Past Board Members
Norman Adams
Norman Adams is Principal Cellist of Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Artistic Director of suddenlyLISTEN music. A student of Hans Jørgen Jensen, Bernard Greenhouse, and American new music pioneer Pauline Oliveros, Norman has been a soloist with Symphony Nova Scotia and Les Jeunes Virtuoses de Montréal. He has been guest principal cellist of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and has performed chamber, and improvised music throughout Canada, the US, France, and the UK. His performances have also been heard across the country on CBC Radio. As an educator, Norman has been a faculty member at Acadia University, at Scotia Festival of Music, and the Acadia Summer Strings Festival. In 2010 Norman was awarded an Established Artist Award by the Nova Scotia Arts and Culture Partnership Council, for his varied work. In addition to his work as a classical cellist, Norman is well known as an improviser and electronic musician, playing free and creative music in North America and Europe. Norman has collaborated with many leading artists including Joëlle Léandre, Gerry Hemingway, Eddie Prévost, Pauline Oliveros, Buck 65, Jerry Granelli, Marilyn Crispell and Evan Parker. Since 2000 Norman has been the Artistic Director and Producer of suddenlyLISTEN Music, an organization that both presents an annual series of concerts of improvised music, featuring a broad range of local, Canadian and international artists; and produces a wide range of other performance projects. He is also dedicated to sharing music with all people, co-leading the bi-weekly suddenlyLISTEN Improvisation Workshop for the past nine seasons.
Rilla Banks
Rilla Banks is Associate Legal Counsel with Dalhousie University. Before pursuing her career in law, Rilla obtained her Bachelor of Music degree with a major in flute performance. Prior to her appointment to the Masterworks Foundation Board, Rilla participated on the board of the Halifax Music Co-op. Rilla is enthusiastic about maintaining her connection to the thriving arts community in Nova Scotia as a member of the Masterworks board.
Mireille Bourgeois
Originally from Dieppe, New Brunswick, Mireille Bourgeois has an MA from the Centre for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. An active member of the media arts community, she has independently curated and contributed to programs throughout Canada, the US, and Germany, and has published critical writing for Visual Arts News, Creative Times Press, C-Magazine, the Canadian Film Institute, Incite Journal of Experimental Media, and the online art blog Artengine. Mireille Bourgeois is currently Director at the Centre for Art Tapes in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Alice Burdick
Alice Burdick is a Mahone Bay-based poet and co-owner of Lexicon Books in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. She was born and grew up in Toronto, and has been involved in the small press community since 1990. Alice is the author of the full-length poetry collections Simple Master (Pedlar Press), Flutter (Mansfield Press) and Holler (Mansfield Press), and most recently Book of Short Sentences (Mansfield Press,) as well as many chapbooks. Her poetry has appeared in several anthologies, including Surreal Estate: 13 Canadian Poets Under the Influence (The Mercury Press, 2004). Her work has been included in many magazines, nationally and internationally, online and print
Barbara Butler
Barbara Butler is the Director of Music at St. John’s Anglican Church in Lunenburg. A chamber musician, choral conductor, organist and music educator, she is a well-known champion for the arts in Nova Scotia.
Born in Newfoundland, Barbara earned her Bachelor of Music Degree from Acadia University with majors in piano and organ. She is also a graduate of Banff School of Fine Arts in Arts Management, The Institute of Choral Arts (Nova Scotia Choral Federation), England’s Royal School of Church Music and the International Organ Academy (Holland). In 1990 she was made a Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists. She is the recipient of both the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and the Queen Elizabeth 11 Diamond Jubilee Medal for her service to music and the arts in Nova Scotia. She is a 2006 recipient of a Women of Excellence Award in the field of culture from the Canadian Progress Club (Halifax – Cornwallis). In October, 2011 she was honoured to receive an Honourary Doctorate in Civil Law from the University of King’s College.
Barbara Butler is the Artistic and Administrative Director of Musique Royale, a Festival of Early Music in Nova Scotia and year round concerts at St. John’s Church in Lunenburg. She is the Founder and past Artistic Director of the St. Cecilia Concert Series and former Director of the Lieutenant Governor’s Concert Series.
