Prep studies instructors

Tadeusz Biernacki was born in Czestochowa, Poland where he began his music education at the age of four. He won the Karol Szymanowski competition in Warsaw in 1976 and earned his master of music degree in piano performance from the Conservatory of Music in Katowice in 1978. He has performed as a soloist in many European countries. Biernacki settled in Canada in 1978 and continued his piano studies with Marek Jablonski at the University of Manitoba and Banff School of Fine Arts. He studied conducting with Stanislaw Skrowaczewski in Minneapolis.

As a winner of the 1980 Young Artist’s Competition, Biernacki has toured Canada extensively in solo and chamber music recitals. In 1983 he began his association with the Manitoba Opera and in 1988 with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Linda De Pauw, mezzo-soprano, received her bachelor of music degree from the University of Manitoba and completed her graduate studies in Vocal Performance at the Guildhall School of Music in London, England. She has sung with New Sadlers’ Wells Opera, Buxton Opera, World of Gilbert & Sullivan and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. De Pauw was a member of London Voices and The Stephen Hill Singers. This enabled her to perform and record with most of London’s leading orchestras and with top international conductors. Linda played Miss Philips in the London West End production of Call Me Madam, sang in the BBC series of musicals for Radio 2 and on the DG recording of Bernstein’s On the Town with Michael Tilson Thomas. In Winnipeg, she has performed as a soloist with the Manitoba Opera Association, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, MusikBarok Ensemble and the Little Opera Company.

Pianist Megan Dufrat is currently studying under the tutelage of Dr. David Moroz at the Desautels Faculty of Music, where she is the recipient of the prestigious Katherine May Quilliam Scholarship, an award reserved for a top undergraduate piano student. A frequent performer, Dufrat has been invited to perform as part of the Musical Offering and Music and Mavens Concert Series and as part of the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg Concert Series. She has performed in masterclasses for Jon Kimura Parker, Dr. Thomas Green, Rei Hotoda, and the Gryphon Trio and was recently awarded a Holtby Scholarship from the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers Association. In 2014, she was a prize winner in the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg scholarship auditions.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada, Lorilee Glenat has her Associate of The Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT) Teacher’s certificate as well as bachelor of music from the University of Manitoba. She has been blessed to study with several pedagogues including Charles Horton, Anne Lugsdin, Sydney McInnes and Francis Sanderson, to name a few. She is a contracted instructor with the Prep Studies division at the Desautels Faculty of Music, where she teaches piano and all theoretical subjects including harmony and history. She has given masterclasses and workshops at the university and was the piano adjudicator at the Meridian Music Festival in 2017.

Ian Hodges is one of Canada’s most versatile musicians, performing professionally on classical and jazz guitar and in commercial music settings. His professional career began in the 1980s as an electric guitarist with jazz, fusion, rock, blues and country bands. Ian has performed all over Canada and the US and is still an active performer. His academic credentials are of the highest order, a rare combination that offers students the best of real world experience and extensive musical training.

Hodges holds multiple degrees in guitar performance, including a doctor of musical arts (University of Minnesota), master of music (Florida State University), bachelor of music (University of Manitoba), and is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, America's National Honorary Musical Society.

Laura Kolisnyk is a Winnipeg-based performer, choreographer, director and educator. An honours graduate of the University of Winnipeg theatre department, she has performed locally and internationally. Specializing in theatre for young audiences, she spent 10 years with Koba Entertainment. Most notable credits with the company include Max and Ruby, performed on Broadway; Caillou, performed in Korea and the United Arab Emirates; and Franklin, performed in France.

In Winnipeg she has performed with Rainbow Stage and the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre and has written, produced and performed shows for the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. Her favourite being Ordinary May’s Extraodinary Ways, a play for kids about self-worth and acceptance.

Xueyan (Laura) Liu graduated from Shenyang Conservatory of Music (China) with her master’s degree in piano performance. A certified piano teacher and examiner with over 20 years of experience, Liu has dedicated her professional life to spreading her passion for piano to her students, students' parents and friends.

Lui enjoys working with students of all ages and levels, tailoring lessons to meet the individual goals of each student. She encourages her students to participate in piano exams and competitions to advance their piano skills and performance abilities. Many of her students have achieved excellent rankings in provincial and national piano contests in China, and more recently, in the Winnipeg Music Festival.

Languages: English and Mandarin
Instructs: piano

Rod Machovec studied classical guitar performance with Canadian classical guitarist Norbert Kraft at the University of Toronto and later at the Aspen International Music Festival (Juilliard school of music’s summer program) with Sharon Isbin. Isbin is the founder and head of the guitar department at the Juilliard school. There, Machovec was chosen by Isbin to perform in front of an international audience in the Distinguished Artist Masterclass Series in the historic Wheeler Opera House.

Machovec later furthered his study of musical interpretation with violinist Dr. Konstantin Krechler who mentored him for an intense period of time.

Colin Mehmel is a Guild Certified Feldenrkais practitioner and professional clarinetist. Colin currently teaches clarinet and Feldenkrais in the Desautels Faculty of Music Prep Studies program and the Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Art. He also teaches a weekly "Awareness Through Movement" class at the Rady JCC.

