Alan Crane ~ Piano
Alan Crane received his Bachelor of Music in performance from the University of Western Ontario, and his Master of Music from the University of British Columbia. Alan’s principal teachers have been the renowned British pianist, Peter Katin, as well as Robert Rogers of the University of British Columbia.
Alan is currently active as a chamber musician, accompanist, teacher, master class clinician, and serves as a Royal Conservatory of Music piano examiner. He loves travel, and has enjoyed adjudicating festivals which has taken him extensively throughout western Canada; He especially likes Canadian small towns! Alan maintains a busy teaching schedule through a private studio, at the Langley Community Music School as well as at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music where he served as piano department head. His other passion in life is cooking gourmet meals for his family.
Alan is a founding director/pianist with West Coast Chamber Music since 1993.
Holly Duff ~ Piano
Holly Duff received her Bachelor of Music in performance from the University of Western Ontario, and an Associate of the Victoria Conservatory of music in Piano Pedagogy. Holly’s principal mentors have been Dr. Peter Simon of Toronto, Jean-Paul Bracey in London, and Dr. Robin Wood of Victoria.
Holly has performed as a soloist, but now focuses her performances on her first love – chamber music. Holly is interested in discovering and promoting the work of women composers, as well as indulging a lifelong passion for storytelling! For many years, she has used storytelling in her music and movement classes which she has taught in two provinces. On stage, she has combined music with storytelling in original children’s concerts.
Holly loves teaching. She currently teaches preschool music classes and is a sought-after piano teacher as well as adjudicator and master class clinician. She teaches for the Langley Community Music School, the Jean Lyons School of Music and Steveston Arts Conservatory. When she’s not doing music, you might find her working in the garden…
Holly is a founding director/ pianist with West Coast Chamber Music since 1993.
Monica Pfau ~ Piano
An accomplished soloist and chamber musician, pianist Monica Pfau has performed on a variety of stages across North America and Europe. Many of her performances have been featured on CBC Radio’s “Westcoast Performance” and she has recorded with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra under Mario Bernardi, the National Film Board of Canada, and most recently, for Australian cinema.
Monica’s early studies were with Robin Wood at the UVic School of Music where she was awarded the prestigious Victoria Medal. She went on to win numerous national grants and honours, including the ARCT Performer’s Gold Medal and a German Academic Exchange Scholarship to the Hochschule für Musik in Munich. A highlight of her early career was her work as Accompanist-in-Residence at the Banff Centre, where she performed with internationally renowned artists Janos Starker and the Fine Arts Quartet. She obtained a Master’s Degree in Performance from UBC and upon winning First Prize in the Concerto Competition, made her orchestral debut with maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama. She subsequently accepted a Doctoral Fellowship from the UBC Faculty of Music.
Monica is a former faculty member of the VSO School of Music, and is currently working as a collaborative pianist at the University of Victoria.
Monica has performed with West Coast Chamber Music since 2015.
Francis Armstrong ~ Piano
Frances Armstrong is a collaborative pianist from Surrey, BC, with a Master’s in Collaborative Piano from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor’s of Piano Performance with Distinction from the University of Victoria. She’s trained at top summer programs like the Franz Schubert Institute, Toronto Summer Music, and Music Academy of the West. She has worked as an apprentice coach with both l’Opéra de Montréal and the Canadian Opera Company. A sought-after partner on stages across Canada, she’s collaborated with Edmonton Opera, City Opera Vancouver, Pacific Opera Victoria, Banff Centre, UBC, Highlands Opera Studio, and more. When she’s not at the piano, she’s on Gabriola Island—enjoying a quiet life where she walks through the trails with her dog Arlo, and hosts cozy house concerts.
2026 marks Frances’ debut with West Coast Chamber Music
Angela Cavadas ~ Violin
Angela Cavadas was the recipient of numerous awards early in her musical life, most notably the First Prize in the CBC Young Artists Competition at the age of nineteen.
Renowned violinists Steven Staryk and Ruggiero Ricci were major mentors in her early training. Over the course of her distinguished and varied career, she has collaborated with many outstanding instrumentalists and conductors and has participated in hundreds of concerts, of which a number were broadcast nationally.
Angela is Associate Concertmaster of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and has performed extensively as a soloist and in chamber music concerts, in particular with West Coast Chamber Music since 1995. She has also enjoyed the diversity of playing for ballet, musical theatre, film recording, and folk-dance troupes.
