2024 CPL Fellows | Sound Atlas Fest

Contemporary Performance Lab Fellows

SHEA ILES

Composer

Shea Iles is a Métis composer from Grande Prairie, Alberta. He graduated from MacEwan University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Music and is currently working towards a Master’s degree in Composition at the University of Calgary. His musical background consists largely of rock, pop, and jazz, but he was introduced to contemporary classical music through New Music Edmonton concerts. This led to the premiere of his own works “Two Sonnets for Piano Trio” for Land’s End Ensemble at the Alchemy Festival 2023 and “pen and ink for solo cello,” for India Gailey in January 2024, hosted by NME. His compositional process is heavily influenced by his interest in film, visual art, mathematics, and poetry.

ISAAC WILLOCKS

Violin

Isaac Willocks was the first prize winner of the 2022 Calgary Youth Orchestra, Frank Simpson Concerto Competition, and was the 2023 Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra Marley Rynd Scholarship winner. This past year, Isaac has been invited to play on a regular basis as an extra musician in the first violin section of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Isaac is in his fourth year in the BMus Performance program at the University of Calgary, School of Creative and Performing Arts, where he studies violin with Edmond Agopian. Previous violin teachers include Laurel Tym, Cristian Neacsu, and Jeremy Van Dieman. He has been Concertmaster of both the Calgary Youth Orchestra and the University of Calgary Orchestra. He is a member of the Calgary String Quartet, with faculty members Beth Root Sandvoss, Dean O'Brien, and Edmond Agopian. Isaac has also been a student at Mount Royal University Conservatory in the Advanced Performance Program, and in the Calgary ProMusica Dick Matthews Young Artists Development Program.

TEAGHAN KRAHN

Cello

Teaghan has been studying cello with Beth Root-Sandvoss since the age of 4. Teaghan has played in the Calgary Youth Orchestra for 2 years and was Principal Cello for the “Sounds of the Season” concert in December. Teaghan also plays piano and received a Gold Medal from the Royal Conservatory for piano in 2021. For cello, she has received many awards and scholarships from the Calgary Performing Arts Festival, including the Jeanette Whitney Memorial Scholarship and a Provincial recommendation. She was named a ‘Star of the Festival’ in 2018, was a finalist in the Canadian Music Competition in 2019 and won 1st place in the Contemporary Showcase in 2017.

AIDAN RIGOR

Saxophone

Aidan Rigor is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Calgary studying music performance in saxophone under Dr. Jeremy Brown. He has been playing the saxophone since he was 11 years old and has been taking lessons from Dr. Brown for 7 years and Dr. Holly DeCaigny for 1 year. Over the years, Aidan has performed in various Kiwanis Music Festivals throughout highschool in Olds and Red Deer, and has had the privilege of taking part of various ensembles such as the lead alto saxophone player in the YYC Lab Band, lead alto of the UCalgary Jazz Orchestra for 2 years, section leader of the UCalgary Symphonic Band for 1 year, and was the alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone player of the UCalgary Wind Ensemble for 2 years. He was also a member of a saxophone quartet as a baritone and an alto saxophone player.

WREN WHALEN

Clarinet

Wren Whalen is an undergraduate student at the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, pursuing a Bachelor’s of Clarinet Performance under the mentorship of Dr. Andy Hudson. During her collegiate career, Whalen has cultivated a love for performing new works and collaborating on chamber music projects. An avid poet and writer, Whalen’s passion for literature has allowed her to see music and connect with audiences in unique and powerful ways. Whalen has performed at Chicago's Merit School of Music, the Belgian Clarinet Academy, Juilliard’s Summer Winds program, and is excited to take her music to Calgary at the 2024 Sound Atlas Festival and begin her role as Media Intern for Latitude 49.

DAKOTA PEREZ

Piano

Dakota Perez has recently performed with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra as a winner of the 2024 RBC Concerto Competition and the Calgary Civic Symphony in 2021 as a winner of the Rotary Calgary Concerto Competition. For two years, Dakota has been in the Calgary Pro Musica Dick Matthew’s Young Artists Development Program. He recently graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Music in the studio of Dr. Jani Parsons and will begin a Master of Music in the fall, studying with HieYon Choi at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. While in Calgary, he has valued the community and opportunities of his collaborative work.

AINE KAY SISON

Percussion

Aine Kay Sison is a tuba player and a percussionist. With a Bachelor's of Music degree from the University of Calgary, she has proven that great things come in small packages. Standing at an impressive four feet eleven inches, she proudly claims the title of the world's most vertically-challenged tuba player. Beyond her tuba expertise, Aine Kay has been studying percussion for over a year under the guidance of Chris Sies. When she's not busy “oom-pah-ing” or dreaming of percussion greatness, Aine Kay can be found at her second home – the local animal shelter. And after a long day of practice, you'll find her chowing down on Korean fried chicken.