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, adjudicator and Royal Conservatory of Music piano examiner. He 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.
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 current principal of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Dr. Peter Simon, Jean-Paul Bracey in London, and Dr. Robin Wood of Victoria.
Holly has performed as a soloist in various parts of Canada, and now, in Vancouver, 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 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.
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.
Angela Cavadas ~ Violin
Angela Cavadas was the recipient of numerous awards early in her musical life, most notably winning First Prize in the CBC Young Artists Competition at the age of 19.
Renowned violinists Steven Staryk and Ruggiero Ricci were major mentors in her training. Over the course of her distinguished and varied career, she has worked with many outstanding instrumentalists and conductors and has participated in numerous concerts, many of which were broadcast nationally.
She has enjoyed the diversity of performing as a soloist and in chamber music concerts, as well as playing for opera, ballet, musical theatre, film recording, and folk dance troupes.
Angela was Acting Concertmaster of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra [VOO] for the 2017-18 music season and currently continues in her role as Associate Concertmaster.
In addition to her work with VOO, she has performed regularly with the Vancouver Symphony, Vancouver Chamber Choir, and Chilliwack Symphony. She also teaches violin and piano privately and for the Arts Conservatory in Steveston.
Angela has performed with West Coast Chamber Music since 1995.
Peter Weinkam ~ Violin
Peter Weinkam grew up in Coquitlam, and began violin studies at the age of 4. Peter has a Bachelor of Music from University of Victoria, studying violin with Ann Elliott-Goldschmid and piano with Eva Solar-Kinderman. For 14 years prior, Peter studied violin with Roger Mangas in Vancouver. He also studied piano for 4 years with Mary (Nan) Gorringe in Coquitlam, and for 5 years with Monica Pfau inVancouver. Peter also has an ARCT diploma in Piano Performance.
Peter played for 14 years with the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra, where he played bothviolin and viola, and in 2010 he played with the VYSO in the closing ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. He has also played in a string quartet in the final episode of the television series, Smallville. Peter also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Computing Science from Simon Fraser University. He now lives in Duncan with his wife and two children.
2023 marked Peter’s debut with West Coast Chamber Music.
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.
Amy Laing ~ Cello
Originally from Nanaimo BC, Amy earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton Florida, and her Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Following her studies, Amy moved to Toronto where, in 2019, she won the position of Principal Cello in the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. She was also the solo cellist for many of Mirvish’s broadway productions including Hamilton. While in Ontario, Amy performed regularly with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and also appeared with various other orchestras: Canadian Opera Company, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Windsor Symphony, Niagara Symphony, Thunder Bay Symphony, and Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax. Beyond the strictly classical genre, Amy has worked with Toronto’s Art of Time Ensemble, SoulPepper Theatre Company, and the Toronto Dance Theatre. She has toured with Blue Rodeo, the Hidden Cameras, as well as Broadway star Colm Wilkinson. She has performed or recorded with leading artists including Stevie Wonder, Jesse Cook, The Barenaked Ladies, Blue Rodeo, Jim Cuddy, Steven Page, Donovan Woods, Sarah Slean, Molly Johnson, Royal Wood, Amelia Curran, and Amy Sky.
Amy moved back to Vancouver Island in 2020, and has been busy playing with Victoria
Baroque Society and the Victoria Symphony. She has also worked with Vancouver’s Vetta Chamber Music Society, and Early Music Vancouver. She has been engaged in chamber music performances on Salt Spring Island, Victoria, and in The Old Schoolhouse Series in Qualicum Beach. Amy is thrilled to be back home on the Island, living near Ladysmith with her husband and two sons. 2025 marks Amy’s second season with West Coast Chamber Music.
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.
2023 marked Ben’s debut with West Coast Chamber Music.
Michelle Anderson ~ Clarinet
Michelle Anderson is a professional performer and teacher who currently plays regularly with a variety of musical groups including the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble, the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Lion’s Gate Sinfonia and the Vancouver Wind Quintet.
In July 2015, Michelle was a featured soloist at the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles in San Jose, CA. Her performance of the Ticheli Clarinet Concerto, with the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble, is now available on CD from Mark Custom Recording. She was also a member of the Turning Point Ensemble cross-Canada tour in October of 2015.
Michelle studied music at the University of Toronto, and the Aspen Music School. She is founder of Clarinet Mentors, an on-line educational website for clarinetists worldwide. Her YouTube channel, which is designed to help clarinet players play more easily, has been viewed by more than 800,000 clarinetists worldwide. (www.youtube.com/clarinetmentors)
Michelle’s upcoming performances can be found at: http://www.vancouverclarinetlessons.com/page2/News_and_Events.html
Michelle has performed with West Coast Chamber Music since 2004.
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.