Mehmel first became interested in the Feldenkrais Method after sustaining a shoulder injury which, in addition to being very painful, caused many difficulties in his clarinet playing. Once he found how much and how fast he could learn and change from Feldenkrais lessons, he enrolled in Feldenkrais teacher training. He now uses his knowledge of the Feldenkrais Method and music to help his students learn quickly and discover how movement can be a foundation for learning and achievement.

Tetyana Novytska graduated from the National University of Music and Arts (Ukraine) with a master’s degree in piano performance and education. Novytska has more than 25 years experience teaching in the National Academy of Culture in Ukraine. There she performed with orchestras and was a highly sought-after accompanist.

After moving to Canada in 2006, Novytska established her practice as a music teacher and accompanist. She teaches students from beginners to university advanced levels. Her students have won various awards for provincial and national competitions. Her personal piano performances are also warmly received at various Winnipeg community events.

Languages: English, Ukrainian and Russian
Instructs: piano

Mikhail Pokhanovski is a violin, viola and chamber music teacher with over 20 years of teaching experience. A graduate of the legendary Moscow Conservatory, he was a member of the McGill Chamber orchestra, Virtuosi de Montreal and Joachim Quartet, performing all over Canada, the United States and Europe.

Pokhanovski is often asked to adjudicate music festivals and competitions in Canada. Hi students have achieved the highest honours in competitions and provincial festivals. His students have been recipients of gold medals in Royal Conservatory of Music examinations and many have been awarded full scholarships to study at major universities all over Canada.

Instructs: violin and viola

Laurel Ridd is active as a freelance flutist, performing with the Winnipeg Symphony and many other ensembles. As a soloist she has appeared with MusikBarock in works by Bach, Vivaldi, Devienne, Cimarosa and others. Playing the Baroque flute, she participates regularly on the Musical Offering series, while her interest in contemporary music has led to numerous performances in the Groundswell series. A founder of the Syrinx Flute Festival, she teaches privately and at the International Music Camp, as well as at the University of Manitoba.

Instructs: flute

Amjad Sabir is a versatile artist on the tabla, harmonim, sitar and Indian banjo however, he is best known on the Winnipeg scene as a vocalist. Amjad has studied classical and semi-classical styles, as well as folk music. He has received a collection of awards for his rendition of Geet, Gazal and Raga throughout his musical career.

Sabir has been a music teacher at the India School of Dance, Music and Theatre Inc. since 1994, and with Prep Studies since 1996. He began teaching at Seven Oaks School Division in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 2013. He has produced two DVDs on learning tabla and harmonium at home, which are designed to help to those who have no access to a teacher.

Skender Sefa teaches classical and electric guitar performance and music theory at the Desautels Faculty of Music through the Prep Studies program. He has recorded four classical guitar CDs on the GFI Masterworks, Uncontrollable Records and Marquis Classics labels.

As a student, he completed the bachelor of music (performance) and master of music (performance) degree programs at the University of Manitoba under Ryszard Tyborowski. He also completed a bachelor of arts (advanced) degree and was a scholarship student at the prestigious Domaine Forget Music and Dance Academy in Quebec, where he studied under renowned classical guitar pedagogues Bruce Holzman (USA), Jean Vallieres (Quebec) and Patrick Roux (Ottawa). In addition to performing, teaching and recording, Sefa is an active adjudicator.

Instructs: guitar, ukulele and mandolin

Ecuadorian pianist David Troya began his musical training with his mother. He continued his studies with Armenian pianist Angela Artugnan, Bulgarian pianist Toshko Stoyanov and Ecuadorian pianist Celia Zaldumbide. Troya went on to obtain a BA in business at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. While completing his business degree, he continued his piano instruction with Ecuadorian pedagogue Bertha Brito.

In 2002, Troya moved to Pamplona, Spain, where he studied for three years at the Pablo Sarasate Conservatory under the instruction of Francesca Croccolino and Maite Ascunce. He also collaborated with the Pablo Sarasate Symphony Orchestra and performed at Palacio Euskalduna, one of the largest venues in Spain. In 2003, he won second prize at Santander’s Chamber Music Competition (Spain).

Tianhao Wang

Upon entering the Desautels Faculty of Music, he received the Val Simanavicius Memorial Scholarship, which is given to the most deserving undergraduate violin major. Wang is currently an active accompanist, member of the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra, and enjoys teaching private music lessons at his home studio and at the University of Manitoba Prep Studies program.

Instructs: piano and violin

Caron Hare has been teaching for Prep Studies at the Desautels Faculty of Music for over 20 years. She holds both an Associate of The Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT) Teacher's Diploma as well as an ARCT Performer's Diploma, and is a current member of the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers’ Association (MRMTA). In addition to being an examiner for Conservatory Canada, Hare is in demand as a clinician for Prep Studies, the Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Arts, MRMTA, music festivals, Music for Young Children® workshops and teaching studios throughout Canada.