OUR TEAM
Kai Leung
Artistic Director
Kai Leung (he/him) holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto, where he studied voice and composition. He is the Artistic Director of Concreamus Chamber Choir, the Artistic Director of the Mississauga Summer Chorale, the Apprentice Conductor with the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, the Assistant Conductor with the Toronto Youth Choir, and the Assistant Conductor and Composer in Residence at St. Clements church in Toronto. Kai also sings with Incontra Vocal Ensemble, Octava Vocal Ensemble, the Toronto Festival Singers, and the award-winning Barbershop Quartet “Snack Time”.
Previously, Kai served as Apprentice Conductor for Resonance Youth Choir, the choir manager for the University of Toronto MacMillan Singers (2018 – 2020), the Bass Section Lead for the Ontario Youth Choir (2017, 2018, 2019), the Bass Section Lead for the Ontario Male Chorus, and is an alumnus of Cawthra Park Secondary School, where he was the founding director of Cawthra Park Secondary School’s male chorus, the “Boys in B”, and graduated as Senior Musician of the Year.
Kai is the 2020 recipient of the prestigious William and Phyllis Waters Graduating Award from the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. This award is presented each year to one graduating student from any stream who is deemed to have the greatest potential to make an important contribution to the field of Music. Kai has also been awarded the 2019 Arthur Plettner Scholarship, the 2019 Richard I Thorman Award, and the 2018 Lloyd Bradshaw Prize.
During his undergraduate years, Kai studied composition with Roger Bergs. His works have been performed by the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Resonance Youth Choir, The St. Clements 11:00am choir, Mississauga Tranzzit, Concreamus Chamber Choir, the Mississauga Summer Chorale, and the Orpheus Choir of Toronto.
Kai also works as an audio engineer and video editor. He enjoys using his multi-disciplinary skills to find creative intersections between musical creation, the choral arts, teaching, and technology.
Nathan Gritter
Assistant Conductor, Sehnsucht & Board Co-Chair
Nathan is a third year music student at the University of Toronto. He sings with many choirs in Mississauga and Toronto, including Resonance, the Exultate Chamber Singers, and UofT’s Macmillan Singers. He is a proud alumnus of the Ontario Youth Choir, and has worked as a student administrator for Choirs Ontario. Nathan currently works as a professional choral section lead at Kingsway Lambton United Church in Etobicoke. When he’s not singing in choir, you can find him taking a 6 hour nap, or replaying an old video game for the 13th time. Nathan joined MSC’s board in 2017 as Sehnsucht’s choir representative, and continues to work with the board as co-chair.
Stephanie Kay
Board Co-Chair
Stephanie Kay is a recent graduate of McMaster University’s Health Sciences program. She has served as the Frisson Choir Representative and currently serves on the MSC Board of Directors as co-chair. Throughout her undergraduate degree, Stephanie has continued to be involved with music as a member of both McMaster’s Mixed Choir and Women’s Choir. She has also been involved in the production and cast of the McMaster Health Sciences Musical, an entirely student-run charitable initiative that raises money for local arts-based organizations in Hamilton. Stephanie is looking forward to another season as co-chair and cannot wait to see the growth of each choir as well as the organization as a whole.
Russell Sweeney
Treasurer
Russell is a recent graduate of the Accounting and Finance program at the University of Waterloo and currently works at Deloitte Canada in the Assurance practice. Russell serves as treasurer on the MSC Board of Directors and is excited to combine the knowledge he has obtained while studying accounting with his passion for choral music through the role. Russell has previously sung in MSC for four years, including MSC’s inaugural season, and has also sung in numerous other choirs including the University of Waterloo Chamber Choir, the Cawthra Park Secondary School Chamber Choir, and the Ontario Youth Choir.
Paige Fitzpatrick
Secretary
Paige Fitzpatrick is a former student of the Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University, and serves as the Secretary on MSC’s Board of Directors. While studying at Western, she was an active member of the Faculty of Music Students’ Council and was elected to serve on the council’s executive team as the Vice-President of Events for the 2018/2019 school year. In the fall of 2020, she worked as a Social Media Marketing Intern with Coalition Music, and now engages in freelance work as an independent singer and music artist. Throughout high school, she participated in The Woodlands Secondary School’s Concert, Chamber, and Europe Choirs, as well as Resonance Youth Choir. Paige began her first season with MSC in the summer of 2020, and is excited to be returning to sing for another season and work more closely with the organization.
