Adjudicators Meet the Calgary Festival Adjudicators
Jazz Bands
Sean Craig
Sean Craig is an educator and saxophonist based in Calgary, Alberta. He is a graduate of McGill University where he completed a Master’s degree in Jazz Performance. He also holds an education degree and works as a teacher for the Calgary Catholic School Board.
He is an active member of the local Calgary music scene working with various artists and ensembles and performs regularly with Prime Time Big Band and The Calgary Jazz Orchestra. As an educator, Sean is in demand as a clinician and guest conductor. He held the position of artistic director of the JazzYYC Youth Lab Band from 2016-2020 and sits on the education and community outreach committee for JazzYYC.
Sean has had the privilege to have toured and performed with many of North America's premiere jazz artists; a few highlights are The Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra, Slide Hampton, Oliver Jones, Dave Liebman, Sean Jones, George Garzone, Ralph Bowen, Pete Christlieb, Tommy Banks, PJ Perry and Jens Lindemann. His saxophone can be heard on numerous recordings including movie soundtracks, jingles and various albums including Christine Jensen, Nikki Yanofsky, Jim Brenan, Corneille, Jacques Seguin, and his own Quintet.
Jenny Kellogg
Trombonist and composer Jenny Kellogg’s musical career has taken her around the world to China, England, Italy, and Peru. Jenny participated in Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Residency Program at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Stean’s Summer Music Institute at Ravinia, and she played lead trombone in the Disneyland Resort All-American College Band.
From Fall 2011 to Spring 2013 she won the solo trombone chair in the Grammy-Nominated One O’Clock Lab Band. The “Lab 2012” and “Lab 2013” albums feature her large jazz ensemble compositions. She writes on a regular basis for high school and college level jazz ensembles throughout the Northwest.
Jenny holds Bachelor of Music degrees in Trombone Performance and Music Composition from the University of Idaho and a Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas.
Jenny plays in the Spokane area with the Spokane Jazz Orchestra, Bob Curnow Big Band, and Brassworks Northwest among others. She is a regular substitute in other musical organizations such as the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. She is currently Director of Jazz and Trombone Studies at Eastern Washington University where she directs the top EWU jazz ensemble, the EWU Concert Jazz Orchestra and hosts the EWU Jazz Dialogue Festival. Jenny is in great demand as a guest artist and clinician throughout the US and Canada.
Johnny Summers
Johnny Summers, is a multifaceted musician as a vocalist, trumpeter, arranger, composer and educator. He has worked and performed with a number of award winning artists including Ellis Marsalis, Tommy Banks, Patrick Stewart, the Temptations, Franki Valli and Maria Schneider.
As a recording artist Johnny has toured Internationally, is the director of the Calgary Jazz Orchestra and is the recipient of 15 Global Music Awards, including best male vocalist, two Gospel Music Awards, and many others, including numerous nominations. His 7th studio album Baker’s Dozen: Celebrating Chet Baker was released on Cellar Music debuting in the US at #25 on the Jazz charts, and has won three Global Music Awards for best instrumentalist, best album and best group.
Gordon Towell DME
Gordon Towell is the coordinator of jazz studies at Loyola University New Orleans. In this capacity he directs the award winning jazz ensemble, teaches improvisation, arranging, composition, jazz combos and jazz history. Before this position Gordon was the director of jazz studies at Morehead State University. Gordon, originally grew up in Calgary, Alberta Canada and holds a BEd in music education from the University of Alberta, an MM in jazz studies from Indiana University and a DME with a cognate in jazz studies from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. He has shared his expertise with students at the Morehead State University, University of Cincinnati, Indiana University, Keyano College, Grant MacEwan College, and numerous public schools.
He also finds time to adjudicate, guest solo and perform with national and international artists, and conduct throughout Canada and the U.S. His saxophone performance can be heard on Outlier, Sketch Pad, Ask Me Now, Blue Duck Suit, and Still Friends, which are all available through cdbaby.com. He is also featured on many other recordings with the DOJO Jazz Orchestra, Wycliffe Gordon and the John Mahoney Big Band. These CDs have been featured on NPR, CBC, and CKUA radio stations.
