The Musicians

Originally from Dallas, Texas, Jennifer Frank-Umana is the Associate Principal horn of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Before coming to the Calgary Phil, Jennifer was a member of the Portland Symphony Orchestra as Third horn, and an active freelance musician in the Greater Boston and New England Area where she was finishing her graduate studies. She has performed with the Dallas Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Portland Symphony, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. She has participated in several music festivals, including the National Repertory Orchestra, and the National Orchestral Institute. Jennifer is also a clinician at Mount Royal Conservatory and HornFest! Calgary.

Jennifer received her Bachelor of Music degree from Southern Methodist University and Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory. Her principal teachers include Gregory Hustis, former Principal horn of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and James Sommerville, Principal horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Outside of her musical life, Jennifer enjoys activities with her two boys and spending time with her family. Other activities she enjoys include outdoor activities, hiking, and volunteering for her boys’ school events, in the community, and with animal rescue and welfare.

Heather has been a member of the horn section of the Calgary Philharmonic since 1993.

Before coming to Calgary, she was a member the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Stratford Festival Orchestra, and maintained an active and varied free-lance career about southern Ontario.

Born in Provost, Alberta and raised largely in Ottawa, Ontario, Heather received a Bachelor of Musical Arts and an Artists’ Diploma in Performance from the University of Western Ontario and continued her studies with the Orchestral Training Program of the Royal Conservatory and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Her main teachers at that time included Robert Creech and Eugene Rittich.

Further studies included summers at the Keystone Brass Institute in Colorado, the Kent/Blossom Festival in Ohio studying with members of the Cleveland Orchestra and performed as Principal Horn of the Festival Orchestra of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.  Heather has enjoyed studying with such artists as Richard Solis, Gail Williams, Bill Klingelhoffer and Phillip Farkas.

From 2001 - 2008, Heather was guest soloist and horn instructor at the “Summer Music on the Shannon” music festival then based in Limerick, Ireland. 

Heather is an avid chamber musician and was a founding member of the chamber ensembles Rosa Selvatica and Altius Brass. She loves to teach, is a sought-after clinician and finds great joy in helping students of all ages discover music and the horn.

In January of 2016, she helped launch the Calgary Philharmonic’s Sistema-inspired “PhilKids” after school music program. In the role of Lead Teaching Artist, she led a dedicated and passionate team helping children, who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity, learn to play an instrument and explore all the benefits that music can add to our lives.

Miranda Cairns joined the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016. She holds an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Ontario, where she studied with Andrew McCandless. Prior to attending the prestigious conservatory she completed an undergraduate degree at Sir Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario with Anita McAlister.

Before moving to Calgary, Miranda was an active freelance musician in Toronto. She has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, and the Niagara Symphony Orchestra. Chamber music holds a special place in her heart and Miranda has performed with the True North Brass Quintet, as well as the Toronto Brass Quintet. Cairns is also no stranger to the ballet and orchestra pit, having performed with the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet company on tour to Toronto.

Originally from Courtice, Ontario, a small community an hour east of Toronto, Ontario, she began playing trumpet at the age of 11 and started private lessons when she was 15 years old. Miranda is now happy to pass on all she has learned and enjoys teaching.

Born in Canada, raised in Africa, and educated in Calgary and Houston, Samantha Whelan Kotkas has built a career creating unforgettable artistic experiences for young audiences. An award-winning producer, storyteller, trumpet player, and teaching artist, she has travelled internationally as a creative consultant and performer, weaving together her love of music, the outdoors, and a deep commitment to arts education in Canada.

Samantha has commissioned and presented new works by Canadian composers Chris Andrew, Jordan Andrew, Keon Birney, Matt Epp, Tyler Hornby, Sherryl Sewepagaham, and Walter MacDonald White Bear, championing voices that reflect Canada’s diverse and vibrant musical landscape. In June 2018, she was honoured as a Distinguished Graduate at the University of Calgary’s convocation ceremony.