Tyrese Walters
Assistant Conductor, Frisson & Community Outreach Officer
Tyrese is a student at Western University in his third year of the Bachelor of Music program with Honours in Voice Performance. He has served as the Frisson Choir Representative and is currently the Community Outreach Officer on the board of director team. He is very excited to be singing in his 3rd season with the MSC. Tyrese is also a Cawthra Park SS Regional Arts Graduate in Voice where he sang in the Cawthra Park Chamber Choir for 3 years, as well as sang in the student-led low voices choir “Boys in B” in which he had the opportunity to be the co-conductor in his final year at Cawthra.
Vyllana Nguyen
Social Media Director
Vyllana is a recent graduate of the Creative Industries program at Ryerson University with a passion for working in children’s film and television, and currently serves as the Social Media Director on the MSC Board of Directors. Throughout her undergraduate studies, Vyllana has continued to be involved in music, having sung in MSC’s Frisson for two years, Ryerson’s Ryenamics a cappella group, as well as being an alumna of the Ontario Youth Choir. Vyllana is extremely passionate about supporting the choral community, and is looking forward to another exciting season with MSC.
Laura Ferlanti
Frisson Choir Representative
Laura is a second year student at McMaster University studying Psychology. She is a graduate of the Regional Arts Program at Cawthra Park Secondary School where she majored in voice and sang in various groups including Chamber Choir. In the last few years, Laura has also worked as a teaching volunteer within Peel, working alongside teachers in music education for primary students. Laura greatly enjoys representing Frisson, and is passionate about the music and friendships that have come out of her experience through Mississauga Summer Chorale.
Artistic Team
Meredith Wanstall Associate Conductor, Sehnsucht
Meredith Wanstall is a passionate conductor, teacher, and choral singer. Currently, Meredith is the Assistant Conductor and Sight-Singing Coordinator for all levels of the Bach Children’s Chorus. She is the founder and conductor of the Toronto Music Alliance Children's Choir, and also enjoys teaching private lessons in piano, voice, sight-singing and theory to students of all ages. Meredith has completed a Bachelor of Music at the University of Toronto, majoring in Music Education and Voice. Additionally, she holds her ARCT in both Piano Performance and Voice Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Meredith sings with the Amadeus Choir as a part of the Emerging Canadian Voices program, and performs regularly with the a cappella group Octava Vocal Ensemble.
Nila Rajagopal Associate Conductor, Sehnsucht
Hailing from Ottawa, ON, Nila Rajagopal has quickly established herself as a promising choral conductor. She is currently enrolled in the Master’s program in Choral Conducting at McGill University under the tutelage of Dr. Jean-Sébastien Vallée and previously studied voice and music education at the University of Toronto.
Nila’s collaborative spirit has granted her various positions with organizations such as the Oakville Choir for Children and Youth, Toronto Children’s Chorus, the St. Lawrence Choir and of course, the Mississauga Summer Chorale. Increasingly recognized for her promising musical excellence, Nila was the recipient of the 2016 Doreen Rao Choral Award, the 2019 Iwan Edwards Award and the 2019 Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship.
Widely known for her accuracy and tone, Nila currently sings with the Ottawa Bach Choir and has previously held professional positions with Pax Christi Chorale, the Toronto Festival Singers, the St. Basil’s Catholic Parish Schola Cantorum and the Choir of Grace Church on-the-Hill. Nila was also selected to perform in highly regarded honour choirs such as the National Youth Choir of Canada, the Ontario Youth Choir and the World Youth Choir.
Emily Parker Associate Conductor, Frisson
Emily Parker is a Toronto-based conductor, soprano, and pianist. This year she has completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, where she studied voice with Mark Daboll and Monica Whicher and conducting with Ivars Taurins. She was awarded several scholarships over the course of her studies. Emily has also achieved the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Grade 10 level piano and Advanced Rudiments in Theory. Emily is the soprano section lead at Kingsway-Lambton United Church and works as a freelance singer and conductor. Her extensive choral background includes singing with the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, the Ontario Youth Choir, the University of Toronto’s MacMillan Singers, and the Canadian Renaissance Music Summer School. She was accepted into the National Youth Choir in 2020 and will sing with them in 2022, due to COVID-19. Emily has been with MSC for three years as assistant conductor of Frisson and member of Sehnsucht. She is excited to be directing MSC’s first soprano-alto choir.