Selkirk College

Learn from award winning musicians and engineers in one of the most creative cities in the world. Have a listen to the faculty CD “Souvenir“.

Cheryl Hodge

With over twenty years of playing with the finest jazz musicians in the U.S. & Canada, Cheryl Hodge has certainly made her mark. ‘09 has been a big year for Cheryl She’s has been the “featured artist of the month” for Nov. ‘09 on COAST To COAST AM with George Noory, with spotlight on the latest cut “That’s Why I’m Here”, from faculty album, “SOUVENIR”. Winner of the GRINDIE Award from RadioIndy.com Cheryl continues to be a headliner and adjudicator at several jazz festivals, including the Envision Jazz Fest (the largest educational jazz festival in Canada), in Feb., 2010. She has been a top ten artist in jazz charts for ‘09 with songs: “Indigo” and “Guide to Recovery”, from ‘09 Indigo Album, featuring Brad Turner on trumpet, and John Stowell on guitar, and other greats. Hodge is a gifted pianist and isn’t afraid to visit the outer stretches of “scatting” (vocal jazz improvisation); yet loves singing R&B (think Etta James). Cheryl taught Voice at Boston’s Berklee College of Music for 8 years (after graduating from there with honors in Performance and a B.A. in Composition). Since then she has happily headed up the vocal and songwriting departments at Selkirk College, Nelson, British Columbia. She has recorded on several labels, including Warner Bros. and Atco Records. Cheryl has worked with such names as The Raindogs, Dee Daniels, guitarist Mike Stern and John Stowell (both of whom she has co-written with); and Juno winning Hugh Frasier. Cheryl Hodge is also the author of a vocalist’s manual with mp3 exercises, entitled A Singer’s Guide to the Well-Trained and Powerful Voice. She has done hundreds of commercials and recorded on several movie releases.

You can visit Cheryl’s websites at www.JazzBoulevard.com and www.cherylhodge.com.

Cheryl teaches: Vocals, Songwriting, Broadway & Songwriting Ensembles, Business of Music, Arranging and Vocal Labs.

Paul Landsberg

Paul received his Bachelor of Music from Berklee College of Music, where he later taught for eight years. He is currently finishing his Masters of Fine Arts degree from California Institute of the Arts. Paul has studied with John Scofield, Joe LaBarbara, William Leavitt, Larry Koonse, Charles Banaros, Wayne Krantz, and Wadada Leo Smith. He has performed with artists as diverse as Robben Ford, Dave Weckl, Ernie Watts Pancho Sanchez, Ben E. King, Peter Erskine, The Drifters, The Platters, Lew Tabackin, The Spokane Jazz Orchestra and many others. He is currently performing his own compositions with the Paul Landsberg Quartet and can be heard on hid CD release, “Looking In.” Paul’s other musical interests include fusing music with other art forms which has led to performances with the “Hybrids and Mutants Show,” “The Three Poets,” and collaborations with Wadada Leo Smith. Paul was born in Bronx, New York and now makes his home in Nelson with his wife and six children. Visit Paul’s Website.

Paul teaches: Guitar, Ear Training, Improvisation, Ensemble, History of Jazz

Don MacDonald

Don Macdonald has a varied musical background that includes experience as a performer, conductor, educator, and composer. Don has performed on saxophone alongside artists such as Dee Daniels and Mike Stern, and on violin for soundtracks and numerous studio recordings. His vocal background includes being a founding member of Musica Intima and Chor Leone two of Canada’s premiere vocal ensembles, freelance work with the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and solo work with a variety of ensembles including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. His conducting experience includes position as Assistant Conductor of the Vancouver Bach Choir, Musical Director of the Simon Fraser University Choir and studio conductor for film and T.V. sessions.

Don has scored music for films featured at all the major film festivals and his score for Cannes Film Festival winner “Shoes Off” was recognized as “one of the most compelling original scores attached to any Canadian film, ever……” (Vancouver Province). His evocative scores continue to gain special awards in the industry including five Leo nominations and two Genie nominations. In 2006 he scored the feature film “Fido ” starring Carrie Anne Moss (The Matrix) distributed by Lions Gate. The score was recorded in Prague with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. See donmacdonaldmusic.com for more information. In Nov 2009 Don was commissioned to write his first opera titled “KHAOS” - see the website here - khaosopera.com

Don teaches: Ensembles, Film Scoring, Composition and Ear Training

Darren Mahe

Darren received his Bachelors of Music and Education from UBC in Vancouver and has studied Classical guitar, Composition, and Chinese music. He has traveled extensively across Western Canada performing in rock clubs and has opened for acts such as Trooper, Prism, Haywire, Kickaxe and Great White. His current rock project in Vancouver is writing and recording music for film and a future CD. As a member of the accapella 24-voice chamber ensemble ŒLaudate¹ he has performed with members of the CBC Vancouver Orchestra and the Pacific Baroque Orchestra. The group released two CD¹s and performed a live CBC radio broadcast. He has also performed on the Chines instrument sanxion(fretless lute) and ruan(moon guitar) opening the BC Chines Music Orchestra, and as guest with the Hwa Sheng Chines opera in Seattle, Washington.