Alongside her performing career, she serves as Education Advisor for Calgary Pro Musica and as a teaching artist with the National Arts Centre (NAC), where her long-standing cross-cultural collaboration with Walter MacDonald White Bear continues to shape meaningful programming for young people. She has created performances and educational resources for organizations including Honens, Festival of the Sound, Banff Centre, Bach Tots, the Calgary Board of Education, the NAC, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Samantha recently wrote and produced Wandering with Wonder, an immersive outdoor musical storytelling experience blending live and recorded music, puppetry, dance, and original narrative. The work premiered to a sold-out audience at the Leighton Art Centre in 2021 and was later adapted into a fully orchestrated film by the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra, produced by Roadwest Pictures and directed by Dean Bareham, with orchestration by Claude Lapalme. The film received the 2023 Alberta Media Production Industries Association Award for Best Musical Film and will be featured, with the original cast, in the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2025–26 season.

Most recently, Samantha collaborated with Honens as co-producer, writer, and performer of Oscar, created alongside co-writer and narrator Priscille Bukasa, composers/pianists Marianne Trudel and Chris Andrew, dancer-choreographer Sabrina Naz, dancer Shemar Herbert, and director Karen Goerzen.

For more information, please visit www.samanthawhelankotkas.com

Jane Dobbs is a multifaceted artist recognized for her exceptional work as a jazz trombonist, contemporary French horn player, and avid photographer. She has held lead trombone positions with the Calgary Women’s Jazz Collective, The Fox Big Band, Westwind’s Jazz Orchestra, The Ron Davis Big Band, Orbit Big Band (South Africa), and the Calgary Jazz Orchestra.

Jane has toured internationally, performing in Cuba, across Central America, Scandinavia, Africa, and throughout the United States. Her career spans jazz, gospel, and contemporary music, and she has performed and collaborated with an impressive range of artists including the Funk Brothers, Benny Benack, Seamus Blake, Hugh Fraser, Bill Watrous, Amy Grant, Andraé Crouch, Graham Kendrick, David Meece, and many others.

Deeply committed to both artistry and community, Jane is actively involved in initiatives such as the International Jazz Day Jazz Walk, hosting multiple jazz jam sessions, and mentoring young musicians through Girls in Jazz Day. Her dedication to performance, education, and mentorship reflects the collaborative spirit of jazz and her passion for ensuring the music’s continued growth. Through her work, Jane helps carry forward the rich legacy of jazz—engaging new audiences while inspiring the next generation of musicians.

Born and raised in Israel, Lilac started playing the trombone at the early age of 8, fell in love with it and never looked back. After graduating from the Kiryat-Ono Music Conservatory, she accepted a teaching position there, as well as teaching privately.

Lilac played the trombone for two years in the Israeli Defence Force band, playing lead trombone and soloist. She played in numerous ensembles including freelancing with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphonic Orchestra. Her passion for music led her to play as the lead trombone and soloist in France, England, Scotland, Germany, The Netherlands and the USA.

In 2008, Lilac moved with her family to Calgary and joined the Calgary Wind Symphony, where she leads the trombone section and performs as a soloist. In 2025 the CWS album Prevail won the YYC Music Award Classical Recording of the year.

Lilac is a member of the Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra as well as The Rocky Mountain Trombones quartet and the Calgary Women Jazz Collective.

In the summer of 2019 she joined a Canadian All-Star Jazz Orchestra led by world-renowned trumpet soloist Jens Lindemann, along with phenomenal musicians like Steve Morretti, Robi Botos, Jon Kimura Parker & Mike Downes, performing at the Banff Centre and Calgary. They recorded together the album Then is Now ‘Rhapsody in Blue', which was nominated in 2022 for Juno Blues Album of the year.

Since then Lilac has been a guest player in various jazz bands in Calgary, among them are Prime Time Big Band, Ninth Avenue Band and the Calgary Jazz Orchestra.