Gordon is a recipient of the 2001 Morehead State University’s Distinguished Creative Productions Award.He is a Conn Selmer clinician and plays Selmer saxophones and clarinets.
Bijon Watson
Grammy®-winning trumpeter Bijon Watson’s career as a musician and educator spans more than 25 years and has taken him around the globe to perform for audiences worldwide. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Bijon attended the New England Conservatory of Music Preparatory School, and the University of Southern California, and was a member of the 1994 Disney All American College Band and 1995 Disney/Grammy All-American College Jazz Band. His love for big band jazz inspired him to become a student of the great bands of the past and present and he has become a sought after and in-demand lead trumpet player that can be heard on television, in films, and award-winning recordings with iconic and world-class artists.
Bijon plays lead trumpet for the Grammy®-nominated Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, the Grammy®-winning John Daversa Progressive Big Band, the Grammy®-winning John Beasley’s Monkestra, José Rizo’s Jazz on the Latin Side All-Stars, the late Gerald Wilson Jazz Orchestra, and many other jazz, salsa, and pop bands throughout the United States. Most recently as coleader with pianist Steven Feifke, Bijon can be heard showcasing his talents not only on lead trumpet a featured soloist as well with their Grammy®-nominated Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra.
Bijon’s recording and/or live performance and touring credits are vast and the short list includes iconic artists such as Natalie Cole, Michael Bublé, Justin Timberlake, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, Michael Jackson, Arturo Sandoval, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, Joe Williams, Queen Latifah, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Nicholas Payton, Rosemary Clooney, Steve Tyrell, Eric Benét, Jamiroquai, Prince, Barbara Morrison, Dianne Reeves, Nancy Wilson, Alicia Keys, Chaka Khan, Luis Miguel, Enrique Iglesias, The Temptations, and Gladys Knight.
On television, Bijon has performed on episodes of “American Idol”, “The Voice”, and “The Tonight Show”, as well as Grammy Awards shows, The BET Music Awards, and “Dancing With The Stars”.
Bijon’s film appearances include appearing in the award-winning film “La La Land” and recording on several soundtracks with studios such as Paramount, Fox, and Disney, including “Epic”, “Despicable Me 2”, and “The Secret Life of Pets”.
As a classically trained musician, Bijon has had the opportunity to perform as a guest with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Los Angeles Opera, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony.
A dedicated educator, Bijon is a sought-after clinician who gives master classes and clinics to colleges, and high schools throughout the United States, and Europe, as well as maintaining a private lesson studio.
Bijon is a Stomvi USA/Spain performing artist and performs on the VRII Custom Big Bell Bb Trumpet, the Titan 4-valve Bb Trumpet, as well as the Stomvi Titan Bb Flugelhorn, the Master C trumpet, and the Stomvi Elite Piccolo. Bijon also uses the Stomvi Flex Mouthpiece System.
Concert Bands
Brian Ingelson B.A. M.Ed.
