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MUSIC DIRECTORS

Laila Verduyn - Junior Music Director

Laila began her violin studies at the age of four with the Suzuki String School of Kitchener and began studying piano at the age of 8. Upon moving to the Brant area she became involved in the Brantford Suzuki String School and joined the piano studio of Naomi Morrison.

 

As a member of various chamber ensembles, she has studied extensively with the Penderecki String Quartet. In 2013 she performed across Canada as a selected member of the National Youth Orchestra. Her solo debuts have included performances with the Kitchener Waterloo Youth Orchestra, Cambridge Community Orchestra, Wilfrid Laurier University Symphony and Kitchener Waterloo Symphony.

 

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Laila holds a Bachelor of Music degree in performance from Wilfrid Laurier University as well as her ARCT certification from the Royal Conservatory of Music for both violin and piano. She has been teaching privately since she was fourteen years old and performs locally as a freelance musician.

Tina Labanowicz - Senior Music Director

Christina (Tina) Labanowicz began playing both cello and piano at the age of six. She completed her piano studies in highschool under the tutelage of Marguerite Barry. Tina began her cello studies in Brantford at the Saturday Morning String School with Don Eddy and then with Margaret Culbert. Her studies eventually led her to teachers in Hamilton and Kitchener. Tina also studied in Europe with Berlin Philharmonic cellist Werner Haupt, her grandfather.

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Tina’s first orchestral experience was with Virginia Little in the Little String Orchestra. Tina was also first cellist in the Brantford Symphony Youth Orchestra at the age of 11. When Tina was 15, the Brantford Symphony Youth Orchestra partnered with the Guelph Youth Orchestra and together attended the Canadian Festival of Youth Orchestras at the Fine Arts Centre in Banff. Here, Tina sat first desk under the baton of England’s Nicholas Braithwaite. Tina also played in the Brantford Symphony Orchestra for a number of years.

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Tina has played extensively with her quartet and other ensembles since 1980 which has brought wonderful experiences and lasting relationships. Tina has continued her studies in the Suzuki method at the Southern Ontario Suzuki Institute as well as at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Tina’s love of children and music has grown in 30 years of fostering children, conducting the Junior and Senior Little String Orchestra since 2013 and teaching with the Brant Suzuki String School and in her own studio since 1999.

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