Artistic Leadership

Jean-Sébastien Vallée, Artistic Director

Internationally recognized conductor, scholar, and pedagogue Jean-Sébastien Vallée was named as the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s 8^th Artistic Director in June 2021. In addition to his work as Artistic Director of the TMChoir, Jean-Sébastien is Full Professor of Music, Director of Choral Studies, and Coordinator of the Conducting & Ensembles Area at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University. Jean-Sébastien has conducted ensembles throughout North America, Europe and Asia and has prepared choruses for leading orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa. In addition to his interest in choral, operatic, and orchestral music, Jean-Sébastien is an advocate for contemporary music, making one of his priorities to premiere and commission works by young composers and program rarely performed repertoire. He has recorded extensively under the label ATMA Classique.

Read Jean-Sébastien’s full biography.

Aaron Manswell, Composer in Residence

Aaron Manswell is a composer of soulful music, painting vivid pictures to contemporary themes using an assorted palette. A native of Toronto, Ontario, his songs have been premiered and recorded across North America by ensembles including the Gra

nd Philharmonic Choir, the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and Choral Arts Initiative. As an educator, he is the former Wind Band Conductor at Crawford Adventist Academy, leading the concert bands to top festival prizes and live recordings.

Read Aaron’s full biography.

Irene Gregorio, Collaborative Pianist

Irene Gregorio enjoys a diverse and active musical life as a pianist, educator, and music director. As a pianist and chamber musician, she has collaborated with members of the LA Phil and San Francisco Symphonies. She has served as pianist for the

LosAngeles Children’s Chorus, LA Opera Education and Outreach, and the University of Southern California Chamber Singers, among others. Her performances as a collaborative pianist have taken her throughout North America, Europe, Cuba, and the Philippines, and she has also appeared on PBS, CBC Radio 2, and on film soundtracks in the LA area.

Read Irene’s full biography.

Rena Roussin, Musicologist in Residence

Rena Roussin is a doctoral candidate in musicology at the University of Toronto, and is currently writing a doctoral dissertation on constructions of disability and gender in Joseph Haydn’s operas and oratorios. More broadly, her research interests include conceiving of art music and music theatre as forms of activism and social justice in historic and current contexts. As a Métis and settler woman with additional Haida ancestry, Rena also has a major interest in the ways art music in Canada might work in solidarity with Indigenous artists, communities, and peoples to realize equity and reconciliation. She is an active public musicologist, and in addition to her work with the TMC, also serves on the curatorial/editorial board of Musicology Now, the Canadian Opera Company’s Indigenous Circle of Artists, and as a Guest Curator for Soundstreams’ 2022-23 Indigenous Encounters concert series. Rena is also a pianist and vocalist.

Assistant Conductor, Nicholas Nicolaidis

Nicholas Nicolaidis is an award winning choral and orchestral conductor with over 25 years experience. Born in South Africa, Nicholas began his conducting career at the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School. He worked with young treble voices at Pridwin Preparatory School for Boys, mature tenor/bass choristers with the Welsh Male Voice Choir of South Africa, conducted oratorio choirs such as the Philharmonia Choir of Cape Town and the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg and the premier chamber choir the Chanticleer Singers of Johannesburg. Since making Canada his home in 2019, Nicholas has sought opportunities to serve the choral community in Toronto and is delighted to assist Maestro Vallée and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.