Janelle Nadeau

Celtic harp, classical pedal harp, voice

Janelle Nadeau holds a degree in Harp Performance from the University of B.C. She has toured Canada with the National Youth Orchestra, has performed for Celebrity Cruises and has played in the backup band for Kanye West. Janelle is the 2008 first place winner and the 2006 second place winner of the Winnipeg Women's Musical Club competition. Her performances have been heard on CBC Radio as well as VIA TVA television. This bilingual (French/English) harpist, who is also a singer, was chosen to perform in Manitoba’s popular Home Routes concert tour earlier this year. This fall, she is working with Grammy-nominee harpist Deborah Henson-Conant on her small cast show “What the Hell are we Doing in the Waiting Room for Heaven?” Janelle studied classical harp with Richard Turner, Heidi Krutzen and Rita Costanzi. Last January Janelle travelled to Paraguay to study Paraguayan harp. Janelle's harp training spans genres from classical to folk to world music.

Mark Ferris

violin

Mark Ferris studied violin at Yale University with Sidney Harth (concertmaster of Chicago, LA Symphony), chamber music with Tokyo String Quartet. Mark is Concertmaster of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and a member of the CBC Radio Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Yaletown String Quartet, an eclectic ensemble which bridges both the jazz and classical worlds. In addition to playing regularly with the National Ballet, Winnipeg Ballet and as a soloist with Ballet BC and Coleman-Lemieux Compagnie, Mark also composes and arranges music in a wide spectrum of styles. Recent projects include writing theme music for NTV News, Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator and playing on Winter Harp's latest CD.

Ron Halder

narrator

Ron has worked as a stage and film actor for more than 35 years. He has performed in theatres across Canada from Victoria to St. John's, Newfoundland. He is in much demand at CBC Radio where his voice can be heard in documentaries, radio plays and Between the Covers. In 2006, he was seen at Richmond Gateway playing Fritz Haber in the acclaimed Einstein's Gift. Also, Ron has toured Canada, the States, Belfast and Durban, South Africa with renowned bassoonist George Zukerman.

In addition, Ron has also had starring television roles in Highlander, Millennium, Stargate SG1 and Hope Island.

Scott Hughes

classical pedal harp

Scott Hughes’ varied career spans opera, musical theatre, choral, stage work and orchestras, including playing harp with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic and the West Coast Symphony. Scott has played with Royal City Musical Theatre Company, QMTP, and was seen on stage in A Christmas Carol at The Vancouver Playhouse. Recording credits include a children’s CD Happiness Runs, the soundscape for Marcea’s Meditations, and Hop the Twig: a Kyle Rideout short film. A Grade One teacher, Scott has produced Dreams and The Angel Diaries, two large-scale theatrical works with children. Scott studied harp with Heidi Krutzen, and holds music and education degrees from the University of Western Ontario and the University of British Columbia. He is currently a doctoral candidate in education at Queen’s University.