mEET OUR 2026 Performers!
CMF String Quartet
Alayna McNeil, Violin
Alayna recently graduated from her Master of Music degree in performance at the University of Denver, Lamont School of Music. She received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Lethbridge, where she was honoured to receive the Faculty of Fine Arts Gold Medal upon graduating. Alayna is the winner of the 2022 Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra’s RBC Foundation Young Artist Competition, and she was a featured guest soloist with the orchestra in 2023. In 2019 Alayna won the Rose Bowl award for the Most Artistic and Outstanding Performer in the Lethbridge Music Festival.
An avid performer of chamber and orchestral music, Alayna has enjoyed collaborating and performing with musicians in Canada, the US, and the UK. Alayna is a regular performer with the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra, and in Denver she has played as co-concertmaster of both the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and the Bow Art Chamber Orchestra. In addition to the Lethbridge-based Con Brio Piano Trio, Alayna currently plays with a piano quintet and a string quartet in Denver.
Dr. Vladimir Rufino, Violin
Brazilian-Canadian violinist Dr. Vladimir Rufino has brought his love of music to stages in South America, Europe, Canada and the US. He holds a Doctor of Music degree from the University of Alberta, a Master of Music degree and Artist Certificate from Azusa Pacific University (USA), and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Universidade Federal da Paraíba (Brazil). He has studied with Yerko Pinto Tabilo and Charles Stegeman. He has participated in music festivals and symposia in Brazil, Canada, and the US, including the Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies at The Juilliard School. Vladimir has performed with orchestras in Brazil, the US, and Canada, as soloist, concertmaster, and assistant concertmaster.
His chamber music experience includes international performances with the Quartet Quarta Dimensão, the Camerata Brasílica, the Villa-Lobos String Quartet, and the Vaughan String Quartet. Besides performing the standard classical repertoire, Vladimir performs and records works by Brazilian composers. He currently performs with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, as first violin of the Vaughan String Quartet, the Amorim-Rufino Duo and ARKO Trio. Vladimir adjudicates for festivals and competitions in Canada and teaches at the Winspear Centre Conservatory of Music and Mount Royal University Conservatory of Music.
Dr. Fabiola Amorim, Viola
Fabiola holds a Doctor of Music degree from the University of Alberta, a Master of Music degree from Azusa Pacific University (USA), an Artist Certificate from Azusa Pacific University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Universidade Federal da Paraíba (Brazil). Since the publication of her 2018 doctoral thesis “Echoes of the Brazilian Nationalism Movement in Four Works for Viola and Piano (1950-82)”, Dr. Amorim’s work has served as a reference for other researchers on Brazilian music for viola. She has studied with Mr. Yerko Tabilo, Mr. Charles Stegeman, and Mr. Robert Becker, is the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards, and has participated in music festivals and symposia in Brazil and the US, including the Starling-Delay Symposium at The Juilliard School. Dr. Amorim has performed as Principal Viola and soloist with orchestras in Brazil, the US, and Canada.
As a chamber musician she was a member of the Camerata Brasílica (Brazil) and the Villa-Lobos String Quartet (USA). She is also a founding member of the Vaughan String Quartet, the Amorim-Rufino Duo and ARKO Trio, performing extensively in Brazil, Canada, USA, and Europe. Dr. Amorim is active as a concert violist and educator at the Winspear Centre Conservatory of Music and Mount Royal University Conservatory of Music. She adjudicates for festivals and competitions in Canada.
