David Shewchuk
Music Director
A Graduate of The Royal Academy of Music in London England and current concertmaster of The Quinte Symphony Dave Shewchuk is in the early stages of a diverse and exciting career in Canada. Performing classical, jazz, folk, rock and more he also composes original music and transcribes popular favourites.
Dave has performed with many orchestras in Canada and the UK including: The Hamilton Symphony, The Ontario Philharmonic, The National Academy Orchestra, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, The Arch Sinfonia and The London Graduate Orchestra just to name a few. He has performed as a soloist from Ontario to Vancouver and everywhere in between, winning the hearts of audiences with stunning creativity and originality.
David has been instructed by some of the worlds most prominent violinists in his studies, having taken classes with Maxim Vengerov, Midori, James Ehnes, Leonidas Kavakos and Pinchas Zukerman. His compositional skills have also been informed by Canada’s R Murray Schafer. Under his guidance he has premiered an original composition collaborating with artists of The Ontario College of Art and Design. Dave is currently performing on an Antonio Stradivarius Faciebat 1710 replica, by Vittorio Formaggia Fece made in 2005.
Kevin Chocorlan
Assistant Music Director
I obtained my Bachelor’s of Music and Education from Queen’s University with Classical Guitar as my major. It was at Queen’s where I discovered my love of choral singing and sang in many choirs as well as the St. Mary’s Cathedral Choir in Kingston. I am currently a Music Teacher at Bowmanville High School and have been there since 1997. In my time at BHS I have seen my job evolve from teaching primarily Guitar, Vocal, and Choral music into now mainly teaching Instrumental Music. I love the challenges of my evolving job and look forward to every new day!
Mentors
Virginia Dakers, President
Frank Gallimore, Orchestra Manager & Librarian, saxophone
Frank has been playing clarinet since the age of 10 and has played in various bands throughout high school. Frank first met Michael Lyons in 1981 at the Interprovincial Music Camp, where Michael was an instructor.
In the summer of 1982, Frank played in the Band of the Ceremonial Guard marching on Parliament Hill every day for a summer job. He remembers the great time as one of the youngest musicians playing with nearly 100 music majors from universities across Canada.
After high school, Frank put music mostly aside to serve 6 years in the Navy. He got back into playing clarinet when he moved to Port Hope. He joined the Concert Band of Cobourg. Frank plays in many musical groups in the area. Frank has been a coach for 9 years with LJYO playing clarinet, saxophone, and French Horn.
Frank states, “It has been great playing with this terrific group of young musicians – listening to them continually improve as musicians over their years in the orchestra.”
Frank is retired but working part-time from home as a software consultant and homeschooling Sidney who is a member of LJYO.
Tom Box
Tom Box is born and raised in Port Hope. He played tuba in high school, but dropped it after three years and left music behind him. In mid-life he began taking piano lessons and continued for several years. Though he enjoyed the process and learned a lot about music, he eventually concluded that he was never going to be a very good pianist. So at age 50, he switched to the clarinet. With this he finally found a musical outlet that truly suited him, both for the instrument itself and for the social experience of performing in ensembles with like-minded people. Tom plays clarinet in the Concert Band of Cobourg and the Clarington Concert Band, and bass clarinet and saxophone in the Lakeshore New Horizons Bands. LJYO is his first experience playing in an orchestra with strings. He enjoys the challenge of keeping up with the talented young members of the orchestra and the joy of sharing their passion for music. Besides music, Tom's other hobby is train travel. He has voyaged over 500,000 km by train -- more than the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
Gregory Ward, oboe
Gregory Ward is longtime principal oboe with the Northumberland Orchestra, and is a regular guest principal in Oshawa and Lindsay. A Royal Conservatory Gold Medal winner, Gregory is an active chamber musician on both oboe and recorders, and has been first call oboe for theatrical shows in the Northumberland and Durham region. In a quite different vein, drawing on his early years touring behind the drum set, Gregory continues to perform locally as a professional jazz drummer. Aside from music, he has enjoyed a writer’s life, as an ad man and a published author.
