Douglas Smith, Theory
Douglas Gwynn Smith is a native of Vancouver who has been active in the Vancouver music community for more than 30 years as composer, performer, arranger and teacher.
Doug has received numerous commissions and awards: most recently from the National Arts Centre Orchestra for BC Scene for two solo violins and orchestra; the Canadian Music Centre; the Douglas College Music Department; Joe Trio; the Little Chamber Music Series that Could, Standing Wave Ensemble, Vancouver New Music Society, LEAPS and the Vancouver Folk Orchestra.
Doug has been teaching music at Douglas College in New Westminster since 1994 and in 1995 he joined the faculty of the Vancouver Academy of Music, where he teaches in the Bachelor of Music program. He teaches theory, composition, orchestration, and sight-singing and ear-training.
Shirley Lum, Theory
Shirley Lum holds a MBA in Marketing and Finance for non-profit arts groups, a BA in Music History and Theory, and an ARCT in Violin Performance. Her principal teachers include Douglas Stewart and Gerald Jarvis. At Indiana University, she studied violin pedagogy with Mimi Zwieg and violin masterclasses with Franco Gulli.
Shirley maintains a large violin and theory studio in Vancouver. Her violin students have won numerous RCM silver medals and awards from local, regional and national competitions. Her theory students have completed all ARCT RCM theoretical requirements by age 11.
Chloe Hurst, Voice, Theory and Early Childhood Education
Chloé Hurst (soprano) is an active singer, pianist and teacher in Vancouver. Hailed by Opera Canada as having “enviable clarity and precision,” her talent has taken her around the world.
As a VAM alumni, Chloé started her formal training in music at the age of three. From this young age until completing high school, her main instrument was piano. It was not until the start of her undergrad as an opera performance major at UBC, when she started to pursue her other passion, singing. Chloé then continued on to complete her Master of Music degree at the same institution.
Chloé has had the privilege of performing across North America, Europe and China in operas, concerts and competitions. Past opera roles include Adina (L’elisir D’amore), Gretel (Hansel und Gretel), Zerlina (Don Giovanni) and many more. As a versatile performer, Chloé has sung various works from Handel’s Messiah to Bernstein’s West Side Story, and with many different groups, such as the West Coast Symphony, with whom she performed Berlioz’s Les Nuits D’été.
In early 2011, Chloé had her debut in China as a singer and pianist in concert. By the end of the year, she was a competitor on the popular Chinese television talent show, Xing Guang Da Dao. Chloé won the first three rounds of the competition and ended up being a finalist for the 2011 season. While singing takes up the bulk of her stage time, Chloé still gets the chance to share her piano skills. She enjoys accompanying fellow singers in performance and loved being a lounge pianist during the 2010 Olympics at the Vancouver International Airport.
Alongside performing, Chloé has been teaching piano, theory and voice for several years, and joined the VAM faculty in 2008. While her main department has been music theory (in the preparatory and college divisions), she is excited to branch out into the voice faculty and ECE programs at VAM so she can continue to share her passion with enthusiasts of all ages.
Jacqueline Leggatt, Head of Theory
Dr. Leggatt has been teaching at VAM since 1997 and is currently Head of Theory and Manager of the VAM Library. Ms. Leggatt earned a Bachelor of Music (Piano) from Queen’s University and a Master of Music and Doctoral of Musical Arts from UBC in Composition. Also an active composer, Leggatt’s works -in both acoustic and electroacoustic genres- have been performed throughout North America. Jacqueline is an Associate of the Canadian Music Centre and a founding member of the Institute for Domestic Research.
Andrew Perriment, History/Theory
Andrew was born in Bristol, England and received his early musical training within the British school system including singing, music appreciation, history and theory. Completing Associates from both Trinity College of Music and the London College of Music in Theory and Practice of Composition, he continued to attain a Licentiate in Theory, followed by a Fellowship thesis, “Orchestrations Of Robert Schumann”.
In addition to a busy teaching schedule in Vancouver since 1980, Mr. Perriment has been formerly active on the executive of the Vancouver Registered Music Teachers’ Association, also treasurer of the Student Performers Guild Festival. As a theory specialist, he has for the past thirty-five years prepared students for many international Conservatory examining boards, in particular, Canada’s Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM).
