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Mariela Dabbah
Jamie Davis.
Green and Blue Bands, Jazz Bands, Seasonal Bands, Pit Orchestra, Marching Band
I’m Jamie Davis and I’m the Reynolds Band Director. I have 13 ensembles. Some are year-long and some are seasonal like the Carol Band.
Jamie Davis is the Director of Bands at Reynolds Secondary School in Victoria, British Columbia.
Mr. Davis is proud to be the fourth band director at Reynolds in the school’s 52 year history. Moreover, he is proud to carry on the many traditions and legacies of the Reynolds Bands with his exceptionally hard-working and kind student-musicians!
Mr. Davis’ ensembles can be heard regularly in performance locally, provincially, and internationally. Ensembles under his direction have consistently received ratings of Superior or Gold, are in demand for concerts and parade appearances, and receive numerous accolades for their performances.
Prior to his position at Reynolds, Mr. Davis taught for eleven years at Spectrum Community School where he took a small two-band program and rebuilt it into a multi-level, award-winning program of band classes, performing concert bands, two jazz bands, combos, musical theatre pit orchestra, and a marching band.
Mr. Davis holds a Bachelor of Music degree and Teaching Certificate from the University of Victoria. As well, he has undertaken conducting studies with Dr. Steven J. Capaldo and Dr. Gerald N. King. He is the recipient of the 2014 Staples/Black Press News Media “Great Teacher Award” (secondary school), a 2012 Commanding Officer’s Commendation from the Vernon Military Camp (for instruction, mentorship, and leadership) the C. Howard Denike Scholarship in Music, the CFAX 1070 Golden Apple Award (for excellence in teaching) and has been nominated for the British Columbia Premier’s Award for Teaching Excellence (young teacher). He is also the recipient of a 2010 community service award from the Navy League of Canada. He served as an executive member of the BC Music Educators Association (a Provincial Specialist Association and music advocacy body for the B.C. Teachers’ Federation) as secretary, vice-president, and president from 2012 – 2017.
He has formerly held positions as the Conductor of the Greater Victoria Concert Band and as Director of Bands, Director of Jazz Band and Low-Brass Instructor at the Vernon Military Camp in British Columbia. Mr. Davis is the co-editor of “Wind Words: A Wind Conducting Resource” – a multi-issue compilation of music pedagogy, wind conducting, and repertoire resources produced through the UVic Faculty of Education. As an undergraduate he held multiple research assistant positions in media arts and music education. Mr. Davis became the first Assistant Conductor for the Don Wright Symphonic Winds for their inaugural concert season in 2005-2006.
As a trombonist Mr. Davis has performed with The Meridiem Wind Orchestra, Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, the Thompson Valley Orchestra, and the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra. His principal teachers include Ian Mcdougall (The Boss Brass), Hugh Fraser (Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz Improv.), Jeremy Berkman (Vancouver Opera Orchestra), and Brad Howland (Victoria Symphony). He has also performed and recorded with The University of Victoria Wind Symphony and the South Island Wind Ensemble. Also active in jazz, Mr. Davis has performed with the University of Victoria Jazz Orchestra, Hugh Fraser’s Bonehenge and the Hermann’s Monday Night Big Band. In teaching jazz, Mr. Davis founded the Jazz In Victoria Ensemble (JIVE) – a jazz band for community adults who have never played jazz music before.
Mr. Davis is a member of the following professional organizations: British Columbia Music Educators Association (BCMEA), British Columbia Band Association (BCBA), Canadian Music Educators Association (CMEA), Music Educators National Convention (MENC), and The National Band Association (NBA).
Katy Kerr.
Choirs, Vocal Jazz, Strings, Musical Theatre
I’m Katy Kerr and I’m the Choral, Strings and Musical Director. I’ve got 8 ensembles, including our spring Musical Theatre production.
Ms. Kerr studied voice and trumpet at Central Washington University with an emphasis in jazz performance. There she earned her Music Business, BMus.
While attending school at CWU she was a part of many various ensembles such as women’s choir, chamber choir, vocal jazz, jazz band, chorale and multiple operas.
She sang in the prestigious CWU Chamber Choir under Dr. Gary Weidenaar and nationally acclaimed CWU Vocal Jazz 1 under Vijay Singh.
After moving back to Victoria and teaching musical theatre for several years, she completed her Bachelor’s in Education from the University of Victoria. Ms. Kerr is currently the Honour Vocal Jazz Coordinator for the B.C. Music Educators Association where she auditions and selects students from across the province to be a part of the honour ensemble program in October. She is often brought in as a guest clinician for jazz band, vocal jazz and trumpet for schools throughout the Victoria and Sooke School Districts.