Always interested in passing on knowledge, she teaches violin and piano privately and for the Arts Conservatory in Richmond, BC.
Roger Mangas ~ Viola
Roger Mangas began his musical training in Indiana. He later accepted a Graduate Teaching Assistantship at the University of Western Ontario and a Fellowship from the University of Victoria, where he completed his Master of Music degree in Performance with Jaroslav Karlovsky (principal of the Czech Philharmonic & Prague String Quartet). Other mentors were Paul Kling (concertmaster of Vienna Symphony), renowned violist William Primrose, the Fine Arts Quartet (USA), and studies in Europe with Josef Kodousek of the Vlach String Quartet.
Winner of numerous awards in both solo and chamber music competitions, Roger has toured extensively with his string and piano quartets, performing on CBC radio and television. Since moving to the West Coast, he has enjoyed balancing a successful teaching studio with an active performing schedule that has included the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, the VSO, CBC Radio, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, chamber music tours, as well as a wide variety of freelance work in the movie & television industry, including playing for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Roger has performed with West Coast Chamber Music since 2015.
Isabelle Roland ~ Viola
Isabelle is a native of Canada, but grew up dividing her time between Paris and Vancouver. After receiving a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Victoria where she studied with Jaroslav Karlovsky, she then obtained her Masters in Performance at the Cleveland Institute where she was a student of Heidi Castleman, Lynne Ramsey Irvine and Robert Vernon.
From 1990 to 2001, Isabelle was assistant principal viola of the Victoria Symphony. During her time with the V.S.O., Isabelle performed as a soloist including performances under the baton of Yehudi Menuhin. She also helped found the Savitri Quartet, and has performed on C.B.C. radio both as a member of the Savitri Quartet, and in collaboration with mezzo-soprano Susan Platts. From 1996-1998, Isabelle served as assistant principal with the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, Colorado.
Since settling permanently in Vancouver in 2002, Isabelle has appeared as a soloist with Lions Gate Sinfonia and the West Coast Symphony. Currently, Isabelle is principal viola with Lions Gate Sinfonia, is Assistant Principal of the Vancouver Opera, and also plays with the Vancouver Symphony.
As well as juggling a busy performing career, Isabelle joins her love of music and children by teaching violin and viola at the Vancouver Academy of Music where she heads the viola department. She is currently on the board of the Canadian Viola Society where she continues to promote all things ‘viola”. Isabelle joyfully cares for her two sons, Nicholas and Kai, with husband, Steve Mason.
Isabelle has performed with West Coast Chamber Music since 2008.
Ben Goheen ~ Cello
Ben Goheen holds his Masters degree in Cello Performance from the University of British Columbia. Since his move from Ontario, he has enjoyed performing with several symphonies and ensembles, including: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra, and Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra. He is also an active chamber musician and loves performing with a variety of smaller chamber ensembles throughout the Lower Mainland, including the Somerset Trio and Rose Gellert String Quartet (Langley Community Music School’s quartet-in-residence). In addition to performing, Ben is also the conductor of Surrey Symphony Society’s Symphonic Strings, and enjoys a full schedule of cello students throughout the week. If he had to choose a second passion for life, his answer would be quick and easy: beach volleyball.
Ben has performed with West Coast Chamber Music since 2023.
Maria Wang ~ Cello
Maria (Yun-Hsuan) Wang is a versatile cellist and dedicated music educator, born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. She began her musical journey on the piano before discovering her passion for the cello at age 13. In 2008, she was awarded a full-tuition scholarship to pursue a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance at West Virginia University, USA. After relocating to Victoria, Canada, in 2012, she completed her Master of Music degree in Cello Performance at the University of Victoria, studying with Pamela Highbaugh Aloni.
Since graduating, Maria has built a vibrant career as both a private instructor and ensemble director. She led the SD62 Sooke String Orchestra and served as head of strings for the Harmony Project Sooke for a decade, while also directing the String and Wind Ensembles at Brentwood College for three years. In 2022, Maria joined the faculty of the Victoria Conservatory of Music, where she teaches cello to students of all ages, coaches Junior Collegium chamber groups, directs cello ensemble classes, and coordinates the Junior String Summer Camp. Continuing her passion for orchestral conducting, she recently took on the role of directing the Intermediate Orchestra.
Alongside her teaching, Maria enjoys an active performing career as a freelance cellist, appearing in styles ranging from baroque to newly composed works. She is the founding cellist of the Breakwater Quartet, known for its fresh take on contemporary pop music.
