Faculty & Staff

The VYSO is proud to have many prestigious and talented staff and faculty members on its team. Many of our conductors and string assistants have studied and taught at world-renowned institutions around the world, and are often in high demand for workshops both locally and internationally.

Artistic Director – Jonathan Girard

Conductors

Jonathan Girard

Artistic Director & Senior Orchestra Conductor

BIO

Conductor Jonathan Girard always knew he’d become a musician.
He grew up just outside Boston. Both Mom and Dad were accomplished amateur musicians. He vividly remembers his first trip to hear the Boston Symphony and hearing a performance of Debussy’s L’après-midi d’un faune. He knew at that moment that he wanted to spend his life immersed in the orchestral world.He began his musical journey on the piano, was conducting by 6th grade, played saxophone and clarinet in his middle school band and viola in the orchestra. He received a Masters from Boston University and his Doctorate from the Eastman School of Music.
Today he works around the world. Whether he’s leading a symphony in Brazil, an opera in the Czech Republic or working with students as Director of Orchestras at the University of British Columbia School of Music, he sees the orchestra as a place where each musician can contribute their individual artistry to a unified whole. He’s also an enthusiastic promoter of new and little-known music, works on interdisciplinary projects involving media labs and the visual arts and collaborates with scholars exploring astronomy and earth, ocean, and atmospheric sciences.
When he’s off the podium, he’s often up in the air flying airplanes.
“I love the freedom of being in the skies and seeing the world from a unique perspective,” he says. “Flying combines both science and art. In everything I do, I relish an opportunity to seek out new realms.”

Nico Stephenson

Intermediate Orchestra Conductor

BIO

Conductor, cellist, and educator Nico Stephenson has been associated with the VYSO for over two decades, first as a member of all four orchestras, then as an Intermediate and Senior String Assistant, and now as the proud conductor of the Intermediate Orchestra. In addition to his work with the VYSO, Nico directs the orchestra and teaches chamber music at Langley Fine Arts School, and is on the cello faculty at Langley Community Music School.

As an educator, Nico strives to open doors to artistic excellence for young musicians of all instruments. His students frequently win competitions and are consistently admitted to top university programs in Canada, the United States, Asia, and Europe.

Nico’s work with budding musicians is heavily influenced by his own mentors: His teaching is imbued with the wisdom of cellists Audrey Nodwell and Johanne Perron, pedagogues Ardith Haley and Dale Lonis, and conductors Roger Cole, Jin Zhang, and Jean-François Rivest.

For the past ten years, Nico has spent his summers teaching cello, chamber music, and orchestra at Yukon Summer Music Camp, helping to foster and propel the community of amateur musicians in Canada’s North. He has also worked with the Orchestra North program in Prince George and Saint James Music Academy in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Between rehearsals, lessons, and performances, Nico likes to ride his bike, visit art galleries, and frequent Italian restaurants on Commercial Drive.

Nadia Petriw

Debut and Junior Orchestras Conductor

BIO

Nadia Petriw is a violinist, educator, and music therapist learning and working on the traditional and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples.

Born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, Nadia’s love of music led her to explore community and connection through ensemble and chamber music. After graduating with a Bachelor of Music in String Performance from Brandon University, Nadia moved to Vancouver to pursue music therapy studies at Capilano University.

Nadia has taught in her own private violin and piano studio since 2008 and enjoys working with all ages, abilities, and styles. Her music therapy training also influences her teaching style, as she works with students and their families to achieve their personal and musical goals. She believes that all children are musical and is passionate about sharing music through exploration and creativity. Nadia currently works as a music educator and music therapist throughout Metro Vancouver and directs the Debut and Junior Orchestras as part of the Vancouver Symphony Youth Orchestra as well as the Preludio and Concertante Ensembles at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music.

In her free time, Nadia can be found baking cookies, reading, or tending to her garden.

String Assistants

Jake Klinkenborg

Cello, Intermediate Orchestra

BIO

Originally from Wyoming, Jake is a recent transplant to Vancouver. As a freelance cellist, Jake has performed in cello sections such as the Vancouver Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, the Vancouver Opera, the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, and the Kamloops Symphony, and has sat as principal in the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra and the Prince George Symphony.

Chamber performances have brought Jake to concert halls, cafes, and cathedrals in Japan, Norway, and Chile, and Jake has performed and recorded with the local Microcosmos String Quartet. Jake enjoys performing with electronics both within and beyond the world of classical music, including solo performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Arts in Toronto, and a live set with the EDM artist KSHMR in Montreal, during which a mis-timed flame machine almost melted his bow hair.

Jake is a graduate of Oberlin and McGill. He maintains a private teaching studio in Vancouver.

Rebecca Ruthven

Violin, Intermediate Orchestra

BIO

Originally from Kelowna, Rebecca studied Violin at McGill University. She plays regularly with the Okanagan Symphony and Vancouver Film Orchestra and will be joining the Vancouver Opera Orchestra this Fall. An active chamber musician, she recently played with Vetta Chamber Music, the Borealis String Quartet, and toured BC as part of The Young Beethoven. On baroque violin she has performed with Gallo Chamber Players, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, and Victoria Baroque. She is a three-time alumnus of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and recipient of the Stephen Sitarski Leadership Award. She teaches violin at Arbutus Music Academy

Madeline Young

Violin, Debut & Junior Orchestra

BIO

Madeline Young began her studies on piano with Carl Montgomery and on violin with Heilwig von Konigslow at the Langley Community Music School. After receiving the Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Music diploma in piano and completing the Royal Conservatory of Music grade 10 in violin, she went on to complete her diploma in music at Kwantlen Polytechnic University studying piano and chamber music.

She teaches piano and violin at the Western Conservatory of Music, Music Schools International Langley, Heritage Music School and NUVO Music School in the Fraser Valley area. Recently, Madeline returned from spending a year working at Epsom College in Malaysia where she taught music to students in the Prep school and Senior school.

Brontë Wagar

Cello, Debut & Junior Orchestra

BIO

Brontë Wagar is a Vancouver-based cellist and teacher. Active as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician, highlights of recent concert seasons have included collaborations with Canadian cellist Eric Wilson and international vocalists Il Divo. Prior to her university studies, Brontë completed her ARCT diploma in cello performance, receiving two gold medals for achieving the highest mark in the province in her RCM exams. Bronte completed her Bachelors and Masters of Music at UBC with a full-tuition scholarship in the studio of Eric Wilson and Janet Steinberg.

Brontë is a committed educator of cello students at all levels and maintains a studio of cello students that consistently achieve distinction in Royal Conservatory exams and music festivals. Bronte serves as a cello coach for the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra and cello instructor at Capilano University. In the summer, Bronte can be found teaching and performing at Music Meadows and Mountains Camp. Outside of music, Brontë is a community pharmacist with an interest in diabetes management and LGBTQ2+ inclusive care.

Administrative Team

Ashton Lim

Executive Director

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Emily Yu

Communications and Operations Manager

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Andrea Norman

Orchestra Manager and Volunteer Coordinator

Contact the vyso

Questions about the VYSO? Would you like to audition, volunteer, or donate? We’d love to hear from you. Give us a call, attend a concert or send us an email!

info@vyso.com
604 737 0714

Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra acknowledges that its work takes place on the unceded, traditional, and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples