Music Director

Michelle Weckesser received a bachelor of education with a major in choral music from the University of Alberta in 1995. Since then, she has been teaching in a variety of settings, including as a private singing instructor for over 23 years, an elementary school music teacher, and a course instructor for various classes. Michelle has always been an active member of the choral community wherever she has lived. She has been a choir member and soloist in Choristi Chamber Choir, Timber! Choir, and Island Voices Chamber Choir, and a founding member of the women's vocal jazz quarter Swingset.

Locally, she has sung with project choirs, Warmland Singers, and the Vocal Collective. Michelle has directed the Francis Kelsey School Concert Choir and Nova Voce women's and children's choirs, and co-directed Island Voices. She is the rehearsal director of the Vocal Collective and the music director for Chalkboard Theatre.

Accompanist

Michelle Weckesser, Music Director

Eve Daniell is a Canadian/British soprano, born in Shawnigan Lake. She trained as a soprano in the UK and has performed in North American, Europe, and Asia. She holds ARCT diplomas in Piano Performance and Voice Performance, the latter earning the 2009 Gold Medal for receiving the highest mark in North American. She holds a BMus from the University of Victoria, an MA from the Royal Academy of Music in London, England, and an Advanced Diploma from the Royal Academy Opera, where she was awarded the Pavarotti Prize. She has appeared as a soloist in Last Night of the Promos at the Royal Albert Hall, with the BBC Orchestra. She has sung with the Victoria Symphony, the RAM Song Circle, and Kohn Foundation Bach Cantata Series.

Eve Daniell, Accompanist

Composer in residence

Deborah Sumner, a founding member of Encore!, is a composer and has been our composer-in-residence since the spring of 2022. Encore! has been singing Deborah's compositions for many years. She is an associate composer at the Canadian Music Centre and in the fall of 2018, she was one of four Canadian composers selected to participate in a bi-annual reading session with Elektra Women’s Choir in Vancouver, BC. More recently, Deborah conducted a small choir of 10 women (dubbed Sorella) while they endeavored to record three of her compositions. Little Blue, one of the pieces recorded by Sorella, is about the fragility of our world.