QMEA is presently recruiting board members that reflect regional representation on the executive committee for the 2015-2017 term, as per agreement with the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport. Please refer to the following document that outlines the potential candidates profile, obligations and compensation.
Current Regional Representation on the QMEA Board
Isabelle Plante, President, currently teaches Music Education at Saint-Lambert International High School. She graduated from McGill University in 2004 from the concurrent Music Education Bachelors Program. Upon graduation, she received the Chantal Malard Memorial Prize by demonstrating leadership qualities and involvement in volunteer activities while maintaining a high academic standing. Violinist and violist, she is an active member in several community orchestras in Montreal.
Jeong-min Lee, Vice-President, is an alumna of various institutions of performing and musical arts, including: the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, the Langley Fine Arts School, and the Interlochen Arts Academy. She has taught music at The Study in Montreal teaching students from grades 6 to 11. Recently she has begun to teach elementary music at the Lower Canada College. She also teaches violin students ranging from Pre-K to university levels at the McGill Conservatory. She graduated from McGill University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance, then obtained her second bachelors degree in Music Education in 2014. With her background in performance, administration, service, and music education, she is passionate to share her love for music with the community.
Doug Giroux, Member-at-large, Liaison to McGill’s Music Education Undergraduate Student Association (MEdUSA) and Quebec Band Association (QBA). He has privately taught guitar and ukulele for nearly a decade, is currently employed by the McGill Conservatory, where he also teaches preschool music. He is currently in his final year of study in McGill’s Concurrent Bachelor of Music Education (B.Ed/B.Mus).
Past Regional Representation on the QMEA Board
Erin O’Connell, past Secretary and Treasurer (2004-2015), hails from upstate New York. She moved to Montreal in 1999 to attend McGill University and graduated with a Bachelors of Education in 2004. She has performed throughout North America on her primary instrument, the tuba, including concerts at Place des Arts and Carnegie Hall. Not only a performer, Erin has taught tuba and lower brass to students from cycle II to secondary V. Presently Erin is a co-director at Garderie Bonne Aventure Preschool in Griffintown.
George Anthopoulos,Past Member-at-Large, George is a graduate of Concordia University (BFA) with a major in Jazz performance and Western University (BEDU). He started his teaching career in 2000 when he was hired by Honore Mercier Elementary School, in St. Leonard, in order to start a music program. George has shared the stage with Walfredo Reyes Jr. (Carlos Santana, Lindsay Buckingham, Steve Winwood), David Garibaldi (Tower of Power) and Dom Formularo. George’s guitar playing and compositions have also appeared on television (CBC’s My Goldfish is Evil) and websites (Intrawest).
Anne-Marie Lozier, Past Music Festival Coordinator, has been singing for the past ten years. She was initiated to singing and to choral music at the École secondaire De La Salle, an arts high school in Ottawa. She spent four years in their vocal music program. She has returned to De La Salle as a teacher, and has been teaching voice there for the past five years. She then went on to complete a Bachelor of Music at the University of Ottawa where she studied with Laurence Ewashko. During her time at this university, she performed the roles of Barbarina in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and of Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Anne-Marie completed a Master of Music from the Université de Montréal in the spring of 2009, where she studied with Yolande Parent. She has sung with many choirs, such as the Ottawa Regional Youth Choir, the Ontario Youth Choir, the Cantata Singers of Ottawa, the Ottawa Bach Choir, the Calixa-Lavallé Ensemble, the Anglican Chorale of Ottawa and Concerto Della Donna, a choir she is still a member of and also its president.
Tammy Lynn Déry, Past Webmaster, is a graduate of Concordia University in flute performance (2007) and is working as a freelance flautist, performing in halls such as the Place des Arts, Claude Champagne concert hall, and many other prestigious venues in Montreal. She is also coordinator of the Brossard music school.
QMEA’s Past Presidents
Charlene Ryan, Past President of the QMEA (2004-2005), is Assistant Professor of Music Education at McGill University and Director of Early Childhood programs for the McGill Conservatory of Music. While she specializes in early childhood and elementary music education, she has taught at all school levels from preschool through secondary school.
Christine Beckett, Past President of the QMEA (2005-2007). She is an Assistant Professor of theory, ear training and keyboard skills at Concordia University’s Faculty of Fine Arts music department. Dr. Beckett does research on music perception/cognition and pedagogy, and is a founding member of the Montreal research centre for Brain, Music and Sound (BRAMS) directed by Dr. Isabelle Peretz and Dr. Robert J. Zatorre. Christine has taught in private studio, public school classrooms, CEGEPs and universities, in both English and French. A pianist and freelance violist, Christine is a long-time member of the Guilde des Musiciens du Quebec.
Theodora Stathopoulos, Past President of the QMEA (2007-2009). She is an active music educator since 1977 in various school boards, she has been a music specialist at FACE (Fine Arts Core Education) School since 1992 and in 2000 she became head of its string department. She is frequently invited to present in several provincial, national and international conferences for music and the arts and collaborates regularly with the Universite de Quebec a Montreal(UQAM) and McGill University in their teacher- training programs. In 2006 she was the recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence.
Valerie Descombes, Immediate Past President (2009-2015). She is a graduate of McGill University (BMus, MA). As a student she worked on music education research studies publishing two articles and presenting her research at two major conferences (MENC). Currently she teaches music to k-6 at Harmony Elementary School of the New Frontiers School Board in Chateauguay, QC. She was assigned the position when the school opened in 1997, building a strong and diverse program. She was instrumental in initiating technology at Harmony. She won the NFSB innovative grant which enabled her to purchase the necessary equipment to run a percussion program consisting of African drumming. In 2009 she was the recipient of the QMEA Teacher of the Year Award. She is a vibrant leader who possesses the gift of being able to teach the complexity of music by making it simple and enjoyable to her students. She is a founding executive member of the QMEA.