Yvette is involved in Business Development activities with IGLOO Inc.- an innovative web 2.0 start-up specializing in On-demand Communities and Social Networking Solutions. The most recent project Yvette spearheaded for IGLOO was the Manufacturing Innovation Network (MIN) – an online knowledge exchange for Waterloo Region manufacturing companies which aims to assist manufacturers to Build Awareness, Foster Innovation and Compete Globally. When Yvette is not assisting associations, organizations, schools and corporations in developing and deploying their online community solution, she enjoys reading, movies, golf, fishing and spending time with her family.

About me? I play bassoon. My association with the KWS, however, falls less to bassoon playing and more towards concert-going and Patron Servicesing. That's a word.

Executive Director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony since January, 2008, Genevieve began her career in orchestra management in 1996, as an Orchestra Management Fellows with the League of American Orchestras, completing residencies with the Pacific, Baltimore, and Detroit symphony orchestras. In 1997, she joined the Detroit Symphony as Operations Manager. In 2000 she became Orchestra Manager of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where she worked with Music Director Mariss Jansons. In September of 2004, Ms. Twomey was promoted to the position of General Manager with the PSO. Genevieve Twomey graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts and pursued graduate studies in the United States at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore graduating with both a Master of Music and Graduate Performance Diploma.

Thanks to Margaret McCreery and Ron Craigen for generously sponsoring my chair!

I'm just this girl, you know?

Jana Gordon joined the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony as Director of Development in 2008. She has a depth of knowledge and experience in fundraising for the arts and a passion for symphony orchestras. Her work experience includes Major Gifts Team Leader with Wilfrid Laurier University, Director of Development with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Manager of Corporate Giving with the English National Opera. Jana holds a Masters of Arts in Arts Management from City University and a Bachelor of Music from the London College of Music and Media, both in London, England. Jana began her career as an auditor with Deloitte & Touche and has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Texas A & M University. Jana is both a Certified Fundraising Executive and a Certified Public Accountant. Jana lives in Waterloo with her husband Joe and daughter Meaghan.

Edwin Outwater is Music Director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in Ontario, Canada. Now entering his third season, he has revitalized the orchestra and gained international attention for innovative projects and imaginative programs.Mr. Outwater’s recent highlights include his professional opera debut conducting La Traviata with the San Francisco Opera, a benefit concert with the San Francisco Symphony featuring some of Hollywood’s most prominent actors (The World of Nick Adams), and conducting the YouTube Symphony in Carnegie Hall with Michael Tilson Thomas and Tan Dun.In the 2009-2010 season, Mr. Outwater returns to the San Francisco Symphony for subscription series performances and also returns to the Chicago Symphony, New World Symphony, Columbus Symphony, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He debuts with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C., and the Mexico City Philharmonic.In the United States, Mr. Outwater has conducted the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Houston, Detroit, Seattle, and Indianapolis, and many others. In Canada, he has conducted the symphonies of Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Victoria. International appearances include the New Zealand Symphony, the Adelaide Symphony, the Malmö Symphony, the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, the Orquestra Sinfonica de Xalapa, and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.Edwin Outwater was Resident Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony from 2001-2006. While there, he worked closely with Michael Tilson Thomas, accompanied the orchestra on tour and conducted numerous concerts each season. He made his subscription debut in 2002 with Kurt Masur conducting Britten’s War Requiem, and has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Evelyn Glennie, and many others. On two occasions, Mr. Outwater stepped in for an ailing Michael Tilson Thomas, conducting performances of Stravinsky’s complete Pulcinella, as well as works by Beethoven

Meet Rufus. My current puppy in training with the National Service Dogs of Canada. He will grow up to service a child living with autism, and will enhance the quality of life for the whole family. Yay Rufus!Now 8 months old, Rufus has a great level of enthusiasm for training and very quickly figures out new skills. Still growing, he has kept his bouncy stride and puppy playfulness. Highlights of his training so far have included visits with the Kitchener fire department, and a horse drawn wagon ride at Waterloo park! In his free time, Rufus enjoys barking in his sleep and chasing after other canine tails at the park. He is everyone's best friend in an instant and is well on his way to becoming a star service dog for a child living with autism!