When she is not playing the trombone, you can find her kayaking on the Bow River or in one of Alberta’s beautiful lakes, and hiking in the Rockies.

Originally born and raised in Canmore, Alberta, Isye Morland graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Music with Distinction in Euphonium Performance. Isye received many accolades in the form of awards and grants during her degree, as well as began working as a professional performer and clinic/private lesson educator. Alongside finishing up her after-degree in Music Education, Isye plays in a duo named Twophonium and the Tuphonics Quartet with other accomplished brass players from Edmonton and surrounding area.

Hana Hubley (She/They) is an active performer and dedicated musician, who’s passion extends to teaching and higher education. She is a freelance tuba player based out of Calgary, Alberta, and holds of Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Lethbridge. She primarily studied with Dr. Nick Sullivan, but has also learned from instructors from across the globe. Including Øystein Baadsvik (NAM), Velvet Brown (Penn State), Pierre Beaudry (OSM), Peder MacLellan (VSO), and Calgary's own Tom McCaslin (CPO).

Hana’s passion for wind band music has led her to play with many local ensembles, including: Southern Winds Wind Orchestra, Calgary Wind Symphony, and the Alberta Wind Symphony. Notably, she was a tubist for the 2024 Badlands Passion Play held in Drumheller, and was a featured soloist performing the Gregson Tuba Concerto for the Westwinds Wind Orchestra in March 2025. She also holds the 2023 Faculty of Fine Arts Gold Medal from ULethbridge, and conducted the U of L Wind Orchestra through the 2023 spring convocation ceremonies.

While balancing her role as a student recruitment officer for the University of Lethbridge, Hana is a tuba instructor for the Mount Royal Conservatory, and frequently conducts low brass clinics for middle school and high school bands in Calgary and the area.

Canadian conductor Juliane Gallant is the Resident Conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. She has been praised for her energy, her infectious joy on and off the podium, and her ability to connect with audiences. In recent years, she has conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Victoria Symphony, PEI Symphony Orchestra, Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, Kingston Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony New Brunswick. In 2025-2026, will make her début with the Boston Pops, Regina Symphony Orchestra and Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra.

Initially a collaborative pianist, répétiteur, and vocal coach, Juliane began her conducting career in opera in England. She has led productions of Carmen, La bohème, Tosca, Eugene Onegin, La Traviata, Don Giovanni, and numerous others, in Canada, the United States, and the UK. In 2021, she made her Royal Opera House conducting début in Mami Wata in collaboration with Pegasus Opera. In symphonic Pops, she is at home in a wide array of genres, from musical theatre and film scores, to the music of Tina Turner and Nirvana. She has collaborated with a variety of artists, such as Ashley Brown, Chantal Kreviazuk, Kiesza, and Brett Kissel.

Juliane is a graduate of the National Opera Studio, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique de Montréal, the University of Ottawa and the Université de Moncton. She is an alumna of Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical Leadership Fellowship.

A native of Massachusetts, Lorna Tsai began her studies at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School in Boston at the age of five. Tsai has received recognition for her work, among them from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, the New England String Ensemble, the Concord Symphony, and the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. Upon receiving her bachelor degree in violin performance from Northwestern University, she continued her studies at Yale University School of Music, where she earned her masters in violin performance. Previous teachers include Magdalena Richter, Marylou Speaker Churchill, Roland and Almita Vamos, and Ani Kavafian.

Tsai is currently the Principal Second Violinist of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, serving in the position since Fall of 2011. Prior to joining the Calgary Phil, she performed with ensembles such as the New World Symphony and Louisville Orchestra. Tsai has also performed as soloist with various orchestras including the New England String Ensemble, the Concord Symphony, Symphony Pro Musica, and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

During the summers, Tsai participates in music festivals, which in the past have included the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Artosphere Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Tanglewood Music Center, Pacific Music Festival, and Aspen Music Festival. She is a co-founder and co-director of Manchester Summer Chamber Music, a chamber music series dedicated to presenting classical concerts to Cape Ann, north of Boston.