Brian Ingelson is an educator, conductor, producer, director, international adjudicator, clinician and judge. His formal training began as a trumpet player at the Mount Royal Conservatory of Music and Speech Arts and then continued to the University of Calgary, Canada where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, then completing his Master’s Degree with an emphasis in conducting from the University of Missouri- Columbia. Mr Ingelson taught public school in Calgary for several years in addition to instructing and conducting the Airdrie Community Band and bands of the Calgary Marching Show Band Association including being the first conductor of the Calgary Stetson Show Band. In 1994, Brian accepted a position for both the Music and Education Departments at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Community College of Southern Nevada. The following year he and his family relocated to beautiful Palm Springs where he assumed the Director of Bands position at Palm Springs High rebuilding the band program from 18 members to more than two hundred. His bands have performed around the world in more than fifteen countries on five continents. In 2013, the Palm Springs High School band was selected from more than 2800 groups across the United States to perform at the 47th Inaugural Parade in Washington DC for President Obama. His jazz bands have performed in concert with Barry Manilow , Max Weinberg, Carol Channing, Gavin MacLeod and Suzanne Somers and has opened for legendary bands including the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Count Basie Orchestra, Maynard Ferguson, Harry James Orchestra, Dallas Brass, Royal Crown Revue, Stan Kenton Legacy Band,Beatles Tribute Bands, and Tim Welch as “Elvis”. Honors include the National Legion of Honor Award, multi year Finalist GRAMMY FOUNDATION® Educator of the Year, Steinway Society “For the Children” Award Recipient, several Desert Theater League Awards for Outstanding Music Director, an Alberta Achievement Award for his work with the 1988 Olympics, and has received multiple Certificates of Special Congressional Recognition from Washington D.C. Upon retirement from Palm Springs High in 2022, a statement honoring Brian and Beverley Ingelson was read into the Permanent Congressional Record by the Honorable Raul Ruiz of California and a Proclamation declared by the City of Palm Springs declaring May 18, 2022 “Beverley and Brian Ingelson Day”. He is a sanctioned judge and USA Executive Director of the World Association of Marching Show Bands (WAMSB) and has judged for National, Regional and World Championships in Canada, Germany, Spain, Britain, Colombia, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Dr. Angela Schroeder
Dr. Angela Schroeder is Professor of Music in the Department of Music at the University of Alberta. She is the Director of Bands, the Area Coordinator for Winds and Percussion, and conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Summer Band. Angela was awarded the 2016 Faculty of Arts Award for Undergraduate Teaching, and the 2017 Rutherford Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by the University of Alberta. She teaches courses in conducting and music education, and works with Graduate students in instrumental conducting. She previously taught conducting at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. Angela is the conductor of the St. Albert Community Band, an ensemble that is currently in their 52nd concert season. She lead the ensemble on their first European tour in July 2015, performing in Germany and at the MidEurope Band and Orchestra Festival in Schladming, Austria.
A native of Alberta, Dr. Schroeder completed undergraduate studies in Music at University of Calgary, majoring in Secondary Education, with performance studies in piano and trumpet. She also completed the Diploma of Fine Arts in Wind Band Conducting at University of Calgary under the supervision of Glenn D. Price. After several years of teaching at various secondary schools in the Calgary area, she entered the Long Term Residency program at The Banff Centre, where she studied and performed on piano, trumpet and as a conductor. Angela entered the Master's program in Wind Conducting at Northwestern University in 2002, where she studied with Mallory Thompson and earned the Master of Music in Conducting. In 2007, she completed the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Band Conducting at the University of North Texas, under the supervision of Eugene Migliaro Corporon.
Angela Schroeder is well known in the Alberta music education community, not only through her teaching and conducting both in schools and in community music organizations, but through her involvement as an executive director of the Alberta Band Association for two terms. Angela has performed on cornet with the Mill Creek Colliery Band and was the Principal Trumpet for the Concordia University Orchestra for seven seasons. She is currently Principal Second Trumpet with the Borealis Symphony. Angela has guest conducted and adjudicated numerous school bands in festivals and clinics throughout Canada, the United States, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Australia and Thailand. She is a contributor in Canadian Winds, the national journal for wind band educators, and wrote chapters in eleven volumes of the Teaching Music through Performance in Band series, which profile wind literature for all levels of instrumental instruction, published by GIA.
Marguerite Wilder
Marguerite Wilder is widely recognized as a conductor and clinician, having conducted All State and Honor Bands through out the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Serving as a resource person for in-service sessions, she works with both local and regional school systems and universities. Her clinics on Motivational Techniques for the Beginning Band has been presented four times at the Midwest Clinic and are often featured at state and national conventions.
Mrs. Wilder is a contributing editor for the books: Do It Band and Recorder Methods by James Froseth; Habits of a Successful Musician and Habits of a Successful Middle School Musician and Habits of a Beginner Band Musician. She is a contributing author for Teaching Music through Performance in Beginning Band, Vol. 1 & 2: and Teaching Music through Performance in Middle School Band; GIA Publications, Inc
Marguerite Wilder is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Georgia State University. Professional organization affiliations include NAfME, GMEA, NBA, Phi Beta Mu and FAME.
Currently Mrs. Wilder serves as a consultant, clinician, author and editor for GIA Publications, Inc. and is a “Yamaha Master Educator”.