Leadership

Experienced, Dedicated Children’s Choir Leadership

GERALD VAN WYCK conducted the British Columbia Boys Choir for over 13 years, and is a popular children’s choir clinician and adjudicator across Canada. He is Head of Choral Activities at Vancouver Community College, where he teaches Choir, Conducting, and Music History. He is also Music Director at West Vancouver United Church, and conductor of the Pacific Spirit Choir, West Vancouver’s finest community choir. He has been conductor of the Vancouver Island Opera, and assistant conductor of the Vancouver Island Symphony, and Sinfonia, Orchestra of the North Shore.

His greatest joy is inspiring artistic growth across the generations, whether through a children’s choir, community choirs, church choirs or college choirs. For this he received the 2003 FANS Award for his many contributions to the arts on the North Shore. But he is most grateful for the fact that his wife Cora, and their three children Thomas, Jennifer and Max, have all participated in his choirs and international tours.

Assistant Conductor Karen Mang Karen was born and raised in the Parkland region of Saskatchewan on an acreage where she ran around outside with her dog, climbed trees and made friends with stray cats. Karen’s mother was a church musician and a wonderful singer, as was her dad and there were many gatherings at the house filled with laughter and song. Karen sang and played in music festivals in her local town over the years, her mother her faithful accompanist, garnering a collection of handsome trophies and some cash. She also loved to be on stage, playing roles in the high school theatre group and even starred as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz in grade 8. She concentrated on her love of singing and joined Christ Church Cathedral Choir, where she was soprano section leader from 1994 to 2008. Since then, she has been a guest singer with the Vancouver Chamber Choir and been active as a soloist in the Vancouver area. She has been assistant conductor for many years with the Vancouver Children’s Choir, touring internationally and working closely with conductor/composer Rupert Lang. Karen is excited to be sharing her passion for entertaining and excellent musicianship with the Pacific Spirit Children’s Choir.