Section Violin - A native of Ottawa, Elspeth Durward holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Music from the Hartt School of Music. Prior to joining the KW Symphony, Elspeth spent three years performing with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. Highlights of her time with the NWS include residencies with MTT at Rome's National Academy of Saint Cecilia and New York's Carnegie Hall. As an orchestral performer, Elspeth has appeared with the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, Spoleto Festival USA, the Britt Festival Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Toronto Symphony. She has been featured in concert with the Emerson String Quartet, participated in masterclasses and chamber music at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France, and attended the Pinchas Zukerman Young Artists Program in Ottawa. Elspeth is a faculty member of the Suzuki String School of Guelph. Prior to pursuing a musical career, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Queen's University in 1997.

A native of Guelph, Ontario, Cathy Anderson holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, where she studied cello with Paul Pulford and members of the Penderecki String Quartet. She also earned a Master of Music degree at Yale University under the tutelage of Aldo Parisot, where she received regular coachings from members of the Tokyo String Quartet. Cathy has had the opportunity to perform in concert with the St. Lawrence, Penderecki and Borealis String Quartets, and has been heard as a soloist and chamber musician on CBC radio. Cathy, along with three other members of the KWS, now plays in the Bremen String Quartet which performs frequently in the area and runs the KWS Youth Chamber Program. Before joining the KWS in 2007, Cathy played in the Thunder Bay Symphony and taught the cello studio at Lakehead University. She recently taught a semester at Wilfrid Laurier University, and maintains a small private studio in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Violinist person.

Assistant Principal Viola

4thHorn - Born and raised in Kitchener-Waterloo, Debbie comes from a very musical family. Music lessons started early and by age 11 she was playing the piano, violin, accordian and guitar. However, none of these instruments were available in her high school music program so almost by default she ended up learning to play the French Horn at age 15. After high school she went on to earn her Honours Bachelor of Music in Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University with a double major in Violin and French horn. Summers during her undergrad years were spent focusing on the French Horn at both the Banff Centre of Fine Arts and as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada where she received training from several well renowned teachers from both North America and Europe. Debbie went on to do a year of post grad work at McGill University and ended up staying in Montreal for the next 3 years after winning the position of Principal Horn with L'Orchestre des Jeunes du Quebec. She returned in the summer of 1989 to work at the Stratford Festival then in the fall of that year, moved to Toronto to play in the orchestra for The Phantom of the Opera where she met her husband Ernest Pattison, a Bass Trombone player. During the (ten year!) run of Phantom, Debbie continued a very active freelance career playing with many different groups including The Toronto Symphony, The National Arts Centre Orchestra, The Canadian Opera Company, The National Ballet of Canada, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Toronto's Esprit Orchestra, Orchestra London, The Hamilton Philharmonic and The K-W Symphony. Also during this time Debbie was busy in the studio scene playing on soundtracks for numerous movies, TV shows and jingles as well as playing for the shows of popular artists as they toured through the Toronto area. She was also a regular member of Rob McConnell's Boss Brass from 1999 onwards. After The Phantom closed in 1999 Debbie won a position in the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and stayed there for 3 more years until she came to join the K-W Symphony. Glad to be home, Debbie now lives here in Kitchener with her husband Ernest Pattison and their two wonderful children Russell and Joelle. Debbie likes to keep up on her violin by playing occasionally in church where she also shares the job of Organist. Summers are spent up in the Bancroft Area where she and Ernest own a 150-acre farm and run The Old Schoolhouse Tea Room in their restored early 1900's one-room-schoolhouse, complete with a bell tower, antique woodstove, vintage oil lamps and a delicious menu!

Timpani/Principal Percussion - Born in New York City in 1950, Ron Brown moved to Canada in 1975 to begin his present tenure as timpanist of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra and principal percussionist of the Canadian Chamber Ensemble (at that time known as The Stratford Festival Ensemble). Ron's early education included percussion lessons with Ronald Gould of The New York City Ballet Orchestra. In 1972, Ron received his Bachelor of Music degree in Applied Percussion from The New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Vic Firth, timpanist of The Boston Symphony. Ron received a Fellowship to attend the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, Massachusetts in 1971 and 1972 where he performed under such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Colin Davis, Michael Tilson Thomas and James Levine. Ron was director of percussion studies at Wilfrid Laurier University from1975-1984. His musical compositions include Membrana for percussion quintet, published by Shirmer Music. In addition to performing many recordings and broadcasts locally with the KWS and the CCE, Ron has performed throughout the US, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela, Columbia, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Puerto Rico. Ron is also the publisher and author of The Body Fat Guide, distributed in bookstores throughout North America. He has a background as a Registered Massage Therapist.

Associate Concertmaster since January of 2000.