Meet the Conducting Team
Dr. Wendy Freeman
Wendy J. Freeman received a Master of Music in Conducting Performance at the University of Calgary. She has a Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies and is a three year recipient of the Joseph Armand Bombardier SSHRC Doctoral Canada Graduate Scholarship. Her motion capture technology conducting research in the FourMs (Music, Mind, Motion & Machines) laboratory at the University of Oslo, received support from the SSHRC Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement. Currently, she is the music director at Westmount Charter School and is an adjunct professor for the Werklund School of Education. Maestro Freeman is an associate musical director of the Calgary Wind Symphony. Visit http://musicmindmotion.weebly.com to learn more about Dr. Freeman's research and teaching philosophy.
Dr. Ilkim Tongur
Ilkim Tongur is a Calgary based Turkish-Canadian composer. She composed for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and orchestra as well as electronics and combination of acoustics and electronics. She is interested in human cultures and how they musically evolve through interaction as well as in relative isolation. She finds inspiration in real and folk stories and imagery as well as literature from all around the world. In her works, she focuses on storytelling and expressiveness. Her works were performed in Turkey, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, the UK and the U.S. by several prominent groups including Lands’ End Ensemble, TimePoint Ensemble, and Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra. Described in Calgary Herald as “Ms. Tongur is a composer already in possession of tremendous confidence and shows astute use of her instrumentation… Ms. Tongur has made a remarkable splash with her lovely work.”
Dr. Tongur hold Bachelors in Music and Master’s in Music, both in composition and conducting and she completed her PhD in composition in 2017 at the University of Calgary. Currently Dr. Tongur is completing an Education Degree at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.