Our 2021 Adjudicators

We are excited to announce this years Adjudicators for the 2021 Brant Music Festival:

Voice – Abigail Freeman

Ms. Freeman has been heard in the roles of the Queen of the Night and Papagena (The Magic Flute), Despina (Cosi fan tutte), Blonde (Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail) , The Chair in A Chair in Love, Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Ännchen (Die Freischutz), Suor Genoveffa (Suor Angelica), Fanchette (Le marriage aux lanternes) and as Ophelia in Mark Richards’ Hamlet. 

She has also been the featured soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Bach cantatas Wachet auf and Wachet, betet, and has performed with the Brott Festival, Oshawa Opera, Toronto Opera Collaborative, Opera by Request, the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra, the Mississauga Festival Choir, the Georgetown Bach Chorale, Counterpoint Chorale, and is a regular performer with Windmill Music. 

Freeman completed a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Toronto (Canada) and a Master of Music Degree from Binghamton University (United States). She maintains a private music studio in Mississauga and is the Assistant Conductor of the Mississauga Festival Youth Choir and is the Music Director at the Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga. 

Piano – Dr. Christine Tithecott

Christine Tithecott holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa, as well as a MMus in Performance and a BMus (Honours) in Music Education from the University of Western Ontario. She has worked previously at Iowa State University in Ames, IA.

In high demand as a clinician and adjudicator, Dr. Tithecott presents master classes for young pianists and workshops on pedagogical topics for piano teachers throughout North America. She has presented lectures at national conferences for the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Associations (CFMTA). Christine is a member of the College of Examiners for the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators Association (CMFAA), and a clinician for the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association (ORMTA). Additionally, Dr. Tithecott has served as en editor for Conservatory Canada’s New Millennium Series.

An avid performer, Dr. Tithecott has had the opportunity to perform as a solo and collaborative artist throughout Canada, USA, and Europe. Christine has a strong passion for performing and promoting contemporary repertoire, and has performed with numerous new music ensembles including Ensemble 319, and The CNM Ensemble (Iowa City, IA).

Christine currently resides in London, where she is on faculty at Western University’s Don Wright Faculty of Music. She also works as a collaborative artist, and maintains a full studio of private piano students.

Strings – Matthew Jones

Recorder virtuoso, cellist, and music director Matthew Jones is proud that his career has spanned the length of Ontario as the current artistic director to the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra and Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Senior Youth Orchestra, and conductor laureate with Timmins Symphony Orchestra in the North East of Ontario.

Matthew graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University where he studied Cello performance. His conducting studies include the Conductor’s Institute at The Hartt School, University of Connecticut, and the Oregon Bach Festival under the guidance of Helmuth Rilling. Mr. Jones enthusiastically advocates for the Arts in the community and beyond. Under his leadership, the Timmins Symphony Orchestra was awarded the Prestigious Betty Webster Award for its contribution to Orchestral Music in Canada.

Matthew has enjoyed conducting the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony on several occasions, Kitchener-Waterloo Senior Youth Orchestra, Sault Saint Marie Symphony, and Georgian Bay Symphony as a guest conductor and working with the North Bay Symphony as part of a conductor exchange.

Matthew delights in performing as a Recorder soloist. He is particularly proud of his CD, Just Pipes in partnership with Organist, Jan Overduin.

Matthew was honoured to serve as a board member for Orchestra’s Canada, Canada’s national voice of the Canadian orchestral community from 2012 to 2018. It has been Matthew’s great pleasure to serve all Canadian Orchestras by advocating for the continued support of symphonic music at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government.

Brass & Woodwind – Nate Fanning

Nate Fanning joins the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony as Principal Trombone after several years as a freelance trombone player and teacher. Nate has played with some of Canada’s leading orchestras including but not limited to the Canadian Opera Company, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Opera de Québec, Orchestre Classique de Montreal, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphonia.

His formal education started at Wilfrid Laurier University studying with Jay Castello and continued at the University of Toronto under Gordon Sweeney. While at U of T, Nate was a winner of the concerto competition in 2009. Upon completion of his Masters degree, Nate was accepted into and completed the Artist Diploma program at the prestigious Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music where he studied with Gordon Wolfe. A member of the National Academy Orchestra of Canada under the direction of Boris Brott for the 2009 and 2010 summer seasons, Nate has often been used as an extra or mentor with the orchestra since.

In 2015 Nate had the privilege of playing with Album and Group of the year winners The Arkells at the Juno awards in front of a nationally televised audience. Other artists Nate has shared the stage with include Roger Hodgson (Supertramp), Grammy winners Evanescence and Sarah McLachlan, Billboard and Teen Choice Award winner Lindsey Stirling, Juno winner Johnny Reid, and Il Divo. A big highlight of Nate’s career was playing in the pit while his father John Fanning sang the lead role in the world premiere of Brian Finley’s Opera The Pencil Salesman under the direction of Dan Warren at the Westben Arts Festival in 2016. Nate is also the music director and Organist for Knox United Church in the town of Ayr.

When not practicing, performing or teaching, Nate loves watching sports (especially his beloved Blue Jays, Maple Leafs, Browns, Tiger- Cats and Norwich FC) and spending time with his wife Amy and children Maggie and Matthew.