Darren teaches: Guitar, Contemporary Harmony, Labs, History of Rock, Ensembles

Glenn Mitchell

Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Glenn acquired his musical education at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, Alberta, where he majored in guitar performance. While located in Vancouver, he performed in bands playing a variety of styles. The William Taylor Band (Jazz-Funk), where he appeared on the TV show Neon Rider, performed at the Yale Hotel, and played with Blues legend Sonny Rhodes. Glenn played bass and piano with drummer Roy Rodriego Guiellamera in the Latino band Salsa Brava. He toured Western Canada in the country band, The Molloy Gang, opening for Hoyt Axton at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. Prior to teaching at Selkirk College, Glenn played lead and slide guitar with pianist Eric Vaugn (Joe Henderson, Dizzy Gilespie) in bassist’s Russel Jackson’s (B.B. King, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy) Blues Band. For two years the band toured Canada and the United States, appearing in Memphis, Tennessee, Las Vegas, and such famous Blues venues as The Grande Emporium in Kansas City, and Antones in Austin, Texas. While in the band Glenn performed with or opened for such acts as Buddy Miles, Lou Ann Barton, Frankie Lee, The New Riders, Joe Cocker, Snooky Pryor, The Five Blind Boys of Alabama and Cache McColl. Currently he is appearing locally with The Blues Allstars and Electric Trane.

Glenn teaches: Guitar, Bass, and Piano

Gilles Parenteau

Gilles Parenteau has been performing professionally on keyboard since he was 14 years old for various venues including night clubs, conventions, concerts, cruise ships, and fashion shows in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Panama and Japan. He has performed in many styles of music including pop, classical, jazz, rhythm and blues, rock, and jazz-fusion. In addition to his credits as a performer Gilles has nearly two decades of experience as a professional composer. He has a long time association with CBC Radio and TV having scored well over one hundred television episodes and every year he arranges music and leads the band for a nationwide CBC radio show showcasing Canadian talent. As well as his scores for media Gilles has had the opportunity to write for a large range of live ensembles including rock and jazz bands as well as symphonies in Vancouver, Edmonton and Winnipeg and in 1990 he received the CBC’s Best Song of the Year Award. In 2001 he travelled to L.A. and studied with renowned orchestrator, Scott Smalley(one of Hollywoods leading orchestrators Batman, Mission Impossible). His most recent composition credits include Dragnuts and Double Exposure and he has released two CD¹s ³A Gift of Music² and ³Gratitude² in which he continues his collaborations with some of BC¹s finest musicans including Alpha Yaya Dialo and Kim Kuzma. Visit his webiste at www.virtualsymphony.com.

Gilles teaches: Keyboard, Contemporary Music Analysis, Ensembles, Preceptorship

Steven J. Parish

Mr. Parish, a native of Boston, earned his Bachelor of Arts in Audio Engineering from the Berklee College of Music. In addition to studying drumset at Berklee, he has also studied drumset privately with Frankie Dunlop (Thelonious Monk, Lionel Hampton), Latin rhythms with Frank Malabe, and attended master classes presented by the great Buddy Rich. Steven’s professional career spans a wide variety of musical styles. He has played Jazz with Les Paul, Anthony Braxton, Pat LaBarbara and Hugh Fraser among others; Rock ‘n’ Roll with Christine Ohlman of the Saturday Night Live Band, and Performance Art with the ground breaking Fluxus. He has also performed a drumset duet with Peter Erskine and played with other Selkirk visiting artists; Robben Ford, John Handy, Jimmy Haslip, Max Bennet, Shari Ulrich, Paul Janz, Bob Mintzer and John Stowell. In the studio Mr. Parish has played, engineered and/or programmed MIDI tracks for Rock ‘n’ Roll legend Cub Koda, Ian Hunter, Joe Bouchard of Blue Öyster Cult and Rap artist Stezo-E. Currently Steven is playing with 3 Poets, a spontaneous improvisation ensemble led by poet Blake Parker. He is also performing in the U.S. and Western Canada with The Seeing Eye Dog Blues Band. Taken as a whole these experiences have helped Mr. Parish interweave a myriad of styles into a musically dynamic, distinctive and personal voice.

