Get to know the five inspiring teachers from across Canada who are nominated to receive the 2023 MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award, presented by CST Foundation! In this live Town Hall event, these five inspiring teachers will discuss what they each perceive to be the biggest issue facing music education in Canada. Then we will explore the ways in which we can work together to address these issues, and foster a more inclusive and sustainable music education culture.

Moderated by: Nick Godsoe, Manager, Programs & Education at MusiCounts

Heidi Wood

Joane Cardinal-Schubert High School | Calgary, AB

Heidi Wood is a committed and engaging high school, community, and post-secondary choral music educator, adjudicator, vocal coach, festival organizer, clinician, curriculum consultant, soloist, arranger, editor, and chorister.

Heidi is able to find success and connection with students of all abilities. She is equally comfortable in the traditional choral world, in contemporary choral styles, and in both solo vocal jazz and vocal jazz choirs. Her choirs have won honours such as the Adjudicators Choice for the JCS Concert Choir's performance at the 2022 Cantando Festival in Edmonton and the Best Live Performance in Canada's Top Choirs in 2022. During the height of restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, Heidi adapted her practice to include composition & arranging using digital tools and percussion programming.

Outside of the classroom, Heidi is a leader among choral directors in the province where she is sought after as a clinician, session presenter, adjudicator, and guest conductor. Ms. Wood is also a member of the Program Action Committee at Choir Alberta and organizes choral music initiatives for the Calgary Association for the Development of Music Education (CADME). In addition to her professional affiliations, she has been recognized by colleagues, students, and parents through nominations for an Alberta Excellence in Teaching Award (2016) and 2022 she was awarded the Con Spirito Award from Choir Alberta recognizing her dedication and contributions to the advancement of choral music in Alberta.

Heidi was a finalist for the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award in 2018 and 2019.

Stephen Richardson

École St. Joseph School | Yellowknife, NWT

Stephen Richardson is a passionate advocate for music in the North. As the K-12 music educator at École St.Joseph School, he demonstrates commitment, develops community, and empowers kids to reach their full potential through music. In Mr. Richardson’s classroom music can look like anything from rock, to jazz, to band. He encourages the use of technology to not only sustain music education through the challenges of the pandemic, but to help kids build skills like recording, grant writing, video production, and more.

Stephen contributes to the profession by mentoring school staff and teachers in training, and brings artists touring the North through to the school for performances, workshops, and Q&As. He’s studied inclusive practice, mindfulness, self regulation and brain-based research in order to further the effectiveness of his music pedagogy. Inclusivity figures prominently in his teaching; by using noise assist gear and apps, he draws pathways to success for neurodivergent students and kids with exceptionalities. Stephen is a critical supporter of those students who choose to pursue a career in music, and has connected many students to the NWT Music Mentorship recording grants to help them get their career started. He is an example of how a healthy music industry can start in the music classroom.

Stephen was nominated for the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award in 2021.

Jewel Casselman

Lakewood School | Winnipeg, MB

Jewel is music educator with extensive expertise in Orff (pitched percussion) instruction for elementary-aged children. She’s been teaching music since 1988, and is a fierce advocate for empowering kids with an early start; she’s successfully advocated for music to be added to kindergarten programming at several schools in the Winnipeg area, helping kids build a foundation of musical knowledge to carry them through their lives. Jewel sits on several committees (at the national and provincial levels) promoting diversity, inclusivity, and equity in music education, and believes that no matter a kid’s race, economic status, or learning style, they should have access to quality music education.

She collaborates with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, drafting lesson plans for their outreach and education, and has been a board member of the Manitoba Orff Chapter for over a decade (since 2011). Jewel was recognized for her dedication to music education with the Morna-June Morrow Award for Excellence in Music Education in Manitoba in 2014 and received the Michael J. Proudfoot Award for Choral Excellence from the Winnipeg Music Festival in April 2019.

Jewel was nominated for the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award in 2019, 2020, and 2022.

Kelly Stronach

Mitchell Woods Public School | Guelph, ON

Kelly Stronach exemplifies excellence in music education. She’s an adaptive, multi-skilled educator who understands the pivotal role music plays as the heart of the school. At every school she works at, Kelly works with students to write a school song, instilling a sense of pride and school spirit.

Kelly works to provide opportunity for students, whether it be a field trip to see a stage show in Toronto or the founding of a Gay-Straight Alliance to promote inclusivity and community within the student population. She teaches a wide range of musical styles and instruments, from guitar and ukulele ensemble, rock band to choir and wind ensemble, and ensures that students are listening to a broad range of musical styles in their listening exercises in class.

Her dedication to fostering school and community spirit is made evident in every institution she works with. When she was surplussed from her position at Elora Public School, students and their families notified the media expressing outrage at the loss of such an important figure. The story hit CBC and several other media outlets; a testament to her impact on her school.

Kelly was nominated for the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award in 2022.

Susan Evoy

St. Teresa’s Elementary & Waterford Valley High School | St. John’s, NL

Susan Evoy brings joy and empowerment to students at not only one but two schools in Saint John’s, Newfoundland. As an educator at St. Teresa’s Elementary and Waterford Valley High School, she has her hands full teaching string orchestra, concert and jazz band, and choir to students ranging from grades 2-5 and 10-12 - a vastly different set of skills, which she juggles concurrently with ease and - by many accounts - joy.

St. Teresa’s Elementary welcomes a broad demographic of students, including those who often see their needs go unmet. When it became clear that some families weren't able to afford instrument rentals, and the school’s inventory ran short, she reached out to the local radio station to engage them in an instrument drive to make sure every kid had an instrument to use without having to share.

An active member of the musical community as a saxophone player for Ouroboros and 709, her philosophy is “music brings joy to our lives, and music is for everyone”. She shares resources amongst her peers, serves on provincial committees, and acts as a provincial liaison between music programs to ensure the profession is a connected community.

This is Susan’s first time as a MusiCounts Teacher of the Year finalist.