New Faculty Appointments
The Desautels Faculty of Music is pleased to announce the following appointments effective July 1, 2016.
Assistant Professor (Director of Bands)
Ms. Jacqueline Dawson received undergraduate degrees in Music and Music Education from Memorial University of Newfoundland and holds a Master of Music degree in conducting from the University of Manitoba. She has attended the Conductor’s Art Symposium at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, The Art of Wind Band Teaching at the University of Minnesota and completed the Canadian Wind Conductor’s Development Program in Winnipeg. Her conducting teachers have included Dale Lonis, Earl Stafford, Craig Kirchhoff, Jerry Luckhardt, Gary Hill, Glenn Price and James Smith. For the past 16 years, Jacquie has been teaching at Vincent Massey Collegiate where she has contributed to the development of a program that is recognized nationally for musical excellence, student engagement and student achievement.
Jacquie is in demand as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator across Canada. She has been a sessional instructor for the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music and Faculty of Education, a guest lecturer for music education courses and was the conductor of the University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble in 2007. Guest conducting engagements have included the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Rising Stars Manitoba Senior Honour Band, the Manitoba Intermediate Honour Band, the Manitoba Junior Honour Band, the International Music Camp, and numerous regional and divisional honour bands. Jacquie was awarded the 2003 University of Manitoba School of Music Excellence in Music Education Award, the 2013 University of Manitoba Teacher Recognition Award and the 2015 Manitoba Band Association Award of Distinction. Her articles have been published in the Canadian Music Educator Journal and the Canadian Winds Journal, and she has presented at conferences in Newfoundland and Manitoba as well as the Canadian Music Educators’ Association National Conference.
Jacquie served on the Board of Directors of the Manitoba Band Association from 1999 – 2005 as a Regional Representative, Vice-President and President. She is in her tenth year as the Coordinator of the Fort Garry Summer Band Camp and has recently been appointed the Chairperson of the Manitoba Senior Honour Band. She recently commenced her seventh season as Artistic Director of The Winnipeg Wind Ensemble. Under her leadership the group has expanded significantly in infrastructure, artistic standard and programming, and will be launching a new division of the organization in September 2016, The Winnipeg Youth Wind Ensemble.
Residing in Winnipeg with her husband and two children, Jacquie is extremely pleased to be joining the Desautels Faculty of Music as Director of Bands and work alongside a world-class faculty of teachers and artists.
Assistant Professor (Music Education)
Ms. Jody Stark is an award-winning music educator who is passionate about making quality music education available to every child. She has studied music and music education in Hungary, at the University of Calgary, and at the University of Alberta, receiving a Bachelière en Éducation from the Faculté St-Jean at the University of Alberta, a diploma in Fine Arts from the University of Calgary, and a Master in Music Education degree from the University of Alberta where she is currently completing a Ph.D.
An experienced university instructor, Jody has taught Music Education, Rudiments, and academic writing at Concordia University of Edmonton, as well as the pedagogy component of a graduate-level Kodály music education program which she helped establish at the University of Alberta. She is also the former Executive Director of Concordia’s award-winning Singspiration choral music program and summer choral music teacher education program, and is a well-known clinician.
Prior to becoming a university instructor, Jody taught music and choirs in both English and French for many years in elementary schools and in early childhood settings. Her dissertation research examines the nature of professional learning of elementary music teachers and how they understand their role as music educators. Her other research interests include childhood and traditional musical practices, and music education philosophy. Jody is thrilled to be joining the faculty at the Desautels Faculty of Music and is excited to work with the vibrant music education community in Manitoba.