Congratulations to ALL our festival participants! Class winners as well as Award winners are listed under the Results tab, also check out the Trophy winner page. We as a festival are proud of each one of you for participating in such an event as our festival. GREAT JOB!!
Elroy Friesen is Director of Choral Studies at the University of Manitoba, where he conducts multiple choirs, and teaches graduate conducting. His award-winning ensembles have toured extensively, garnered national and international acclaim, and been featured on CBC Radio.
Friesen enjoys fostering artistic collaborations, partnering with organizations such as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Canadian College of Organists, and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. He is the former Artistic Director of Canzona and the former Artistic Director and Founder of Prairie Voices, a renowned Winnipeg-based youth choir.
A dedicated educator, Friesen has served as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor across North America and Northern Europe. He holds degrees from the University of Manitoba and the University of Illinois, and is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and grants.
Theresa Thordarson is a pianist, vocalist, and creator across genres. Her musical fascinations include new and traditional piano repertoire, adventurous pop songs, and Baroque continuo playing (to name a few!).
A passionate educator, Theresa teaches with a flexible, student-centred approach. Her experience overcoming a repetitive stress injury has given her a valuable perspective informed by the Taubman Approach. Theresa has studied and served as a sessional instructor at both Brandon University and SUNY Fredonia, where she was also a staff collaborative pianist. She has also facilitated workshops in piano, songwriting, and composition across Manitoba.
Theresa grew up in rural Manitoba and now makes her home in Winnipeg where she enjoys playing and writing music with her duo Bicycle Face.
Karen Santos is a versatile soprano and visual artist celebrated for her “rich, velvety voice” (Schmopera) and her passion for the stage. Born and raised in Mexico City, she is now based in Winnipeg, Canada.
She has performed an array of leading and featured roles, including Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore) with Manitoba Opera; Rosina (Le nozze di Figaro) and Belinda/Anna (Dido & Aeneas) with Manitoba Underground Opera; Rose (At the Statue of Venus); Isabelle/Madeline (The Face on the Barroom Floor) with Little Opera Company; Rodrigo (Rodrigo) and Angela (Angela and her Sisters) with University of Manitoba Opera Theatre; Papagena (Die Zauberflöte) and Lady Anna (Patience) with Opera NUOVA; Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) with Manhattan Opera Studio; and Micaëla (Carmen) with Festival de Ópera en Oaxaca.
In addition to her performance career, Karen is in high demand as a voice teacher, maintaining a
thriving studio at JKW Music Studio. She holds a Master of Music in Voice Performance from
the University of Manitoba, a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the Vancouver
Academy of Music, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from the University of British
Columbia.
Shirley Elias, pianist
Shirley Elias made her first mark as an artistic force as a concert pianist; with competition wins, performances coast to coast across Canada, frequent broadcasts on CBC’s Radio Two and both solo and concerto recordings. With a love of new music, Shirley premiered 9 piano concerti with the WSO under the direction of Maestros Bramwell Tovey and Mario Bernardi and received numerous solo and concerto commissions. In addition to performing, Shirley has held prominent leadership positions with organizations like the WSO, MCMA, MCO, MAC, Debut Atlantic, served on boards, and participated in juries for agencies like the Canada Council, MAC, Factor, and CBC Radio. Shirley is the founding director of Prairie Debut, a classical performing network for Western Canada that reaches over 50 communities a year.
Shirley holds a M.Mus. (UBC) and B.Mus (UofM) and studied in Italy.
Jennifer Thiessen is known for creating new music for the viola and viola d’amore through improvisation, composition and collaboration with composers, as well as interpreting historical repertoire for her instruments. She performs, records, and curates extensively in Canadian classical and creative music communities.
Jennifer writes music for viola, voice, and electronics for her solo project Daily Alice, with her JUNO-nominated duo Toninato & Thiessen with Ida Toninato (The Space Between Us, Dream of Heat), and for her duo Park Sounds with percussionist Ben Reimer. Her solo and collaborative work has been presented by send+receive, Prairie Wires, GroundSwell, No Hay Banda, Innovations en Concert, Ottawa New Music Creators, suddenlyLISTEN, FIMAV, Le Vivier, Cluster Festival, Festival Montréal Baroque, Festival international de musique baroque de Lamèque and Rosamunde Festival. Jennifer has performed and recorded with such groups as the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble SuperMusique, Ensemble Caprice, collectif9, Quatuor Bozzini, and La La La Human Steps.
Based in Montreal for two decades, Jennifer returned to Manitoba in 2021. She curated and produced three seasons of chamber music in her role as Artistic Director of Virtuosi Concerts from 2021 to 2025. She writes poetry, essays and articles for a variety of projects and publications. Her first poetry book Out of Body will be published by Collection Hic et Nunc in 2026. Within a multiplicity of artistic adventures, she is grounded in a passion to create meaningful experiences for herself and her listeners.
Dawn Bruch-Wiens holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice from McGill University, as wellas Post-Baccalaureate and Master of Music degrees from the University of Manitoba, where she studied with Tracy Dahl. Praised by Opera Canada as a “mesmerizing” singer with “effervescent vocal agility,” Dawn has performed with Manitoba Opera, The Little Opera Company, Flipside Opera and Art Song Collective, Manitoba Underground Opera, Groundswell, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera Studio Weimar, and Opera on the Avalon.
With over 19 years of experience teaching private voice, Dawn also served as a
sessional instructor at Canadian Mennonite University for five years. Passionate about
the festival movement, she has been actively involved as a performer, teacher and
adjudicator for more than 30 years.
