Bachelor of Education from Simon Fraser University and diplomas from the Schubert Institut, Weiner Meisterkurze and Mozarteum in Austria. Ms. Skidmore is an acclaimed voice teacher and music director for musical theatre productions.

An active performer, Ms. Skidmore has received praise for her ‘vocal fireworks’ in numerous opera and operetta roles including Cunegonde in Candide with Opera McGill, Josephine in HMS Pinafore with the McGill Savoy Society and Annina in La Traviata with Pacific Opera Victoria. She also has a busy performance schedule in solo recital, concert repertoire and as oratorio soloist in Dvořak’s Te Deum, Fauré’s Requiem, Saint-Säens’ Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, and Haydn’s The Creation.

Ms. Skidmore has been a featured soloist with the Sooke Philharmonic and BC Chorfest. She has served as a judge for the Canadian Juno Awards in both Classical Voice/Choral and Children’s Music and has toured British Columbia as an adjudicator for Regional Performing Arts Festivals.

Currently, Ms. Skidmore is a dedicated music teacher for the qathet School District in Powell River, where she shares her passion for music education and musical theatre.

 

Gergana Velinova - Vancouver, Canada
Jury

“The honey-voiced vocalist,” as the Toronto Sun called Gergana Velinova, has inspired international audiences with her diverse artistic talents. A native of Bulgaria, she has lived and performed throughout the USA, Europe, and Canada including Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Seattle, and Vancouver.

With a repertoire extending from her own compositions to Ellington, Jobim and Mozart, Gergana is equally comfortable in the world of Jazz, Art Song and Musical Theatre. Gergana has shared the stage and recorded with Juno and Grammy nominees. She has released six solo albums which have received critical acclaim and reached in the TOP 10 of the US CMJ Top 40, Roots Music and the Earshot USA and Canadian Jazz Charts.

In addition to her performance career, she is well known for her work as a Vocal Coach, Choral Conductor, Vocal Workshops and Master Classes facilitator. Before moving to Vancouver, she served on the Jazz Department faculty of the Victoria Conservatory of Music and Camosun College.

Gergana holds a Master's Degree in Jazz & Contemporary-Classical Voice Performance from the Longy School in Boston.

 

 

Dr. Moira Hopfe-Ostensen - Powell River, Canada
Collaborative Accompanist

Dr. Moira Hopfe-Ostensen is a renowned pianist and educator, praised for her expressive playing and engaged teaching. An active soloist and collaborative pianist, Dr. Moira has performed throughout Canada, the U.S.A., and Europe.

She holds degrees from the University of Alberta, the Royal College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music (London, England), and a Doctorate of Music Degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS), Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Moira held the position as Chair of the Keyboard Department at SWBTS where she was Professor in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. She was the Director of the Southwestern Music Academy and Assistant Director of the Southwestern Centre of the Arts. Other study and teaching locations include Arizona State University, the University of Western Ontario, the University of British Columbia, the Banff School of Fine Arts, and the Johanneson Summer School of the Arts, Victoria.

Dr. Moira is an adjudicator, examiner, and clinician committed to excellence in piano pedagogy. She is certified as an Advanced Specialist by the Royal Conservatory of Music and is a member of the College of Examiners in both Canada and the U.S.A. Her students have achieved national and international recognition, and her research has been published in the Library of Congress. She has received multiple awards, including a Professional Distinction Award from the Peace Hills Arts Council, Canada.

Currently, Dr. Moira serves as Artist in Residence at the Academy of Music in British Columbia.