Barbara has strong affiliations with many arts organizations in the province and has served various boards. Currently she is an avid supporter and board member of Capella Regalis Men and Boys Choir as well as the Masterworks Awards.
Judith Campbell
Judith (Judy) Campbell, Halifax, was previously the Vice-Chair of the Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Awards Foundation and is retired from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. For over 25 years, she managed numerous regional and national communications and marketing initiatives in support of CBC Radio, Television and New Media. She also developed and coordinated sponsorships, community relations and outreach activities for the Corporation. Judy was project manager for CBC’s Gold Sponsorship of Tall Ships 2000 and CBC Television’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations in Atlantic Canada, in 2002. In 2003, she was the Regional Account Manager responsible for marketing and communications strategies, including advertising, media relations, issues management and special events, associated with the promotion of “Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion”. Judy is now a consultant in public relations, communications and marketing.
Paul Caskey
Paul Caskey’s involvement in Canada’s professional dance community has ranged from that of dancer/choreographer to Lighting Designer to Artistic Director. Moving from Vancouver to Montreal in 1989, he quickly immersed himself in the Quebec dance milieu, choreographing his own works and dancing for numerous independent choreographers. In 1994 he became Co-Artistic Director of Montreal’s Studio 303, a position he held until 2005 when he moved to Halifax, where he is currently Executive Producer of Live Art Dance Productions. Paul was a founding Board member of the Canadian Dance Assembly and was formerly President of the Board of Directors of the CanDance Network of Dance Presenters. He was on the Board of Directors of the Nova Scotia Masterworks Award Foundation from 2013 to 2016.
Burgandy Code
Burgandy Code has been a professional actor/director/writer/dramaturge for over 30 years and her work has appeared in theatres across Canada, the United States and New Zealand. Burgandy has been a member of Two Planks’ company for 14 seasons and has been nominated for thirteen Merritt Awards, winning four and nominated for one Dora Award.
D’Arcy Dennehy
D’Arcy Dennehy is a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She has made her home Halifax for over 35 years and raised three very creative children here, one being a recipient of Nova Scotia Talent Trust Awards.
D’Arcy is a commercial Interior Designer and registered member of the Interior Designers of Nova Scotia. Her career has covered both the private and public sectors. She has run her own design practice, worked within Public Works and Government Services Canada, Halifax Regional Municipality and, most recently, with Fowler Bauld & Mitchell Architecture and Interiors, architects of record for the New Central Library. She is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified professional, a Project Management Professional, and member of PMI (Project Management Institute).
D’Arcy has served the boards of several arts related organizations, including the YMCA, NSCAD, Neptune Theatre, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design, particularly in the area of events planning. She is keen to support any initiative that promotes and celebrates the vitality and value that art makers bring to our community.
Ted Fraser
Biography not available.
Carolle Fernando
Carolle Fernando is an associate lawyer with McInnes Cooper in Halifax, specialising in tax law. After admission to the Bar in 2003, and commencing her legal career, she pursued her passion as a professional dancer with Mocean Dance, a company she co-founded in 2003. She has much hands-on experience in arts management and continues to act as Artistic Advisor to Mocean Dance. Carolle has returned to her other passion – law – and is a member of the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Canadian Bar Association, and the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society.
Peter Guildford
Peter Guildford is a native of Halifax who has had a life-long involvement in the arts. While in high school he was very active in youth theatre before studying Theatre at Dalhousie University. Following two years of public school teaching, Peter returned to university, completing a Masters of Theatre History at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. While completing his master thesis, he worked for the Vancouver Children’s Festival. When he returned to Halifax in 1981 he worked in a volunteer capacity and then as Festival Director for the Children’s Festival of Nova Scotia. During that period he also taught Theatre History for two years at Dalhousie. From 1987 to 2011 he worked for the Culture Division of the Nova Scotia government where he was active in community cultural development and organizational development as well as managing grant funding programs. As well, for 14 years he served as Secretary for the Nova Scotia Talent Trust. Since his retirement from the provincial government he has undertaken occasional contract work in board governance with non-profit arts organizations in the province.
