Meet our 2025 Music Adjudicators
Alexandra (Ally) Brigley, soprano, is a local and active professional performer and private music teacher. Originally from small-town Coronation, Alberta, Ally is a dedicated and passionate musician with 20 years of study and expirience in vocal performance. She most recently graduated with an Artist Diploma in Opera Performance, from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. In 2022 she completed her Masters in Music studying vocal performance at the University of Alberta, which proceeded the Bachelor of Music she acquired in 2020 from the University of Alberta Augustana Campus.
Ally has experience performing in several operatic and musical theatre roles including; Soprano Lead in Matthew Peterson's contemporary opera, Voir Dire (Boston Conservatory Opera, 2024), Soprano Pig in Michael Ching's Three Little Pigs Remix (Boston Children's Museum, 2023/2024), Oasis in L'etoile (Boston Conservatory Opera, 2023), Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro (Boston Conservatory Opera, 2023), and Mab in Jonathan Dove’s The Enchanted Pig (University of Alberta, 2022). Ally also has small credits in locally filmed tv series such as Heartland, Tin Star, and Fortunate Son.
She currently runs a full, private music studio in Strathmore, Alberta, and is excited for the opportunities and projects upcoming as she continues to develop her professional performance career.
Ally Brigley
Voice and Musical Theatre
Performing and teaching have provided Edmonton pianist Janna Olson with diverse opportunities to share her love of music in Canada, Europe and the United States. She has studied music with many different musicians in Canada and the US and her degrees include a Master of Music from the University of Alberta.
Janna is a versatile and sensitive pianist with extensive collaborative experience. She frequently performs piano duet and duo repertoire as part of the Venn Duo with her colleague Dr. Leanne Regehr. She loves teaching as a sessional instructor at The King’s University while also maintaining a thriving private piano studio with students ranging from 5 to 75 years old. She is on the faculty of the Gordon Institute for Music Learning and is passionate about connecting piano pedagogy with research on how the musical mind works.
Janna is in demand as a festival adjudicator and enjoys travelling and meeting teachers and young pianists in many communities in Canada. She presents workshops and clinics for piano teachers and specializes in audiation based learning and rhythm development.
When she is not at the piano, Janna spends time outside hiking, skiing and playing disc golf.
Janna Olson
Piano
Gloria Chu is a dedicated adjudicator, speaker, composer, and performer. She holds two Master’s degrees: MA in Strings (Chichester) and MA in Piano (Ottawa). She is currently working on her third Masters in Voice Pedagogy (Wales). She has been recognized by Steinway & Sons with a Top Teacher Award and is the recipient of the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Teacher of Distinction Award for her leadership as a music educator. Her students have received 22, and counting, RCM Regional Gold Medals across Canada and the US in violin, piano and voice. She is currently a member of the RCM College of Examiners.
Gloria has given presentations at city, provincial and national conferences including the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Associations (CFMTA) National Conference, National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP) Piano Conference, and American String Teachers Association & Suzuki Association of the Americas collocated conferences. In addition, her compositions have been featured in the Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects (ACNMP) Contemporary Showcase syllabus and is an award-winning composer. Her innovative teaching methods motivate modern-day learners to develop confidence in expressing their unique voices in both music and life. www.gloriachumusic.com
Gloria Chu
Strings
Elaine Dunbar is a teacher and performer. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Alberta; an ARCT in singing performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music; and a BFA in theatre performance from Toronto's Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson University). She also studied musical theatre at the Banff Centre. Elaine is a member of the RCM College of Examiners and of the Canadian Actors' Equity Association.
Elaine teaches music privately and works as a sessional instructor in MacEwan
University's Theatre Arts program. She works with students in high school musical theatre classes. She is music director at Grace United Church and is a conductor with Edmonton Columbian Choirs. She is the founder of "Underdog Theatre", a theatre company that focuses on developing young artists. Elaine is very grateful for her many fine teachers.
Elaine has performed on stages in Ontario and Alberta, and was featured in
Kagan Goh's film, "The Haj" which was screened at the 2015 Vancouver Film Festival. Her favourite performances include her role as Hermione in "The Winter's Tale" and as Yuri in David Antonik's film "Cereal Killers".
Elaine Dunbar
Speech and Choral
Guy Palmer began his music education journey in 1971. In this long and esteemed career he taught music and other disciplines in the school systems. Currently Guy is the Conductor/Music Director for the Fort Saskatchewan Community Band, a position he has held for the last 12 years.
Guy is also the Founder and Conductor/Music Director for the Fort Saskatchewan International WIND Symphony, an ensemble comprised of amateur musicians from across western Canada that travels every two years internationally. Together, they have visited and performed in Cuba, Iceland, Morocco, the Netherlands, Barbados, and Trinidad/Tobago. Presently the group is entertaining the idea of taking 74 amateur musicians into the Philippines in March of 2026.
Mr. Palmer has also been the Guest conductor for the Edmonton School Boys Alumni Band