Oksana Yaremchuk is professional pianist who moved to Calgary from Ukraine in early 2023. She graduated from the Kyiv Musical Academy. She started performing with singers and instrumentalists when she was 14 years old – and since that time accompanying musicians became her passion.

From 2009 to 2017, Oksana worked on various cruise lines , where she had the opportunity to travel around the world and perform concerts and shows with international singers and musicians. In 2017, Oksana returned to Ukraine and started working as a pianist in Kyiv Musical College. She played countless master classes, competitions and concerts. Oksana has been awarded the distinction of “Best Accompanist” many times. In 2021, she started working in the Kyiv Operetta House as a collaborative pianist collaborating with singers, choirs and the main orchestra.

In 2023 Oksana began a new journey working as a collaborative pianist at Mount Royal University Conservatory in Calgary, Alberta. She has also collaborated with Calgary’s Festival Chorus and Cantare Children’s Choir. During the 2023 -2025 season, Oksana performed a number of recitals, competitions, festivals, with different musicians and singers.

She also teaches Ukrainian children under the Honens’ Key for Newcomers program in Calgary.

With music described as “breathtaking” (Kitchener-Waterloo Record), “imaginative and expressive” (The National Post), “a pulse-pounding barrage on the senses” (The Globe and Mail), and “Bartok on steroids” (Birmingham News), Kelly-Marie Murphy’s voice is well known on the Canadian music scene.  She has created a number of memorable works for some of Canada’s leading performers and ensembles, including the Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, The Gryphon Trio, James Campbell, Shauna Rolston, the Cecilia and Afiara String Quartets, and Judy Loman.

Dr. Murphy’s music has been performed around the world by outstanding soloists and ensembles, and has had radio broadcasts in over 22 countries.  Her music has been interpreted by renowned conductors such as Sir Andrew Davis, David Brophy, Bramwell Tovey, and Mario Bernardi.  Her music has been heard in iconic concert halls, such as Carnegie Hall in New York, The Mozarteum in Salzburg, and The National Concert Hall in Dublin.

Besides many academic scholarships awarded in Canada and England, Dr. Murphy has also won prizes for her music, dating back to 1992.  She won first prize and the People’s Choice Award at the CBC Young Composer’s Competition in 1994 (string quartet category); received 2 honorable mentions in the New Music Concerts competition in 1995; earned fifth place at the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris in 1996 for her first orchestra piece, From the Drum Comes a Thundering Beat. . .; was awarded first and second prizes in the Maryland Composer’s Competition at Loyola College in Baltimore, 1998; won third place in the Alexander Zemlinsky Prize for Composition in 1999 for her work, Utterances; won first prize in the International Horn Society’s Composer’s Competition, 2001, for her work, Departures and Deviations; and in 2003 won first prize for her harp concerto, And Then At Night I Paint the Stars in the Centara Corporation New Music Festival Composer’s Competition.

Dr. Murphy has completed short residencies at the Snowbird Institute for the Arts, Utah, with Joan Tower; Tapestry Music Theatre/Canadian Opera Company, Toronto; rESOund Festival of Contemporary Music, Edmonton; Strings of the Future International String Quartet Festival, Ottawa; Soundstreams/Encounters, Toronto; and at the Banff Centre for the Arts. In 2004 Dr. Murphy was honored with The Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Calgary, and in 2005 as the Roger D. Moore Distinguished Visitor in Composition from the University of Toronto.  Dr. Murphy was granted the distinction of Honorable Mention in the 2008 Barlow Prize for composition.  From 2006 to 2008, she served as composer-in-residence to the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Kelly-Marie Murphy was born on a NATO base in Sardegna, Italy, and grew up on Canadian Armed Forces bases all across Canada.  She began her studies in composition at the University of Calgary with William Jordan and Allan Bell, and later received a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Leeds, England, where she studied with Philip Wilby.  After living and working for many years in the Washington D.C. area where she was designated “an alien of extraordinary ability” by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, she is now based in Ottawa.