Dustin Harvey
I am an artist who works hard to develop projects that speak both to me and others about the beauty found in a shared experience. Over the years I have invited people to slow dance with strangers in disused storefronts, to confess secrets to someone thousands of kilometres away through text message, and to immerse themselves in public locations and busy city streets from Aarhus, Denmark to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. My writing has been published by Canadian Theatre Review (Issues 126, 134, and 158), as well as the chapter entitled ‘Make What You Need’ in the scholarly book ‘In Defence Of Theatre: Aesthetic Practices and Social Interventions’ edited by Dr. Kathleen Gallagher and Dr. Barry Freeman published by University Toronto Press in 2016. In 2016, I was part of a national cohort at the Banff Centre For Arts and Creativity in Alberta called New Fundamentals: Leadership For the Creative Ecology. I am currently a member of ArtsHalifax-an advisory committee to the City of Halifax. I am also on the national advisory board of Canadian Theatre Review. Most of the work I do is collaborative in some way, and connected to XOSECRET (Secret Theatre, Halifax), which is a project-led initiative that focuses on principles of creativity, technology and public space related to new practices emerging within the contemporary theatre milieu. I trained in Theatre at Acadia University in Wolfville, and Acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in England.
Gay Hauser, Past President
Gay Hauser has worked as an actor, director, designer and general manager administrator in non-profit arts sector for 35 years. Currently a consultant for Strategic Arts Management, Gay has worked as the general manager of Live Art Dance Productions and as a founding member of Eastern Front Theatre and Mulgrave Road Theatre Co.Gay continues to perform annually in Symphony Nova Scotia’s The Nutcracker and currently serves as themanaging producer of the annual event. Gay has experience in theatre and dance presenting general management including audience development, board development, strategic planning, production budgeting, global budgeting, and multi-year budgeting, financial reporting, audit preparation, bookkeeping, grant writing, CTA contracting, payroll, including T4 and T4A preparation, charitable tax returns, sponsorship relations, special event coordination, donor relations, volunteer relations, customer relations and box office management.
Ingrid Jenkner
Ingrid Jenkner (B.A. Toronto; M.A. London (Courtauld Institute) has been Director/Curator of Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, Halifax, since 1994. She was previously Curator at Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina and at Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph. In addition to her curatorial appointments, Jenkner has taught art history and theory at the universities of Guelph and Regina. She currently teaches Cultural Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University, and frequently serves on peer assessment committees of the Canada Council for the Arts and Nova Scotia Communities, Culture and Heritage. Prior to her appointment to the Masterworks Foundation Board, Ms. Jenkner has had the honour of nominating a Masterworks Arts Award winner, Breathing Under Water by Glynis Humphrey, and a Masterworks finalist, See Below by Susan Feindel.
Dary Jessome
Dary Jessome is a commercial lawyer and has several years of experience working with not-for-profit arts organizations in Nova Scotia. Dary served on the board of Nocturne: Art at Night for five years, most recently as chair of the board for two years. Dary also served the section chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Not-For-Profit and Charities Law Section, and as a member of the Arts Nova Scotia and Creative Nova Scotia joint Status of the Artist Legislation Committee. Dary has experience in working in both the US and Canada in the energy industry.
Susan Letson
Susan has recently retired as the Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Public Affairs, based in Halifax. Previously she was a leader in Executive Recruitment in the Atlantic region for over 15 years, having held senior positions with two national firms, KPMG and The Caldwell Partners International. Her practice focus was the recruitment of senior level candidates for public and private sector organizations.
Susan is a past Chair of the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award Foundation, Halifax YWCA, Symphony Nova Scotia, Debut Atlantic and a past Vice Chair of the United Way of Halifax. She is currently on the boards of the Resource Recovery Fund Board and The Greater Halifax Partnership.
Elizabeth MacDonald
Through her company, Acappella Communications Inc., Elizabeth provides strategic counsel and support in communications planning and implementation, writing and editing, and stakeholder engagement for corporate, university, government and not-for-profit clients. She is an accomplished communications professional, with more than 25 years of public, private, and voluntary sector experience.