2026 marks Maria’s debut with West Coast Chamber Music.
Erin Marks ~ Oboe
Erin Marks BM, MM is one of Vancouver’s best loved oboe soloists, chamber musicians and orchestral players. Since her return to Vancouver in 2002, she has enjoyed being a member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, and has also played with the VSO, Victoria Symphony and the late CBC Radio Orchestra. She is a busy freelance oboist, and has a very successful teaching studio.
Erin earned her Master’s degree in oboe performance from the Manhattan School of Music, studying with the Principal Oboe of the New York Philharmonic, Joseph Robinson. While there freelance highlights include performances at Carnegie Hall, Les Miserables on Broadway, Principal Oboe for the Bronx Opera, Opera DiCapo, Manhattan Virtuosi, and Riverside Symphony. She has travelled the world playing oboe: performing in the National Symphony of the Dominican Republic, as the featured soloist and Principal Oboist of the East-West International Music Festival held in Leipzig, as guest artist at the Carmel Bach Festival in California, Festival Domaine Forget and Music Academy of the West to name a few.
As passionate about teaching as she is about performing, Erin loves nurturing the talents of her many oboe and flute students and has so much fun teaching the Trafalgar Elementary School Junior and Senior Band which she co-founded with esteemed Canadian Clarinetist Michelle Anderson.
In her spare time, Erin loves to sing and is a proud member of the Christ Church Cathedral Choir and the Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir. When not making music, Erin is sure to be spending quality time with her beloved two cats or going on adventures on the East or West Coast of Canada with her Golden Retriever, Bear.
2025 marks Erin’s first performance with West Coast Chamber Music.
Dawn Haylett ~ French Horn
Dawn Haylett grew up in Victoria, BC, and it was a one-week horn camp during high school run by an inspirational horn teacher named Richard Ely and an amazing band trip to Europe that were the catalysts that led to a career in music and teaching. She has been a member of the Victoria Symphony, Vancouver Island Symphony, Kamloops Symphony, and played extensively with the Vancouver Symphony and Vancouver Opera. She continues to work regularly as a freelance horn player with orchestras, early music groups, and jazz ensembles in BC. She has recorded CDs of chamber music (Corno Dulciana; Christmas Favourites with Four Horns; Oregon Symphony Horns and Friends), jazz ensemble (Intrada), and orchestral music, in addition to a wide range of radio broadcasts and commercial recordings. While maintaining a busy performing schedule, Dawn taught for 20 years in the school system, teaching students from K to Grade 12. She used her Orff training to bring creativity to her band and music classes and particularly loved helping students write and perform their own musicals. She has recently moved to sunny Sidney.
Dawn performed frequently on the WCCM stage in the nineties, and is thrilled to be playing with Holly and Alan again in 2026.
Ross Curran ~ multi-instrumentalist
Ross Curran is an accomplished musician and teacher. Ross is the recipient of an Outstanding musician Award from the National Association of Jazz Educators and has performed in the masterclasses of Nick Fiore, Marcel Moyse and Louis Moyse. He has performed for 22 years with the Preservation of Swing Big Band and other Big Bands, plays regularly with the Telemann Wedding Trio, the Ross Curran Jazz Trio and the Mendelssohn Flute Trio.
Ross teaches woodwind lessons at his studio in Vancouver, the Langley Community Music School and the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. He works regularly as a clinician and coach with high school and young professional groups of musicians.
Angela Brown ~ inter-disciplinary artist
Angela Brown has degrees in Visual Art, dance and theatre. She is a professional storyteller, clown, dancer, actor and educator and she is known for the The Ta Daa Lady Show. She tours all over B.C. with this show (clown, mime, tap dance, puppets and songs from her CD -Ta Daa Lady & her Puppets) and with the Nylon Zoo (a series of unique and colorful inflatable sculptures and a variety of costumes – animals, plants and flowers for parades and dances). She is a member of Historical Performance Ensemble – Baroque and Renaissance dance, music and theatre. Ms. Brown has had extensive experience as a writer, director and performer for historical shows for B.C. historical parks and has taught with Art Starts in the Schools and has directed and choreographed events at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Angela has collaborated with West Coast Chamber Music as a storyteller, dancer and puppeteer since 2006. Currently, they are touring Metro Vancouver schools with Peter & the Wolf.
