Board of Directors
2023-24
Eva Bild — Chair
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
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.
Janet Heino — Treasurer
Janet is not a chorister but a lover of all music who believes that there must be ‘doers’ and ‘supporters’ for music to be able to thrive in our communities. As Treasurer, she brings not only her skills and expertise as a practicing Chartered Professional Accountant and Business Valuator, but also her past experience from serving a number of corporate and community-based not-for-profit organizations in a variety of roles such audit and finance, governance and strategic planning. Janet completed her first year on the VPC Board in 2018.
Adrian Dolling
Adrian began singing in choirs aged six, joining the Victoria Philharmonic Choir in 2005. This is an important pillar of his life. He served in the choir's administrative team from 2010, with a focus on finances and strategic planning, including time as Director, Treasurer, and Chair of the Board. He is very happy to be singing and performing again, after the health and safety-enforced absences during COVID.
Charles Douglas
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.
Megan Maher
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
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
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
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
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.