Kathy Coltof
Kathy was born in Budapest, Hungary, and emigrated to Canada in 1957. Growing up in Toronto, she studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music on piano, violin, viola, theory/composition, and ARCT Teachers Written. She played with the Toronto Youth Symphony and achieved her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Williamston University.
Kathy has played with numerous orchestras over the years on violin, viola, and cello. While living in Germany for 5 years, she supply-taught the string program at the Frankfurt International School in Oberursel and was invited as guest clinician for 3 years and Suzuki Music Schools in Muenster and in Freiburg.
She is currently music librarian for the Ontario Philharmonic (Oshawa Symphony) and Durham Chamber Orchestra (DCO) as well as La Jeunesse Youth Orchestra. Kathy continues to teach privately, and her students perform regularly at music festivals, workshops, and RCM examinations. Many of her students have gone on to study music in university. Her husband Ronald plays violin in DCO, Northumberland Orchestra and Choir, and Concordia Pops Orchestra, and their two sons studied violin and cello.
Taryn Chesson
Taryn is a music educator in Bowmanville, Ontario, and is currently the director of the Duke of Cambridge drum lines and band. A graduate of Western University’s music education program in 2017, Taryn has shared her passion for music, wind ensemble, and music education in London Ontario, Bowmanville Ontario, Tyler Texas, and Guatemala. She has conducted the Western University Young Winds ensemble, and guest conducted the Tyler Legacy wind ensemble in Texas.
As a clarinet coach, Taryn has worked with young musicians at the Western University Band Camp, National Music Camp, and La Jeunesse Youth Orchestra. When Taryn is not making music, she enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephew, and her rescue dog, Frankie.
Nathan Miller, percussion
Nathan Miller is in his 5th year as an alumni and percussion coach. He studied Music at Winfred Laurier University and holds a Bachelor of Music in Percussion and an Ontario College Teachers Certificate. Nathan conducted a piece called Chant and Joyous dance composed by Elliot Del Borgo at the 2010 “In the Spotlight” concert and again in 2019 with the same piece.
Deborah Henderson
Deborah Henderson lives in Port Hope. She is a registered Suzuki method instructor but also uses the RCM syllabus for students who have examinations as a goal. Deborah has a genuine interest in the profound and lasting influence of music education on students of all ages. Her current studio ranges from age 6-75, with a broad range of musical interests.
Deborah has played both violin and viola in a variety of ensembles, including pit orchestras, string quartets and community orchestras. In recent years, she has had the tremendous joy of playing music with her mother, pianist and composer Ruth Watson Henderson, at her retirement home in Etobicoke.
From 2015 – 2020, Deborah founded and served as co-ordinator of the string program for SONG (Sounds of the Next Generation), an after-school music program for under-served youth in the Cobourg/Port Hope area. The program enrolment expanded to include cellos as well as violins, and so began Deborah’s foray into playing cello!
Deborah holds degrees in Fine Arts and Education from Queen’s University. In addition to being a string player, she enjoys singing, playing tennis, gardening, and sharing good food and wine (preferably prepared by someone else… but usually she’s in the kitchen!).
Luc Arsenault
Luc started playing guitar at age 12. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Ottawa, and a Master’s degree in composition from Western University. He has also worked as a film and TV and concert music composer since 2000, and has scored two animated series on CBC television. In addition, he has scored six feature length films. In 2004, he received a Gemini award nomination for best original music score for a dramatic series.
Luc’s two sons, Caleb and Zach, are members of LJYO. In addition to Luc’s support to the bass parts from his seat in the orchestra, in 2021 he turned his talents to editing a compilation of video recordings, from each musician’s homes, into a virtual concert so that we could present our Sonic Bloom concert despite the pandemic lockdown. He then accepted a 2022 commission from LJYO to create “The King’s Burden”, a musical telling of the tale of Beowulf, which was premiered at the Sonic Bloom concert.