Meet the 2026 Adjudicators!

See last year's panel

Leandro Cardoso

Leandro Cardoso is a Brazilian conductor based in Canada, recognized for his artistry, versatility, and inspiring leadership. He is Music Director of the Cercle Philharmonique de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and of the Orchestre Symphonique des Jeunes de Joliette, where he develops innovative programs that connect with audiences and foster community engagement.

He also serves as Assistant Conductor in Residence with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra (OSQ), under the direction of Clemens Schuldt, as well as Assistant Conductor of the Orchestre à vents non identifié (OVNI) in close collaboration with Jonathan Dagenais.

Highly active in the Canadian music scene, Leandro is frequently invited to serve as an adjudicator at major music festivals in Quebec and across Canada, reflecting his commitment to artistic excellence.

He holds a Doctorate in Music from McGill University, where he received the Excellence Award, and a Master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Kansas. He further honed his craft at Domaine Forget Academy, Cabrillo Festival (California), and the Monteux School and Music Festival, studying with distinguished conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Cristian Măcelaru.

His repertoire spans from the great classical masterworks to contemporary creations. He is also a sought-after arranger, writing original works for chamber ensembles. His conducting combines precision, imagination, and a deep desire to bring people together through music.

Fadi Diab

A committed music teacher and father of four, Fadi Diab dedicated over three decades to fostering musical talent. Fadi's core philosophy was that music education thrives outside the classroom.

He created extraordinary performance opportunities for his students, taking them to perform multiple times at Disney, New York City and on extensive Canadian tours to British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland.

His students also gained vital cultural exposure by attending the New Orleans French Quarter Festival and Broadway shows in major cities like NYC, Boston, and Washington D.C. In addition to his teaching, Fadi spent almost ten years conducting the Gloucester Community Concert Band.

He also guided a student R&B band that became a recognizable presence in the community as well as playing at various local clubs. He has released five studio albums and is now focused on returning to the studio to record new material and reconnect with his musical roots.

François Dorion

François Dorion is renowned as both a conductor and educator. A highly sought-after clinician, he regularly participates in conducting workshops and high school clinics, adjudicates at music festivals, and serves as a Yamaha Artist Conductor-Educator.

Recently retired from a 30-year career as a high school music teacher in Québec, he is also a composer for beginning bands, with several works published by Hal Leonard. He currently serves as Canadian Forces National Reserve Bands Advisor and teaches in the Master’s Degree in Conducting program at Université Laval. Notably, he developed the innovative online continuing education program Expressive Conducting.

Mr. Dorion led the Regimental Band of Les Voltigeurs de Québec for 27 years and continues to conduct L’Harmonie de Charlesbourg, which he founded in 1993. He is also Co-Founder and Director of the Québec New Horizons Band.

A student of Gilles Auger, he later earned his Master’s Degree in Conducting under Alain Cazes and has attended numerous wind conducting symposia. His experience extends to symphony orchestras and string ensembles, and he has recorded a wide range of works with diverse musical groups.

Having commissioned many works from esteemed composers, Mr. Dorion’s discography includes ten albums, covering repertoire from cornerstone wind ensemble works to pop, jazz, and holiday music.

His honours include the Pierre-Garon Award (2002), the highest cultural distinction of the city of Charlesbourg, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. In November 2025, he was invested into the Order of Military Merit.

Sommer Forrester

Sommer Helweh Forrester is an Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Toronto. She teaches courses in music education, conducts the Wind Symphony, and serves as the Coordinator of Music Education. Forrester holds Doctoral (Ph.D.) in Music Education with a cognate in Wind Conducting from the University of Michigan. A former K –12 classroom teacher, Forrester proudly taught music in Canada, Palestine, Israel, and Kuwait.

Laurie Hamilton

Laurie Hamilton is a retired music educator and conductor known for her innovative, and inclusive approach to music-making. Equally at home directing instrumental and choral ensembles, she led awardwinning bands and choirs in the Arts program at Canterbury High School and directed the Carleton University Choirs from 2015 to 2019. She has always found a way to program challenging, creative, and thoughtprovoking works that celebrate diversity and foster community connection.