Elizabeth started her career as communications assistant to the Saskatchewan Minister of Energy and Mines and later as legislative assistant to the federal Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources. Upon moving to the private sector Elizabeth worked as Public Affairs manager (Ontario) with Texaco Canada and later with Imperial Oil Limited as Public Affairs manager (Atlantic). In 1996, she joined Royal Bank as Manager, Public Affairs (Atlantic). From 2003 – 2007, Elizabeth was based in Germany, where she worked with the Canadian Forces community in Europe in several capacities. Elizabeth also taught writing and management at Mount Saint Vincent University and Seneca College (for Canadian Forces Support Unit Europe) in Germany. For her work as writer and editor of the IABC Belgium website, she won two IABC Chapter Management Awards in two consecutive years (2005, 2006).
An active community volunteer for many years, Elizabeth is currently a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board for Halifax and serves on the boards of both the Charitable Irish Association and An Cumann: The Irish Association of Nova Scotia. Elizabeth also helps organize Re-Jigged, an annual festival of new Celtic music and dance.
Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Francis Xavier University, a Master of Public Administration degree from Queen’s University, a Diploma in Marketing and International Business from Saint Mary’s University, and a Certificate in Adult Education from Seneca College.
Timothy C. Matthews
Biography not available.
Liliona Quarmyne
Liliona Quarmyne is an independent choreographer, performer, teacher, and community development facilitator. She is also the Creative Mind Body Spirit Program Coordinator for the Tatamagouche Centre. Liliona deeply believes that movement and art can play a central role in the development of self-identity, and in the growth and empowerment of communities. Liliona is particularly interested in the body’s ability to link us to past and to future generations. She draws on her Ghanaian/Filipino background, and on a diverse set of training and experiences – including participating in Kinetic Studio’s Explorations program, dancing with Nyata Nyata, obtaining a Masters in African Studies, teaching extensively, working on the Arrivals Project, running Generations in Motion, and sitting on the board of the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre – to generate a creative and unconventional vision of how we are in the world.
Tara Spurr
Tara Spurr is a partner at Lyle Tilley Davidson Chartered Professional Accountants in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Tara has a wide range of experience in providing assurance services to many different clients including a number of not for profit organizations. Lyle Tilley Davidson has a long history with the Theatre and Arts community in Nova Scotia including an extensive history with the East Coast Music Awards, Music Nova Scotia and Eastern Front Theatre to name a few. The Firm has also sponsored and supported a number of Arts productions in the Halifax area. Tara is the treasurer of the Canadian Progress Club Halifax Cornwallis, is on the finance committee of the 1588 Barrington Street Society and volunteers her time with many local charities.
Kaitlyn Touesnard
Kaitlyn Touesnard is a graduate of Saint Mary’s University with a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in entrepreneurship, minoring in psychology, with Human Resource certification. While completing her studies Kaitlyn led the Saint Mary’s Enactus team of over 60 students to create community outreach projects. From 2009 to 2013 she held the positions of Fundraising Co-ordinator, Vice President of Public Relations, Vice President Social, Project Manager of Options, and most recently the position of Co-President. For her achievements with the team, Kaitlyn received the 2012 HSBC Woman Leader of Tomorrow award for Atlantic Canada.
Kaitlyn has been working at the Sobey School Business Development Centre as a Project Manager since 2011 and takes the lead on many projects including the Starting Point Student Entrepreneurship Conference. Previously she has taught the SSBDC’s 22 week employability program designed to give at-risk youth the skill and opportunity to succeed in the workforce. Kaitlyn has also had the opportunity to work on a Small Business Registry to connect business owners with students looking to gain experience working with entrepreneurs, The Husky Group, a student business incubator project and the Sobey School Solutions workshops, a series of breakfast workshops to help small and medium sized businesses tackle relevant issues.
Lena Turofsky
Lena Turofsky graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Toronto. She moved to Halifax in 1978 to play with the Atlantic Symphony. A founding member of Symphony Nova Scotia, Lena is currently Assistant Principal Bass. She plays in the Anne of Green Gables orchestra at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown during the summer months. Lena has been involved in much of the music in Nova Scotia for many years, playing in the Scotia Festival of Music, at Lunenburg Academy, with New Brunswick and PEI Symphonies, Rhapsody Quintet, and more.
Lena has also been an educator with her own Bass studio and teaching Bass at the Halifax Regional School Board for 15 years. She was thrilled to organize two job swaps to the Adelaide Symphony in Australia.
