If you have questions, please email us.

If you are going to be absent from a rehearsal, please email Attendance@vpchoir.ca

For rehearsal arrangements, volunteering, and general information: communications@vpchoir.ca

For membership questions or change in your contact information: Valerie Kuehne - Membership Coordinator:  valeriek@vpchoir.ca

Board of Directors 2023-24

Eva Bild — Chair — chair@vpchoir.ca

Eva has been singing with the VPC since its founding in 2005. Her husband Randy and all three or her children have sung with the choir too. Choral music has been an important part of their family life. Eva has filled several volunteer roles for the choir: membership, front of house, website maintenance. Eva ran a retail store and resource centre for new parents in downtown Victoria for 20 years. She has sat on the board of local professional and charitable organizations. Now that she has closed her business and entered semi-retirement, she would like to bring her business and organizational skills to the service of the choir.

Susie Henderson — Secretary — secretary@vpchoir.ca

Susie grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, and joined the soprano section of the VPC soon after moving to Canada in 2012. She has been singing in choirs since she was six years old. Susie works as a freelance managing editor for a leading US content agency, creating copy for high-profile tech and travel clients. She has also been involved in the Red Cross's emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Susie has two boys, who are also keen choristers.

Charles Douglas — Treasurer — treasurer@vpchoir.ca

Charles grew up in Montréal, started singing in choirs when he was 10, and has continued choral singing throughout his life. He moved to Victoria in 1997 and has been singing in the VPC since 2011, alternating between bass and tenor.

For over 45 years, Charles worked as a computer systems technician, software designer and development lead, and systems management consultant.  He has wide experience with the design and control of financial systems. Apart from a broad interest in music, Charles has been composing poetry since before he could write, has had about 70 poems published, and is preparing to get his work published in book form.  He particularly enjoys the way poetry and music come together in song.

Gord Enemark — Director at Large - directors@vpchoir.ca

Gord is originally from northern BC, and moved to Victoria in 1993, shortly after joining the provincial government. He has a Master’s Degree in Economics and has completed the Canadian Securities Course. Gord worked for 13 years with Treasury Board Staff at the Ministry of Finance, most of them as an Executive Director, where he presented detailed financial options for consideration by decision-makers and managed the government’s annual operating budget process for several years. More recently, he was an Executive Director with the new Ministry of Housing, where he coordinated the development of the Province’s recent housing strategy, including some related legislation. Gord is married to Peggy, and has two grown children, and he and Peggy are very excited about their two (relatively recent!) grandchildren.

Janice Johnston — Director at Large - directors@vpchoir.ca

Janice was born and raised on the Island in Campbell River, and had the opportunity to move throughout Canada before settling in Hong Kong in 1989. While in Hong Kong she had 10 years of vocal training and sang with the Hong Kong Oratorio Society.  She hase sung in many and varied church choirs from those following a Church of England liturgy and tradition to those adopting a more modern evangelical ‘holy roller’ tradition.

Janice completed a PhD (Public Health) at the University of Hong Kong in 1989.  Professionally, she has worked in a variety of healthcare settings.   Most recently she was the Deputy Director, School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong.  In this role she was responsible for all educational programs offered by the School (undergraduate, master, and postgraduate).   She retired in September 2022 and returned to the island after 33 years in Hong Kong. 

Singing brings her great joy and she joined the VPC in January of 2022 in the hopes that she can continue to sing the classical repertoire and contribute to her community.

Megan Maher — Director at Large - directors@vpchoir.ca

Megan is new to the Victoria Philharmonic Choir, but she has a decade of choral performance that started when she was in children's choir. She has a career in the non-profit sector and brings her communications background to help the choir in whatever they need. She has a passion for music, animals, and video games, and is wondering how she can one day combine these three.

Jonathan O’Riordan — Director at Large - directors@vpchoir.ca

Jon O’Riordan was the President of the Board of Amity Singers - a 25 voice chamber choir in Victoria from 1974-1986. The choir was then amalgamated with the Christ Church choir by Michael Gormley and became Capriccio Singers. Jon resigned and did not assume any positions on community musical groups as he was appointed as an Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Environment. When Jon left government in 2004 he was appointed to the Board of the Victoria Chamber Orchestra for two years as grant writer. He was subsequently appointed to the Board of the Civic Orchestra of Victoria in 2007 where he served in a number of positions including President from 2012-2017.

Ann Schau — Director at Large - directors@vpchoir.ca

Background: BSc in microbiology/biology UBC 1964, BMus Carleton U Ottawa 1974, MA Canadian,  Studies Carleton 1984, Lecturer / Head of Performance Studies Carleton 1985-95, researcher/editor Canadian Musical Heritage Society Ottawa 1996-99, Victoria Conservatory of Music , private teaching piano/theory, English Country Dance band co-founder & bandleader, The Dancehall Players 2001- present.

Ann joined the Victoria Philharmonic Choir as alto when she saw that Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 was in rehearsal (January 2013). She and her husband Mikkel have billeted visiting soloists and instrumentalists and organized the annual FUNdraiser for the choir (featuring a book sale, a plant sale and performances).

Mikkel Schau — Director at Large - directors@vpchoir.ca

Mikkel joined the VPC in the fall 2014 session, when he first started singing bass with any choir. His association with Ann has had him as an avid listener for many decades to her musicaladventures, as well as partaking in several R. Murray Schafer projects with her. The most adventurous of these was when they joined the “Wolf Project” in 1994-2001. They were a part of a group that presented a workshop of “The Spirit Garden” in 1996-97, which was both an artistic and financial success.

Mikkel’s other life, after completing a PhD (Geology, 1968) at UBC, has focused on being a Teaching Fellow at McMaster University and visiting Professor at University of Manitoba before becoming a federal Field Officer (GSC) working above the 60th parallel, mainly in NE Canada, and later a Professional Geologist with projects in Ontario, Quebec, BC, Yukon, Nunavut and Nunavik. He formally put geology behind him in 2015.

Ron Sleen — Director at Large - directors@vpchoir.ca

Ron has been singing in choirs since the age of eight. Originally from Edmonton he has sung in Prince George Cantata Singers, Grand Prairie Choir and most recently with The Richard Eaton Singers in Edmonton and was president of the board for RES from 2005-2007.  

His second passion is cooking. Loves to experiment and looks at recipes simply as guides to be interpreted and messed around with.