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.”

Samuel Ivory

Intermediate Orchestra Conductor

BIO

Constantly inspired by the possibilities of music-making, Samuel J. Ivory is a conductor, composer and baroque trumpet player from Grand Rapids, Michigan, currently based in Vancouver. Having a wide range of interests ranging from baroque performance, to multimedia music composition, he values engaging with music from a variety of styles – all informing himself as a conductor and musician.

Passionate about music education, Sam strives to inspire the next generation of musicians. In addition to being the new music director for the Intermediate Orchestra of the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra, he is an active music theory tutor and teacher.

Sam also serves as the Assistant Conductor of the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, and has recently served as an assistant with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra working with Bob Bernhardt. His conducting mentors include Dr. Jonathan Girard, Dr. Chung Park, Miguel Harth-Bedoya and Steven Amundson.

Sam holds a Masters of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of British Columbia studying with Dr. Jonathan Girard, and received a Bachelors of Music in Composition (magna cum laude) from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Outside of music, Sam enjoys long runs, hiking, reading, and photographing antique farm equipment.

Dr. Richard Dorfer

Junior Orchestra Conductor

BIO

Dr. Rick Dorfer is a versatile violinist, conductor, and educator based in Surrey. He is a member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and teaches at Capilano University and his studio in South Surrey. With over 20 years of experience adjudicating music festivals and leading masterclasses across western Canada, he is passionate about nurturing the next generation of musicians.

Rick is conductor of the Instrumental Ensemble at Capilano University and the Junior Orchestra at the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra. He is a strings examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music and is the Artistic Director for the Music, Meadows and Mountains summer camp on Pender Island. Rick earned an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Washington.

Nadia Petriw

Debut Orchestra 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 Orchestra 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