Grant Harville, conductor
Conductor Grant Harville recently completed an eight-year tenure as Music Director of the Great Falls Symphony, which saw the organization cross the million-dollar budget threshold. He previously held director positions with the Idaho State-Civic Symphony (where he earned a 20 Under 40 Award) and Bozeman Symphony. Recent guest conducting appearances include the Okanagan Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, Southwest Michigan Symphony, St. Cloud Symphony, Georgia Symphony, Manitoba Underground Opera, and Fraser Lyric Opera. He currently directs the Civic Orchestra of Victoria.
Harville has collaborated with numerous artists of international stature, including Bela Fleck, Martina Filjak, Orion Weiss, Dominic Cheli, William Hagen, Stephanie Chase, Inbal Segev, Pink Martini, and Time for Three. He conducted the first American performance of the complete orchestral program of the French-Canadian folk band Le Vent du Nord, and arranged and premiered a symphonic collaboration with Indigenous Music Award-winning hip-hop artist Supaman. He has spotlighted video game music with his orchestrations of the scores from Tetris, Celeste, and Undertale.
Also a composer, Harville established the Second Performance Project in 2022, an initiative to bring further performances to works which have already been premiered. The program has since received over 200 submissions from more than 30 countries.
Shauna Johannesen, writer / performer
Shauna is an award-winning writer, actor, and filmmaker. Her plays have been produced across Western Canada and the short film she wrote, Bedbugs: A Musical Love Story, garnered numerous accolades on the festival circuit, including Leo awards for Screenwriting and Best Female Actor. Her directorial debut Trying, has likewise earned Johannesen nominations and awards including the Matrix Award for Outstanding Short Work, and the Women in Film and TV Spotlight Image Award.
Johannesen’s newest play Common Grace premiered in 2016 at Pacific Theatre and is presently being developed into a feature film. Between writing and directing, she regularly graces your living room via your TV set.
She lives in Vancouver, Canada.