As an Associate Composer at the Canadian Music Centre, Charlie’s works are distinguished by their vibrant, genre-spanning aesthetics, resonating with diverse audiences and earning her recognition on Spotify.

In addition to her creative endeavors, Charlie serves as a Board Member of the Canada Council for the Arts, contributing her artistic expertise to shape policies and funding that support artists nationwide. She completed her Master’s degree in Music at York University, studying composition and exploring interdisciplinary approaches that inform her unique sound.

TBA

Born on a small island in the Philippines, Aine Kay and her family immigrated to Canada when she was only a year old. Despite not growing up in a musically inclined household, Aine Kay was exposed to music at a young age and started playing the piano in elementary school. Her orchestral journey truly took off in junior high, where she began playing the tuba, an instrument nearly as large as she was at the time. Despite her petite stature of four feet eleven inches, she quickly excelled on the over-sized instrument, proudly claiming the title of the world's most vertically- challenged tuba player.

In the last year of her undergraduate degree, Aine Kay sparked an interest in percussion and ethnomusicology. She enrolled in the second instrument study course, where she had the opportunity to study under

Dr. Chris Sies. This newfound passion has led her to study percussion for over a year now.

Aine Kay graduated from the University of Calgary in 2023 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Tuba Performance under the tutelage of Tom McCaslin. Currently, Aine Kay is pursuing her Master of Music degree at McGill University. 

When she's not busy “oom-pah-ing” or dreaming of percussion greatness, Aine Kay can be found at her second home – the local animal shelter. After a long day of practice, you'll often find her chowing down some delicious Korean fried chicken.

Born into a musical family, Sonja started taking music lessons at the age of 5. Initially starting on piano, she also added violin, trumpet, voice, and french horn to her musical repertoire by age 13. During high school, she struggled with deciding what to pursue in university until her mother mentioned a career in music; after all, what were all the years of lessons for if not to have the option of pursuing music as a career! After deciding to pursue a career on French Horn, Sonja started studying at the Mount Royal Conservatory with Laurie Matiation in 2019, and joined the Calgary Youth Orchestra and the Mount Royal Academy for Young Artists the following year. 

After being accepted to the Bachelor of Music program at the University of Calgary in 2021, Sonja continued to study at MRU Academy alongside her degree studies. During her time in these programs, she performed in masterclasses with Kurt Kellan, Jeff Nelsen, Johanna Lundy, Jennifer Frank-Umana, Valerie Whitney, Maxwell Stein, Catherine Turner, Eric Reed, and Nikolette LaBonte. In her undergraduate studies, Sonja had the opportunity to play with the University of Calgary Wind Ensemble, Brass Choir, Chamber Choir and Orchestra. She has played principal and section roles in over 22 concerts with these ensembles, and played as a guest performer with Altius Brass, Red Deer Symphony Orchestra, and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Other major performances Sonja has participated in include Terry Clark’s Mental Preparedness in Music presentation in January 2023 and the RBC Foundation/Calgary Phil Concerto Competition as one of four winners in March 2024, where she played the first movement of the Gordon Jacobs Horn Concerto. 

Currently, Sonja is pursuing her Masters of Music with Nadia Côté at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University. She can be seen performing with Les Cors d’Or Horn Quartet, the McGill Chamber Winds, the McGill Wind Orchestra, and the McGill Symphony Orchestra – where she recently played principal horn on Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No.7.

When she is not playing her days away on stage or in a practice room, Sonja trains as a competitive horseback rider and travels to competitions between concert seasons. Her most recent endeavor is the organization of Celebrating Girls in Brass 2025 and 2026, where she hopes to educate and inspire the next generation of talented young women to pursue careers in brass music.