AIBF Calgary Adjudicators
Concert Band
Bill
Kristjenson
Bill Kristjanson is currently a sessional instructor at the University of Manitoba teaching music education courses. For many years he taught at Vincent Massey Collegiate, Glenlawn Collegiate and Minnetonka schools and served as Divisional Music Consultant.
Bill has been invited to present at the International Association of Jazz Educators’ Conference, the Canadian Music Educators Conference, and provincial music education conferences in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova
Scotia, and Newfoundland. Among guest conducting roles, he has conducted the Manitoba Provincial Junior Honour Band, Intermediate Honour Band, Honour Jazz Band, the Winnipeg Wind Ensemble and at the International Music Camp.
Bill’s teaching philosophy revolves around, “Finding something good, and helping it
grow.”
Peter
Boonshaft
Called one of the most exciting and exhilarating voices in music education today, Peter Loel Boonshaft has been invited to speak and conduct in every state in the nation and around the world. Dr. Boonshaft was honored by the National Association for Music Education and Music for All as the first recipient of the “George M. Parks Award for Leadership in Music Education.” Dr. Boonshaft is the author of the critically acclaimed best-selling books Teaching Music with Passion, Teaching Music with Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise. He is also co-author of Alfred Music’s new method book series Sound Innovations. He has received official proclamations from the Governors of five states and a Certificate of Appreciation from former President Ronald Reagan. He has performed for former President and Mrs. George H. W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton, and for Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Kaitlin
Bove
Dr. Kaitlin Bove serves as Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California where she directs the Symphonic Band and Viking Ensemble in addition to instructing coursework in American multicultural music. She is artistic director and conductor of the BDWinds, the youth wind ensemble branch of the Blue Devils Performing Arts organization, and the Oakland Municipal Band which offers summer concerts in Oakland’s Lake Merritt Park. Prior to these appointments, she was the Director of Instrumental Music at Pierce College in Puyallup, Washington where she was awarded “Outstanding Faculty of the Year” in 2020. Kaitlin holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting from University of Kentucky where she was a student of Cody Birdwell, a teaching assistant, and premiered her wind transcription of Caroline Shaw’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Partita for 8 Voices in 2019.
Jason
Caslor
Born and raised in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada, Jason Caslor is currently an associate professor of music and the director of bands at Arizona State University (ASU). In addition to directing the wind ensemble, he also mentors graduate conducting students and teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting courses. Recent highlights include the ASU Wind Ensemble’s commercial recordings of Kevin Day’s Concerto for Wind Ensemble and Nicole Piunno’s Sunflower Studies, being a recipient of the Canadian Band Association’s 2022 International Band Award, presenting at the 2024 WASBE Conference (Gwangju, South Korea) and the 2024 Midwest Clinic, and guest conducting the United States Army Field Band.
Jazz Band
Jeff
Johnson
Jeff is a Winnipeg born musician, educator, clinician, adjudicator, conductor and music director. He recently retired after 28 years as a distinguished high school music educator collaborating and sharing his passion for music and education with some incredible students and colleagues.
Jeff is an original member of the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra having performed and recorded as the lead trumpet player for both the WJO as well as the Ron Paley Big Band for decades. In addition, he has performed and recorded with Derrick Gardner and the Big Dig Band, Combo Latino while performing with numerous other ensembles including the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Royal Winnipeg Ballet. In addition, Jeff has appeared in concert with many incredible artists including Arturo Sandoval, Bill Watrous, Frank Foster, Louis Belson, Rob McConnell and Bob Brookmeyer. Jeff remains a proud contributor to the Winnipeg performing arts scene and well connected to the music education community.
Lisa
Parrott
Born in Australia and based in NYC since 1993, Lisa works with a range of prominent jazz groups. She received a 2024 Chamber Music America New Jazz Works grant to compose for her septet, We Love Ornette. This follows a 2021 CMA Performance Plus grant for workshops with Denardo Coleman and record. Her recording ‘Round Tripper’ received 4 stars in Downbeat. She has been recognized in Downbeat's Critics and Readers Polls since 2013 and won the 2016 ‘Rising Star’ category for bari sax.
She is in demand as a baritone and bass clarinetist with big bands and has performed with Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops, the Artie Shaw Orchestra and Jimmy Heath’s Big Band, Marty Ehrlich's Large Ensemble, Joel Harrison’s Large Ensemble, the Webber/Morris Big Band and the Diva Jazz Orchestra where she played the baritone sax/ bass clarinet chair from 1998-2015. Other performance credits include Dave Brubeck, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mandel, Cindy Blackman, Gunther Schuller, Marty Ehrlich and Allison Miller.
Lisa has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Blue Note, Lincoln Center and in prestigious jazz festivals all over the world such as the Montreal Jazz Festival. As a touring musician, she has now performed in all 50 states of the USA. As a composer, performances of her original compositions over 30 years include the Kennedy Center, TriC Jazzfest, festivals in Australia, Europe and jazz clubs worldwide. Her playing has been featured on over 40 albums as a leader and side person.
Sammy
Kalt
Grammy nominee, Song and Album of the Year Drummer ( Dove and UCMVA Awards) Sammy K (www.slamminsammyk.com) is an international educator, clinician, and performer. He is an educator for the Music for All Summer Symposium (sponsored by Yamaha) Joe's Jazz Camp (Atlanta GA), New Horizons Band Camp, and the Dayton Jazz Labs. Sammy also does distance clinics and teaching with high school and college students internationally.
Sammy has appeared on the Emmy winning Wayne Brady Show, Ally McBeal (with KC&The Sunshine Band and Josh Groban)( and in The Fast and The Furious. He has recorded and or performed with a list of artists: Bob Hope, The Manhattan Transfer, Burt Bacharach, Steve Lawrence, Jimmy Heath, Lucy Lawless, Dave Brubeck, Jon Hendricks, and the United States Air Force Band. His playing can be heard on: MythBusters, several Disney holiday DVDs, Confessions of an Eco Terrorist, ABC, CBS, NBC, and the films The Girl on The Train, The Spaces In Between: On the Road with Amy Cook, and Dalai Lama Awakening. His other clients have included: Ferrari, The Walt Disney Company, The International Toys For Tots Campaign, Six Flags, Daimler Chrysler, Jeep, Panda Express, PG&E, the Los Angeles Laker Band, the Hal Leonard Publishing Company, MatFal Music, Much Music Television and the Tournament of Roses.
Sammy is an Educational Endorser of Remo Drumheads, Zildjian Cymbals, Yamaha Drums, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Cympad cymbal washers, Big Bang Distribution and Kotz Cajons.