Mark Rodgers, Cello
Mark was born in Winnipeg into a musical family, where he first studied piano with his mother. He changed instruments to the cello early on and studied with James Hunter in Victoria, British Columbia, and later at Brandon University with Malcolm Tait while completing a Bachelor of Music. A Master’s Degree from the University of Western Ontario followed, where he studied with Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. Mark has performed with the Winnipeg Symphony, the Winnipeg Ballet Orchestra, CBC Winnipeg, and Regina, Saskatoon and London (Ontario) orchestras. In 1981 he was principal cellist for the National Youth Orchestra’s Canadian tour. Mark performed with Symphony Nova Scotia 1985 to 1989. He then studied and taught cello in Victoria, B.C. for a number of years before taking the position of principal cellist of the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra in 1994. Mark has been teaching the cello for more than thirty five years, at the University of Western Ontario, Acadia University, the Victoria Conservatory of Music and presently at the University of Lethbridge.
Fabiola Armorim, Viola
Ryan Kolodziej, Piano
Vladimir Rufino, Violin
As a pianist, Ryan has performed in Canada and Europe and has won prestigious grants for his work on Liszt/Schubert arrangements and transcriptions. When he is not doing music related activities, Ryan enjoys gardening, hiking, and building and endlessly customizing computers or any other related technology that he can get his hands on.
Tanner Lapointe, Tenor
Tanner is a performer, educator, and conductor who holds both a Bachelor of Music (Vocal Performance) and a Bachelor of Education (Music Education). He has brought a wide range of characters to life from across opera and musical theatre, including from The Magic Flute, Carmen, The Barber of Seville, The Gondoliers, Candide, and Transformations, as well as numerous concert performances across Alberta and British Columbia. As a concert soloist, Tanner has been featured in concert works including Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Fauré’s Requiem, and selections from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio – his choral work engagements have been broadcast on CBC Radio, in both live and recorded formats. Tanner teaches private voice through the University of Lethbridge Conservatory of Music and serves as the Program Coordinator for the Share Your Voice! Musical Theatre Camp, where he encourages students to explore the relationship between personal identity, expression, and vocal artistry.
Megan Wittig, Soprano
Born and raised in Burstall, Saskatchewan, Megan is a freelance singer who has appeared in numerous productions, most notably The Marriage of Figaro (Susanna), Madama Butterfly (Suzuki), The Magic Flute (First Lady), and A Hand of Bridge (Sally and Geraldine). In addition to performing and working in the corporate space, Megan teaches private voice lessons, specializing in classical, musical theatre, and CCM instruction. Many of Megan’s students have gone on to pursue careers in the arts. Megan received her Bachelor of Music with Distinction (2012) and Master of Music (2015) from the University of Lethbridge under the mentorship of Dr. Blaine Hendsbee. Together with Lisa Stanford, Megan is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Little Lethbridge Opera Theatre which strives to provide performing opportunities for emerging and professional artists in Southern Alberta.
Dr. Carolyn Herrington, Piano
Carolyn is a pianist based in Lethbridge, Alberta. She has taught studio piano, collaborative piano, vocal repertoire, chamber music and other classes at the University of Lethbridge and Western University and has directed the ULeth Collaborative Ensemble. Carolyn enjoys teaching a busy and vibrant studio of piano students of all ages and levels at the University of Lethbridge Conservatory of Music. Carolyn holds a Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano Performance from Western University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of Michigan. Her former teachers include Martin Katz and John Hess. Drawing on her extensive experience with art song, opera, and diction of several languages, Carolyn also works as a vocal coach. She regularly performs with singers, instrumentalists, choirs and other ensembles from Southern Alberta and beyond. She is a founding member of Fourtitude and the Prairie Sands Quintet.
We welcome Keitaro Tatsuno, Piano, to the stage this year, as the recipient of the 2026 Primo Music Association Scholarship at the Lethbridge and District Music & Speech Arts Festival
Link to Last Year’s FESTIVAL PROGRAM
Our Festival
Since its inaugural event in 2014, Centric MusicFest has become a permanent fixture in the City of Lethbridge's flourishing art and music scene. Building upon the success of its founder, Jesse Plessis, the annual summer classical and art music festival has grown under the stewardship of Artistic Director Ryan Kolodziej to feature a combination of local and visiting world-class Canadian and international musicians from coast-to-coast-to-coast. Read more...
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