Steven is our Studio Coordinator and also teaches Drumset, Recording Techniques, Mixdown & Editing, Labs and Ensembles

Mark Spielman

Mark is first and foremost a bass player with a professional career extending back 20 years starting with a degree from the University of Miami. His career has been divided equally between live performance, studio session, and education. As a member of “The Circle,” a Florida based contemporary jazz group, he performed a variety of large venues including opening concerts for Hall and Oates, Chicago, Rod Stewart, and George Benson. Other performance credits span a variety of styles in including jazz dates with Frank Gambale, Dee Daniels, and Jimmy Haslip and pop/rock artists such as Ellen MacIlwaine, Shari Ulrich, and Paul Janz. The list of studio session dates include jingle and live broadcast for CBC, as well as numerous album productions in the role of player/producer. Currently Mark arranges and writes for the 10 piece R&B group, “What It Is.”

Mark teaches: Bass, Ensembles, Harmony and Labs

Kiyo Elkuf

Saxophonist Kiyoshi Elkuf received his Bachelors Degree in Jazz Studies from Capilano College, and enjoys playing and improvising in a multitude of styles and configurations. During his formal studies in Vancouver he gained much experience performing with internationally acclaimed jazz artists such as Kurt Elling, Kenny Werner and Bob Mintzer. After forming strong bonds in the Vancouver jazz scene, touring Canada and recording multiple albums with The Rabnett 5 (which have their latest product ranking #1 jazz album of 2008 with Earshot ), he has settled back into the incomparable environment of the Kootenays.

Kiyo teaches: Saxophone and Ensembles

John Tucker

John Tucker is a music composer/producer whose professional activities include scoring and production for television series and commercials, CD production and mastering, songwriting, and composition for the art/dance/theatre community. He has worked with a diverse range of artists that includes John Alcorn, the B-52’s, Kevin Breit, Terry Brown, Malcolm Burn, Jim Carroll, Holly Cole, Gordie “Grady” Johnson, Molly Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Paul Landsberg, Daniel Lanois, Geddy Lee, Coco Love, Don MacDonald. Tony “Wild T” Springer and Aspen Switzer. John’s series scoring work has appeared on CBS, ABC, FOX, PBS, HBO, CBC, YTV and Teletoon and includes three Gemini Award-winning animated series “Stickin’ Around,” “Sam and Max” and the Emmy-nominated “Angela Anaconda.” Prior to relocating to Nelson in 2001, John founded and partnered music and sound-design company KEEN Music in Toronto, creating hundreds of soundtracks for such radio and television advertisers as Ford, Toyota, Kellogg’s, Labatt, Rebok, Tim Horton, IKEA and VISA. He continues to generate music for KEEN and other clients from his home studio. John has a BFA from the University of Victoria. He was awarded a Golden Sheaf Award, for his score to the film “Inside Out” and has received Canada Council Grants for audio production. His commissions for Toronto dance choreographer Bengt Jorgen and Nelson’s Hiromoto Ida have been performed across North America.

John teaches: Computer Applications to Music and Advanced MIDI

Laura Landsberg

Born in London England and raised in Vancouver, BC. Laura received her formal education at Grant MacEwan Community College in Edmonton, Alberta. Laura has since taken part in numerous vocal workshops to further develop her skills as a performer and teacher. Laura has studied with Dee Daniels, Jennifer Scott, Louise Rose, Bobby McFerrin, Rhiannon, David Worm, Roger Treece, Judi Donaghy, Joey Blake, Kiran Ahluwalia and many other inspiring teachers.Laura has performed with many renowned jazz artists including Hugh Fraser, Chris Brubeck, Oliver Gannon, Donny Clark and her father, Ian McDougall. She has been the featured soloist with the Universal Gospel Choir, the Spokane Jazz Orchestra and VEJI (Vancouver Ensemble for Jazz Improvisation) with special guest, Cuban piano master Chucho Valdez. Laura has been performing her unique blend of jazz, blues and gospel music throughout North America for over twenty years. As well as having a rich performance life, Laura is also an experienced session singer. You can hear Laura on her debut CD ‘Naturally”. Although Laura has been described as “A remarkably fresh and unpretentious singer,” by the Spokesman Review, perhaps Paul Grant of CBC Radio’s Hot Air put it best when he stated, “With so many singers trying to sound like someone else, it’s a treat to hear Laura Landsberg’s fresh and original voice. She’s a natural.”Laura joined the Selkirk College Music faculty in 2004 and has been teaching music since 1985. Visit Laura’s Website.

Laura teaches vocals, vocal improvisation and ensembles.