Presidents : In Progress.....

J Evan Kreider - president, Feb 2010 -

Derwyn Lea - president, Feb 2009 - Feb 2010

Janet Lea - president, Sept 2005 - Feb 2009

    Janet’s association with the Vancouver Cantata Singers started in 1977, when she was accepted as a member of the soprano section by Music Director, James Fankhauser. She performed with the choir for nine seasons, and also served as a member of the Board for several years. Janet and her husband Derwyn Lea met when he joined the choir's bass section and filled the position of Treasurer while she was President of the Board in the early '80's. They celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in June, 2009.
   Janet Lea's career has included work in radio, music recording, dance and theatre. She most recently served as Director of Artistic Operations for Ballet BC. Prior to that she enjoyed a 21- year career at CBC Radio working as Director of Cultural Programs for British Columbia, Head of Music for CBC English Radio in Toronto, and as a Producer and Executive Producer of such shows as Disc Drive with Jurgen Gothe, Otto Lowy's The Transcontinental, and Bob Kerr's Off the Record. She also produced concerts for broadcast and produced several CD recordings, including the Cantata Singers' recordings of music by Rigatti and Rheinberger.
   Janet holds a BA in in music from Queens College CUNY, an MA from Washington State University, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She has served on the boards of Orchestras Canada and the Glenn Gould Foundation, and is presently on the boards of Blackbird Theatre, the Vancouver Academy of Music, and City Opera Vancouver.

Harvey Reithaug - president

John Wright - president

Managers

Dave Carlin - manager, Jan 2009 -

A native of New Brunswick, David studied music and art history at the University of Saskatchewan, and worked in Saskatoon as a choral director, composer and organist, before moving to Vancouver in 1994.  While in Vancouver he worked in the record retail business, as a department manager and buyer for Sam the Record Man and Virgin Entertainment.  He also started doing freelance work for CBC Radio and served as a Director and President of Early Music Vancouver.

In 2000, David moved to Los Angeles to be Senior Product Manager and Director of Inventory Management Systems Development for Virgin Entertainment North America, responsible for managing inventories and budgets, negotiating vendor contracts, and supervising a team of product managers and buyers. He also devised a corporate training program and managed the company’s most significant change initiative.

Since his return to Vancouver, David has resumed working for CBC Radio as a freelance music producer and on-air contributor.  His knowledge of and love for choral music, and his desire to become active in Vancouver’s arts community inspired him to apply for the General Manager position.

Janna Crown - manager, 2005 - Dec  2008

Janna Crown has been the General Manager of the Vancouver Cantata  Singers since 2005. Working closely with the board of directors and  Artistic Director Eric Hannan, her energy, enthusiasm and fresh ideas  have helped shape a new direction for the choir as it moves into its  51st season. Janna's managerial and production experience is  complemented by a solid musical education, a love and passion for  vocal music, and a dedication to the performing arts. She graduated from Queen's University in 2001 with a BMus in vocal performance where she was proudly one of the founding artists/producers of the  entirely student run Queens' Student Opera - today the QSO performs full staged operas in Kingston. In addition managing the Vancouver Cantata Singers, Janna currently works as an associate producer with CBC radio and as a production manager with the Turning Point  Ensemble. She is also known in the arts community for her work with  Sikora's Classical Records and her time spent as Production Coordinator with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Lorne Fiedler - manager and co-manager from 2003 - 2006

    Vancouver native Lorne Fiedler was the Vancouver Cantata Singers manager and co-manager from 2003 to 2006.  He has more than twenty years experience in arts management - as a festival producer, facility manager and artist manager.   He currently is the administrator for the Kiwanis Fraser Valley International Music Festival and a director of the Chamber Music Society of the Fraser Valley. Under the moniker 'Id Guinness,' Lorne is also a performer, songwriter, music producer and a member of Winnipeg's The Wyrd Sisters who have been nominated for multiple Juno Awards.

Paddy Macleod - general manager, 1980 - 2005

    Paddy Macleod has more than twenty-eight years experience in Arts Administration, until recently in the music sector.  Well-known as an arts activist in Vancouver, she has been President of several of the city’s prominent cultural organizations including The Greater Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture.  She serves as a board director of Festival Vancouver and as chair of the Festival’s Programme Advisory Committee as well as being an active participant on the board of The Vancouver Concert Hall and Theatre Society.
    Wide-ranging managerial experience with Cantata Singers included the production and financing of a number of CD’s one of which, A Venetian Vespers of 1640, was nominated for a Juno award. Paddy was Executive Producer of a documentary video of the choir’s tour to Europe in 1998, Children of Bach , which was widely telecast in Canada.
    Born in South Africa, Paddy’s early experience was in the fields of journalism and broadcasting and prior to entering into arts Administration in Canada, she received an MA from Simon Fraser University.
    She is at present General Manager of the newly-formed classical Blackbird Theatre Company and its co-founder.

Chester Nobbs-  business manager/administrator

Chester Nobbs,was our choir’s first business manager/administrator. He still remembers the excitement of obtaining the choir’s first grant, $1,500 from The Thea and Leon Koerner Foundation in October 1959 “to cover a bond of $1,000 required by the Musician’s Union for the orchestra . . . for Bach’s Magnificat and Britten’s St. Nicholas”, “fees of $75 payable to the City of Vancouver for the use of the new Queen Elizabeth Theatre and $125 for general publicity for the entire season’s concerts.”