Her ensembles have earned national recognition, including the Canadian Music Educator’s National Performance Awards, the Robert Rosevear Award for Excellence in Concert Band, and the CBC Music in the Schools Award several times. Laurie continues to direct choirs and bands across Ottawa, including Salvation Army ensembles and the Ottawa Carleton Choristers, a 65-voice choir of teachers and retired teachers affiliated with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board which she has directed since 1989. She inspires excellence through joyful collaboration, guided by the belief that “music is a gift we share to uplift and unite.”

Ms Hamilton has pursued professional development in both instrumental and choral music in many places around the world including, Australia, Denmark, Florida, Chicago, Missouri, Westminster Choir College, University of Western Michigan, University of Toronto, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Her ensembles have travelled extensively including to Austria, Hungary, Italy, New York, New Orleans, Cuba, Vancouver, Fredericton and Halifax.

In recognition of her outstanding contributions to music education, Laurie was inducted into the International Band Master’s Fraternity Phi Beta Mu (2011), and has received numerous accolades including the Ottawa Carleton District School Board Director's Citation and the Outstanding Contribution to the Arts award as well as the City of Gloucester Award for Leadership in the Arts.

Tara Kannangara

JUNO-nominated artist, Tara Kannangara is a second-generation, Sri Lankan-Canadian force of nature, giving you music that is deeply personal, genre-bending and culture blending. All this, encompassed by wild trumpet melodies, searing guitar lines, lush synths, and piercing lyricism will make you turn your head and listen.

As a tween Tara watched hours of television alone in her room eating rice crispy squares after school. These happy times were interspersed with weekly piano lessons, singing lessons and early morning band rehearsals before homeroom. She eventually left her beautiful hometown of Chilliwack BC to study classical trumpet and voice at the University of Victoria but her love for making her own art led her to Toronto to pursue music at the University of Toronto. After years of studying institutionalized art, Tara was compelled to break the veneer built around her experience of music-making. She returned to those happy moments alone in her bedroom with her rice crispies and began to write about being a dreamer, an outsider, and a woman longing to be seen. Not to mention the glory and absurdity of love!

Tara has been featured on CBC’s The Signal, The Sunday Edition and NPR Tiny Desk with Lido Pimienta. She also performed on Lido’s Grammy nominated record, “Miss Colombia.” She has had the privilege to work with extraordinary homegrown artists such as Jeremy Dutcher, Charlotte Cornfield, and Witch Prophet. Her own work has been presented at major festivals across North America including The Montreal Jazz Festival, The Washington DC Jazz Festival and The Smithsonian. She currently teaches at Voice and Trumpet at Humber College.

Brian O’Kane

Brian O'Kane has performed and recorded with groups including the Rob McConnell Tentet, The Boss Brass, John MacLeod’s Rex Hotel Jazz Orchestra, Hilario Duran’s Latin Jazz Big Band as well as the Barry Elmes Quintet. He has also performed at many jazz festivals across Canada and abroad. Brian has backed up a lengthy list of international artists including Paul Anka, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra Jr., Diana Krall, and has appeared on many theatre productions in Toronto, the Shaw Festival, and has played on numerous records/CDs, radio and television shows and commercial jingles.

Brian has also performed with classical ensembles including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Hannaford Street Silver Band, the Hamilton Philharmonic Brass Ensemble, and True North Brass. Along with being hired as the Head of the Brass Department at Toronto’s Humber College, he has been featured as an artist/clinician at various universities and colleges in Canada and has performed as a featured soloist at the International Trumpet Guild Conference.

As well being a Yamaha Canada Artist, Brian is an endorsing artist for Gard Bags.

Mike Tremblay

Mike Tremblay is a Canadian saxophonist and woodwind specialist with more than 40 years experience. He has been an Associate Faculty member in music performance for more than 30 years at Carleton University where he teaches saxophone, jazz improvisation, ensembles, and is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the annual Carleton University Jazz Camp. He frequently performs with many ensembles including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Broadway Across Canada, Prime Rib Big Band, Ottawa Jazz Orchestra and several theatre companies.

Mike’s latest recording “Apple Face” was recorded with co-leader Mark Ferguson and Canadian jazz icons Dave Young and Terry Clark. Mike is well known for his masterclasses, and he adjudicates for Musicfest Canada and the Kiwanis Music Festival. Mike is proud to serve on the Executive Board of Local 180 of the Canadian Federation of Musicians.

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