Monica Chen, conductor

An emerging Canadian conductor, Monica Chen is the RBC Assistant Conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as well as Music Director of the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra and Sistema Winnipeg program, working closely with Maestros Daniel Raiskin and Julian Pellicano. She was selected to be a conducting fellow in the inaugural year of Orchestre Métropolitain’s Conducting Academy and has been working with Yannick Nézet-Séguin since 2021. She is also a conducting fellow with Tapestry Opera’s Year 3 Cohort, working with orchestras and opera companies across the country. Recent and upcoming conducting engagements include working with Victoria Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Kamloops Symphony, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Manitoba Opera, Opera Kelowna, and the Orchestre Métropolitain. She has had the honour to work with acclaimed conductors such as maestros Neil Varon, Thomas Rösner, and the late Bramwell Tovey. Monica completed two Masters, one in Orchestral Conducting from UBC studying with Dr. Jonathan Girard and the other in violin performance from Indiana University studying with Mimi Zweig.

Jodi Contin, narrator/singer

Jodi Contin is a highly energetic Anishinaabe Kwe who hails from Wasauksing First Nation.

Jodi’s Anishinabek roots and cultural ethical principles shine through in everything she does. Drumming and singing are activities close to her heart, and she is a renowned drum-maker as well. She has been a part of the Grand Medicine Society and is a devoted Sun dancer for many years, where she is now the lead female dancer, sweat conductor and clan mother of the lodge.

Empowering and lifting up others are just some of the ways she holds space to encourage people to find their path to healing. Caregiving comes naturally to Jodi. She has worked with families in a variety of capacities as a Child Protection worker and Family support worker. Through those roles and her volunteer work, she has earned the trust of many. Currently, she is the Band Representative for Henvey Inlet First Nation.

In 2018 Jodi participated in the original Festival of the Sound production “Sounding Thunder”, for which she wrote the lead song “Wasauksing Enydaayong”. Since then, Jodi has travelled to various venues across Ontario to perform the work. She was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Festival of the Sound.

As a mother to three sons, family and community are incredibly important to Jodi. She is a respected member of her home community and regional Anishinabek communities along with the Town of Parry Sound. She has been nominated for the Order of Parry Sound for the work she puts in towards community and cultural events.
This Anishinaabe Kwe has a lot of stories to share about her own journey, many of which also come with a great sense of humour!

Ken MacDonald, narrator/horn

Acclaimed as a “French horn master” by the Toronto Star, Ken MacDonald has performed in every province with a variety of Canada’s top ensembles. He is currently Associate Principal horn with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, having played principal horn with the Hamilton Philharmonic (for seventeen seasons), Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. He has also performed as a guest artist with the Vancouver Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London, the Victoria Symphony, and the Regina Symphony, to name but a few.

As a chamber musician, Ken has enjoyed longstanding associations with the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, Ontario, and with the national touring ensemble Octagon, who were featured in Winnipeg’s Virtuosi Concerts last season. Solo appearances include the Winnipeg Symphony, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and national CBC broadcasts of newly- commissioned works.

Ken is a National Arts Centre teaching artist and, in co-operation with the Winnipeg Symphony, has travelled to several of Manitoba’s northern communities for educational workshops with composer and conductor Andrew Balfour. He also teaches at the University of Manitoba. He lives just outside Winnipeg with his husband, two children, six goats, five horses, and a variable number of chickens and turkeys.

Rhonda Snow, visual artist
Anishinaabe artist Rhonda Snow is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Rare Breeds Canada for her tireless work preserving the Ojibwe Horse breed. Her vivid Woodlands style canvases captivate viewers and share the knowledge she has gained from the Elders about the “small horses of the big woods”. She has personally cared for over 60 Ojibwe Horses, playing an important role in the comeback of the breed from near-extinction.

Rhonda is currently working intensively with breeders to help establish educational and equine assisted learning programs that feature the Ojibwe Horses. She is also actively researching the history of the breed, interviewing elders and knowledge keepers to collect stories of how Indigenous peoples related to horses both before and after contact with Europeans.