ANNOUNCING ST JOHN'S NEW DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
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Corporation and the Music Director Selection Committee are excited to announce the selection of Nicholas (Nick) Busch as St. John's new Director of Music.
Nick Busch holds a master’s degree in music, specializing in collaborative piano, from Western University, where he studied with Dr. John Hess and Professor Mariana Chibotar-Rutkevich, and is a Registered Music Teacher in Ontario. Nick has been studying organ for a number of years with Wesley Warren, the Director of Music at St. Barnabas Anglican Church, and this coming May he will be sitting the exam for certification as an Associate of the Royal Canadian College of Organists.
Nick currently holds the position of Director of Music at Kanata United Church, and is the project coordinator for the Beaverbrook Community Concert Series. He has collaborated with choirs, orchestras, and soloists in recitals, competitions, festivals, and recordings throughout the National Capital Region and southwestern Ontario. Ensembles Nick regularly works with include the Canadian Centennial Choir, All Voices Community Choir, ACCORD Choir, Joyful Sound Ottawa and more. He has a passion for new music and has had the honour of premiering and recording many new pieces for both mixed ensembles and solo piano by composers from across Canada.
In the selection process, Nick impressed the committee with his musical skills, enthusiasm for a wide range of music styles, his entrepreneurial spirit, collaborative approach, and his immediate rapport with the choir during the choir audition.
Nick will take up his new position on February 25, and we thank Barb Hallam-Price for staying on as Interim Director until Nick begins. She and Tom Annand have been blessings for St. John’s as Interim Directors during the process of finding a permanent Director. Barb’s advice on the candidates’ musical skills as a member of the selection committee was invaluable. Thank you to all the members of the committee: Jeff Biggs, Barb Hallam-Price, Marianne Harkema, Peggy Lister and Gary van der Meer.
Brian Cameron, Chair, Music Director Selection Committee
CHORAL SCHOLARS
Katie Cruickshank, alto
Katie Cruickshank recently joined St. John the Evangelist at the beginning of 2023 as the alto choral scholar. Katie has been singing in choirs since she was 10 years old and is currently in the last year of her Bachelor of Music degree in Voice. Katie is excited to be a part of the choir at St. John and is grateful to have the opportunity to work with other inspiring and talented musicians.
Luka Eriksen, baritone
Luka started singing in St John's choir in 2022, and became a choral scholar in 2024. They hold a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Ottawa in Bassoon Performance, and have been singing in church choirs since childhood.
Luka currently works as a Tattoo Artist specializing in Medieval Art, and focuses on helping the 2SLGBTQIA+ community reclaim their bodies through tattoos.
Chris Libuit, tenor
Grayson Nesbitt, tenor
Grayson Nesbitt is a lyric tenor and voice teacher with Bytown School of Singing. Grayson holds a Bachelor of Music (Vocal Performance) degree from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Music (Literature and Performance) degree from the Don Wright Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario. Laurence Ewashko (uOttawa) and Jackalyn Short (UWO) instilled Grayson with a desire to tell expressive stories and deliver text in music without ambiguity of diction in a way that serves the listener’s experience rather than serve the music itself.
Since 2018, Grayson has been a faculty member of The Bytown School of Singing in Ottawa where he finds immense joy in sharing the craft of healthy, expressive singing. He teaches a variety of ages and skill levels; from building voices from the ground up, to helping people improve their skill for community choirs, as well as preparing students for festivals, exams, and auditions. Grayson has been a Choral Scholar at St. John’s since Spring 2015.
Carolyn Streich, soprano
Carolyn Streich has been a choral scholar at St John the Evangelist Church since 2016. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Ottawa in Voice Performance. Carolyn’s graduate studies are in Counselling Psychology and she is pursuing a career as a mental health counselor.
