Faculty (old)

Lambda Faculty

The Lambda faculty comprises a team of fine musicians and artists, who are outstanding in their area of expertise, as well highly experienced in teaching. Our professors are passionate in sharing their love for music and arts with their students. We also have an established track record of helping students succeed, far exceeding their expectations.

Dora Cojocaru - Music Theory, Harmony, Music History, Composition

Dr. Dora Cojocaru completed her studies in Romania and Germany, where she received her Ph.D. degree in musicology and stylistics. As a composer, Dr. Cojocaru has received numerous prizes and grants, including the Paul Sacher, Socrates, Gaudeamus, D.A.A.D., European Community, Heinrich Böll grants, as well as several grants from Canada Council for the Arts and Conseil des arts et des lettres du Quebec.
Her compositions have been published by Müller&Schade AG in Bern/Switzerland, and are performed worldwide (“World Music Days”-I.S.N.M./Luxembourg, Schoenberg Centre/Vienna, Marianischer Saal/Luzern, Deutschlanfunk/Köln, Sumida Triphony Hall/Tokyo, CUMS Conference/Lethbridge, UNAM/Ciudad de Mexico etc.)
As an associate professor at the Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca, Dora Cojocaru has taught composition, music history and theory. She has also been invited to give lectures, workshops and conferences in major Canadian universities as well as in Europe. Dora Cojocaru has published two books, and a number of articles in various musical journals. She has also adjudicated many musical competitions and collaborated with the “Westdeutscher Rundfunk” in Germany.

Magali Curiel - Violin, Piano, Music Ensemble, Music Initiation

Professeur des Cords (Violons, Guitar, Ukulele)Née au Mexique, Magali a commence ses études en violon à la faculté de musique de l’Université Veracruzana. Elle a obtenu un Baccalauréat en Arts option violon et un certificat en Didactique musicale de la 3ème enfance. Elle a aussi suivi divers cours tels que les Cours Kodaly sur la pédagogie à Budapest, Hongrie et les Cours de pédagogie active niveau II de Karl Orff à l’institut des Beaux-Arts du Mexique ainsi que le Programme de formation Orff niveau I à Montréal. Magali détient un Baccalauréat Général en Musique de l’Université de Montréal.Musicienne active, elle a joué au niveau professionnel dans l’orchestre juvénile du Secrétariat à l’éducation et la culture en donnant des concerts dans plusieurs villes de la république Mexicaine ainsi qu’avec divers ensembles de musique dechambre.

Elle a participé en deux occasions au Festival de Jeunes Musiciens au Japon (1991 et 1994) et au Festival Europalia 1994 en Belgique avec l’orchestre de musique classique de l’Université Veracruzana. Elle a fait partie de l’Ensemble Euterpe de Montréal. Passionnée de l’enseignement, Magali a obtenu un diplôme de deuxième cycle en pédagogie musicale à l’UQAM. Pendant 7 ans, elle a dirigé l’ensemble à cordes MiàSol qui a participé à plusieurs festivals et échanges culturels. Elle dirige présentement l’école de violon Magali Curiel au centre communautaire « Le Relais du Bout » cherchant ainsi à développer et maintenir l’intérêt et le goût d’apprendre la musique chez ses élèves. Aujourd’hui, Magal Curiel donne des cours de violon, l’initiation à la musique, le piano et le Violoncelle.

Jacinta Ionno - Oil Painting

Jacinta Ionno is the founding professor and advisor of the Lambda Graphics Arts program since 2008. Jacinta has been a professional artist for more than 23 years, has been actively involved in the art community and is a member of the Canadian Federation of Artists and the Artist Association of Dollard. She participates in numerous juried and non-juried shows. She has also held solo exhibitions at Pierrefonds, Kirkland, Beaconsfield and Roxboro libraries. She has received several awards for her works.

Prof. Ionno holds a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University and a Commercial Arts Degree. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Concordia University.

Stef Jackson - Saxophone

Finding his passion for music at the age of 7 when he started piano with Jacques Harvey, Stef discovers classical music at a young age. Opting for the saxophone at the age of 12 years old, he discovers a new world of music all over again and takes pleasure in learning about jazz and instruments like percussion, drums, electric bass, the guitar, and even softwares for sound and composition. Stef has 3 years of self taught experience when he passes the audition at the Conservatoire de musique de Montreal, to study with Claude Brisson, student of the renowned Marcel Mule and Daniel Deffayet.
Stef Jackson has since completed his Bachelor's Degree in music, completed his 'Concours' recital at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal with a distinctive '1er Prix à l'unanimité avec distinction' and has worked with great masters of the saxophone like Arno Bornkamp, Vincent David, Jan Schulte-Bunert, Jean Yves-Fourmeau, Marie-Bernadette Charrier and Peter Weniger. He has also participated in various competitions and has won nearly a dozen awards, including a 2nd place at the well known Canadian Music Competition and has been a recipient of the Bourse de la Fondation du Conservatoire. Aside from his projects of electronic music, chamber music, recording and composition, Stef Jackson is preparing a unique program for the International Saxophone Congress of 2015 in Strasbourg and is working as a teacher and artist in residence for the Fondation Musicart.

Alena Krasnikova - Drawing, Watercolors

Alena Krasnikova was born in Moscow and graduated from Andriyaka School of Watercolour with honours, where she completed six years of full-time studies in classical painting and drawing. Her works had been selected to represent the accomplishments of the Moscow school in international exhibitions. However, perhaps the most indicative sign of its success was the school designing a watercolour train for the Moscow metro in 2007.

