Summer INSTITUTE Faculty
MELANIE TURGEON
CO-DIRECTOR
Melanie Turgeon began studying conducting at the age of 16, under the tutelage of Wolodymyr Kolesnyk, former conductor of Kyiv State Opera and Ballet Theatre. She completed her postsecondary education at the University of Alberta (BA Music and M Music), followed by the University of Illinois, graduating with a Doctor of the Musical Arts Degree in Choral Music. Dr. Turgeon is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at The King’s University in Edmonton, Alberta, and Adjunct Professor at Cape Breton University in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
BENJAMIN BUTTERFIELD
C0-DIRECTOR & VOCAL COACH
Praised by The New York Times as "clarion-voiced and vibrant," Benjamin Butterfield has performed in concert, recital and opera throughout North America and Europe as well as in Asia, New Zealand, the middle east and Ukraine.
ANDREA LUDWIG
VOCAL COACH
Born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Juno and Dora award winning mezzo soprano Andrea Ludwig has appeared with the Canadian Opera Company, Tapestry New Opera, Edmonton Opera, Philadelphia Opera, San Francisco Opera , and the Festival D’Aix en Provence…
STEVEN PHILCOX
COLLABORATIVE PIANIST
Pianist Steven Philcox is highly regarded as one of Canada’s finest collaborators and is a frequent partner of Canada’s vocal elite performing in concert halls both at home and abroad.
From 1999-2010, Philcox was a celebrated member of the music staff of the Canadian Opera Company where he served as répétiteur and assistant conductor on more than 35 productions and was the pianist of choice for baroque and classical continuo…
LEANNE REGEHR
COLLABORATIVE PIANIST
Leanne Regehr is a versatile and sensitive pianist who is widely recognized for her intuitive ability to collaborate with other musicians across an extensive range of repertoire. She is the featured soloist in a live recording of VictorDavies' Mennonite Piano Concerto with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and is currently based in Edmonton where she serves on the faculties of the University of Alberta and The King’s University…
2024 Lecture Series
Maxim Tarnawsky /
the poems and poets, examining their context, poetic style, and significance.
Maxim Tarnawsky is a Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Toronto, where he teaches Ukrainian Literature. He earned his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1986 and joined the faculty at the University of Toronto the following year. He specializes in Ukrainian realist prose and has authored books on Valerian Pidmohylny and Ivan Nechui Levytsky. He is also a translator and editor of the journal Ukrainian Literature: A Journal of Translations. Along with Uliana Pasicznyk, he has for many years provided English translations for the Art Song Project.
He will give a talk about the poems and poets who will be featured in this year's Summer Institute, examining their context, poetic style, and significance.
Andriy Semotiuk /
The Story of Solomea Krushelnytska
Andriy Semotiuk is a U.S. and Canadian immigration lawyer and a member of the New York and California bars in the United States and the Ontario and B.C. bars in Canada. He practiced law in Los Angeles for ten years, in New York for five years, and now in Toronto at Pace Law Firm. He is a former United Nations correspondent who currently writes for Forbes, where over one million readers have read his articles. He has written four books. Mr. Semotiuk will speak about his latest book, which tells the captivating story of Ukrainian soprano Solomea Krushelnytska’s rise to stardom during opera’s golden age and how her unique voice enchanted audiences worldwide. With a unique perspective as her grandnephew,
Mr. Semotiuk will present Solomea Krushelnytska’s story with intimate details never before shared about his family’s immigrant experience. The presentation will include an excerpt from the film Solomea: Uncovering a Family Legacy, which was produced and directed by Ukrainian Canadian filmmaker Natalie Semotiuk.
