Jules Estrin

Musical Director, Adjudicator and trombonist Jules Estrin maintains a busy schedule

giving master classes, lectures and clinics on band and jazz band pedagogy across

Canada.

He has recently presented at the: Ontario Band Association, Ontario Music

Educators Conference, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Sir Wilfred

Laurier University, Toronto District School Board, Peel District School Board,

Halton District School Board and has adjudicated at the Brandon Jazz Festival

in (Brandon, Manitoba), Optimist Band Festival (Regina, Saskatchewan), West

Coast Jazz Festival (Nanaimo, British Columbia) and the Golden Horseshoe

Festival (Ancaster, Ontario)

Recently, Jules has been appointed Musical Director (Canada) of the Canada Cuba

Summer Jazz Academy to be held in Varadero, Cuba from July 1st-8th, 2025!

As a trombonist Jules Estrin has appeared with many internationally renowned

entertainers and musicians including: Clark Terry, Paul Anka, Franki Valli and the

Four Seasons, Ralph Bowen, Don Menza, Rob McConnell, Moe Koffman, Matt

Dusk, Kenny Wheeler and PJ Perry. Jules has performed internationally in France,

Ireland, Scotland, England and the United States and at jazz festivals across

Canada.

As Musical Director his groups have performed with legendary jazz artists:

Randy Brecker, Bucky Pizzarelli, Lew Tabackin, Tom Scott, Wycliffe Gordon, Joey

DeFranceso, PJ Perry and Guido Basso. In 2010, his jazz ensemble opened for

Al Jarreau at the Brantford International Jazz Festival.

Since 2019 Jules has been serving as Jazz Camp Director at Interprovincial Music

Camp and enjoys working with all the campers and the incredible faculty!

Jules is a graduate of McGill University and University of Toronto holding a BMus &

MMus.

Bill Coon

Bill Coon was the recipient of the 2009 National Jazz Awards, Guitarist of the Year. He leads several of his own groups including a trio, quartet and the BC Double Quartet whose recording, Departure with Brad Turner on trumpet and violinist Cameron Wilson was nominated for a 2019 Western Canadian Music Award. He is featured on three Western Canadian Music Award winning recordings, including the genre-bending Jasmine Jazz, winner of the Best Instrumental Recording of 2023. He has performed with jazz greats Jimmy Heath, Peter Bernstein, Eddie Daniels, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lewis Nash, Peter Washington, Lorne Lofsky, Sheila Jordan, Jiggs Whigham, Hugh Fraser, P.J. Perry, Grant Stewart, Pat Bianchi, Scott Hamilton and Rebecca Kilgore.

Along with his most recent release, Standard Elegance, a solo guitar recording (Cellar Music), Coon is well-known for his many collaborations, including recordings with vocalist Sienna Dahlen Balladextrous (Cellar Music), Laura Crema, StringSongs, featuring Peggy Lee and Jon Bentley, and Slow Road, (Cellar Music) with Triology featuring the legendary Scott Hamilton. He performs regularly with Jodi Proznick, Miles Black, Oliver Gannon, Campbell Ryga, Cory Weeds, Laura Crema, Jennifer Scott, Steve Kaldestad, John Gross, Tom Keenlyside, Carman Price and Sharon Minemoto.

His compositions and arrangements for large ensembles include recordings with the Jill Townsend Jazz Orchestra, Cory Weeds 11-piece ensemble, and Montreal-based Altsys Jazz Orchestra. He has been commissioned to write music for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and National Arts Centre Orchestra. Coon has collaborated with jazz vocalist Denzal Sinclaire on the Juno nominated CD, I Found Love, and with hip-hop artist K-os on his Juno award-winning CD Joyful Rebellion.

Among his many grants and commissions, Coon has received Canada Council Arts Awards to study with guitarists Jim Hall, Dr. Louis Stewart, and arranger-composers Neil Chotem, Rick Wilkins. He has been a long-time faculty member of the Jazz Studies department at Capilano and is currently teaching at the VSO School of Music.

Brent Taylor

Brent Taylor received his Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Education, and Master of Arts degrees from U.B.C and began his music career working as a recording engineer and producer in Vancouver, moving to Sydney, Australia in 1986.

Upon returning to Vancouver, from 1991 to 2017 he taught instrumental music at Point Grey Secondary in Vancouver. The ensembles he directed at the school included concert bands, jazz bands, and combos, and for many years Point Grey was home to the largest music education program in the Vancouver School District. The concert bands and jazz groups were recognized with awards at festivals in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

From 2017 to June 2024, Brent was a vice-principal in the Coquitlam School District at Port Moody Secondary.

Brent is a past conductor of the Vancouver Youth Jazz Orchestra as part of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and he led the B.C. Honour Jazz Band for the annual B.C. Music Educators’ Conference in October 2024. Brent has been active as an adjudicator and clinician for many years, most recently at the Surrey Jazz Festival, the Chilliwack Music Festival, and the Vancouver Kiwanis Concert Band Festival. In addition to adjudicating and doing clinics at schools and festivals around the lower mainland, he also directs a community jazz band in New Westminster

Emma Love

Emma Love is a multi award-winning vocalist, and actor whose artistry bridges music and storytelling. Raised in Nanaimo, BC, she honed her craft in Toronto and New York City, studying jazz at U of T and The New School University, acting at Michael Howard Studios and voice and speech under renowned voice coach Patsy Rodenburg.

On stage Emma has performed across Canada and the U.S., alongside notable performers including Christine and Ingrid Jensen, Dee Daniels, Kurt Elling, Jon Hendrix, Lauren Falls, Dominic Fallacaro, Mike Ruby and Burniss Travis. In 2024, she co-led the cast of School of Rock for Vancouver’s historic, Theatre Under the Stars company, as Principal Rosalie Mullins. She is recognized for her playful, character-driven stage presence, and her ability to cross genres.

A narrator of over 150 books, Emma won the 2024 SOVAS Award winner for Best Fiction Narration, for Canadian writer Christine Hidgon’s Gin, Turpentine, Pennyroyal, Rue (ECW Press) and was a 2025 One Voice Awards nominee for audiobook narration and animation. Emma’s portfolio includes titles from both indie and Big Five publishers and large-scale campaigns for major networks (NBC, Hallmark) and brands (EA Sports, Canada Post, Quaker, Bud Light).

Notable 2025 releases include: Rock Star: My Life On and Off the Ice, memoir of Canadian curling icon and Olympic gold medalist, Jennifer Jones and a multi-cast UK release of Margaret Atwood’s, The Blind Assassin. Her performances are marked by precision, empathy, and a deep respect for the written word—a stickler for syntax and semantics, she’s always chasing the perfect phrase

Growing up as a dedicated jazz musician, thanks to many of Vancouver Island’s great educators, Emma has dedicated herself to finding the ways her voice can create opportunity, connection and clarity, whether it be alongside music, or spoken. As an educator she is passionate about illuminating the vast landscape of opportunity, and the necessity for the human voice, even as technology complicates things.

Steve Jones

Steve is a retired career music teacher with 50 years of experience at every level from elementary to university. He leads Decadence, an eleven-piece jazz/funk band for which he composes and plays sax. Steve has performed and taught at jazz camps and workshops in western Canada and Yukon and has adjudicated at many festivals and competitions. He performed for many years as the guitarist in the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular. He has participated in numerous recordings and live performances with a variety of musicians and received the City of Nanaimo’s Excellence in Culture Award.