Ms. Krasnikova then studied Art History at Lomonosov Moscow State University and at Concordia University in Montreal, where she received her degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts. As of 2017, she is expecting to complete Masters of Fine Arts at Concordia University. Alena excels in land and cityscape, still life, portrait and genre painting and drawing. She teaches life painting and colour theory, helping children and adults to learn about harmonious composition, develop imagination and fine motor skills.

Jy Hyeon Lee - Piano, Music Theory, Ear training

Jy Hyeon Lee was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. She started learning piano at the age of four. When she was in middle school, she was taught by the pianist Han Tong-il. She demonstrated outstanding aptitude in piano performance and has been chosen for gifted education from an art high school.

Jy Hyeon moved to Montreal in 2005, and continued her piano studies with Hei-kyung Bang at Vincent-d’Indy. She won numerous prizes from Concours Inter-Élève de Vincent-d’Indy and from Festival de musique classique de Montréal.

She received her Bachelor in Music performance (class of Professor Maneli Pirzadeh) at the University of Montreal. She has been teaching piano since she was at the Marianopolis College in Music program. With a rich background in music, Jy Hyeon helps and encourages her students to develop their basic techniques and musical expressions.

Jesse Plessis - Piano, Music Theory

Hailed as "a force of nature" with "a skilled hand at crafting textures that pulse with life," Jesse Plessis, born in Sparwood British Columbia, regularly appears in concert series and music festivals across Canada, England, and continental Europe, performs as a guest artist with several ensembles in Canada, and has garnered numerous awards in both piano and composition. As a composer, his works have been called “ardent and incredibly well-structured” and have been performed by many musicians and groups in Canada including the Land’s End Ensemble and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. In 2013 he founded the Centric Festival, a classical music festival that continues annually in Lethbridge, Alberta. Having a particular affinity for several contemporary composers, he has given premieres of works by Arlan Schultz, Marcel Bergmann, Kaija Saariaho, John Corigliano, Nico Muhly, and Kjartan Olafsson.

Plessis obtained a Master of Music degree from Brandon University where he studied piano with Megumi Masaki and composition with Patrick Carrabre. His Bachelor of Music degree is from the University of Lethbridge where he studied piano with Deanna Oye and composition with Arlan Schultz, and he currently resides in Montréal where he studies with Paul Stewart at the University of Montréal. His recordings can be sampled on his channels on sound.com and youtube.com

Leo Bae - Piano (Classical and Jazz), Music Theory

Leo is a jazz pianist and composer. His biggest jazz heroes are Bill Evans and Kenny Wheeler. He has earned his graduate degree in Jazz Composition in University of Oregon, and Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance from Capilano U in Vancouver, BC.

Mr. Bae was born in South Korea but has been a Canadian since he was 16. He’s studied with great Vancouver jazz musicians such as Bob Doyle, Ross Taggart, Bill Coon, and Brad Turner. In Oregon, he studied with Steve Owen and Idit Shner. His debut album “between orange and grey” is an original contemporary jazz composed for 7 piece jazz band.

Hugo Duguay - Piano, Music Theory

Hugo Duguay started the piano at the age of 9 before studying at the École de musique de l’Outaouais and the Conservatoire de Gatineau. He completed his Bachelor and Master Degree at the Ottawa University with David Jalbert. Through his studies he participated at numerous masterclasses with artists like Malcom Bilson, Marilyn Engle and Jean-Paul Sevilla as well as participing at the summer programs of Orford Music Academy and Domaine Forget Music Academy. Among his public performances Hugo Duguay played for the Maison de la Musique of Sorel-Tracy, the Nexus music Festival of the Ottawa University, Oasis Musicale Concert Serie and had, in 2016, the second prize in the Canadian Music Competition. He is currently doing Doctorat Degree in music at the Université de Montréal with Maneli Pirzadeh and Jimmy Brière.

Erica Wong - Flute, Music Theory, Ear training

Erica is a composer specializing in music for films, television series, and video games. She also regularly performs on flute and has performed on piccolo and alto flute as well.

Erica holds a Bachelor of Music from McGill University (Canada) and a Master of Arts in Composition for Film and Television from the University of Bristol (England). During her university education, she had the privilege of studying flute under Cindy Shuter and composition under Félix Baril, William Goodchild, Michael Ellison, and Martin Kizsko. Inside Job, directed by Matt Nagin and one of Erica's recent films, won first place in the best short film category at the 2016 edition of the Mediterranean Film Festival Cannes.

Tian Zhuang
Piano Performance (Classical), Music Theory, Ear Training, Sight-reading

Tian Zhuang earned her first Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from Bowling Green State University, where she studied with Laura Melton. Tian completed the second Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, where she studied piano with Jeongwon Ham and piano pedagogy with Jane Magrath and Barbara Fast.

As a piano soloist, Tian performs recitals in China, the United States and Austria. Through the years, Tian has played in masterclasses for great pedagogues and pianist such as Jane Magrath, Peter Mack, Alan Chow and Jeremy Samolesky.
Tian is also an active chamber pianist, including playing piano trios, piano duet and duo recitals in China and the United States. As a passionate and patient piano teacher, Tian aims to help students of all ages and levels to develop a comprehensive understanding of music that let them play the piano with enjoyment and musicality.