2024 Adjudicators

Gary Ewer
Choral / School Choirs

Edmund Dawe
Piano

Monette Gould
Voice

Rowan FitzGerald
Band & Instrumental

Kristen Pottle
Musical Theatre & Jazz/Blues

Gary Ewer- Choral / School Choirs

Gary Ewer is a composer, arranger, conductor and clinician. A native of Halifax, he received his B. Mus degree in music composition from Dalhousie University. He subsequently studied composition at McGill University with composers Alcides Lanza and John Rea. He has an extensive background in choral conducting as the current director of Dalhousie University’s Collegium Cantorum, as well as former director of The Dalhousie Chorale and Chamber Choir. He has also most recently been a Senior Instructor of Music at Dalhousie, teaching aural skills, music theory, orchestration and choral techniques.

As a public school music teacher for many years, Mr. Ewer conducted concert bands, choirs, and the Halifax Schools Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Ewer’s choral and instrumental compositions and arrangements have been performed by The Elmer Isler Singers, Symphony Nova Scotia, Halifax Camerata Singers, and many other ensembles.

He has also authored “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting”, a set of ebooks for developing songwriters. He has been conducting concerts with Symphony Nova Scotia’s Community Outreach programs for the past several years, and continues to be active as a choral clinician, adjudicator, and a piano tuner/technician.

Edmund Dawe - Piano

“Sensitive, engaging and virtuoso.” (La Scena Musicale)

In a career spanning over three decades, Edmund Dawe has garnered national and international recognition as a performer, teacher, adjudicator and university administrator.

Edmund has adjudicated piano classes in many Canadian music festivals and competitions from Whitehorse, Yukon to St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, including provincial, regional and national competitions. He has also served as a juror for the Juno Awards.

Praised for his technical command of the piano and artistic interpretations, Edmund has performed as a soloist and collaborative pianist in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He has been twice nominated for an East Coast Music Award (Best Classical) for his solo recording, Sonatas, and piano duo recording, Dialogue, with colleague Lynn Johnson.

Edmund has held academic and administrative appointments at several Canadian universities. His career includes 17 years at Mount Allison University and, from 2007-2018, he served as Dean of the Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba. Edmund led the Desautels Faculty of Music through a period of growth, including construction of the most modern university music facilities in Canada combining the restoration of a historic building with state-of-the-art new rehearsal, recording, and multimedia spaces. In 2018, Edmund retired from the University of Manitoba and was appointed Dean Emeritus.

In 2021, Edmund launched his podcast, For Piano Teachers, which now has listeners and subscribers in 103 countries. As a performer, he is represented by Jack Price at Price Attractions.

Monette Gould - Voice

Monette Gould is a soprano with many years of professional experience as a performer and teacher. Born in New Brunswick, she later moved to Toronto, Ontario to pursue her studies in music. Monette holds two performance diplomas, an A.R.C.T. and a Perfor- mance Licentiate, from The Royal Conservatory of Music, and an Opera Performance Diploma from the University of Toronto.

After completing her studies, Monette returned to New Brunswick to teach voice at Mount Allison University and l’Université de Moncton. She also taught privately and worked with high school students who wanted to prepare to enter university music pro- grams. Monette is the founder and director of the well-known Voce dell’Anima Choir. She has also taught courses such as Diction for Singers, Sight-singing, Dictation and Aural Skills, and has given workshops on Stage Presence, How to Practice, Options in Music, and How to Set Up a Private Studio. She is highly regarded and is in very high demand as an adjudicator and clinician across the country. Many of her students have excelled, continuing on to some of the best international graduate programs, and winning prestigious awards, competitions and scholarships.

Monette has appeared in several opera productions, and her roles include Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, the Countess in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, and Tatiana in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin just to name a few. In 1998, she appeared as Mimi in Opera New Brunswick’s production of Puccini’s La Bohème.

Monette continues as an active soloist, performing in concerts and various projects throughout the Maritimes.

When Monette is not singing, teaching or adjudicating, she is grooming puppies in her little shop called Monette’s Gentle Grooming.

Rowan FitzGerald- Band & Instrumental

A native of Charlottetown, Rowan FitzGerald has recently retired from a 30 year career teaching instrumental music in the PEI school system. In addition to his duties as an instrumental music teacher, Mr. FitzGerald has taught saxophone performance at UPEI, presented clinics and guest lectures in music education , adjudicated music festivals and conducted honours band programs in all four Atlantic Provinces, Quebec and in Hong Kong. Throughout his extensive career, he was the driving force behind the creation of an instrumental music program at East Wiltshire Intermediate School, the co-founder of the Eastern School District Summer Band Camp, a co-creator of the PEI Band Days Festival and an integral force in the creation of a non-competitive music festival through the Queens County Music Festival. In 2000, Mr.FitzGerald was nominated and received a Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence and in 2011, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award during the Music PEI Awards Gala.

For more than 20 years, Mr. FitzGerald has worked with community bands in Nova Scotia as a conductor and clinician. In the fall of 2009, he co-founded the Second Chances Community Band in Charlottetown where he currently co-directs approximately 60 musicians ranging in age from 25 to 90.

Kristen Pottle (she/her) – Musical Theatre & Jazz/Blues

Kristen Pottle is a sought after performer and teacher based out of Kensington PEI. Growing up in Fredericton, NB she developed her skills and passion for voice and musical theatre. Upon graduating she studied at the Randolph Academy of the Performing Arts in Toronto where she received the triple threat award for her graduating class. She has spent over 15 years performing in musicals across North America including: The North American Tour and Mirvish Production of The Wizard of Oz, West Side Story with The Banff Program/Citadel Theatre and Vancouver Opera, multiple shows with Stage West and Drayton Entertainment and eight seasons at The Charlottetown Festival in supporting roles and as Associate Director and Choreographer on several productions. In 2022 she toured with Alan Doyle in the Canadian Premiere of his musical Tell Tale Harbour. While performing Kristen developed a true love of teaching and has loaned her talents to various workshops, schools, festivals and studios across Canada. She approaches singing from a place of storytelling first and hopes to foster a love of music and performance in the next generation through her genuine love for the craft. Kristen is also a yoga teacher and owner of Blossoming Heart Yoga. She resides in Kensington with her husband and son Clark.

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Truro Music Festival
605 Prince St
Truro, Nova Scotia B2N 1G2

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